News and Opinion

Matt Hancock has admitted the UK’s coronavirus testing system will take a “matter of weeks” to fix amid reports people are being denied tests. The health secretary said the testing system faced an “enormous challenge” after a “sharp rise” in people had begun seeking a test. People trying to get a Covid swab have complained […]

Downing Street has issued a warning to peers not to try to block controversial legislation overriding key elements of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. A No 10 spokesman said ministers believed the Salisbury Convention – which states the House of Lords should not vote down legislation to implement government manifesto commitments – should apply to the […]

Former Tory MP Charlie Elphicke has been jailed for two years at Southwark Crown Court for three counts of sexual assault against two women. He was described by a judge as a “sexual predator” who “told a pack of lies” as he was jailed for two years for sexually assaulting two women, nearly a decade […]

A Tory Brexiteer has been given a haranguing online after posting a speech justifying Boris Johnson’s violation of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement (WA). Desmond Swayne MP said it was fine for a country to break international law “when that obligation is interpreted in such a way as to undermine the very integrity of that country”. […]

Dominic Cummings has been pictured with an archive letter from one of the leading figures of the US missile and space programmes as he entered Downing Street. The document, from former US air force general Bernard Schriever, appears to rail against the “blizzard of legislation” around defence procurement and accused the system of “inhibiting technological […]

A Tory MP – who previously claimed they had ‘got Brexit done’ – was ridiculed when she tweeted again to say she had voted again to get it done. Dehenna Davison, the representative for Bishop Auckland, sent the tweet after the Internal Market Bill passed – which could override key aspects of Boris Johnson’s Brexit […]

Liz Truss has bowed to public pressure and released meetings she had with an influential pro-Brexit think tank which were removed from the public register. Labour accused the trade secretary of performing a “shambolic” U-turn and claimed Truss had been caught trying to bypass rules to stop the “secret lobbying” of ministers. In August, Truss […]

The latest Conservative attack lines over Brexit have backfired, after it tried to accuse Labour of taking the side of “the EU” in parliament by voting against Boris Johnson’s bill. Moments after the Internal Market Bill passed its second reading – designed to override the Withdrawal Agreement bill and international law – the Tories claimed […]

A caller who phoned into a national radio station has said Boris Johnson’s latest Brexit bill makes her “embarrassed to be British”. Phoning in before Monday’s Commons vote, Mary, an British expat living in Brittany said she now hides her accent when speaking French. On Monday evening, the prime minister’s internal market bill, which seeks […]

The DUP’s chief whip in Westminster has labelled MPs who voted against or abstained from Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill “agents of the European Union”. Sammy Wilson, a fervent Eurosceptic who supports the Brexit pressure group Leave Means Leave, said he failed to understand why MPs would choose to vote against the prime minister’s internal market […]

STEVE ANGLESEY looks at the Brexiteers of the Week – including Kirstene Hair, who has become an adviser for the Scottish Tories, despite finding the EU referendum too “difficult”. KIRSTENE HAIR People are crying “foul” at football referee turned Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross’ big new signing, an adviser who will help him reach swift […]

The government has admitted it is preparing for the ‘reasonable worst case’ scenario of 7,000 lorries queuing in Kent and significant delays to cross the EU after Brexit. A confidential document prepared by the Border and Protocol Delivery Group, and seen by The Guardian, outlines the “reasonable worst case” scenario, and predicts thousands of passengers […]

Home secretary Priti Patel has been mocked for continuing to claim “tests are available” rather than acknowledge that the public are struggling to get them. Patel appeared on BBC Breakfast to answer questions about the fact people in some of the worst areas for coronavirus have been unable to get the kits to decipher whether […]

Here is how your MP voted on Boris Johnson’s Internal Market Bill which attempted to override the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and international law. Labour’s amendment to block the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill from receiving a second reading was defeated by 349 votes to 213, giving the government a majority of 136. On the actual […]

The chair of the 1922 backbench Tory committee has told the prime minister he will not be voting for his Brexit bill. Addressing the House of Commons, Charles Walker initially used the opportunity to express his anger over the government’s coronavirus restrictions. ‘I am extremely concerned we are placing severe restrictions on people’s liberties without […]

A Labour MP has said he is ‘at a loss as to what the government is trying to achieve’ after he pointed out Margaret Thatcher would not have backed such the Brexit bill Boris Johnson is proposing. Darren Jones said he initially expected the Tories to listen to Nancy Pelosi’s remarks in America that if […]

