Politics

The government has dropped plans to introduce a new law to ban conversion therapy. Theresa May had initially promised in 2018 the practice, which attempts to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, would be outlawed – and her successor Boris Johnson also said it would be. But on Thursday, a government spokesman told

A second Cabinet minister has admitted that lockdown laws were broken during the partygate scandal – even after Boris Johnson refused to do so. International trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan conceded that people who have been referred for fines by police investigating events in Downing Street and Whitehall had “broken the regulations”. Ms Trevelyan’s comments on

Boris Johnson has refused to admit to criminality in Downing Street as he was grilled by MPs after fines were issued over the police’s partygate investigation. The prime minister came under pressure, during questions from the Commons liaison committee, to concede that this week’s announcement of 20 fixed penalty notices by the Met Police meant

Dominic Raab has defended Downing Street staff who were under “incredible pressure” after police investigating the partygate scandal began to announce fines for lockdown breaches. The deputy prime minister admitted that “there were clearly things that were got wrong” but said the prime minister had since overhauled the Number 10 operation. Mr Raab’s comments come

Russian-born newspaper mogul Evgeny Lebedev has said he supports Labour’s call for information on the decision to give him a peerage to be made public as he has “nothing to hide”. Boris Johnson has denied that advice was overruled to award the Russian businessman and owner of the Independent and Evening Standard newspapers a seat

The Metropolitan Police is to issue 20 fines to people who attended lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street and Whitehall. But the force has not named the individuals facing the penalties or revealed which events they attended. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among 100 people who were sent formal legal questionnaires relating to the investigation –

Twenty fines could be issued to 20 people in the coming hours over events held in Downing Street and Whitehall during lockdown, Sky News understands. The fines will be issued by detectives investigating the “partygate” scandal. It is believed these punishments are only the first, and more are expected as more than 100 people were

Pupils falling behind in English and maths will be given extra support under new plans set out by the education secretary – but the move was criticised as a “damp squib” by a teachers’ union. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News that the strategy would help those who did not have the “wherewithal” to

The government plans to take a 20% stake in a new nuclear plant in Suffolk in a move to bolster the country’s energy security against a backdrop of global instability and a cost of living crisis. The French power giant EDF is also to take a 20% share in the delayed £20bn Sizewell C project.

Vladimir Putin and his henchmen face a “day of reckoning” with evidence of war crimes having been committed in Ukraine, a cabinet minister has said. It was also “absolutely right” that strict sanctions against Russia should remain in place until the Kremlin withdraws its forces following the “illegal invasion”, Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News. Russia

The High Court has found that the Home Office acted unlawfully in a programme known as Project Sunshine in which data was extracted from mobile phones seized off migrants who arrived on small boats. Immigration officers practiced a “secret and blanket policy” of seizing the phones, which was unlawfully carried out using immigration powers, the

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is preparing to welcome a family of Ukrainian refugees into his home – along with their pet dog. The cabinet minister has said he wanted to “make a meaningful difference” by taking in the household, forced to flee the country’s war-torn capital Kyiv, following the invasion by Russia. The family includes

A P&O ferry has been detained in Larne, Northern Ireland, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The agency said the ship, the European Causeway, was held “due to failures on crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training”. In a statement it said: “The vessel will remain under detention until all these issues are resolved

For a man who spent five years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Anoosheh Ashoori laughs a lot. Snatched off the streets of Iran while visiting his sick mother in 2017, the British-Iranian father was interrogated and held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. But, last week, almost out of the blue, he and

Anoosheh Ashoori has revealed Boris Johnson did not respond to any appeals from his family while he was detained, but since his release the prime minister has asked to meet with him.   The 67-year-old British-Iranian was held for five years in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. He was brought back to the UK last week,

Boris Johnson is set to announce a new military support package for Ukraine on Thursday as he meets with NATO and G7 leaders and urges them to “step up” in response to Russian aggression. Calling on the UK’s allies to ensure Ukrainian’s have the means to continue to protect themselves against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s

For all the eye-catching measures from Rishi Sunak in his mini-budget on Wednesday, what most stood out was the strength of the economic headwinds coming our way. For millions of families already feeling the cost of living squeeze, the news was unrelentingly grim. Inflation is set to hit a 40-year high of 8.7% later in

Rishi Sunak is expected to pledge to “stand by” hardworking families and set out further plans to support people with the rising cost of living when he unveils his spring statement on Wednesday. It is understood the chancellor will unveil proposals intended to build “a stronger, more secure economy” as people across the UK face

As he faces yet another mini budget on Wednesday, Rishi Sunak now suffers from having set expectations unsustainably high during his two years as chancellor.  At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, he pledged to do “whatever it takes” to support the economy. He subsequently received credit amongst the public and his colleagues for doing