Politics

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

Boris Johnson has done everything he possibly could to discredit the Privileges Committee’s report on claims that he lied to MPs over partygate. But so far he has met fierce resistance. After declaring war with allegations of a “witch-hunt” and kangaroo court”, his latest attack was directed at committee member Sir Bernard Jenkin, after a

After an explosive weekend, former prime minister Boris Johnson has resigned as an MP, taking supporters Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams with him in exiting the Commons, with whispers that more may follow. It’s left his successor, Rishi Sunak, with an almighty by-election-related headache, as Westminster rolls towards the summer break. Sir Keir Starmer says

Plans for a giant cruise ship to house asylum seekers near Liverpool have been scrapped after being declined by port officials. A government source has told Sky News the vessel was due to house 500 men seeking asylum in Birkenhead, but that will no longer happen following objections from Peel Ports. Politics Live: Boris Johnson’s

It reads like a declaration of war – but in reality, Friday’s resignation statement matters because Boris Johnson is throwing in the towel on his political career. Yes, there are hints of a third political comeback in his kinetic resignation statement. “Never write him off,” say the pundits in the cheap seats. Yes, there will

It reads like a declaration of war but in reality, today’s resignation statement matters because Boris Johnson is simply throwing in the towel on his political career. Ever since he was slung out as prime minister, Mr Johnson has been a ghost at the Tory feast. Politics latest: Boris Johnson quits He sucked the oxygen out

The chair of the COVID inquiry says it is up to her to decide what evidence is “relevant or potentially relevant” amid a legal row with the government over Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages. Baroness Hallett refused to withdraw her order for the government to hand over unredacted material for her investigation as she formally opened

The COVID inquiry has issued a legal notice to the Cabinet Office for not handing over the full contents of Boris Johnson’s messages. The Cabinet Office tried to object to handing over the communications but was overruled by Baroness Hallett, the chair of the COVID inquiry. But the inquiry chair has ordered that the release

MP Margaret Ferrier has lost her appeal against a proposed 30-day ban from the House of Commons over breaching COVID rules. The suspension could now trigger a by-election in her constituency. The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP was found to have damaged the reputation of the Commons and put people at risk after taking part

China poses “the biggest challenge” to global security, Rishi Sunak has said at the end of a G7 summit. The Prime Minister added: “China poses the biggest challenge of our age to global security and prosperity, they are increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad.” “This is all about de-risking, not de-coupling.” Advertisement

Tony Blair, Labour’s most successful election-winning prime minister, had no doubt that being in government was better than being in opposition. The fundamental difference, he would say, is that in opposition politicians can only talk; in government they can actually do things. As the Conservative Party struggles to improve the state of Britain after their

Boris Johnson considered sending Rishi Sunak a foul-mouthed video after he resigned and triggered his downfall, the former PM’s former director of communications has claimed. Guto Harri, who advised Mr Johnson from February to September last year, said Mr Johnson believed Mr Sunak’s decision to resign last summer was “the great betrayal of all time”,

Scotland’s National Care Service plans are “starting to look like another Humza Yousaf disaster”, Douglas Ross quipped during a heated First Minister’s Questions. The Scottish government has spent almost £14m over two years on the delayed proposals. This includes more than £2m on consultancy fees. In a barbed exchange during FMQs on Thursday, the Scottish

Nurses will vote on whether to hold England-wide strike action later this month after rejecting the government’s 5% pay rise. Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members have held a series of strikes over the past six months and while 14 health unions last week agreed to a 5% pay rise, the nurses union rejected the

Lawyers in Aberdeen will join a boycott of plans to pilot juryless rape trials in Scotland. Aberdeen Bar Association branded the proposals “a danger” and accused the Scottish government of “political meddling”. Lawyers in Glasgow and Edinburgh have already confirmed they will refuse to take part in the pilot, which was proposed last month as

Nurses could keep holding strikes “up until Christmas” if the current dispute is not resolved, the leader of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has told Sky News. Pat Cullen, the head of the RCN union, was speaking as her members picket today – although the period of action is truncated after judges ruled the

National exemptions are in place to provide critical care during strike action by nurses, a union leader has insisted, telling Sky News staff would never leave patients unsafe or create more risk. Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen was speaking to Sophy Ridge On Sunday ahead of a 28-hour walkout by members

The home secretary will be able to exercise her “discretion” when weighing up whether to follow European court orders on deportations, a government minister has confirmed. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said amendments to the government’s Illegal Migration Bill would give Suella Braverman the ability to consider the “timeliness” of interventions from the European Court

A council where the Home Office plans to turn an RAF base into asylum seeker accommodation says the “irrational” move will put at risk a £300m regeneration project for the site. A new local plan, with proposals to re-develop RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, was formally adopted on Thursday as part of requirements for councils to