Politics

The Conservative Party is drifting into authoritarianism, a senior Tory MP has warned, as he confirmed he would oppose new coronavirus restrictions. Former Brexit minister Steve Baker told Sky News he believed at least 60 of his party colleagues at Westminster would join him in voting against the imposition of further COVID-19 measures by Boris

Cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant are now being treated in hospitals, cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi has told Sky News. The education secretary also said there were currently no plans to vaccinate primary school children and that Boris Johnson would be saying more about the coronavirus booster programme “later today”. Even if the COVID-19 Omicron

Britain has granted permission for more French fishing boats to trawl UK waters, amid a post-Brexit row over access rights. A UK government spokeswoman said 18 additional licences have been issued to replacement vessels which could prove they had previously fished in British territory. A further seven are under consideration. Meanwhile Jersey has given permanent

Some staff at the Treasury had office drinks while England was in lockdown last year. The Times reported that around two dozen civil servants were present for the drinks on 25 November, 2020. The group had been working on the Autumn Spending Review, the Treasury said. UK could see one million infections – COVID latest

The government has been “presented with some very challenging new information” about the Omicron variant and will keep restrictions “under review”, Michael Gove has said after he chaired a meeting of the COBRA emergency committee. Mr Gove headed the talks with first ministers and deputy first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to discuss

Questions have been raised about the future of the prime minister’s standards adviser, after an official investigation contradicted Boris Johnson’s claim he knew nothing about how the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat was being funded. The Electoral Commission said Mr Johnson sent Lord Brownlow, the multimillionaire director of Huntswood, a WhatsApp message in November

Boris Johnson’s most senior communications adviser addressed staff and handed out awards on the night of the alleged Downing Street party, it is understood. Jack Doyle, the director of communications in Number 10, thanked staff working there “like he does every week”. Downing Street Christmas parties: How many events are now under investigation and when

Boris Johnson is facing mounting pressure from senior backbenchers over an alleged lockdown Downing Street Christmas party and the move to “Plan B” COVID restrictions. Conservative former chief whip Mark Harper led the criticism against the government as Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the Commons further measures were being brought in from Friday, including vaccine

Fewer than one in 10 people believe Number 10’s claim that no party took place in Downing Street last December during lockdown. An Opinium poll for Sky News found 64% think a party did take place, 9% said it did not take place and 27% did not know. This suggests the public is sceptical of

Boris Johnson has apologised after footage emerged of senior Number 10 officials joking and laughing about a Downing Street Christmas party last year during a time of strict COVID restrictions. Facing MPs for the first time since the video emerged, the prime minister said he was “furious” and has asked the Cabinet Secretary to investigate.

The Foreign Office’s top civil servant has admitted to MPs he was on holiday for nearly all of the UK’s evacuation effort in Afghanistan. Sir Philip Barton, who earns around £185,000 per year, was on annual leave – during which he spent time both in the UK and abroad – between 9 to 26 August

Damning claims from a whistleblower about failures during Britain’s evacuation from Afghanistan will be presented to MPs today. The government is accused of being unprepared for a huge number of cries for help from Afghans at risk because of their links with the UK. Some of those Afghans have since been murdered, it is alleged.

The FDA union has lost a High Court challenge over Boris Johnson’s decision to back Priti Patel following accusations that she bullied staff. The prime minister decided last year that the home secretary did not breach the ministerial code by bullying members of her team. This was despite an investigation by the then independent adviser

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has told Sky News he is to call in police after claims that drug abuse is rife in the Houses of Parliament. Sir Lindsay is demanding a drugs crackdown – including sniffer dogs prowling the corridors – amid growing evidence of cannabis and cocaine being used openly. Allegations include a

It would have been “wrong” for a Christmas party to have been held in Downing Street last year, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has admitted – but he hit out at “unsubstantiated claims” of a festive bash in Number 10. The Metropolitan Police have said they are currently considering complaints from Labour MPs that Prime

Scotland Yard is “considering” complaints from two Labour MPs about Christmas parties held in Downing Street last year that allegedly broke coronavirus regulations. The Metropolitan Police said that while it does not routinely look into “retrospective breaches of the COVID-19 regulations”, it would “consider the correspondence received”. Backbenchers Neil Coyle and Barry Gardiner have asked

The speeding up of COVID booster jabs in England will happen no later than 13 December, NHS bosses have said. From that date, or earlier, the online booking system for coronavirus vaccines will be updated in order to allow people to book their booster jab three months after their second dose. It comes after Prime

