British Politics

Boris Johnson is self-isolating after coming into contact with a Tory MP who tested positive for Covid-19, Downing Street has said. The prime minister is “well” and does not have any symptoms of the virus, according to a spokesman for Number 10. “The prime minister has today been notified by NHS Test and Trace that […]

The resignation of Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings will have no impact on crucial Brexit negotiations, environment secretary George Eustice said. After days of turmoil in Number 10, which saw the exit of the prime minister’s right-hand man Cummings and Johnson’s director of communications Lee Cain, Eustice insisted talks with the EU on a future trade […]

The UK’s chief Brexit negotiator has said that a trade deal with the EU may not succeed but he is still hopeful of a resolution as the talks go down to the wire this week. Ahead of renewed negotiations as the clock ticks down to Britain exiting the EU withdrawal transition period at the end […]

The fallout of Dominic Cummings’ departure from government continues, with a newspaper claiming the aide said Johnson was “indecisive” and that Michael Gove was left to provide clarity on decisions. Cummings left his role after a power struggle that has rocked the administration, amid claims he had briefed against Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie […]

Nigel Farage has claimed the exit of Boris Johnson’s top aide from Downing Street means a “Brexit sell-out” is looming. Brexit Party leader Farage said he had never liked the prime minister’s outgoing chief adviser Dominic Cummings, but admitted he was concerned about the consequences of his departure. Cummings left Number 10 carrying a box […]

Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain will continue to work for the prime minister and Downing Street until mid-December, Number 10 has insisted. Boris Johnson’s senior adviser was seen leaving No 10 carrying boxes on Friday evening amid reports he had quit his post with immediate effect. Cummings and Cain, who resigned as communications chief, will still […]

A BBC News presenter has struggled to show “journalistic balance” over the resignation of Boris Johnson’s senior aide Dominic Cummings, as she mocked some of the responses he received to a tweet highlighting his resignation. Cummings was seen leaving Number 10 with a box of possessions, prompting speculation about his future, before it was revealed that […]

Downing Street has revealed Dominic Cummings has resigned with immediate effect after pictures emerged of him appearing to clear his desk. The news comes after Boris Johnson’s senior adviser was seen leaving No 10 with what appeared to be a cardboard box full of belongings. The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reported that Cummings spoke to the […]

Shadow justice secretary David Lammy has broken official Labour Party ranks to call for a Brexit extension on Question Time. Lammy urged Downing Street to seek an extension while it “works out” the economic mess caused by the coronavirus. Prime minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly vowed not to extend the transition period which is set to end on […]

Liz Gerard’s question ‘Should we feel sorry for the PM?’ deserves a response. There is nothing about Boris Johnson and his premiership that can be commended. The Vote Leave regime that he leads is the architect of the hapless state of affairs in which we find ourselves and we haven’t even lived Brexit yet. He […]

A radio caller has said he thinks Dominic Cummings is leaving Downing Street because his plans to reform Westminster had been ‘ruined’ by the coronavirus. Dan from Warwick suggested Cummings had quit because of a lack of funding to support radical reforms to the way government and public services function. The prime minister most senior adviser confirmed on […]

Downing Street has denied reports there will be a softening of the UK’s position on Brexit following the departure of key Vote Leave officials from No 10. The prime minister’s official spokesman acknowledged time was “in short supply” if they were to get an agreement before the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the […]

Labour has suspended a number of members who passed a motion criticising the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn for his reaction to the damning report into anti-Semitism within the party during his leadership. The group from the Bristol West constituency Labour party (CLP) face disciplinary action over the motion which branded the former leader’s treatment as […]

Laurence Fox has claimed he has been “dropped” by his agent following controversial remarks he made on race. Fox claimed the decision came after he told a Question Time audience member that he finds it racist when someone says he has “white privilege”. The 42-year-old actor told the showgoer that “playing the race card was […]

