News and Opinion

An extraordinary photographic exhibition focuses on Britain’s most peculiar local folklore rituals. But how are these events still managing to survive changing times and attitudes while attempting to remain true to their traditional roots? How about this to get the health and safety bods hot under the collar? A procession of extroverts in fancy dress […]

Boris Johnson is to face Labour leader Keir Starmer for Prime Minister’s Questions for the first time since the local elections and the Queen’s Speech. The prime minister could face pressure to clarify the confusion around international travel rules after one of his ministers said all international trips were “dangerous”. Would-be holidaymakers were left with […]

A chief constable has called on Priti Patel and the Home Office to “stand back” from the policing agenda and allow officers to assert their independence. Staffordshire Police Chief Constable Gareth Morgan told the Times he was concerned home secretary Priti Patel had interfered in operational matters, which could create the impression “policing is seen […]

Danny Huston’s grandfather, his dad and his sister all won Oscars, creating a Hollywood dynasty. No pressure, then.  Movie night when Danny Huston was a kid probably sounds a little different to the ones we’ve all held with our families in lockdown. “There was always a big palaver about getting the projector out,” he says […]

JOHN KAMPFNER on Charles Michel, a man whose recent travails reveal much about the shortcomings of the EU’s institutions How many presidents does it take to run a union? The answer, when it comes to Europe, is three. Plus, a high representative. The problem of duplication is compounded by the fact that each of them […]

Nicola Sturgeon has been re-elected as the first minister of Scotland by a majority of MSPs at Holyrood. The SNP leader said she wants to lead the country “to brighter and better times” and said recovery from the coronavirus pandemic was her “driving priority”. After her re-election, Sturgeon argued there was a “clear mandate” for […]

The government can keep the amount of public money spent on unusable personal protective equipment (PPE) from two companies confidential, the High Court has ruled. The Good Law Project and EveryDoctor are bringing legal action against the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) claiming that contracts awarded to PestFix, Clandeboye and Ayanda Capital were […]

https://www.bestforbritain.org/citizendetentionA cross-party group of MPs have slammed Priti Patel’s detention of EU nationals at British airports following Brexit as “yet another shameful action by the Home Office in a long string of mistreatment of migrants and asylum seekers”. Last week reports surfaced of European citizens being handcuffed at airports, made to sleep in parked vans or prevented from […]

A nurse who looked after Boris Johnson when he was seriously ill with Covid-19 has resigned, citing the government’s 1% pay offer and its lack of respect for the profession. Jenny McGee, who cared for the prime minister in intensive care at St Thomas’ Hospital in central London, told how she found the prime minister […]

British farming will struggle to compete if zero-tariff trade on lamb and beef goes ahead with a post-Brexit trade deal with Australia, the president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has said. A split has emerged within cabinet over the prospect of such an agreement, with environment secretary George Eustice and cabinet office minister Michael […]

The music of the Danish capital, like the city itself, is characterised by an extraordinary imagination and by flights of fantasy Despite being practically-minded enough to have made Denmark one of the countries with the highest quality of life in the world, the Danes also understand the power of imagination. Their most famous son and master of […]

Incoming DUP leader Edwin Poots has held talks with the Northern Ireland secretary in Belfast. Poots had requested the face-to-face meeting with Brandon Lewis to discuss Brexit’s contentious Northern Ireland Protocol and a series of other issues. The Lagan Valley MLA has said removing the Protocol, which governs Irish Sea trade, will be his main […]

George Eustice and Liz Truss have reportedly rowed over a proposed trade deal between the UK and Australia. The Financial Times reported environment secretary Eustice, along with Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, were concerned about the potential impact of tariff-free access for Australian farmers on the British agricultural sector. They have concerns the agreement would further […]

The UK’s Brexit negotiator has admitted the government underestimated the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland. David Frost, who led the talks with the EU, said the disruption to trade between Great Britain and the country had been far greater than what was expected. Speaking to a committee of MPs he said there had been […]

