British Politics

Asylum seekers could be sent to processing centres abroad under Priti Patel’s plans to overhaul the immigration system, according to reports. The British overseas territory of Gibraltar is a location under consideration by officials, according to The Times, as well as the Isle of Man and other islands off the British coast. Priti Patel has […]

Which minister’s mate charged the government £2.6million for the new No.10 Downing Street press briefing room, asks Mitch Benn as he hands out political awards to Boris Johnson and Priti Patel Hello and welcome to this, the first of my columns to be 100% compliant with the terms of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts […]

Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings has blamed the EU for the UK’s slow coronavirus response, despite the UK leaving the bloc before the pandemic properly hit. In his first public appearance since leaving No 10 last year amid the fallout from a bitter internal power struggle, Cummings gave the damning assessment of its attempts […]

Boris Johnson has been reprimanded over misrepresenting Labour’s stance on the police bill that passed through the Commons Tuesday evening. Johnson was gently rebuffed by Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle at the conclusion of today’s Prime Minister Questions after he claimed Labour had voted against a bill on the wrong grounds. Responding to Sir Keir […]

Dominic Cummings has revealed the four demands he made of Boris Johnson before joining No 10 as the prime minister’s chief adviser. Cummings told a group of MPs in his first public appearance since leaving No 10 that he persuaded the prime minister to sort of the “disaster zone” of Whitehall. Appearing before the Commons […]

Dominic Raab has denied saying the UK wants to trade with countries that violated human rights laws after a call with colleagues was leaked to the press. In a leaked video call listened to by HuffPost UK, the foreign secretary is heard telling departmental staff that only trading with countries that meet European Convention on Human […]

Dominic Cummings is to appear before MPs for the first time since he quit as Boris Johnson’s chief aide.     Cummings be questioned by MPs over the government’s new “high-risk” scientific research agency that he championed before his dramatic departure from No 10. In his first public appearance since the dramatic departure late last year, the […]

Boris Johnson’s controversial curbs on protests would “make a dictator blush” and show his government’s liking for “authoritarianism”, MPs have warned. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill cleared its first parliamentary hurdle after receiving a second reading by 359 votes to 263, majority 96, despite opposition to several measures contained within it. Labour tabled […]

Boris Johnson is facing mounting pressure to launch a public inquiry in the UK’s handling of Covid-19 after healthcare experts, government scientists and a former head of the civil service called for one. Thousands of bereaved families, nurses and ethnic minority leaders also backed calls for an inquiry into everything from lockdown tactics to test […]

Downing Street has not denied reports that Boris Johnson thought the best approach in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic was to “ignore it”. The prime minister’s official spokesman pointed to the government’s approach of doing “everything we can” to reduce transmission of the virus, protect the NHS and save lives. The BBC reported […]

Labour MP Mike Hill has quit as an MP, triggering a by-election in a key test of the Red Wall for Labour. The sudden announcement sets up a fresh electoral contest in Hartlepool, a seat long-held by Labour, marking the first test of Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership since taking over from Jeremy Corbyn last year. […]

Downing Street had mulled over the possibility of “chickenpox parties” as a way to build immunity at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, a BBC report has revealed. More than 20 senior politicians and officials who were present when pivotal decisions about Covid-19 were made spoke with the BBC, sharing what was a litany of mistakes […]

The SNP has requested to get indyref2 on the ballot paper at the Holyrood election in May. According to The Herald, Nicola Sturgeon’s party requested to have “Vote SNP for indyref2” and “Both votes SNP for indyref2” included on the ballot paper. The party also lodged a request to register “Nicola Sturgeon for SNP First Minister” […]

Criticism of the handling of the Sarah Everard vigil in London has continued with the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner making pointed comparisons with peaceful scenes in his region. Around 100 people attended a vigil in memory of the 33-year-old in Nottingham on Saturday, with the event passing peacefully. This contrasted with scenes in south […]

The “green Brexit” promised by the government has not been delivered, with weaker protections in areas such as nature and air quality, campaigners have said.

The foreign secretary has defended the government spending more than £2.6 million on creating a White House-style media briefing room in Downing Street after pictures of the refurbishment surfaced this week. The images published by ITV News on Monday show the room in No 9 Downing Street has been kitted out with cameras and rows […]

Minister for Women Liz Truss will not be attending Boris Johnson’s meeting on violence against women, Downing Street has confirmed. Johnson last night announced he would be holding a meeting of the Crime and Justice Taskforce to discuss ways to make streets safer for women and girls following the alleged murder of Sarah Everard on March 3. […]

Organisations including the RSPB, Liberty and Friends of the Earth have written to Priti Patel and Robert Buckland to raise concerns about “draconian” legislation to boost police powers. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is being “rushed through parliament” during the coronavirus pandemic and will have “profound implications” for the public, the groups said. […]

An MP is cross-referencing constituents’ complaints about Dominic Cummings’ trip to Durham with those who complained about the Clapham Commons vigil. According to Guido Fawkes reporter Tom Harwood, an MP is sifting through his emails from people who complained about both in a bid to “point out the hypocrisy of their positions”. He tweeted: “One MP tells […]

A Russian-owned firm was hired to carry out key works in the £2.6million renovation of No 9 in an undisclosed contract to get it ready for White House-style television briefings. An inside source told HuffPost UK that Megahertz undertook essential work, including the installation of computers, cameras, microphones and a control desk to get the building […]

Former Remain and Leave groups have united in opposition to the government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Opponents of Priti Patel’s latest act of legislation include Richard Tice – former chairman of the Brexit Party and Leave Means Leave – and Tom Brufatto, former leader of the People’s Vote marches and co-director of March […]

Labour has said it will not back the government’s key crime legislation because of clauses that could lead to harsher penalties for damaging a statue than attacking a woman. Shadow justice secretary David Lammy said the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill contain “poorly thought out” proposals that would impose controls on the right to protest. […]

The EU will begin legal action on Monday over the UK’s breach of the Northern Ireland Protocol, a source close to the matter has confirmed. A letter is expected to be issued laying out the grounds on which the EU believes a breach occurred. A second “political” letter will be sent sharing the arbitration procedures […]

South African comedian Trevor Noah has taken aim at the royal family and Boris Johnson during his stint as host of this year’s Grammy Awards. Noah, who hosts the late-night satirical news programme The Daily Show in the US, made fun of the prime minister during a comment about UK pop star Harry Styles. The comedian joked that […]

Brexiteer Mark Francois has urged Boris Johnson to stop paying the EU for post-Brexit arrangements after the UK’s decision to leave the EU led to a number of issues in Northern Ireland.  The chair of the European Research Group and Tory MP said the prime minister should reconsider paying £20bn worth of payments over the […]

Scottish secretary Alister Jack has hailed the vaccination programme against the virus as being a success for the UK. The minister claimed Scotland would still be in the “vice-like grip” of coronavirus if it had followed SNP advice on vaccinations. He insisted: “Had we followed the SNP’s advice on vaccines and waited for the flat-footed […]

Boris Johnson will discuss ways to protect women and girls from violence with the head of the Metropolitan Police amid a storm of criticism over the force’s handling of a vigil in memory of Sarah Everard. The prime minister is expected to chair a meeting of the government’s Crime and Justice Taskforce on Monday, with […]

Boris Johnson has held “frank” conversations with the DUP on the Northern Ireland Protocol as he visited the region. Extra checks on goods passing through its ports from the rest of the UK following Brexit have angered unionists. The prime minister toured a mass vaccination centre in Arlene Foster’s Co Fermanagh constituency. He was joined by […]