News and Opinion

There are calls for the police to investigate Brexiteer Nigel Farage after allegedly breaking quarantine rules. The chief constable of the Kent constabulary has been asked whether the Brexit Party leader had contravened coronavirus guidelines after Farage tweeted from a bar when his local reopened on Saturday. Farage insisted he had been back from a […]

The prime minister’s father, Stanley Johnson, has defended his decision to travel to Greece – and called for the government to secure airbridges to the country. The 79-year-old said he was visiting on ‘essential business’ because he needed to ‘Covid-proof my property’ ahead of the letting season. Asked about social media posts, Johnson senior told […]

Once a stop-off on the hippy trail, the Nepalese capital has a distinct musical culture – complete with its own version of hip hop – which must carefully navigate the country’s sensitive politics. SOPHIA DEBOICK reports Kathmandu is the gateway to Everest and to dreams. Here, the final outpost of urbanity before the 13,000 feet […]

Seventy years ago this week Joe Gaetjens scored one of the most memorable goals of the 20th century before later suffering a brutal fate. WILL SIMPSON recounts the tragic story of a forgotten sporting hero BELO HORIZONTE – JUNE 29: England goalkeeper Bert Williams holds the ball while his teammate Alf Ramsey stands ready to […]

Michael Gove has said the man who drove to Barnard Castle in the middle of lockdown to ‘test his eyesight’ is valued by the government for his ‘blistering honesty’. Gove, who worked with Dominic Cummings at the Department for Education under past prime ministers, praised Boris Johnson’s adviser for his ‘real originality’ when developing policy. […]

RICHARD HOLLEDGE on a series of exhibitions spanning Normandy highlighting the considerable role the region played in the influence of impressionism. Claude Monet (1840-1926) Nymphéas avec rameaux de saule, 1916-1919 Huile sur toile, 160 x 180 cm Paris, lycée Claude Monet – Credit: Archant Television gardener Alan Titchmarsh was at the forefront of the campaign […]

MITCH BENN is dreading the end of lockdown. Here he wonders why so many other people aren’t. I have a small confession to make. In fact it might not even be that small; I can’t really tell. Certainly I’m nervous as I type this but here goes: I’m really dreading lockdown ending. I’m aware that […]

A New European poll found that an overwhelming majority of readers backed plans to give the Commons a final say over who becomes the next prime minister. A whopping 77% said they agreed with proposals put forward by opposition MPs that would make the appointment of any future prime minister subject to a Commons vote, […]

The prime minister appeared to confuse Leicester and Sheffield as he explained local lockdowns at the latest Downing Street press briefing. Asked why people should continue to follow the rules as pubs re-open after the suggestion people around him had flouted the guidelines, Boris Johnson told journalists: ‘I don’t want to have to go back […]

Boris Johnson has been asked why the public should follow coronavirus lockdown rules when the people around him appears to flout them. Appearing at the latest Downing Street briefing ahead of pubs, hairdressers and hotels reopening, a reporter said: ‘Your father travelled to Greece against non-essential travel advice. Dominic Cummings was seen to have broken […]

The Tories in Scotland have complained that the BBC continues to air Nicola Sturgeon’s daily coronavirus briefings – arguing that they have become party political broadcasts for the SNP. The first minister wound up Conservative politicians after she explained why the Scottish government was not following the Westminster government in abandoning quarantine rules from July […]

The UK is reportedly now in urgent talks to join an EU plan that could fast-track the supply of a coronavirus vaccine when it becomes ready. The EU has proposed using a ‘large majority’ of a €2.7bn emergency fund for the effort but is also committed to ensuring fair access worldwide to pandemic remedies. It […]

The UK government has won a majority stake in a company that it hopes will manage its sat-nav system after Brexit. Downing Street has increased its stake in the failed satellite company, OneWeb, as part of plans to develop the country’s space capabilities. Britain joined India’s Bharti Global to pitch for ownership of the company, […]

A former Thatcher minister and presiding Tory peer has called Boris Johnson ‘not a very good’ prime minister, claiming he would not have run a department under government he worked for. Lord Norman Tebbit, an ex-secretary of state under Margaret Thatcher’s government, has said the prime minister would not have been promoted past Tory Party […]

Liverpool leader Klopp said he would never go into politics, but his leadership and authenticity in the face of all odds should inspire our politicians, says ALASTAIR CAMPBELL. Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool is thrown in the air as he celebrates with his players and staff after winning the UEFA Champions League Final 2019. (Photo […]

Boris Johnson has revealed plans to copy the White House communications strategy by televising daily press briefings in a major shake-up of the government’s approach to media. Under the new arrangements, an afternoon session will be broadcast from Number 9 Downing Street as part of plans to increase transparency with the public. Confirming the changes […]

