Politics

The possibility Boris Johnson could stay on as a “caretaker” prime minister until the autumn after he resigns today has caused concerns among government and opposition leaders. The cabinet is split over whether Mr Johnson should stay or not until a new Conservative leader is appointed in October, sources close to the government have told

Simon Hart has resigned as Secretary of State for Wales following Boris Johnson’s refusal to stand down, despite calls from some of his own cabinet ministers to do so. Mr Hart had earlier been among the cabinet ministers who told Mr Johnson he should listen to the overwhelming view of the Conservative Party and hand

Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed Boris Johnson’s new chancellor after Rishi Sunak dramatically quit the role. He moves from the post of education secretary, a role which has now been awarded to former universities minister Michelle Donelan. The resignations of Mr Sunak and his fellow senior minister Sajid Javid have left the prime minister battling

Boris Johnson has apologised for appointing Chris Pincher deputy chief whip, saying it “was a mistake” and “in hindsight the wrong thing to do”. The prime minister said sorry to “everybody who has been badly affected” adding, “I just want to make absolutely clear that there is no place in this government for anybody who

Boris Johnson was briefed “in person” about an allegation of inappropriate behaviour against disgraced MP Chris Pincher in 2019, a former senior civil servant has claimed. Since the deputy chief whip resigned his post last week after allegations of groping two men, Number 10 has said the prime minister was not aware of specific allegations.

Carrie Johnson openly questioned Chris Pincher’s suitability as a government whip as far back as 2017, Sky News understands. While communications director at CCHQ in 2017, Mrs Johnson (then Ms Symonds) questioned how Mr Pincher had ever ended up in the whips’ office in correspondence seen by Sky News. The exchanges followed Mr Pincher’s resignation

Education minister Will Quince says he has been given “categorical assurance” from Number 10 that Boris Johnson was “not aware of any serious specific allegations” against his disgraced former deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher, when he was appointed. Mr Pincher quit the role last week after he was accused of drunkenly groping two men at

A shake-up of childcare rules will be announced this week, aiming to save money for hundreds of thousands of families by allowing staff to look after more children. The government plans to increase the number of two-year-olds who can be cared for by one adult in a nursery from four to five, billed as helping

Boris John made the “choice he thought was best” in appointing Chris Pincher to government and was “not aware of specific claims” about the Tory MP, a cabinet minister has insisted. Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey also rejected the idea there was a “problem with

Chris Pincher, who lost the Conservative whip after being accused of groping two men, said he is seeking “professional medical support” as he hopes to return to his duties as an MP “as soon as possible”. In a statement by the Tamworth MP, Mr Pincher said he “respected” the prime minister’s decision to suspend the

Boris Johnson is facing questions over his delay in suspending former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher from the parliamentary party over an allegation that he drunkenly groped two men. Mr Pincher had already been forced to quit his role in the Tory whips’ office – in which he was responsible for party discipline and the

Pincher: the name sounds like a character from a Jeffrey Archer novel or the TV drama House of Cards. There have also been, inevitably, some wry smiles and giggles among MPs about the former deputy chief whip’s unusual surname and the groping allegations against him. But in all seriousness, as Mr Pincher faces up to

Boris Johnson’s deputy chief whip has resigned over an allegation of “groping”, Sky News understands. Chris Pincher said he had drunk “far too much” and “embarrassing myself and other people” on a night out. The Conservative MP for Tamworth wrote to the prime minister to explain his decision to stand down. He said in his

New figures have revealed the Department for International Trade only has enough desk space to accommodate 22% of its staff in the office – despite a government push to get civil servants to stop working from home. In April Cabinet Office minister Jacob Rees-Mogg circulated a letter to fellow ministers in which he urged them

European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said it was “high time we got Brexit done” as he fired the latest salvo against Boris Johnson’s government over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Mr Sefcovic told an audience in London that UK legislation designed to tear up parts of the protocol, which governs Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements,

Gordon Brown has claimed that Britain is “at war with America over Ireland” – amid opposition from US politicians over plans to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol. The former prime minister told Sky News’s Beth Rigby Interviews that there was no chance of the UK signing a trade deal with the world’s biggest economy

An anti-Brexit protester has had his amplifiers seized from him outside Parliament in line with new laws that came into force on Tuesday. Steve Bray, known as the “Stop Brexit Man”, was demonstrating in Westminster when police took the equipment. Under the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act, noisy protests are forbidden in a designated

Boris Johnson has called questions over his leadership “political commentary” as rumours mount that a few of his own MPs are considering defecting to the Labour Party. Asked about the reports, the prime minister told reporters that “these are matters for commentators”. Mr Johnson added that his job is to “get on with the agenda”

Mandatory life sentences for those who kill emergency workers are among criminal justice reforms designed to “make our streets safer” coming into force today. The changes also toughen sentences for those guilty of pre-meditated child murder. In such cases a whole-life tariff – where offenders are told they will never be released – will be

Theresa May has delivered a stinging rebuke to Boris Johnson’s plan to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol ahead of a Commons vote. The former prime minister told fellow MPs that she could not support the controversial legislation – which she said would be illegal, fail to achieve its aims, and diminish Britain’s standing