Politics

Naming an alleged Chinese spy who has been linked to Prince Andrew is a “matter for the courts”, a government minster has said. Jim McMahon told Sky News that while he does not know the alleged agent’s identity, he assumes his more senior cabinet colleagues would be aware “depending on their security clearance”. Politics Live:

The prime minister is visiting Norway to launch a new green energy deal before attending a defence summit in Estonia. Sir Keir Starmer will travel to a carbon capture and storage site and meet his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store to discuss the new Green Industrial Partnership. Number 10 said both leaders intend to sign

The shadow home secretary said he is “deeply concerned” about allegations of Chinese spies in the UK and warned those in public life to be “extremely vigilant”. Chris Philp told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme the Chinese Communist Party has been “engaging in organised and systemic attempts to influence political life” for

The UK is one of the only developed economies not using a form of national ID card, research has shown. Research for Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips found that of the 38 OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, just six – all predominantly English-speaking – do not have an ID scheme:

The prime minister and chancellor were in lockstep as they reacted to Friday morning’s GDP figures. “Disappointing”, the PM’s spokesperson said, echoing Rachel Reeves’s words two hours earlier. The UK economy shrunk for a second month, contracting 0.1% in October. Money blog: latest updates Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:10

Ed Miliband does not regret voting against the UK taking military action in Syria in 2013, he has told Sky News. His comments to Sky’s breakfast presenter Anna Jones come following the collapse of the Bashar al Assad regime in the region. Back in 2013, when Mr Miliband was Labour leader, UK MPs voted against

It might be tempting, given how much coverage has focused on it recently, to assume the forthcoming changes to inheritance tax regime are the single biggest issue facing farmers these days.  But the reality is these tax changes come at a moment of extraordinary pressure, with farmers having to contend with a swathe of unsettling

Plans to “green” the UK’s power system will protect consumers from future energy crises and has the potential to “bring down bills for good”, the government has said. Achieving clean electricity by 2030 was a key election promise for the Labour party, and reiterated by Keir Starmer last week as he outlined government ‘milestones’. To

The government is today demanding “immediate, mandatory” housing targets from councils as part of its plans to build 1.5 million houses by the next general election. During its election campaign Labour promised to build swathes of new housing to address lack of affordability and supply. And it will today release its latest version of the

Prisons minister Lord James Timpson has told Sky News that he is having “a conversation” with parliament and the public sector about hiring more ex-convicts. Lord Timpson pushed for ex-offenders to get employment at his family’s Timpson chain while CEO – with around 10% of employees being former convicts – and previously chaired the Prison

👉Listen to Politics At Jack And Sam’s on your podcast app👈 Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard share their daily guide to the day ahead in politics in under 20 minutes. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has been accused of “denigrating” her childhood homeland by Nigeria’s vice president and an adviser

A Labour MP hosted a man at the centre of a terror group probe in parliament just weeks before his arrest, Sky News can reveal. Agit Karatas is one of six people who were charged on Tuesday with being members of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after an investigation by counter-terrorism police in London.

Reform UK’s new Treasurer has revealed he spoke to Elon Musk this morning following suggestions the tech tycoon could make a multi-million-pound donation to Nigel Farage’s party. Nick Candy, the billionaire husband of singer Holly Valance and former Tory party member, told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that the pair exchanged messages after his

Sir Keir Starmer has said UK economic growth was his “number one mission” as he defended his trip to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The prime minister accused predecessor Boris Johnson of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator” when the former PM met Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in

The government has paused all decisions on Syrian asylum claims following the rapid fall of the Assad regime over the weekend. The Home Office said the move had been made “whilst we assess the current situation”. “The Home Office has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims whilst we assess the current situation,” a statement said.

A Tory frontbencher is urging the government to “focus” on pupil absence after a report found as many as 300,000 children were missing from education in England last year. Figures from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) – which compare GP registrations with school enrolment data – mark a 40% increase in unaccounted absences since 2017.

Protecting wildlife shouldn’t come at the expense of building more homes, Angela Rayner has said. Last week, Sir Keir Starmer pledged to build 1.5 million homes and fast-track planning decisions on 150 major infrastructure projects by the end of the decade. Ms Rayner, who is deputy prime minister and housing secretary, was asked if this

Sir Keir Starmer will travel to the Persian Gulf today as he tries to build stronger trade ties with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. In his first visit to the region as prime minister, he will aim to boost investment in the UK and deepen defence and security partnerships, said Number 10. The

Sir Keir Starmer is not accustomed to receiving much praise, so he’ll take it where he can. And on Friday it came from an unlikely source, his political opponents. Speaking at the British-Irish Council summit in Edinburgh, SNP leader and Scottish First Minister John Swinney described a change in atmosphere since Labour took office. Image:

Conservative peer Lord Rami Ranger has forfeited his CBE – just a month after regaining the Tory whip. The move was confirmed in a notice published in the London Gazette saying the King had directed Lord Ranger’s CBE would be “cancelled and annulled”. According to the PA news agency, the decision was made after the