Politics

Rishi Sunak, a devotee of Nigel Lawson, believes in a smaller state, curbing borrowing, lower taxes and combating inflation.  Yet again, he delivered a major fiscal announcement where he did the opposite. Today’s £15 billion spending splurge expanded the role of the state with the advent of one-off financial transfers, could stoke inflation, add to

The Metropolitan Police acted with “integrity” during its partygate investigation and officers made decisions “based on the facts and were proper”, the force’s acting commissioner has said. Sir Stephen House, giving evidence to the London Assembly’s police and crime committee, defended the nearly four-month investigation into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street and Whitehall. The investigation

Boris Johnson has said he “briefly attended” Downing Street lockdown gatherings but didn’t know at the time that they “went on far longer than was necessary”. The prime minister said he had attended to thank staff because it’s “one of essential duties of leadership” and to keep morale as high as possible”. He told the

Images of Boris Johnson with a beer in his hand have emerged in Sue Gray’s damning report of Downing Street parties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sue Gray’s report into Downing Street parties included nine photographs from two of the investigated events – one on 19 June 2020, and another on 13 November 2020. Mr Johnson

MPs should be banned from giving paid parliamentary advice or consultancy services, a long-awaited report into MP standards has recommended. It is understood up to 35 MPs would be impacted by a crackdown on second jobs. MPs must now have a written contract for any outside work, which makes explicit that their duties cannot include

London mayor Sadiq Khan has written to the Met Police asking for a “detailed explanation” of its partygate probe – after claiming photos showed the PM was “caught red-handed” at an event for which he was not fined. Mr Khan said he had written to the Metropolitan Police’s acting commissioner Sir Stephen House to ask

The “serious systemic failures” of the Afghanistan evacuation by the Foreign Office lowered the UK’s global standing, a cross-party group of MPs has said. A damning report from the Foreign Affairs Committee said Afghan allies and British soldiers were “utterly let down by deep failures of leadership” in the government during the August 2021 evacuation

Former Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. The 48-year-old, who served as MP for Wakefield from 2019 until this year, was found guilty in April of sexually assaulting the teenager at a house in Staffordshire in 2008. He was sentenced to 18

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has said he does not know who requested a meeting between the prime minister and Sue Gray over her partygate report, but is confident there was “no way” she would allow herself to be influenced by anybody. Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, the cabinet minister also insisted

The education secretary says an alleged bullying incident in which an 11-year-old boy lost a finger is “sickening” – as he spoke of his own bullying ordeal as a child. Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News he was determined to “stamp out” racism in schools after youngster Raheem Bailey had his finger amputated following an alleged

Home Secretary Priti Patel will tell MPs “we do not make policy through mob rule” as she urges them to support a new Public Order Bill. She is attempting to reintroduce measures which have previously been blocked by the House of Lords as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. These include introducing

Suggestions a meeting with the prime minister had been initiated by Sue Gray to discuss her long-awaited report into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street has been rejected by her spokesman. It comes after Sky News revealed Boris Johnson had met the senior civil servant to discuss the findings of her inquiry. Sources had suggested this

Top civil servants across Whitehall are to be asked to draw up plans for how they would deliver personnel cuts of up to 40% in each of their departments, Sky News understands. Two senior government sources have said the Cabinet Office is poised to write to all permanent secretaries asking them to model what would

The US has warned a trade deal with the UK is at risk if Westminster implements legislation to change the Northern Ireland Protocol. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it could damage the Good Friday Agreement, which aims to help maintain peace between Northern Ireland‘s communities. Her comments have been met with consternation by the

For five long months, the prime minister and his Number 10 team have been beset by the partygate scandal. From the revelations of multiple rule-breaking events in Downing Street and Whitehall, to the public and political fury that prompted a Whitehall and then a police investigation – the PM will emerge from all of this

The Met Police’s investigation into lockdown breaching events at Downing Street and Whitehall has now concluded. They have issued, or will issue, 126 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to 83 people, with some people getting up to five fines each. Having completed the investigation, the Met Police has now revealed details of how it was carried

Boris Johnson’s legislative programme outlined in the Queen’s Speech has been passed by MPs – despite some suggesting it should have contained more measures to help the poorest households amid the cost of living crisis. The speech, which was read least week by the Prince of Wales, was passed by MPs in the Commons by

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of dithering over more help for households struggling as inflation hits a four-decade high. The Labour leader, who is calling for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies to help consumers hit by soaring energy bills, said the PM “doesn’t actually understand what working families are going

The UK wants to “lead the way” on Green Trade but remains in “early stage” trade discussions with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, three of which have no net zero climate commitments, the secretary of state for international trade has confirmed. In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said a new Green Trade

Ministers plan to introduce legislation to change Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trade arrangements in coming weeks as it faces a “very grave and serious situation”, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has announced. The government argues that without resolving problems caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol it will not be able to re-establish the Stormont power sharing executive