Politics

Humza Yousaf, the former first minister of Scotland, has revealed the recent days of violent riots have left him unsure whether his family has a future in the UK. Mr Yousaf – the first ethnic minority leader of a devolved government and the first Muslim to lead a major UK party when he became SNP

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has called accusations of two-tier policing “complete nonsense” – and said they are putting officers at risk. Sir Mark condemned the claims saying: “It’s complete nonsense. We operate independently under the law without fear or favour. “They are putting them at risk by suggesting that any of those officers

Billionaire media baron Elon Musk is engaged in a war of words with Sir Keir Starmer over the role social media has played in riots around the UK. The X owner began to retweet posts a few days after the Southport stabbings and after the prime minister fired a warning shot to social media companies

Elon Musk’s claim that “civil war is inevitable” in the UK is “totally unjustified”, a government minister has said, after the billionaire clashed with Sir Keir Starmer over the remarks. Musk, the owner of X, has been engaged in a war of words with the prime minister over riots gripping the UK, amid concerns online

The Metropolitan Police has said its commissioner was “in a hurry” after he grabbed a Sky News journalist’s microphone and threw it to the ground. Sir Mark Rowley grabbed part of the microphone and discarded it as he walked off after Sky News journalist Rob Catherall asked if he was “going to end two-tier policing”.

The home secretary has said prison places “are ready” for the “thuggish minority of criminals” rioting across the UK, ahead of an emergency COBRA meeting today. Yvette Cooper will hold the emergency meeting this morning following nearly a week of rioting in cities and towns across the UK. More than 140 people have been arrested

The prime minister has vowed to do “whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice” as he addressed the nation amid rioting in UK streets. “I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, either directly or those whipping up this disorder online,” Sir Keir Starmer said in a televised address. UK rioting

The government has said it will do “whatever it takes” to ensure those engaging in criminal activity during violent disorder across the UK are dealt with, including courts sitting overnight. It comes as the government’s adviser on political violence and disruption warned that far-right actors are “almost certainly” being “aided and abetted by hostile states

Robert Jenrick has said the political system he was part of is broken as he claimed he is the person who can change that as Tory leader. The former minister told a leadership race rally in his Newark constituency he wants to “breathe new life into our party” and will ensure it becomes a “mass

The cost of putting homeless people in temporary accommodation has soared by 25% for London councils in the past year as landlords sell up or choose private tenants, Sky News can reveal. Some councils in the capital are facing potential bankruptcy as the growing demand for homelessness services alongside increasing accommodation costs has meant local

The culture secretary has said BBC newsreader Huw Edwards should return his salary after he admitted accessing indecent images of children. Edwards was paid £200,000 after he was arrested in November while he was suspended by the broadcaster up until he resigned in April on medical advice. On Wednesday, the 62-year-old BBC veteran pleaded guilty

A senior Labour politician who lost their seat in a shock result on election night has hinted at a future to return to parliament. Jonathan Ashworth, the former Labour MP for Leicester South who was defeated by an independent candidate, told Beth Rigby’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast that he was “still around” and “not going anywhere”.

Robert Jenrick thinks the Tories can win at the next election – but he added the party has a “mountain to climb” and must show “where we went wrong”. The former immigration minister will formally launch his campaign for the Conservative leadership on Friday. He will say the Tories need to undergo “serious changes” to

Sir Keir Starmer is holding an emergency meeting with senior police leaders following violent protests in the wake of the Southport stabbings. The prime minister will offer the government’s full backing to emergency service workers following outbreaks of violence in Southport, London, Hartlepool and Manchester this week. Sir Keir will meet senior police leaders on

Angela Rayner has defended her decision to remove the need for “beautiful” buildings from Labour’s housing policy, claiming the word was “preventing and blocking development”. The stipulation was added to planning rules by the previous Conservative government, with then housing secretary Michael Gove saying it would encourage communities to support new projects. But his successor

The sister of a man who has spent 12 years behind bars on an abolished prison sentence has pleaded with new justice minister Lord Timpson to intervene in her brother’s high-profile case. Clara White, whose brother Thomas White has been in prison since 2012 for stealing a mobile phone, said offenders like him who are

The prime minister has visited Southport to pay his respects to the victims of Monday’s stabbings, and to their families who are “going through raw pain and grief”. Sir Keir Starmer laid flowers near the Hart Space, a community centre where children had been attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop before the attack. Three young

The chancellor has said her predecessor Jeremy Hunt “lied” as she accused him of deliberately covering up the truth about the state of the UK’s finances. After announcing a series of spending cuts on Monday, Rachel Reeves said it was “unforgivable” the Conservatives left a £22bn funding black hole. Follow the latest updates from Westminster

Rachel Reeves has strongly hinted there will be tax rises in the autumn budget as she promised to be “honest” about “difficult” decisions that lie ahead. The chancellor said while she did not want to increase taxes on working people, the public had been “misled for too long” about the state of the country’s finances.

By now, you are probably aware that at 3.30pm the new chancellor will tell MPs of an approximately £20bn black hole in the public finances, necessitating immediate painful spending cuts today and paving the way for tax increases in an October budget. Rachel Reeves and her team will then challenge the Tories over who knew