Politics

More than half of voters think that Boris Johnson should resign as prime minister after he was fined by police over partygate allegations. The prime minister attended his own birthday party in the Cabinet room in Downing Street in June 2020, when the rest of the country was under coronavirus restrictions. On Tuesday, Mr Johnson

Boris Johnson has apologised after being fined by the Met Police for breaking lockdown rules but said he would not resign. The prime minister said: “I have paid the fine and I once again offer a full apology.” Asked if he would quit over the fine, Mr Johnson said: “I want to be able to

Former Tory justice minister Crispin Blunt has retracted his statement questioning the conviction of his MP colleague Imran Ahmad Khan. Mr Blunt also apologised and offered to quit as chair of a parliamentary LGBT+ rights group for his comments after Khan, MP for Wakefield, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008.

A “bloodthirsty” and “fanatical” terrorist has been found guilty of the murder of MP Sir David Amess. The veteran Conservative politician was stabbed to death during a constituency surgery meeting in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in October last year. Sir David, who was the MP for Southend West, suffered more than 20 stab wounds in a “vicious

A cabinet minister has said that he would never seek a green card or non-dom status – as he was grilled over Rishi Sunak’s household financial affairs. George Eustice, the environment secretary, was speaking as the chancellor remained in the spotlight over revelations that he held US residency even after he moved into Number 11

The chancellor has written to the prime minister asking him to refer him to the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests to determine whether all his interests were “properly declared”. In a tweet, Rishi Sunak said he had “always followed the rules” and that he hoped the review would “provide further clarity”. In the letter Mr

A Whitehall inquiry has been launched into the leak of Rishi Sunak’s wife’s tax status after a week in which the chancellor’s approval ratings have taken a significant hit. Akshata Murty dramatically announced on Friday that she would pay UK taxes on her global income, adding in a statement that she didn’t want the issue

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has travelled to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a “show of solidarity”. “Right now a visit of Boris Johnson in Kyiv started from one-on-one meeting with President Zelenskiy,” Andriy Sybiha,deputy head of Ukraine’s president office, said on Facebook. A Downing Street spokesperson said the PM was making the

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been forced to defend his wife’s tax affairs amid criticism her multi-millionaire status puts him out of touch with the current cost of living crisis. Mr Sunak married Akshata, the daughter of the so-called ‘Bill Gates of India’ – Narayana Murty, in 2009 after they met at Stanford University. Her 0.91%

Rishi Sunak has admitted holding a US green card while chancellor but his spokesman has insisted all rules have been followed. It follows Sky News reporting earlier that the chancellor and his wife held US green cards – permitting him residence in the country – until more than a year into his time at 11

Rishi Sunak has dramatically broken his silence in the row over his wife’s tax affairs, declaring: “To smear my wife to get at me is awful.” In an interview with The Sun, hitting back at attacks by opposition MPs on his multi-millionaire wife, he said: “She loves her country like I love mine.” Mr Sunak

Boris Johnson has pledged to “do more” to help people with the rising cost of living after Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng admitted the government’s energy security strategy is “more of a medium three, four, five year answer”. Speaking to broadcasters from Hinkley Point C ahead of the release of the energy plan later today, the

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has admitted the government’s energy security strategy is “more of a medium three, four, five year answer” ahead of its reveal later today. Speaking to Sky News, Mr Kwarteng said it is “right” to say “the strategy is more of a medium term three, four, five year answer”, suggesting there will

Britain is to step up its development of nuclear power under plans to boost the country’s long term energy security while delivering thousands of jobs and cheaper bills. The government said up to eight reactors could be delivered by 2030 – accelerating the pace from one a decade to one a year – as the

Millions of workers will begin paying higher National Insurance contributions from today as part of a plan to raise billions for the NHS and social care. The 1.25 percentage point increase, first announced last autumn, is being introduced despite pressure for it to be put off given wider cost of living pressures – with energy,

Boris Johnson has described atrocities being committed in Ukraine as a “stain on the honour of Russia itself” in a stark video message to the Russian people. In the video, published on Twitter and including brief passages spoken in Russian, the prime minister tells them they “deserve the truth” about the massacre of civilians and

Cancer survival rates in England risk going into reverse as the health service faces specialist staff shortages and the prolonged impact of the pandemic, MPs have warned. A report by the health and social care committee pointed to staff having to ration treatment and said factors including reluctance of patients to come forward and late

The government has decided to push ahead with plans to privatise Channel 4. Ministers have concluded, following a consultation, that while the broadcaster is “currently performing well” its public ownership is “holding it back in the face of a rapidly-changing and competitive media landscape”, a government source said. A spokesperson for Channel 4 said it

Now is not the time for a “self-indulgent leadership contest” if Boris Johnson is fined over the partygate scandal, a minister has said. The war in Ukraine has taken the focus off the issue of lockdown breaches in Downing Street, but it was back in the headlines last week after the Metropolitan Police began issuing