Boris Johnson has said he will not ‘take the knee’ in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, because he believes in ‘substance’ not ‘gestures’, whilst also being questioned why there were not more black people at the top of government. Speaking on an LBC radio phone-in, the prime minister – who was pictured performing […]

Prime minister Boris Johnson has said that a no-deal Brexit would be ‘a very good option’ during a radio interview, a day after trade talks collapsed. Johnson told LBC radio that leaving the transition period without a deal would still allow the UK to trade on Australian-style terms. ‘We now need to make sure that […]

The Conservatives are overlooking Northern Ireland in both the coronavirus response and with Brexit, Labour’s Keir Starmer has said. Writing for the Belfast Telegraph, Starmer and shadow secretary of state Louise Haigh have claimed that the UK government has failed to grasp the challenges facing Northern Ireland during the coronavirus crisis. He said: ‘As we […]

Boris Johnson has refused to criticise his father, Stanley Johnson, for ignoring coronavirus travel advice over a recent flight to Greece. The prime minster avoided commenting on his father’s actions during an interview on LBC radio. When asked to comment on Johnson senior’s decision, the prime minister replied: ‘I think you really ought to raise […]

The transport secretary has defended Stanley Johnson’s recent trip to Greece, arguing the prime minister’s dad was ‘in his rights’ to ignore travel advice. Grant Shapps told Sky News that Johnson senior could ignore government guidance against travel because it was ‘advice and not restrictions’. Replying to accusations the prime minister’s dad broke the rules […]

Boris Johnson has urged Britons to ‘enjoy summer sensibly’ ahead of the easing of lockdown restrictions on Saturday. The prime minister told LBC: ‘Tomorrow we come to step three of the plan that I set out on May 10, that everybody, I think, has understood, or huge numbers of people have understood and followed very […]

Organisations are reconsidering their links with pro-Brexit historian David Starkey after racist remarks in which he said slavery was not genocide because there are ‘so many damn blacks’ still around. The historian made the comments during an online interview with Brexit campaigner Darren Grimes for YouTube channel Reasoned UK. During the interview, Starkey said: ‘Slavery […]

The government has launched a consultation on plans for UK courts to have the final say on legal disputes after Brexit. Officials are asking the judiciary, lawyers and business to comment on the reforms which will decide which British courts have the power to depart from EU case law. At present, only the UK Supreme […]

Think you know Europe? Take our latest lockdown quiz As a New European reader, you probably reckon you know the continent inside out. Test yourself with our fiendish quiz…

Infection rate rises, riots, looting, attacks on police, illegal partying and attempted quarantine breakouts… What is going on in the country considered Europe’s most sensible? Cathrin Schaer reports STUTTGART, GERMANY – JUNE 21: Glasses are seen on the floor as a display window of a shop stands smashed following violent clashes between rioters and police […]

Politics is moving into a new, post-Covid era. Expert pollster PETER KELLNER suggests what the parties can glean from the polls, including a desire for new approaches and the overturning of some conventional wisdom We are told these days to expect a ‘new normal’: different ways of living, working, travelling and shopping once the Covid-19 […]

The pandemic has played havoc on the dating scene. CLAUDIA WILLIAMS reports on how a minefield just got a lot more complicated ‘This is the point I’d usually ask you for a drink, but we can’t do that so… Can I interest you in a PowerPoint presentation instead?’ Jess, a 26-year-old who works in communications, […]

Hussein Kassim on where the stumbling blocks remain, and what might sweep them out of the way A new optimism followed the recent conference between Boris Johnson and Ursula Von der Leyen. In the run-up, the media had reported an apparent softening of the UK position, as well as pressures on the EU negotiator Michel […]

For 73 years, the right ruled in Bordeaux – until a shock victory late on Sunday night saw the capital of wine turn green. France’s local elections were a watershed moment for the environmental movement that had previously struggled to get its voice heard. As Bordeaux’s outgoing mayor Nicolas Florian, flanked by sombre-looking attendants, conceded […]

Pubs in England can re-open from 6am on Saturday, 10 Downing Street has said, preventing some landlords from pouring the first pint at midnight, but allowing some to open as soon as the sun rises. The regulations signed off by health secretary Matt Hancock are also expected to place a 30-person limit on gatherings at […]

A new video by a group of campaigners, giving a damning account of the government’s bungled attempts to contain the coronavirus in Britain, has been projected on to Barnard Castle. Created by the Led By Donkeys campaigners, and narrated by former Newsnight presenter Gavin Esler, the almost 10-minute long recording outlines government missteps and missed […]