Politics

A former top civil servant has apologised for suggestions he made early in the COVID pandemic that so-called “chicken pox parties” could help people build immunity to the virus. Lord Mark Sedwill was cabinet secretary when the pandemic started, which means he was also in charge of the Civil Service. He has been highly criticised

Shadow minister Imran Hussain has quit Labour’s frontbench in protest at Sir Keir Starmer’s position on the Israel-Hamas war. Mr Hussain’s decision will be a blow for the Labour leader, who has been attempting to hold his party together in an increasingly fractious debate over whether the leadership should back a ceasefire in Gaza. In

Tougher sentences for the country’s most serious offenders and a crackdown on grooming have taken centre stage in the first King’s Speech in decades. The King struck a personal note when he began his speech – the first by a king in over 70 years – by acknowledging the “legacy of service and devotion to

The government’s policies for the upcoming year will be unveiled during the King’s Speech on Tuesday, with a pledge to put criminal justice “at the heart” of its plans. The speech – devised by the prime minister, but delivered by King Charles – will include details of a Sentencing Bill to ensure whole life orders

Rishi Sunak has responded for the first time to allegations that a Tory MP committed a series of rapes, saying the claims were “very serious”. The prime minister urged anyone with evidence of criminal acts to talk to the police, as he faced questions about the accusations while on a visit to Norfolk. “These are

Rishi Sunak will introduce an annual system to award new oil and gas licences in a move that is likely to anger environmental campaigners. The government said it was bringing forward the plan so it can support the UK’s transition to net zero in a “pragmatic, proportionate and realistic way”. The legislation will be set out

The leader of Burnley Council and 10 other councillors have resigned from the Labour Party this evening over Sir Keir Starmer’s decision not to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, Sky News understands. Afrasiab Anwar, who has been in the party for 10 years, was among those calling for the leader to step down on

The home secretary has said anyone vandalising the Cenotaph on Armistice Day “must be put into a jail cell faster than their feet can touch the ground”. Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Suella Braverman said she doesn’t want to “undermine” the police process by banning pro-Palestinian protests planned for Armistice Day next weekend, but that

Tory MP Bob Stewart has surrendered the Conservative whip while he considers an appeal against his conviction for a racially-aggravated public order offence. The Beckenham MP informed chief whip Simon Hart, according to a government source. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats had called for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take action over the “totally

Suella Braverman wants to restrict the use of tents by homeless people in built-up areas, according to a report. The home secretary’s proposals are said to include allowing charities to be fined if they give out tents that become a nuisance. Ms Braverman wants the plans included in two clauses of a new criminal justice

Tory MP Bob Stewart showed “racial hostility” towards a protester by telling him to “go back to Bahrain” during a demonstration outside a Foreign Office building, a court has been told. The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the incident after a complaint was made by activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, who has said he was

More than half of people feel politicians are using so-called culture wars to distract from other issues, according to a survey which also found the term “woke” is increasingly seen as an insult. Almost two thirds (62%) of those polled said politicians “invent or exaggerate” culture wars as a political tactic – up from less

Boris Johnson asked his most senior scientific advisers if blowing a “special hair dryer” up your nose could kill COVID, according to Dominic Cummings. Mr Cummings’s full evidence statement to the COVID inquiry has been revealed, following his blockbuster in-person grilling on Tuesday. In the document, which runs for more than 100 pages, Mr Johnson‘s

Elon Musk will head to Downing Street for talks with Rishi Sunak today following the prime minister’s AI safety summit. The billionaire owner of SpaceX and Tesla jetted in for the event at Bletchley Park, which began on Wednesday with attending countries backing an agreement on the need to manage risks posed by the technology.

Only one in 10 voters who supported the Tories in 2019 have switched to Labour, according to a major new poll for Sky News.   The exclusive YouGov survey of 5,621 voters found 11% of 2019 Tory voters would now vote for Labour while slightly more – 12% – have switched to Reform UK, a

Boris Johnson suggested he saw COVID as “nature’s way of dealing with old people” and was “obsessed” with them accepting their fate, the inquiry into the pandemic has heard. During a hearing on Tuesday, notes were shared from the government’s former chief scientist describing a “bonkers set of exchanges”. Sir Patrick Vallance wrote in one

There was no shielding plan early in the pandemic and vulnerable groups were “appallingly neglected” as a “fatalistic” approach took hold in Downing Street, Dominic Cummings has claimed. The former chief aide to Boris Johnson, who described Downing Street as being in “complete chaos”, was asked to what degree decision-makers considered ethnic minority groups, domestic

The number of people who died from COVID-19 in the UK has been projected onto the walls of Barnard Castle – the evening before Dominic Cummings was set to give evidence to the official inquiry into the virus and how the UK government handled it. A message saying “231,332 COVID deaths – is that clear

This week at the COVID inquiry is about the advisers – the backroom officials now thrust into the spotlight. They reveal new details of the chaotic decision-making in Number 10 – and more widely across government – and extremely candid assessments of the key players, but particularly Boris Johnson. Today, Martin Reynolds, a close Johnson