The Metropolitan Police has not received any complaints about an alleged party in Downing Street last year when indoor socialising was banned under COVID restrictions, the force’s commissioner has said. It has been reported this week that a large party was held on 18 December last year where around “40 or 50” people were crammed

Britons have been urged to “keep calm and carry on with your Christmas plans” despite fears over the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden told Sky News that people should continue to go to the pub and dine at restaurants during the festive season, as he said the government had taken “sufficient”

Downing Street have confirmed “in-person events” such as parties will be held in the lead up to the festive period as a Cabinet minister urged Britons to “keep calm and carry on with your Christmas plans”. A Number 10 spokesperson told Sky News celebrations will be held across Whitehall in the run up to Christmas

Former cabinet ministers who remain in parliament earn an average of £162,000 on top of their MP salary from the private sector in their first year after leaving government, Sky News research has found. The figure, arrived at by analysing data from the register of members’ interests between 2015 and 2021, excludes earnings from media

Number 10 has stressed that Christmas parties should not be cancelled and there are no rules limiting their size after conflicting comments from ministers and officials in recent days. The discovery of the Omicron variant of coronavirus has prompted speculation about how Britons should be approaching festive celebrations this year. As scientists work to assess

French President Emmanuel Macron had branded Boris Johnson a “clown” in charge of a “circus”, amid worsening relations sparked by the migrant crisis, according to a French newspaper. Le Canard Enchaine reported on comments made by Mr Macron on a visit to Croatia last Wednesday – hours after 27 people drowned in the Channel. According

A number of social gatherings were held in Downing Street in the run-up to Christmas last year while indoor mixing was banned in London under COVID restrictions, Sky News understands. Following reports that a large party was held in late December, it has also emerged that Number 10 staff gathered after work and drank alcohol

Downing Street has denied claims that Boris Johnson broke coronavirus rules with parties at No 10 last Christmas. The Mirror claims the PM made a speech at a leaving do on 13 November – when the country was in the second lockdown – and allowed a festive party to proceed on 18 December when London

France’s interior minister has suggested talks with the UK over Channel crossings could resume as Paris proposed ideas to tackle the crisis. Gerald Darmanin said Prime Minister Jean Castex will write to Boris Johnson on Tuesday with proposals for a “balanced agreement” between the UK and the EU. He said discussions could take place “very

Yvette Cooper, back in the political frontline as shadow home secretary – again – in the headline appointment in the Starmer shuffle, is viewed by many MPs as Labour’s lost leader. Not any more, though. After giving up the £15,000-a-year chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee after five years, she’s almost certainly back as

Yvette Cooper is elevated to shadow home secretary while Lisa Nandy will move from shadow foreign secretary to the levelling up brief as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer reshuffles his cabinet. Ms Cooper, who held the home affairs brief previously from 2011 to 2015 under former Labour leader Ed Miliband, will depart her current role

Have the last few weeks seen a turning point in Boris Johnson’s premiership?  Dozens of Tories have refused to follow the prime minister’s orders in the voting lobbies on issues as diverse as sleaze and social care. Meanwhile a handful of Tory MPs have gone public with demands for change, with many more complaining in

The health secretary has said it is going to be a “great Christmas” as he defended not imposing stricter restrictions to combat the new COVID variant. Sajid Javid told Trevor Phillips On Sunday it would be “irresponsible to make guarantees” but the measures announced this week in reaction to the Omicron variant will “buy us

The home secretary has said there will be “even worse scenes” in the Channel than the capsizing of the small dinghy that killed 27 people on Wednesday if co-operation with Europe can not be improved. Priti Patel promised to “continue to push” for improvements despite being disinvited from a meeting taking place today with France,

A government minister has defended Stanley Johnson, calling him “a gentleman” after a fellow Conservative Party MP accused the prime minister’s father of inappropriately touching her. Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, said she “didn’t believe” what Caroline Nokes had accused the former MEP of. In response to the remarks, Ms Nokes said she was “sorry”

There is limited evidence that Rishi Sunak’s £2bn jobs programme for young people is working, according to a new report. The National Audit Office (NAO) watchdog warned that the government has “limited assurance” over whether the Kickstart scheme, aimed at 16 to 24-year-olds, is having any positive effect or creating high quality jobs. The government