Alastair Campbell has warned that Boris Johnson is “days away” from brokering a “terrible” Brexit deal now that his key adviser has announced his resignation. The New European‘s editor-at-large said the UK was on course to crash out of the Brexit transition period on January 1, or be subject to a ‘bad’ trade deal. Speaking on the news […]

A former board member of the pro-Brexit Vote Leave campaign has dismissed suggestions that Boris Johnson has too many Leavers in his government. Despite an attempt by Johnson to pack his cabinet with supporters of Brexit, and the prime minister’s inner circle containing key Vote Leave officials, a senior Tory MP has denied they have […]

A former adviser to Boris Johnson has delivered a withering assessment of Vote Leave’s impact on the prime minister’s ability to govern. Guto Harri, who was Johnson’s communications director when he was mayor of London, said the group of pro-Brexit advisers in Downing Street led by Dominic Cummings had long been undermining the prime minister’s office. Harri told […]

Michael Gove has been challenged to pick which unelected bureaucrat he supports in the internal war in Number 10. During questions in the House of Commons, the Cabinet Office minister was asked to decide whether he was on the team of “Dom or Carrie”. It came as director of communications Lee Cain resigned, and chief […]

Grant Shapps has fallen short of promising the public that Brexit would not affect the delivery of the coronavirus vaccine currently being developed in the EU. The transport secretary said he remained somewhat confident Britons would have access to the Pfizer vaccine being produced in Belgium. Earlier this week, the government announced coronavirus vaccine trials […]

Brexiteers claim that “Remainers” in government are pushing for a one-year extension to the Brexit transition period, as the clock runs down in talks to secure a deal. The European Union has placed a “seven-day deadline” on talks ahead of an EU summit, with both sides reportedly discussing a “grace period” for Northern Ireland businesses as […]

Dominic Cummings was the adviser who refused to play by the rules of conventional politics and became no stranger to the spotlight. At the start of 2020, he wrote on his blog of wanting to become “much less important – and within a year largely redundant”, with reports suggesting his departure from Downing Street will […]

A senior Conservative MP is expecting a return of “respect, integrity and trust” in Downing Street after the resignation of Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings. Sir Bernard Benkin, the chairman of the Commons Liaison Committee, was asked to give his view after reports Cummings would leave the heart of the government at the end […]

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said that Dominic Cummings “will be missed” when he leaves No 10 but “advisers do come and go”. Asked why Boris Johnson’s chief adviser will be departing, Shapps told Sky News: “As he wrote right at the beginning of the year in his own words, he planned to make himself […]

A former aide to then chancellor Sajid Javid who was escorted out of Downing Street by police officers has settled an employment tribunal claim with the Treasury, reportedly for a five-figure sum. Former Treasury special adviser Sonia Khan was fired by Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings last year. The settlement means Cummings no longer […]

Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser Dominic Cummings is reportedly set to leave his Downing Street position by the end of the year. Cummings told the BBC that “rumours of me threatening to resign are invented” after speculation that he would follow communications director Lee Cain in leaving Number 10. However, he said that his “position […]

The business minister has failed to rule out that the supply of coronavirus vaccine could be affected by Brexit when the transition period ends on December 31. Cabinet minister Alok Sharma repeatedly did not appear to dispute warnings from Croda International, which supplies a crucial ingredient in the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate, that there could be Brexit impact. […]

DAVID BLUNKETT and MATTHEW FLINDERS warn that Dominic Cummings’ technocracy model for government lacks emotional and political understanding. They call for Boris Johnson to ditch it. If crises bring with them new opportunities to think afresh, then the combined impact of Brexit and COVID has been to focus attention on the capacity and structure of the […]

Ken Clarke has said Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill shows the prime minister has “absolute contempt” for the way of Westminster business is conducted. The former Tory chancellor was discussing the internal market bill when he said Johnson’s determination to push through the legislation was a Donald Trump tactics and could lead to major repercussions with US president-elect Joe Biden. […]