Politics

From an Iraqi-refugee who spoke no English to a multi-millionaire businessman and cabinet minister, Nadhim Zahawi’s story is one of the most compelling in Westminster. But questions about his financial affairs are now front and centre, having first gained prominence during the Stratford-on-Avon MP’s short-lived campaign to become prime minister last summer. The allegations centre

“Predators” could exploit gender self-identification, government minister Kemi Badenoch has said, as she voiced her opposition to proposed reforms. The minister for women and equalities argued that offenders would be able to “exploit any system that says you can just say you are what you are,” putting women and girls at risk. In an unprecedented

Downing Street will be hoping that once the prime minister has paid up, voters and journalists will move on and forget this rather embarrassing unforced error. To Rishi Sunak‘s credit, he put his hands up and admitted the error almost immediately. But it is a reminder that in the top job, with a permacrisis of

A series of fresh walkouts by ambulance workers has been announced by Unite in an escalation of the bitter dispute over pay and staffing. The union said its members across England, Wales and Northern Ireland will stage 10 further strikes over the coming weeks, warning that additional dates could be announced soon. Unite’s ambulance workers

The police have said they are “looking into the matter” after the prime minister was caught on camera not wearing a seatbelt. Rishi Sunak admitted a “brief error of judgement” after appearing beltless in a clip on Instagram as he promoted his levelling-up funding in Lancashire. Downing Street said: “That was a brief error of

Rishi Sunak has announced that more than £2bn will be invested in over 100 projects across the UK through the levelling up fund – with £19m going to his own constituency. Reinforcing his commitment to levelling up the country, the prime minister promised the latest round of funding would “build a future of optimism” by

The abuse of power perpetrated by the rapist officer David Carrick is “absolutely despicable” and urgent action is needed, the prime minister has told the head of the Met Police. Rishi Sunak said he had had “constructive” talks with Sir Mark Rowley and “made clear to him – and he agrees – that the abuse

A government minister has appealed to the public sector not to carry out further strikes, saying it would be “an act of self-harm” for the economy. Speaking to Sky News, Robert Jenrick said international factors are “beginning tentatively to work in the right direction”, with energy and fuel prices starting to fall. But he said

The inevitable Commons row over Rishi Sunak blocking the Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill quickly descended into a pantomime. And not just because the SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, and his MPs repeatedly mocked the Scotland secretary, calling him “Baron Jack”. That’s a reference to widely reported claims that Alister Jack is on his way

The education secretary has criticised a teaching union for planning to go on strike, telling Sky News: “Our children don’t deserve it.” Speaking to Kay Burley, Gillian Keegan said she was “very disappointed” after members of the National Education Union (NEU) voted in favour of industrial action, with thousands of staff set to walkout next

The third Monday in January is coined “Blue Monday” because it is supposedly the most depressing day of the year, due to the combination of bad weather, stretched finances and broken new year resolutions. And this particular Blue Monday has brought on an extra dose of misery, bringing with it more strikes in our NHS

The health secretary claims the disparate level of emergency cover during recent ambulance strikes could not be “relied upon to ensure patient and public safety”. In a letter to the GMB union sent ahead of further strikes this month, and seen by Sky News, Steve Barclay accepted all areas that staged walkouts ensured the most

Rishi Sunak is backing plans to give wider powers to the police to tackle “highly disruptive and dangerous protests”. In an announcement on Monday, the government will pledge to amend the already controversial Public Order Bill to “broaden the legal definition of serious disruption”. A statement from Number 10 said it would give officers “greater

The transport secretary has given rail operating companies “permission” to make a new offer to railway unions this week as the government hopes for an end to months of strikes. Mark Harper told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge that he had given the companies a “revised mandate” to go into negotiations in the coming days, saying

More nurses strikes that would see twice as many workers take action will be announced for February if talks with the government do not progress soon, union bosses have warned. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union said that new walkouts would be announced should negotiations over pay remain stalled by the end of January.

Rishi Sunak is preparing to block laws in Scotland that make it easier for people to change gender, Sky News understands. The move would be an unprecedented intervention in 25 years of devolution and is likely to spark a new constitutional row with Holyrood. The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed by a majority

Ambulance workers have written to Rishi Sunak accusing his government of “demonising” them in order to justify new anti-strike legislation. The letter from paramedics and other members of the GMB union said they were “appalled” at some of the statements from ministers in recent days and that “targeting ambulance workers for a deliberate attack is

Rishi Sunak must stand up to the “Brexit purity cult” of Eurosceptics on the Tory benches to find a solution to the Northern Ireland Protocol deadlock, Sir Keir Starmer will say. The Labour leader will use a speech in Belfast to urge the prime minister to take on the European Research Group (ERG) in order

Just 48 hours after Boris Johnson rallied his supporters at an event that looked like the start of a comeback tour, we learn that a multi-millionaire pro-Brexit donor has handed the former PM £1m to fund his office. If ever there was evidence to support the claims that Mr Johnson and his adoring fans are

Two dozen MPs since 2016 have been paid for second jobs through personal service companies they have set up, a Sky News investigation has found. It means these MPs can exploit the fact that tax rates on companies differ from those on employment, enabling them to reduce their tax bills on second jobs. This practice