Politics

The government will be in court today as it fights an order from the COVID inquiry to handover unredacted messages from Boris Johnson. The probe was set up by the former prime minister to look into the handling of the pandemic, and hearings have already begun. But its chair, Baroness Hallet, became frustrated with the

Thames Water customers have been assured that “absolutely nothing” will happen to their bills or supply, as the heavily indebted firm scrambles to raise cash from investors to prevent its collapse. Ministers have continued efforts to reassure the public as Britain’s biggest water firm struggles under a £14bn debt pile, with the government said to

Defeats in the House of Lords mean the government will need to make the case about why it should not be legally bound by international refugee conventions. The government suffered a series of setbacks on its Illegal Migration Bill in the House of Lords on Wednesday, amid fierce opposition from peers. One of the amendments

Thames Water has appointed industry veteran Sir Adrian Montague as chairman as the troubled utility provider seeks to shore up public and investor confidence. The former chairman of Anglian Water and insurance giant Aviva, Sir Adrian will replace current chairman Ian Marchant, who announced in April that he would stand down at the end of

A formal complaint has been made against London Conservative mayoral hopeful Daniel Korski following a groping allegation. TV producer and screenwriter Daisy Goodwin has made a formal complaint against the Tory London mayoral hopeful. Mr Korski has strenuously denied the claim against him. Ms Goodwin alleged in an article for The Times that she was

Shadow housing secretary Lisa Nandy is expected to criticise opposition from within her own party following complaints about Labour’s plans to increase homeownership if they enter government. Ms Nandy – who will be speaking to Sky News on Wednesday morning – will unveil more of her party’s ideas at the Housing 23 summit in Manchester.

Sue Gray has been given the go-ahead by the appointments watchdog to take up a role as chief of staff in Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. The former civil servant, who became a household name after leading the investigation into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street, will be allowed to take up the position from September,

A man running to be the Conservative candidate for London mayor has denied allegations that he groped a woman “in the strongest possible terms”. Daniel Korski is one of three people hoping to run against Sadiq Khan in next year’s election. In an article for The Times, TV producer Daisy Goodwin alleged she was “groped”

Rishi Sunak has hinted he will ignore recommendations for public sector pay rises, saying workers “need to recognise the economic context we are in”. Reports surfaced over the weekend that the prime minister planned to block upcoming proposals from public sector pay bodies in an attempt to tackle soaring inflation in the country. And health

A health minister has refused to commit to accepting the recommendations of public sector pay review bodies (PRBs) for next year, saying the government has to “look overall at what is affordable”. Speaking to Sky News, Helen Whately said she would not “pre-empt” the next steps in the process, as the prime minister “needs to

Labour frontbencher Lisa Nandy has criticised her own party for selecting five white male candidates for a string of forthcoming by-elections. The shadow communities secretary told Sky News that “of course” she was bothered Labour had gone for an all-white male list to contest the Westminster seats. Female opposition MPs are reported to be angered

Reports that Rishi Sunak could block 6% pay rises for public sector workers have been criticised by unions. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) accused the government of “blaming workers who can’t afford to put food on the table” after the Times reported that the prime minister could overrule recommendations from pay review bodies. Government sources

A snap Ofsted inspection should be conducted at a school where a pupil was reported to have identified as a cat, a senior minister has said. A teacher is said to have been recorded telling another classmate at Rye College secondary school in East Sussex that she was “despicable” for refusing to accept the pupil

Junior doctors in England will strike for five consecutive days in July, in what is thought to be the longest single period of industrial action in the history of the health service. The British Medical Association (BMA) said the five-day walkout would be between 7am on Thursday 13 July and 7am on Tuesday 18 July.

Sky News political editor Beth Rigby analyses the week’s big stories, including the pressure piling on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to get inflation under control. Rigby speaks to Sir Elton John’s husband, filmmaker David Furnish – who chairs the musician’s AIDS foundation – about the work the organisation is doing in Ukraine, and the irony

In leafy South West Surrey, traditional Tory ground, we are taking the public temperature. “It’s very hard to vote Conservative at the moment”, 49-year-old Penny tells us. “You just can’t ignore the last two years”. This is the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s seat (8,800 majority). Voters here are affluent, home-owning, traditional Conservatives, the sort of people

Halving inflation by the end of year is “hard but not impossible”, the prime minister has said, in a comment on his pledge earlier in the year to do so. The prime minister was speaking to the Times CEO summit shortly after the surprise hiking of interest rates by the Bank of England on Thursday

Labour has unveiled a five-point plan to tackle the mortgage crisis – but Rishi Sunak is insisting that “beating inflation has to be the priority”. The Opposition and the prime minister were speaking ahead of the Bank of England preparing to hike interests rate yet again after inflation in the UK defied expectations and failed

Another of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s five key priorities for 2023 is in doubt as national debt reached 100% of GDP. The third of the government’s five targets is to reduce the national debt but official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed it increased in May to the highest in more than

Rishi Sunak is facing a by-election triple threat after the Somerton and Frome vote was scheduled for 20 July. The announcement comes after David Warburton formally left the House of Commons on Monday. The election will take place on the same day as Boris Johnson’s vacated Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat, and Nigel Adams’ Selby