Politics

Lord Myners, a Treasury minister under former prime minister Gordon Brown, has died aged 73. He advised Mr Brown on the historic bailout of the British banking system following the 2008 financial crash. Lord Myners died in the early hours of Sunday morning and is survived by his five children and five grandchildren A statement

A sixth Conservative MP is calling for the prime minister to quit over the ever-growing list of alleged lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street, as Boris Johnson is reportedly preparing to strike back by ousting members of his inner circle. Tim Loughton, former children’s minister and East Worthing and Shoreham MP, said Mr Johnson’s position had become “untenable”

One of five Conservative MPs calling for Boris Johnson to step down has told Sky News he has “lost his moral authority to lead” amid allegations of numerous Downing Street parties during lockdown. Andrew Bridgen, who represents North West Leicestershire, said the wave of accusations against the PM and his Number 10 staff have “made

Boris Johnson is facing claims that regular drinking sessions were held in Downing Street throughout the COVID pandemic with reports that staff held “wine-time Fridays”. In fresh allegations in the “partygate” scandal engulfing the prime minister, it is alleged that the weekly event was scheduled into the electronic calendars of around 50 staff in Number

The head of the taskforce responsible for leading the government’s COVID-19 response held an office leaving bash at a time when indoor socialising was banned, it has been revealed. Kate Josephs, the former director general of the Cabinet Office’s COVID taskforce, said she was “truly sorry” for the gathering on 17 December 2020. She also

The publication of the Sue Gray report into alleged Downing Street COVID breaches could be delayed even further after the police requested it remove most references to events they are investigating. Ms Gray, a senior civil servant some have described as “the most powerful person you’ve never heard of”, is examining evidence around potential lockdown rule-breaking

Home Secretary Priti Patel has distanced herself from Chancellor Rishi Sunak as she threw her full support behind Boris Johnson over the Downing Street garden party row. In an exclusive interview with Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, Ms Patel said that “supporting the prime minister” and his government’s work is how she “spends all

MI5 has warned that a Chinese government agent has been working in parliament “to subvert the processes”, MPs have been told. Iain Duncan Smith told the Commons that Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has written to MPs to let them know he has been contacted by MI5 over the matter. The MP said: “I understand that Mr

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has demanded the resignation of Boris Johnson over the Downing Street drinks party row. Mr Ross claimed the prime minister’s position was “no longer tenable” and revealed he had spoken to Mr Johnson on Wednesday afternoon to “set out my reasons and I explained to him my position”. The Scottish

Boris Johnson has apologised after admitting that he attended a Downing Street garden drinks party during the first lockdown. Addressing the Commons under intense pressure from MPs, including those on his own government benches, to confirm whether he attended a drinks gathering at Number 10 on 20 May 2020, the prime minister said he had

Boris Johnson “is going nowhere” and “retains the confidence of the people of this country”, a minister has claimed, as pressure mounts over Downing Street holding a “bring your own booze” party during the first COVID lockdown. The prime minister and his wife Carrie are understood to have been among 40 people in attendance at

If Downing Street hoped to press the reset button this year after weeks of damaging allegations of lockdown breaches, the latest revelations are the most damaging yet. The net appears, from what sources tell Sky News and other outlets, to be closing around the prime minister. This is not another claim of unknown officials having

The prime minister and his wife Carrie attended a “bring your own booze” event in the Downing Street garden during the UK’s first national COVID lockdown. More than 100 employees in Number 10 were invited to the drinks on 20 May 2020. In what has been described as evidence of “more rule breaking at the heart

Boris Johnson has said the UK is making “great progress” in tackling Omicron – but warned the variant remains “incredibly contagious”. Speaking following a pharmacy visit, the prime minister said 36 million people have now received the booster jab and are more protected from Omicron, but acknowledged that the number of people in hospital with

We may want to live with COVID, but does COVID want to live with us? The decision in Westminster not to impose more restrictions in England over Christmas now looks like something of an inflection point for the country’s pandemic path. The last two weeks have seen a hardening within government in the desire to

Almost half of all Tory members now believe that Rishi Sunak would make a better leader and could win more seats at the next election than Boris Johnson, an exclusive poll for Sky News has found. A third of the Tory membership now think Mr Johnson should stand down as Tory leader. Almost four in

