Politics

Labour has blocked a sitting mayor from standing for a new role in the North East in a move that has reawakened divisions in the party. Jamie Driscoll, the serving North of Tyne mayor, revealed on social media that he had been “barred” from running as the Labour candidate to contest the North East mayoralty

In the wake of the Geraint Davies allegations, Labour has said it will look again at its processes for dealing with these types of complaints. In a (very long) email to all staff, the party’s general secretary, David Evans, went through all the resources already available – and the list was long. In doing so,

Boris Johnson is giving all the WhatsApp messages and diaries available to him directly to the COVID inquiry, Sky News understands. The former prime minister had originally given the information to the Cabinet Office, but it had refused to comply with the inquiry’s order to hand over all the material in unredacted form. Friday’s move

Matt Hancock, who resigned as health secretary in the midst of the pandemic, and his memoir’s co-author Isabel Oakeshott, who subsequently handed over confidential information he gave her to The Daily Telegraph, have both come under heavy public criticism. But they also performed one important public service by revealing the central role played by WhatsApp

The Cabinet Office is seeking a judicial review of Baroness Hallett’s order to release Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages, diaries and notebooks, it has said in a letter to the COVID inquiry. The Cabinet Office, in a letter to the inquiry, said it was bringing a judicial review challenge “with regret” – but added that there

All of Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and notebooks that have been requested by the COVID inquiry have been handed to the Cabinet Office in “full and in unredacted form”, his spokesman has said. The spokesman said the former prime minister wanted the Cabinet Office to “urgently” disclose the material to the inquiry. A statement from

The government will ask people to put fewer items into recycling bins as it plans to cut back on contamination from improperly prepared or non-recyclable objects, according to reports. It is part of a plan to tackle “wishcycling” – where people put items they hope are recyclable into the relevant container, but their good intention

Families on benefits will be able to claim hundreds of pounds more in childcare payments from the end of June, the government has announced. People on Universal Credit will see their maximum childcare payments rise by nearly 50% from 28 June as the government tries to get more people back into work. Parents eligible for

Significant failings in the UK’s asylum system have been highlighted by the UN’s refugee agency, including torture victims being detained and laws not being “complied with”. In a scathing report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees noted “numerous risks to the welfare of asylum-seekers” after its investigation between 2021 and 2022. It warned that

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are preparing to launch a legal battle over COVID secrets, just hours before a deadline for handing over sensitive material to the official pandemic inquiry. Mr Johnson, prime minister during the pandemic, is battling to prevent the Cabinet Office releasing all his unedited WhatsApp messages and diaries to the inquiry’s

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick is visiting Mediterranean countries this week as part of a government focus on tackling illegal migration.  He will be visiting Algeria, Tunisia and Italy, before heading to France. The Times reports the Italian government is expecting 400,000 people to enter the country from North Africa this year – in forecasts prepared

New oil and gas developments in the North Sea would be blocked under a Labour government, it has been reported. Granting new licenses for oil and gas in the North Sea “will do nothing to cut bills”, according to a Labour source. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce the block in Scotland

A Tory minister and three other MPs claimed hundreds of pounds of driving fines on expenses – despite it being against the rules.  They are now being contacted and asked to repay the money. Amanda Solloway, a minister in the energy department who used to serve under Suella Braverman at the Home Office, was one

A Scottish minister has accused the UK government of “sabotage” after it ruled Scotland’s deposit return scheme (DRS) could only go ahead if glass bottles were removed from the environmental initiative.  Lorna Slater, who is co-leader of the Scottish Greens, said ministers at Holyrood would have to “look very seriously at where this leaves the

The “doorstep”. It’s an often necessary but rarely tidy journalistic exercise – locating and asking pertinent questions of an unwilling participant who has gone to some effort to avoid them. Boris Johnson had been on a lengthy US trip, through Texas to Las Vegas in the west and Washington DC in the east. Boris Johnson

As a sullen Conservative party resumed its favourite displacement activities this week – arguing over the entrails of Boris Johnson’s political career while taking chunks out of the civil service – few were paying attention to the only graph that matters in British politics The cost of government borrowing – a measure of whether global

A union representing civil servants has suspended its ballot to strike to enter new talks with the government. The FDA – which represents members of the Civil Service up to the permanent secretary level – made the announcement today. The move could put pressure on other unions representing civil servants to return to the negotiating

Britain is determined to compete in the global race for green investment, the chancellor has told Sky News, days before the expected announcement that Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata will build a major new battery factory in the country. Jeremy Hunt said that he was prepared to deploy subsidy money from the government’s £1bn war

One person has been arrested after a car hit the main gates of Downing Street. Police said there were no injuries. Pictures broadcast on television showed cordons in place along Whitehall. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:08 Car that crashed into Downing Street gates “At around 4.20hrs a car collided