Politics

The discovery of Legionella on board the Bibby Stockholm is the latest embarrassing setback in a plan beset with controversy and delay from the very start. Thankfully, no one on board has developed any symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially serious form of pneumonia spread by infected water droplets. The Home Office insist the 39

Doctors who have been working for the NHS for less than two weeks are among those downing tools this morning and going on strike. Junior doctors from the British Medical Association (BMA) are staging a four-day walkout from 7am in an ongoing dispute over pay. Concerns have been mounting over the impact of the strike

Nicola Sturgeon has branded Labour a “pale imitation” of the Tories and called on Sir Keir Starmer to “find a backbone” and stand for something. The former Scottish first minister refused to accept it was a given the SNP will lose seats to Labour at the next general election, as current polling predicts. Speaking to

Diane Abbott has been accused of exploiting the deaths of 41 migrants in a shipwreck off Italy in a now-deleted tweet about the tragedy. The MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, who is currently suspended from the parliamentary Labour Party, tweeted a link to an article about the deaths earlier today, and wrote: “These

A government minister has called for “absentee” Tory MP Nadine Dorries to officially resign, saying her constituents are not being properly represented – while a Labour MP has said the Conservative is “taking voters for a ride”. Robert Jenrick said Downing Street will “consider” proposals to oust her from the Commons but she should “get

Lee Anderson has refused to apologise for saying asylum seekers who don’t want to be housed on barges should “f*** off back to France”. But the Conservative deputy chairman also said there was “no doubt” the government had failed to tackle illegal immigration. Tory MP Mr Anderson made the remark about asylum seekers after it

Downing Street has defended Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson after he said asylum seekers who don’t want to be housed in barges should “f*** off back to France”. When asked if this view represented the government, Number 10 pointed to comments made by Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, who said the “indignation” of the Ashfield MP

Asylum seekers who did not get on the Bibby Stockholm today have until Tuesday to board the vessel or face having their government support cancelled, Sky News can reveal. While 15 people did board the barge docked in Portland, Devon, around 20 people did not take up the offer made on what the government has

The government will fail to meet its asylum backlog target without a drastic increase in the processing of applications, a Sky News analysis has found. At present, there are more than 136,000 asylum applications waiting for an initial decision, including 62,000 that were made before 28 June 2022 – the so-called “legacy backlog”. In December

Asylum seekers could start being housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge as soon as today – with the government announcing further measures to combat illegal migration. About 50 people are expected to be in the first group of migrants to board the vessel docked in Portland Port, Dorset, despite local opposition. Inside the Bibby Stockholm

Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has admitted he has been “affected” by his own mini-budget which was blamed for creating economic turmoil while Liz Truss was prime minister. Mr Kwarteng, who was sacked by Ms Truss after just 38 days in the job, said his own mortgage repayments had “gone up considerably”. However, he denied he

Facebook, TikTok and Twitter will team up with UK law enforcement to crack down on posts by people smugglers encouraging migrants to cross the English Channel, the government says. Rishi Sunak, who has made cutting the number of small boats arriving on UK shores one of his “five pledges”, said the new partnerships with various social

A gym-goer has said she was shocked as she claimed Rishi Sunak turned up to a SoulCycle class on Friday. The prime minister is currently on holiday in California, saying earlier in the week it’s his first family trip away in several years. But after being pictured on Santa Monica Pier and visiting Disneyland, he

Boris Johnson has vowed to do “whatever it takes” to protect newts that have threatened his plans to build an outdoor swimming pool at his Oxfordshire country manor. The former prime minister promised to build a “Newtopia”, consisting of “newt motels”, for the amphibians who have taken residence at the Grade II-listed Brightwell Manor he shares with

Eddie Izzard has launched a campaign to become Labour MP for Brighton Pavilion. The comedian is aiming to be selected as Labour’s candidate for the seat at the next general election, when the Green Party’s only MP Caroline Lucas is standing down. Izzard, who also goes by the name of Suzy, announced the move in

The government is turning to the private sector in an attempt to cut NHS waiting lists. Thirteen new community diagnostics centres (CDCs) will be opened across England to carry out an additional 742,000 scans, checks and tests per year. Eight of the new facilities will be operated by the private sector – but despite this,

Greenpeace activists have covered Rishi Sunak’s £2m mansion in oil-black fabric after climbing on to the roof of the property in Yorkshire. Two of the environmental campaign group’s activists also unfurled a banner with the words “Rishi Sunak – Oil Profits or Our Future?” across the grass in front of the manor house. The group

A future pandemic, Russia’s potential to disrupt global energy supplies and extreme weather are among 89 threats the government has identified to the UK’s security. The Cabinet Office has updated the national risk register to help the public prepare for “worst-case scenarios” that could strike the country. Other threats include the malicious use of drones

Delays to moving asylum seekers onto the Bibby Stockholm barge are now being caused by checks on working practices, Sky News understands. A Home Office source confirmed reports that fire safety issues did lead to initial setbacks, saying a door had been put on the wrong way round. But now that has been fixed, there

UK energy chiefs will gather in Downing Street today to discuss net zero as a debate rages in both main parties about the future of green policies. Industry leaders from EDF, SSE, Shell and BP will meet Grant Shapps, the energy security secretary, just days after the government announced it would grant more than 100