Politics

The “trial of Boris Johnson” – the televised hearings to determine whether the former prime minister lied to parliament – is now barely three weeks away, and after Friday’s document dump we know roughly what that confrontation will look like. And we know it will be explosive. MPs on the Tory-dominated privileges committee on Friday

Sue Gray has been appointed by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to serve as his chief of staff. The senior civil servant became a household name during the partygate scandal, authoring the report which found “a failure of leadership and judgement” in Number 10 during Boris Johnson’s premiership. Conservative MPs and former cabinet ministers have

Matt Hancock has denounced what he said was a “massive betrayal and breach of trust” following the leaking of lockdown WhatsApp messages. The exchanges were published in The Daily Telegraph after he shared them with journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who worked with the former health secretary on his Pandemic Diaries book. In a lengthy statement, Mr

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is considering recruiting senior civil servant Sue Gray to be his new chief of staff. Best known for her report into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street, Ms Gray has built a fearsome reputation over decades at the heart of government. A veteran investigator of ministerial misbehaviour, she currently runs the

Sir Keir Starmer has attacked Rishi Sunak over the “shocking state” the Conservatives have left the country in during the cost of living crisis. The Labour leader said living standards were on the floor after 13 years of “Tory failure”, as he pressed the prime minister on what he will do over rising energy bills.

Rishi Sunak has said his new post-Brexit deal puts Northern Ireland in an “unbelievably special position” because it gives it access to both the UK and European Union markets. The prime minister said implementing the newly negotiated Windsor Framework would create “the world’s most exciting economic zone” with international companies “queuing up to invest” in the

Rishi Sunak has negotiated a deal on Northern Ireland and Brexit which his predecessors Liz Truss, Boris Johnson and Theresa May could not have secured. Having convinced the EU figures he was a serious prime minister they do business with, Mr Sunak has produced a deal that has already turned the heads and won the

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has outlined details of the “new Windsor Framework” agreed with the European Union to overcome trade barriers in Northern Ireland following Brexit. The prime minister said the agreement was a “historic” and a “decisive breakthrough” that “delivers smooth-flowing trade within the whole of the United Kingdom, protects Northern Ireland’s place in

After weeks of playing down expectations of an imminent Brexit agreement, Rishi Sunak is now setting the formal wheels in motion to lay out the deal he has struck with the EU. But there is still a big question about whether he has got the politics of this right on this side of the channel.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has told Sky News he would resign from the cabinet if bullying claims against him are upheld. The deputy prime minister is being investigated by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC over a string of formal complaints by civil servants about his conduct. Speaking to the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Mr

SNP deputy Westminster leader Mhairi Black has backed Humza Yousaf in the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon as Scottish First Minister. Ms Black said Mr Yousaf was the only candidate that would take “our party and our country forward”. Mr Yousaf, the current Scottish health secretary, faces competition for the top job from Finance Secretary

Margaret Thatcher’s longest-serving press secretary Sir Bernard Ingham has died after a short illness, his family has said. The former Fleet Street journalist for the Guardian was 90 and died with his family around him on Friday lunchtime, a statement said. He served as Baroness Thatcher‘s press secretary for all but the first few months

Conservative MPs have been told they must be in Westminster on Monday – leading to speculation a new Brexit deal is to be announced. Tory MPs will be on a three-line whip on Monday, meaning all 355 of them must be in parliament for a possible important vote. If they defy the order, they could

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has led a minute’s silence from the steps of Downing Street as the UK showed solidarity with Ukraine on the anniversary of the start of the war. Standing alongside Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, and members of the Ukrainian armed forces, Mr Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, observed

Rishi Sunak is to urge fellow world leaders to “move faster” to arm Ukraine’s troops as he leads a minute’s silence on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The prime minister is expected to use a G7 meeting on Friday to call on allies to supply longer-range weapons to Ukraine as there is an urgent

When Sir Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020, few ever believed he would become prime minister. The party was reeling from its worst performance at the ballot box since 1935, riven by internal divisions, under fire over its record of tackling antisemitism and facing a seemingly unassailable Boris Johnson atop an 80-seat majority. Sir

Rishi Sunak is poised to launch a major crackdown on the asylum seeker backlog in the coming days by invalidating applications if they fail to return a new questionnaire within 20 working days, Sky News can reveal. A leaked Home Office letter shows that asylum seekers, who often speak little or no English and have

Enemies are circling, Brexiteers are already pronouncing it dead, and the DUP are warning it undermines the Union. But as opponents line up to try and assassinate Rishi Sunak’s forthcoming deal with Brussels to rework Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit future, Sky News can reveal that Number 10 is yet to play its trump card. Despite weeks

A senior Tory MP has dampened down the prospect of a Brexit deal on Northern Ireland, telling Sky News the powersharing crisis will not be resolved because the negotiations are “too narrow”. Sir Bernard Jenkin, a veteran Eurosceptic, also suggested there should be a “customs frontier” between the north and south of Ireland to fix

Ministers have recommended NHS workers, police officers, teachers and judges are all given a 3.5% pay rise for the next financial year. Government departments have written to the independent pay review bodies of each sector to submit their evidence and say what figure is deemed affordable by them and the Treasury. But a number of