News and Opinion

Boris Johnson’s father Stanley Johnson has ignored Foreign Office guidance to only take ‘essential’ trips by travelling to Greece. The Greek authorities have said that Britons cannot currently travel to the country, citing high cases of coronavirus in the country, but said the decision will be reviewed on July 15. Despite this, Johnson senior proudly […]

Former Tory deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine has criticised Boris Johnson’s economic response to the coronavirus, particularly as he pursues Brexit at the same time. Lord Heseltine told Sky News that it was ‘frightening’ people thought the issue of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU had ‘gone away’. He told Sky News: ‘Yes and that […]

Experts have warned Public Health England could be blamed for coronavirus failures as Downing Street suggested changes aimed at improving ‘public health capabilities’. Public Health England (PHE) has been criticised over its handling of the outbreak, particularly among Tory MPs, although Number 10 publicly insisted it had been ‘working hard to protect the country’. Former […]

Boris Johnson will appear at a Downing Street press conference on Friday ahead of the lockdown being eased in England at the weekend. Johnson is expected to lead a Downing Street press conference on Friday ahead of pubs, hairdressers, cinemas and hotels reopening. The prime minister wants the public to follow coronavirus guidance and ensure […]

Jürgen Klopp, manager of new Premier League champions Liverpool, is a man who transcends his sport. TONY EVANS interviewed him, shortly before his team took the title, about his politics, his background and what drives him. Jürgen Klopp does not care what people think. He has little interest in how others perceive him. The 53-year-old […]

Tory MPs have voted down a bill that would have prevented a prime minister being nominated without the consent of parliament. The legislation would have forced any future prime ministerial contender to first seek the support of fellow MPs before they could take up the role. The proposals were brought forward by SNP cabinet office […]

Dominic Raab has blamed the EU for a defunct email address being used offering the UK a chance to join a scheme to secure supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE). The foreign secretary told MPs that the correct details had been provided but information on the schemes aimed at securing PPE including gloves, overalls, goggles […]

People in Northern Ireland could miss out on vital food products after Brexit because of proposed check points in the Irish Sea. Goods travelling into the region could become stranded if marine check points are not ready for the end of the Brexit transition period, Stormont MLAs (Member of the Legislative Assembly) were told. Members […]

Broadcaster James O’Brien has questioned why so many in Britain are celebrating imposing ‘economic sanctions’ on the country by pursuing Brexit. The broadcaster said Britain was in a ‘unique’ position where no country living in a democracy has managed to see the positives of economic sanctions. He pondered why so many Brexiteers were celebrating the […]

German chancellor Angela Markel has warned the EU needs to prepare for a no-deal Brexit. Addressing members of parliament inthe Bundestag, the long-serving leader said the EU ‘must and should prepare for a situation in which an agreement does not happen’. Merkel’s warning come as trade talks between Brussels and London begin to founder as […]

The SNP could withdraw from UK institutions – including the House of Commons – if Boris Johnson’s government continues to block a second Scottish independence referendum. Pete Wishart, one of the party’s most senior MPs, said the party could consider ‘withdrawing from the apparatus of the UK state’ if Westminster continues to reject calls for […]

Piers Morgan has slammed the government for not releasing critical coronavirus testing figures, claiming it was a case of ‘smoke and mirrors’. The presenter blasted the government over refusing to release pillar two testing figures which show the number of people tested outside of hospitals, calling the move ‘a total scam’. ‘It’s blatant lying again. […]

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator has warned finance chiefs that the UK government will fail to insulate the city of London from the consequences of Brexit. Barnier said current demands during the Brexit trade talks were unacceptable, and that their proposals to ditch EU financial regulations could hurt the bloc. He claimed the UK was […]

Business secretary Alok Sharma has admitted he got coronavirus testing figures wrong in a live interview with the BBC. Sharma appeared on BBC Breakfast last week saying that 240,000 people had been tested for Covid-19 in a single day when in fact that figure related to the number of tests available, not taken. Rival breakfast […]

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Rebecca Long-Bailey appears to have finally removed the tweet which saw her sacked from the shadow cabinet. Long-Bailey, the former shadow education secretary, had tweeted praise of an interview with Maxine Peake in which the actress said the police tactic of kneeling on someone’s neck, which killed George Floyd, was ‘learnt from seminars with Israeli […]

