Politics

Twelve alleged lockdown-busting gatherings are being investigated by the Metropolitan Police as part of the Downing Street partygate row, it has been revealed. The Scotland Yard investigation is the second inquiry to take place into claims Number 10 officials – including Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself – were partying in 2020 and 2021 in breach

The public would “hypothetically” be told if the prime minister was fined for breaking COVID rules, Downing Street has said – reversing an earlier assertion that refused to guarantee that would happen. When asked earlier whether any fixed penalty notices would be made public, the prime minister‘s spokesman said it was for the Metropolitan Police

People who followed COVID rules “will feel like they’ve been taken for mugs” by the prime minster, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has told Sky News. Speaking to Kay Burley, Sir Keir said many members of the public will have felt “anger, grief and guilt” when looking back at how they obeyed COVID-19 restrictions over

Boris Johnson will continue his fightback from the partygate scandal by unveiling plans for a “Brexit Freedoms Bill” to allow retained EU laws to be more easily removed. On the second anniversary of the UK’s official departure from the EU, the prime minister is pledging to “further unleash the benefits of Brexit” with a promise

Boris Johnson is facing more pressure from Conservative MPs to “go back to the drawing board” over a planned tax hike after he recommitted to an increase in National Insurance to help fund the NHS and social care. Senior Tory backbencher Robert Halfon told Sky News the government should instead look at windfall taxes on

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have doubled down on a controversial hike to National Insurance, following reports the prime minister was having second thoughts about the policy. Mr Johnson is under pressure from some Conservative MPs to scrap or at least delay the increase to win back support as he awaits the findings of Whitehall

Tom Tugendhat has become the first MP to say he would run to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a Tory leadership contest. The ex-soldier and Foreign Affairs Select Committee chairman told Times Radio it would be a “huge privilege”. He said he had not been “canvassing support”, but “of course, you should have a

Theresa May has said she is “angry” at the partygate revelations engulfing Boris Johnson, her successor in Number 10. Mrs May, who was in Downing Street from 2016 to 2019, made her intervention regarding the scandal in a letter seen by her local newspaper. She told constituents that “nobody is above the law”, the Maidenhead

A rise in National Insurance contributions in April “is going ahead”, a minister has told Sky News, amid reports Boris Johnson is considering delaying the increase. Technology minister Chris Philp said funds are needed for the NHS and social care and the move is a “proportionate way” of finding the cash. His comments come after

A senior Conservative MP has called for the government to delay the proposed National Insurance hike amid rising cost of living pressures Mel Stride, who chairs the influential Commons Treasury Select Committee, told Sky News that “for a period of one year, the increase should be jettisoned” as the economy is managing better than the

The wait for Sue Gray’s report into lockdown parties in Downing Street and Whitehall to be published has rolled into another day – with Boris Johnson still yet to receive the findings. Sky News understands the report – which is being compiled by the senior civil servant – is still yet to have been sent

Downing Street has yet to receive a report into lockdown parties in Downing Street and across Whitehall, the foreign secretary has confirmed to Sky News. Speaking to Kay Burley, Liz Truss said the government would release the “findings” from the Cabinet Office inquiry, which is being led by senior civil servant Sue Gray. PM braces

The wait for Sue Gray’s report into lockdown parties in Downing Street and Whitehall to be published looks almost certain to roll into tomorrow as the House of Commons has concluded its business – with Boris Johnson still yet to receive the findings. Sky News understands from three government sources that, as of Wednesday afternoon,

One of the odder claims doing the rounds in Westminster is that the announcement that the Metropolitan Police is investigating potentially illegal pandemic parties in Downing Street somehow diffuses Boris Johnson’s political troubles and relieves the pressure on him.  This counterintuitive argument is being pushed by Mr Johnson’s inner circle, who say that since the

A celebration in Downing Street on Boris Johnson’s birthday involved people who were already working together, the transport secretary has told Sky News. Speaking to Kay Burley, Grant Shapps said he did not “seek to defend” the gathering on 19 June 2020, the PM’s 56th birthday. Latest reaction as new claims of Downing Street parties

Downing Street has disputed a report suggesting Boris Johnson held a birthday party inside Number 10 attended by up to 30 people during the first lockdown. ITV News understands the prime minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, helped to arrange the event which was held just after 2pm the afternoon of 19 June – Mr Johnson’s birthday.

