Politics

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s own ethics adviser has asked him to explain why he believes he has not broken the ministerial code after being fined for a lockdown breach. Lord Geidt said there was a “legitimate question” over whether the code has been broken – which would normally mean a minister would have to resign.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner have both received questionnaires from Durham Constabulary in relation to a potential breach of lockdown rules in April 2021. Sir Keir has come under pressure over an event in Durham in April 2021 with party colleagues when he was filmed having a drink and a

The trickle of MPs publicly calling for Boris Johnson to resign is now a modest stream and gathering pace. And the dangerous thing is, the rebellion feels uncoordinated and therefore unpredictable. With the number of MPs openly questioning the prime minister‘s authority at 40, senior Conservatives are braced for the possibility of a vote of

The former cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom has blamed Boris Johnson for “unacceptable failings of leadership” over the partygate scandal. The former business secretary is the 40th Conservative MP to have publicly voiced their displeasure with the prime minister since he was fined by the Met for breaching lockdown rules in Downing Street, according to

Tory staffers have come under pressure not to sign a letter calling for more stringent checks on those wishing to become an MP in light of the ongoing “pestminster” scandal, Sky News can reveal. The letter, organised by Angus McVean and Henry Dixon-Clegg, is addressed to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden

A minister has said it is “not immediately obvious” an investigation is needed into allegations that Carrie Johnson held a lockdown party that was not part of the Sue Gray inquiry. Chris Philp, the technology and digital economy minister, told Sky News’ Kay Burley that there has been an “unbelievably comprehensive set of investigations” over

Interviews with Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch and Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik. There are discussions about the prime minister’s future following the Sue Gray report, the potential for a nationwide rail strike, and an extremely powerful account of what has happened to Ukraine and its people. Host: Sophy Ridge Contributors:

Boris Johnson is facing twin allegations of a partygate cover-up, with opposition leaders accusing him of “behaving like a tinpot despot”. The Liberal Democrats claim reports that Downing Street put pressure on Sue Gray to dilute her report reveal an attempt to cover up “lies and law-breaking”. And Labour is to force a Commons vote

Boris Johnson is poised to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with a post-Brexit pledge to bring back pounds and ounces in Britain’s shops. Whitehall sources have told Sky News he will announce on Friday that imperial measurements are to be revived as part of a bonfire of EU regulations. His promise of legislation will be

A drip feed of no confidence letters in Boris Johnson has continued as pressure grows following the Sue Gray report into partygate. There has been a steady trickle of Conservative MPs publicly calling for the PM to go after senior civil servant Ms Gray published her findings into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.

Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said he will not be silenced by the far right after a “vile racist” was found guilty of sending the MP a death threat. Glenn Broadbent sent the Labour Tottenham MP a Twitter message that said: “Are you hanging off a tree monkey boy? You will hang from a

Rishi Sunak has said cost of living support delivering hundreds of pounds to every household will have a “minimal impact” on inflation – and suggested those who do not need it could give the money to charity. The chancellor told Sky News that the announcement of new measures worth £15bn to ease the burden on

Rishi Sunak, a devotee of Nigel Lawson, believes in a smaller state, curbing borrowing, lower taxes and combating inflation.  Yet again, he delivered a major fiscal announcement where he did the opposite. Today’s £15 billion spending splurge expanded the role of the state with the advent of one-off financial transfers, could stoke inflation, add to

The Met Police acted with “integrity” during its partygate investigation and officers made decisions “based on the facts and were proper”, the force’s acting commissioner has said. Sir Stephen House, giving evidence to the London Assembly’s police and crime committee, defended the nearly four-month investigation into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street and Whitehall. The investigation

Boris Johnson has said he “briefly attended” Downing Street lockdown gatherings but didn’t know at the time that they “went on far longer than was necessary”. The prime minister said he had attended to thank staff because it’s “one of essential duties of leadership” and to keep morale as high as possible”. He told the

Images of Boris Johnson with a beer in his hand have emerged in Sue Gray’s damning report of Downing Street parties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sue Gray’s report into Downing Street parties included nine photographs from two of the investigated events – one on 19 June 2020, and another on 13 November 2020. Mr Johnson

MPs should be banned from giving paid parliamentary advice or consultancy services, a long-awaited report into MP standards has recommended. It is understood up to 35 MPs would be impacted by a crackdown on second jobs. MPs must now have a written contract for any outside work, which makes explicit that their duties cannot include

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has warned that a national rail strike could give a “heart attack” to a network already on life support. Mr Shapps also confirmed to Sky News’s Kay Burley that freight traffic would be prioritised ahead of passenger trains, to ensure that shelves are kept stocked, should the industrial action go ahead.

The “serious systemic failures” of the Afghanistan evacuation by the Foreign Office lowered the UK’s global standing, a cross-party group of MPs has said. A damning report from the Foreign Affairs Committee said Afghan allies and British soldiers were “utterly let down by deep failures of leadership” in the government during the August 2021 evacuation

Energy companies have been told by the government that “all options are on the table” if they do not reinvest their bumper profits – amid a growing clamour for a windfall tax. Simon Clarke, chief secretary to the Treasury, acknowledged the “extraordinary pressure on family finances” and said imposing such a levy could not be