Media

Britain’s decision to leave the EU has seriously undermined the peace efforts in Europe, a former Tory politician has claimed. Lord Michael Heseltine, a former Tory deputy prime minister under John Major, said he was saddened by his country’s decision to vote for Brexit. Speaking with Sky News’ Kay Burley on the prospect of a no-deal […]

The EU has warned it may be “too late” to clinch a Brexit deal with Britain, adding that a “creative solution” was needed to avoid trade chaos. An EU diplomat said the European parliament’s ratification process is already in doubt after negotiators missed a number of vital deadlines, an EU official has said. Trade negotiations […]

Caroline Lucas has topped a list of powerful women. The Green Party MP took first place in the Woman’s Hour Power List, marking positive contributions women make to the environment and sustainability. Lucas is followed by environmental lawyer Farhana Yamin, described by judges as a “powerhouse for climate justice”. Clean air campaigner Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, whose […]

A lobbyist who secretly advised a health minister for six months was given unfettered access to private coronavirus meetings and later leaked sensitive information to clients. George Pascoe-Watson, who chairs the PR firm Portland Communications, advised Lord Bethell on Test and Trace strategy while still a Westminster lobbyist, a Sunday Times investigation has revealed. Portland Communications represents pharmaceutical companies, weapons […]

Matt Hancock has told Piers Morgan he was not able to appear on Good Morning Britain (GMB) because of a ‘busy diary’. The health secretary is the first Conservative MP to appear on GMB following a 201-day boycott which ended with over the weekend. Ministers have shunned the show without an official explanation. When confronted, Hancock explained ministers […]

A BBC News presenter has struggled to show “journalistic balance” over the resignation of Boris Johnson’s senior aide Dominic Cummings, as she mocked some of the responses he received to a tweet highlighting his resignation. Cummings was seen leaving Number 10 with a box of possessions, prompting speculation about his future, before it was revealed that […]

Downing Street has revealed Dominic Cummings has resigned with immediate effect after pictures emerged of him appearing to clear his desk. The news comes after Boris Johnson’s senior adviser was seen leaving No 10 with what appeared to be a cardboard box full of belongings. The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reported that Cummings spoke to the […]

A radio caller has said he thinks Dominic Cummings is leaving Downing Street because his plans to reform Westminster had been ‘ruined’ by the coronavirus. Dan from Warwick suggested Cummings had quit because of a lack of funding to support radical reforms to the way government and public services function. The prime minister most senior adviser confirmed on […]

Laurence Fox has claimed he has been “dropped” by his agent following controversial remarks he made on race. Fox claimed the decision came after he told a Question Time audience member that he finds it racist when someone says he has “white privilege”. The 42-year-old actor told the showgoer that “playing the race card was […]

The media’s focus on infighting in Number 10 is a distraction from the Brexit armageddon facing the UK, a commentator has argued. The Guardian‘s George Monbiot said British newspapers were prioritising ‘scandal’ over the Brexit negotiations. He said: “Putting the resignation of a Downing Street adviser as top headline during a moment of multiple global and national crises […]

A former Tory minister has attacked Jacob Rees-Mogg over claims that MPs working from home were “shirking” their duties. Tracey Crouch, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in June, suggested that measures Rees-Mogg imposed prohibiting MPs from voting remotely meant parliamentarians like her were not able to participate in crucial divisions. She said: “(Rees-Mogg) will be aware there […]

A Tory MP who complained about a National Trust report into slavery and colonialism has had his argument picked to pieces live on air. Journalist and commentator Dalia Gebrial tore apart Ben Bradley’s claim that the National Trust was attempting to “sanitise” history by highlights links between its properties and slavery. The National Trust came under heavy […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock has run away from a Good Morning Britain reporter as ministers continue to boycott the programme. The government has boycotted the programme for 196 days, with a reporter opting to instead shout his questions at the MP as he spoke to other interviewers on other networks over the vaccine. As Hancock’s […]

US comedian Stephen Colbert has given a passionate speech denouncing Donald Trump and urged Americans to “stay cool” amid rising tensions over voter fraud. In an eight-minute-long monologue posted on Twitter, Colbert said the president had been acting like a “sad, frightened fraud” after alleging the US election had been rigged. On Thursday, major US networks stopped broadcasting […]

A Tory minister has been ridiculed after getting the population size of Liverpool wrong during an interview on a new pilot testing programme for coronavirus. Business minister Nadhim Zahawi said 2,000 troops would deliver thousands of coronavirus tests to people living in Liverpool city as part of a pilot programme to map the spread of […]

