Politics

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

An aircraft hangar and fuselage have been hired by the Home Office for security officials to practice forcing asylum seekers on to deportation flights to Rwanda, it has emerged. Guards have undergone special training programmes to deal with “disruptive” people, according to The Times. This includes individuals resorting to violence to prevent being put on

Fresh from his Commons victory, the prime minister took to the stage on Thursday to declare he was making progress on his plan to send migrants to Rwanda, his party was “completely united” and any failure to deliver on this pledge would not be down to him, but rather a new bogeyman, peers in the House

Gordon Brown has called on the government to carry out a “root and branch” review of Universal Credit amid growing poverty in the UK. The former Labour prime minister told Sky News he was seeing a level of poverty “I never thought I would see in my lifetime again”, and it was the government’s “duty”

In the end the rebellion melted away. For all the talk publicly on Tuesday from rebels that this was about the substance of the bill and definitely NOT a confidence issue in the prime minister, when it came to voting down their leader’s flagship Rwanda plan down, all but 11 rebels caved. Even as they

Rishi Sunak appears to have seen off a Tory rebellion as his controversial Rwanda bill passed its final hurdle in the Commons. The bill, which aims to declare that Rwanda is a safe country to deport asylum seekers to, passed by 320 votes to 276 – a majority of 44 for the government. The bill’s

Sir Keir Starmer has attacked the “farce” playing out in the Conservative Party over the government’s Rwanda bill, claiming Rishi Sunak’s plan had been “brutally exposed” by his own MPs. Ministers insist the scheme to deport asylum seekers who arrive by small boat is “the most robust” legislation ever presented to the Commons, and will

Robert Jenrick says he is “prepared” to vote against the Rwanda bill if the government does not adopt “robust” changes to the proposed legislation. The proposed law is heading back to the Commons for two days of debate this afternoon, with the aim of deterring asylum seekers from coming to the UK via small boat

The former head of the UK’s secret intelligence service has warned the return of Donald Trump to the White House could pose a “political threat” to Britain. Speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Philips, Sir Richard Dearlove said the re-election of the former US president would be “problematic” for the UK’s national security

Police chiefs have accused senior politicians of regularly trying to “interfere or influence” their operations.  In a letter to Home Secretary James Cleverly, Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke said most senior officers in 12 forces have experienced “improper pressure or interference from significant political figures, whether through direct contact or through the media”. The

Home Secretary James Cleverly has made a personal apology for a date rape joke and admitted it “potentially distracted” from the government’s work to tackle drink spiking. Just before Christmas, it emerged the home secretary had made what his spokesperson described as an “ironic joke” at a Downing Street reception about putting a date rape

The home secretary’s date rape joke was “misogynistic” and “very ill-judged”, a senior Conservative MP has told Sky News. James Cleverly apologised after making an “ironic joke” about putting a date rape drug in his wife’s drink, hours after the Home Office announced plans to crack down on spiking. He has faced calls to resign,

Households are facing a “debt timebomb” next year, according to analysis from a trade unions group. The Trades Union Congress – which includes the likes of GMB, Unite and Unison – predict unsecured debts are set to surge by £1,400 in 2024. This includes borrowing which does not have property as collateral, such as loans,

With the start of a new year, the 2024 general election campaign will officially get under way. The time for festive frivolity and fun is over. Rishi Sunak poked fun at himself with a highly amusing Home Alone-style video filmed in Number 10 Downing Street for Christmas day. Sir Keir Starmer and wife Victoria went

As if the government’s “stop the boats” policy wasn’t already in disarray, now James Cleverly’s crackdown on legal migration is already unravelling. In a move cynically timed to avoid a backlash from MPs, he has admitted he’s made a major climbdown on workers bringing family members from overseas to the UK. When he announced plans

The prime minister appeared before the COVID inquiry today - defending his Eat Out to Help Out scheme and revealing Treasury concerns that the UK would not be able to fund the pandemic response. While Rishi Sunak was giving evidence, some of his Tory parliamentary colleagues were calling on the PM to scrap his Rwanda bill as