News and Opinion

The UK’s most senior civil servant is expected to indicate he has not cleared Boris Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings over the so-called “chatty rat” leak of plans for a second lockdown. Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, is expected to say his inquiry into the leak last autumn is still “live” when he appears before the […]

Labour is demanding Boris Johnson explain whether he signalled his backing for the ill-fated European Super League. The plan by the so-called Big Six Premier League clubs for a breakaway competition dramatically unravelled within just 48 hours after it was vehemently condemned by fans and government ministers – including Johnson – alike. However, the Sunday […]

Downing Street has denied an allegation that Boris Johnson said he would rather see “bodies pile high in their thousands” rather than order a third lockdown. It was reported that the prime minister made the remark after he ordered the second lockdown at the end of October. Johnson was said to have “raged” after agreeing […]

Germany’s reputation for ‘efficiency’ was always code for ‘thoroughness’. And Covid has shown that the two are not the same Pity the poor Germans. The pandemic hasn’t just forced the closure of beer gardens just as the sun started to shine again, it has also given the country’s self-image a knocking. For weeks now, local media […]

PETER TRUDGILL on why we shorten some syllables and not others, such as in privacy and private. It is an interesting fact about the English language that we pronounce the word nature with a long ‘a’ whereas we say natural with a short ‘a’. Similarly, while we say grateful with a long ‘a’, gratitude has a short […]

Why does a republic like Germany love the British royalty so much? Eleven million Germans watched Prince Philip’s funeral last weekend. I was one of them. Seven TV channels live-broadcasted the ceremony. Most had cleared the complete afternoon schedule to show hours of documentaries and talk-shows around the royal event. There was an interview with Prince […]

The Russian president is currently embroiled in a bewildering array of crises, yet seems impervious to everything his opponents can throw at him. So how should the West respond? It’s one of the TV moments of 2021. Good Morning America, March 17. The host is George Stephanopoulos, former communications director under Bill Clinton and one […]

The “stench of sleaze” around the Conservative UK government is “becoming quite overpowering”, Nicola Sturgeon has said. The Scottish first minister called for an inquiry into allegations of “contracts for cronies, donations for decorating and text messages for tax breaks”, saying: “It is time for the Tories to put all their dealings into the public […]

WILL SELF on an art exhibition that prompts thoughts beyond the gallery To Peckham for my first art exhibition since lockdown has lifted. In truth, I wouldn’t have gone if the show weren’t being curated by a friend – but then I sometimes wonder if this applies to all gallery-goers: they’re so very convivial, the […]

The football genius’ nomadic decline after Manchester United is a tale well told. But his brief stint in apartheid South Africa is less familiar. As NATHAN O’HAGAN reports, his spell there set the tone for all that followed He was one of the greatest footballers ever to grace a football pitch. His natural ability and […]

Boris Johnson has denied he tried to block an official leak inquiry following a series of incendiary allegations by his former top adviser Dominic Cummings. In a furious outburst, Cummings accused the PM of seeking to halt the investigation into the leak of plans for a second lockdown after he was warned a close friend of […]

Mitch Benn told Labour leader Keir Starmer to be a little less stiff – but getting thrown out of a pub is taking matters too far… GEAR SHIFT OF THE WEEK Sir Keir Starmer, about whom, you may recall, I was complaining last week; specifically about how he’s taking so subtle and reserved an approach […]

Four ponies detained at Belfast Port for almost five weeks due to errors in post-Brexit paperwork have been released to their new owners. Their arrival at the family farm near Ballygowan, Co Down, came after a judge ordered their release this week. The animals, which had been bought from a seller in Wales, had been […]

Dominic Cummings told Boris Johnson plans to have donors “secretly pay” to revamp his official Downing Street flat were “unethical, foolish” and “possibly illegal”, the ex-Number 10 aide said. The prime minister stopped speaking to his top adviser about the issue last year, Cummings said. He said he had refused to help Johnson organise payments […]