The prime minister has been warned it would be “utterly wrongheaded” to scale back free lateral flow tests following reports they could be limited to high risk settings. Both the Labour Party and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have warned Boris Johnson against the move amid concerns tests could be limited to care homes, hospitals

Leaseholders in lower-rise blocks of flats are set to be spared having to take out loans to remove dangerous cladding from their buildings as the government prepares to “reset” its approach to the scandal. Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, is due to make a statement in which he

More than one million people have signed a petition calling for Sir Tony Blair to have his knighthood removed. The former Labour prime minister, who was in office between 1997 and 2007, was appointed a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter in the New Year Honours list. However, there has been

Boris Johnson has questions to answer over his apparent backing for a “great exhibition” plan supported by a Conservative donor who helped pay for the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, Labour has said. “It stinks. It does appear to be cash for access,” the party’s shadow justice secretary Steve Reed told Sky News. He

Boris Johnson has hit out at anti-vaxxers, declaring they are “completely wrong” and spreading “mumbo jumbo” as the environment secretary said the country would soon get past the peak of Omicron infections. Speaking during a visit to a vaccination centre in Northampton, the prime minister said he wanted to keep a “voluntary approach” to COVID-19

Boris Johnson has offered a “humble and sincere apology” for failing to disclose WhatsApp messages with a Tory peer in which he discussed the funding of his Downing Street flat refurbishment – and blamed getting a new phone for not declaring the conversation. In a series of letters between the prime minister and his independent

At least 852 babies have been born addicted since April 2017 in Scotland, new figures have revealed. The worst year since then was 2017-18 when 249 such births were recorded, then 205 in 2018-19 and 173 in both 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. In the first part of 2021-22, a further 52 babies were born addicted, according

“Around a million people” are currently isolating as a result of coronavirus, a minister has said, as Sky News understands an announcement on the relaxation of testing rules will be announced today. “We don’t actually collect that data on a daily basis, but it’s obvious if you look at how many people tested positive yesterday,

A former minister who was stabbed by a woman more than 11 years ago has said he would welcome the opportunity to meet her as part of a “restorative justice process”. Labour MP Stephen Timms said he has received a letter from Roshonara Choudhry, who is serving a life sentence for attempted murder, apologising for

Boris Johnson has not “earned the right” to be awarded a knighthood once he leaves Downing Street, Sir Keir Starmer has said. Asked if the prime minister should be given an honour in the future, like Tony Blair, the Labour leader said: “No, I am sorry, I don’t think that this prime minister has earned

Sir Keir Starmer is beginning the New Year with an ambitious speech putting patriotism at the heart of the Labour Party’s strategy to win support from voters. Welcoming the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the Commonwealth Games later this year, he claims it is not unpatriotic to criticise things that are going wrong in the country.

Ministers are “concerned” that the number of over-50s being admitted to hospital with COVID is rising, the education secretary has said. Despite the increasing numbers, Nadhim Zahawi became the second minister in two days to tell Sky News that coronavirus data does not currently suggest further restrictions are needed in England this week ahead of

Further COVID restrictions in England are not expected this week thanks to people testing and getting their boosters, a cabinet minister has suggested. His confidence comes despite warnings from NHS leaders about an intensifying ‘health emergency’ as COVID admissions rise. Cabinet Office minister Stephen Barclay said there has been a “significant behaviour change” by the

It was “respectful” and the “right thing to do” to give Tony Blair a knighthood, the Commons Speaker has said. Sir Lindsay Hoyle said all former prime ministers should be given the honour because it is “one of the toughest jobs in the world”. “Whatever people might think, it is one of the toughest jobs

Secondary school students in England are again being asked to wear masks in classrooms to help tackle the rise in Omicron coronavirus cases. The recommendation comes as the government pledges to keep face-to-face education going despite surging COVID-19 infections in England, with a record 162,572 new cases reported on Saturday. Masks will “maximise the number

Further restrictions triggered by COVID must be an “absolute last resort” and the UK will now have to “live alongside” the virus in 2022, Sajid Javid has said. The health secretary has said the wave of Omicron infections will “test the limit of finite NHS capacity even more than a typical winter”, with reports suggesting

New post-Brexit customs rules for goods arriving in Britain from the European Union have come into effect, changes that a leading food industry body has warned could cause disruption and potentially lead to food shortages. Importers must now make full customs declarations on goods entering the UK from the EU and other countries. Traders can