Politics

Civil servants have hit back at “cowardly” former ministers who have criticised them for their alleged failure to act on the Post Office Horizon scandal. A blame-game is under way following the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which depicted how hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were wrongly held responsible for accounting errors

Israel “might have taken action” in breach of international law in Gaza, the foreign secretary has said during a tense exchange with MPs on the conflict in the Middle East. Lord Cameron also confirmed two British nationals are still being held hostage by Hamas, as he made his first appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee

The justice secretary is meeting with senior judges today to discuss ways to accelerate the appeals of those convicted in the Horizon scandal, with cabinet minister Mel Stride saying an announcement could come this week. The government is facing fresh calls to act following the airing of the ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post

Rishi Sunak has added to the pressure on the former head of the Post Office to have her CBE removed in the wake of the Horizon scandal. The prime minister’s spokesman said he would “strongly support” the Honours Forfeiture Committee if it were to look at taking away Paula Vennells’s award. There are growing calls

Labour says it will introduce additional mental health counsellors to secondary schools as part of its plans to tackle rising pupil absences. The party says the UK is facing a “generational challenge”, as more than 88,000 secondary school students missed at least half of their education last year. Labour’s education pledge comes as a poll

Simon Case, the head of the civil service, has returned to work after more than two months on sick leave. The cabinet secretary, who has not publicly disclosed his illness, has been attending meetings in the last few days, the Politics At Jack And Sam’s Podcast revealed today. Mr Case was originally due to be

Rishi Sunak had doubts the government’s Rwanda asylum scheme would stop small boat crossings while he was chancellor, according to documents seen by Sky News. The Number 10 papers, prepared in March 2022 shortly before the Rwanda plan was first announced, also suggest the prime minister wanted to scale back the plans. A government source

In its long and venerable history dating back 192 years, the British Medical Association used to shy away from being called a “trades union”. Collective bargaining was for “trades people”; the doctors were independent professionals. Their association was there to campaign for best practice and to offer advice to the politicians regulating health treatment. That

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is unsure if the government can afford further tax cuts – as a National Insurance (NI) reduction comes into force today. The pre-election cut to NI, from 12% to 10%, will impact around 27 million payroll employees across the UK. A person earning the UK’s average salary of £35,000 will save £450

A former energy minister has said he will quit as a Conservative MP over new legislation “that promotes the production of new oil and gas”. Chris Skidmore has said he will resign when parliament returns next week over the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill. The senior Tory had already announced his intention to stand down at

The NHS “doesn’t just belong” to striking junior doctors and can’t be “switched on and off on whim”, the health secretary said. Victoria Atkins turned up the heat in the government’s row with the British Medical Association (BMA) as their record-breaking walk-out continues. Junior doctors in England are in the middle of a six-day strike

It’s a sign of the times that the big political event to kick off 2024 was not an election-year framing speech by the current prime minister, but rather the address given by the man who, for now, is expected to be the next. Sir Keir Starmer, speaking from the marginal seat of Filton and Bradley

Sir Keir Starmer is launching his election campaign on Thursday – and will promise the “character of politics will change” if Labour enters power. The government has until December this year to call an election – although if it decides to go to the polls so late, the vote itself will not happen until January

Nigel Farage is still “assessing” what role he will play in the upcoming general election, the leader of Reform UK has said. Holding a news conference to kick off the long campaign for the general election expected this year, Reform UK leader Richard Tice revealed he had been talking to Mr Farage over the festive

The cost of living crisis is “no excuse” for a rise in shoplifting, the policing minister has told Sky News, because the UK’s benefits system is “very generous”. Chris Philp’s comments come amid escalating levels of retail thefts, with increases blamed on inflation, organised crime and a lack of focus from police. Asked if he

Downing Street has insisted that the prime minister has achieved his target of clearing the legacy backlog of asylum claims, despite the government’s own data showing that 4,537 remain. Rishi Sunak pledged in December 2022 that he would “abolish” the legacy backlog of asylum claims made before 28 June of that year, with the Home

Rishi Sunak himself declared that 2024 will be an election year – at the least discreet location possible: a Christmas party for political journalists. This year that election will be looming in the background of every issue, whether politicians intend it to or not. The Conservatives – who were last ahead in the polls more

The government’s new rules preventing most international students from bringing family to the UK are now in effect – but Rishi Sunak still faces a huge fight with his own party over reducing both legal and illegal migration. Any international students starting courses from this month will not be able to bring dependants to the

The Liberal Democrats have called for an inquiry into whether Rishi Sunak breached the ministerial code by holding secret meetings with Dominic Cummings. The Times reported on Sunday that the prime minister had held two sets of talks with the former chief adviser to Boris Johnson as he considered bringing the controversial figure back into

Dominic Cummings has claimed Rishi Sunak sought to strike a “secret deal” with him to help the Tories win the next election. The prime minister reportedly asked Boris Johnson’s ex-chief aide for advice on how to hold on to power when the country goes to the polls. Mr Cummings – The Sunday Times has reported