News and Opinion

Brittany Ferries has introduced three new freight services between the Republic of Ireland and France as a result of new post-Brexit laws. The sailings will begin on Thursday, February 4, with a sailing between Rosslare and St Malo. Meanwhile, the first of two new sailings out of Cork to Roscoff will begin this Saturday.   Normally, most […]

The government has been defeated a second time over its post-Brexit trade bill. The legislation would allow the UK government to forge new agreements with other countries after leaving the EU. But opponents want to see parliament given a bigger role, with a former Tory minister leading calls for ministers to publish draft negotiating objectives to […]

Offices belonging to anti-Brexit Alliance Party politicians in Northern Ireland have been daubed with graffiti. North Down MP Stephen Farry and Strangford Assembly member Kellie Armstrong were targeted. The vandalism included “RIP Good Friday Agreement” in a reference to the 1998 peace deal which largely ended decades of conflict. Alliance leader Naomi Long said: “This […]

Independence would hit the Scottish economy harder than Brexit, and rejoining the EU would make little difference, a team of academics has said. The economic damage from leaving both unions would be the equivalent of an income loss of between £2,000 and £2,800 per person, according to an analysis of trade by the London School […]

No 10 has begun distancing itself from a government minister who attacked a reporter for asking a question. Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch has come under mounting criticism after publishing the private correspondence she had with HuffPost UK reporter Nadine White about her absence from a government coronavirus advert targeted at the BAME community. Badenoch accused […]

Captain Sir Tom Moore has died at the age of 100 after testing positive for Covid-19. The charity fundraiser was taken to Bedford Hospital on Sunday after being treated for pneumonia for some time and testing positive for coronavirus last week. In a statement, his daughters Hannah and Lucy said: “It is with great sadness […]

No 10 has said a three-month Brexit grace period for retailers in Northern Ireland should be extended in order to avoid further trade disruptions. Cabinet minister Michael Gove admitted there had been “significant” problems at the Northern Ireland border ever since the UK left the single market on January 1. Supermarkets in the region have been […]

A review of the Human Rights Act will be published in the summer, the justice secretary has confirmed. Robert Buckland said the examination of the legislation will be “sensible and measured”, amid concerns over the government’s approach. Speaking in the Commons, Buckland said: “The government established the independent Human Rights Act review to examine the […]

Downing Street has denied that government scientific advisers called for the closure of UK borders to prevent the spread of new coronavirus variants ‘weeks ago’. The discovery of the South Africa strain of coronavirus has prompted a series of travel bans, with people arriving into England from anywhere outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands […]

Supporters of sacked SNP frontbencher Joanna Cherry have suggested she could challenge Nicola Sturgeon for party leadership. The MP for Edinburgh South West was ‘sacked’ from her post as home affairs and justice spokesperson by Westminster leader Ian Blackford on Monday. But an SNP parliamentarian has suggested the sacking could work to her advantage. “It’s been […]

A “mutation of concern” has been detected in the UK variant of coronavirus, which scientists have described as “a worrying development”. This mutation, known as E484K, is already present in both South African and Brazilian coronavirus variants and experts believe it could have an impact on the effectiveness of some Covid-19 vaccines. Laboratory studies have […]

Readers hope lessons will be learned from Donald Trump’s time in the White House. I have just read A Promised Land, the first part of Barack Obama’s autobiography. Time and time again, his refusal to countenance actions which do not reflect his values – those he set out very clearly during his election campaign – […]

LIAM KENNEDY on Joe Biden’s inauguration message – and what it really means. The election of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States was received across much of the world with a mixture of relief and exuberance, though often laced with apprehension. A common theme in news headlines and Twitter feeds was […]

A Tory MP who refused to apologise for misleading comments about Covid-19 may still face disciplinary action by his party, Michael Gove has hinted. Sir Desmond Swayne wrongly told a group of vaccine sceptics that some Covid-19 data had been “manipulated” while encouraging them to “persist” with their campaign against lockdown restrictions. Gove, a cabinet minister, said […]

