Politics

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

Kemi Badenoch has entered the Conservative leadership race to replace Rishi Sunak with a pledge to tell voters the truth. The shadow housing secretary – who served as business and trade secretary in the last government – becomes the sixth person to put themselves forward. She joins James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat, Robert Jenrick and Mel

Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel has said it is “time to put unity before personal vendetta” as she threw her hat into the ring for the Tory party leadership. Entering the increasingly crowded field to replace Rishi Sunak, the senior Conservative MP laid the blame for their worst-ever defeat on 4 July not on

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has promised to “fix” the “mess” the Conservative government left in the economy, amid reports of a £20bn “black hole” in the public finances. Ms Reeves, who is currently on a visit to the G20 in Brazil, told broadcasters she aimed to tell the world that the UK “is open for business”

The government is considering repealing a controversial law that could have seen universities and student unions fined for failing to uphold freedom of speech on campus. A Whitehall source branded The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which was due to come into force next week, “an antisemites’ charter” that could have lent a

The government is expected to agree to above-inflation pay rises for public sector workers in the coming days, amid concerns over the costs of not settling, Sky News understands. Independent pay review bodies have already recommended the above-inflation figure to ministers for teachers and nurses of about 5.5% to keep them in line with increases