Downing Street

The government has made a speedy u-turn on how it selects questions for ministers from the public at coronavirus press briefings, after previously updating its guidance to suggest it would now choose what was asked. Byline Times reported the government’s website was updated on Monday to state that it no longer leaves an independent polling company to decide […]

Downing Street has denied there is demand for coronavirus vaccines to be delivered out-of-hours after Labour called for a ramping up of the roll-out. Number 10 said that Covid-19 vaccines could be delivered into the night but that there is currently “not a clamour for jabs after 8pm”. Boris Johnson’s press secretary Allegra Stratton was […]

Downing Street has defended Boris Johnson’s father receiving two coronavirus vaccines – insisting the move was made before a change in policy. The prime minister’s press secretary Allegra Stratton said: “This is a matter for the prime minister’s father. “It’s not something I’ve spoken to Stanley Johnson about. By way of explanation in the early […]

The government has dropped proposals to hold White House style press briefings at Number 10 – on the day the first was set to be held. The briefings were intended to replicate the regular events held by Donald Trump’s team in America, with Allegra Stratton – a former journalist – hired to front the weekly […]

A former pro-Brexit Conservative aide marched out of Downing Street by armed police after being sacked by Dominic Cummings has said she was “never given a reason” for her dismissal. Sonia Khan, who was fired as a special adviser to then chancellor Sajid Javid in August 2019 over the alleged leaking of secrets surrounding no-deal […]

Police have shut down a protest from long-time anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray, who was camped outside Downing Street ahead of an announcement on a deal. As the media descended outside Number 10 waiting for a statement from the prime minister, cries of “Boris Johnson – a national disgrace” from beyond the gates of Downing Street. […]

Millions more people in England will be placed into lockdown from Boxing Day as ministers acknowledged mounting concern about the spread of coronavirus. Health secretary Matt Hancock said the variant coronavirus was spreading at a “dangerous rate” as he announced the fresh Tier 4 restrictions. He also said cases of another new mutant coronavirus linked […]

Matt Hancock is to hold a Downing Street press conference on Covid-19. The health secretary will provide an update from Number 10 at 3pm. It comes amid speculation that more areas of England are heading for a Tier 4 lockdown. Earlier, fellow minister Robert Jenrick denied there would be any changes to coronavirus restrictions before […]

A loophole will allow Boris Johnson to meet with family over Christmas – despite the fact his official residence is in Downing Street in London – which is in Tier 4. The Financial Times reports the rule, which came into effect on December 2 and was updated on December 14, means Johnson and his partner […]

Boris Johnson will not give in to demands to extend the Brexit transition period despite the coronavirus crisis, Number 10 has said. Downing Street rejected the call and dismissed the idea of a temporary “standstill” period maintaining current arrangements beyond the end of the year. The prime minister’s official spokesman said “time is obviously in […]

Boris Johnson has cancelled Christmas for millions of people across London and south-east England after scientists said that a new coronavirus variant is spreading more rapidly – days after mocking Keir Starmer for wanting to “cancel Christmas”. The prime minister announced that from Sunday areas in the South East currently in Tier 3 will be […]

Boris Johnson is set to hold a cabinet call and will later hold a press conference with the chief medical officer Chris Whitty and the chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance. The prime minister is under growing pressure to further tighten coronavirus rules across England amid fears a new variant is accelerating the spread of the disease. […]

Ministers have been warned of a series of concerns about the “overall state of readiness” for the end of the Brexit transition period in less than a fortnight. Decisions have been made “too late”, communications with businesses have been “patchy at best” and police may be forced to use “slower and more cumbersome” systems, the […]

Former Europe minister DENIS MACSHANE suggests the Brexit bluster is fading as the final deadline looms and predicts a feeble deal similar to the one offered to Theresa May The Brexit signals emerging from both London and Brussels are now pointing clearly to a deal largely on the terms that Michel Barnier, the EU negotiator, […]

Downing Street has defended Dominic Cummings being handed a pay rise of around £45,000 as taking the senior aide to the “correct level of salary” for his role. The prime minister’s press secretary Allegra Stratton said: “This was a matter for the Cabinet Office special adviser pay committee, that’s where the decisions are taken. “It’s […]

A minister in Boris Johnson’s government has claimed he will “miss” Donald Trump, claiming he was “quite a good friend”.  Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, has insisted that the president has always fought Britain’s corner on the world stage. He told The Sun: “I’ll miss Donald Trump, because he was quite a good friend to Britain.” Speaking during a […]