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford has warned Tory MPs not to follow the prime minister by breaking the law, telling them they have a ‘legal, moral and ethical’ duty to vote it down. He told the Commons: ‘This is a test for the House this evening, do not wait for the committee stage. Legally, morally, […]

WILL HANMER-LLOYD explains how behavioural science could help swing November’s election – and decide whether Donald Trump returns to office. The upcoming presidential election is seen as one of the most important in generations, in that it not only dictates the future direction of the US for decades, but potentially the very nature of the […]

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband has goaded Boris Johnson for being the man who ‘got Brexit undone’. The shadow cabinet member was filling in for Keir Starmer as politicians discussed the government’s Internal Market Bill, which plans to override parts of the Withdrawal Agreement. The former opposition leader sparked some angry looks from the prime […]

The government is set to face huge public backlash after deciding to add hunting and shooting clubs to the ‘Rule of Six’ exemption list. Prime minister Boris Johnson could have a new rebellion on his hands after it emerged grouse shooting and other ‘hunting’ with guns were exempt from new coronavirus restrictions, the Huffington Post […]

Ireland’s deputy prime minister has said that Boris Johnson’s Brexit ‘negotiating tactic’ has backfired. Leo Varadkar said countries including the United States are questioning future trade deals with the UK over its handling of the latest Brexit fallout. Varadkar called for the British government to change its mind on its plan to break international law […]

The government’s request that members of the public report people who break new lockdown rules has backfired spectacularly on social media. Twitter users found it irresistible not to mock the government which was asking UK citizens to abide by new domestic laws concerning the coronavirus while pushing ahead with plans to break international law. The […]

The BBC has sparked a backlash after it cancelled airing Nicola Sturgeon’s daily press conferences weeks before Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer’s televised press briefings begin. BBC One in Scotland has aired the Scottish first minister’s daily coronavirus briefings, much like the English version did so with Boris Johnson’s Downing Street sessions, since the start […]

The government’s crime minister has said he will vote for Boris Johnson’s new Brexit legislation – even if it breaks the law. Speaking ahead of the Commons debating the Internal Market Bill, Tory minister Kit Malthouse said he will vote for the proposals even if they breach international law. Malthouse told BBC Breakfast: ‘I’ll be […]

Boris Johnson’s hopes of a trade deal with the US hang in the balance after peers threatened to kybosh legislation allowing the import of chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef into the UK. Peers are preparing to holt legislation that would amount to a watering down of UK food and animal welfare standards, one former government […]

Keir Starmer has been told to self-isolate after a family member showed signs of coronavirus symptoms. Sir Keir had been expected to lead the opposition in the House of Commons to Boris Johnson’s proposed internal market bill that would override Brexit legislation. He will now work from home as a family member awaited results of […]

A Tory former minister has said Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill currently moving through parliament ‘arguably isn’t a violation of international law’. Former Northern Ireland minister Theresa Villiers insisted the government was not breaking international law because it had not yet invoked the legislation. Villiers comments come as a group of Tory backbenchers prepare to rebel […]

A migrant who fled poverty to build a successful immigration advice service in the UK is now offering free legal guidance for refugees attempting to cross the Channel, in the hope of saving lives. Yash Dubal, director of A Y and J Solicitors, has been dismayed by scenes of migrants crossing from France aboard flimsy […]

Keir Starmer has claimed that the public are becoming ‘almost number’ from Brexit and the ‘tiresome’ debates surrounding it. The Labour leader said Johnson needed to ‘get on with’ getting a deal with the EU rather than re-treading old ground. Appearing on LBC, he said: ‘Boris Johnson is all over the place. Have your say […]

Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings has tightened his grip on Number 10 with a shake-up of operations at the heart of government. Politico reports that Johnson has appointed three new deputy chiefs of staff, with a former Michael Gove adviser promoted, along with a former Vote Leave veteran, and a protégé of Cummings. Number […]

The Japan free trade deal has committed the UK to stricter state aid rules than what is being offered in Brexit talks with the EU and according to legal professionals could seriously undermine the Britain’s negotiating position. The trade deal was hailed a success by the government’s key negotiator in the talks, international trade secretary […]

Former Tory prime minister David Cameron has said he has ‘misgivings’ about Boris Johnson’s Brexit plans, and urged people to look at the ‘big prize’. Cameron was asked about the prime minister’s possible breach of law in trying to override the Withdrawal Agreement. He said: ‘Passing an Act of Parliament and then going on to […]