Politics

And another one bites the dust. Suella Braverman – one of the most divisive politicians of the age – has been sacked as home secretary. It marks the fourth dramatic exit from Rishi Sunak’s cabinet in just over a year – after the departures of Dominic Raab, Nadhim Zahawi and Gavin Williamson. It’s not exactly

The prime minister has “full confidence” in his home secretary, Suella Braverman, despite her controversial article about pro-Palestinian marches. The prime minister’s spokesperson said it was looking into details surrounding the article by Ms Braverman, but insisted Rishi Sunak had “full confidence” in her. In her article, Ms Braverman accused the police of “playing favourites”

Suella Braverman has accused the police of “double standards” in the way they handle protests – after Rishi Sunak conceded that a pro-Palestine march on Armistice Day will go ahead. The home secretary has sharply criticised the Metropolitan Police in an op-ed for The Times newspaper – saying there is “a perception that senior police

A former top civil servant has apologised for suggestions he made early in the COVID pandemic that so-called “chicken pox parties” could help people build immunity to the virus. Lord Mark Sedwill was cabinet secretary when the pandemic started, which means he was also in charge of the Civil Service. He has been highly criticised

Shadow minister Imran Hussain has quit Labour’s frontbench in protest at Sir Keir Starmer’s position on the Israel-Hamas war. Mr Hussain’s decision will be a blow for the Labour leader, who has been attempting to hold his party together in an increasingly fractious debate over whether the leadership should back a ceasefire in Gaza. In

Tougher sentences for the country’s most serious offenders and a crackdown on grooming have taken centre stage in the first King’s Speech in decades. The King struck a personal note when he began his speech – the first by a king in over 70 years – by acknowledging the “legacy of service and devotion to

The government’s policies for the upcoming year will be unveiled during the King’s Speech on Tuesday, with a pledge to put criminal justice “at the heart” of its plans. The speech – devised by the prime minister, but delivered by King Charles – will include details of a Sentencing Bill to ensure whole life orders

Rishi Sunak has responded for the first time to allegations that a Tory MP committed a series of rapes, saying the claims were “very serious”. The prime minister urged anyone with evidence of criminal acts to talk to the police, as he faced questions about the accusations while on a visit to Norfolk. “These are

This is King Charles’s first King’s Speech as monarch. This matters to him, not only because he knows the world will be looking to see if he does something differently (he won’t – continuity matters), nor because it could be an opportunity to say something about his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in a new

The deputy prime minister has said he fears there has not been the “moral clarity” that “Jewish lives matter” after the Hamas attack on Israel. Oliver Dowden warned the Jewish community in the UK was “fearful” after a number of pro-Palestinian marches. Rishi Sunak’s deputy drew comparisons with the Black Lives Matter protests after the

The home secretary has said anyone vandalising the Cenotaph on Armistice Day “must be put into a jail cell faster than their feet can touch the ground”. Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Suella Braverman said she doesn’t want to “undermine” the police process by banning pro-Palestinian protests planned for Armistice Day next weekend, but that

Tory MP Bob Stewart has surrendered the Conservative whip while he considers an appeal against his conviction for a racially-aggravated public order offence. The Beckenham MP informed chief whip Simon Hart, according to a government source. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats had called for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take action over the “totally

Left-wing Labour MPs are looking to secure a vote on a ceasefire “by hook or by crook” in the coming weeks, Sky News has been told. Sir Keir Starmer‘s party has been split by tensions on the Middle East conflict, with more than a dozen frontbenchers defying the leadership’s stance on the conflict. But the

The parents-in-law of Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf have made it out of Gaza after four weeks of a “living nightmare”. Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla travelled to the Palestinian enclave to visit family but were unable to return home after the conflict erupted on 7 October. A statement from Mr Yousaf and his wife Nadia

More than half of people feel politicians are using so-called culture wars to distract from other issues, according to a survey which also found the term “woke” is increasingly seen as an insult. Almost two thirds (62%) of those polled said politicians “invent or exaggerate” culture wars as a political tactic – up from less

Only one in 10 voters who supported the Tories in 2019 have switched to Labour, according to a major new poll for Sky News.   The exclusive YouGov survey of 5,621 voters found 11% of 2019 Tory voters would now vote for Labour while slightly more – 12% – have switched to Reform UK, a

Elon Musk will head to Downing Street for talks with Rishi Sunak today following the prime minister’s AI safety summit. The billionaire owner of SpaceX and Tesla jetted in for the event at Bletchley Park, which began on Wednesday with attending countries backing an agreement on the need to manage risks posed by the technology.

A permanent ceasefire in Israel and Palestine could risk more violence in the region, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to say as he defends his position on the conflict. The Labour leader will make a speech on Tuesday calling on global leaders to work towards restoring peace in the Middle East. Politics live: Top Johnson

Boris Johnson suggested he saw COVID as “nature’s way of dealing with old people” and was “obsessed” with them accepting their fate, the inquiry into the pandemic has heard. During a hearing on Tuesday, notes were shared from the government’s former chief scientist describing a “bonkers set of exchanges”. Sir Patrick Vallance wrote in one

WhatsApp messages sent at the height of COVID paint a picture of how senior officials really felt about the government’s handling of the pandemic. The exchanges have been shared as part of the COVID inquiry amid criticism that major decision-making may have happened over WhatsApp rather than through normal processes. But not all the messages