Dominic Cummings is forcing government advisors to read books promoting paranoia and superforecasting as part of a rigorous training regime he arranged. Special advisors were told to read the 350-page novel Superforecasting – a form of predicting events through random selection – by Philip Tetlocks and High Output Management by Andrew Grove which claims that […]

Environment secretary George Eustice has claimed ‘we don’t need to worry too much’ about interrupts to food supplies after Brexit. Concerns have been raised about interruptions to food supplies in the face of a ‘no-deal’ situation where a trade agreement is not secured with the EU before January. But Eustice said the pandemic had shown […]

MPs have backed the government’s immigration bill which seeks to end EU freedom of movement rules in the UK. The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill is part of the move towards the government’s so-called points-based immigration system, to be introduced from 2021. It was approved at third reading by 342 votes to […]

During a PMQs largely devoid of action, we at least got one big announcement: there is no border between England and Scotland Well, OK, technically today’s session of prime minister’s questions did throw up one genuine news line: that people with British National Overseas status from Hong Kong are to get limited leave to remain […]

Labour MP Jess Phillips has accused Boris Johnson of lying in the House of Commons, after he answered questions on local lockdowns during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). During PMQs, Boris Johnson denied claims from Labour leader Keir Starmer that the mayor for Leicester city had been trying ‘for weeks’ to get the full data on […]

Boris Johnson has been accused of being ‘blind to the risks’ of easing lockdown during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). Boris Johnson at Prime Minister’s Questions. Photograph: Parliament TV. – Credit: Archant Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said people flocking to Bournemouth beach and other seaside towns last week showed the government had eased the lockdown […]

A health watchdog has called on the government to announce a public inquiry into its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), an ombudsman which deals with unresolved NHS complaints in England, has said the government must come clean about mistakes it made in the handling of the crisis if […]

Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen has called for a Labour politician to stand down, blaming him for the rise infections in his local area, just weeks after defending Dominic Cummings for breaking lockdown. Bridgen, a local MP in Leicestershire where there is now a local lockdown in place, said that the mayor of the city was responsible […]

Matt Hancock has incited panic at a West Yorkshire town after announcing a spike in coronavirus cases in the area when the real epicentre was actually 16 miles away. Hancock told BBC Breakfast and the Today show that Keighley, in West Yorkshire, was encountering a surge in Covid-19 cases. Speaking on the BBC Today show, […]

Ministers have been accused of backtracking on a commitment to hold Downing Street briefings for ‘significant announcements’. Boris Johnson said at the time of scrapping the daily press conferences that ministers would keep the nation informed as there will be ‘more outbreaks, certainly local outbreaks’. But despite the introduction of a local lockdown in Leicester, […]

Cabinet minister Michael Gove was heckled in the Commons when he suggested that civil servants supported the appointment of David Frost as National Security Advisor (NSA), despite the Brexit negotiator having no security experience. Gove was taking an urgent question from the opposition over the recent appointment when one MP erupted in laughter at the […]

The prime minister has delivered his ‘New Deal’ speech where he outlined initiatives to reboot the UK economy after Brexit and coronavirus. But Twitter did not appear enthused by the Dudley speech, which seemed full of platitudes while being short on detail, particularly on how the money would be raised. LBC radio presenter James O’Brien […]

Boris Johnson has been told to stop falsely claiming that Weston-super-Mare was one of the first examples of a ‘local lockdown’. The deputy leader of North Somerset Council has claimed that the comments are both ‘damaging’ and give a ‘false impression’ of the area which is ‘not helpful’. The prime minister was asked this week […]

Campaigners have called on the government to reform the EU settlement scheme (EUSS) to allow greater flexibly for applicants in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Up to 30 charities and organisations have written to home secretary Priti Patel calling for a number of amendments on Tuesday – a year exactly until the scheme ends. Under […]

The number of deaths registered in England and Wales over one week has fallen below the five-year average for the first time since before lockdown was imposed, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The overall number of weekly registered deaths fell below the five-year average for the first time since the week ending March […]

A leaked government document has laid bare plans to force lorry drivers into seeking the permission of tax authorities to cross into Europe after Brexit. According to a Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) report obtained by Bloomberg, lorries and any other vehicles hauling goods will need permission from the department before shifting goods out […]