Politics

An MP has asked the home secretary to consider introducing sanctions on the irresponsible sale or use of catapults to kill or harm wildlife following a Sky News investigation. The report exposed a UK-wide network in which children – some primary school age – have been sharing footage and photos of their kills in WhatsApp

The first minister of Wales has said Boris Johnson was like the “absent manager” of a football team in the early days of the pandemic. Mark Drakeford criticised the former prime minister during his evidence to the UK COVID public inquiry. He said Mr Johnson was “not taking it seriously” and was deliberately unclear about

Former Conservative deputy chair Lee Anderson has defected to Reform UK, becoming the party’s first MP in the Commons. Mr Anderson, who took the seat of Ashfield in 2019, was kicked out of the parliamentary Conservative Party for refusing to apologise after alleging that London mayor Sadiq Khan was controlled by “Islamists”. And while some

A cabinet minister has apologised and paid damages to an academic after suggesting she had expressed sympathy for Hamas, with the costs covered by her department. Michelle Donelan, the Science Secretary, retracted her comments about Professor Kate Sang and agreed to pay her an undisclosed sum on Tuesday, saying there was “no evidence” that the

Police are “assessing” a report of hate speech made against Lee Anderson following his claim “Islamists” had taken control of London and its mayor, Sadiq Khan, Sky News understands. The Ashfield MP was suspended from the Conservative Party last weekend after he refused to apologise for the remarks, which have been branded as racist by

Polls have now closed in the Rochdale by-election as political parties wait to see who has taken the Greater Manchester seat. The campaign to replace Labour stalwart Sir Tony Lloyd – who died last month from leukaemia – has been fractious, with the Labour Party withdrawing support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, over allegedly antisemitic

Lee Anderson has accused Sadiq Khan of “playing the race card” as he denied being racist following a row that resulted in his suspension as a Tory MP. Mr Anderson used a column in the Daily Express to hit back at accusations of Islamophobia and racism following his comments about London’s mayor. The Ashfield MP,

A cabinet minister has appeared to leave the door open for Lee Anderson to regain the Tory party whip following an attack on Sadiq Khan that resulted in his suspension. Mr Anderson was suspended at the weekend after he refused to apologise for claiming “Islamists” had got “control” over London and that Mr Khan had

Kemi Badenoch is embroiled in another political row after Canada refuted her claim she was engaging with them on trade talks. The country’s high commissioner to the UK, Ralph Goodale, has told MPs that no discussions of any kind are happening. The intervention risks inflaming tensions after Ms Badenoch paused negotiations with Canada on a

The Home Office has fired the chief inspector of borders and immigration who claimed UK Border Force had failed to check the occupants of hundreds of private jets at a London airport. The department said it had “terminated the appointment” of David Neal on the grounds he had “lost the confidence of the home secretary”.

The Home Office is launching an investigation after a baby’s birth certificate was returned to her parents “with the word Israel scribbled out”. The Campaign Against Antisemitism said the certificate was sent off as part of a passport application two weeks ago and returned on Monday with the father’s place of birth defaced. The organisation, which

Votes are being counted in the Kingswood and Wellingborough by-elections, where Labour will be looking to capitalise on the UK entering a recession to inflict a double defeat on Rishi Sunak. The Tories are defending traditionally safe seats in South Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire, following the departures of Chris Skidmore and Peter Bone, respectively. But the

Polls have opened for two crunch by-elections taking place today in Kingswood and Wellingborough. Voters in the constituencies will have until 10pm to decide who they want to be their MP following the departures of Chris Skidmore and Peter Bone. The Kingswood by-election was triggered after Mr Skidmore, a former Tory minister, quit parliament in

Police have dropped a rape and sexual assault investigation into Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell. Mr Rosindell, the MP for Romford, has not voted in the House of Commons since May 2022, when he says the allegations were made. The Metropolitan Police said the allegations included indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust

The government’s Rwanda bill is “fundamentally incompatible” with human rights law, MPs and peers have warned. A report from parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, published on Monday, said the proposed legislation “risks untold damage” to the UK’s reputation as an international leader on the issue. Politics live: Tough week for Sunak as by-elections loom

The dentist Rishi Sunak visited in Cornwall to promote his “recovery plan” is not accepting new NHS patients, it has emerged. The prime minister met staff and patients at Gentle Dental in Newquay on Thursday. Politics Live: Starmer ditches his ‘biggest dividing line’ with Tories He told broadcasters that “it hasn’t been easy enough for

Rishi Sunak should apologise for his transgender jibe which was made while Brianna Ghey’s mother was in parliament, Gordon Brown has told Sky News. The former PM was speaking to the Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge a day after the current occupier of Number 10 joked during Prime Minister’s Questions about Sir Keir Starmer’s record

The Met Police need extra money to deal with the XL bully ban, the Mayor of London has told the government. New legislation that came into force last week means unregistered dogs can be seized, with owners fined and prosecuted, and the animals potentially destroyed. Sadiq Khan, who is also the police and crime commissioner

The number of people who could be deported to Rwanda under Rishi Sunak’s £240m scheme “could be quite low”, the home secretary has admitted. James Cleverly said while the scheme was “uncapped” with no upper limit, the number of people sent to the African nation would be “entirely dependent on other work we’re doing in

The UK and France have agreed to “closer cooperation” to tackle illegal migration after two of the countries’ ministers held talks in Paris. Home Secretary James Cleverly and French interior minister Gérald Darmanin signed off on plans to speed up the deployment of aerial surveillance equipment so police can spot and stop small boat crossings