UK

The Bank of England has raised the base rate of interest by 0.75 percentage points to 3% – the single biggest increase in more than three decades – and said that the UK is already in recession. The Bank warned that the UK could face a protracted contraction in the coming years, with high inflation

The Bank of England is expected to unveil the biggest interest rate rise in decades today. A rise of 0.75 percentage points is anticipated, the biggest since 1992 – pushing the base rate to 3%, a level not seen since 2008. If confirmed, this could push up mortgage bills for millions of people in the

A Metropolitan Police officer and his former colleague have been jailed for 12 weeks for sharing grossly offensive messages in a WhatsApp group with Sarah Everard’s killer – and then bailed ahead of an appeal against their convictions. Constable Jonathon Cobban, 35, and ex-PC Joel Borders, 45, were found guilty of the offences in September.

Hundreds – if not thousands – of police officers who should have failed vetting checks may be serving in England and Wales, a watchdog has warned. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services looked at 11,277 police officers and staff across eight forces, examined 725 vetting files, considered 264 complaint and misconduct investigations,

Boris Johnson has told Sky News that he does not think Vladimir Putin will use a tactical nuclear weapon in his war in Ukraine. There have been suggestions that the Russian president could carry out such a military strike as his forces continue to lose territory which they captured earlier in the invasion. But in

British cyber spies have been playing a key role in defending Ukraine from widespread Russian cyber attacks since the start of the invasion, it has been confirmed. The damage caused by Russian hackers would have been “very significant” without the British assistance, Leo Docherty, a junior foreign office minister, said. He told Sky News the

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she “never ignored legal advice” about sending migrants to hotels from an overcrowded processing centre. The home secretary said she knew “the importance of taking legal advice into account” and never tried to stop migrants from the Manston migrant processing centre from being sent to hotels. “At every point, I’ve

As new PM Rishi Sunak begins his first full week in office, pressure is already mounting on him over his Home Secretary’s handling of the growing migrant issue – and over his own snub of the upcoming climate summit. It emerged on Monday that more than 110 refugee charities have signed an open, and pointed,

Petrol bombs have been thrown at a Border Force migrant centre in Dover. Kent Fire and Rescue Service were called to The Viaduct in Dover at 11.22am after Reuters news agency – who had a photographer at the scene – reported a man threw petrol bombs attached with fireworks at the centre. The photographer captured

Labour is urging the government to publish its assessments of Suella Braverman’s security breach following her controversial reappointment as home secretary just six days after she was forced out. New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under growing pressure over reinstating Ms Braverman as home secretary after a former party chair claimed she had committed “multiple

Britain has denied Russian claims that Royal Navy personnel blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month, saying the story is “invented”. A Ministry of Defence tweet said: “To detract from their disastrous handling of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defence is resorting to peddling false claims of an epic

The head of the Royal Navy has ordered an investigation into “abhorrent” claim of “sexual bullying” in the submarine service. Admiral Sir Ben Key, the First Sea Lord, said sexual assault and harassment has no place in the Royal Navy and that anyone who is found culpable will be held accountable. Responding to the allegations

Britain’s Ministry of Defence sent serving Royal Air Force pilots to China to teach a course to their Chinese counterparts and allowed Chinese nationals to study at UK military colleges, Sky News can reveal. Up to four frontline pilots took part in the ‘Aviation English Course’ in Beijing that ran in 2016, while at least

Northern Ireland is set to have an Assembly election before Christmas because the deadline to restore devolved government at Stormont has expired. The region has been in a political crisis for months with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refusing to return to power-sharing since losing its status as the nation’s largest party to Sinn Fein

More than 20 former patients or their relatives have revealed how they were “treated worse than animals” and failed by the “awful” care they received at mental health hospitals for teenagers. Testimonies gathered in an investigation by Sky News raise repeated allegations of over-restraint and inadequate staffing which youngsters say left people at increased risk

Britain’s year of political turmoil could cost the taxpayer up to £726,000 in severance payments to former ministers and whips, Sky News analysis of House of Commons library data has found. Since the beginning of the year, 79 government ministers and whips have either been sacked or have resigned. And 71 of them are likely

On the face of it, Rishi Sunak’s first Prime Minister’s Questions was an assured performance. The former chancellor was combative, confident and fluid. But it was also a session in which the new prime minister showed us how conscious he is that his political legitimacy hangs by a thread. Because being appointed as the UK’s

Rishi Sunak will make his debut at Prime Minister’s Questions at lunchtime, in what is shaping up to be the first big test of his leadership.  The new PM will face Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in the Commons – a day after culling almost a dozen Conservative ministers from the cabinet. Jacob Rees-Mogg has

Rishi Sunak has made his first speech as prime minister, saying he was chosen to take over to “fix” the mistakes made by Liz Truss. Speaking outside Number 10, the former chancellor praised his predecessor’s “restlessness” and her “noble aim” to improve economic growth in the UK. But, he added: “Some mistakes were made, not

Rishi Sunak is being urged to overhaul the cabinet on his first day as prime minister. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told Sky News that the new PM’s government should feature the best ministers available – rather than focusing on those who are loyal. “We have got to have the first 15 on the pitch. I