United Kingdom

Whitehall’s top official recommended to Boris Johnson that health secretary Matt Hancock should be fired over coronavirus failings, Dominic Cummings has claimed. The prime minister’s former adviser said there were around 20 reasons why Hancock should have been given the sack – including, he claimed, lying both in Cabinet room meetings and publicly. He said […]

A loophole which prevents constituents of disgraced MP Rob Roberts from forcing a by-election should be closed, the government has said. The Delyn MP faces being suspended from the Commons for six weeks after breaching sexual misconduct rules by making repeated unwanted advances to a member of staff. He has been stripped of the Tory […]

Boris Johnson thought the European Super League was a “great idea” and promised No. 10 would not intervene to stop English clubs joining, a Downing Street insider has claimed. In a Mirror exclusive, those sources claimed the prime minister’s chief of staff, Dan Rosenfield, told him about the proposal after a No 10 meeting with Manchester United’s […]

Transport secretary Grant Shapps, who defended Dominic Cummings after his trip to Barnard Castle during lockdown last year, has admitted the former aide had undermined the government’s public health message. “I thought he was right at the time to stand by his family, to go into effective quarantine, and that’s what he did,” Shapps told […]

Downing Street is braced for more explosive revelations from the prime minister’s former chief advisor Dominic Cummings as he makes a much-anticipated appearance before MPs. Cummings has been vocal in his condemnation of Boris Johnson, health secretary Matt Hancock, and others since leaving government after a behind-the-scenes power struggle in November. Ahead of giving evidence […]

For the last century, Turkey’s culture war has been played out in its music. And it’s not over yet Standing at the crossroads of continents, and the former capital of an empire stretching from North Africa to Eastern Europe, it is no surprise that Istanbul’s musical culture is a rich one. Turkish music encompasses multiple […]

Former Tory chairwoman Baroness Warsi has repeated her claim that the party is “institutionally racist” and warned it would take years to undo the damage done by allegations of Islamophobia. An independent report concluded anti-Muslim sentiment remained a problem in the party but the allegation of institutional racism was not borne out by the evidence […]

A pest control company has said it did not know it had been put into a so-called “VIP lane” for government contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE). The Good Law Project and EveryDoctor are bringing High Court action against the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), claiming contracts worth more than £700 million were […]

The impact of Brexit on trading with Europe has been laid bare by official figures revealing that UK trade in goods with EU countries has plunged by nearly a quarter. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that total trade in goods with EU countries tumbled by 23.1% in the first quarter of 2021, compared […]

Tory MP Rob Roberts faces being suspended from the Commons for six weeks after a complaints panel found he broke parliament’s sexual misconduct policy. The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) found that Roberts, MP for Delyn in North Wales, made repeated and unwanted sexual advances towards a man. The suspension can only be imposed if agreed […]

Legal action is being brought forward to stop Boris Johnson and his ministers from deleting WhatsApp messages and other communications that would show how they took decisions during the pandemic. A letter drawn up by lawyers, and seen by The Independent, warns of “concern that ministers and officials are conducting government business via communication services such […]

Boris Johnson’s comments about women wearing the burka have given an impression that the Tories are “insensitive to Muslim communities”, an independent review into alleged Islamophobia and discrimination in the Conservative Party has said. The inquiry found anti-Muslim sentiment was seen at local association and individual levels but claims of “institutional racism” were not borne […]

Sir Keir Starmer should avoid turning Labour into a “Blairite tribute band”, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has warned. He told BBC Two’s Newsnight the party should become more radical following setbacks in recent elections. McDonnell, who stood down from the shadow cabinet in 2019, claimed there was “disillusionment” with Labour, “particularly among younger people”. A […]

Former North Norfolk MP and senior Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb has admitted he has let his membership lapse over the party’s Brexit positioning. Lamb, who was the runner-up in the leadership contest in 2015, has told the Politico news website that he holds no grudges with his former colleagues but was heavily critical of the […]

The sister of murdered MP Jo Cox began her campaign to retain the Batley and Spen seat for Labour saying: “I’m going into politics to change politics, not to change who I am.” Kim Leadbeater was selected as Labour candidate for by-election in the West Yorkshire constituency on Sunday evening and was knocking on doors […]

