Politics

A horrific year of nearly 150,000 COVID-related deaths is being marked with sombre ceremonies across the UK on the anniversary of Boris Johnson’s first lockdown. A year since his dramatic “stay at home” TV address to the nation, the prime minister claims the past year has been one of the most difficult in the country’s

Nicola Sturgeon did not breach the ministerial code over her handling of the Alex Salmond harassment case, an independent investigation has found. The finding was made by James Hamilton, the Scottish government’s independent adviser on ministerial standards. He had been asked to examine whether Scotland’s first minister “attempted to influence the conduct of the investigation” into

This Thursday, three dozen satellites will be fired into space from a launch station in a desolate corner of eastern Russia, less than a hundred miles from the northern Chinese border. Each a little bigger than a fridge, they are attached to a Russian rocket which will travel 750 miles up into what is known

Boris Johnson is facing a Tory revolt over a move to extend emergency coronavirus laws, with one leading lockdown critic vowing to oppose the “excessive and disproportionate” powers. Conservative former minister Steve Baker told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme he expected to vote “squarely against” the continuation of the “authoritarian” COVID-19 restrictions. His

The elections watchdog is looking into whether Conservative Party donations were used to fund part of the renovation of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat. The Electoral Commission said it is trying to figure out whether any of the funds relating to the renovation should have been declared under the law on party political donations. Responding

More than 60 MPs have signed a letter to the home secretary calling for the easing of COVID-19 restrictions to allow protests to go ahead. The letter to Priti Patel, organised by campaigns group Liberty and Big Brother Watch, warns that allowing the police to criminalise people for protesting “is not acceptable and is arguably

Sky News can reveal further details contained in a report that found Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon misled parliament. Holyrood’s harassment committee also concluded that it finds it “hard to believe” she didn’t know of concerns around Alex Salmond’s behaviour before November 2017. And committee members have included a passage in their report to say

A Scottish parliamentary committee has concluded that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon misled parliament. Sky News understands that Holyrood’s harassment committee has reached the conclusion by a majority vote ahead of the publication of its final report. Members have decided that Ms Sturgeon misled the committee itself and, as such, misled parliament and potentially breached the

Sir Keir Starmer has admitted his Labour Party are up against a “very significant” vaccine bounce for the government in the run-up to local elections. On 6 May, almost 40 million people in the UK will have the chance to vote in elections across England, Scotland and Wales. Ahead of those elections, some polls have

Boris Johnson has had the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. The prime minister, who is aged 56, got his first dose at London’s St Thomas’ Hospital, where he was treated in intensive care last April after contracting COVID-19. By having the vaccine, Mr Johnson joins more than 26 million people in the UK who have received a

Boris Johnson will be told to “stand by” the nurses who helped save his life after he contracted coronavirus – and reconsider the government’s 1% NHS pay offer. The leader of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will make a direct appeal to the prime minister, recalling the description he gave of his life-saving care

The prime minister has said he will be getting his coronavirus vaccination “very shortly”. Boris Johnson revealed during PMQs that he has been called up for a COVID-19 jab. “It will certainly be Oxford-AstraZeneca that I will be having,” Mr Johnson told the Commons. The PM was asked to comment on the decision of more

Dominic Cummings, the former Downing Street aide described as Boris Johnson’s “Rasputin”, is to break his silence following his dramatic departure from Number 10 late last year. The prime minister‘s former de facto chief of staff, who quit in a bitter power struggle involving Mr Johnson’s fiancée Carrie Symonds, is appearing before a high-powered committee

Boris Johnson has warned against a “new Cold War on China” as he came under pressure from senior Conservative MPs over continuing “naivety” in the UK’s relationship with Beijing. Setting out the government’s wide-ranging shake-up of foreign, defence and security policy, the prime minister told the House of Commons that “China will pose a great

Labour and the Conservatives are heading for a fierce showdown on crime after Sir Keir Starmer ordered his MPs to vote against a flagship piece of government legislation. MPs are voting on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill at the end of a two-day Commons debate dominated by clashes about protection for women and

The European Union has launched legal action against the UK for making changes to Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements, an EU official said. The European Commission has accused the UK of breaching EU law concerning the movement of goods and pet travel between Great Britain and Northern Ireland after the UK moved to unilaterally change parts