Politics

Loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland have withdrawn their support for the Good Friday Agreement in protest at post-Brexit border arrangements. In a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) said they no longer backed the 1998 peace deal due to the impact of the Northern Ireland Protocol. They called for

The European Union has said it will take legal action over Britain’s “unilateral action” over the Northern Ireland protocol. European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said Britain’s decision to unilaterally continue Irish Sea border grace periods until October amounted to a violation of the agreement. “Following the UK government’s statement today, vice-president Sefcovic has expressed the

The Commons speaker has told Sky News he hopes the chancellor does not dash off for his post-budget press conference too quickly after addressing MPs. “I’m hoping he’s not going too quickly, because I expect him to sit through,” Sir Lindsay Hoyle said regarding Rishi Sunak’s economic set piece in the chamber on Wednesday. “I

The biggest question of the budget could be when changes announced by Rishi Sunak are introduced, rather than what they are. Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has signalled he may reprimand the chancellor after so much of today’s budget appeared to have leaked or dripped out in advance. But does that mean all the budget’s true secrets

The chancellor is expected to give £408m to help museums, theatres and galleries to reopen in England as coronavirus restrictions ease. Rishi Sunak will announce the support for the badly-hit culture sector in his Budget on Wednesday, as many theatres mark a year of forced closure this month. The Budget will also include a “significant

David Cameron has admitted his government made a mistake in planning for future pandemics during his time in office. The former prime minister, who was in Number 10 from 2010 to 2016, told a committee hearing that the 2013 Ebola outbreak in west Africa had focused minds on the threat posed by pandemics. But he

A huge boost in spending on the UK’s COVID-19 vaccine programme will be announced by the chancellor in the Budget on Wednesday. Rishi Sunak will pledge a further £1.65bn for jabs, a cash injection hailed by the Treasury as a “shot in the arm” for the vaccine roll-out. The chancellor will also promise to invest

There are two ways of telling the Rishi Sunak story of the past 12 months. The widespread narrative is of a chancellor who was brought in to do the prime minister’s bidding but ended up out-performing his boss. In this tale, Mr Sunak’s competent response to the coronavirus pandemic, alongside eye-catching policies like “eat out

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has ruled out any chance of a speedier end to lockdown, telling Sky News the last thing the business needed was a “stop, start” return to normal life. Mr Sunak told Sophy Ridge on Sunday that the roadmap the prime minister has set out was the right “cautious but irreversible approach”. But

Glasgow MSP Anas Sarwar has been elected as Scottish Labour’s new leader – just 10 weeks before the Holyrood elections. The party was forced to vote for a new leader after Richard Leonard’s shock resignation in January, claiming his decision was in the “best interests” of the party. Mr Sarwar was quick to throw his

As former first minister Alex Salmond waved to photographers on his exit from Holyrood, something else left the building. An email sent by the Scottish Parliament’s harassment committee that might yet breach the evidence impasse. For as long, detailed and explosive as six hours of testimony was from Mr Salmond, it’s not underpinned by available

Scotland’s leadership has “failed”, Alex Salmond has told a Holyrood inquiry into the SNP government’s unlawful investigation of sexual harassment claims made against him. The former first minister said Nicola Sturgeon’s administration had “acted illegally” in its handling of the allegations “but somehow no one’s to blame”. Mr Salmond said “this inquiry is not about

Scotland’s former first minister Alex Salmond is set to elaborate today on claims that his successor Nicola Sturgeon misled parliament.  Mr Salmond will give evidence to Holyrood’s harassment committee following his written submission which levelled accusations against Ms Sturgeon as well as senior figures in her government and party. He has accused the current first

Allowing teachers to award grades to pupils this summer is “as good as compromise as we can come to” following the cancellation of formal exams, Boris Johnson has said. The prime minister described this year’s system for awarding A-level and GCSE grades in England – as well as some vocational and technical qualifications – as

Face masks may not be required indoors in public places over the summer, one of England’s deputy chief medical officers has suggested. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out a roadmap for easing the COVID-19 lockdown which envisages all legal limits on people’s social contact ending by 21 June at the earliest. Asked if face

A-level and GCSE students in England will get their teacher-assessed grades earlier in August to give them more time to appeal. Gavin Williamson announced in January that exams would be scrapped this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pupils will return to the classroom from 8 March as lockdown is eased, with the government on