Politics

The government has no national plan for the defence of the UK or the mobilisation of its people and industry in a war despite renewed threats of conflict, Sky News has learnt. Officials are now starting to develop a cross-government “national defence plan”, it can be revealed. Dr Keith Dear, a former RAF intelligence officer

The prime minister has been unable to guarantee a childcare place to everyone that wants one, as the government rolls out its new scheme. Eligible parents and carers of two-year-olds are now entitled to 15 hours of funded childcare per week, as of Monday 1 April, with further extensions planned. The policy was announced in

Rishi Sunak has said people should not be criminalised “for stating simple facts on biology” as he backed author JK Rowling in her criticism of new Scottish hate crime laws. The Harry Potter author, who has become a fierce critic of the Scottish government’s stance on transgender rights, dared police to arrest her as the

A Windrush victim has branded the compensation scheme for victims of the scandal “disgusting”, and suggested the government were waiting for those affected to “die off”. Critics have repeatedly called for the Home Office to be stripped of responsibility for determining and handling payments to victims and said it should be given to an independent

The government’s extended childcare policy is beginning today – but it starts amid warnings of a lack of funding and not enough staff to fulfil the pledge. From today, eligible parents and carers of two-year-olds will be entitled to 15 hours of funded childcare per week. It is the first part of a £8bn package

Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives are on course to win fewer than 100 seats in the general election, according to a major poll that suggests the party is facing the worst result in its history. A survey of 15,000 people, used to build a seat-by-seat breakdown, indicated the Tories would win in just 98 constituencies in England

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has stepped down as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party with immediate effect after he was charged with historical sexual offences. In a statement, the DUP said: “The party chairman has received a letter from Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP confirming that he has been charged with allegations of an historical nature and

Rishi Sunak has been criticised for announcing a “surprise” round of honours – including a knighthood for a major donor to the Conservative Party. It was announced on the Thursday before the Easter bank holiday weekend that Mohamed Mansour was being knighted for business, charity and political service – he had given £5m to the

Sir Keir Starmer has admitted Boris Johnson was “right” to propose levelling up but said he was “frustrated” by the former prime minister’s “unforgivable” failure to deliver. The Labour leader also claimed the policy, which defined Mr Johnson’s premiership, was “strangled at birth” by his successor, Rishi Sunak. Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth

No wonder the Labour Party is desperate for a general election now and bitterly disappointed that Rishi Sunak has “bottled it”, in Keir Starmer’s words, and is sticking to his plan not to hold it until the autumn at the earliest. Sir John Curtice, the UK polling guru, has gone on the record that there

Angela Rayner has said she will not publish the “personal tax advice” she received on the sale of her council house despite a police development over her living arrangements. Labour’s deputy leader told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she was “confident” she had done “absolutely nothing wrong” with regards to the sale of her council

A minister has hit out at “credulous clerics” and “lefty lawyers” after documents seen by Sky News revealed how the Clapham chemical attacker Abdul Ezedi was granted asylum after he was baptised. Science minister Andrew Griffith said Ezedi, who attacked a woman and two children with an alkali in London earlier this year, should not

The UK’s approach to China is “more robust” than its allies, Rishi Sunak has claimed, as he continues to face calls to use more aggressive language to describe Beijing in the wake of two cyberattacks. The prime minister said suggestions the government was not taking strong action against China were “completely and utterly wrong”. Mr

When David Cameron was prime minister, Oliver Dowden was one of his backroom fixers, first at Tory HQ and then in 10 Downing Street. From his early days as a Tory researcher he’s been known as “Olive” because of an office typo. But it’s a nickname that’s stuck, even now he’s deputy prime minister. Politics

China “state-affiliated actors” have been blamed by the government for two “malicious” cyber attack campaigns in the UK. Making a speech in the Commons, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden revealed the two incidents involved an attack on the Electoral Commission – responsible for overseeing elections and political finance – in 2021, and targeted attacks against

MPs are set to be briefed on the cyber threat posed by China today, while a smaller group of parliamentarians will be told about specific threats against them. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden is applying to the Speaker’s office to make a statement to parliament about China on Monday, Sky News understands. Meanwhile, three MPs