News and Opinion

EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said Joe Biden’s inauguration represents a new chapter in transatlantic cooperation, adding that Europe finally “has a friend in the White House”. Von der Leyen said that “after four long years”, Europe could now breath a sigh of relief and begin patching up an alliance that came […]

When David Attenborough finally stops making shows, they will have to reinvent the wildlife genre entirely, says Jean-Baptiste Gouyon.  At a recent event on the history of wildlife documentaries, I was asked a question that has popped up regularly in my 15 years of research: “Who, do you think, will replace David Attenborough?”  Now that Sir […]

MEPs in the European Parliament are set to vote on a policy that will allow workers to switch off digital devices without facing consequences. If agreed, a directive will say that EU countries must ensure that workers are able to exercise the right to disconnect effectively, including by means of collective agreements in a bid to […]

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has launched an attack on Rishi Sunak’s handling of the pandemic, claiming his policies have costs job and left the UK with the highest death toll in Europe. Dodds has accused her Tory opposite number of repeatedly taking the wrong policy options, with the government setting up a “false choice” between protecting public […]

Liz Truss has said it is a “matter for the courts to decide” what genocide is, and not the government, despite having voted to scrap an amendment giving judges the power to do so. The international trade minister said British courts were best placed to determine the definition of genocide. The comments come after the government […]

A Tory Brexiteer has claimed that the Electoral Commission “hated Leave campaigners'” claiming he had never before encountered “an organisation that was maliciously undermining the democratic process and attacking individuals because of their political views”. Peter Bone made an intervention as MPs were asked to approve the appointment of Alex Attwood, an SDLP former environment minister in the […]

A new exhibition showcasing the works of Venetian artist Giovanni Antonio Canal, dubbed Canaletto, is set to open in Bath.  To begin when Covid restrictions permit, Canaletto: Painting Venice will run at the city’s Holburne Museum until September 5.   As Claudia Pritchard reports, such was Canaletto’s importance to our understanding and appreciation of the historic Italian city that his work is now helping assess its vulnerability […]

The UK and French governments must make a joint commitment to support struggling Eurostar, the chairman of the Transport Select Committee has said. Tory MP Huw Merriman said the cross-Channel train operator plays a vital role in enabling low-carbon international travel. Eurostar has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, with a 95% fall in […]

The UK and the EU have clashed over the status the trading bloc’s ambassador in London should have. The UK government is refusing to grant Joao Vale de Almeida full diplomatic status offered to other ambassadors. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is insisting he and his officials should not have privileges and immunities afforded to […]

Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan has called on Gavin Williamson to resign as education secretary for being a “catastrophe”. The interviewed started with co-presenter Susanna Reid claiming that he had “failed” many children. She told him: “I remember we talked to each other early on in the pandemic when you cancelled two sets of […]

Downing Street has insisted Boris Johnson’s exchanges at Prime Minister’s Questions fit the criteria of ‘kind and civil’ politics which the PM had called for days before. Johnson’s press secretary Allegra Stratton was asked if nicknaming Keir Starmer “Captain Hindsight” was rude or unpleasant, something she denied. Stratton said it was a way of making […]

Boris Johnson has declared “there’s nothing wrong with being woke”. The prime minister was asked if he considered Biden to be woke – defined as being alert to societal injustices – after Labour’s Lisa Nandy praised Joe Biden as a “woke guy” who is a possible model for electoral success for the Labour Party. “I can’t […]

A minister has finally accepted that Brexit has contributed to shortages on supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland. International trade secretary Liz Truss acknowledged that Brexit had caused issues while appearing on the Peston programme, but claimed that “predictions of armageddon” had not happened. Ireland’s foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney denied the government’s original assertion that Covid-19 was […]

WILL SELF on the unwarranted sense of awe so many Britons have towards US politics. Towards the end of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1959 spy thriller, North by Northwest, the protagonist and his love interest find themselves trapped on Mouth Rushmore by the evil foreign agents. Embodying Madison Avenue advertising executive, Roger Thornhill, with his characteristically blousy […]

