Politics

The minister for refugees has said he expects “thousands of people” to arrive in the UK next week under the government’s Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme. Lord Harrington, who was appointed to the role last week and subsequently enrolled into the House of Lords, told the Home Affairs Committee that it “may not be possible”

Legal targets for air pollution and the abundance of wild species are among proposals being set out by the government. Ministers want legally-binding targets for air quality, wildlife, water, waste reduction and resource efficiency. The proposals include annual targets for average concentrations of fine particulate matter – air pollution that can affect lung function and

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said it is “sheer nonsense” that security advice was overruled to award Lord Lebedev a peerage. Standing in for the prime minister at PMQs on Wednesday, Mr Raab was repeatedly pressed by his shadow counterpart Angela Rayner on Boris Johnson’s decision to award the Russian-born businessman a seat in

Boris Johnson has said Vladimir Putin is like a drug dealer who has got Western nations hooked on Russian oil and gas. “Vladimir Putin over the last years has been like a pusher, feeding an addiction in Western countries to his hydrocarbons,” the prime minister said on Tuesday. “We need to get ourselves off that

More than 100,000 Britons have offered up their homes to Ukrainian refugees, Boris Johnson has said. The prime minister said it was “fantastic” and thanked “everyone across the country who has stepped up to offer their help so far”. A website where people can register their interest in providing a home for at least six

The government is closing in on a multibillion pound investment deal with Saudi Arabia that would provide a backdrop to crucial talks on the Gulf state’s oil production. Sky News understands that ministers have been working for weeks to finalise a new sovereign investment partnership (SIP) with Riyadh that would replicate a £10bn alliance unveiled

The UK government has placed an export ban on luxury goods to Russia and hiked up import tariffs from the country on iconic products such as vodka. British vehicles, high-end fashion and art are some of the luxury goods that will no longer be exported to Russia as the UK and other G7 leaders continue

A minister has said he “can understand why people are angry” about allegations that Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie were among around 40 people to attend a drinks event in the Downing Street garden during the UK’s first national COVID lockdown. Health minister Ed Argar said it is “absolutely right” that Sue Gray –

Boris Johnson can run from the latest “partygate” allegations, but he can’t hide. This is no longer about junior and middle-ranking Number 10 officials breaking COVID rules but about the prime minister’s own personal conduct. From the moment Mr Jonson failed to deny that he attended the now notorious “bring your own booze” party in

We may want to live with COVID, but does COVID want to live with us? The decision in Westminster not to impose more restrictions in England over Christmas now looks like something of an inflection point for the country’s pandemic path. The last two weeks have seen a hardening within government in the desire to

Almost half of all Tory members now believe that Rishi Sunak would make a better leader and could win more seats at the next election than Boris Johnson, an exclusive poll for Sky News has found. A third of the Tory membership now think Mr Johnson should stand down as Tory leader. Almost four in

The prime minister has been warned it would be “utterly wrongheaded” to scale back free lateral flow tests following reports they could be limited to high risk settings. Both the Labour Party and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have warned Boris Johnson against the move amid concerns tests could be limited to care homes, hospitals

Leaseholders in lower-rise blocks of flats are set to be spared having to take out loans to remove dangerous cladding from their buildings as the government prepares to “reset” its approach to the scandal. Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, is due to make a statement in which he

More than one million people have signed a petition calling for Sir Tony Blair to have his knighthood removed. The former Labour prime minister, who was in office between 1997 and 2007, was appointed a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter in the New Year Honours list. However, there has been

The NHS is facing a “rocky few weeks ahead” as it contends with a wave of Omicron cases, the health secretary has said – as two major incidents were declared in England due to pressures caused by the COVID variant’s spread. Speaking during a visit to King’s College Hospital in south London, Sajid Javid said

Boris Johnson has hit out at anti-vaxxers, declaring they are “completely wrong” and spreading “mumbo jumbo” as the environment secretary said the country would soon get past the peak of Omicron infections. Speaking during a visit to a vaccination centre in Northampton, the prime minister said he wanted to keep a “voluntary approach” to COVID-19

Boris Johnson has offered a “humble and sincere apology” for failing to disclose WhatsApp messages with a Tory peer in which he discussed the funding of his Downing Street flat refurbishment – and blamed getting a new phone for not declaring the conversation. In a series of letters between the prime minister and his independent

Plans to tackle the record waiting list for NHS treatment could be derailed by emergency care demands and a lack of staff, MPs have warned. The backlog of patients waiting for planned care in England has soared to nearly six million as the number of 999 calls and A&E waiting times have both hit record

Boris Johnson denied during PMQs that he’d ever described inflation fears as “unfounded” – despite Sky News having him saying just that on camera. Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner, standing in for Sir Keir Starmer as he has COVID, told the prime minister he claimed in October that public fears about inflation were “unfounded”. Three

MPs are returning to Westminster after their Christmas break and plunging straight into a potentially fiery Prime Minister’s Questions and a Commons showdown over COVID-19. Besides the latest crisis over Omicron, Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer are poised to clash over soaring energy bills, investigations into Downing Street parties, and the PM’s flat makeover.