Downing Street has outlined details of Boris Johnson’s communications with billionaire James Dyson, but stopped short of publishing their messages amid a lobbying row. The prime minister insisted there is nothing “sleazy” about their discussions, but the summary published by No 10 falls short of what many had expected. The publication outlines how the entrepreneur was […]

Dominic Cummings has denied being the source of a BBC story on Boris Johnson’s text communications with businessman James Dyson. In a blog post that claims that Johnson and his office has fallen “so far below the standards of competence and integrity the country deserves”, he denied leaking the messages.  The prime minister’s former aide […]

Sir Keir Starmer has called for an investigation into renovation work on Boris Johnson’s official flat. The Electoral Commission says it is trying to establish whether money being funneled into the project needs to be considered as political donations. There have been ongoing reports about the cost of the refurbishments to the Downing Street flat, […]

The EU is on the verge of striking the world’s biggest supply deal of Pfizer’s Covid-19 jabs. The European Commission is finalising the purchase of 1.8 billion doses to supply member states for the next few years. The news comes as the World Health Organisation warned that shots remained out of reach for the world’s […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY on a superb new novel which creates a horrifyingly plausible near-future for Margate. There’s a different kind of sky over the Isle of Thanet, a vast canopy, bigger even somehow than that over the flatlands of the Fens. And the light, the light is different there, and when the sun sets over the sea in […]

Boris Johnson has insisted there is nothing “sleazy” about his messages with James Dyson as he prepared to publish the communications in an attempt to cool a lobbying row. The prime minister said the texts exchanged with the billionaire would be published later on Friday, as Downing Street declined to dismiss suggestions they had been […]

The Scottish Tories have attempted to distance themselves from the lobbying row engulfing the Westminster party. Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said concerns raised over communications between senior UK government officials and business leaders “cannot be allowed to continue”. Ross said he believes governments should operate in “the most transparent and open way”. He added: “The […]

There are few greater symbols of Britain’s standing in the world than Gibraltar. But, as MARK MARDELL explains, as the UK moves away from the EU the Rock is gravitating dramatically into its sphere. A British warship, the HMS Trent, has arrived at her new permanent base, Gibraltar, Britain’s last remaining European overseas territory. According to her captain, […]

Political journalist Robert Peston has claimed that Boris Johnson is on the path to “mutually assured nuclear destruction” as Dominic Cummings is brought into the lobbying row. Cummings has been accused of being “bitter” over the government’s “great progress” since departing as the prime minister’s senior aide. It has been claimed he leaked text messages between […]

Government debt has hit its highest point as a portion of gross domestic product since the early 1960s when the country was still paying off what it had borrowed to fund the fight against Nazi Germany, new figures show. But who can hand over £2.1 trillion to the chancellor, and when do they expect to […]

The town’s by-election will be of immense significance for the Labour Party, but its fate is not an issue that is particularly troubling the locals. Outside a cafe near Hartlepool’s marina, Eve Parker, a student, and Stuart Bown, who works as a gravedigger for the council, are queueing for lunch. They are among a significant percentage of the public […]

Labour is piling pressure on chancellor Rishi Sunak over his lobbying links by urging him to “come clean” with a publication of his correspondence over changes to tax rules and coronavirus support schemes. The opposition party has called for Sunak to share details surrounding “tax breaks by text” after a lobbying row widened to involve communications […]

David Cameron has hit back at claims Greensill Capital had been begging for access to the government-backed Covid loan scheme. Cameron said it was “nonsense” to say the finance firm has been “in difficulty” when he lobbed on its behalf. But Labour said the company, which later collapsed, had been “desperate for access to taxpayer […]

MEPs are set to finally approve the Brexit trade agreement between the UK and EU next week – whilst also warning that it could be cancelled if Number 10 continues to ignore its terms. German socialist MEP Bernd Lange said negotiations over Northern Ireland are “on track” and a solution is “in sight”.  “Ratification makes […]