Politics

It was formed by the Act of Union with Wales in 1536, the Act of Union with Scotland in 1606 and the Government of Ireland Act 1920, creating Northern Ireland inside the United Kingdom the following year. Yet today, questions of “The Union” too often boil down to the Boris and Nicola pantomime, as prime

The health secretary has defended former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott amid concerns about his attitudes towards women and homosexuality, declaring: “Well, he’s also an expert in trade.” Matt Hancock told Sky News that Mr Abbott has a “huge” amount of expertise on the subject, amid reports the ex-Australian leader is being lined up to

Britain’s foreign secretary has said Russia “must tell the truth” about the poisoning of Putin critic Alexei Navalny with novichok. Dominic Raab said it is “absolutely unacceptable” a banned chemical weapon has been used again by Russia. The Kremlin was accused of poisoning former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter with novichok in Salisbury

It was a “fundamental mistake” to believe a controversial algorithm initially used for A-level and GCSE results would “ever be acceptable to the public”, the head of the exams watchdog has said. Roger Taylor, chair of Ofqual, launched a full-throated defence of the body’s role in the exams fiasco during an appearance in front of

Boris Johnson has been branded “heartless” by families of coronavirus victims after failing to honour a pledge to meet them. He has been accused of a U-turn less than a week after he said “of course” he would meet representatives of relatives of COVID-19 victims. Mr Johnson has dismayed campaigners by telling them in a

Schools could be given extra funding to cover the cost of making them ready to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking on the day pupils in England and Wales returned to the classroom, schools minister Nick Gibb told Sky News’s Kay Burley programme that the matter is being kept “under review”. :: Follow live coverage

Boris Johnson has taken part in a training session for MPs on sexual harassment and bullying, describing it as “most informative”. The course, called Valuing Everyone, was made compulsory for MPs and peers last year following abuse allegations and the so-called “Pestminster” scandal. The prime minister took part in the two-hour session last Thursday with

Labour is calling for next year’s A-levels and GCSEs in England to be delayed because of coronavirus – amid reports pupils going back to one school this week could be sent home for “malicious coughing”. Shadow education secretary Kate Green said exams should be pushed back to allow extra teaching time as pupils now face

Conservative backbenchers have criticised the government for a string of “avoidable” summer U-turns, ahead of MPs returning to Westminster on Tuesday. One former Conservative minister told Sky News that some Tory MPs were now spending their time “gambling on how long before the next U-turn happens”. The senior politician also called on the Boris Johnson

The education secretary has warned that parents who do not send their children school risk putting a “huge dent in their future life chances”. In an open letter to parents, Gavin Williamson writes there is a “far greater risk to children’s health and wellbeing if they don’t go to school”. The comments come two days

Chris Grayling, who was widely tipped to become chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee before losing to fellow Tory MP Dr Julian Lewis, has resigned from the group. The former transport secretary, nicknamed “Failing Grayling” for presiding over a series of government mishaps, has written to the man who beat him to the chairmanship

The government has been accused of “overruling” a local council by lifting coronavirus restrictions in parts of Greater Manchester. Andrew Western, the leader of Trafford Council, reacted angrily as he revealed the government would announce later on Friday that COVID-19 restrictions would be eased. :: Follow live coverage of the latest coronavirus news and updates

The marking system which threatened to downgrade the exam results was not a “mutant algorithm” as claimed by the prime minister, but contained errors that were “predictable” and “could have been foreseen”, according to a leading statistician. Boris Johnson told a group of schoolchildren on Wednesday that “I’m afraid your grades were almost derailed by

The Home Office has admitted an advert attacking “activist lawyers” who represent people fighting deportation should not have been published – but has so far failed to remove it. The department’s top civil servant, permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft, upheld complaints against the video tweeted out on Wednesday. It sparked widespread condemnation from legal figures and

Sir Ed Davey has been elected the new Liberal Democrat leader following a month-long ballot of party members. The Lib Dems had been without a permanent leader since December’s general election, in which previous leader Jo Swinson lost her seat in the House of Commons. The election was a huge disappointment for the Lib Dems,

The Liberal Democrats are about to reinvent themselves yet again. Sir Ed Davey, their fifth new leader in five years, warned in his victory speech that the party needs to “wake up and smell the coffee”. “Nationally our party has lost touch with too many voters,” he said. Image: The 2010 coalition government: Conservative PM