News and Opinion

David Cameron and Rishi Sunak could be called before MPs to answer questions about the former prime minister’s lobbying activities for Greensill Capital. The Commons Treasury Committee will seek to question the pair after it emerged Cameron sent text messages to the chancellor as he sought to gain access to Government-backed coronavirus loans for Greensill. […]

The prime minister has vowed to take action on the Northern Ireland Protocol if the EU refuses to ditch “absurd” aspects of the post-Brexit trading arrangements. Johnson said his government was currently working on “sandpapering” the Protocol, which governs Irish Sea trade post-Brexit, to address some of the concerns about trade disruption. In an interview […]

SOPHIA DEBOICK on the music of the Mexico capital. Some places are so alive with their own internal mythology that their music speaks of little else. Chilangos, the contested term for the denizens of Mexico City, have played out a love affair with their city in popular song over the last half century, but music […]

Priti Patel is pushing ahead with plans to ban a white supremacist group from operating in the UK. The home secretary wants to outlaw Atomwaffen Division and list National Socialist Order as its alias. Priti Patel has asked parliament to proscribe the “predominantly US-based white supremacist group that celebrates and promotes the use of violence in […]

A UN group has “misrepresented” the findings of a report into racial disparities after it claimed it attempts to “normalise white supremacy”, the government has said. The UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent said it “categorically rejects and condemns” the findings of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (Cred). The […]

It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain… unless, of course, you’re an irony lover who enjoyed Boris Johnson explaining why English football clubs were wrong to want to leave an established, successful European set-up on the vague promise of more riches elsewhere. Boris might not have followed that thought […]

The belief that Brexit supporters were typically working-class from “left behind” red-wall seats and dilapidated seaside towns has been quashed by new research that shows half of leave voters were well off. The research, by think tank UK in a Changing Europe, draws on workshops that occurred in the summer of 2020 and shed light on the motivations […]

Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party take allegations of inappropriate behaviour ‘incredibly seriously’, the prime minister’s press secretary said after a Tory MP was rebuked for his conduct. Delyn MP Rob Roberts has faced allegations over WhatsApp messages sent to a young female intern and also his behaviour towards a male parliament worker. He reportedly […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY on two new European novels which highlight the underappreciated artistry of translators The job of a literary translator can be a thankless one. It’s a multiskilled calling with two main demands: fluency in at least one other language that isn’t your own and an exceptional talent for writing. It’s a role requiring immense artistic […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has been told to leave a pub in Bath by its landlord, while on a walkabout in the city. Rod Humphris, landlord of the Raven pub, which is located in the centre of Bath, appeared to be held back by security guards during the incident. He shouted “that man is […]

Alexei Navalny has been transferred to a prison hospital over concerns the opposition leader is dangerously ill and could die “at any minute”. It comes as doctors released paperwork showing Navalny – who has been on hunger strike for nearly three weeks – was in danger of a heart attack or kidney failure. In a […]

Germany’s Greens have chosen co-leader Annalena Baerbock as their candidate for the federal election in September. Baerbock’s candidacy was announced on Monday morning after beating co-leader Robert Habeck to the role. Baerbock, 40, dismissed concerns about her lack of political experience during her acceptance speech. “Democracy lives off change. Yes, I was never a chancellor and never a […]

The Welsh government has been refused permission for a High Court legal challenge against the Westminster government over post-Brexit legislation. Counsel General for Wales Jeremy Miles tried to bring a full High Court challenge over the Internal Market Act, which he argued “severely curtails” the powers of the Senedd and could prevent it from making […]

The Scottish Tory leader has been accused of sharing a “nonsense” excuse for Boris Johnson’s absence in the Holyrood election campaign. Douglas Ross cited coronavirus restrictions as a reason for the prime minister’s absence, despite the fact he visited Scotland in February to tour vaccination centres. The SNP branded the accusations as “nonsense” and said Johnson […]

The Tories are on course to face their worst defeat of a candidate for the London mayoral race since the office was created Polling shows Sadiq Khan is set to secure a second term as London mayor on May 6. He is easily beating his Conservative rival, Shaun Bailey, who looks likely to suffer the […]

TIM WALKER on meeting Billy Graham. As a venerable democracy, Great Britain used to take a somewhat condescending view of America and the way she liked to wave her flag and loudly profess her faith in God. It wasn’t that we were by and large unpatriotic or ungodly, but we just felt that we’d reached […]

Two citizens’ assemblies should be held in Northern Ireland and the Republic to lay the groundwork for a border poll which could be held in the next decade, a Fine Gael TD has said. Neale Richmond will present his new paper Towards A New Ireland at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University, on Monday. The paper […]

Boris Johnson has cancelled his visit to Delhi next week, as the coronavirus crisis worsens in India and concerns grow over a new variant there. The prime minister’s already-curtailed trip was scrapped altogether on Monday, with plans for him to instead speak to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi later in the month. Downing Street issued […]

Opposition parties in Westminster are pushing ahead with plans to force a vote on whether Boris Johnson should be investigated for a “consistent failure to be honest” in parliament. Six opposition parties have written to Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle urging him to allow a vote. The letter, organised by the Green MP Caroline Lucas, has […]

New analysis has suggested more than nine million people in Great Britain are not correctly registered for the May 6 elections, as the deadline to register to vote passes at the end of Monday. Council and mayoral positions in England and Scottish and Welsh parliament seats are all up for grabs during the May 6 votes, […]

A minister has confirmed Boris Johnson’s trip to India later this month was “under review” amid concerns over a new Covid variant in the country. This comes as Downing Street last week said the trip would be “slightly shorter” than planned with important meetings taking place all in one day. Top UK scientists have been calling […]

The Tory MP leading a Commons committee investigating lobbying is confident that his probe can bring “meaningful change” in the wake of the Greensill Capital controversy. William Wragg is chairman of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, which will be carrying out an inquiry into lobbying and business appointments issues that have come to […]

Boris Johnson risks losing his election gains against Labour if he does not clean up the “shameful” Westminster lobbying controversy, a Conservative grandee has warned. Sir Bernard Jenkin, chair of the Commons Liaison Committee – made up of senior MPs, has urged the prime minister to get a grip on the lobbying system following a […]

The former president of the European Commission has said he “made a mistake” in listening to David Cameron after being told not to interfere with the Brexit debate in the UK. Jean-Claude Juncker said he “should not have listened” to the former prime minister and “spoken out” on the issue. It comes as the row […]

Journalist Rob Hughes was ignored when he claimed a link between heading footballs and dementia nearly 50 years ago – and the authorities are still to act properly Pardon the cynicism, but when the UK parliament in February finally set aside time to listen to doctors and former professional footballers about dementia in our national […]

PETER TRUDGILL on the curious process by which neutral phrases for ‘smell’ tend to turn bad. It is rather well known to keen crossword solvers that the English words aroma, odour, scent, smell and stink all have five letters. Crossword clues indicating a five-letter olfactory answer can therefore not be readily resolved without further work and thought. A good question […]

The diplomatic incident which left Ursula von der Leyen without a chair in her meeting with the Turkish president revealed more than just protocol problems. It exposed deep tensions not just between Europe and Turkey but within the EU itself It was a day of bounty for memes, hashtags and headlines when European Commission president Ursula von der […]

New columnist MEGAN NOLAN on the BBC’s cult series and its world of good cops and bad cops. I moved to England in 2015, when Line of Duty, the beloved BBC drama about an anti-corruption police unit named AC-12, was still dithering between cult fan favourite and mainstream national watercooler conversation. I had never come […]