British Politics

Downing Street has revealed Dominic Cummings has resigned with immediate effect after pictures emerged of him appearing to clear his desk. The news comes after Boris Johnson’s senior adviser was seen leaving No 10 with what appeared to be a cardboard box full of belongings. The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reported that Cummings spoke to the […]

Shadow justice secretary David Lammy has broken official Labour Party ranks to call for a Brexit extension on Question Time. Lammy urged Downing Street to seek an extension while it “works out” the economic mess caused by the coronavirus. Prime minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly vowed not to extend the transition period which is set to end on […]

Liz Gerard’s question ‘Should we feel sorry for the PM?’ deserves a response. There is nothing about Boris Johnson and his premiership that can be commended. The Vote Leave regime that he leads is the architect of the hapless state of affairs in which we find ourselves and we haven’t even lived Brexit yet. He […]

A radio caller has said he thinks Dominic Cummings is leaving Downing Street because his plans to reform Westminster had been ‘ruined’ by the coronavirus. Dan from Warwick suggested Cummings had quit because of a lack of funding to support radical reforms to the way government and public services function. The prime minister most senior adviser confirmed on […]

Downing Street has denied reports there will be a softening of the UK’s position on Brexit following the departure of key Vote Leave officials from No 10. The prime minister’s official spokesman acknowledged time was “in short supply” if they were to get an agreement before the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the […]

Labour has suspended a number of members who passed a motion criticising the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn for his reaction to the damning report into anti-Semitism within the party during his leadership. The group from the Bristol West constituency Labour party (CLP) face disciplinary action over the motion which branded the former leader’s treatment as […]

Laurence Fox has claimed he has been “dropped” by his agent following controversial remarks he made on race. Fox claimed the decision came after he told a Question Time audience member that he finds it racist when someone says he has “white privilege”. The 42-year-old actor told the showgoer that “playing the race card was […]

Alastair Campbell has warned that Boris Johnson is “days away” from brokering a “terrible” Brexit deal now that his key adviser has announced his resignation. The New European‘s editor-at-large said the UK was on course to crash out of the Brexit transition period on January 1, or be subject to a ‘bad’ trade deal. Speaking on the news […]

A former board member of the pro-Brexit Vote Leave campaign has dismissed suggestions that Boris Johnson has too many Leavers in his government. Despite an attempt by Johnson to pack his cabinet with supporters of Brexit, and the prime minister’s inner circle containing key Vote Leave officials, a senior Tory MP has denied they have […]

A former adviser to Boris Johnson has delivered a withering assessment of Vote Leave’s impact on the prime minister’s ability to govern. Guto Harri, who was Johnson’s communications director when he was mayor of London, said the group of pro-Brexit advisers in Downing Street led by Dominic Cummings had long been undermining the prime minister’s office. Harri told […]

Michael Gove has been challenged to pick which unelected bureaucrat he supports in the internal war in Number 10. During questions in the House of Commons, the Cabinet Office minister was asked to decide whether he was on the team of “Dom or Carrie”. It came as director of communications Lee Cain resigned, and chief […]

Grant Shapps has fallen short of promising the public that Brexit would not affect the delivery of the coronavirus vaccine currently being developed in the EU. The transport secretary said he remained somewhat confident Britons would have access to the Pfizer vaccine being produced in Belgium. Earlier this week, the government announced coronavirus vaccine trials […]

Brexiteers claim that “Remainers” in government are pushing for a one-year extension to the Brexit transition period, as the clock runs down in talks to secure a deal. The European Union has placed a “seven-day deadline” on talks ahead of an EU summit, with both sides reportedly discussing a “grace period” for Northern Ireland businesses as […]

Dominic Cummings was the adviser who refused to play by the rules of conventional politics and became no stranger to the spotlight. At the start of 2020, he wrote on his blog of wanting to become “much less important – and within a year largely redundant”, with reports suggesting his departure from Downing Street will […]

A senior Conservative MP is expecting a return of “respect, integrity and trust” in Downing Street after the resignation of Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings. Sir Bernard Benkin, the chairman of the Commons Liaison Committee, was asked to give his view after reports Cummings would leave the heart of the government at the end […]

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said that Dominic Cummings “will be missed” when he leaves No 10 but “advisers do come and go”. Asked why Boris Johnson’s chief adviser will be departing, Shapps told Sky News: “As he wrote right at the beginning of the year in his own words, he planned to make himself […]

A former aide to then chancellor Sajid Javid who was escorted out of Downing Street by police officers has settled an employment tribunal claim with the Treasury, reportedly for a five-figure sum. Former Treasury special adviser Sonia Khan was fired by Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings last year. The settlement means Cummings no longer […]

Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser Dominic Cummings is reportedly set to leave his Downing Street position by the end of the year. Cummings told the BBC that “rumours of me threatening to resign are invented” after speculation that he would follow communications director Lee Cain in leaving Number 10. However, he said that his “position […]

The business minister has failed to rule out that the supply of coronavirus vaccine could be affected by Brexit when the transition period ends on December 31. Cabinet minister Alok Sharma repeatedly did not appear to dispute warnings from Croda International, which supplies a crucial ingredient in the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate, that there could be Brexit impact. […]

DAVID BLUNKETT and MATTHEW FLINDERS warn that Dominic Cummings’ technocracy model for government lacks emotional and political understanding. They call for Boris Johnson to ditch it. If crises bring with them new opportunities to think afresh, then the combined impact of Brexit and COVID has been to focus attention on the capacity and structure of the […]

Ken Clarke has said Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill shows the prime minister has “absolute contempt” for the way of Westminster business is conducted. The former Tory chancellor was discussing the internal market bill when he said Johnson’s determination to push through the legislation was a Donald Trump tactics and could lead to major repercussions with US president-elect Joe Biden. […]

Durham Police has been accused of giving Boris Johnson’s senior adviser “special treatment” when he was investigated over his trip to the north of England during the first lockdown. It is claimed that Cummings was shown a key statement “as a courtesy” before it was made public. The force had explained why it was being […]

The media’s focus on infighting in Number 10 is a distraction from the Brexit armageddon facing the UK, a commentator has argued. The Guardian‘s George Monbiot said British newspapers were prioritising ‘scandal’ over the Brexit negotiations. He said: “Putting the resignation of a Downing Street adviser as top headline during a moment of multiple global and national crises […]

Boris Johnson is set to avoid the latest Downing Street press conference following reports of in-fighting at the heart of his administration. There had been planned to be an update on coronavirus on Thursday afternoon, but it will be left to business secretary Alok Sharma to update the nation. He will be joined by NHS England […]

Downing Street has dismissed claims that the in-fighting at the heart of government shows that Boris Johnson is distracted from tackling coronavirus. Responding to Labour leader Keir Starmer’s criticisms that he is not focusing “on the job in hand”, his official spokesperson said that he was “absolutely focused” on the pandemic.  The spokesman said: “The prime minister is […]

A former Tory minister has attacked Jacob Rees-Mogg over claims that MPs working from home were “shirking” their duties. Tracey Crouch, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in June, suggested that measures Rees-Mogg imposed prohibiting MPs from voting remotely meant parliamentarians like her were not able to participate in crucial divisions. She said: “(Rees-Mogg) will be aware there […]

Nigel Farage has dismissed suggestions he is not taking Covid-19 seriously after launching an anti-lockdown outfit to fight against measures designed to protect people from the pandemic. The Brexit Party leader, who hopes to rebrand his organisation as Reform UK, has revealed his own family has tested positive with the illness. Appearing on Times Radio, […]

A television presenter has said she would “rather boil my head in a vat of oil” than support Nigel Farage’s new anti-lockdown party. In a powerful takedown of Ann Widdecombe’s support for the new organisation, Jemma Forte told Jeremy Vine on 5: “Because what it’s doing is really exploiting something that has caused pain and […]

A Tory MP who complained about a National Trust report into slavery and colonialism has had his argument picked to pieces live on air. Journalist and commentator Dalia Gebrial tore apart Ben Bradley’s claim that the National Trust was attempting to “sanitise” history by highlights links between its properties and slavery. The National Trust came under heavy […]

Michael Gove has been criticised by Labour for failing to answer a “basic question” on how many customs agents are ready to deal with Brexit at the end of the transition period in six weeks’ time. Shadow cabinet office minister Rachel Reeves was asking Brexiteer Gove about the fact that the transition period now ends […]

Boris Johnson has lost his chief spin doctor after a power struggle in Downing Street. Here are some of the key questions around the turmoil in Number 10. What has happened? Lee Cain is quitting the Number 10 operation, where he had been Johnson’s director of communications, although he will remain in post until the […]

An Australian lawyer has slammed Priti Patel for appearing to copy her country’s asylum seeker policy, adding that any “decent” country would not process refugees offshore. Madeline Gleeson, a human rights lawyer, said the move to copy Australia’s immigration policy was “deeply concerning” and warned Westminster MPs against following suit. Gleeson’s comment comes after leaked documents showed the […]