UK

Sir Keir Starmer has branded Boris Johnson “dishonest” and “a joke” as a senior Tory MP said the prime minister is no longer “worthy” to be in his role following his partygate fine. As Mr Johnson addressed MPs in the Commons for the first time since being issued the fine by the Metropolitan Police for

Parliament comes back on Tuesday to a first: A sitting prime minister fined by the police for breaking the laws he himself set will appear in the Commons to try to defy political gravity yet again by trying to explain away his lawbreaking.  Something we’ve never seen before in this parliament, it will be a

Two British fighters captured by Moscow’s forces in Ukraine have appeared on Russian state TV and asked to be exchanged for a pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk. It was unclear how freely the two men – Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin – were able to talk. Both spoke separately afterbeing prompted by an unidentified man in

Home Secretary Priti Patel has defended the government’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda, telling critics to come up with a better idea. Writing a joint article in The Times with Rwanda’s foreign minister Vincent Biruta, Ms Patel described her controversial plans as “bold and innovative”. Under the new scheme, approved refugees will have to

Priti Patel’s top official told her it was “highly uncertain” that sending migrants to Rwanda would reduce attempts to cross the English Channel – the day before the policy was announced. In a letter to the home secretary, dated Wednesday, Matthew Rycroft also said there was “uncertainty” over “value for money”. The permanent secretary at

The government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is “opposite the nature of God”, the Archbishop of Canterbury will say. Reverend Justin Welby will use his Easter Sunday sermon to criticise the government scheme that will see refugees who reach the UK through illegal routes deported to Rwanda. He is expected to say that

The former housing secretary Robert Jenrick has taken in a Ukrainian refugee family under a government scheme, but claims that the process has been “overly bureaucratic”. The Tory MP for Newark took in 40-year-old Maria and her two children Christina, 11, and Boden, 15, earlier this week and is understood to be the first MP

More than a month after the UK’s Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme was launched, thousands of sponsors are still waiting to welcome Ukrainian nationals, amid reports of red tape and bureaucracy in the process. Lynette Protheroe, from Derbyshire, was matched with sisters Yana and Inna and their three children on 20 March but weeks after submitting an

Good Friday has officially become the hottest day of the year so far after 22C (71.6F) was recorded in central London. Today’s temperature in St James’s Park beats the previous record of 20.8C (69.4F) set in London on 23 March and Cornwall on 25 March. The temperature is likely to climb further, the Met Office

The government hopes it can start sending asylum seekers to Rwanda in a matter of “weeks”, according to Boris Johnson’s policy chief. The UK government is attempting to crack down on Channel crossings by small boats and as part of the plans, the Home Office has signed a “world first” deal with Rwanda to send

The Royal Navy will take over responsibility for tackling people crossing the English Channel from today, Boris Johnson has said as he announced plans plans to fly some migrants to Rwanda. Speaking at an airport in Kent, the prime minister said: “We must ensure that the only route to asylum in the UK is asafe

The government plans to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing in an attempt to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel. Boris Johnson is set to argue action is needed to combat the “vile people smugglers” turning the ocean into a “watery graveyard” in a speech on Thursday. After the prime minister’s speech, Home

The terrorist who murdered veteran MP Sir David Amess is to die behind bars after he was sentenced to a whole-life prison term. Islamic State fanatic Ali Harbi Ali appeared at the Old Bailey on Wednesday after he was convicted of murder and preparing terrorist acts. Sir David was stabbed more than 20 times during

More than half of voters think that Boris Johnson should resign as prime minister after he was fined by police over partygate allegations. The prime minister attended his own birthday party in the Cabinet room in Downing Street in June 2020, when the rest of the country was under coronavirus restrictions. On Tuesday, Mr Johnson

Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie, and chancellor Rishi Sunak, have been notified that they will be issued with fines for breaking lockdown rules. The fixed penalty notices are the result of a Metropolitan Police investigation into parties in Downing Street and Whitehall in 2020 and 2021. Labour immediately called for both to the PM

The UK is “working urgently” to verify details following unconfirmed reports of a Russian chemical attack in a besieged city in Ukraine, the foreign secretary has said. Liz Truss said any confirmed use of chemical weapons in Mariupol would be a “callous escalation” of the war. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, used his nightly video address

A “bloodthirsty” and “fanatical” terrorist has been found guilty of the murder of MP Sir David Amess. The veteran Conservative politician was stabbed to death during a constituency surgery meeting in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in October last year. Sir David, who was the MP for Southend West, suffered more than 20 stab wounds in a “vicious

The chancellor has written to the prime minister asking him to refer him to the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests to determine whether all his interests were “properly declared”. In a tweet, Rishi Sunak said he had “always followed the rules” and that he hoped the review would “provide further clarity”. In the letter Mr

Rishi Sunak and his wife have recognised her tax “situation” was “not favourable”, says a government minister – as the chancellor launched an inquiry into the leaking of details about her non-dom status. After the disclosure that Akshata Murty was “non-domiciled” in Britain for tax purposes sparked a political storm, policing minister Kit Malthouse told

A Whitehall inquiry has been launched into the leak of Rishi Sunak’s wife’s tax status after a week in which the chancellor’s approval ratings have taken a significant hit. Akshata Murty dramatically announced on Friday that she would pay UK taxes on her global income, adding in a statement that she didn’t want the issue