Politics

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case described Boris Johnson as a “distrusted figure” during the COVID pandemic and warned the public were unlikely to follow isolation rules set out by him, leaked messages have revealed. Mr Case said to then health secretary Matt Hancock the public needed to be told to isolate by “trusted local figures, not

Matt Hancock has been branded “two-faced” and compared to a “headless chicken” by the former boss of the COVID vaccines taskforce. Dr Clive Dix said the outgoing Tory MP, who resigned as health secretary after being caught breaking social distancing rules to pursue an affair with an aide, was “the most difficult of all the

The Northern Ireland secretary has confirmed the “Stormont brake” revealed in the new Brexit deal would be a veto, not just a delay. Earlier this week, Rishi Sunak unveiled a fresh agreement with the EU to overcome trade barriers in Northern Ireland that he called a “decisive breakthrough”. As part of the Windsor Framework, a

Controversy over Boris Johnson’s involvement in partygate and COVID-19 rule-breaking has been dismissed as “soggy sandwiches and a slice of birthday cake” by an ally of the former prime minister. Tory MP Paul Bristow told Sky News the fine handed to Mr Johnson by Scotland Yard over a lockdown-busting gathering in Downing Street was “ridiculous”.

Matt Hancock branded a ministerial colleague a “w*****” and mocked Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme as “eat out to help the virus get about”, leaked messages show. The revelations are the latest from the “Lockdown Files” being published by The Daily Telegraph. The paper obtained swathes of Mr Hancock’s WhatsApp messages from

The “trial of Boris Johnson” – the televised hearings to determine whether the former prime minister lied to parliament – is now barely three weeks away, and after Friday’s document dump we know roughly what that confrontation will look like. And we know it will be explosive. MPs on the Tory-dominated privileges committee on Friday

Evidence strongly suggests it would have been “obvious” to Boris Johnson COVID rules were being breached at Downing Street gatherings he attended, an inquiry into whether he misled parliament has said. MPs on the cross-party Commons Privileges Committee were tasked with investigating whether Mr Johnson misled parliament over partygate allegations after Sir Keir Starmer tabled

Sue Gray has been appointed by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to serve as his chief of staff. The senior civil servant became a household name during the partygate scandal, authoring the report which found “a failure of leadership and judgement” in Number 10 during Boris Johnson’s premiership. Conservative MPs and former cabinet ministers have

Matt Hancock has denounced what he said was a “massive betrayal and breach of trust” following the leaking of lockdown WhatsApp messages. The exchanges were published in The Daily Telegraph after he shared them with journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who worked with the former health secretary on his Pandemic Diaries book. In a lengthy statement, Mr

Sir Gavin Williamson accused teachers of looking for an “excuse” not to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to leaked messages from Matt Hancock published by The Daily Telegraph. In May 2020, as teachers prepared for classrooms to reopen, the then education secretary had messaged Mr Hancock asking for help in securing personal protective equipment

Matt Hancock allegedly rejected COVID-19 testing advice for residents going into England’s care homes while he was health secretary during the worst of the pandemic, according to a report based on thousands of leaked WhatsApp messages. The Daily Telegraph claims that chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty had told Mr Hancock in April 2020

Forget the politics. The plaudits. The tiny number of entries on the rebellion spreadsheets. The cries that Brexit is over. Forget the reports saying it’s been Rishi Sunak’s best day since becoming prime minister. Arguably what matters much more is the massive further constitutional and political change set to be enacted within our borders –

Rishi Sunak will continue to push forward with his new post-Brexit deal today as he seeks to convince politicians from Northern Ireland it will solve ongoing issues with trade and sovereignty. The prime minister signed the Windsor Framework on Monday, alongside European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, to make changes to the much debated

Rishi Sunak has negotiated a deal on Northern Ireland and Brexit which his predecessors Liz Truss, Boris Johnson and Theresa May could not have secured. Having convinced the EU figures he was a serious prime minister they do business with, Mr Sunak has produced a deal that has already turned the heads and won the

Ursula von der Leyen will meet with the King this afternoon as she discusses changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol in Windsor with the prime minister, Sky News understands. Charles and the European Commission president will sit down for tea late on Monday after she is expected to sign off on a Northern Ireland Protocol

Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet today for “final talks” about the Northern Ireland Protocol. The prime minister and president are expected to meet late lunchtime in Berkshire to discuss the Brexit treaty, Downing Street said as it released details of the meeting. Cabinet ministers will be updated on

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has told Sky News he would resign from the cabinet if bullying claims against him are upheld. The deputy prime minister is being investigated by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC over a string of formal complaints by civil servants about his conduct. Speaking to the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Mr

The UK and EU are “inching towards a conclusion” on revising post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, the Irish prime minister has said. An agreement is possible “but by no means guaranteed”, Leo Varadkar added. Momentum has been building through weeks of fraught talks and a deal to ease checks on trade introduced under the

King Charles was lined up by Number 10 to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday – just as highly contentious negotiations over the Northern Ireland Protocol were poised to come to a head. After weeks of fraught talks and growing anger among Tory backbenchers and unionists, a deal between the UK

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has led a minute’s silence from the steps of Downing Street as the UK showed solidarity with Ukraine on the anniversary of the start of the war. Standing alongside Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, and members of the Ukrainian armed forces, Mr Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, observed