Media

The company of a former neighbour of Matt Hancock’s has won a multi-million-pound contract to supply medical equipment to Covid testing centres despite having no previous experience. Alex Bourne, who ran a pub close to Hancock’s former constituency in Suffolk, said he offered his company’s services to the health secretary in a WhatsApp message. Hinpack, Bourne’s company, was […]

Former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell has criticised Rishi Sunak’s cut in Britain’s foreign aid budget, arguing the move makes the UK “less safe and less prosperous”. Mitchell, who served in David Cameron’s cabinet between 2010 and 2012, said the chancellor’s decision to cut foreign aid was a “shameful mistake” that would hurt Britain’s world […]

So Diego is dead, and that is really, really sad. Football is the greatest game on earth. And he was its greatest player. The world will be talking about him, writing about him, making films about him, for the rest of time. The good, the bad, the ugly. But my God, he was good. He […]

Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith (IDS) has been criticised for suggesting it was “far better” for politicians to be “straight and honest” with the public. The former work and pensions secretary said it was right for Rishi Sunak to be “honest” with the public about spending cuts brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Appearing of Good Morning […]

A German MEP has claimed that Britain’s ‘messy’ negotiating tactics are to blame for last-minute Brexit talks. Long-serving German politician Bernd Lange said Brexit negotiations would not have come down to the wire had British officials actually been properly prepared. Speaking on Bloomberg, Lange said: “There were a lot of months, starting in February, where there […]

A Telegraph columnist has been heavily criticised after suggesting Priti Patel was too short to be a bully. Allison Pearson caused a stir online when she published her latest Telegraph column blasting allegations of bullying against home secretary Patel. The article comes after prime minister Boris Johnson swept aside findings by his chief adviser on […]

Lorry drivers were left queuing for five miles along the M20 in Kent as a trial of Brexit border controls were carried out at the Channel Tunnel. Lorries on their way across the English channel were forced to wait in queues stretching back to Junction 11 on the M20 as they approached the Eurotunnel entrance outside […]

LBC radio host James O’Brien has confronted the perception that Remainers want Brexit to fail in a passionate monologue arguing the contrary. O’Brien has explained why he thinks it is incorrect to presume Remainers want Brexit to be an economic failure. Speaking on his LBC show, O’Brien said: “Let me tell you something about being a […]

Tory MP Ben Bradley has been schooled by Martin Luther King Jr’s daughter following a tweet he posted quoting the civil rights preacher. Bradley has been called a “global embarrassment” after incorrectly adapting a speech by Martin Luther King Jr on Twitter to support his opinions on race relations. MORE: Tory MP complaining about ‘snowflake’ National Trust […]

David Davis has been made the centre of an online joke on Brexit talks after sharing his frustrations about Vodafone coverage. The former Brexit minister has been roundly mocked after venting his anger over the level of coverage he receives as a Vodafone UK customer in a message on Twitter. Davis’ comment comes a matter of hours after prime minister […]

Far from being a crypto-republican enterprise, hiding in pay-per-view, The Crown is at worst neutral when it comes to the validity of the monarchy, says WILL SELF. Much fulmination on airwaves and in print has accompanied the arrival of the latest season of Netflix’s staggeringly successful series, The Crown. In a way, this is merely […]

An MP has sent a series of damning tweets condemning a Daily Mail coronavirus graph which questioned official death figures in the UK. Neil O’Brien, the Conservative Party MP for Harborough, has delivered a scathing attack on the Daily Mail, accusing it of using questionable data sources. In a long Twitter thread, O’Brien accused the paper of using a graph […]

TIM WALKER on the MP sent out to defend the home secretary, plus… Johnson’s latest outside earnings and Rupert Murdoch’s cabinet favourites. ‘Time for a pointless sacrifice, Tony’ Boris Johnson may have expressed his “full confidence” in Priti Patel after she was found to have broken the ministerial code in relation to workplace bullying, but he was not of […]

