Politics

Civil servants overseeing arms exports to Israel have requested to “cease work immediately” over fears they could be complicit in war crimes in Gaza. Officials in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) have raised concerns with senior civil servants that they may be liable if it is deemed Israel has broken international law. Politics

It was Margaret Thatcher who famously declared: “The only poll that matters is the general election.” And over the years, many more party leaders have wisely repeated her cautious advice when confronted with huge opinion poll leads. The Labour lead according to the latest YouGov MRP mega poll isn’t just big, however. It’s massive: a

A former Conservative defence secretary has urged the UK to “lead the way” on defence spending, warning the country is facing a greater threat now than during the Cold War. Sir Michael Fallon told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips that fewer than half of NATO’s members spend 2% of their GDP on defence, “so we need

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. With ministers warning that Britain is moving to a “pre-war world” amid mounting concerns about Russia, China and Iran, it can be revealed

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

Labour is set to launch a “cost of chaos” website that criticises the amount of government spending under Rishi Sunak. Launched today – a month before the local elections on 2 May – it aims to count the cost of decisions made by the prime minister, including scrapping the northern leg of the HS2 rail

The government is facing rebellion from its own backbenchers over plans to “criminalise” homelessness. Rebels claim that as many 40 Conservatives – from both the left and right of the party – are unwilling to support the government’s Criminal Justice Bill as is. A group of 40 would easily be able to overturn the government

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

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

Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the Democratic Unionist Party has said “victims must always have the best opportunity for justice”. It comes after Sir Jeffrey Donaldson stepped down as DUP leader on Friday as he faces charges over alleged historical sexual offences. Ms Little-Pengelly said she was “shocked and devastated by this

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

The government has been accused of “abandoning” its pledge to ban no fault evictions by the time of the next general election. Housing minister Jacob Young sent a letter to Conservative MPs dated 27 March which said the power under Section 21 of the Housing Act would remain in place until an assessment had been

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

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

Britain will sanction individuals whom it alleges are involved in Chinese backed-disruption of the democratic process on Monday. Ministers will step up pressure on China tomorrow when they set out further details of the attack on the Electoral Commission and 43 individuals, including MPs and peers. The Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast reveals this