Politics

Political leaders should “take a clear stand” and condemn violence against asylum seekers, charities have said – as they warned scenes like those outside a Merseyside hotel could be replicated across the country. Fifteen people were arrested after “violent scenes” outside the hotel where asylum seekers were staying in Knowsley on Friday. A demonstration descended

The number of working days lost to strike action totalled 843,000 in December, bringing the total number of strike days from June to December 2022 to 2,471,000, the highest since 1989, official figures show. There were 4,129,000 days lost to strike action in 1989 due to industrial action by rail workers and coal miners, the

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak still supports BBC chairman Richard Sharp, despite revelations about the part he played in securing an £800,000 loan for Boris Johnson, his spokesman has said. Mr Sharp took the role in January 2021 after being recommended by then-PM Mr Johnson and having his appointment approved by a committee of MPs. But

Rishi Sunak has been accused of failing to rein in a “culture of lavish spending” across government departments as Labour published details of thousands of purchases over the past two years on taxpayer-funded debit cards. The opposition party’s report on Government Procurement Cards (GPCs) showed 14 departments spent at least £145.5m in 2021 compared with

The corporate vice president of Xbox has told Sky News “there’s no silver bullet” to protect women and minority groups on the internet who experience online harassment and abuse. Dave McCarthy said it takes just one toxic experience on a platform and “your trust in an online space dissipates immediately, as it should”. In an

BBC chairman Richard Sharp made “significant errors of judgement” by facilitating an £800,000 loan guarantee for Boris Johnson, a cross-party committee of MPs has found. The committee said Mr Sharp should “consider the impact his omissions will have” on public trust in the broadcaster after he failed to declare his role as a go-between for

The new Conservative Party chairman has said he believes a Russian spy tried to recruit him over a pint of beer in a London pub. The cabinet minister said he met the man who he now believes was a secret agent at the Seven Stars pub in Fulham, while he had been seeking election as

Tory MPs have stepped up calls for the government to cut taxes after pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca overlooked Britain for a new £320m drug factory. Sir Pascal Soriot, the firm’s chief executive, said it wanted to build a new plant close to its existing sites in northwest England but “because the tax rate was discouraging” chose

Dominic Raab has insisted he “behaved professionally at all times” despite facing an official inquiry into his conduct. The deputy prime minister is being investigated by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC over numerous bullying allegations. But, denying the allegations, Mr Raab told The Telegraph newspaper he is “confident” he has behaved appropriately. “I’m confident I

A couple of hours before the result of the West Lancashire by-election was declared shortly before 2am, senior Tories at the count were prepared for the worst. Privately, they were predicting a 60% share of the vote for Labour and 25% for the Conservatives. They weren’t far wrong. The Tory vote has indeed slumped from

Former Labour MP Jared O’Mara has been jailed for four years for making fraudulent expenses claims to fund an “extensive” cocaine habit while in office. O’Mara, who represented Sheffield Hallam from 2017 to 2019, was on trial at Leeds Crown Court for submitting “dishonest” invoices to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. The 41-year-old was convicted

His news conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was, again, one where Rishi Sunak looked like he felt hard done by at the end. Not for the first time he looked slightly aggrieved at a line of questioning that failed to recognise what he thought he was getting right. Today, President Zelenskyy flew 1,500 miles to deliver

A former Labour MP who submitted fake expenses to fund a cocaine habit while in office has been convicted of fraud. Jared O’Mara, who represented Sheffield Hallam from 2017 to 2019, was on trial at Leeds Crown Court for submitting “dishonest” invoices to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa). He was accused of trying to

Reshuffle day, and as we watched familiar names slot into slightly less familiar job titles with, let’s be honest, limited short-term real-world consequences, we did learn one big and important thing: That Rishi Sunak has yet more personal priorities. Just to recap for those not quite across the full list: The prime minister regularly tells

Greg Hands has replaced Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative Party chairman and two new departments have been created in Rishi Sunak’s first cabinet reshuffle. Former trade policy minister Mr Hands, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, takes over the role that will involve leading the Tories through the next election, which polls suggest they could lose to

Liz Truss has said she would never want to be prime minister again but “doesn’t regret” her time in Downing Street. In an interview with The Spectator, the former PM ruled out a future bid at the top job after her tumultuous 44 days in the position last year. Asked whether she would want to

Widespread NHS strikes are “a badge of shame for the government”, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader made the comment as tens of thousands of NHS staff – including nurses and ambulance workers – staged the biggest walkout in the organisation’s history in England and Wales. Unions are demanding pay rises amid the

A nursing union leader is calling on the prime minister to intervene as the biggest NHS walkout in history gets under way. Royal College of Nursing’s director for England, Patricia Marquis, told Sky News that so far there has been no “direct contact” with Rishi Sunak despite four previous strike days. “It’s a cry out

Grant Shapps has said Liz Truss had the right priorities but failed as she did not try to deal with the “big structural issues” first. The business secretary said he agreed the UK should have a low-tax economy, as the short-lived prime minister advocated, but inflation and debt needed to be dealt with first. He

Former prime minister Liz Truss has said she was never given a “realistic chance” to implement her radical tax-cutting agenda and blamed what she called a “powerful economic establishment” for removing her from Downing Street. In her first detailed comments since she was ousted from Number 10, Ms Truss said she had not appreciated the