News and Opinion

Alba Party leader Alex Salmond has said a “puff of wind” could currently blow Boris Johnson over, and has said he is not even sure if the prime minister will remain in place after the May elections. Johnson has been under fire in recent weeks over a number of issues, including the recent announcement by […]

Robbie Gibb, a former communications director at No 10 under Theresa May, has been appointed to the BBC’s board. It is understood that Sir Robbie, who had a 25-year career at the BBC before spending two years in Downing Street under the Conservative prime minister, was appointed by the government. The BBC reported that he […]

Among the many complex issues that Scottish independence would throw up would be where to draw a line between English and Scottish waters. Should Scotland vote for independence at some point in the coming years, the issue of where its land border with England should lie will be among the simplest of subjects to resolve. The matter […]

Napoleon’s role in shaping the continent we know today makes him a subject of fascination across Europe. So, on the bicentenary of the emperor’s death, why does he not occupy a central place in the French psyche?  A Frenchman must necessarily be arrogant.  For he can be nothing other than the heir of Napoleon Bonaparte. His commitment to […]

Boris Johnson has said that he doesn’t “think there’s anything to see here” with regards to an investigation into the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat despite the Electoral Commission saying there are “reasonable grounds” to suspect an offence. The prime minister has said he will comply with “whatever” the Commission wants after it launched a […]

From the very beginning, makeovers of the PM’s place of abode have often been a source of antagonism, controversy… and expense. ROBERT WALPOLE (1721-1742)Offered 10 Downing Street by King George II, Walpole refused it as a personal gift and suggested it be the official residence for him and future First Lords of the Treasury. It […]

Boris Johnson created an administration in his own image, and it is doing irreparable damage to our country Shortly before he stepped down after a decade as prime minister, Tony Blair hosted a dinner at Chequers for advisers who had been with him more or less since he became Labour leader. In every one of […]

Keir Starmer has claimed an investigation into the refurbishment of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat could be “over in five minutes” if he revealed “who paid for it in the first place”. The PM has insisted he has not broken any laws over renovations of his Number 11 residence after the Electoral Commission launched a […]

The scandals surrounding Boris Johnson hide the disaster that Brexit has created It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain as companies continue to pay dearly for two basic yet common business mistakes – not putting a Cabinet minister’s sister on the board or having Boris Johnson’s mobile phone number. […]

The German village of Wakendorf II, population 1428, was covered in a wave of liquid manure after the seal on a farm silo burst. Locals said there was a “bestial” smell after the 230,000-litre holding tank, on a farm overlooking the village in Schleswig-Holstein, emptied its contents at 11am last Saturday.  Christopher Möller, 22, said […]

Arlene Foster has resigned as Northern Ireland first minister and leader of the DUP following an internal revolt. Foster will step down as party leader on May 28 and first minister at the end of June, paving the way for a leadership contest to replace her as Northern Ireland’s next head of state. “It has been the […]

Department store John Lewis appeared to mock Boris Johnson as he faced a probe into the controversial refurbishment of his Downing Street flat. The lavish update of the Downing Street decor was reportedly inspired by a desire to get rid of the “John Lewis furniture nightmare” left over by Theresa May. As the Electoral Commission […]

A cross-party panel of MPs will be asked to consider how misleading comments in the Commons should be corrected over concerns from opposition MPs that Boris Johnson is consistently dishonest. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle backed a proposal for the Commons Procedure Committee to look into “how perceived inaccuracies could be corrected” in a bid to […]

TIM WALKER remembers a tense meeting where the Spanish singer was anxious to save face. I got to meet the old crooner Julio Iglesias in the late1980s and it’s his vanity that made the encounter so memorable. In those days, I used to work with Jane Bown, a photographer so grand that she numbered the […]

Boris Johnson “certainly won’t be resigning” amid accusations of sleaze against him and his government, a minister has insisted. Scottish secretary Alister Jack was peppered with questions about the PM, including over the controversial refurbishment of his Downing Street flat and why he is not due to visit Scotland ahead of next week’s Holyrood elections. SNP […]

A fascinating new book focuses on the works of artists who died under the age of 30. Some are households name, but many more are those who would have been if only their lives had not been cut so tragically short The heavy thump of another coffee table art tome being delivered by the postie can evoke groans – and not […]

Matt Kelly on how media saw Boris Johnson as one of their own… and gave the shyster a free ride. Only once have I encountered Boris Johnson in the flesh. It was an illuminating experience, shedding as much sunlight on my industry as it did on this man who, as Ted Hastings would simmer, we’ve […]

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of “sleaze, cronyism and scandal” after the Electoral Commission launched an investigation into the refurb of the prime minister’s Downing Street flat. Sir Keir used Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) to grill Johnson over the Commission’s announcement. “Who initially, and prime minister, initially is the key word here, who initially […]

The Electoral Commission has announced it will investigate the refurbishment of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat, saying it was “satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred”. The election and donations watchdog said it had been in contact with the Conservative Party on the matter since March. […]

The Seychelles are a place where musical cultures from every part of the world – African, Indian, Polynesian, Arabic, Far Eastern and European – truly harmonise “The real richness of these islands is our cultural heritage,” Seychellois musical legend Patrick Victor has said. That is a cultural heritage that ranges far beyond the island of Mahé, smaller […]

News UK has drastically scaled back plans for a new opinionated television service in Britain after its chief executive said it was no longer financially viable. Rebekah Brooks told staff the enormous costs of launching a new channel on-air meant it did not make business sense. Brooks said News UK would instead focus on streaming platforms […]

Michael Gove’s wife has come to the defence of Boris Johnson over allegations surrounding his flat refurbishment, by claiming that he “can’t be expected to live in a skip”. Sarah Vine, who is married to the Cabinet Office minister, said the prime minister must live “to a certain standard” and that it is “perfectly reasonable” for […]

Downing Street is said to be alarmed by reports circulating that Dominic Cummings will release explosive WhatsApp messages exposing the chaos during the early days of the fight against Covid-19. Insiders are said to be sifting through the phones in search of information that could cause them trouble. This comes as a bitter spat between Boris […]

Arlene Foster’s future as DUP leader continues to hang in the balance after party colleagues mounted a heave against Stormont’s first minister. It is understood a significant number of DUP politicians have signed a letter of no confidence in Foster that was circulated among party MLAs, MPs and peers. If those numbers are confirmed and […]

Boris Johnson reportedly claimed he could not afford the £200,000 cost of revamping his Downing Street flat, following suggestions he wanted donors to “secretly pay” for the work. It is the latest allegation about the refurbishment of Number 11, and comes after Downing Street attempted to draw a line under the issue. A No 10 spokeswoman […]

James Dyson had said the reporting of his leaked texts to Boris Johnson suggesting he was trying to “extract favours” was not an accusation “characterisation” of himself. The billionaire pro-Brexit inventor was embroiled in a lobbying row after Johnson reportedly promised Dyson he would “fix” an issue over the tax status of his employees after he […]

The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to approve the UK and European Union’s post-Brexit trade deal. Before voting on the Trade and Co-operation Agreement reached with the prime minister on Christmas Eve, Brussels politicians were told by the European Commission president that the deal has “real teeth”. Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc would […]

The adventures of seafarer Jean Bart read like the chapters of a buccaneering novel When the British finally caught Jean Bart in 1689 it was quite a coup. A Dunkirk-based privateer sailing on behalf of Louis XIV, Bart had wrought havoc up and down the English Channel for 15 years by the time two 50-gun […]