Politics

Tory MP Crispin Blunt has been criticised for questioning the conviction of his colleague, Imran Ahmad Khan. Khan, MP for Wakefield, was found guilty on Monday of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008, and was thrown out of the Tory party following the verdict. But Mr Blunt described the conviction as a “dreadful miscarriage

Ali Harbi Ali had spent years hatching his plot to target an MP before his “cold and calculated” murder of Sir David Amess. The 26-year-old “fanatical terrorist” had researched a number of potential high-profile targets including Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Sir Keir Starmer, before settling on the MP for Southend West. Prosecutors described the

Former health secretary Matt Hancock is reportedly set to open his home to seven refugees fleeing Ukraine. Mr Hancock, who resigned from the government last June after he admitted breaking COVID rules, told the Sun on Sunday he will house the family – and their four dogs – at his home in Suffolk, under the

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has become the latest Cabinet minister to find his private financial arrangements under scrutiny as he admitted to being a “non-dom” in the past. Mr Javid, who lived and worked in New York and Singapore during his career as a banker at Chase Manhattan and Deutsche Bank, also disclosed that before

Rishi Sunak has admitted holding a US green card while chancellor but his spokesman has insisted all rules have been followed. It follows Sky News reporting earlier that the chancellor and his wife held US green cards – permitting him residence in the country – until more than a year into his time at 11

The home secretary has apologised over the time taken to get a new visa system for Ukrainian refugees up and running – as Labour said new figures on the programme were “scandalous and shameful”. Priti Patel made the comments in a BBC interview recorded ahead of the release of new Home Office data showing just

Rishi Sunak should not be involved in any decision about reforming “non-dom” tax rules given the “clear conflict of interest” presented by his wife’s status, Labour has argued. The party’s shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry stepped up pressure on the chancellor after he described the scrutiny of his multi-millionaire spouse Akshata Murty’s financial affairs as

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been forced to defend his wife’s tax affairs amid criticism her multi-millionaire status puts him out of touch with the current cost of living crisis. Mr Sunak married Akshata, the daughter of the so-called ‘Bill Gates of India’ – Narayana Murty, in 2009 after they met at Stanford University. Her 0.91%

Rishi Sunak has dramatically broken his silence in the row over his wife’s tax affairs, declaring: “To smear my wife to get at me is awful.” In an interview with The Sun, hitting back at attacks by opposition MPs on his multi-millionaire wife, he said: “She loves her country like I love mine.” Mr Sunak

Britain is to step up its development of nuclear power under plans to boost the country’s long term energy security while delivering thousands of jobs and cheaper bills. The government said up to eight reactors could be delivered by 2030 – accelerating the pace from one a decade to one a year – as the

Boris Johnson has said there is a “limit to the amount of taxpayers’ money” that can be used to address rising bills ahead of launching a long-awaited energy strategy. The government will publish its Energy Security Strategy on Thursday to help tackle soaring energy prices and reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas. But Mr

Millions of workers will begin paying higher National Insurance contributions from today as part of a plan to raise billions for the NHS and social care. The 1.25 percentage point increase, first announced last autumn, is being introduced despite pressure for it to be put off given wider cost of living pressures – with energy,

Rishi Sunak has donated more than £100,000 to Winchester College – one of the most expensive private schools in the country, Sky News can reveal.  Mr Sunak has continued to give money to the school, where he was head boy, since becoming chancellor. The money funds bursaries for children whose parents would otherwise not be

A new strategy for how the UK will produce more of its own energy is to be announced this week after several delays. The government has confirmed it will publish the “Energy Security Strategy” on Thursday to help tackle soaring energy prices and reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas. Boris Johnson promised the plan

The government’s former ethics chief has apologised for an “error of judgement” after being fined by the Met Police for going to a lockdown-breaking party in Westminster. Helen MacNamara said she has paid the fine she was handed in connection with a leaving party held in the Cabinet Office on June 18 2020 to mark

Jacob Rees-Mogg has refused to apologise for calling the Downing Street partygate scandal “fluff” and “fundamentally trivial”. Answering questions from callers on LBC, the Brexit minister said partygate is “not the most important issue in the world” as the war in Ukraine continues. Mr Rees-Mogg also said some of the coronavirus rules in place at

Grant Shapps has suggested the way poverty is presented can be “somewhat misleading” when put to him that rising bills could push 400,000 more children into poverty. Speaking on Sky News’ Ridge on Sunday programme, the transport secretary admitted that rising costs of living are “very substantial”, but questioned estimates of how many people could

Grant Shapps has pushed back against reported proposals to increase the number of onshore windfarms as the government prepares to unveil its energy security strategy next week. The transport secretary told Sky News’ Ridge on Sunday programme that onshore windfarms are “eyesores” and damage the environment, adding that he personally does not favour “a vast

An MP has had the Tory whip withdrawn pending an investigation into allegations about his conduct. Claims about Somerton and Frome MP David Warburton are being examined by Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS). The scheme is the first of its kind in any parliament in the world and aims to tackle “inappropriate behaviour”

Boris Johnson has welcomed a two-month truce in Yemen, with violence in the country’s almost eight-year civil war having intensified this year. The prime minister said the agreement, negotiated by the UN’s special envoy in Yemen, could provide an end to the suffering. He tweeted: “We now have a window of opportunity to finally secure