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TIM WALKER on Nigel Farage’s latest business venture, Michael Gove’s backer, and a royal scam that caught out several veteran palace watchers. Nigel Farage‘s decision to quit as leader of the Reform UK party – he said he was “done” with frontline politics – may be motivated by a desire to spend more time with his […]

Another top Tory legal official has resigned over Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill. Lord Richard Keen, who is the Tory advocate general for Scotland, said he had handed in his resignation Wednesday morning. Speaking to the Scottish paper the Press and Journal, he said: “I tendered my resignation to the prime minister first thing this morning, […]

The SNP have dismantled Boris Johnson’s claims about Scotland’s ability to deal with coronavirus on its own. Johnson said that the crisis showed the ‘power of our Union’, stating this was ‘only going to get more important as the world sails nervously into economic waters made alarmingly choppy by this unprecedented pandemic’. The PM continued: […]

Nicola Sturgeon has said she is open to an inquiry being launched looking at Russian interference in the Scottish independence referendum, but says it falls into the remit of the Westminster government. Speaking after a heavily redacted report by Westminster’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) was published, Sturgeon said governments should not be ‘complacent’ about […]

A Tory MP has been reprimanded for his ‘deprecatory’ behaviour and ordered to apologise for failing to register his business directorships as interests Marcus Fysh, a member of the European scrutiny committee, was today found to have made three breaches of the code of conduct by the parliamentary commissioner for standards. The commissioner would typically […]

Downing Street has said a Brexit deal is ‘achievable’ by the end of summer, leading to accusations it is rushing to get a conclusion. No 10 said that a new, intensified timeline for negotiations could mean a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is concluded by autumn. Prime minister Boris Johnson is set to meet with European […]

Council officials investigating the estate where Dominic Cummings’ lockdown cottage was based found ‘historic breaches of planning and building control regulations’ but said no further action would be taken. Durham County Council received a series of complaints about the properties on his parents’ farm, on the outskirts of Durham City, where the Downing Street adviser […]

A campaigner has called for a public inquiry into the impact of coronavirus on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people after it was revealed those were more likely to die from the virus. It comes after a review by Public Health England (PHE) found people of Bangladeshi ethnicity had around twice the risk of […]

Who is on the BBC Question Time panel tonight? Here’s your full guide Tonight’s Question Time comes virtually from Glasgow, with audience members submitting questions from the Dear Green Place via video. But who’s on the panel? Here’s your complete guide… Helen Whately Who? Junior health minister Former deputy chair of the Conservative Party, Whately […]

Emily Maitlis has been replaced as presenter of Newsnight on Wednesday evening after bosses reprimanded the host for a monologue about Dominic Cummings breaking lockdown rules. Presenter Emily Maitlis opened the latest show by saying the prime minister’s chief adviser had ‘broken the rules’ and ‘the country can see that, and it’s shocked the government […]

Questions have been asked why Downing Street sent away England’s chief medical officer (CMO) and chief scientific adviser (CSA) after they turned up to host the daily press briefing. Both Chris Whitty (CMO) and Patrick Vallance (CSA) were expected to take questions from the media alongside prime minister Boris Johnson on Monday evening. They were […]

Overseas health and care staff will be exempted from the fee levied on non-EU migrants to pay for the NHS in a u-turn from Boris Johnson following pressure from his backbenches and opposition MPs. Downing Street said the prime minister has asked officials at the Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care […]

The furlough scheme currently supporting 7.5 million workers through the coronavirus crisis will be extended until the end of October, chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced. The scheme – which pays 80% of a worker’s salary up to a £2,500 monthly cap – will remain unchanged until the end of July and then continue with employers […]

The UK has reached the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe after more than 30,000 deaths were recorded from Covid-19. The UK has passed Italy as the country with the most Covid-19 deaths in Europe, with the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing that 29,710 deaths involving Covid-19 in England and […]

The government’s coronavirus testing website was overwhelmed as it opened to new bookings on Friday, with home testing kits running out in the first two minutes of the site going live. Up to 10 million key workers and their households in England are now eligible for coronavirus tests if they have symptoms as the government […]

US media has reported that Kim Jung-Un is in ‘grave danger’ and in a ‘fragile condition’ after unspecified surgery. Speculation about Kim’s health was raised after he missed a celebration honouring his late grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung on April 15. He had been seen four days before that at a government meeting. […]

The head of the European Union’s top science organisation has left his job in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak – with the EU claiming fellow members had called forced him out. Mauro Ferrari had only become president of the European Research Council on January 1, but a statement released to the media claimed he […]

The government has said it is yet to sign a contract with Dyson, despite claims from the billionaire inventor that they were making 10,000 for the NHS. Sir James emailed Dyson staff to say ‘we have received an initial order of 10,000 units from the UK government’. He said teams of engineers had been working […]

Windrush campaigners have called for an end to the government’s hostile environment policy after a report revealed the generation had been let down by the Home Office’s attempts to act tough on immigration. The hostile environment policy has come under fire over claims it failed to take into account that people from Commonwealth countries may […]

Artists, sports players and entertainers from the European Union will not be disadvantaged by the new rules on visas, the Home Office has claimed. The end of the Brexit transition period will mean an end to current freedom of movement for performers and entertainers from the EU. At present they can travel to the UK […]

Sajid Javid has quit as chancellor after Number 10 ordered him to sack his team of aides. Boris Johnson had been expected to keep Javid in post, so news of his resignation shocked Westminster, with the chancellor himself due to deliver the post-Brexit budget to oversee financial stability as the UK leaves the European Union. […]

Esther McVey, Theresa Villiers and Andrea Leadsom are some of the MPs to be unceremoniously dumped from government. Leadsom said it had been a “real privilege” to spend six years in government, adding: “I will continue from the back benches to work to ensure everyone is treated with dignity and respect.” Villiers said: “What the […]

Sarah Sands is standing down as editor of Radio 4’s Today programme after three years. Sands, the former editor of the Evening Standard, was appointed by the corporation in January 2017 and became the first woman to edit the programme. The editor had denied speculation about her departure before Christmas but on Thursday morning she […]

TIM WALKER reviews Coming Clean – a performance at Trafalgar Studios in London until February 1st. If there’s one actress it’s always enlightening to interview, it’s Dame Eileen Atkins. “Infidelity,” she told me, “is one of the last things you should fall out with someone over.” That’s not the modus vivendi agreed by Tony (Lee […]

The organiser of a pro-EU rally on January 31 says he does not care if the media want to compare it to Nigel Farage’s Brexit celebration. Peter French is the man behind ‘À bientôt EU, See you soon’, a procession from Downing Street to the European Commission in Central London taking part on Brexit Day […]

Ministers have been defeated a fourth time in the Lords over Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. Peers inflicted three defeats on the government on Monday night when debating the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. And the mauling continued on Tuesday after a vote on Lord Dubs’ bid to restore the right of unaccompanied child refugees to be reunited […]

Jess Phillips has dropped out of the Labour leadership race – leaving four candidates attempting to replace Jeremy Corbyn. Speculation was rife that Phillips would drop out after the Birmingham Yardley MP was missing from a hustings event organised by the GMB union, whose support could prove crucial to the candidates still hoping to make […]

Brexit trade talks may not begin until March, Brussels has said, dealing a blow to Boris Johnson’s chances of securing a deal by the end of the year. The prime minister has insisted the UK was ready to start negotiating on February 1. But the European Commission said today it would “take some time” for […]