Politics

Ireland’s Leo Varadkar has announced he is stepping down as prime minister. In a statement delivered this afternoon in Dublin, Mr Varadkar said his reasons for leaving were “both personal and political”. He said he believed a new leader “will be better placed than me” to gain seats for his party Fine Gael in the

Tory MPs trooped purposefully through the voting lobbies on Monday night to knock down all the Lords’ amendments which had threatened to rip the Rwanda bill to shreds. It was without the drama of the last vote in January, when three Tory figures resigned their posts and dozens signed amendments to toughen up the bill.

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

Humza Yousaf has insisted the Scottish government is “absolutely on track” to meet its target to increase residential rehabilitation places for drug users, as he said he was “devastated” by the latest increase in deaths. Data released on Tuesday showed 1,197 people died as a result of suspected drug use last year – up by

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said alleged comments made about Diane Abbott by a Tory donor were “racist” – but that there should be “space for forgiveness”. Ms Badenoch is the first cabinet minister to use the term to describe Frank Hester’s reported remarks about the former Labour MP, after government ministers including Graham Stuart

Iran has supplied Russia with ballistic missiles as Moscow wages war in Ukraine, Britain’s defence secretary has signalled, accusing Tehran of being a “bad influence” in Europe. Grant Shapps was asked in an interview with a political magazine whether he had any information on Iran‘s reported provision of surface-to-surface missiles to Russia. The senior cabinet

The UK COVID inquiry has begun its first hearing in Wales, looking at the decisions taken by the Welsh government during the pandemic. For the next few weeks, the inquiry will sit at the Mercure Hotel in Cardiff. The inquiry will spend until 14 March hearing evidence for Module 2B – core decision-making in Wales.

Lee Anderson has dodged questions over whether he could join the Reform party following his suspension from the Conservatives for his attack on Sadiq Khan. Mr Anderson, the now independent MP for Ashfield, was asked whether he would join the rival party led by Richard Tice but refused to answer. Instead, all he said to

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 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

Headteachers in England have been given advice on how to ban mobile phones from school classrooms under government plans dismissed by one teaching union as a “non-policy for a non-problem”. Guidance issued by ministers on Monday includes how to search students and their bags for devices “if necessary”. Headteachers “can and should identify mobile phones

Israel should “stop and think” before taking any further action in Rafah, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has said – as the UK sanctioned settlers in the West Bank. The former prime minister said the UK was “very concerned” about the situation on the Gaza-Egypt border. Local health officials have said 37 people were killed 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

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has rejected Nicola Sturgeon’s claim she did not seek to politicise the pandemic – claiming he “didn’t believe it for a minute”. The former first minister repeatedly fought back tears as she appeared before the UK COVID-19 Inquiry on Wednesday, claiming she took accusations that she sought a different approach to

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

Lee Anderson has said he regrets not voting for the Rwanda bill and would take back his old job as deputy Tory party chairman if asked. The outspoken MP told The Telegraph he should have been “brave” and sided with Rishi Sunak instead of abstaining. His plan had actually been to vote down the bill