UK

Boris Johnson has said he accepts he misled parliament over partygate but insists his statements were “in good faith”. In his evidence to the privileges committee, published on Tuesday, the former prime minister accused it of having gone “significantly beyond its terms of reference”. He added that it was “unprecedented and absurd” to claim that

In a controversial move, the United Nations chief is today calling on polluting developed countries like the UK to “fast forward” net zero targets by a decade to 2040, warning the “climate time bomb is ticking”. It comes as the most comprehensive review yet of the state of climate change delivers a bleak picture of

British banking watchdogs have given their blessing to a takeover of Credit Suisse by its Swiss peer UBS, as financial regulators around the world race to contain the industry’s biggest crisis since 2008. Sky News understands that the Bank of England has indicated to international counterparts and to UBS that it will support the emergency

Boris Johnson is to submit a dossier of evidence ahead of an interrogation by MPs over whether he lied to Parliament about the partygate scandal. The former prime minister will provide information in his defence as he prepares for a lengthy televised grilling by the Commons privileges committee on Wednesday, where he faces a fight

A government source has confirmed to Sky News its new Illegal Migration Bill would “seal off all the loopholes” and that UK officials are “certainly working towards getting the flights off by summer”. It comes as the home secretary signed an update to the government’s migrants agreement with Rwanda, expanding its scope to “all categories

Which rail services will be impacted? Avanti West Coast – One train per hour will run in both directions between London Euston and each of Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Preston. A limited service will operate to and from Glasgow. Chiltern Railways – No trains will run north of Banbury. There will be one train per

The home secretary is set to travel to Rwanda this weekend as the government’s deal to send asylum seekers to the country remains mired in legal challenges. It is 11 months since the UK agreed the deal, which would see people who claimed asylum in Britain deported to the central African nation to have their

The government needs to find £4bn in spare cash to fund NHS pay rises, with some of it coming from “areas of underspend”. The one-off payment offered to frontline workers on Thursday will cost £2.7bn, Downing Street has said, while the 5% pay rise will cost £1.3bn. A 3.5% pay increase had already been factored

NHS unions have reached a pay deal with the government in a major breakthrough that could herald the end of strikes by frontline staff in England. The offer consists of a one-off payment of 2% of their salary plus a COVID recovery bonus of 4% for the current financial year 2022/23, and a 5% pay

NHS unions have received a new pay offer and an announcement is expected this afternoon, Sky News understands. The offer is believed to centre around a one-off payment this financial year and a revised pay offer for 2023-24. It follows progress in talks involving unions representing nurses and ambulance staff, after mass strikes across the

Labour has said it will oppose plans to abolish the lifetime pensions allowance, calling it a “tax cut for the rich”. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the party will force a vote on the policy next week, predicting it could “unravel as quickly as it began”. Ms Reeves compared it to Liz Truss’s doomed attempt

Jeremy Hunt said the British economy is “proving the doubters wrong” and will avoid recession, as he delivered his first full budget speech to Parliament. The chancellor said the government’s plan for the economy was “working” as he announced what he called a “budget for growth”. He said forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility

The chancellor will promise to provide 30 hours of childcare a week to parents of one and two-year-olds, Sky News has learned. The multi-billion pound announcement is set to be made in Wednesday’s “back to work” budget. Families with children aged one and two do not currently receive support after parental leave ends and before

A 22-year-old woman, whose lies caused a storm of anger and protests after she falsely claimed she was the victim of an Asian grooming gang, has been jailed for eight and a half years. Eleanor Williams was today sentenced for perverting the course of justice. She fabricated evidence to make it look like she was

High-profile figures from sport and broadcasting appear to have poked fun at the BBC over its U-turn on the Gary Lineker impartiality row. After the corporation last Friday suspended the Match of the Day presenter, 62, for his tweets criticising the government’s migration policy, it has now agreed to allow him back on air this

Gary Lineker will return to Match Of The Day on Saturday after he was taken off air over his tweets criticising the government’s migration policy. The BBC has also apologised for the episode and announced an independent review into its social media usage guidelines. Sky Sports News understands that the BBC also apologised privately to

Sources close to Gary Lineker are increasingly confident the row with the BBC will be resolved to his satisfaction in the next 24 hours. Sky News also understands there could be a statement on the Lineker issue as early as tomorrow morning. It follows a tumultuous weekend for the BBC and its football shows, notably

Match of the Day 2 coverage is expected to be “much-reduced” as the fallout from the Gary Lineker BBC row continues. BBC Two will also broadcast the Women’s Super League Chelsea v Manchester United match using world feed commentary – without presenter or pundits around the coverage of the game. It is the second day

The BBC’s director general says the damage done to football programming following Gary Lineker’s suspension is a “real blow” but he will not be resigning. Tim Davie said he was “sorry audiences have been affected and they haven’t got the programming” after presenters and pundits pulled out in support of Lineker, whose social media criticism

A number of BBC football shows across TV and radio have been taken off air as presenters, pundits and commentators walk out after Gary Lineker was suspended by the broadcaster. Final Score and Football Focus were pulled from BBC One on Saturday after their respective hosts, Jason Mohammad and Alex Scott, said they would not