A limited version of the report into Downing Street lockdown parties has criticised a “serious failure” to observe the high standards expected of those working at the heart of government. The findings from senior civil servant Sue Gray have been published in a 12-page document. Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates has been going through

A Cabinet Office investigation has been launched into claims from a Conservative MP that she was sacked as a minister because of her Muslim faith. Nusrat Ghani was sacked as transport minister in a February 2020 reshuffle. Downing Street police officers ‘interviewed about partygate’ as PM faces crunch week – politics latest Ms Ghani said

Nusrat Ghani made history in 2018. Standing at the famous Commons spot that has been occupied by generations of politicians, she became the first Muslim woman to speak as a minister from the despatch box. Colleagues cheered as the Kashmir-born MP got to her feet. For many, this was the most visual sign of a

Gavin Williamson has been accused of threatening to withdraw funding for a school in Bury after a former Tory MP considered voting against the government. Christian Wakeford, who recently defected to the Labour Party, had previously said that he was warned funding for a new secondary school in his constituency would be scrapped if he

Wales’ first minister has claimed that Boris Johnson’s “history” is “catching up with him”. In a highly-charged intervention in the partygate row, Mark Drakeford said he is not surprised the prime minister has become embroiled in controversy over Downing Street parties during COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021. “If I’m truthful about it, the prime

Two-thirds of anti-vaccination propaganda posted online is created by just 12 so-called influencers, research has found. Different to those who describe themselves vaccine hesitant, anti-vaxxers tend to employ aggressive methods to persuade others not to get injections designed to help prevent disease. The list was compiled by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and

Harlow is one of Essex’s most deprived towns. Nearly a third of households here have a yearly income of less than £20,000 and nearly two-thirds of households have less than £125 of spare cash left at the end of the month for non-essentials. A quarter of all homes in Harlow are council houses. This, then,

For all of the turbulence and the tempestuous events of the last 48 hours, the key drivers which will determine the prime minister’s future remain broadly the same. A large number of MPs, possibly a majority, are unhappy with Boris Johnson‘s premiership. However they are unsure when to defenestrate him, how to do so, and

The long-term underpayment of state pensioners, an unknown number of whom will have died without receiving what they were owed, is a “shameful shambles”, according to a public spending watchdog. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates it has underpaid 134,000 pensioners, mostly women, over £1bn of their state pension entitlement, with some errors

The health secretary has said COVID could be with us forever but he hopes all restrictions can be lifted by March. Sajid Javid added that we “may well” need an annual coronavirus vaccination, the day after the government announced working from home advice had ended and Plan B restrictions would be lifted next Thursday. He

The Omicron variant of coronavirus is “in retreat” and England is in the “next chapter” of its fight against the virus, the health secretary has said. Speaking at a Downing Street news conference, Sajid Javid said the lifting of Plan B COVID-19 measures is a moment “we can all be proud of”. He said Omicron

Several Conservative MPs have publicly called for Boris Johnson to resign following the prime minister’s admission that he attended a Downing Street garden party during England’s first national lockdown. The developments have prompted speculation that the 54 letters of no confidence needed to oust the PM could soon be reached. Conservative Party rules state that

Boris Johnson is preparing to face MPs in the Commons amid claims that support among Tory MPs is “haemorrhaging away” and he is on the brink of being removed from office. After a potentially brutal Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Johnson will attempt to launch a fightback by announcing he is ripping up Plan B COVID

Dominic Cummings will be interviewed as part of an investigation into parties and gatherings at Downing Street during coronavirus restrictions. Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser confirmed to Sky News that he will be involved in the probe, which is looking at events in Number 10 and other government departments. And a Cabinet Office source told

The government’s attempt to introduce laws to contain protests has been dealt a major blow after the House of Lords voted down a number of the controversial proposals. The government had been moved to act after the disruption caused by eco-activists such as Insulate Britain. But the Lords rejected several of the proposed powers, including:

Alerts about foreign interference in British politics will become more common in the future, the home secretary has said. Delivering a statement to MPs in the Commons, Priti Patel said the government would introduce new legislation to give the security services and agencies the “tools they need to disrupt the full range of state threats”.

Boris Johnson has reportedly been questioned by a senior civil servant over allegations of Number 10 rule-breaking. The Daily Telegraph said Boris Johnson “is understood to have shared what he knows” with Sue Gray ahead of the publication of her investigation this week into claims about lockdown rule-breaking parties in Downing Street. What parties are