Boris Johnson’s administration is recruiting an external adviser to identify new opportunities following Brexit to demonstrate the benefits of the UK’s departure from the European Union. Almost five years on from the Brexit referendum result, the Tory government continues to struggle to demonstrate the tangible benefits of leaving the EU. It has set former Tory leader […]

A legal challenge over the government’s decision to award more than £650 million in contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) will be heard at the High Court. The Good Law Project and EveryDoctor claim contracts awarded to PestFix, Clandeboye and Ayanda Capital were given unlawfully at the height of the first wave of the coronavirus […]

Luis Ocaña was a lion of a cyclist, yet his was a life seemingly cursed by fate They say that in sport, as in life, you make your own luck. One man who might disagree with that statement, and with some vehemence, is Luis Ocaña. Despite being one of the greatest cyclists Europe ever produced, […]

Forty years on, the circumstances surrounding the shooting of Pope John Paul II remain as murky as ever. Roger Domeneghetti assesses the so-called ‘Bulgarian Connection’ Just before 5pm on the afternoon of May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II stepped into his open-topped ‘Popemobile’ ready to take a short, but slow journey around St Peter’s Square. The sun-drenched […]

The UK’s relationship with the European Union after Brexit could remain “bumpy” for some time, the government admitted. Brexit minister Lord Frost said he wanted the situation with Brussels to improve but highlighted ongoing problems with Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit arrangements. The Tory peer told MPs that the ability to diverge from EU regulations would be […]

TIM WALKER on his run-ins with Michael Winner, a thin-skinned character whose reputation has come under fresh scrutiny in the #MeToo era The late Daily Mail gossip columnist Nigel Dempster loved to have a flutter. When I worked as his deputy around the turn of the millennium, he’d be watching the racing on television most afternoons. On […]

Israeli air strikes on schools, homes and media offices are deeply concerning, Downing Street said, as fighting continued in the Middle East. Downing Street said it was seeking answers from Israel about attacks that destroyed the building housing the Associated Press and other media organisations in Gaza. But Boris Johnson’s official spokesman also expressed concern […]

The cabinet secretary has defended the prime minister’s role as the ultimate arbitrator of the ministerial code after critics argued the current system means Boris Johnson is able to “mark his own homework”. It comes as the prime minister’s ministerial standards adviser, Lord Geidt, is in the process of undertaking an investigation into how renovations […]

Keir Starmer is set to discuss his childhood, career in law and leading the Labour Party from his spare room in lockdown during an interview with Piers Morgan. The Labour leader will sit down with the broadcaster for an hour-long episode of Life Stories, due to be filmed next month and expected to air on […]

An agreed approach is “urgently required” between the UK and EU to avoid any restriction in the availability of medicines in Northern Ireland, a draft government document has warned. The UK government has also set out plans for a phased approach to new Irish Sea border checks on food, in a Northern Ireland Protocol document […]

With good reason, their windows are a source of great pride for Germans. But is it time for them to start looking beyond them? There’s one thing I just can’t get my German head around whenever I’m in a UK bathroom. I’m not referring to the separate hot and cold water taps – although they can be a […]

The incoming DUP leader has said getting rid of the Northern Ireland Protocol will be his top priority in the coming months. Edwin Poots said he is planning a showdown with Boris Johnson and Taoiseach Michael Martin within his first 90 days in office to try and resolve the post-Brexit trade arrangements. Stormont’s current agriculture […]

Parliament’s standards watchdog reportedly believes Boris Johnson’s holiday to Mustique was worth more than double the £15,000 he declared in the Commons register. According to the Daily Mail, Kathryn Stone, the commissioner for standards, said the bill had not been met by Tory donor David Ross as the prime minister has insisted. The revelation will […]

Priti Patel has been accused of a “flagrant breach” of the ministerial code by lobbying a fellow minister in an attempt to secure a healthcare firm access to a personal protective equipment (PPE) deal said to be worth £20 million. Labour has urged cabinet secretary Simon Case to investigate the home secretary over efforts to […]