Politics

Getty Images Boris Johnson has until 22:00 GMT on Friday to answer the Metropolitan Police’s questionnaire about whether he broke lockdown rules at Downing Street parties. The prime minister has been consulting lawyers about his response. It is these private lawyers who are overseeing communications with the Met Police. Sources close to Mr Johnson say

The UK government failed to comply with equality law when making appointments as part of its Covid-19 pandemic response, the High Court has ruled. A judgement found then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock did not uphold a public sector duty to promote equality when hiring officials in 2020. The relevant appointments were of then-chair of NHS Improvement

AFP Home developers who refuse to pay the costs of removing unsafe cladding could have planning permission and projects blocked under government plans. New powers would also allow cladding companies to be sued and subject to fines for defective products. The proposed measures are part of a Building Safety Bill following the Grenfell Tower fire

Getty Images Russia is “highly likely” to invade Ukraine despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, the defence secretary says. Ben Wallace said there was a “whiff of Munich in the air” – a reference to diplomacy that failed to prevent World War Two. Minister Brandon Lewis said Mr Wallace was expressing concern that “Russia has continued to

Reuters Boris Johnson has received a questionnaire from the Metropolitan Police as part of the inquiry into parties at Downing Street and Whitehall during the Covid lockdowns. A No 10 spokesperson confirmed that the prime minister had been contacted by the police and said he would “respond as required”. Police are sending the questionnaire by

PA Media Home Secretary Priti Patel is understood to have clashed with the Labour mayor of London over the resignation of Dame Cressida Dick. Dame Cressida quit as Metropolitan Police Commissioner on Thursday after losing the backing of Mr Khan. She is thought to have offered her resignation after declining to meet him to discuss

PA Media Early on Thursday, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick was telling BBC London she had no intention of resigning her post. Now just hours later she has confirmed her departure, and the news has received a mixed reaction in Westminster. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said she had “served her country with great dedication

Reuters The Metropolitan Police will email more than 50 people as part of its inquiry into lockdown parties at Downing Street and Whitehall. A questionnaire will be sent to people alleged to have been at events on eight dates between May 2020 and April 2021. It will ask for their account of what happened and

Prime Minister Boris Johnson carried out a minor reshuffle of his cabinet on Tuesday. It was a much smaller change than the previous reshuffle in September 2021, when 12 people either entered cabinet or changed role, including Liz Truss becoming foreign secretary. This time only Jacob Rees-Mogg has moved into a full cabinet position, in

PA Media Two people have been arrested after clashes between protesters and police protecting Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Sir Keir was taken away by car near Parliament shortly after 17:00 GMT on Monday, having been surrounded by a group of demonstrators. A man and a woman were arrested after a traffic cone was thrown

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The business secretary has appealed to his party to give Boris Johnson the “time and space to deliver” on the government’s promises as pressure continues to mount on his leadership. The PM had another difficult week, with

EPA Jacob Rees-Mogg has been accused by a Labour MP of perpetuating a “harmful clinical falsehood” about the morning after pill. Asked if he would make time for a debate on sexual and reproductive health, the minister said he would not “speak in favour of abortifacients”. But the World Health Organization says the pill does

Getty Images Former MP Owen Paterson discussed how a firm he worked for as a paid consultant could offer Covid-19 tests in messages with health ministers, documents show. The messages from 2020 refer to health firm Randox, which was later awarded lucrative contracts to supply tests. Labour requested the messages as scrutiny intensified over Mr

PA Media Four senior aides to Boris Johnson have resigned from Downing Street within hours of each other amid growing pressure on the prime minister. Director of communications Jack Doyle confirmed his exit shortly after the departure of policy head Munira Mirza. They were followed by the chief of staff Dan Rosenfield and senior civil

Getty Images DUP minister Edwin Poots has ordered his officials to halt Irish Sea border checks from midnight. He had been threatening to act, as part of the DUP’s ongoing opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Mr Poots said he had taken legal advice which meant he could direct the checks to stop in the

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The government will “fail” people who voted Conservative in the 2019 election unless it fulfils its promise to “level-up” the UK, Michael Gove has said. The levelling-up secretary told the BBC the government was on a “moral