News and Opinion

Health secretary Matt Hancock has claimed data on how many people are being tested is not ‘meaningful’, as he defended the government’s decision not to show the figures for five weeks. Questioned by the BBC’s Dan Walker on BBC Breakfast, the health secretary said that the numbers ‘doesn’t add anything to the battle against coronavirus’. […]

The Telegraph is facing calls to correct its a headline – featured prominently on its website – which claimed that half of coronavirus cases in the UK were imported from Pakistan. https://twitter.com/Telegraph/status/1276629080373370890 The newspaper reported ‘half of Britain’s imported coronavirus cases originate from Pakistan’, but the figure actually represents just numbers from the last month. […]

Theresa May has launched a scathing attack on Boris Johnson’s government for replacing an impartial civil servant as national security adviser with a political appointment. The former prime minister and Tory leader said that David Frost, currently chief Brexit negotiator, has ‘no security experience’ to qualify him to be National Security Advisor. She told the […]

Two senior Conservative MPs are trying to force Boris Johnson to automatically grant EU children in care settled status in the UK when freedom of movement is ended. Former minister Tim Loughton is leading a cross-party effort to ‘avoid the risk of another Windrush scandal’ with an amendment to legislation this week, alongside former cabinet […]

A new poll has found that two-thirds of the public think that now is the time for ambitious plans on climate change. The survey by Opinium found 67% want their local MP to support strong plans for tackling the environmental crisis, while 73% agree the ‘time is now’ to call for the government to invest […]

A Brexiteer has been ridiculed after he tried to intervene in trade talks by sending an angry letter to the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier. Tory MP and ERG chairman Mark Francois wrote to Barnier demanding he listens to Boris Johnson’s negotiators and finds a compromise on contentious trading points quickly. In the letter, which […]

Chief EU negotiator Michel Bariner has said the bloc will remain ‘calm and united’ during the next round of Brexit trade talks. Negotiating teams from both sides of the Channel have met face-to-face on Monday for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak in a bid to revive Brexit negotiations. The last time the two […]

Downing Street has defended the appointment of Boris Johnson’ chief EU negotiator to the key post of national security adviser (NSA). The prime minister has faced criticism that unlike previous holders of the post, David Frost is a political adviser rather than a career civil servant, and lacks security experience. He will replace Sir Mark […]

Brexit voters are less concerned about the spread of coronavirus when pubs and restaurants reopen than their Remainer counterparts, a snap poll has found. The survey – commissioned by LBC radio and run by Deltapoll – showed that Remainers were more worried (69%) about eating in a restaurant than Brexit backers (64%). They were also […]

Negotiators from the UK and EU have met for face to face talks for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic hit. Teams led by the prime minister’s Europe adviser David Frost and the EU’s Michel Barnier were meeting in Brussels as talks were expected to intensify ahead of the government’s self-imposed deadline in July. […]

A new survey of Brexit Party supporters has asked Nigel Farage’s fans what they want next from the Brexiteer, with one question posed focusing on a new radio show. Farage, who lost his regular radio gig with LBC Radio after his outspoken remarks in the media about the Black Lives Matter protests, now appears to […]

Boris Johnson scrapped the government’s Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingency Committee (THRCC) six months before the coronavirus arrived in Britain so they could focus on Brexit. The ‘anti-pandemic committee’, which included senior ministers such as Michael Gove, Matt Hancock and Gavin Williamson, was scrapped before having an opportunity to discuss Covid-19, the Daily Mail reports. […]

A supermarket boss has refused to stock chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef in his stores in a blow to a possible post-Brexit trade deal with America. Waitrose boss James Bailey wrote in the store’s Weekend magazine: ‘[Many observers] believe that in an effort to win a trade deal for the UK, we could see the […]

Boris Johnson has been accused of openly discussing a controversial housing scheme with a property developer at the centre of an ongoing political scandal during a lunch in 2010 when he was mayor of London. The i newspaper claimed its editor, David Parsley, was present at a business lunch where Johnson discussed the development with […]

Prime minister Boris Johnson has said the coronavirus crisis had been a ‘disaster’ and an ‘absolute nightmare’ for the country, but still has refused to commit to an inquiry. He told Times Radio that he now wanted to focus on how the country can ‘bounce forward’. ‘This has been a disaster, let’s not mince our […]

MPs and former civil servants have come out swinging against Downing Street’s decision to oust Sir Mark Sedwill as cabinet secretary, accusing it of making him the ‘fall guy’ for mistakes made during the coronavirus crisis. Sir Mark will leave his role as one of the most powerful civil servants in September and is expected […]

Keir Starmer has hit back at suggestions from Piers Morgan that he should be laughing at how the government has handled the coronavirus response. The Good Morning Britain host asked how he ‘wasn’t laughing out loud’ at the claims from the prime minister over how his government has responded. ‘When Boris Johnson stands there and […]

Labour leader Keir Starmer has defended his decision to sack Rebecca Long-Bailey from his shadow cabinet. Long-Bailey lost her post as shadow education secretary after sharing an online article by actress Maxine Peake containing an allegedly anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. She refused to take down a tweet with the link to an interview with Peake where […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer would make a better prime minister than Boris Johnson, according to new data. A survey by polling company Opinium found that 37% of voters thought Sir Keir would be better at leading the country than current Downing Street incumbent Johnson. A total of 35% thought Tory leader Johnson was the […]

Opposition party MPs have criticised Dominic Cummings for his behind-the-scenes role in ousting civil servants at a time of national and international crisis. Sir Mark Sedwill, the most powerful official in government, announced on Sunday he had agreed to pack his bags and stand down from his role as both cabinet secretary and the UK’s […]

Labour’s new general secretary has emailed members on his first day in the job, claiming the party is facing its ‘1945 moment’. David Evans, who replaces Jennie Formby running the party, has said that with the country emerging from lockdown it faces the prospect of an ‘imminent recession’. The former branch and constituency secretary, as […]

Nigel Farage has seemingly defended US president Donald Trump’s for tweeting a video which contained white supremacist chants. Nigel Farage appeared on talkRADIO answering questions about Trump, who had posted a video of white supremacists chanting ‘white power’ during a domestic with neighbours in the US. Trump shared the clip on his Twitter account on […]

Sir Mark Sedwill will step down from his dual role as cabinet secretary and national security adviser as he makes way for a Number 10 overhaul. Rumours had swirled that Sir Mark, the most powerful civil servant in government, was to be ousted this week as part of Boris Johnson’s shake-up of the Civil Service. […]

Anand Menon, celebrity pundit of the Brexit era, talks to MATT WITHERS about the true nature of Johnsonism, the prospects of a deal and why he’s enjoying his work so much. If you have switched on a TV or radio or opened a newspaper in the past few years you’ve seen Anand Menon. Even if […]

A cross-party parliamentary group is to be created to lead calls for an an urgent independent inquiry into the UK government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. The group, chaired by Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, will consist of Labour, Tory, Lib Dem, SNP, Green and Plaid Cymru MPs and peers. Members include Dr Dan Poulter, […]

The left-wing Campaign group of Labour MPs has urged Sir Keir Starmer to reinstate Rebecca Long-Bailey to the shadow cabinet. Following a conference call with the Labour leader, the group said there had been a ‘significant disagreement’ over the dismissal of the shadow education secretary for sharing an article containing an allegedly anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. […]

Labour has called on the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to investigate whether housing secretary Robert Jenrick breached the code of conduct for MPs over a controversial planning decision. The move follows Jenrick’s move to support a £1 billion development in east London backed by Tory donor and former media mogul Richard Desmond. Jenrick is fighting […]

SNP MP Joanna Cherry has called for a debate within the party on achieving an alternative route to Scottish independence if Boris Johnson continues to refuse a second vote. Cherry, the SNP justice spokesperson at Westminster, said her leader Nicola Sturgeon should consider more drastic proposals for Scottish independence by using the parliamentary elections as […]

Michael Gove has claimed that the prime minister had been quite clear since the election about the government not extending the Brexit transition period. The Cabinet Office minister told MSPs on Holyrood’s Europe Committee that the UK government will not be extending the transition period – despite repeated calls from the Scottish Government for this […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has blamed ‘the weather’ for the UK’s high coronavirus death toll, as the number of excess deaths passed the 65,000 figure. The Tory MP and leader of the House of Commons faced questions about the government’s ‘shocking’ record of handling the coronavirus, with Labour MP Richard Burgon demanding a ‘debate on comparisons with […]

‘Red Wall’ constituencies which helped deliver Boris Johnson’s election victory by flipping from Labour to Conservative face serious economic and political consequences if the PM fails to deliver his promised European trade deal, according to new research. A new report assessing the views of those who switched from Labour to the Conservatives concludes that, not […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock has warned the government will take action if social distancing measures are ignored as thousands flocked to the south coast on the hottest day of the year. Hancock told talkRADIO that the government had the power to close public areas such as beaches if people flout safety restrictions. It comes as […]