Politics

Households will be able to apply for a £5,000 grant to swap their gas boiler for a low-carbon heat pump, as part of government plans to cut emissions. The government announced that the £450m Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which is part of the more than £3.9bn funding to cut carbon from heating and buildings, will be

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told MPs that Southend-on-Sea will be given city status – a long-running campaign of Sir David Amess – as he led tributes to the murdered MP. Mr Johnson described Sir David as a “steadfast servant” of the House of Commons, a “prodigious campaigner” for his chosen causes, and a “dear

MPs, still in shock by the events of last week, will later pay tribute in the Commons to their much-admired colleague Sir David Amess, following his brutal killing with an as-yet-unknown motive. The sentiment expressed by some who have spoken to Sky News over the weekend – regardless of party, or which area they represent

Instances of abuse reported to the police by politicians are not always followed up by forces, an MP has told Sky News, as he recalled having his car vandalised and office subject to an arson attack. Andrew Rosindell, Conservative MP for Romford, said there are “a lot more nasty people around than ever before”. Killing

The terror suspect arrested following the killing of Conservative MP Sir David Amess is the son of a former senior Somali government official, Sky News understands. Ali Harbi Ali’s father, Harbi Ali Kullane, declined to comment when asked by Sky News about his son, a 25-year-old British national, in an exchange of written messages on

Saturday in Southend is quiet, and lacking in the usual buzz of a seaside town on a weekend. Local MP, Sir David Amess, has been murdered and everyone is talking about it. People here seem to be seeking solace, or someone to share their grief, or better still someone to tell them this nightmare isn’t

Murdered MP Sir David Amess had recently written about the risk of attacks on parliamentarians, admitting “it could happen to any of us”. His book, Ayes & Ears: A Survivor’s Guide to Westminster, was published in November and was nominated for the Parliamentary Book Awards. The fatal stabbing of Sir David on Friday afternoon during

Conservative MP Sir David Amess has died after being stabbed at a surgery in his constituency, police say. Sir David, who represented Southend West in Essex, was attacked on Friday afternoon at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea. Live updates: Man arrested on suspicion of murder after Conservative MP stabbed to death Please use Chrome browser

There is a “lot of work to do” and a “big gap” remains between the UK and EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Brexit minister has said. Speaking as he arrived in Brussels for talks with his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic, Lord Frost told reporters he was “looking forward to good discussions”. “There’s a

Fully vaccinated passengers and children arriving in England from non-red list countries can take a cheaper lateral flow test from 24 October instead of a PCR test. The government last week said it would switch from arrivals having to take a pricey PCR test on the second day after arriving from a non-red list country

The chancellor has appeared to rule out helping businesses with soaring gas prices, saying “it’s not the government’s job” to manage the costs of individual products. Asked if he would accept some companies going out of business, Rishi Sunak said he “believes in a market economy”. He said the government has been working “very constructively”

An MP accused of making threatening phone calls to her partner’s friend and threatening to send naked pictures of her to her family has been found guilty of harassment. Claudia Webbe, 56, claimed she called Michelle Merritt because “we were in a national crisis and lockdown had to be adhered to strictly”. The MP was

The EU is expected to outline its response to UK demands to alter post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland following this summer’s tense “sausage war” between the two sides. European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic is set to hold a news conference on Wednesday afternoon in which he will deliver Brussels’ verdict on UK proposals for the

Brexit minister Lord Frost has accused the EU of being an organisation “that doesn’t always look like” it wants the UK to succeed as he demanded changes to post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland. In a speech in Lisbon, the cabinet minister called on Brussels to help “tackle the fundamental issues” with the Northern Ireland Protocol

“Keen to start with an apology, minister?” “Well, no…”  And thus began the government’s response this morning to the first major inquiry into the lessons the UK should learn from COVID, which is damning on several fronts. Cabinet office minister Steve Barclay, who was not at the centre of decision-making when the pandemic struck and

Thousands of lives were lost due to delays and mistakes made at the start of the COVID pandemic by both ministers and their scientific advisers according to a highly critical report by MPs. A pandemic plan based too much on influenza and “groupthink” among public health officials meant early opportunities to delay the spread of