News and Opinion

Boris Johnson has told MPs he is still searching for the “chatty rat” who leaked details of proposals for a second lockdown in England. The search for the culprit – continues and the prime minister promised to update the Commons “if” the source is identified. The announcement of the lockdown was made at a hastily-convened […]

A Tory minister has come under fire after publicly stating Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out (EOTHO) programme was a “success”, despite claims linking the scheme with increased coronavirus rates. Chief secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay, dismissed the accusation that EOTHO had been a public health disaster which helped the spread of Covid-19. Under the […]

A Brexit lorry park – dubbed the ‘Farage Garage’ – will not be fully ready until after February, it has been reported. The 66-acre site in Ashford was due to be ready for completion on January 1 – the day after the Brexit transition period ends.  The government purchased the land to use “as a permanent […]

Each dawn, sheep farmer Thomas Carrick works the land through freezing winter rain and snow, 2,000 feet up in the bleak Cumbrian fells. Like many British farmers, he is about to find out if life outside the EU is even colder and darker. Well used to weather dependent good and bad years, sheep farming is […]

The Daily Mail has suggested Britons could make a success out of a no-deal Brexit by buying British-made products such as a Jaguar, a second home in the UK, or a more powerful vacuum cleaner. With the EU and Britain warning a no-deal Brexit was now the most likely outcome of negotiations, leading to World Trade Organisation tariffs […]

A German television show has mocked Boris Johnson and his Brexit proposals in a spoof of Netflix’s The Crown entitled ‘The Clown’. Extra3, which airs on public broadcaster NDR, derided the UK’s departure from the European Union and its prime minister in a spoof trailer which is going viral in the European country and now the […]

A UK citizen who has been living in France for 36 years has brought a case to the Court of Justice of the European Union that could have profound implications for British people living in European countries after Brexit. The woman is hoping to retain some citizenship rights after she ceases to be a European […]

Scientists have warned that the easing of coronavirus restrictions over Christmas will cause a spike in infections, as experts encourage Boris Johnson to follow German chancellor Angela Merkel’s lead by rethinking proposals for the holiday. Germany has announced a national lockdown that will close shops and schools until at least January 10 – with restrictions on social […]

Brexiteer James Dyson’s farming business only managed to make a profit in the last year because it benefited from EU subsidies, it has been reported. Beeswax Dyson Farming posted £3.4 million pre-tax profits last year, the Times reports, up from £2.7 million in 2018. But without a £3.4 million cash injection from the EU’s common agricultural […]

Former Conservative Party leader William Hague has said that Boris Johnson’s biggest test won’t be over whether or not he secures a Brexit deal – but what happens afterwards. Lord Hague, a Tory grandee, said that Johnson has turned in a strong performance in convincing the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen he is “crazy enough to […]

Pro-Brexit Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson delivered herself a ‘self-own’ after her criticism of Covid-19 restrictions backfired. Pearson turned to Twitter to claim that “hardly anyone” knew of people who had the coronavirus. She tweeted: “I’ve asked so many people if they know anyone who has had Covid. Hardly anyone. Two people knew someone (not close) who’d […]

Priti Patel has claimed Labour “stands up for the murderers, rapists, sex offenders” after she was taunted by the opposition over a report which said she had bullied staff. Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds praised police officers for visiting schools to promote anti-bullying messages, before pointing out: “We have a home secretary in office […]

Post-Brexit Cornwall is set to receive just 5% of what it needs to replace EU funding, according to a local councillor. As one of the UK’s poorest areas, Cornwall requested £700 million over 10 years to make up for a shortfall in EU funds caused by Brexit. Instead, the county will get little more than £1.8 million […]

A Telegraph editor has been told her newspaper is a ‘big part of the Brexit problem’ after denying the realities of leaving the European Union. Camilla Tominey, the associate editor at the right-wing newspaper, clashed with The New European‘s editor-at-large Alastair Campbell on Politics Live about the prospect of a no-deal outcome. She told Campbell: “I’m afraid you’re […]

Brexit is a ploy to make Britain a “low tax, low regulation economy”, Alastair Campbell has claimed. The New European‘s editor-at-large said Vote Leave would not have won the 2016 referendum had they been up front about their plans for a post-Brexit Britain. Speaking on the BBC’s Politics Live, Campbell said: “It’s basically about trying to […]

Downing Street repeatedly refused to confirm that MPs would be given a vote on any post-Brexit trade deal that is agreed with the European Union. The prime minister’s official spokesman said it was for Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg to set out the business of the House and refused to commit to the principle of MPs […]