James Comey, the blurb on the inside cover of his new book, Saving Justice, says, “might be best known as the FBI director Donald Trump fired in 2017”. Which is true, but, as I tell him when we speak via Zoom from his home in Fairfax County, Virginia, I instinctively want to speak about a […]

Question Time tonight features a virtual audience drawn from Northern Ireland. But who’s on the panel? Here’s your guide… Brandon Lewis Who? Northern Ireland secretary Formerly just a cabinet makeweight most notable for looking more like a neighbour you’d feel confident owned a spare set of jump leads than a senior politician, Lewis wrote his name in […]

Social media won’t the same again without Donald Trump, says LIZ GERARD. But the issues he raised online have not gone away. We’ll miss him now he’s gone. Not from the White House, but from Twitter. Mad, bad and dangerous, maybe. But @realdonaldtrump brought us smiles as well as sighs. Who could forget “Covfefe” or […]

A Donald Trump supporter abruptly hung up on a national radio presenter after failing to cite examples of the former US president telling the truth. Steve from Islington rang James O’Brien to tell him there was a lot in the media which were lies about the outgoing US president. Steve then accused O’Brien of unfairly […]

The US has entered the post-Trump era. But don’t expect things to get much smoother, says JAMES BALL If the last few years had been a movie, then Wednesday of this week would surely be the last, triumphant scene. Yes, the bad guys had been winning for most of the running time – and the pandemic gave us […]

Downing Street has rebuked Theresa May over an accusation that Boris Johnson has abandoned Britain’s position of “global moral leadership”. May used a Daily Mail article saying that while the UK was well placed to play a decisive role in shaping a more co-operative world, she suggested it had not been helped by her successor’s actions. Number […]

With Donald Trump having officially vacated the White House, Twitter users wasted no time in bidding him their version of a farewell. Trump left 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue around 1pm GMT and made a final address at Joint Base Andrews airbase before leaving for his Florida home in Air Force One. The outgoing US president told supporters […]

Nicola Sturgeon has given Donald Trump the “perfect” farewell message. Speaking ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration, the Scottish first minister congratulated the president-elect and his running mate Kamala Harris. During First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament the Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie repeated his calls for Trump’s business interests in Scotland to be investigated under an […]

Outgoing US president Donald Trump has given his strongest indication yet of returning to the political scene, telling supporters at a farewell rally that he would “be back in some form”. Trump thanked followers in his final official speech as US president at Joint Base Andrews airbase before departing for his Florida home in Air Force One. […]

The Northern Ireland secretary has urged MPs not to “overstate” issues at the border which have led to supply issues in supermarkets.  Brandon Lewis said that whilst there have been “challenges” to overcome in the first few weeks since the end of the Brexit transition period, “goods are moving” to and from the island. Responding to […]

Today, President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris will be inaugurated in one of those grandiose ceremonies which America still does so well. Sure, the pomp and circumstance will be much pared-down because [checks] Biden’s predecessor two weeks ago urged his supporters to march on Capitol Hill and overturn an election result through force. But […]

The SNP’s leader in the Commons has questioned Boris Johnson over his ability to be a “moral” leader following remarks by Theresa May. Blackford also asked Johnson if he would overturn cuts to Britain’s foreign aid budget during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs).  “This morning the former prime minister accused the current prime minister of abandoning moral […]

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw has called out the prime minister over his false promises made over Brexit. Speaking at the latest session of Prime Minister’s Questions, Bradshaw asked Johnson: “When the prime minister told the fishermen in the South West that they would not face new export barriers or unnecessary form filling. And when he […]

Prime minister Boris Johnson is keen to relax England’s lockdown in time for Easter, reports claim. Johnson is said to be making “top secret” plans for an Easter relaxation of rules, which could – at least – allow families to mix outside again. Lockdown regulations are currently set to end on March 31 – just […]