Politics

HoC A Conservative MP has spoken up for the right of voters to elect racists or misogynists if that is who they want to represent them. Sir Desmond Swayne said he hoped his constituents would never make such a choice, but it would be anti-democratic to police MPs’ views. It comes after the standards committee

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson says no Covid rules were broken after reports Christmas parties were held in Downing Street at the height of last year’s lockdown. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the PM of hypocrisy for flouting the

PA Media Booster jabs will be offered to everyone who is eligible by the end of January, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. All adults will be offered a booster jab three months after their second dose of the vaccine. Mr Johnson said jabs would be prioritised according to age, with the NHS working down

EPA Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has started a reshuffle of his shadow ministers. The reorganisation began as the party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner was giving a speech about ministers’ conduct. Asked about the reshuffle, Ms Rayner said she “didn’t know the details”, adding: “I’ve been concentrating on the job that I’m doing.” In early

PA Media Home Secretary Priti Patel has warned that failure by European politicians to co-operate on the continent’s migrant crisis will lead to “even worse scenes” in the English Channel this winter. France is hosting German, Belgian and Dutch ministers and European Commission officials for talks. Ms Patel was disinvited from the summit after a

EPA Emmanuel Macron has reacted angrily to Boris Johnson’s public call for France to take back migrants who reach the UK. The French president accused the UK prime minister of not being “serious” by making the call on Twitter, after the deaths of 27 people on Wednesday. The diplomatic row erupted after France withdrew a

Getty Images Nicola Sturgeon will make her 15th party conference speech as SNP leader and first minister of Scotland on Monday. Given there have been five national election campaigns during her seven years at the helm, these speeches are often dotted with major policy announcements and pledges. So with the SNP’s four-day autumn conference opening

A Tory MP has linked young men turning to crime to women playing traditionally male roles in TV and film. Nick Fletcher said “female replacements” in shows like Dr Who were robbing boys of positive role models. The only characters they had to look up to were gangsters the Krays and Tommy Shelby from Peaky

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson batted away opposition calls for him to stand down and defended himself against accusations of “broken promises” at PMQs. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer challenged the PM on social care funding, rail investment and tax.

PA Media The Pope has praised Sir David Amess for years of “devoted public service” in a message read at the funeral Mass for the late Conservative MP. Senior political figures gathered at Westminster Cathedral to pay their respects to Sir David, who was 69. Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined former prime ministers, the Speaker

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson travelled to north-east England on Monday to deliver a speech to one of his target audiences – the men and women driving British businesses. But the 25-minute journey at the CBI’s conference took some awkward

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Priti Patel’s “incompetence” in dealing with small boats crossing the Channel is “dangerous”, Labour has said. More than 24,700 people have made the crossing from France to the UK by boat so far this year to seek

Shutterstock Taxpayers may be liable for up to £335m after a government bank failed to scrutinise collapsed lender Greensill Capital properly, MPs have said. A Public Accounts Committee report on the British Business Bank’s Covid loan scheme said checks to approve the company were “woefully inadequate”. Greensill went on to lend £418m to companies, 80%

UK Aid MPs have backed raising the legal age of marriage to 18 to stop vulnerable children being forced to wed. In England and Wales, parental consent is needed for 16 and 17-year-olds, while others take part in non-registered marriages at younger ages. But Tory MP Pauline Latham said this allowed children to be coerced

PA Media The government has named 50 companies given fast-track “VIP” contracts to supply protective equipment after the outbreak of Covid-19. Eighteen were nominated by Conservative politicians, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) data shows. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and former Health Secretary Matt Hancock were among those involved. VIP contracts were introduced as

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Boris Johnson of being a “coward” in his handling of the row over MPs’ second jobs, during a heated row in the House of Commons. The prime minister retaliated by accusing