EU member states could ratify a Brexit deal after the end of the transition period to avoid a no-deal scenario, officials have been told. Brussels is considering allowing any trade pact with the UK to be ratified after the event to avoid the chaos of a no-deal Brexit. European Commission secretary general Ilze Juhansone told officials from the […]

A conservative commentator has sparked a row after suggesting reactions to allegations of bullying against Priti Patel should be taken with a “pinch of salt”. Vote Leave activist Darren Grimes provoked a tense exchange of opinions online after he claimed the “Left” were unfairly targeting Patel.  Allies of the home secretary have denied the allegations which were leaked in […]

Four Tory Brexiteer MPs and a peer who gave a disgraced former colleague character references for his court case have written to senior judges calling for them not to release the statements of others. The five politicians have opted to publish their own testimonies in order to publicly challenge a media request for all the […]

Laurence Fox is at the centre of a Twitter storm after being scolded by The Pogues for remarks about the band’s hit Christmas song. The Pogues have called Fox a “little herrenvolk s***e” following a tweet he posted slamming the BBC Radio 1‘s decision to omit a derogative term from the group’s song Fairytale of New York.  Reacting […]

There has been an outpouring of rage after Michael Fabricant, a Tory MP accused of sending Islamophobic tweets, will no longer face disciplinary action. Fabricant has been acquitted of inciting Islamophobia after tweeting a message suggesting Muslims were not English. In a now-deleted message, the MP for Lichfield tweeted: “Nationality and religion are not the same thing.” Fabricant had […]

Led By Donkeys has urged Boris Johnson to meet with the bereaved families of Covid-19 victims in its latest clip beamed onto the Houses of Parliament. The anti-Brexit campaign group have piled pressure on Johnson to make good on his promise to meet the families of people who have died from coronavirus. Johnson is yet to follow […]

Number 10’s new press secretary has ended Boris Johnson’s war with the media, days after the dramatic departure of advisers Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings walked out of Downing Street. Allegra Stratton told a Westminster briefing that Boris Johnson believed the press had played a “powerful role” during the coronavirus pandemic. Cain, a former Mirror […]

An SNP politician has schooled Britain’s trade envoy about the UK’s prospect of becoming prosperous after Brexit. Angus Brendan MacNeil, who chairs the Commons committee on trade that met on Wednesday, said the UK faced years of “poverty” after it permanently leaves the EU on January 1. Probing Tony Abbott, Britain’s newly-appointed trade envoy, on his opinions of Brexit, the newly-minted diplomat […]

Boris Johnson and his former senior adviser Dominic Cummings are set to appear in a special edition of the Beano. BeanOLD, produced for older readers reflecting on the year 2020, will be a pull-out inside the regular Beano and will see Dennis the Menace’s parents look back on Zoom quizzes, home-schooling, delayed Bond films and […]

Post-Brexit trade deals with other countries are going to be implemented prior to parliamentary scrutiny, the government had announced. Trade minister Greg Hands told the Commons on Tuesday that there was not enough time for MPs to scrutinise any trade deals the UK brokes with other nations before December 31. This could come as a blow to parliamentarians […]

A Tory minister has been cautioned after calling Labour MPs “children” during a debate in the Commons. Health and social care minister Jo Churchill was told to retract her statement by the Commons speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. Responding to Labour’s questions over links between the Tory Party and companies hired to supply Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Churchill […]

Robert Jenrick has suggested that “changes in government” – alluding the resignation of Dominic Cummings -are behind the end of the 201-day boycott of Good Morning Britain (GMB). In a veiled swipe at Dominic Cummings, Jenrick, the minister for housing and communities, said that changes within Downing Street “over the last few days” meant ministers were […]

A former Tory minister has challenged claims Boris Johnson will be ‘different’ without Dominic Cummings.  Stephen Dorrell, who served as a health secretary under John Major’s government, said it was unlikely that the prime minister would change tact now that his most senior and controversial adviser has resigned. Speaking with the LBC’s Nick Ferrari, the former cabinet […]

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 […]