UK

Tory leadership favourite Penny Mordaunt suffered her first setback of the campaign when she was attacked by MPs over her stance on trans issues. She clashed with right-wing Conservative MPs at a major hustings event attended by the six candidates left in the contest after the first round of voting. The trade minister and former

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt have been knocked out of the race to become the next leader of the Conservative Party – and next prime minister of the UK. A total of six candidates made it through the first round of voting, with chair of the backbench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady revealing the

The candidates who have made it through to the next stage of the race to replace Boris Johnson as Tory leader and prime minister have been revealed. The eight MPs who have got through to the first round are: • Rishi Sunak• Penny Mordaunt• Tom Tugendhat• Liz Truss• Suella Braverman• Jeremy Hunt• Kemi Badenoch• Nadhim

The winner of the Conservative leadership contest will be unveiled on 5 September – and some candidates could be knocked out of the race today. Eleven Tory hopefuls have thrown their hat into the ring, but those who fail to get support from 20 MPs will not appear on the first ballot, which is due

Flights from Gatwick are more likely to have been cancelled so far this year than at any other major UK airport. The rate is 10 times worse than Stansted, the best-performing British hub. More than 3% of planned flights from Gatwick didn’t take place, compared with 0.3% of those from Stansted, according to figures from

A rare “extreme heat” warning has been issued for the weekend as the Met Office said temperatures were likely to rise further in the coming days. The start of the working week for millions of Britons was a roasting one, with mercury readings shooting up as high as 32C in Northolt, west London. Temperatures failed

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has officially joined the race for the Tory leadership, with Home Secretary Priti Patel potentially set to announce her candidacy. A surprise entry has also been made by Foreign Office minister Rehman Chishti, meaning 11 Conservatives are now fighting to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister. Writing in the Telegraph newspaper,

Nadhim Zahawi has said he is “clearly being smeared” after questions were reportedly raised about his personal finances before his appointment as chancellor. The former education secretary and vaccines minister, who is vying to take over from Boris Johnson, told Sky News he had “always” paid his taxes and had “declared” them in the UK.

Four more Conservative MPs have joined the Tory leadership race, widening the field to eight. Nadhim Zahawi, the newly appointed chancellor, Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, and the ex-health secretaries Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid all announced their bids on Saturday. Earlier in the day Ben Wallace, who was the bookies’ favourite to succeed Mr

The UK has started turning the first of around 10,000 Ukrainian recruits into frontline soldiers at four bases across England, safe from Russian missile fire, it can be revealed. The new troops, operating in groups of about 200, have been arriving from Ukraine daily to join a specially-condensed training programme offered by British soldiers. They

The first candidates have entered the contest to replace Boris Johnson with more hopefuls expected to throw their hats into the ring over the weekend. Last night, Rishi Sunak announced his bid on social media, promising to “restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country”. The former chancellor, who spectacularly resigned on Tuesday evening

Rishi Sunak has announced he is standing to be the next prime minister after Boris Johnson’s resignation yesterday. Announcing his bid, Mr Sunak said the country faces “huge challenges”. “Let’s restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country,” he posted on social media. The former chancellor resigned from his ministerial post on Tuesday evening,

Boris Johnson’s resignation has effectively fired the starting gun on the Conservative Party leadership race to replace him. It comes as questions remain over whether his desperate attempts to cling on as prime minister mean he should not be allowed to remain in office while his successor is picked. Tom Tugendhat became the first Conservative

Boris Johnson has announced his resignation as prime minister after less than three years in Number 10, saying: “No one in politics is remotely indispensable.” Speaking from Downing Street, he thanked the millions of people who voted Conservative at the last election, and said the reason he fought so long to remain in office was

Brandon Lewis has resigned as Northern Ireland secretary following Boris Johnson’s refusal to stand down, despite calls from some of his own cabinet ministers to do so. He tweeted this morning: “A decent and responsible government relies on honesty, integrity and mutual respect – it is a matter of profound personal regret that I must

Cabinet ministers – including the new chancellor Nadhim Zahawi – have sent the chief whip to Number 10 to tell Boris Johnson to resign, Sky News understands. The delegation of senior politicians, which also includes Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Welsh Secretary Simon Hart, have told Chris Heaton-Harris than the PM’s position is untenable and

