News and Opinion

Former Tory prime minister Theresa May has questioned Britain’s commitment to international obligations during a speech in the Commons. May took to the floor during a debate on Brexit to ask the minister for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, whether the UK could be trusted to fulfil its obligations under international treaties amid reports that Downing […]

A minister has been challenged to appear on Good Morning Britain after he and colleagues defended a free press against protesters despite a boycott of the programme. Breakfast show presenter Piers Morgan branded Boris Johnson and his ministers ‘gutless weasels’ for avoiding the programme for avoiding more than 130 days.Ministers had spent the weekend defending […]

Peers have made a last-ditch attempt to fight for freedom of movement after Brexit as the immigration bill is debated in the House of Lords. The Bill, which will end free movement and deliver a points-based immigration system, has already cleared the Commons but faces a rough ride in the Lords from both sides. Green […]

A PR firm with links to Dominic Cummings has been awarded £640,000 in government contracts without having to compete for them in an open tender process. Hanbury Strategy, which was co-founded by ex-Vote Leave director Paul Stephenson won two government contracts to research ‘public attitudes and behaviours in relation to’ the pandemic, The Guardian has […]

A school Boris Johnson visited days ago to promote children returning to education has closed after a staff member tested positive for coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson visiting a year 7 class on their first day in school as he tours Castle Rock school, Coalville, in the east Midlands. Photograph: Jack Hill/The Times. – Credit: […]

Labour MP David Lammy has said the government’s coronavirus booking system is sending people hundreds of miles away from their home to be tested. Lammy said he was contacted by a constituent who was told to travel to Inverness from London to get tested – a ten-hour journey of around 650 miles. The shadow justice […]

MARTYN SLOMAN says ‘Left Out: The Inside Story’ is a strong reminder why things can only get better without Jeremy Corbyn as leader. Let’s start on a positive note. ‘Left Out’ is one of the most absorbing and compulsive reads I have encountered in years. Moreover, it is one I approached from completely the wrong […]

The producer of Brexit: The Movie has been ordered to pay back £327,600 after being convicted of lying to secure a £519,000 loan from a business belonging to Dragon’s Den entrepreneur James Cann. David Shipley was jailed for three years and nine months after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation between June 12 and […]

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has slammed a Tory MP who suggested parents were partly to blame for child hunger in the UK. Kevin Hollinrake, the MP for Thirsk and Malton, heaped praise on the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme when he said that ‘where they can, it’s a parents’ job to feed […]

Shadow justice secretary David Lammy has branded Boris Johnson and his cohort of Brexiteers ‘vandals’ rather than ‘patriots’. The Labour MP was speaking out after reports that Johnson’s government is looking to renege on commitments made to the EU over Brexit. The prime minister is reportedly planning new legislation that would override key parts of […]

A Tory MP has been urged to apologise and is facing criticism from her own party after comments about the leader of Scottish Labour. Dehenna Davison claimed that Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard’s accent is the reason why the Labour Party ‘isn’t doing well in Scotland’, despite having lived in the country for four decades. […]

The health secretary has struggled to say whether the UK will continue to receive medicines and medical equipment without disruption in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Appearing on the LBC’s Call the Cabinet show, Matt Hancock insisted the government had plans in place to shore up flow of medical equipment into Britain after Brexit. […]

In a move set to further embarrass the Westminster government over its handling of coronavirus, Nicola Sturgeon’s government is set to unveil a contact tracing phone app which the UK government had promised back in May. A much-anticipated smartphone app was originally set to be rolled out by the Tory government earlier this year to […]

Environment secretary George Eustice has denied that Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal was not ‘oven ready’, saying that they are attempting to tie up ‘loose ends’ surrounding the agreement. Appearing on the Today programme, Eustice explained: ‘The deal was always very clear, it had the Northern Ireland protocol, it set out the arrangements that would prevent […]

Good Morning Britain’s Piers Morgan has called Boris Johnson a ‘gutless weasel’ for comments he made about press freedom after he continues to dodge the television programme. Morgan, who co-hosts the breakfast show on ITV, reminded Johnson the last time a government minister appeared on his show was 132 days ago. The prime minister issued […]

Dominic Raab has managed to snooker himself in a live television interview after claiming the government could ignore former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott’s trade advice. The foreign secretary joined ministers in suggesting that Abbott’s misogynistic, homophobic and climate-denial views should be ignored, because he is considered an expert on trade. Appearing on Sophy Ridge […]

