Boris Johnson has said delaying or scrapping the northern leg of HS2 would be “betraying the north of the country and the whole agenda of levelling up”. The ex-prime minister’s intervention on the eve of the party’s conference comes as Sky News understands the government is set to scrap or delay the Birmingham to Manchester
Politics
Elon Musk has announced his social media company X, formally known as Twitter, has removed the team monitoring election misinformation. The tool to report misinformation has been taken away – except for in the European Union – prompting concern from thinktank Reset Australia ahead of the country’s aboriginal rights referendum next month. In a post
The Home Office has been ordered to stop work converting a former military base into an accommodation site for asylum seekers, over concerns planning conditions have been breached. West Lindsey District Council has issued the government with an enforcement notice and stop notice in regards to RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. It means work must cease
GB News breached impartiality rules after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was interviewed by fellow Tory MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies, Ofcom has found. An episode of Saturday Morning With Esther And Phil featured a pre-recorded interview that focused on the government’s approach to economic and fiscal policies ahead of the budget, which was announced four
As a PR exercise, the G20 summit in New Delhi was a masterclass by Narendra Modi. At times, the Indian prime minister looked like he’d been anointed, rather than simply the latest rotating host. He is the leader du jour, the much-needed strategic counterweight in a divided world. Image: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his
The home secretary has ordered a review into how “political activism” among officers, including actions like taking the knee, is impacting policing. Suella Braverman has commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to look into impartiality and written to police chiefs to remind them their “focus should be on tackling crime”. In the letter, she highlighted
Ben Wallace has resigned as defence secretary ahead of an expected reshuffle from the prime minister. Mr Wallace had said he would resign from the role the next time Rishi Sunak made changes to his cabinet – ahead of standing down at the next election. Read his resignation letter in full: Dear prime minister, Last
The expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone has led to a number of claims about the controversial charging scheme in the capital. The ULEZ expansion has created a political dividing line, with Conservatives using it as a stick with which to beat Labour and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. Sky News has had a
GP surgeries will face economic sanctions if they do not provide patients with adequate services if Labour come to power, according to the shadow health secretary. Wes Streeting has told the NHS that the “like it or lump it” approach taken by UK health providers is not acceptable and Labour “will give back patients control
Suella Braverman has been urged to “stand up” to France as reports emerged the country is intercepting fewer migrants in the Channel despite a £480m funding deal. The call from Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis came as The Telegraph claimed just 45.2% of migrants have been stopped by French patrols since January, down from 45.8% in
The UK and Turkey will work together to “disrupt and dismantle” people smuggling gangs under a new deal announced today. A new operational “centre of excellence” will be established by the Turkish National Police as part of the agreement and both countries will also share intelligence. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said he was unable to
A pay rise of 6.5% has been accepted by a major teaching union. Members of the National Education Union (NEU) voted to accept the deal, which was made based on recommendations by the independent School Teachers’ Review Body. The NEU had advised its members to accept the deal, which also includes an extra £900m in
The Home Office has bought marquees to accommodate 2,000 migrants at disused military sites by the end of August, Sky News understands. The tents will start to be erected over the coming weeks as part of emergency plans to deal with an expected surge of Channel crossings. According to The Times, which first reported on
Wrexham AFC co-owner Ryan Reynolds has said he wants to see more film work “head to Wales” after meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The Hollywood star met with the PM at Number 10 during a break in filming for his new Deadpool movie. Reynolds recently announced a partnership with TV channel S4C which will
Boris Johnson and Liz Truss both received £18,660 as severance payments after they stood down as prime minister, annual accounts have shown. Both leaders quit amid mounting pressure from their own MPs, but were still entitled to the payout – with Mr Johnson having served just over three years in the job and Ms Truss
Boris Johnson has called for NATO to set out a clear timetable for Ukraine to join the alliance – and claimed some member nations still want to negotiate a peace deal with Vladimir Putin. The former prime minister made the intervention following the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, earlier in the week. At the meeting,
Two investigations into partygate gatherings involving senior Tories have been announced by the Met Police. One is a re-investigation into claims of a Covid rule breaching party by staff of former Conservative London mayoral candidate, Shaun Bailey, in December 2020. In a press release, the force said: “The Met is now re-opening an investigation into
With the Bank of England trying to bring down inflation, interest rates have been raised to 5% – the highest level since April 2008. The government is now urging people to “hold their nerve”, as Rishi Sunak put it. But Britain may be headed for another “summer of discontent”, with one Treasury minister unable to
Disgraced Scottish MP Margaret Ferrier has urged her constituents not to trigger a by-election in a last-ditch attempt to avoid losing her job. The former SNP MP, who is now an independent, was convicted of putting people at risk after travelling by train to a debate at Westminster while suffering from coronavirus in 2020. She
The live poll tracker from Sky News collates the results of opinion surveys carried out by all the main polling organisations – and allows you to see how the political parties are performing in the run-up to a general election. If you can’t see the latest polls, tap here for the full version of this