A beekeeper trying to bring 15 million bees into the UK says he has been told they may be seized and burned because of post-Brexit laws. Patrick Murfet wants to import the baby Italian bees for his Kent business and to help farmers pollinate valuable crops. But new laws that came into effect after the […]

Former chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is to become a full-time banker. Osborne will step down from his roles as editor-in-chief of the Evening Standard newspaper and senior adviser at investment firm Blackrock at the end of March to join financial consultants Robey Warshaw. Robey Warshaw, founded in 2013, said the former Tory MP would […]

Nicola Sturgeon could seek a second referendum on Scottish independence by Christmas, an SNP minister has signalled. Scots could soon be heading to the polls to decide whether their nation should formally break free from Westminster, the SNP’s constitution minister has suggested. Michael Russell, an architect of the SNP’s road map to independence, said the vote could be held […]

James O’Brien has hit out at critics who have said Remainers are defending the EU’s decision to impose a hard border on the island of Ireland, simply because they are supporters of the bloc. O’Brien took some time during his show on LBC radio to address accusations that Remainers have failed to condemn the EU over […]

A Eurosceptic MEP has nominated former US president Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. Estonian politician Jaak Madison, deputy chairman of the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE),  said he was doing so for failing to start a war in his presidency. He also claimed that Trump had secured stability in the Middle East. Maidson […]

Twitter users have chided Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns for a post she sent celebrating the one year anniversary of Brexit. Jenkyns, a Brexiteer, posted a photo of herself with constituents celebrating Britain’s formal exit from the EU on January 31, 2020. “A year ago today when we had our ‘Big Brexit Bash’ Celebration in Morley. Happy […]

SNP MP Joanna Cherry said she had been “sacked” from her party’s front bench team at Westminster, as a reshuffled was announced. Cherry had been the SNP justice and home affairs spokeswoman at Westminster – but was also seen by many as being close to former leader Alex Salmond, as well as having come in […]

Number 10 has defended a minister as “great” after she launched an online tirade against a journalist for asking questions about her role. Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch accused a reporter of “creepy and bizarre” behaviour for asking why she had not appeared in a video promoting the Covid-19 vaccination campaign. Boris Johnson’s aides defended Badenoch […]

Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock have both been compared to TV characters in the latest poll that explored public perceptions of No 10’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Respondents said Johnson reminded them of Mr Bean while the health secretary was compared to the self-pitying Ian Beale from BBC’s EastEnders. A portion wished New Zealand’s Jacinda Arden […]

Arlene Foster has accused Boris Johnson of a dereliction of duty over Brexit after claiming he is not doing enough to address Irish Sea trade disruption, claiming his excuses were “patronising and offensive”. Northern Ireland’s first minister demanded action from the prime minister amid the continued fallout from the EU’s botched move to invoke a […]

An anti-Brexit campaigner has called on politicians in Westminster and Brussels to “think more maturely” after the EU invoked Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Scientists for EU director Dr Mike Galsworthy said the “kerfuffle” over the weekend “in no way justifies burning £200billion on Brexit”. On Friday, EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen triggered Article 16 of […]

Boris Johnson is poised to appoint Paul Dacre as Ofcom chair, and offer him a peerage, it has been revealed. According to Whitehall and media source, Johnson is preparing to announce the appointment soon and will give Dacre a remit to target the BBC. Dacre stepped down as Daily Mail editor in 2018 but is still […]

The New European is under new ownership. The newspaper has been bought from Archant by its founder Matt Kelly and a consortium of investors including former New York Times CEO Mark Thompson and former FT editor Lionel Barber. Former Independent CEO Gavin O’Reilly becomes executive chairman of the new company, with Kelly assuming the role […]

Former minister Jeremy Hunt has warned that Keir Starmer is the biggest threat to the Tories since Tony Blair. Hunt claimed that the UK can have a “1948 moment” in rebuilding the country after the Covid-19 pandemic, providing an opportunity for the country to reform in a similar way to Clement Attlee’s Labour government after […]