The Metropolitan Police has not received any complaints about an alleged party in Downing Street last year when indoor socialising was banned under COVID restrictions, the force’s commissioner has said. It has been reported this week that a large party was held on 18 December last year where around “40 or 50” people were crammed
Politics
Britons have been urged to “keep calm and carry on with your Christmas plans” despite fears over the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden told Sky News that people should continue to go to the pub and dine at restaurants during the festive season, as he said the government had taken “sufficient”
Downing Street have confirmed “in-person events” such as parties will be held in the lead up to the festive period as a Cabinet minister urged Britons to “keep calm and carry on with your Christmas plans”. A Number 10 spokesperson told Sky News celebrations will be held across Whitehall in the run up to Christmas
France has rejected the idea of a joint British-French patrol in the English Channel to deal with the rising number of migrant crossing – but said Paris officials are “ready to pursue our operational cooperation” with the UK. Writing to Boris Johnson, French Prime Minister Jean Castex told his British counterpart that his country “cannot
Former cabinet ministers who remain in parliament earn an average of £162,000 on top of their MP salary from the private sector in their first year after leaving government, Sky News research has found. The figure, arrived at by analysing data from the register of members’ interests between 2015 and 2021, excludes earnings from media
MPs have given up second jobs worth more than £250,000 per year in the wake of Westminster’s sleaze row. Fresh scrutiny of MPs’ outside earnings in recent weeks appears to have prompted some to end their other employment away from the House of Commons. A recent update to the register of financial interests reveals Julian
A number of social gatherings were held in Downing Street in the run-up to Christmas last year while indoor mixing was banned in London under COVID restrictions, Sky News understands. Following reports that a large party was held in late December, it has also emerged that Number 10 staff gathered after work and drank alcohol
Boris Johnson has said “all guidance was followed completely” as the prime minister was accused by Sir Keir Starmer of hosting a “boozy party” in Downing Street last Christmas despite COVID rules that were in place at the time. The Labour leader said Mr Johnson was “taking the British public for fools” as the pair
The government plans to offer booster vaccines to everyone over the age of 18 by the end of January, Boris Johnson has said. Speaking at a Downing Street news briefing on Tuesday, the PM said the rollout of booster programme will go in age order, and that there will be more than 1,500 community pharmacy
France’s interior minister has suggested talks with the UK over Channel crossings could resume as Paris proposed ideas to tackle the crisis. Gerald Darmanin said Prime Minister Jean Castex will write to Boris Johnson on Tuesday with proposals for a “balanced agreement” between the UK and the EU. He said discussions could take place “very
Yvette Cooper is elevated to shadow home secretary while Lisa Nandy will move from shadow foreign secretary to the levelling up brief as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer reshuffles his cabinet. Ms Cooper, who held the home affairs brief previously from 2011 to 2015 under former Labour leader Ed Miliband, will depart her current role
Labour would “act to stamp out the corruption that Boris Johnson and his government has polluted our democracy with” if it wins power at the next general election, the party’s deputy leader has said. Unveiling the party’s plans to fix the “broken” system for upholding ministers’ standards, Angela Rayner said the prime minister had been
Have the last few weeks seen a turning point in Boris Johnson’s premiership? Dozens of Tories have refused to follow the prime minister’s orders in the voting lobbies on issues as diverse as sleaze and social care. Meanwhile a handful of Tory MPs have gone public with demands for change, with many more complaining in
The health secretary has said it is going to be a “great Christmas” as he defended not imposing stricter restrictions to combat the new COVID variant. Sajid Javid told Trevor Phillips On Sunday it would be “irresponsible to make guarantees” but the measures announced this week in reaction to the Omicron variant will “buy us
A government minister has defended Stanley Johnson, calling him “a gentleman” after a fellow Conservative Party MP accused the prime minister’s father of inappropriately touching her. Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, said she “didn’t believe” what Caroline Nokes had accused the former MEP of. In response to the remarks, Ms Nokes said she was “sorry”
There is limited evidence that Rishi Sunak’s £2bn jobs programme for young people is working, according to a new report. The National Audit Office (NAO) watchdog warned that the government has “limited assurance” over whether the Kickstart scheme, aimed at 16 to 24-year-olds, is having any positive effect or creating high quality jobs. The government
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth has tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-isolating. The leading Labour MP said he will be “out of action for a bit” after announcing he had tested positive on Friday morning. He did not say whether his family or members of his staff have also tested positive for COVID or
France has cancelled a meeting with the UK to discuss Channel crossings after Boris Johnson asked the French to take back migrants arriving in Britain. French interior minister Gerald Darmanin has told Home Secretary Priti Patel “she was no longer welcome” at Sunday’s European meeting on migrant issues, a French government spokesman said. Spokesman Gabriel
Boris Johnson has offered to work with France to “move further and faster” in order to tackle small boat crossings and avoid a repeat of the “appalling tragedy” in the Channel that left 27 people dead. The prime minister has written to President Emmanuel Macron and set out five steps he thinks both sides should
Boris Johnson has hit out at France after more than 30 people died in the English Channel when their boat capsized, as he slammed people trafficking gangs who are “literally getting away with murder”. The prime minister said he was “shocked, appalled and deeply saddened” by the “disaster”, which “underscores how dangerous it is to