Politics

The prime minister could be facing further rebellions from his backbenchers today as MPs return to the Commons to carry on debating the Rwanda bill. The government insists the proposed legislation – aimed at deterring asylum seekers from crossing the Channel in small boats – is the toughest immigration law in history and will revive

Two deputy chairs of the Conservative Party have resigned from their roles after they both supported rebel amendments to Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill. Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith both said they would support proposed changes designed to toughen up Mr Sunak’s bill, which seeks to declare Rwanda a safe country to deport asylum seekers to.

Rishi Sunak is a prime minister who has always found it easy to build consensus on the world stage. But when it comes to his own backyard, this premiership tells a very different story. PM’s own deputy chair rebels on Rwanda – live updates With voters, he is struggling to build any sort of coalition,

Rishi Sunak is gearing up for a potential rebellion among his backbenchers when his controversial Rwanda bill returns to the Commons on Tuesday. The prime minister is facing a dilemma over the question of whether to toughen up the bill to appease those on the right of his party. If he does, he risks losing

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has accused the Houthis of “thuggery” in the Red Sea, as he suggested the UK was open to carrying out further airstrikes in Yemen. The British military joined forces with the US on Thursday night as it launched attacks in retaliation for the targeting of international trade in the key shipping

Tory MPs plotting the Rwanda rebellion are resigned to securing minimal changes to the legislation – despite some belief senior figures are poised to quit party roles over the bill. Almost 60 MPs have publicly backed the bill and some rebels hope that Lee Anderson, deputy chair of the Conservative Party, may resign and back

Not taking military action against the Houthis would have led to “more attacks” in the Red Sea, according to Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron. The British military took part in joint action with the US this week in retaliation for the targeting of international trade in the key shipping lane – followed up by a fresh

A woman who spent more than three decades working for the Post Office is planning to stand against Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey – a former postal affairs minister – at the next general election. Yvonne Tracey, who said ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office had made her “very sad” and “very

Sir Tony Blair was warned the Horizon IT system could be flawed before it was rolled out across the Post Office, a document shows. A letter sent to the then-Labour prime minister on 9 December 1998 by a Downing Street special adviser said pressing ahead with the project was a risk because of spiralling costs

Lord David Cameron has not ruled out the possibility of further strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, arguing the UK must do “what is necessary” to protect its ships. Speaking to NBC, Sky News’s sister outlet in the United States, the foreign secretary said “warnings” issued to the rebels – who had been attacking UK

Rishi Sunak is due to hold a full cabinet call this evening which is thought to be about UK and US military strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The meeting is due to start at 7.45pm tonight. Attacks by Houthi fighters – both on Israel and on commercial ships in the Red Sea – have stoked

Brexit has cost the UK £140bn so far, according to new analysis, and could see the nation £311bn worse off by the middle of the next decade, according to a new report. Economists and analysts at Cambridge Econometrics – commissioned by London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan – have modelled how the UK’s economy would have acted

The longest strike in NHS history, during which junior doctors walked out for six days, led to more than 113,000 patient operations, appointments and procedures being postponed, new figures show. The industrial action started last Wednesday and continued until yesterday, with 25,446 staff absent from work at the peak, which was the day the strike

Police chiefs have accused senior politicians of regularly trying to “interfere or influence” their operations.  In a letter to Home Secretary James Cleverly, Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke said most senior officers in 12 forces have experienced “improper pressure or interference from significant political figures, whether through direct contact or through the media”. The

More than 30 Tory MPs are poised to back amendments aimed at “toughening” Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill when it returns to the Commons next week. The prime minister is braced for yet another showdown with the right-wing faction of his party, which believes the legislation in its current form will not stop further legal challenges

Israel “might have taken action” in breach of international law in Gaza, the foreign secretary has said during a tense exchange with MPs on the conflict in the Middle East. Lord Cameron also confirmed two British nationals are still being held hostage by Hamas, as he made his first appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee