Politics

Scotland’s controversial new hate crime laws have come into force. The new measures aim to tackle the harm caused by hatred and prejudice but have come under fire from opponents who claim they could stifle free speech and be weaponised to “settle scores”. The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act came into force on

A former ethics adviser to Boris Johnson broke the rules in the House of Lords by “assisting an outside organisation in influencing” government officials at the Ministry of Defence, a watchdog has ruled. A report from the Lords Commissioner for Standards said Lord Geidt – who advised the former prime minister between April 2021 until

The Home Office granted 275 certificates of sponsorship for care workers after “forged” documents were used to make an application, a damning report into the department has shown. The probe, by ex-borders and immigration inspector David Neal, claimed the Home Office had a “limited understanding” of the care sector after it was added to the

The Home Office gave out 275 certificates of sponsorship for care workers after “forged” documents were used to make an application, a damning report into the department has shown. The probe, by the former borders and immigration inspector David Neal, claimed the Home Office had a “limited understanding” of the care sector after it was

When David Cameron was prime minister, Oliver Dowden was one of his backroom fixers, first at Tory HQ and then in 10 Downing Street. From his early days as a Tory researcher he’s been known as “Olive” because of an office typo. But it’s a nickname that’s stuck, even now he’s deputy prime minister. Politics

China “state-affiliated actors” have been blamed by the government for two “malicious” cyber attack campaigns in the UK. Making a speech in the Commons, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden revealed the two incidents involved an attack on the Electoral Commission – responsible for overseeing elections and political finance – in 2021, and targeted attacks against

Home Secretary James Cleverly used a private chartered flight to visit Rwanda at a cost of £165,561.53 to the taxpayer, government documents have revealed. The latest transparency data from the Home Office showed Mr Cleverly took the flight in December last year as he headed to Kigali to sign a new treaty with the African

Tory MPs trooped purposefully through the voting lobbies on Monday night to knock down all the Lords’ amendments which had threatened to rip the Rwanda bill to shreds. It was without the drama of the last vote in January, when three Tory figures resigned their posts and dozens signed amendments to toughen up the bill.

The House of Commons has rejected the House of Lords’ first attempt to amend the Safety of Rwanda Bill – with the legislation sent back to the upper chamber. A total of 10 amendments were put before MPs, but Conservatives voted each of them down. Among the changes proposed by peers was scrapping the government’s

Humza Yousaf has insisted the Scottish government is “absolutely on track” to meet its target to increase residential rehabilitation places for drug users, as he said he was “devastated” by the latest increase in deaths. Data released on Tuesday showed 1,197 people died as a result of suspected drug use last year – up by

The first minister of Wales has said Boris Johnson was like the “absent manager” of a football team in the early days of the pandemic. Mark Drakeford criticised the former prime minister during his evidence to the UK COVID public inquiry. He said Mr Johnson was “not taking it seriously” and was deliberately unclear about

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said alleged comments made about Diane Abbott by a Tory donor were “racist” – but that there should be “space for forgiveness”. Ms Badenoch is the first cabinet minister to use the term to describe Frank Hester’s reported remarks about the former Labour MP, after government ministers including Graham Stuart

A Conservative minister appeared to rule out a May general election this morning – while a Labour frontbencher bet £10 with Sky News presenter Kay Burley that a vote would take place that month. Speculation about the date of the general election is continuing to swirl, with the latest possible date of a vote being

Wales not being aligned with the rest of the UK on face coverings during the pandemic was “confusing for the public”, a top medic has told the COVID Inquiry. Wales‘s chief medical officer (CMO) told the inquiry that he “couldn’t see a good argument for mandating, on a public health basis, the use of face

Police are “assessing” a report of hate speech made against Lee Anderson following his claim “Islamists” had taken control of London and its mayor, Sadiq Khan, Sky News understands. The Ashfield MP was suspended from the Conservative Party last weekend after he refused to apologise for the remarks, which have been branded as racist by

The UK COVID inquiry has begun its first hearing in Wales, looking at the decisions taken by the Welsh government during the pandemic. For the next few weeks, the inquiry will sit at the Mercure Hotel in Cardiff. The inquiry will spend until 14 March hearing evidence for Module 2B – core decision-making in Wales.

Lee Anderson has dodged questions over whether he could join the Reform party following his suspension from the Conservatives for his attack on Sadiq Khan. Mr Anderson, the now independent MP for Ashfield, was asked whether he would join the rival party led by Richard Tice but refused to answer. Instead, all he said to

Liz Truss has said the world “needs a Republican back in the White House”, adding that “we’ve seen Joe Biden asleep at the wheel”. In a speech near Washington, DC, the former prime minister did not mention Donald Trump, the former president who is the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination. Speaking to

Lord Cameron says he wants Ukraine’s allies to “do more” to help defeat Russia and that together they “outmatch” President Vladimir Putin’s regime. Speaking to Sky News at a security conference in Munich, the foreign secretary said Ukraine’s partners outmatched Russia “25 to one” and that they’ve “got to make that difference count”. Lord Cameron

Housing minister Lee Rowley has insisted the government has “got to have targets” for building homes – despite ministers dropping the ambition. In its 2019 manifesto, the Conservative Party pledged to build 300,000 new houses each year by the mid-2020s if it got into power. But the figure has never been achieved, and in December