Nadhim Zahawi has become the second Tory minister to repeatedly refuse to condemn Donald Trump’s election fraud comments. The minister for business joins foreign office secretary Dominic Raab in shirking away from criticising Trump’s allegations that the US election has been ‘rigged’. Speaking with the BBC on Wednesday, Raab said it was ‘common practice’ for the British government not […]

Donald Trump has continued to claim he is being cheated out of re-election in a speech which was dropped by the major news networks. The Republican incumbent made a series of unsubstantiated allegations to claim he is the victim of interference from “phoney polls” as well as “big media, big money and big tech” after […]

Robert Buckland has blamed the public for a second national lockdown after suggesting a lack of ‘compliance’ was the reason for harsher coronavirus measures. The justice secretary said a “tiny group of people” had been breaking Covid-19 regulations and that there was a “huge challenge” to get the public to follow the rules this time around. Speaking with the BBC, Buckland: “Sadly, it’s been […]

Andrew Neil has said he is enjoying his “new-found freedom” since leaving the BBC and used his final appearance on the news channel to criticise the SNP. Neil made the most of his presence on Politics Live to blast the SNP on the issue of poverty in Scotland. The now ex-BBC broadcaster claimed that people being “left behind” in parts […]

Rory Stewart has called Boris Johnson the “most accomplished liar in public life” in a personal swipe against the prime minister in an article in the Times Literary Supplement. Stewart, who was of 21 rebel Tory MPs fired for voted against Johnson’s Brexit agenda last year, accused Johnson of being an opportunist who created the “historical forces” […]

One of Boris Johnson’s ministers was left red-faced after he failed to say how many people had received a coronavirus test on Wednesday during an appearance on BBC Breakfast. Buckland, the minister for justice, suggested over quarter of a million people had been tested on Wednesday but had to quickly retract that statement when he […]

The US embassy in Côte d’Ivoire has called on leaders to respect the “democratic process” after president Alassane Ouattara won a controversial third term. The Ivorian leader took 94% of the vote and up to 99% in some strongholds after the opposition boycotted the election which saw a 54% turn-out. In an ironic turn of events, the […]

Nigel Farage has been ridiculed after suggesting US voter fraud was “so new” it was impossible to prove. Appearing on BBC news, Farage echoed Donald Trump’s claim that there may be a concerted effort to tamper with mail-in votes in key swing states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Farage’s comments come after president Trump falsely declared victory in […]

Here are some of the best tweets mocking Donald Trump after he confused a dance pole with an election poll in a tweet on the US election. Social media users were quick to pick up on the US president’s poor spelling skills and turned the oversight into a Twitter trend. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, […]

Nigel Farage has claimed that the UK government is taking a similar approach to Donald Trump by “draining the swamp”, as he defended the US president’s strategy. The Brexit Party leader insisted he believed Trump would return to the White House for a second term. Endorsing the president during an interview on ITV News, Farage […]

Joe Biden has told the nation it will need to be “patient” as the count of votes for 2020 US presidential election continues to tighten. Biden, the Democratic Party nominee, told supporters in Delaware “we are going to win this” but warned patience would be needed, and the election would not be over until every […]

A radio caller has said the government’s biggest mistake tackling the coronavirus occurred days after the country exited lockdown. Caller Harry suggested that a decision by Downing Street to rapidly re-open the economy after the first lockdown may have had detrimental consequences on Covid infection rates. He explained to LBC radio that “schools and universities came back, there […]

Chris Bird, head of content for Europe at Amazon Prime Video, has revealed how it expects Brexit to impact its streaming service. Giving evidence to the Digital, Media, Culture and Sports Committee in parliament, Bird told MPs: “Brexit will affect Prime Video in a couple of different ways. “Prime Video’s European HQ is located in London […]

Robert Jenrick has admitted he “doesn’t know” how many tests will be needed for the government’s mass coronavirus testing programme in Liverpool. The government announced that Liverpool will become the first city to offer its citizens coronavirus tests in a new mass testing pilot programme from Friday. Anyone living or working in the city will be available […]

An ex-chief prosecutor has claimed he has new evidence proving Dominic Cummings broke lockdown rules and has submitted it to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Nazir Afzal, who lost his brother to Covid-19 in April, is fighting to have Cummings prosecuted for breaching lockdown regulations earlier this year. Afzal has claimed his lawyers have found […]

Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice has had an angry showdown with television presenter Adam Boulton after he asked what had happened to the money from donations to his organisation. Brexiteers had helped donate more than £2 million to the cause in early 2020 with the intention of fighting against “Brexit in Name Only”, with more money […]

A software glitch inside the government’s coronavirus app has led to thousands of people not being told to self-isolate when they should have been. They were apparently not contacted because the app has been set to the wrong sensitivity, the government has admitted to the Sunday Times. For more than a month, officials from the Department of Health and […]