Politics

Conservative peer David Wolfson has quit as justice minister over the “scale, context and nature” of breaches of COVID regulations in Downing Street. Lord Wolfson said in a letter to Boris Johnson he was quitting not only over the events themselves, or the prime minister’s “own conduct,” but also “the official response to what took

Despite everything that has happened in the last few days, the official Treasury line is that Rishi Sunak never contemplated resigning and is committed to staying in the UK. Of course one of the complications Mr Sunak faces is that – on a practical level – it would be not as straightforward as it once

More than half of voters think that Boris Johnson should resign as prime minister after he was fined by police over partygate allegations. The prime minister attended his own birthday party in the Cabinet room in Downing Street in June 2020, when the rest of the country was under coronavirus restrictions. On Tuesday, Mr Johnson

Boris Johnson has paid a fine from police for breaking COVID regulations, while Rishi Sunak has also been told he will receive a fixed penalty notice. Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates looks at what happens now it has been confirmed that the prime minister and chancellor broke COVID laws the government introduced during the

The government has distanced itself from comments made by Tory MP Crispin Blunt questioning the conviction of his parliamentary colleague Imran Ahmad Khan. Khan, MP for Wakefield, was found guilty on Monday of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008 and was thrown out of the Conservative Party following the verdict. Mr Blunt described the

Ali Harbi Ali had spent years hatching his plot to target an MP before his “cold and calculated” murder of Sir David Amess. The 26-year-old “fanatical terrorist” had researched a number of potential high-profile targets including Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Sir Keir Starmer, before settling on the MP for Southend West. Prosecutors described the

Former health secretary Matt Hancock is reportedly set to open his home to seven refugees fleeing Ukraine. Mr Hancock, who resigned from the government last June after he admitted breaking COVID rules, told the Sun on Sunday he will house the family – and their four dogs – at his home in Suffolk, under the

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has become the latest Cabinet minister to find his private financial arrangements under scrutiny as he admitted to being a “non-dom” in the past. Mr Javid, who lived and worked in New York and Singapore during his career as a banker at Chase Manhattan and Deutsche Bank, also disclosed that before

Boris Johnson has called Russia’s attack on a Ukrainian railway station “unconscionable”, as held talks with Germany’s chancellor on how to reduce dependency on Russian gas.  The two leaders condemned Russia’s strike on a crowded railway station in the Ukrainian city, Kramatorsk, which killed at least 50 people, suggesting the Russians were guilty of war

The home secretary has apologised over the time taken to get a new visa system for Ukrainian refugees up and running – as Labour said new figures on the programme were “scandalous and shameful”. Priti Patel made the comments in a BBC interview recorded ahead of the release of new Home Office data showing just

Britain has followed the US in sanctioning Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters. The Foreign Office announced travel bans and asset freezes against Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova and Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s daughter, Yekaterina Sergeyevna Vinokurova, is also being targeted by the measures, designed to squeeze the “lavish lifestyles” of Mr Putin’s inner

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been forced to defend his wife’s tax affairs amid criticism her multi-millionaire status puts him out of touch with the current cost of living crisis. Mr Sunak married Akshata, the daughter of the so-called ‘Bill Gates of India’ – Narayana Murty, in 2009 after they met at Stanford University. Her 0.91%

Rishi Sunak’s allies are now freely admitting this is the most difficult period since he became chancellor, and it could be about to get worse. Some have been canvassing whether the chance of even higher office is now dead. They worry he could have handled many aspects of recent weeks better – and express surprise

The first government minister to take in a Ukrainian refugee says the relationship will “last the whole of our lives” but admits there have been problems with the UK’s resettlement scheme. Vika, 25, said she feels “lucky” to have moved in with environment minister Victoria Prentis, but wants to go back home to Ukraine soon.

Boris Johnson has pledged to “do more” to help people with the rising cost of living after Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng admitted the government’s energy security strategy is “more of a medium three, four, five year answer”. Speaking to broadcasters from Hinkley Point C ahead of the release of the energy plan later today, the

A new strategy for how the UK will produce more of its own energy is to be announced this week after several delays. The government has confirmed it will publish the “Energy Security Strategy” on Thursday to help tackle soaring energy prices and reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas. Boris Johnson promised the plan