Politics

More patients in England will be able to book appointments online and request to see their regular doctor as part of a new deal agreed with GPs in England, the government has said. The deal includes an additional £889m in funding for the year 2025 to 2026 and is designed to end the “8am scramble”

Usually, correspondence written by the King is not made public, but Donald Trump held up the letter in the Oval Office. The letter, which was inviting him to the UK for a historic second state visit, was handed to him by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Here is what we have been able to make

Doctors should be able to opt out of recommending assisted dying to terminally ill patients, MPs have been told. Dr Andrew Green, chairman of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) medical ethics committee, said it is important doctors should be able to say they do not want to take part in the process at any stage.

Terrorist material viewed by Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana could inspire another atrocity unless tech companies take action, the home secretary has warned. In a letter seen by Sky News to TikTok, X, Meta and Google, Yvette Cooper and technology secretary Peter Kyle warned the potential consequences of leaving dangerous content online have been “laid bare”.

The Church of England has said the government slashing funding available for listed places of worship repairs will only provide “temporary relief” and is concerned about a cap affecting larger projects. Heritage minister Sir Chris Bryant, a former Anglican priest, announced the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme will receive £23m for 2025/26 compared with

It presented Sir Keir Starmer with his first big challenge in office, and the Southport stabbings – followed by riots – look set to colour the early stages of his premiership. He dealt with the immediate aftermath by successfully mobilising the justice system and fast-tracking offenders through it – a throwback to his days as

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 After “going dark” for most of the week, Beth pops up in Poland to talk world politics with Ruth and Harriet. Top security, a slow train and Russian drones are all part of the inside story of the prime minister’s visit to

The UK has laid out a new economic relationship with China, and to use one of China’s favourite phrases, both countries are selling it as a “win-win” situation. It’s a significant development in restoring ties between the countries. The relationship has been beset by years of tension and suspicion. Both sides want to get it

Teachers have been told it is “not the right time to strike” after the largest education union said it will ask its members to reject the government’s pay rise offer. The National Education Union (NEU) will launch an indicative ballot of its members from 1 March until 11 April over the government recommendation of a

The treatment of Jess Phillips over recent days tells me all I need to know about the epidemic of misogyny, abuse and violence against women and girls that still plagues our culture. The domestic violence campaigner-turned politician, who has spent her career fighting for victims, has found herself the subject of abuse on an industrial

👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈 As winter sickness hits the NHS, Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled the government’s plans to support the service with a new partnership with the private sector. Labour want to get waiting times for non-urgent care back down to the target of 18 weeks over

The prime minister has rarely seemed so passionate as when he answered a question from Sky’s Beth Rigby on Elon Musk’s vitriolic comments about safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, who Musk described as a “witch” who should go to prison. Sir Keir Starmer was speaking at a press conference following a big new year speech on the government’s

Elon Musk has said Reform UK needs a “new leader” because Nigel Farage “doesn’t have what it takes”. The X owner posted the tweet on Sunday following days of headlines over his comments about the historic grooming scandal that took place across UK towns and cities more than a decade ago. Mr Musk, who has

Elon Musk has made “misinformed” and “misjudged” comments about the government’s response to grooming gangs in the UK, the health secretary has said. Wes Streeting also urged the tech billionaire and owner of X to “roll his sleeves up” and help the government tackle child sex abuse and exploitation online. Mr Streeting was asked about

Donald Trump’s second stint as president will be like a “24/7 bar-room brawl”, according to the UK’s former ambassador to Washington. Lord Darroch was the representative for the UK to the US between 2016 and 2019 – when Mr Trump was last in power – until cables he sent to London were leaked and showed

Government plans to boost prison capacity could cost billions more than estimated and fall short by thousands of cell spaces, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has warned. The National Audit Office (NAO) said current plans to expand prisons are “insufficient to meet future demand”, with a projected shortage of 12,400 prison places by the end of 2027.

The Home Office spent a record £5.38bn over the last year on asylum – more than a third higher than the previous year. Figures released on Thursday showed spending on asylum rose by £1.43bn in the 2023/24 financial year to £5.38bn – 36% higher than in 2022/24 when £3.95bn was spent. The latest figure, covering

Instagram is releasing a feature that will let users easily reset their algorithms, as the government strengthens its regulation of online safety. With the new reset feature, users can clear their recommended content from Explore, Reels and their feed, potentially reducing the amount of harmful content they are exposed to. It’s all part of Meta’s

Non-crime hate incidents guidance needs to be urgently changed because officers are “not the thought police”, the shadow home secretary has said. Chris Philp told a major policing conference that the police should “apply common sense and not waste time and resources” investigating incidents unless there is “an imminent risk of criminality”. He said forces

Climate change, the crisis in the Middle East, the continuing war in Ukraine, combating global poverty. All of these are critical issues for Britain and beyond; all of them up for discussions at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro this week, and all of them very much in limbo as the world awaits the