Politics

Boris Johnson has told his cabinet ministers his government will not seek to implement new policies or make major changes of direction after he resigned as Conservative Party leader. Addressing his reshuffled top team of ministers for the first time since resigning earlier on Thursday, Mr Johnson said his priority is “to continue delivering on

The possibility Boris Johnson could stay on as a “caretaker” prime minister until the autumn after he resigns today has caused concerns among government and opposition leaders. The cabinet is split over whether Mr Johnson should stay or not until a new Conservative leader is appointed in October, sources close to the government have told

It has been an almost unbelievable 24 hours of political drama, as the resignations of Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak triggered a run of events that look to have sealed Boris Johnson’s fate. Since that moment on Tuesday evening, the PM has endured dozens of government resignations, a delegation of cabinet ministers telling him to

Boris Johnson has pledged to “keep going” as prime minister despite 18 MPs resigning from his government. Asked at Prime Minister’s Questions by fellow Conservative Tim Loughton if there were “any circumstances in which he should resign”, Mr Johnson said he would if he “felt it was impossible.. to go on” as a government. But

Boris Johnson has apologised for appointing Chris Pincher deputy chief whip, saying it “was a mistake” and “in hindsight the wrong thing to do”. The prime minister said sorry to “everybody who has been badly affected” adding, “I just want to make absolutely clear that there is no place in this government for anybody who

Boris Johnson was told about an investigation into Chris Pincher’s inappropriate behaviour in 2019, despite days of Number 10 saying the prime minister was unaware of specific allegations against his former deputy chief whip. Mr Pincher resigned his post last week after he was accused of groping two men in a private members club, but

Carrie Johnson openly questioned Chris Pincher’s suitability as a government whip as far back as 2017, Sky News understands. While communications director at CCHQ in 2017, Mrs Johnson (then Ms Symonds) questioned how Mr Pincher had ever ended up in the whips’ office in correspondence seen by Sky News. The exchanges followed Mr Pincher’s resignation

Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out rejoining the European Union, as he said the UK needs to go forwards and divisions cannot be reopened. The Labour leader told Sky News’ Beth Rigby: “We’re not going back to the EU, to the single market, to the customs union or freedom of movement. “We are going forwards

Labour have called on Boris Johnson to set out what he knew about allegations of inappropriate behaviour by disgraced MP Chris Pincher before appointing him to the Tory whips’ office. The prime minister allegedly referred to the MP as “Pincher by name, pincher by nature” before making him deputy chief whip in February. Mr Pincher

Chris Pincher was “incredibly drunk” on the night he is alleged to have groped two men, MPs present at the Carlton Club that evening have told Sky News. “He was beyond the limit when he should have been socialising,” one MP claimed. “He was slurring and mumbling some nonsense and came back in saying he

Chris Pincher’s statement breaking his silence on allegations of drunken groping was both contrite and defiant. It was contrite because he pledged co-operation with the inquiry now being undertaken by the Commons sleaze watchdog, the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme. But it was defiant because he served notice that he has no intention of quitting

Boris Johnson is desperate to avoid a by-election in Chris Pincher’s Tamworth constituency. But Labour, not surprisingly, would dearly love one. After last week’s double defeat in the Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton by-elections, the Tory high command has got the jitters about anti-Conservative tactical voting. At the December 2019 general election, Mr Pincher had

Pincher: the name sounds like a character from a Jeffrey Archer novel or the TV drama House of Cards. There have also been, inevitably, some wry smiles and giggles among MPs about the former deputy chief whip’s unusual surname and the groping allegations against him. But in all seriousness, as Mr Pincher faces up to

A Tory MP accused of drunkenly groping two men has been suspended by the party. Chris Pincher has had the Conservative whip withdrawn at Westminster over the claims, forcing him to sit as an independent without the support of the parliamentary group. The 52-year-old resigned from his role as deputy chief whip and apologised after

Boris Johnson’s deputy chief whip has resigned over an allegation of “groping”, Sky News understands. Chris Pincher said he had drunk “far too much” and “embarrassing myself and other people” on a night out. The Conservative MP for Tamworth wrote to the prime minister to explain his decision to stand down. He said in his

The UK government will spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2030, Boris Johnson has announced, as NATO’s secretary general warned that the alliance must stand up to Vladimir Putin. Speaking from the NATO conference in Madrid, the prime minister told broadcasters that “we need to invest for the long-term in vital capabilities like future

Gordon Brown has claimed that Britain is “at war with America over Ireland” – amid opposition from US politicians over plans to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol. The former prime minister told Sky News’s Beth Rigby Interviews that there was no chance of the UK signing a trade deal with the world’s biggest economy

The investigation into whether Boris Johnson deliberately misled parliament over the partygate scandal has begun with a call for evidence – and individuals will be allowed to contribute to the inquiry anonymously. Labour veteran Harriet Harman, currently the longest-serving female MP, has been selected to chair the probe which will be conducted by the Commons

An anti-Brexit protester has had his amplifiers seized from him outside Parliament in line with new laws that came into force on Tuesday. Steve Bray, known as the “Stop Brexit Man”, was demonstrating in Westminster when police took the equipment. Under the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act, noisy protests are forbidden in a designated

Boris Johnson has called questions over his leadership “political commentary” as rumours mount that a few of his own MPs are considering defecting to the Labour Party. Asked about the reports, the prime minister told reporters that “these are matters for commentators”. Mr Johnson added that his job is to “get on with the agenda”