Politics

The Royal Navy will take over responsibility for tackling people crossing the English Channel from today, Boris Johnson has said as he announced plans plans to fly some migrants to Rwanda. Speaking at an airport in Kent, the prime minister said: “We must ensure that the only route to asylum in the UK is asafe

The government plans to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing in an attempt to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel. Boris Johnson is set to argue action is needed to combat the “vile people smugglers” turning the ocean into a “watery graveyard” in a speech on Thursday. After the prime minister’s speech, Home

More than half of voters think that Boris Johnson should resign as prime minister after he was fined by police over partygate allegations. The prime minister attended his own birthday party in the Cabinet room in Downing Street in June 2020, when the rest of the country was under coronavirus restrictions. On Tuesday, Mr Johnson

Boris Johnson has apologised after being fined by the Met Police for breaking lockdown rules but said he would not resign. The prime minister said: “I have paid the fine and I once again offer a full apology.” Asked if he would quit over the fine, Mr Johnson said: “I want to be able to

At least 30 more fines are to be issued as a result of a police investigation into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street and Whitehall. The Metropolitan Police said that as of today it had made over 50 referrals to the ACRO criminal records office – which is responsible for issuing the fixed penalty notices –

The government needs “much more ambition and focus” to tackle the “shocking collapse” in rape prosecutions, a group of MPs has said. Police forces in England and Wales recorded the highest number of rapes and sexual offences in a 12-month period in the year to September. However, at the same time, the proportion of suspects

A “bloodthirsty” and “fanatical” terrorist has been found guilty of the murder of MP Sir David Amess. The veteran Conservative politician was stabbed to death during a constituency surgery meeting in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in October last year. Sir David, who was the MP for Southend West, suffered more than 20 stab wounds in a “vicious

The chancellor has written to the prime minister asking him to refer him to the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests to determine whether all his interests were “properly declared”. In a tweet, Rishi Sunak said he had “always followed the rules” and that he hoped the review would “provide further clarity”. In the letter Mr

Rishi Sunak and his wife have recognised her tax “situation” was “not favourable”, says a government minister – as the chancellor launched an inquiry into the leaking of details about her non-dom status. After the disclosure that Akshata Murty was “non-domiciled” in Britain for tax purposes sparked a political storm, policing minister Kit Malthouse told

Rishi Sunak has admitted holding a US green card while chancellor but his spokesman has insisted all rules have been followed. It follows Sky News reporting earlier that the chancellor and his wife held US green cards – permitting him residence in the country – until more than a year into his time at 11

The home secretary has apologised over the time taken to get a new visa system for Ukrainian refugees up and running – as Labour said new figures on the programme were “scandalous and shameful”. Priti Patel made the comments in a BBC interview recorded ahead of the release of new Home Office data showing just

Rishi Sunak should not be involved in any decision about reforming “non-dom” tax rules given the “clear conflict of interest” presented by his wife’s status, Labour has argued. The party’s shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry stepped up pressure on the chancellor after he described the scrutiny of his multi-millionaire spouse Akshata Murty’s financial affairs as

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been forced to defend his wife’s tax affairs amid criticism her multi-millionaire status puts him out of touch with the current cost of living crisis. Mr Sunak married Akshata, the daughter of the so-called ‘Bill Gates of India’ – Narayana Murty, in 2009 after they met at Stanford University. Her 0.91%

Rishi Sunak has dramatically broken his silence in the row over his wife’s tax affairs, declaring: “To smear my wife to get at me is awful.” In an interview with The Sun, hitting back at attacks by opposition MPs on his multi-millionaire wife, he said: “She loves her country like I love mine.” Mr Sunak

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has admitted the government’s energy security strategy is “more of a medium three, four, five year answer” ahead of its reveal later today. Speaking to Sky News, Mr Kwarteng said it is “right” to say “the strategy is more of a medium term three, four, five year answer”, suggesting there will

Britain is to step up its development of nuclear power under plans to boost the country’s long term energy security while delivering thousands of jobs and cheaper bills. The government said up to eight reactors could be delivered by 2030 – accelerating the pace from one a decade to one a year – as the

Boris Johnson has said there is a “limit to the amount of taxpayers’ money” that can be used to address rising bills ahead of launching a long-awaited energy strategy. The government will publish its Energy Security Strategy on Thursday to help tackle soaring energy prices and reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas. But Mr

Boris Johnson has described atrocities being committed in Ukraine as a “stain on the honour of Russia itself” in a stark video message to the Russian people. In the video, published on Twitter and including brief passages spoken in Russian, the prime minister tells them they “deserve the truth” about the massacre of civilians and

Boris Johnson is set to announce plans to send migrants to Rwanda to be processed, it has been reported. The prime minister is edging closer to unveiling proposals to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing and settlement, according to reports in The Times. The Home Office did not deny the reports, with a spokesperson

The government’s former ethics chief has apologised for an “error of judgement” after being fined by the Met Police for going to a lockdown-breaking party in Westminster. Helen MacNamara said she has paid the fine she was handed in connection with a leaving party held in the Cabinet Office on June 18 2020 to mark