Boris Johnson can expect a torrid time today as he faces both Prime Minister’s Questions and the parliamentary Liaison Committee less than 24 hours after Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid dramatically resigned as members of his cabinet. On Tuesday evening, his chancellor Mr Sunak and health secretary Mr Javid quit the government, leading to a

Boris Johnson has apologised for appointing Chris Pincher deputy chief whip, saying it “was a mistake” and “in hindsight the wrong thing to do”. The prime minister said sorry to “everybody who has been badly affected” adding, “I just want to make absolutely clear that there is no place in this government for anybody who

A Premier League footballer has been arrested on suspicion of rape. The footballer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested in north London. The Metropolitan Police confirmed an allegation of rape of a woman in her 20s was reported to police. The force said the alleged rape reportedly happened in June 2022. In

One person has died after an “inferno” at a block of flats in Bedford following a suspected gas explosion. Authorities fear more people may have lost their lives in the blaze on Redwood Grove. Earlier it was announced three people, including a firefighter, had been injured. Two of them suffered smoke inhalation and were taken

Motorists could face “serious disruption throughout the day,” police have warned, as protesters are expected to target motorways in a demonstration over high fuel prices. Roads across the country could see traffic jams as protesters call for a cut in fuel duty. They will target mostly three-lane motorways and result in slow-downs on two lanes,

Boris John made the “choice he thought was best” in appointing Chris Pincher to government and was “not aware of specific claims” about the Tory MP, a cabinet minister has insisted. Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey also rejected the idea there was a “problem with

Security tests for new airport workers are being completed in record time, ministers claim, despite travel disruption continuing to dog holiday plans. The time taken to vet new employees has been raised as one of the reasons for shortages in airport staff, contributing to thousands of flight cancellations, delays and missing luggage. Airports across the

Chris Pincher, who lost the Conservative whip after being accused of groping two men, said he is seeking “professional medical support” as he hopes to return to his duties as an MP “as soon as possible”. In a statement by the Tamworth MP, Mr Pincher said he “respected” the prime minister’s decision to suspend the

Frustrated travellers face more flight cancellations over the coming weeks, as airlines rush to re-work their schedules. The upheaval comes in response to last month’s announcement that an amnesty will allow airlines to cancel flights while still retaining take-off and landing slots next year. Airlines buy slots to operate their schedules but can lose them

A Tory MP accused of drunkenly groping two men has been suspended by the party. Chris Pincher has had the Conservative whip withdrawn at Westminster over the claims, forcing him to sit as an independent without the support of the parliamentary group. The 52-year-old resigned from his role as deputy chief whip and apologised after

People in some parts of England could be offered blood pressure checks in betting shops under the biggest shake-up of the NHS for a decade. Some 42 integrated care systems (ICSs) come into force today, bringing together GPs, hospitals, care services, and other local groups. Clinical commissioning groups, which previously controlled local health budgets, will

A 14-year-old sentenced to life in prison for murdering five-year-old Logan Mwangi has been named as Craig Mulligan. It is common for children in criminal cases not to be named, but a judge at Cardiff Crown Court has decided to lift an anonymity order in this instance. Earlier, Mulligan, along with Logan’s mother and stepfather,

Buckingham Palace is facing questions about why it won’t reveal more about the findings of an investigation into bullying allegations made against the Duchess of Sussex. The palace has confirmed a private investigation into complaints that Meghan had bullied members of staff had concluded, claims she has always denied. It confirmed the review had looked

The Prince of Wales accepting bags of cash for his charity “would not happen again”, a senior palace source has said. For the first time, one of Prince Charles’s senior aides has responded in detail to the reports that emerged at the weekend that between 2011 and 2015 the prince was handed €3m in cash

Nicola Sturgeon has set the date for a proposed “consultative referendum” next year on Scottish independence. To cheers and applause in the devolved parliament in Holyrood, the first minister said legislation will lay out plans for a vote to take place on 19 October 2023. It will ask the question: “Should Scotland be an independent

Britain and its allies face their “1937 moment” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and must do everything possible to avert another world war, the new head of the Army is set to signal. The warning emerged as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce an uplift in UK defence spending this week, in line

Podcaster and campaigner Deborah James, whose frank accounts of life with bowel cancer sparked an extraordinary deluge of charity donations, has died, her family have announced. James, the driving force behind BBC podcast You, Me and The Big C, broke the news of her diagnosis to followers last month that she had moved into end-of-life