British Politics

No 10 has begun distancing itself from a government minister who attacked a reporter for asking a question. Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch has come under mounting criticism after publishing the private correspondence she had with HuffPost UK reporter Nadine White about her absence from a government coronavirus advert targeted at the BAME community. Badenoch accused […]

A review of the Human Rights Act will be published in the summer, the justice secretary has confirmed. Robert Buckland said the examination of the legislation will be “sensible and measured”, amid concerns over the government’s approach. Speaking in the Commons, Buckland said: “The government established the independent Human Rights Act review to examine the […]

Downing Street has denied that government scientific advisers called for the closure of UK borders to prevent the spread of new coronavirus variants ‘weeks ago’. The discovery of the South Africa strain of coronavirus has prompted a series of travel bans, with people arriving into England from anywhere outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands […]

A “mutation of concern” has been detected in the UK variant of coronavirus, which scientists have described as “a worrying development”. This mutation, known as E484K, is already present in both South African and Brazilian coronavirus variants and experts believe it could have an impact on the effectiveness of some Covid-19 vaccines. Laboratory studies have […]

A Tory MP who refused to apologise for misleading comments about Covid-19 may still face disciplinary action by his party, Michael Gove has hinted. Sir Desmond Swayne wrongly told a group of vaccine sceptics that some Covid-19 data had been “manipulated” while encouraging them to “persist” with their campaign against lockdown restrictions. Gove, a cabinet minister, said […]

A beekeeper trying to bring 15 million bees into the UK says he has been told they may be seized and burned because of post-Brexit laws. Patrick Murfet wants to import the baby Italian bees for his Kent business and to help farmers pollinate valuable crops. But new laws that came into effect after the […]

Former chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is to become a full-time banker. Osborne will step down from his roles as editor-in-chief of the Evening Standard newspaper and senior adviser at investment firm Blackrock at the end of March to join financial consultants Robey Warshaw. Robey Warshaw, founded in 2013, said the former Tory MP would […]

Nicola Sturgeon could seek a second referendum on Scottish independence by Christmas, an SNP minister has signalled. Scots could soon be heading to the polls to decide whether their nation should formally break free from Westminster, the SNP’s constitution minister has suggested. Michael Russell, an architect of the SNP’s road map to independence, said the vote could be held […]

James O’Brien has hit out at critics who have said Remainers are defending the EU’s decision to impose a hard border on the island of Ireland, simply because they are supporters of the bloc. O’Brien took some time during his show on LBC radio to address accusations that Remainers have failed to condemn the EU over […]

Twitter users have chided Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns for a post she sent celebrating the one year anniversary of Brexit. Jenkyns, a Brexiteer, posted a photo of herself with constituents celebrating Britain’s formal exit from the EU on January 31, 2020. “A year ago today when we had our ‘Big Brexit Bash’ Celebration in Morley. Happy […]

Number 10 has defended a minister as “great” after she launched an online tirade against a journalist for asking questions about her role. Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch accused a reporter of “creepy and bizarre” behaviour for asking why she had not appeared in a video promoting the Covid-19 vaccination campaign. Boris Johnson’s aides defended Badenoch […]

Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock have both been compared to TV characters in the latest poll that explored public perceptions of No 10’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Respondents said Johnson reminded them of Mr Bean while the health secretary was compared to the self-pitying Ian Beale from BBC’s EastEnders. A portion wished New Zealand’s Jacinda Arden […]

Arlene Foster has accused Boris Johnson of a dereliction of duty over Brexit after claiming he is not doing enough to address Irish Sea trade disruption, claiming his excuses were “patronising and offensive”. Northern Ireland’s first minister demanded action from the prime minister amid the continued fallout from the EU’s botched move to invoke a […]

An anti-Brexit campaigner has called on politicians in Westminster and Brussels to “think more maturely” after the EU invoked Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Scientists for EU director Dr Mike Galsworthy said the “kerfuffle” over the weekend “in no way justifies burning £200billion on Brexit”. On Friday, EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen triggered Article 16 of […]

Boris Johnson is poised to appoint Paul Dacre as Ofcom chair, and offer him a peerage, it has been revealed. According to Whitehall and media source, Johnson is preparing to announce the appointment soon and will give Dacre a remit to target the BBC. Dacre stepped down as Daily Mail editor in 2018 but is still […]

Former minister Jeremy Hunt has warned that Keir Starmer is the biggest threat to the Tories since Tony Blair. Hunt claimed that the UK can have a “1948 moment” in rebuilding the country after the Covid-19 pandemic, providing an opportunity for the country to reform in a similar way to Clement Attlee’s Labour government after […]

Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross has accused Nicola Sturgeon of putting her party before the pandemic by planning for a “reckless and irresponsible” second independence referendum. Ross will outline his criticism of the First Minister in a speech on Monday responding to the SNP’s roadmap for a second vote on independence. The roadmap states a […]

MITCH BENN on how Remainers are now accused of revelling in the adverse impacts of Brexit. There’s always an element of ‘preaching to the choir’ when it comes to print journalism in this country; pretty much every newspaper on the stands has, to varying degrees, a political standpoint of which its readers are aware and, presumably, endorse. So […]

Baroness Buscombe has been compared to a Red Dwarf character and British pop band Queen following her “floating head” appearance during a Lords Zoom call. Buscombe, a Tory peer, gave a statement about the Covid vaccine roll-out, calling on the next batch of doses to be given to the clinically vulnerable under 70. But the statement drew […]

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said he halted a post-Brexit review of workers’ rights because it was not a “constructive thing to do”. Kwarteng took over as secretary of state from Alok Sharma, who has been appointed full-time president of the UN Cop26 climate conference, three weeks ago. He told the BBC’s Political Thinking that […]

A country estate used by Dominic Raab plans to spend £5 million to build 10-metre-high earth mounds on its land to block out the view of the M25 motorway. A massive landscaping project that would take five years to complete could be underway soon at the historic Chevening House in Kent, the MailOnline has revealed. The […]

A clip of Boris Johnson laying out the case for the union has backfired spectacularly after Twitter users pointed out the ‘hypocrisy’ of his argument.  Johnson toured a vaccine facility in Scotland on Thursday where he said he “believed in the power of doing things together”.  The prime minister’s comment comes as he toured the […]

Supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are crowdfunding to create new video output to counteract Andrew Neil’s new GB News television service. Left-wing grassroots campaign group Momentum is currently appealing for financial support ahead of new television services from GB News and Rupert Murdoch’s News UK service – both due to launch in the spring. In an email to […]

Former chief Brexit negotiator David Frost has been appointed as the head of a new International Policy Unit in No 10, the prime minister has announced. Lord Frost had been due to be the new National Security Adviser, a role which will instead be filled by Sir Stephen Lovegrove – the permanent secretary to the Ministry […]

A government minister has defended the government’s decision to lock down when it did in March, despite saying that acting earlier “would have saved more lives”. Apprenticeships minister Gillian Keegan told Question Time that had the country locked down earlier and shut its borders then “we would have had a lower death toll for sure”. […]

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of ‘siding with the EU’ after she threatened to publish confidential data on the supply of coronavirus vaccines, despite Number 10’s plea for her to remain quiet. The first minister said she was revealing the figures in response to taunts from the Scottish Tories that she is […]

Priti Patel has denied that she was hypocritical for going on a work trip away from London after criticising social media influencers for using work as an excuse to travel. The home secretary defended the decision to leave London for a meet and greet with police officers, saying it was part of her “statutory duties”. She […]

Prime minister Boris Johnson has been reported to police, accused of breaking lockdown restrictions, after making a trip to Glasgow against the advice of Nicola Sturgeon. The first minister questioned if his trip to Scotland was essential travel or not and advised he could work from home, however the PM made his one day trip […]

James O’Brien has warned the debate surrounding Scottish independence risked turning the UK “upside down again”. The LBC presenter’s comment comes as Boris Johnson visited Scotland on Thursday in a bid to “shore up” the union. Johnson defied advice from Scotland’s first minister that visiting the country would amount to breaking lockdown rules and that he should […]

Prime minister Boris Johnson said he had not seen alleged remarks made by Tory Brexiteer Desmond Swayne calling into question the veracity of official coronavirus statistics. The former minister has been accused by Labour and campaigners of spreading misinformation about the virus when he reportedly said that the infection and mortality figures had been “manipulated”. Cabinet minister […]

The UK government shut down the chance of continuing the Erasmus programme because it was “too European”, a Scottish minister has claimed. The education exchange programme was one of the casualties of the Brexit process, but Scotland and Wales are continuing to push for access to it. The UK government has announced a replacement scheme, […]

Piers Morgan has hinted that he could run for parliament after turning his attention to politics during the coronavirus pandemic. The Good Morning Britain presenter has been ranked by bookies 10/1 favourite to become an MP this year, and a 20/1 chance of becoming prime minister within the next decade. In an interview with The […]