Media

A former Ofsted chair has called for education secretary Gavin Williamson’s resignation, amid the continuing lack of certainty over what will replace cancelled GCSEs and A-Levels. In a letter to exams regulator Ofqual yesterday, Williamson said he would like “to explore the possibility of providing externally set tasks or papers, in order that teachers can […]

A man has got a tattoo of Boris Johnson’s face on his stomach in order to raise money for a woman to receive life-saving cancer treatment. Kenny Wilding, 41, from Kidderminster, said he got the tattoo to raise money for a family friend who was diagnosed with stage four rectal cancer in January 2019. Megan Smith […]

Last week, editor-at-large Alastair Campbell kicked off a debate as to what more Remainers could have done to stop Brexit. Here, writers, politicians and campaigners have their say. Mary Honeyball Former Labour MEPWe pro-Europeans must show humility. We lost. Leave won. Many Leave voters were on low incomes, over 50 and male. They viewed the EU […]

Miriam Margolyes’ blunt assessment of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson has won her a heap of praise online. The British actor said the US president was an “a*****e” and the British prime minister a “clown”. Asked for her reaction to recent events in the US during an appearance on Good Morning Britain, Margolyes said: “Like anybody […]

Tory MP Pauline Latham has downplayed pictures showing meagre free school meals by saying there were only ever intended ‘for lunch’. Appearing on Channel 4 News, the Derbyshire MP said she was appalled by the sight of some portions but sought to dismiss concerns children were not given enough food. “The schools decide whether they want […]

Prime minister Boris Johnson has paid tribute to the Daily Telegraph’s joint owner Sir David Barclay, who has died aged 86 after a short illness. Along with his identical twin Sir Frederick, Sir David built a vast business empire which began with hotels and expanded to include shipping, retailing and, since 2004, ownership of Telegraph […]

The government should not allow a British tech entrepreneur to be extradited to the US over fraud charges because the UK has “surrendered sovereignty” over its justice system for “too long”, former cabinet ministers have argued. Electrical engineering expert Michael Lynch is facing fraud charges in the US where authorities claim he overstated the value […]

A columnist has said Boris Johnson is incapable of “denying himself any pleasures” after he was spotted cycling seven miles away from his home for daily exercise. Current official government advice says exercise should be limited to once a day and within your local area, prompting accusations Johnson had broken coronavirus rules when he cycled around […]

British pensioners are being forced out of Spain’s Costa del Sol due to changes brought about by Brexit, ex-pats living in the country have said.  Under new rules introduced on January 1, tourists, including people who have a second home in the country but have not taken up residency, will only be able to spend […]

Policing minister Kit Malthouse has denied Boris Johnson broke coronavirus restrictions over the weekend by exercising at Stratford Olympic Park. Johnson was spotted cycling at Queen Elizabeth Park on Sunday, which is located seven miles away from Downing Street, prompting accusations he broke government guidance. Current official government advice says exercise should be limited to once a day […]

Nigel Farage has said his new party Reform UK is now “up and running” in Scotland, with the appointment of former Tory MSP Michelle Ballantyne as leader north of the border. Ballantyne, a former Scottish Conservatives leadership hopeful, has been announced as the new head of Reform UK Scotland. She described her new party as […]

Ann Widdecombe has said concerns teachers have about carrying out lessons remotely were “a load of rubbish”. The former Brexit MEP used a guest appearance on Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine show to chide teachers who were concerned about parents spying on lessons over Zoom. “I’ve heard a load of rubbish talked during this pandemic and this is the biggest […]

A Fine Gael politician has warned that Brexit lobbying group Leave.EU may be breaking data protection rules ever since it moved to the Republic of Ireland this month. Neale Richmond, the Irish Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin Rathdown, has written to the EU’s domain registry, EURid, and his own country’s data protection commissioner querying if Leave.EU was GDPR […]

The public has been urged to back The Big Issue after its vendors were again forced to stop selling the magazine because of the latest coronavirus lockdown. Almost 1,400 vendors are affected, are not eligible for furlough and cannot work from home. The Big Issue called on the public to support its 100 Days of Action […]

Former White House adviser Anthony Scaramucci has said “another insurrection” like the one witnessed on Capitol Hill last Wednesday could occur before Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20. Scaramucci, who was a former White House communications director to president Trump, said rioters were planning a second protest on January 17. This comes after thousands of […]

Forty years ago this month was a fateful meeting that led to one of the history’s greatest hoaxes. RICHARD LUCK reports. Some scoops can be weeks, months or even years in the making. It can take a long, long time for a reporter to finally bring their story into the public domain, for all the […]