Boris Johnson and his Tory ‘charlatans’ have been accused of a ‘treacherous betrayal’ by political leaders after reports the government proposes ripping up the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. In reports a government spokesman appeared to confirm, Johnson is reportedly planning new legislation that would override key parts of the agreement – the treaty that sealed Britain’s […]

Boris Johnson is said to be looking to ‘rip up’ parts of the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU and to override key areas of Brexit already agreed with the bloc. In reports a government spokesman appeared to confirm, Johnson also plans to give Brussels a five-week deadline to agree fresh trade terms or otherwise call […]

A Brexiteer politician has been mocked after claiming Tory Brexiteers were bound by the last parliament in the House of Commons – suggesting it was the fault of Remainers the Commons had backed the Withdrawal Agreement. Mark Reckless, a former Tory MP and the leader of the Brexit Party in the Welsh parliament, laid the […]

A former Tory minister has questioned Boris Johnson’s election commitment to ‘unite our society and country’, saying the Brexiteers are not interested in uniting the nation ahead of Brexit. Ed Vaizey, a minister in David Cameron’s cabinet between 2010 and 2016, said the Brexit referendum result had been too close to justify a hard Brexit. […]

Downing Street has said new legislation to be tabled this week is intended to provide ‘limited clarifications’ to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement to protect the Northern Ireland peace agreement. The prime minister’s official spokesman said the government was continuing to work with the EU to resolve the ‘outstanding issues’ relating to the Northern Ireland protocol […]

There are compelling reasons to get people back to schools and workplaces. But it requires more attention to detail and less bullying and bluster than we have seen thus far, says LIZ GERARD. That’s it. Summer’s over. Parliament is back in session. The kids are back at school. And you laptop slackers had jolly well […]

There have been fresh concerns raised over the appointment of former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott to the UK Board of Trade after claims of a conflict of interest. Abbott’s appointment as an adviser was overshadowed by fierce reaction from some quarters, including accusations of the politician holding misogynistic and homophobic views and an outdated […]

Ed Davey has attempted to clarity his party’s position on Brexit, saying that he does not anticipate the public will want to ‘revisit’ the debate in ‘two or three years time’. The leader of the Liberal Democrats had aggrieved some of the most pro-European supporters in his party by appearing to rule out a rejoin […]

Boris Johnson’s most senior advisers only see a 30% to 40% chance of striking a Brexit trade deal with the European Union, despite claiming he had an ‘oven-ready’ deal during the general election. James Forsyth, political editor of The Spectator and Times columnist, wrote: ‘The chances of a Brexit deal have receded significantly over the […]

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has urged the EU to treat the UK fairly in the final stages of Brexit trade negotiations with the EU. Raab was responding to reports that claimed Downing Street believed there was just a 30% to 40% chance of a Brexit trade deal. He told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday […]

Simon Case, the government’s new cabinet secretary, is under pressure to publish the long-awaited report on allegations surrounding home secretary Priti Patel and bullying. The Financial Times reports that the sensitive report, that follows an investigation launched in March, had been kept secret by Downing Street due to its findings and the prime minister’s support […]

Boris Johnson was reportedly left ‘furious’ about Keir Starmer at last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) and has called on his party to step up the attacks on the leader of the opposition. The Observer reports a well-placed source claiming that Johnson had been angered by Starmer’s call for the prime minister to withdraw his […]

Britain’s billionaires have seen their fortunes soar since lockdown, despite the economy entering recession, and the Treasury reportedly scrapping plans for a minimum wage rise next year. The value of fortunes for 53 of the UK’s billionaires leapt by 14.3% (£26.3 billion) to approximately £211 billion over the past six months, data from Forbes shows. […]

Pro-migrant activists have taken their stand against the far-right in Dover by holding a rally in support of refugees. Pro-migrant supporters during a ‘solidarity stand’ in Dover’s Market Square in support of the refugees crossing the Channel to Kent. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA. – Credit: PA The campaigners took a peaceful stance as police clashed with […]

Extinction Rebellion protesters have blockaded major printing presses to stop a range of newspapers reaching news stands. More than 100 protesters used vehicles to block roads outside the printing works at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, and Knowsley, near Liverpool. The printing presses publish Rupert Murdoch titles including The Sun, The Times, The Sun on Sunday and The […]

Former British Ambassador to the US Lord Darroch told Boris Johnson he partly holds the prime minister responsible for his resignation from his Washington post. Darroch resigned following the leaking of a cable in which the ambassador said Donald Trump was ‘inept’ as president. Johnson, who was then running for the Conservative leadership, repeatedly refused […]