The artist’s recent artwork for London Underground didn’t seem to quite hit the mark. But a new exhibition and book shows his energy and love for life remain undimmed Air travel stopped, and so did the hum of traffic: as humanity fell silent last year, the natural world took centre stage in an exuberant display of […]

Downing Street has confirmed plans to charge EU citizens and other foreign nationals to visit the UK. Home secretary Priti Patel said Monday that her department would legislation to introduce a new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), which she argued would help the government keep track of people entering and leaving the UK. ETAs will apply […]

Readers praise the former House of Commons speaker's column for The New European.

TIM WALKER remembers a meeting with a particularly pensive Rowan Atkinson I met Rowan Atkinson on an autumn day in 1988 that, he informed me, was the 10th anniversary of the start of his career in show business. Up until that point, his credits included the ground-breaking satirical television series Not the Nine 0’Cock News, Blackadder and its […]

Boris Johnson did not miss emergency meetings on the response to the emerging coronavirus pandemic because he was working on a book, Downing Street has insisted. The prime minister’s official spokesman said he was “not aware” of Johnson doing any work on a biography of William Shakespeare while in office. Johnson did not chair the […]

MPs are set to examine the effectiveness of the Electoral Commission at the time of the Brexit and Scottish independence referendums.  The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) will be hearing from senior officials of both campaigns on the Commission’s role of enforcing compliance with rules governing spending and donations during both votes. The meeting on Tuesday comes […]

The FA Cup holds an almost mystical appeal in south-east Asia. Now a Thai family have rewritten its history, as well as the destiny of unfashionable Leicester City If you ever spent time in South East Asia in the month of May you would know that there was one match that had almost mystical appeal. […]

An alliance of councillors could form to take control of Durham County Council off Labour for the first time in more than 100 years, it has emerged. Independents, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are holding meetings to discuss how they would share power in what was once a stronghold of the Labour party. Labour has 53 […]

Keir Starmer is under pressure from within his own party to make electoral reform a manifesto commitment following four consecutive general election losses and the recent local election setbacks. The pressure comes after a recent Best for Britain poll had shown at least half of its respondents backed electoral reform to make the number of elected representatives […]

Liz Truss has called on the EU to scrap “border control and paperwork” on Irish Sea trade, setting up a clash with Brussels over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Asked if the government’s aim is to remove all red tape – despite those checks being agreed by Boris Johnson in his Brexit deal – the trade […]

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has said the BBC must project “British values” or face losing its licence fee. Dowden also accused the BBC of adopting a “we know best” attitude following the scandal surrounding its Panorama interview with Princess Diana. In his first detailed response since the report from Lord Dyson was released, Dowden said […]

Home secretary Priti Patel is vowing wholesale reform of the UK’s “broken” immigration system as she unveils plans for a “fully digital border” within five years. Patel is set to promise to deliver a system that works for the “law-abiding majority” and against those who seek to “abuse our hospitality and generous spirit”. She will […]

Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds are to “celebrate their wedding” in summer next year, it has been reported. The couple have sent save-the-date cards to family and friends for an event on Saturday, July 30 2022, according to the Sun. The paper said details of where they will marry remained a secret. Downing Street […]

The challenge of funding and providing social care is not unique to the UK. So what can we learn from other countries?

Why did Britain fall out of love with speedway, and how did Poland take over as the sport’s new spiritual home? Not so long ago, the start of the British speedway season would have been big news. That wasn’t the case this week, when the first of this year’s Covid-delayed league fixtures took place. Speedway was, at one […]

Keir Starmer should reinstate Jeremy Corbyn as a parliamentary Labour MP, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said. Former Labour leader Corbyn had the party whip withdrawn in October following his response to an Equality and Human Rights Commission report into anti-Semitism in the party. But McDonnell said allowing him back into the Parliamentary Labour […]

Keir Starmer has spoken for the first time about the tragedy of losing his mother before she was able to see him become an MP. Speaking to Piers Morgan for an upcoming episode of ITV’s Life Stories programme, the Labour leader revealed the pain of watching his mother Jo’s health deteriorate as he closed in […]