Boris Johnson has told Eurosceptic members of the Tory party’s European Research Group that they should ignore the messages coming from the European Union about a Brexit deal. According to the Express, Conservative backbenchers were told by the prime minister to ignore the “propaganda” and “fake news” from Brussels which has left Brexiteers unhappy. It […]

No 10 has spent £2.7 million of taxpayer’s cash in one year to pay out sacked advisers, a government report has revealed. The sum includes severance pay-outs to advisers who left between April 2019 and March 2020, the Cabinet Office has confirmed. An annual report on Special Advisers shows staff turnover in 2019 was unusually high due to […]

Urgent talks are taking place between the leaders of the devolved administrations and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove as calls mount to scrap plans for an easing of Covid-19 restrictions over Christmas. The move comes as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer demanded an urgent review into the easing of rules after leading medical journals warned […]

Downing Street repeatedly refused to confirm that MPs would be given a vote on any post-Brexit trade deal that is agreed with the European Union. The prime minister’s official spokesman said it was for Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg to set out the business of the House and refused to commit to the principle of MPs […]

Downing Street has finally acknowledged for the first time that leaving the EU on an ‘Australia-style’ deal is the equivalent of a no-deal Brexit, but still insists the UK can “prosper” from it. As what is meant by the definition, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “As a matter of fact, Australia does not have a comprehensive […]

Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier has cancelled a Brexit briefing with national envoys because of “ongoing intensive negotiations in London”, a spokesman for the bloc confirmed. Barnier has binned a Friday briefing for national envoys to the bloc in the latest sign both sides could be nearing a trade deal. Hopes for an agreement had been […]

The chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life has hinted he believes the behaviour of Boris Johnson’s ministers are causing “long-lasting damage” with the public as he prepares to conduct an inquiry into public standards. Lord Evans, a former head at MI5, said he had received messages expressing “concern” about ministerial conduct following […]

Another Vote Leave veteran has walked out of Downing Street following the resignation of ally Dominic Cummings. Special adviser Cleo Watson handed in her resignation to Number 10 just weeks after former Vote Leave mastermind Cummings and communications expert Lee Cain resigned. Watson worked on the Brexit campaign before joining government under Theresa May, before […]

Downing Street has said it will not be compromising on the UK’s Brexit negotiating position despite calls for a change of direction from the European Union. The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “We want to try and reach a free-trade agreement as soon as possible. “But we have been clear that we won’t change our […]

George Eustice has told Piers Morgan that Britain was a “free country” as he sought to defend a six-month government boycott of Good Morning Britain. Eustice, a cabinet minister, said political parties were free to choose which media outlets to speak with as he attempted to explain the reasons behind 201-day hiatus from the popular […]

Matt Hancock is to hold a press conference at 5pm from Downing Street. The health secretary is expected to announce further details on the government’s community testing programme. His appearance comes off the back of new figures suggesting coronavirus infections fell by almost a third in England during the second national lockdown. There was a […]

Downing Street has attempted to have vials of the Oxford University Covid vaccine labelled with the Union flag. No. 10 asked a taskforce set up to fight calls for Scottish independence to work on having injections kits covered with the flag, the HuffPost UK has revealed. It also asked the unit focusing on developing the […]

Businesses have been urged to step up Brexit planning after a survey found only 42% believe they are fully prepared for customs changes. A poll conducted by Enterprise Ireland revealed 44% of businesses have yet to decide how to pay customs charges, while 30% have yet to decide who will manage customs procedures. Tanaiste Leo […]

Boris Johnson has appointed a former Treasury official as his Downing Street chief of staff. Dan Rosenfield will begin working in No 10 next month before he formally takes over from acting chief of staff, Lord Udny-Lister, in the new year, Downing Street said. The move comes after a row over a proposal to appoint […]

Boris Johnson’s response to the Priti Patel bullying scandal has laid bare the weaknesses in the way Westminster is run, says JAMES BALL. As a country, those of us in the UK may have to accept we are somewhat slow on the uptake. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to our […]

A US official who once compared Brexit to a dog being run over by a car is expected to be appointed Joe Biden’s secretary of state. Antony Blinken once described Brexit as a “total mess” and said the process resembled a dog being run over by a car. Blinken, an Obama-era White House deputy, is expected […]