The recording of the Queen’s speech has been delayed by Brexit – as Buckingham Palace await a decision on whether or not the UK will leave the EU with a deal. The royal usually records her speech by the middle of December, but it has been pushed back to next week due to the uncertainty surrounding […]

A Labour MP has been reprimanded by Sir Keir Starmer after accusations he suggested Boris Johnson was “recreating Nazi Germany”. Junior shadow frontbencher Bill Esterson shared a tweet suggesting the prime minister was steering the country “to a very dangerous place”. Esterton tweeted: “My dad’s family is Jewish. “We have no idea how many of […]

The former Conservative Party chairman has branded Boris Johnson an “English nationalist” – claiming that he did not believe he was a Tory. Lord Patten, a Tory peer, claims that Johnson’s government appeared to have thrown “out of the window” their defence of the union. “What we’re seeing is Boris Johnson on this runaway train […]

The SNP has indicated that it will vote down Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal – despite saying a deal would be better than the “complete disruption” of a no-deal Brexit. Appearing on Good Morning Scotland, the party’s Brexit secretary said it could not back something that is “the wrong thing for Scotland”. He explained: “There will be […]

A Labour MP has delivered a scathing attack on Boris Johnson for suggesting that crashing out of the EU would be a “wonderful” outcome for Britain. David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, accused Johnson of attempting to deliver a type of Brexit no-one wanted. MORE: Boris Johnson under renewed pressure as new polling finds two-thirds of Brits […]

Piers Morgan has challenged the government over what type of Brexit deal it is looking to achieve at the end of the transition period. The Good Morning Britain presenter was interviewing Alok Sharma when he asked about the differing definitions of the trading relationship the UK wants with the European Union. “If you get a No Deal […]

Irish prime minister Micheal Martin has said that “Britain needs Europe, and Europe needs Britain”. In a criticism of Boris Johnson’s handling of Brexit talks, he said the Taioseach was critical of Boris Johnson’s threat to deploy Royal Navy vessels to patrol the seas around Britain if there is no deal. “All of that type of […]

Veteran Tory MP Sir Roger Gale said Boris Johnson should quit as prime minister if he fails to secure a trade deal with the European Union. Sir Roger, who was one of only two Tory MPs to vote against the UK Internal Market Bill, said an acceptable deal would see “imaginative ideas” regarding trade and […]

Boris Johnson has come under renewed pressure to strike an EU trade deal after fresh polling showed two-thirds of Britons preferred an Brexit agreement over no-deal. The survey, conducted by YouGov, shows Britons overwhelmingly support ending the Brexit transition period, which finishes on December 31, with a trade agreement. Some 66pc of people polled said they supported leaving with a […]

A video of Boris Johnson at the last election claiming nobody would be talking about Brexit in 2020 because he will have done his trade deal has gone viral as the UK’s departure from the European Union still dominates headlines. Brexit has overtaken the coronavirus as the top story on news headlines, with the UK […]

Spain’s foreign minister has been praised for her explanation of why Brexit trade talks between Britain and the EU are failing. Arancha González said trade deals are developed to establish interdependence between parties, and not independence, which she says is likely to be the key barrier to progress. González’s comment comes after the UK and EU […]

Business secretary Alok Sharma has said voters will be able to give their verdict on the government’s handling of Brexit at the ballot box. Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan asked whether Sharma and the other Conservative MPs would resign in a couple of years should Brexit not be successful. “If it doesn’t work – as […]

Boris Johnson has been reminded of comments around a Brexit trade deal with the EU in which he claimed that “100% of issues” relating to a trade agreement had been resolved already. During another visit to a car factory days before the general election, the prime minister was questioned about the likeliness of a trade agreement […]

Jeremy Corbyn has announced plans for a new organisation to support social justice, peace and human rights in the UK and around the world, one year after Labour was heavily defeated at the general election. The former Labour leader said his Peace and Justice Project will “bring people together” to create “a future that works […]

The UK and EU have declined to set a new deadline for Brexit talks, prompting speculation talks could continue beyond Christmas. There was fresh hope on the prospect of a deal after Boris Johnson and Europe’s top official Ursula von der Leyen agreed to “go the extra mile” and continue discussions beyond Sunday’s initial deadline. […]

Ed Miliband has dismantled Andrew Marr’s defence of Boris Johnson’s ‘oven-ready’ Brexit pledge that was made during the general election campaign. Referring to a clip of Johnson at Nissan days before the vote, he said that Marr’s claim this only related to the Withdrawal Agreement was “nonsense”. He explained: “He went to Nissan in Sunderland – very […]