Politics

Rishi Sunak has vowed to “take on” anyone who is “standing in our way” regarding the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. The prime minister struck a combative tone following the Supreme Court’s ruling on Wednesday, which found the policy – a key tenet of Mr Sunak’s pledge to stop small boat crossings

Public sector borrowing reached the second highest level for any October since records began, according to official figures, casting doubt on the prime minister’s pledge to cut debt and the chancellor’s capacity to cut taxes. Public sector net borrowing was £14.9bn last month, £4.4bn more than the same point last year and the second highest

A group of Tory MPs plans to write a letter to Rishi Sunak demanding his “emergency legislation” to revive the Rwanda deportation scheme overrides human rights laws. Sky News understands the New Conservatives group – a cohort of predominantly red wall MPs on the right of the party – will demand the legislation be “over-engineered”

One of the most quoted pieces of folk wisdom is that “voters don’t like divided parties”. The implication is that a political party which can’t keep its own house in order is unlikely to be trusted to run the country. This month epic disunity has been on display in both the government and the opposition.

Jeremy Hunt has said there is “no guarantee” deportation flights to Rwanda will take off next year – in an apparent climbdown on the government’s position. On Wednesday Rishi Sunak said three times the flights would take off by spring, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling that the asylum scheme is unlawful. Follow live: James Cleverly

Rishi Sunak has said he will introduce emergency legislation to make sure his Rwanda plan is not blocked again – and insisted “flights will be heading off in the spring as planned”. After the Supreme Court ruled the flagship asylum policy is unlawful, the prime minister said he had been working on a new international

Suella Braverman has accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of having “manifestly and repeatedly failed to deliver” on key policies in a scathing letter after being sacked as home secretary. In an explosive attack, she said she only accepted the job in September last year because she was given “firm assurances” he would prioritise issues like

Monday brought us the marmalade dropper reshuffle with the return of former prime minister David Cameron. But when it comes to the fate of Rishi Sunak’s government with voters, Wednesday could well prove a much more consequential moment. Politics Hub: Braverman launches scathing attack on PM Because tomorrow the Supreme Court will rule on whether

The government’s flagship immigration policy, known as the Rwanda plan, is hanging in the balance this morning after the highest court in the land found it to be unlawful. But what is the scheme? Why is it so controversial? And how has it ended up in the judicial system? The Rwanda plan was first proposed

Robert Jenrick has vowed the government will do “whatever it takes” to implement its Rwanda deportation plan – following Suella Braverman’s sacking as home secretary. The immigration minister – who kept his job in Monday’s dramatic reshuffle – said the government’s plan “must” go through, “no ifs, no buts”. However, the policy faces a make-or-break

Two of Westminster’s best-connected journalists, Sky News’s Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard, guide us through their predictions of how British politics will play out over the next seven days. In this episode, they look ahead to what could be the biggest week of Rishi Sunak’s premiership so far. The prime minister is set to

A veteran cabinet minister has refused to say whether Suella Braverman will still be home secretary in a week’s time. Asked about Ms Ms Braverman on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said that a “week is a long time in politics” – and that he would not be making any predictions.

Suella Braverman has been accused of emboldening far-right protesters who clashed with police in London on Armistice Day. It follows calls for the home secretary to be sacked after branding pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including one planned for Saturday in central London, “hate marches” and accusing the police of “double standards” in the way they handle protests.

Deepfake audio of Sadiq Khan that has circulated on social media “does not constitute a criminal offence”, the Metropolitan Police has said. The digitally generated audio, using the London mayor’s voice and mannerisms, purports to be a recording of him playing down the importance of Remembrance weekend commemorations. A spokesman for the mayor said the

Digitally generated audio of Sadiq Khan seemingly calling for Armistice Day to be delayed is being investigated by police. Clips have been circulating on social media, using the London mayor’s voice and mannerisms, where he can be heard playing down the importance of Remembrance weekend commemorations. In one clip, a voice similar to Mr Khan

Suella Braverman and Tory critics of the police are undermining public confidence in law enforcement and eroding trust in Britain’s system of democracy, according to heated WhatsApp exchanges among Tory MPs leaked to Sky News. The true scale of the civil war between Tory MPs over the policing of pro-Palestinian marches and behaviour of the

Comments by Suella Braverman show the UK government is “at sea and ignorant” on Irish affairs and the Middle East, Sinn Fein’s president has said. Mary Lou McDonald has accused the Tories of “gratuitous insult” after the home secretary said pro-Palestinian “hate marches” were of the type “we are more used to seeing in Northern

In the end, Thursday’s drama involving Suella Braverman is – at its heart – not about the rights and wrongs of marches, the judgement of the police or potential breaches of the ministerial code, although each and all have been subplots at various points. Actually, the story about the home secretary boils down to a

And another one bites the dust. Suella Braverman – one of the most divisive politicians of the age – has been sacked as home secretary. It marks the fourth dramatic exit from Rishi Sunak’s cabinet in just over a year – after the departures of Dominic Raab, Nadhim Zahawi and Gavin Williamson. It’s not exactly

Rishi Sunak has essentially told Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley that if there’s violence at the pro-Palestine march in London on Saturday, it’s his fault. But it’s a petulant response to Sir Mark’s defiance in the face of the enormous pressure from the PM and other ministers for the Armistice Day march to be

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

Sir Keir Starmer has launched a scathing attack on Suella Braverman over her recent controversial remarks on homelessness – warning Rishi Sunak that “without a serious home secretary… he cannot be a serious prime minister”. Speaking during a debate on Tuesday’s King’s Speech, the Labour leader slammed her claims that living on the street was

The government has announced plans to reinstate EU equality laws before they expire at the end of the year – admitting the move is required to avoid a “clear gap in protections” for workers. Ministers will today lay a statutory instrument intended to “enshrine” key rights and principles derived from the European Union into British

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

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 deputy prime minister has said he fears there has not been the “moral clarity” that “Jewish lives matter” after the Hamas attack on Israel. Oliver Dowden warned the Jewish community in the UK was “fearful” after a number of pro-Palestinian marches. Rishi Sunak’s deputy drew comparisons with the Black Lives Matter protests after the

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

Boris Johnson has claimed he was forced to plunge the UK into lockdown because of NHS “bed blocking”. In a section of his witness statement shared with the official COVID inquiry, the former prime minister said the “extreme measures” announced on 23 March 2020 were introduced because the health service had “failed to grip” the

The COVID inquiry took a political turn this week when a number of key figures who served in Downing Street during the pandemic faced questioning from the probe’s lawyers. Hours of evidence were presented to the inquiry’s chair, and there were a raft of revelations uncovered – from the attitudes shown by senior ministers to