Politics

The new transport secretary has said the government is “looking at all of the options” over HS2 ahead of expected spending cuts. Mark Harper would not commit to the plan for building the high speed rail project in full, saying “no decision has been made” on the Leeds to Manchester link. HS2, along with Northern

Boris Johnson has confirmed he will attend COP27 in Egypt next week as question marks remain over whether the UK’s new prime minister will join him. In an exclusive interview for Sky News’ Ukraine: A Modern War programme, the former PM told Mark Austin he was “invited by the Egyptians” to the climate conference. And

The announcement of the government’s economic plan was delayed from Halloween to 17 November last month, with the chancellor saying it will help ministers make “difficult decisions… that stand the test of time”. Jeremy Hunt said the announcement that was initially planned would be turned into a full autumn statement – expanding its remit and

So it’s all a “political witch-hunt”, is it? That was the claim made by the embattled Suella Braverman on Halloween. For a gruelling hour and 40 minutes, she faced the wrath of opposition MPs over the Manston migration crisis, but delighted her supporters on the Tory benches. In a noisy Commons showdown, the combative and

The Home Office has been told to “get a grip” over the issues at the Manston migrant processing centre – as a new report reveals detainees were not allowed to close toilet doors fully and had to sleep on the floor. Some migrants have not been allowed access to mobile phones to inform their families

Whether or not Rishi Sunak will attend COP27 is “under review”, Downing Street has confirmed – as the PM faces mounting calls to attend the climate conference in Egypt. Asked if the prime minister will be attending the summit, a Number 10 spokesperson said that “any attendance at COP would depend on progress on preparation

Amid the relative political calm that’s washed across Westminster in the last five days, one issue has stuck out like a sore thumb. The reappointment of Suella Braverman as home secretary, a week after she resigned over security breaches, has baffled and bemused Conservative MPs and officials. Given Rishi Sunak set great store by his

Michael Gove has defended cabinet colleague Suella Braverman’s controversial reappointment, describing her as a “first-rate, front-rank politician”. Ms Braverman was forced to resign from Liz Truss’s government after she sent an official document from her personal email to a fellow MP and copied in another MP by mistake. New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under

The government is facing calls to carry out an urgent investigation after reports emerged that a phone belonging to Liz Truss was hacked by Russia. The Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party have described the allegations as “extremely serious” and “concerning”. Agents suspected of working for Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly hacked the former prime

The UK is now spending more of its aid budget at home than in poorer countries, development experts have said. That is because a large proportion of the pot – some £3bn – is being spent on housing refugees, mainly from Ukraine, according to the Centre for Global Development (CGD). The UK aid budget is

The UK’s Northern Ireland secretary has said he “will be calling an election” in the nation after a deadline to restore devolved government at Stormont passed at midnight. Yesterday, last-ditch efforts to restore the multi-party executive failed and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris had been expected to subsequently call an election today and announce the

Rishi Sunak will no longer be going ahead with his pledge to charge people for missed GP appointments, the prime minister’s spokesperson has said. The Number 10 spokesperson said “now is not the time to take this policy forward”. During the summer Conservative leadership contest, Mr Sunak pledged to introduce a £10 fine for patients

Security services could be reluctant to share sensitive information with Suella Braverman after her controversial reappointment as home secretary, Lord Blunkett has warned. The Labour peer, himself a former home secretary, suggested “there could be two really unfortunate outcomes to the reappointment of the current home secretary” just six days after she was forced to

Rishi Sunak is under growing pressure over his reappointment of Suella Braverman as home secretary after a former party chair claimed she had committed “multiple breaches” of the ministerial code. Ms Braverman resigned her post just over a week ago after using her personal email address to forward sensitive government documents, breaking the rules ministers

Rishi Sunak is reinstating the ban on fracking that Liz Truss controversially lifted. During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, the new prime minister said he stands “by the manifesto” on fracking. The Conservative 2019 manifesto placed a moratorium on fracking in England following opposition from environmentalists and local communities. Mr Sunak‘s spokesman explicitly confirmed he

Rishi Sunak will make his debut at Prime Minister’s Questions at lunchtime, in what is shaping up to be the first big test of his leadership.  The new PM will face Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in the Commons – a day after culling almost a dozen Conservative ministers from the cabinet. Jacob Rees-Mogg has

Rishi Sunak has appointed his cabinet after being asked by the King to form a new government. The new prime minister promised to form a government of “all the talents” amid calls from senior Tories to appoint the best ministers available – rather than focusing on those who are loyal to him, as his two

Rishi Sunak has made his first speech as prime minister, saying he was chosen to take over to “fix” the mistakes made by Liz Truss. Speaking outside Number 10, the former chancellor praised his predecessor’s “restlessness” and her “noble aim” to improve economic growth in the UK. But, he added: “Some mistakes were made, not

Rishi Sunak will become the UK’s next prime minister tomorrow after meeting King Charles at Buckingham Palace in the morning. At the start of the day, outgoing PM Liz Truss will hold her last cabinet meeting before she is expected to make a departing statement outside Number 10 at 10.15am. Ms Truss, who became the

After a mad dash back from his Caribbean holiday, a flurry of canvassing, secret summits with rivals Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, and a significant air war campaign, Boris Johnson announced shortly before 9pm last night that he would not run for PM after all. It was the most Boris Johnson way of admitting defeat: