Politics

Former chancellor George Osborne has called in police to investigate alleged online harassment after a so-called “poison pen” email was sent to guests due to attend his wedding this weekend. Friends say the email – which has since been posted online – is part of a “long-term campaign” of abuse in which an individual has

Rishi Sunak was unaware of Home Office emergency break proposals on migration reportedly rejected by his predecessor, No 10 has suggested. The Sun reported the Home Office had drawn up a policy document suggesting ministers could cap entry visas, raise fees and increase salary thresholds as “deliberate frictions” in a bid to meet the Conservatives’

The Scottish government has called on Westminster to decriminalise all drugs for personal use. Ministers said the move, outlined in a new paper on drug law reform, would allow those found in possession of drugs to be treated and supported, rather than criminalised and excluded. Decriminalisation would also mean people in recovery would have a

Sir Keir Starmer says he hopes to bring state school standards up to those of their private counterparts within his first term if Labour wins the next general election – though he warned of funding issues due to the state of the economy. Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, the Labour leader said

The UK is planning new powers to sanction Iran after at least 15 “credible threats” to kill or kidnap people in Britain who are deemed as a threat by the regime, the foreign secretary has announced. James Cleverly told Sky News the proposed sanctions regime would give “us the tools to take further action in

Labour peer and professor Lord Winston has admitted he is “not optimistic” about the future of the NHS as the health service celebrates its 75th anniversary. The distinguished professor said he did not believe enough money was being spent organising how the NHS is run and the “national poverty” was undermining the delivery of the

Short-term policy making and a decade of underinvestment has left the NHS in a “critical condition” as it turns 75, health experts have warned. Three leading thinktanks said the service may not reach its 100th birthday without more resources being pumped into it and fundamental reforms. Separately, NHS Providers – which represents hospital trusts –

Two investigations into partygate gatherings involving senior Tories have been announced by the Met Police. One is a re-investigation into claims of a Covid rule breaching party by staff of former Conservative London mayoral candidate, Shaun Bailey, in December 2020. In a press release, the force said: “The Met is now re-opening an investigation into

Members of the Armed Force are using food banks because of “personal decisions around how people are budgeting”, according to the UK veterans minister. Sky News’ defence editor, Deborah Haynes, reported last month that some military personnel and their families had been forced to use the centres as high inflation and rising costs tipped them

Ofcom has launched an investigation into an episode of Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg’s GB News show in which he covered a breaking news story about a court case involving Donald Trump. The media watchdog said it received 40 complaints objecting to the MP for North East Somerset acting as a newsreader during his State Of The

Sue Gray broke the Civil Service code by discussing a job with Labour, a Cabinet Office investigation has concluded. In a written ministerial statement, Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quinn said the “undeclared contact” between her and the party constituted a breach. “The rules and guidance that govern the conduct of civil servants are clear and

Host Sophy Ridge interviews Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who has criticised junior doctors, accusing them of “walking away” from talks over pay and conditions. For teachers, Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson tells Sophy that giving teachers a pay rise is a “complicated issue”. Joined by Claire Ellicott, deputy political editor of the Mail On

Right-wing Tory MPs have urged Rishi Sunak to take action to reduce immigration, saying the system is “too lenient”. The New Conservatives group, made up of 25 MPs on the right of the party, will put forward a number of proposals to the prime minister in a report released on Monday, including ending the temporary

A minister has ordered a local council to end its experiment with a four-day week “immediately” over concerns about the “value for money” for local taxpayers. South Cambridgeshire District Council, the first local authority in the UK to undertake such a trial, had announced plans to extend it until April. Local government minister Lee Rowley

In a barbed resignation letter, Lord Goldsmith has accused the government of withdrawing leadership on climate change and the prime minister of being “uninterested” in the environment. Rishi Sunak was quick to reject the claims, pointing to the UK’s recent involvement in the successful Montreal biodiversity summit, and highlighting that the UK continues to maintain

A Tory minister named in a Privileges Committee report for interfering in Boris Johnson’s partygate probe has resigned from government. Lord Zac Goldsmith, a former MP, has quit his environmental role, claiming Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was “simply uninterested” in the issue. ‘Hugely important day for NHS’, minister says – politics latest On Thursday, the

The government will be in court today as it fights an order from the COVID inquiry to handover unredacted messages from Boris Johnson. The probe was set up by the former prime minister to look into the handling of the pandemic, and hearings have already begun. But its chair, Baroness Hallet, became frustrated with the

The privileges committee’s special report on “sustained interference” into the partygate probe names seven MPs and one peer, accusing them of “improper pressure”. Nadine Dorries is named four times and Mark Jenkinson, Michael Fabricant, Brendan Clarke-Smith, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Andrea Jenkyns, Priti Patel and Zac Goldsmith are all also cited in the report for criticising the

Defeats in the House of Lords mean the government will need to make the case about why it should not be legally bound by international refugee conventions. The government suffered a series of setbacks on its Illegal Migration Bill in the House of Lords on Wednesday, amid fierce opposition from peers. One of the amendments

Thames Water has appointed industry veteran Sir Adrian Montague as chairman as the troubled utility provider seeks to shore up public and investor confidence. The former chairman of Anglian Water and insurance giant Aviva, Sir Adrian will replace current chairman Ian Marchant, who announced in April that he would stand down at the end of

A formal complaint has been made against London Conservative mayoral hopeful Daniel Korski following a groping allegation. TV producer and screenwriter Daisy Goodwin has made a formal complaint against the Tory London mayoral hopeful. Mr Korski has strenuously denied the claim against him. Ms Goodwin alleged in an article for The Times that she was

Shadow housing secretary Lisa Nandy is expected to criticise opposition from within her own party following complaints about Labour’s plans to increase homeownership if they enter government. Ms Nandy – who will be speaking to Sky News on Wednesday morning – will unveil more of her party’s ideas at the Housing 23 summit in Manchester.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has indicated he too will not be following recommendations on public sector pay rises, saying his party are set to “inherit a real mess” if they win the next general election. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has faced a backlash from opposition parties and unions after hinting he will not adopt

Former prime minister Liz Truss has called on the government to have a plan in place in case the Russian government under Vladimir Putin collapses. It came as Foreign Secretary James Cleverly described the mutiny over the weekend as an “unprecedented challenge to President Putin’s authority”. Speaking in the House of Commons, Ms Truss said:

Rishi Sunak has hinted he will ignore recommendations for public sector pay rises, saying workers “need to recognise the economic context we are in”. Reports surfaced over the weekend that the prime minister planned to block upcoming proposals from public sector pay bodies in an attempt to tackle soaring inflation in the country. And health

Labour frontbencher Lisa Nandy has criticised her own party for selecting five white male candidates for a string of forthcoming by-elections. The shadow communities secretary told Sky News that “of course” she was bothered Labour had gone for an all-white male list to contest the Westminster seats. Female opposition MPs are reported to be angered

Reports that Rishi Sunak could block 6% pay rises for public sector workers have been criticised by unions. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) accused the government of “blaming workers who can’t afford to put food on the table” after the Times reported that the prime minister could overrule recommendations from pay review bodies. Government sources

A snap Ofsted inspection should be conducted at a school where a pupil was reported to have identified as a cat, a senior minister has said. A teacher is said to have been recorded telling another classmate at Rye College secondary school in East Sussex that she was “despicable” for refusing to accept the pupil

Junior doctors in England will strike for five consecutive days in July, in what is thought to be the longest single period of industrial action in the history of the health service. The British Medical Association (BMA) said the five-day walkout would be between 7am on Thursday 13 July and 7am on Tuesday 18 July.

Sky News political editor Beth Rigby analyses the week’s big stories, including the pressure piling on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to get inflation under control. Rigby speaks to Sir Elton John’s husband, filmmaker David Furnish – who chairs the musician’s AIDS foundation – about the work the organisation is doing in Ukraine, and the irony

In leafy South West Surrey, traditional Tory ground, we are taking the public temperature. “It’s very hard to vote Conservative at the moment”, 49-year-old Penny tells us. “You just can’t ignore the last two years”. This is the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s seat (8,800 majority). Voters here are affluent, home-owning, traditional Conservatives, the sort of people

Halving inflation by the end of year is “hard but not impossible”, the prime minister has said, in a comment on his pledge earlier in the year to do so. The prime minister was speaking to the Times CEO summit shortly after the surprise hiking of interest rates by the Bank of England on Thursday

Delays to HS2 announced by the government earlier this year in order to help ‘balance the books’ are likely to cost the taxpayer at least £366 million, according to new analysis exclusively leaked to Sky News. The government briefing also predicts the two-year pause to construction work on a key section is actually set to