Politics

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to apologise over a Labour social media post which claimed Rishi Sunak doesn’t think child sex abusers should go to prison. The party has been accused of “gutter politics” and criticised by its own MPs after posting a message on its official Twitter account vowing to “lock up dangerous

Rishi Sunak has said no further action will be taken against minister Mark Spencer after an investigation cleared him of breaching the rules over the sacking of Tory colleague Nusrat Ghani. In his investigation into alleged Islamophobia, Sir Laurie Magnus said it was not possible to determine what the then chief whip said to Ms

A Conservative MP has been caught indicating he would be willing to break parliamentary lobbying rules for money in an undercover sting operation by The Times. Scott Benton, the MP for Blackpool South, met undercover reporters posing as employees of TAHR Partners, a fake company lobbying to influence government policy, at a central London hotel

Ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell – the husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon – has been arrested following an investigation into the party’s finances. Police Scotland announced on Wednesday that a 58-year-old man was in custody and being questioned by detectives as part of an ongoing probe. Officers are also carrying out searches at

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has been disqualified from driving for six months after travelling at almost 30mph over a temporary speed limit on the M1. The MP for Newark, Nottinghamshire, was also fined a total of £1,639 at a court hearing on Tuesday. Mr Jenrick admitted to travelling at 68mph in a temporary 40mph zone

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has said convicted criminals should be forced to attend their sentencing in court, after Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s murderer Thomas Cashman refused to face his punishment. New videos of Olivia were released by her family the day after Cashman was sentenced to a minimum of 42 years in prison before parole is considered.

New strike dates have been announced after teachers from the National Education Union (NEU) overwhelmingly rejected a government pay offer. Some 98% of members who voted rejected the offer, with strikes now scheduled for 27 April and 2 May. The union had called the offer “insulting” and advised members to reject it. It said it

Nicola Sturgeon has said online rumours and the need to seek more privacy was “part of the reason” she resigned. The former SNP leader announced her shock resignation as Scotland’s first minister in February, saying “in my head and in my heart” she knew it was time to step down. But she has now revealed

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has refused to confirm if deportation flights to Rwanda will begin this summer. The policy to deport migrants arriving in the UK on small boats to Rwanda is one of the home secretary’s key pledges. But since the scheme was introduced in April 2022, no flights have taken off due to

The Home Secretary has announced people working with children in England will have a new legal duty to report “signs or suspicions” of child sex abuse. Suella Braverman will announce new measures to beef up child protection on Sunday. Writing for the Mail on Sunday in an article published this evening, Ms Braverman set out

Conservative MPs defending slim majorities have accused colleagues of “gaming the system” to try and move to safer seats and maximise their chances of keeping their jobs. There is “fury” at the “ultra-confidential” process which will allow some Tories to switch constituencies ahead of the next election. Around 15 parliamentarians have applied to be declared

International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said palm oil is “a great product” after the new UK-Indo-Pacific trade deal was criticised for aiding the destruction of orangutan habitats. The UK was accepted into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Friday after two years of negotiations. Malaysia, the world’s second-largest palm oil

Sir Keir Starmer says he is “prepared to be ruthless” to ensure Labour wins the next election, including when it comes to his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn. Earlier this week, Sir Keir put forward a motion to Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), to block Mr Corbyn from running for the party at the

Labour’s top second jobs earner David Lammy has conceded if MPs are banned from having outside earnings “I will have to live with that”. The shadow foreign secretary has come under scrutiny this year after Sky News’ Westminster Accounts project revealed he tops his party’s list with additional earnings of £243,800 since this parliament started

Voters across much of England will head to the ballot box for local and mayoral elections on 4 May. It will be the first time people in England will have to show photographic identification at voting stations before they can cast their ballot. Sky News takes you through all you need to know about the

The government has announced that “thousands” of asylum seekers will be housed in four military bases, including one in the prime minister’s own constituency. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick confirmed plans to house migrants at former RAF sites in Essex and Lincolnshire, as well as announcing two new sites in East Sussex and Yorkshire. The latter,

Local Tory councils have threatened to take legal action against the government over its plans to house asylum seekers in disused military bases in their areas. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick confirmed the scheme today, saying “thousands” would be accommodated at former RAF sites in Essex and Lincolnshire. But Braintree District Council said it was planning

Kate Forbes has rejected a job offer from Scotland’s new first minister Humza Yousaf and will return to the backbenches after serving in government for almost five years. A senior source told Sky News that Ms Forbes, who narrowly lost the SNP leadership race to Mr Yousaf on Monday, was asked to take on the

Humza Yousaf has won the SNP leadership contest and is set to be named as Scotland’s new first minister, replacing Nicola Sturgeon. The explosive leadership contest was sparked following Ms Sturgeon’s shock resignation last month. Lorna Finn, the SNP’s national secretary, stated that the total turnout in the leadership election was 70% with 50,490 of

Candidates who wish to stand for Labour at the next election will be given the right to appeal if the party rejects their bid to become an MP, Sky News can reveal. Labour has faced accusations of fixing parliamentary selections for candidates who are preferred by the leadership while using “due diligence” checks to bar