News and Opinion

Boris Johnson described health secretary Matt Hancock as “hopeless” early in the coronavirus pandemic, according to a message published by former aide Dominic Cummings. Cummings, who has blamed Hancock for failings during the Covid response, published a screenshot apparently showing a WhatsApp exchange between himself and the prime minister. On March 3 last year, the […]

Andrew Neil has launched a new channel, GB News. Now, comedian Mitch Benn is starting his own network for middle-aged, straight, balding white men… MB NEWS IS HERE! Hello, good evening/morning/afternoon and welcome to the exciting launch of my very own news channel, MB NEWS! Yes, like 52% of the GREAT BRITISH PUBLIC (give or […]

He infuriated Hitler, won over Churchill and de Gaulle and inspired one of the central characters in Casablanca. So why do we know so little about pan-European visionary Count Coudenhove-Kalergi? The story of uniting Europe goes back a long way before 1950 and the Schuman Declaration. But there is a piece of that history after the […]

Boris Johnson has said that a path through the “thicket of burdensome and restrictive regulation” must be cleared to fulfil the potentials of Brexit. A report from Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform (TIGRR) led by Iain Duncan Smith has described Brexit as a “one-off opportunity” to reduce red tape and set out a new […]

Boris Johnson faces the prospect of a Tory rebellion when MPs are asked to approve the extension of coronavirus restrictions in England until July 19. The House of Commons will vote on Wednesday evening on the four-week delay to the end of lockdown measures, aimed at buying more time for the vaccine programme. Labour has […]

Boris Johnson’s government risks another tragedy like the hate-fuelled killings of Jo Cox or Stephen Lawrence by stoking a “culture war”, a former race adviser has said. Samuel Kasumu, in his first interview since quitting as the prime minister’s most senior black adviser, said some Conservatives believe the path to victory includes exploiting division. “There […]

Calls to immediately scrap the amber travel list and move the countries to the banned red list have been rejected by the government. MPs voted 363 to 256, a majority of 107, to defeat a Labour motion that called for action to create a “clear, simply understood and proper” hotel quarantine scheme at the UK […]

MPs have written to Liz Truss demanding parliamentary scrutiny of the government’s post-Brexit trade deal with Australia. A series of MPs, representing all four nations, have written to the international trade secretary amid concerns that the deal could negatively affect the country’s farmers and put them out of business. In the letter, which was coordinated […]

Boris Johnson is set for showdown talks with the Commons speaker following stinging criticism of the government’s handling of the road map delay announcement. Hoyle initially accused Downing Steet of “running roughshod” over MPs by opting to release details of the unlocking delay to July 19 via a press conference at 6pm on Monday rather […]

The Kominsky Method is surprisingly thoughtful in the way it grapples with the fundamental fragility of friendship and getting old – if you can ignore the unnecessary swipes against the young When I first watched The Kominsky Method I did so with the full expectation that it would melt into the indistinguishable coterie of bland, almost […]

Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the house, has rebuked Boris Johnson’s decision to hold a televised news conference about changes to the Covid roadmap timetable without informing MPs in the House of Commons first. Hoyle angrily called the actions “totally unacceptable” and accused the government of “running roughshod” over MPs. The prime minister held a press conference at […]

A former special adviser to Arlene Foster has warned that the election of the DUP’s new leader will leave a “toxic legacy” with voters. Foster resigned her position as first minister at Stormont this week after she was ousted as party leader and replaced by Edwin Poots. A number of councillors have left the party […]

Michael Gove has described international trade secretary Liz Truss as a “tough” and “shrewd” negotiator who will be looking to deliver “what’s best for Britain” with post-Brexit deals with other countries. The former environment secretary was said to have been at loggerheads with Truss over a trade deal with Australia, fearing the impact it could have […]

Farmers in Kent and Fife say their soft fruit crops may go unpicked because of a lack of seasonal workers from the EU post-Brexit It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain – not only in Cornwall, where a just-married couple’s party was ruined when the guests complained about the […]

The UK may have set a precedent with Australia which could create “negotiating difficulties” for future trade agreements, an expert has said.

Prime minister Boris Johnson is to unveil details of the UK’s first trade deal negotiated from scratch post-Brexit. He will welcome his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, to Downing Street on Tuesday after the two countries agreed on the broad terms of the pact. The deal is reported to have been sealed by the two premiers […]

A marketing invention of the publishing industry or a genuine opportunity to broaden horizons? CHARLIE CONNELLY on the phenomenon of beach books Now that the sun’s been out for longer than 20 minutes it won’t be long before we’re bombarded with recommendations for this year’s holiday reading. As ever these will take two forms: a […]

The German Greens have confirmed Annalena Baerbock as their candidate for chancellor in September’s election, during a party conference in Berlin. Receiving a near unanimous 98.5%, Baerbock accepted, saying that she predicted a “duel” with Germany’s CDU-CSU conservatives.  “For the first time in decades, real change is in the air,” she told the 688 Greens delegates […]

Priti Patel has said she does not support England’s footballers taking the knee in protest against racial injustice, labelling the act “gesture politics”. The home secretary did not condemn football fans who had booed players for taking the knee, calling it a “choice for them” after Gareth Southgate’s side faced jeers from a minority of […]

A Tory MP will make a public apology in the House of Commons for bullying parliamentary committee staff as he struggled with IT issues. Daniel Kawczynski acted in a “threatening and intimidating manner” towards the complainants after he was unable to join a committee hearing due to technical problems. A disciplinary report said the Shrewsbury […]

Boris Johnson is facing legal action over his award of a peerage to a wealthy Tory backer against the advice of the official House of Lords watchdog. Electoral Commission records show Peter Cruddas, a former Conservative Party treasurer, gave the Tories a further £500,000 just three days after taking up his seat in the upper […]

US president Joe Biden urged Boris Johnson to ensure the Northern Ireland peace process is protected in his bitter row with Brussels over post-Brexit trading arrangements, the White House has disclosed. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden – who has spoken of his pride in his Irish roots – had held a “candid discussion” […]

WILL SELF on a painstakingly assembled scale model of a long-gone Teesside neighbourhood Top hats and cloth caps off for Steve Waller, who has spent the past nine years working fulltime on a scale model of the historic St Hilda’s neighbourhood of Middlesbrough. Waller, 61, began working on the model after he slipped a disc […]

St. Louis has as strong a claim as anywhere to be the city where the sound was first heard Rock ‘n’ roll was born at 3137 Whittier Street, St. Louis. Chuck Berry’s debut single Maybellene had it all – teenage heartbreak, fast cars and a driving guitar break – and was written during Berry’s eight-year […]

The country’s complex relationship between church and state has further complicated an ongoing scandal When Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and advisor to Pope Francis, offered his resignation last week, you could almost hear the cymbals clash. Both Marx’s motive and the public manner of his step were a complete novelty. Usually, when prominent German clergy […]

As Angela Merkel departs the scene, her party faces an insurgent effort to move it much further to the right and to reverse her centrist approach. Will it succeed? Two years ago German politician Walter Lübcke was assassinated with a close range shot to his head, as he stood on his front porch. Lübcke, a member of […]

Victory for France in the Euros would give Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante the kind of trophy cabinet that even Messi and Ronaldo would envy Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are on opposite sides of the world preparing to lead their countries in tournaments that represent their last chance to win major honours. No-one of sound mind […]

The story of two places, and two women, linked by fate and separated by a body of water. Calais has always had a special place in British culture. We owned it from 1347 until 1558 after all, even if now it’s mainly known for booze cruises, Channel swims and the first trip abroad for so […]