Politics

Boris Johnson has questions to answer over his apparent backing for a “great exhibition” plan supported by a Conservative donor who helped pay for the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, Labour has said. “It stinks. It does appear to be cash for access,” the party’s shadow justice secretary Steve Reed told Sky News. He

Boris Johnson has offered a “humble and sincere apology” for failing to disclose WhatsApp messages with a Tory peer in which he discussed the funding of his Downing Street flat refurbishment – and blamed getting a new phone for not declaring the conversation. In a series of letters between the prime minister and his independent

Pre-departure coronavirus testing for people returning to England has been scrapped because it has “outlived its usefulness” amid the rapid spread of Omicron in the UK and around the world, the transport secretary has told Sky News. “Omicron is global, it is worldwide, everybody has it now, the proportion that comes in overseas is completely

Boris Johnson denied during PMQs that he’d ever described inflation fears as “unfounded” – despite Sky News having him saying just that on camera. Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner, standing in for Sir Keir Starmer as he has COVID, told the prime minister he claimed in October that public fears about inflation were “unfounded”. Three

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has tested positive for coronavirus, a party spokesman has said. Deputy leader Angela Rayner will stand in for him at Prime Minister’s Questions later. It comes a day after Sir Keir delivered a speech to an audience in Birmingham setting out his new “contract with the British people” and his

A petition calling for Sir Tony Blair to be stripped of his knighthood has been signed by more than 670,000 people. The former prime minister was made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter in the Queen’s New Year’s honours list. However, a petition started three days ago has said he

Sir Keir Starmer is beginning the New Year with an ambitious speech putting patriotism at the heart of the Labour Party’s strategy to win support from voters. Welcoming the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the Commonwealth Games later this year, he claims it is not unpatriotic to criticise things that are going wrong in the country.

The first thing that was apparent as Boris Johnson made his first public appearance of 2022 was that he has a New Year haircut and was wearing a new tie that we haven’t seen before. Christmas present from Carrie? More importantly, could the prime minister’s neat new haircut – the untidy, dishevelled blond mop of

Schools have been advised by ministers to start preparing for COVID staff shortages by merging classes into larger groups and considering “flexible” teaching options. The latest advice sent to schools in an email from the Department of Education and published in an open letter by Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi comes as many pupils prepare to

Further COVID restrictions in England are not expected this week thanks to people testing and getting their boosters, a cabinet minister has suggested. His confidence comes despite warnings from NHS leaders about an intensifying ‘health emergency’ as COVID admissions rise. Cabinet Office minister Stephen Barclay said there has been a “significant behaviour change” by the

Secondary school students in England are again being asked to wear masks in classrooms to help tackle the rise in Omicron coronavirus cases. The recommendation comes as the government pledges to keep face-to-face education going despite surging COVID-19 infections in England, with a record 162,572 new cases reported on Saturday. Masks will “maximise the number

Further restrictions triggered by COVID must be an “absolute last resort” and the UK will now have to “live alongside” the virus in 2022, Sajid Javid has said. The health secretary has said the wave of Omicron infections will “test the limit of finite NHS capacity even more than a typical winter”, with reports suggesting

New post-Brexit customs rules for goods arriving in Britain from the European Union have come into effect, changes that a leading food industry body has warned could cause disruption and potentially lead to food shortages. Importers must now make full customs declarations on goods entering the UK from the EU and other countries. Traders can

Boris Johnson has used his New Year’s message to claim that the UK finds itself in an “incomparably better” position than this time last year when it comes to coronavirus. In a message that will be posted on social media on Friday, the prime minister will say the country has met its target of offering

Newly-released files from the National Archives have revealed George W Bush’s worries over his experience, negotiations over Diana’s funeral, and mooted plans to redesign the House of Commons. Here are some of the key revelations from the release of Cabinet Office and Number 10 files from the first years of Tony Blair’s premiership between 1997

Boris Johnson has praised the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for saving “many millions of lives” as the UK marks becoming the first country to approve the COVID vaccine exactly one year ago. On 30 December 2020, the Oxford/AstraZeneca shot became the second coronavirus jab approved by the UK’s independent medicines regulator – after Pfizer/BioNTech. To date, almost

Nicola Sturgeon has said it is her “expectation” that new COVID restrictions in Scotland will be in place until 17 January, as she urged people to “stay at home right now more than normal”. Since 27 December, nightclubs in Scotland have been forced to close unless they operate as a pub with table service and

Boris Johnson has said “up to 90%” of people currently in intensive care with COVID-19 have not had their booster jab as he urged the nation to take up the offer. Speaking to broadcasters, the prime minister said there are 2.4 million eligible double-jabbed people yet to take up the offer of a booster and

A health minister has defended the government’s decision not to offer the hospitality sector more financial support, saying venues remain “pretty full”. Business leaders have issued a fresh call for more economic help for the hospitality sector after fears around the new Omicron variant led to a steep decline in trade in the usually busy

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is to hold meetings with energy bosses today to address rapidly rising gas and electricity prices. Mr Kwarteng will meet with the bosses of major energy suppliers who are likely to ask the government for tax cuts and the relaxation of green levies. Last week, the industry’s trade body Energy UK