Politics

Rishi Sunak has been dealt a fresh blow to his authority as 68 MPs, including 60 Tories, voted in favour of changes to his Rwanda Bill put forward by Conservative backbencher Sir Bill Cash. The amendment, seeking to ensure UK and international law cannot be used to block a person being removed to Rwanda, was

Rishi Sunak is a prime minister who has always found it easy to build consensus on the world stage. But when it comes to his own backyard, this premiership tells a very different story. PM’s own deputy chair rebels on Rwanda – live updates With voters, he is struggling to build any sort of coalition,

Rishi Sunak is gearing up for a potential rebellion among his backbenchers when his controversial Rwanda bill returns to the Commons on Tuesday. The prime minister is facing a dilemma over the question of whether to toughen up the bill to appease those on the right of his party. If he does, he risks losing

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has accused the Houthis of “thuggery” in the Red Sea, as he suggested the UK was open to carrying out further airstrikes in Yemen. The British military joined forces with the US on Thursday night as it launched attacks in retaliation for the targeting of international trade in the key shipping

Tory MPs plotting the Rwanda rebellion are resigned to securing minimal changes to the legislation – despite some belief senior figures are poised to quit party roles over the bill. Almost 60 MPs have publicly backed the bill and some rebels hope that Lee Anderson, deputy chair of the Conservative Party, may resign and back

Not taking military action against the Houthis would have led to “more attacks” in the Red Sea, according to Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron. The British military took part in joint action with the US this week in retaliation for the targeting of international trade in the key shipping lane – followed up by a fresh

Ministers are “failing to act” on the lessons from the Post Office scandal by refusing to change laws around public contracts, union leaders have said. The TUC said the Procurement Act, passed last October, was a “huge missed opportunity” to tighten up rules governing the awarding of taxpayer-funded contracts to private companies. The legislation was

Sir Tony Blair was warned the Horizon IT system could be flawed before it was rolled out across the Post Office, a document shows. A letter sent to the then-Labour prime minister on 9 December 1998 by a Downing Street special adviser said pressing ahead with the project was a risk because of spiralling costs

Brexit has cost the UK £140bn so far, according to new analysis, and could see the nation £311bn worse off by the middle of the next decade, according to a new report. Economists and analysts at Cambridge Econometrics – commissioned by London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan – have modelled how the UK’s economy would have acted

The Conservatives are facing yet another set of by-elections in February, with voters in Kingswood and Wellingborough set to pick their new MPs. The contests follow the resignation of former minister Chris Skidmore in protest at the government’s watering down of green policies, and the ousting of Peter Bone over allegations of bullying and sexual

The longest strike in NHS history, during which junior doctors walked out for six days, led to more than 113,000 patient operations, appointments and procedures being postponed, new figures show. The industrial action started last Wednesday and continued until yesterday, with 25,446 staff absent from work at the peak, which was the day the strike

Police chiefs have accused senior politicians of regularly trying to “interfere or influence” their operations.  In a letter to Home Secretary James Cleverly, Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke said most senior officers in 12 forces have experienced “improper pressure or interference from significant political figures, whether through direct contact or through the media”. The

More than 30 Tory MPs are poised to back amendments aimed at “toughening” Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill when it returns to the Commons next week. The prime minister is braced for yet another showdown with the right-wing faction of his party, which believes the legislation in its current form will not stop further legal challenges

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