Politics

Prince Charles is said to have privately called the UK government’s plans to send some illegal migrants to Rwanda “appalling”. The first deportations under the contentious deal are expected to happen next week after the High Court ruled on Friday that a flight taking asylum seekers to the east African country can go ahead. They

As Westminster lurches to the end of the worst week so far for the prime minister, there is only one clear winner evident as the fog of war subsides. It’s not Sir Keir Starmer – Labour folk are fretting about their lack of impact at the moment. Nor is it the 148 Tory rebels who

Boris Johnson is not a good role model for children, according to a top government adviser who is known as Britain’s strictest headmistress. Katharine Birbalsingh, chair of the social mobility commission, told Sky News’s Beth Rigby Interviews that from his personal life to his messy hairstyle, the three-times married prime minister causes her to “raise

Michael Gove has said he would not run against Boris Johnson for leader of the Conservative Party after admitting he “made a mistake” when he scuppered the prime minister’s chances in 2016. The levelling up secretary told Sky News he “enthusiastically” voted for the prime minister to stay as party leader in Monday night’s confidence

Boris Johnson will announce new measures to help people to get on to the property ladder during a speech in which he pledges to hard-pressed UK households that “things will get better”. The prime minister will set out the plans during a speech in Lancashire on Thursday that will also commit him to reforms in

Conservative MPs should not change the rules to allow another confidence vote in the prime minister within a year, Sajid Javid has said. The health secretary said it was a “clear and decisive result” on Monday night when Boris Johnson won a confidence vote among his MPs – although 148 voted against him. There have

Sajid Javid has promised urgent action to reform health and social care management after a review found evidence of bullying, discrimination and blame culture. The health secretary is promising “the biggest shake-up of leadership in decades” in response to a “stark” conclusion that there is “instructional inadequacy” in how leaders and management are trained, valued

Boris Johnson could face another confidence vote in just six months as the leading Conservative committee is looking at changing the rules after he survived last night’s vote, a senior Tory rebel has said. Tobias Ellwood, who voted against the prime minister, said he understands the heads of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs

It was a vote the PM was desperate to avoid. And when it came, one that Boris Johnson was keen to put behind him quickly, calling the vote as soon as possible after the trigger threshold (54 letters of no confidence) had been reached, and then declaring the result “decisive” and “convincing” once it was

The prime minister’s anti-corruption tsar has resigned over Boris Johnson’s response to the Sue Gray report into partygate – and will vote for him to go tonight. John Penrose has sent his resignation letter to the PM just hours after it was announced a confidence vote in Mr Johnson’s leadership will take place between 6pm

A new law prohibiting the sale of ivory goods in the UK from today is a “landmark moment” in the protection of elephants, according to the government. But despite being widely welcomed by conservationists, there are concerns it doesn’t go far enough to protect other species. It has taken four years for the Ivory Act

Boris Johnson will make the NHS a key feature of a series of expected policy announcements in the coming days, as the PM bids to move on from a bruising week which reignited reports of an impending confidence vote. More than 40 Conservative MPs have publicly called on the prime minister to resign over the

A government consultation that could mean greater use of imperial measurements will be launched on Friday. In 2000, the EU weights and measures directive forced traders to use metric when selling packaged or loose goods such as fruit and veg. They can still use pounds and ounces but must also list grammes and kilos, except

Syrian and Afghan refugees are believed to be on the list of people set to be deported to Rwanda in a fortnight, charities have said. Zoe Gardner, head of policy and advocacy at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), said 15 Syrians have been told they will be sent to Rwanda in

The deputy prime minister has insisted there will not be a Boris Johnson leadership vote next week, saying the “Westminster bubble whips this stuff up”. Dominic Raab downplayed any threat to Mr Johnson’s premiership as the number of Conservative MPs publicly calling for him to go reached 41 in the wake of the Sue Gray

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s own ethics adviser has asked him to explain why he believes he has not broken the ministerial code after being fined for a lockdown breach. Lord Geidt said there was a “legitimate question” over whether the code has been broken – which would normally mean a minister would have to resign.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner have both received questionnaires from Durham Constabulary in relation to a potential breach of lockdown rules in April 2021. Sir Keir has come under pressure over an event in Durham in April 2021 with party colleagues when he was filmed having a drink and a

The trickle of MPs publicly calling for Boris Johnson to resign is now a modest stream and gathering pace. And the dangerous thing is, the rebellion feels uncoordinated and therefore unpredictable. With the number of MPs openly questioning the prime minister‘s authority at 40, senior Conservatives are braced for the possibility of a vote of

The former cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom has blamed Boris Johnson for “unacceptable failings of leadership” over the partygate scandal. The former business secretary is the 40th Conservative MP to have publicly voiced their displeasure with the prime minister since he was fined by the Met for breaching lockdown rules in Downing Street, according to

Tory staffers have come under pressure not to sign a letter calling for more stringent checks on those wishing to become an MP in light of the ongoing “pestminster” scandal, Sky News can reveal. The letter, organised by Angus McVean and Henry Dixon-Clegg, is addressed to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden