News and Opinion

Rock band Rage against the Machine have sent a legal letter to former Ukip leader Nigel Farage demanding he change the name of his podcast, Farage Against the Machine. In the cease-and-desist letter, obtained by US celebrity website The Blast, the band’s lawyers inform Mr Farage his podcast name and logo ‘brazenly and unlawfully exploits […]

Comedian and passionate Brexiteer John Cleese said he is quitting Britain in November because he is ‘so disappointed’ with the country. The former Monty Python comic said his ‘particular beef’ is with British newspapers. He revealed he was heading to the ‘gorgeous’ island of Nevis in the Caribbean. He told BBC Two’s Newsnight: ‘I’m leaving […]

Tory divisions over Brexit continue to boil over as beleaguered Theresa May was warned to prepare for more resignations from her top team. A former minister warned many Tories had “real concerns” about the direction of Brexit after two party vice-chairs quit over her Chequers plan for leaving the EU. Ben Bradley and Maria Caulfield […]

US ambassador Woody Johnson has left the door open for a possible meeting between Boris Johnson and Donald Trump during the US president’s visit to London. The ambassador said that while a meeting was not currently on Mr Trump’s itinerary “the president makes his own schedule”, the day after the American leader said he may […]

Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has claimed he “spent more time filling in his World Cup chart” than David Davis did with EU Brexit negotiators. Mr Farron made the claim in the Commons after revelations that the former Brexit Secretary had held only four hours of talks with Michel Barnier in the first half […]

Two people nobody has ever heard of quit roles nobody even knew existed today in protest at Theresa May’s Brexit plan. Ben Bradley and Maria Caulfield, who were apparently vice-chairs of the Conservative Party, resigned their posts because of their opposition to Theresa May’s Chequers policy set out last week. In her resignation letter to […]

Brexit day would be one of “mourning” if it happens, Sir Vince Cable claimed, as he warned no deal would lead to “anarchy” for UK trade. The Liberal Democrat leader told MPs it would be difficult to see the positive story of Brexit to help the country “turn over a new leaf” as many regard […]

The Ministry of Justice has been handed more than £17m to prepare for the disaster of Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal, it has emerged. Justice Minister Lucy Frazer revealed that the Treasury had freed up the funds – slightly more than Southampton have just paid for Basel midfielder Mohamed Elyounoussi – […]

Irish opposition leader Micheál Martin says former foreign secretary Boris Johnson was not dealing in reality when it came to Brexit. Mr Johnson resigned last night after claiming prime minister Theresa May was leading the UK to a semi-Brexit from the EU, a move that the Fianna Fail leader said was revealing in itself. He […]

Home secretary Sajid Javid today put EU nationals back on high alert over their future in the UK, saying there would be no automatic right for them to come and work here after Brexit. He also refused to say whether highly-skilled workers would be able to look for a job in the UK without the […]

Leaving four-fifths of our economy outside Europe’s single market could leave previous recessionary policy errors in the shade, writes BARNABY TOWNS With the government losing its foreign and Brexit secretaries and suffering a string of lower-rung ministerial resignations, the fragile ‘Chequers truce’ did not last 48 hours. Backbench Brexiteers literally waited in turn to pile […]

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she cannot support Theresa May’s Brexit plan “as it stands”. The SNP leader also said it was “highly questionable” as to whether the prime minister would be able to command majority support in the House of Commons for the proposals agreed at Friday’s meeting of the Cabinet at […]

How the world’s press responded to the resignations of the two Cabinet ministers over Brexit. Here is how some media outlets around the world view the ‘chaos’ facing Theresa May following the resignations of Boris Johnson and David Davis as the foreign and Brexit secretaries. France’s Le Figaro leads with Mrs May’s crisis, saying she […]

MICK O’HARE tells the story of a revolt that figures as no more than a footnote in the wider history of the Second World War. but arguuably led to the creation of a nation 50 years later. SLOVAKIA – SEPTEMBER 01: Drinek’S Partisans In Slovakia, 1944 (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images) – Credit: Gamma-Keystone […]

Donald Trump has looked ahead to his trip to the UK this week, saying the country is in “turmoil” and it is “up to the people” whether or not Theresa May remains prime minister. The US president will have also delighted Mrs May by saying that he might take time during his UK visit to […]

Chaos. Disarray. Mayhem. But is anyone really surprised? itemtype='https://schema.org/VideoObject'> Brexit has been bedlam since the beginning – and there will be more confusion and tumult to come. There will be no tears shed over the resignations of David Davis or Boris Johnson. Both were inadequate at best. But Theresa May needs to take some of […]

This is only the beginning, says NIKOS SKOUTARIS Two years after the referendum, the UK government briefly appeared to agree on its vision for the future UK-EU relationship. A three page document, outlining the UK position, was published following a long meeting of cabinet ministers at the prime minister’s country retreat of Chequers on July […]

A contest to select a new leader of the Conservative Party would take place if Theresa May resigns or loses a vote of no confidence among her MPs. To trigger a no-confidence vote, 15% of Tory MPs must write to the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, currently Sir Graham Brady. With 316 Conservative MPs […]

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson has resigned amid growing anger at Theresa May’s Brexit plans. His resignation follows that of Brexit secretary David Davis who quit late last night. Senior Tory sources are now briefing they expect May to face a leadership challenge. The prime minister now faces a crunch meeting of the parliamentary party this […]

Brussels officials have batted off David Davis’ decision to quit as Brexit Secretary, saying it will not hit Brexit talks. The European Commission will “continue to negotiate in good faith” with prime minister Theresa May, Margaritis Schinas insisted The chief spokesman said he did “not have a specific comment” about the resignation and refused to […]

Dominic Raab has been appointed as the new Brexit secretary. Raab, who is promoted from housing minister, now faces the difficult task of calming nervous Brexiteers within the Tory ranks who are threatening to derail Theresa May’s plans. After he sensationally quit David Davis warned the UK is giving ‘too much away, too easily’ in […]

Steve Portugal answers one of the great urban conundrums of our time It may not seem like one of life’s great mysteries, but a quick internet search reveals that people from across the world – London to Hong Kong, Cape Town to Buenos Aires – are asking this same question: for all the pigeons out […]

Theresa May faces a leadership crisis after David Davis savaged the government’s approach to Brexit while dramatically quitting as the minister responsible for the UK’s departure from the EU. His resignation was warmly welcomed by hardline Eurosceptics in the Tory ranks who were already expressing reservations about Mrs May’s leadership after her Cabinet agreed a […]

A future trade deal with the United States is “totally up in the air” after the Cabinet signed off on a new Brexit strategy at Chequers, the US ambassador to the UK has said. Donald Trump will discuss how an agreement could be struck after Britain quits the EU when he visits the UK later […]

Never mind Brexit, the 50,000 people of the Faroe Islands could be headed towards Faroexit, with full independence from independence from ‘mother Denmark’. STAN ABBOTT reports ‘My mum voted Yes in 1946 and she’s 95 now,’ says Magni Arge. ‘She would love to see independence in her lifetime.’ Arge, of the left-leaning pro-independence Republican Party, […]

Many years ago, I was among environmentalist campaigners who were labelled ‘terrorists’ in the press. We did not deserve this because we were seeking not to damage the country but to save the world, based on scientifically-agreed, evidence-based, truths. Our crime was to protest against new coal-fired power stations. But now it is my turn […]

Nicola Sturgeon has declared it is “game on” for campaigners hoping to keep the UK in the single market and the customs union after the UK Cabinet signed up to plans which could keep the UK closely tied to Brussels. After a day of intensive discussions at Chequers, Theresa May managed to secure the agreement […]

Theresa May faces a battle to win over her party after Jacob Rees-Mogg began the revolt against what he called her “softly boiled” Brexit. The prime minister’s plan, which will be assessed by the EU, would result in the creation of a new UK-EU free trade area for goods, with a “common rulebook”. A new […]

It’s interesting that Theresa May lectures other EU leaders on security, even though it has always been low on her agenda if present at all. It’s almost as though she was trying to generate supportive headlines in the British press rather than negotiating with other EU leaders. It looks to me like May knows that […]

The fact that there are actual positions regarding a hard Brexit or a soft Brexit, when in fact there is just Brexit, is one of the hallmarks of our current Age Of Absurdity writes BONNIE GREER The fact that there are actual positions regarding a hard Brexit or a soft Brexit, when in fact there […]

YASMIN ALBHAI-BROWN challenges Tim Martin, boss of the Wetherspoon chain of pubs who still carries on barking and nipping at our EU neighbours. Tim Martin, boss of the Wetherspoon chain of pubs is a choleric British bulldog, who did more than his bit for Brexit and still carries on barking and nipping at our EU […]

In a Brexit process full of stupid and meaningless rows, former Obama senior adviser Ben Rhodes managed to accidentally set off what might be the stupidest yet, says JAMES BALL In a Brexit process full of stupid and meaningless rows, former Obama senior adviser Ben Rhodes managed to accidentally set off what might be the […]