Politics

The solicitors’ watchdog has said it will now investigate claims Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has made about his legal career. The Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA) initially said there was “no need to take any action” after Mr Reynolds was accused of misrepresenting his past work as a lawyer. The business secretary worked for Addleshaw Goddard

The first domestic violence specialists have been placed in 999 control rooms in memory of a woman who was murdered by her ex-husband despite ringing police on the night she died. Raneem’s Law has been launched in five pilot areas – West Midlands, Northumbria, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Humberside. The legislation – promised in Labour’s manifesto

Sir Keir Starmer has held private calls with European leaders to ensure the Western alliance does not fracture, a minister has said, after Donald Trump claimed Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a “dictator”. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast the prime minister has spent a “quite considerable amount of time” over the

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has spoken with Volodymyr Zelenskyy to give the Ukrainian president his backing after Donald Trump called him a “dictator”. A Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir called Mr Zelenskyy this evening and shared his support for him “as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader”. The prime minister “said that it was perfectly

Some government departments have been asked to make savings which would amount to a 11% cut in spending – as the prime minister faces calls to raise defence spending. Sky News has been told that departments which do not have their spending protected have been asked to model two options – “flat” spending, which, adjusted

A former Australian prime minister has said his country should be “prepared to make a contribution” to protect the freedom of Ukraine. Tony Abbott told Sky News’ Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge that no country “will be safe against a bully” if Vladimir Putin wins the war. He called on Britain to take the lead

England’s most senior judge says she is “deeply troubled” by Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch’s exchange about a Gazan family coming to the UK under the Ukraine scheme. The Lady Chief Justice voiced her concern after the prime minister said a judge had made the “wrong decision” by letting a family of six from

Sir Keir Starmer was the first leader to arrive at this meeting in Paris, strolling down the road from the British Embassy. When he emerged, after three hours of discussion, he looked sombre. Sir Keir, like the other political heavyweights who came to the Elysee Palace, knows that Europe has been battered and marginalised over

Kemi Badenoch has said failing to spend more on defence “is not peacemaking, it is weakness” as Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders face pressure from Donald Trump to increase NATO contributions. The Conservative leader told the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference: “Totalitarian states like Russia, Iran and North Korea are coordinated in their

The whole government recognises the need to spend more on defence, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, a cabinet minister has said. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that he “disagrees” with claims the prime minister is preparing to overrule the chancellor on the amount of cash being spent on the

Unlike Theresa May, Sir Keir Starmer will not be the first world leader to set foot in the Trump White House, but he has at least now secured an invitation to Washington. It wasn’t issued on the most gracious of terms – with the president telling reporters “it was his request not mine” – but

Donald Trump has confirmed he will meet Sir Keir Starmer “very soon” after the prime minister “asked to come” to the US. Mr Trump discussed details of his phone call with Sir Keir while taking questions from the media in the White House’s Oval Office on Friday. “He asked for a meeting, and I agreed

Rachel Reeves says “no one ever raised any concerns” about her expenses when she worked at HBOS, as she responds to reports she was investigated while working for the bank. The chancellor was accused by former employees of being involved in an “expenses scandal” while working at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) from 2006 to

A waiting game on tariffs is beginning to play out between the UK and the United States on tariffs, amid warnings that Donald Trump’s latest strategy could hit the UK especially hard. The US president on Thursday revealed he has asked his government to consider what tariffs should be applied to other nations – and

People who believe the things posted in a controversial Labour WhatsApp group shouldn’t have been MPs in the first place, according to Harriet Harman. Speaking on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the veteran Labour parliamentarian said the scandal was “very serious” as the public already thinks MPs are “contemptuous of their voters”. Politics live: Follow the

Farmers forced the prime minister to cut short a visit to a housing development as they drove tractors to the site in a protest against changes to inheritance tax. Sir Keir Starmer was in Buckinghamshire to announce more than 100 new towns could be built under the government’s plans for the “largest house building programme