James O’Brien has shut down a Trump supporter who called in to push false allegations that Joe Biden was corrupt. A US caller was left eating his words after failing to provide evidence proving Joe Biden was a “corrupt” politician. The call comes after unprecedented scenes in America on Wednesday saw a woman shot dead and […]

The prime minister’s father has said his application for French citizenship was a “sentimental gesture” to his mother and said Boris Johnson should be “jolly pleased” about it. Stanley Johnson revealed he was applying for a French passport in December, soon after the Brexit deal negotiated by his son was approved by MPs. Appearing on […]

Lorry drivers passing through Kent have been issued with more than £32,000 in fines since the end of the Brexit transition period. Under the new Brexit deal that came into effect on January 1, hauliers must have the correct permit to enter Kent on their way into mainland Europe. However, scores of drivers have not, while […]

A key Brexit lobbying group has moved its registrant address to a location in the Republic of Ireland in order to keep its .EU suffix. Leave.EU, the domain name behind the Leave the EU campaign body funded by British businessman Arron Banks and supported by Nigel Farage, changed addresses to keep its .EU suffix as thousands of domains in […]

TIM WALKER on a notable name missing from the New Year Honours list. Although his fanatical support for Brexit helped tip the referendum in 2016, Paul Dacre, the former editor of the Daily Mail, was once again overlooked in last week’s honours list. “It’s mystifying as even his worst enemies would concede he was an infinitely superior editor in […]

Home secretary Priti Patel has faced a torrent of criticism after failing to boldly denounce Donald Trump over inciting riots in the US capital overnight. Patel avoided Trump’s name in her condemnation of the riots despite the president having instructed protesters to march on the capital. Sky News’ Niall Paterson caught the minister out, telling her […]

An overwhelming majority of England’s teachers believe education secretary Gavin Williamson should resign, snap polling has found. In response to a question posed by app Teacher Tapp, carried out on behalf of ITV News, 92% of almost 6,000 respondents said they think Williamson should quit. The results come as the government faces mounting criticism of its handling of […]

US president-elect Joe Biden has addressed citizens amid the storming of Congress by Donald Trump protesters. In an address to the nation, Biden, who was set to be certified as the incoming US president by Congress on Wednesday said: “Let me be very clear, the scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect a true […]

UK politicians have begun reacting to news of Donald Trump protesters storming Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. Trump supporters broke into Capitol Hill on Wednesday in an attempt to interrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s US election victory in Congress. Thousands descended on to government grounds following a speech by Trump in which he added pressure on president […]

Former Goldman Sachs banker Richard Sharp will succeed Sir David Clementi as BBC chairman, BBC News has said. His appointment comes amid a debate about the BBC licence fee and how the broadcaster is facing competition from streaming services. Sharp, who was once Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s boss, will take over from Sir David, who will […]

Piers Morgan has delivered the perfect quip to a Tory minister who struggled to explain the government’s Covid testing regime at UK airports. Morgan laid bare his thought about Boris Johnson and his ministers when he quizzed vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi about No 10’s airport testing strategy on Good Morning Britain. Morgan asked the minister if he knew the […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has caused outrage after crossing coronavirus tiers to attend a Latin mass in Somerset. The Commons leader – a devout Catholic – was seen leaving his West Harptree house in a Tier 3 area to attend church 15 minutes away in Glastonbury, which was under Tier 4 restrictions. Although people in Tier 4 can […]

A right-wing commentator who said Covid-19 had “disappeared” has admitted he was wrong during an on-air grilling on the BBC. Lockdown Sceptics editor Toby Young claimed in June that coronavirus “had all but disappeared” and questioned the need for social distancing. Young was confronted over claims during a debate on free speech on BBC 2’s Newsnight. […]

A TV presenter has blasted Downing Street after it emerged Boris Johnson would be holding another coronavirus press conference on Tuesday afternoon. Phillip Schofield did not hold back when he found out that No 10 announced another Covid conference for 5pm this afternoon. The news comes less than 24 hours after the prime minister announced […]

A Tory housing minister has come under fire after he suggested Britons purchase a £170 bottle of champagne to ward off the Covid blues. Labour branded Christopher Pincher as “truly out of touch” after he recommended people see off a “rotten” 2020 with a lavish bottle of bubbly, despite more than half a million Britons […]

Nigel Farage has said Tony Blair should lead the UK’s vaccination programme, adding the former Labour prime minister “commands respect” and is “seriously bright”. Expressing his frustration with Boris Johnson’s latest lockdown announcement, Farage took to Twitter with a suggestion on how to speed up Britain’s vaccination drive. Describing the current cabinet as the “most low grade […]