News and Opinion

Joe Biden will begin his first overseas trip as US president when he touches down in Britain ahead of a G7 Summit with an emphasis on coronavirus vaccines. The Democrat and wife Jill are expected to land on Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk on Wednesday to kick off an eight-day trip to […]

Work stopped in a Bulgarian factory that produces olive oil processing machinery when it was accidentally stormed by American soldiers on a training exercise.

The Benin Bronzes have a special status in the debate over cultural artefacts taken during the colonial era. Author Barnaby Phillips explains why, and why the British Museum’s approach to the debate is unsustainable At the end of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee summer, in September 1897, the British Museum hosted an unusual exhibition. It was something of a […]

A former government chief commercial officer who became an adviser to Greensill Capital while still working as a civil servant has insisted there was no conflict of interest, amid questions over the firm’s lobbying. Bill Crothers told MPs on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) that his intention was to follow the rules […]

Remembering the moment when the world’s most famous sportsman was bundled out of his hotel by rebel gunmen Sport and politics have always mixed, but they have never collided quite so spectacularly as they did in the lobby of Havana’s Hotel Lincoln on February 23, 1958. That day, as five-time Formula 1 champion and possibly the […]

A key British cultural organisation is not being abandoned by the UK government, a minister has insisted, amid concerns over possible outpost closures. Conservative MP John Baron used a Commons urgent question to warn a £10 million shortfall has left the British Council facing the prospect of shutting some of its international network. The Basildon […]

George Sand is no longer widely read, but once eclipsed many of the greatest names in 19th century European literature, writes CHARLIE CONNELLY

The government has no plans to give MPs a vote on its decision to cut the overseas aid budget by £4 billion, Downing Street has said. Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has said MPs should be given an “effective” say over the move to suspend the commitment to spend 0.7% of national income on aid […]

Problems are mounting for thousands of Britons in Spain and the rest of Europe who chose not to apply for residency after Brexit It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain… and also in the parts of Europe where UK ex-pats (because people are only called ‘migrants’ when they don’t […]

Northern England and the West Midlands will lose MPs under a planned shake-up of Westminster constituencies, with cabinet ministers set to be hit by the changes. The proposals, aimed at ensuring seats with broadly similar numbers of voters, will see England gain 10 additional seats overall, but the bulk of those will be in the […]

Plans are being drawn up to replace English with French as the main “working language” of the EU during France’s presidency, with meetings and documents to become “French-first” next year.  The French are set to take over the Council of the European Union presidency in 2022, with France planning to use its first presidency since Brexit […]

The EU has been “slow to engage” with discussions over how to solve issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol, environment secretary George Eustice has complained. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There are lots of ways to give the European Union the assurance that they say they want for their single market, and what […]

A new £800 million research agency – which was originally described as Dominic Cummings’ ‘pet project’ – risks being a “side door to sleaze in science”, the opposition has warned. Ministers want the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) to focus on “high-risk, high-reward” research to explore new ideas while having “strategic and cultural” independence and […]

The Chinese government’s pursuit of strategic objectives via financial investment has set up a showdown with critics in the marshes of the south east. The village of Bradwell-on-Sea on the Essex coast is so remote that one local newspaper likened a visit to “driving along the edge of the world”. It sits on a gravel and […]

The European Union’s patience with Britain over Brexit is “wearing thin” and the bloc is considering its options if Number 10 continues on a “confrontational path”, an official has claimed. The European Commission and British government are set to enter talks over the Brexit agreement and the Northern Ireland protocol on Wednesday. The EU has […]

A history of the radical, revolutionary, rowdy roots of the newspaper industry make for a rip-roaring read “We are afsured from good authority that the First Consul of France – has been swallowed by a Whale!” Give or take the odd “f” instead of “s”, this could have come on the Sunday Sport archive, next to […]

Boris Johnson is reportedly unlikely to highlight the strength of the “special relationship” with American president Joe Biden because the prime minister does not like the expression. Downing Street said Johnson “prefers not to use the phrase” but is instead intent on fostering a “close relationship” with Washington. A profile of the prime minister in […]

The Green Party will no longer fight the Batley and Spen by-election after it dropped support for its candidate who made a series of “highly offensive” homophobic tweets as a teenager. Ross Peltier, 29, a prop forward with Doncaster Dons and a Jamaica international, apologised for the “terrible” language used in the tweets and said […]

Boris Johnson has been spared an immediate Tory revolt over cuts to Britain’s overseas aid budget after a Commons move to reverse the decision was ruled out of order by the speaker. Lindsay Hoyle ruled the proposed change to the Bill setting up the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) – which would have forced […]

A cross-party group of MPs have written to Boris Johnson urging him to give “simply exhausted” unpaid carers a weekly break following the pressures of the coronavirus pandemic. The group, led by the Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, is calling on the prime minister to provide emergency funding to local authorities in order to […]

Sky News presenter Kay Burley has returned to work after being suspended for six months for breaking Covid-19 rules. The journalist said it was “great to be back” as she introduced Monday morning’s show, featuring interviews with former prime minister Gordon Brown, Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees and shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy. Burley was suspended […]

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie has defended his attendance at an illegal protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol in Co Armagh. The Upper Bann MLA said he turned up at the event on Saturday to observe and listen, and said he was standing well back from the parade. Loyalists gathered in Portadown town centre on […]

The public is happy to stand by as the nation burns to the ground Alastair Campbell has hit the nail on the head. It seems most people do not care about a prime minister who routinely breaks the law with impunity and who is able to lie and cheat without any consequence. What example does […]

US president Joe Biden is set to issue a fresh Brexit warning to prime minister Boris Johnson during their first face-to-face meeting at the G7 summit this week. The Times reports Biden will use a bilateral meeting with the PM to explicitly express US support for the Northern Ireland Protocol. The pair will meet ahead of […]

The leader of a group of Conservative rebels has warned Boris Johnson the UK will be found “wanting” at this week’s G7 summit if he does not reverse cuts to the aid budget. The prime minister is in a face-off with 30 Tory MPs who have backed a technical amendment, which could be voted upon […]

Ed Miliband has opened up about losing the 2015 general election, admitting he listened too much to advice and said he should have been bolder. Miliband, who is now shadow business secretary, added he was too “risk averse” during the election six years ago and was worried about saying the wrong thing. “That’s the lesson I […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY on a truly epic novel which pays fitting tribute to the female pioneers of aviation One of my favourite historic photographs was taken 99 years ago. It’s of a young woman, wrapped up in a heavy coat and headscarf against a cold wind coming in off the sea, standing alone in a field […]

Vladimir Putin has urged against interference in Russian-British relations after the head of MI6 described the nation as a “declining power” and criticised the Kremlin’s “reckless” behaviour. The Russian president stressed on Friday evening that Richard Moore is “new” to the role as he suggested the spy chief would “revisit his assessments” of Moscow. Moore, […]