Politics

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it has received a letter from the SNP asking it to investigate cash for honours allegations against the Conservatives. A spokesman for the force said it is currently “considering the contents of the correspondence” but an investigation or formal assessment into the allegations has not started. SNP MP Pete Wishart

Victims of crime could be left waiting for years for justice after Dominic Raab admitted he did not know how long it will take to get through the backlog of the most serious court cases. In an interview with Sky News, the justice secretary said he “couldn’t say with precision” when the backlog of more

Sir Keir Starmer has said Boris Johnson has “corroded trust” in MPs after a U-turn on reforming the disciplinary system for MPs and veteran Tory Owen Paterson’s breach of lobbying rules. The Labour leader told an emergency debate in the Commons that the prime minister gave the “green light to corruption” last week when Conservatives

Prime Minister Boris Johnson must apologise to the country for his handling of the Owen Paterson sleaze row, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader said Mr Johnson must also confirm that Mr Paterson, a former cabinet minister, will not be nominated for a peerage. Ahead of an emergency Commons debate on standards at

Boris Johnson is being warned against triggering Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol to suspend parts of post-Brexit arrangements for the Irish border. There is growing speculation that the prime minister could soon trigger Article 16 as ongoing talks between the EU and UK continue to fail to resolve problems such as the “sausage

Labour has alleged there is a “cash for access culture” in the Tory party as it seeks to maintain pressure on Boris Johnson’s government over sleaze allegations following the Owen Paterson debacle. The party made the claims after The Sunday Times reported that a series of donors who give £3m to the Tories and serve

Sir John Major has accused Boris Johnson and his government of actions that are “damaging at home and to our reputation overseas”. Sir John, a former Conservative prime minister, was commenting on the government’s handling of Owen Paterson, who stood down as an MP last week. Mr Paterson, who had been an MP for 24

As the UN Climate Conference continues, thousands will take to the streets in Glasgow today, alongside millions more in other towns and cities across the world, in a Global Day of Action against climate change. In Glasgow, a crowd will march to the city for a rally in the afternoon where teenage climate activist Greta

A cabinet minister has admitted it was “a mistake” for the government to attempt to overhaul parliament’s disciplinary processes in combination with saving a Conservative MP from immediate suspension. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News that ministers had reflected on the “conflation” of ripping up the current standards system with the case of Owen

Owen Paterson has resigned as MP for North Shropshire after the government performed a U-turn over the controversial blocking of his 30-day Commons suspension for breaching lobbying rules. Mr Paterson has served as a Conservative MP since 1997, and although departing the Commons from the backbenches, was previously a cabinet minister. Growing up on his

Owen Paterson will resign as the MP for North Shropshire in order to escape “the cruel world of politics” following a furious row over his proposed ban from the House of Commons. The Conservative former cabinet minister has been at the centre of a scandal after it was recommended he be suspended for 30 days.

Boris Johnson’s government has been accused of “corruption” and “synonymous with sleaze, dodgy deals and hypocrisy” following a vote to protect Conservative MP Owen Paterson from being suspended. The MP for North Shropshire was facing a 30-day suspension from the House of Commons for “repeatedly” breaching lobbying rules over his paid consultancy work on behalf

A Conservative former minister has avoided a suspension after Tory MPs backed a government-sanctioned amendment to stop it in a Commons vote, despite anger at a decision Labour claim will inflict “enduring damage” upon parliament’s reputation. Owen Paterson was facing a 30-day suspension from the House for breaching lobbying rules over his paid consultancy work

One of Britain’s top scientists has quit the government’s pandemic advisory body, warning the COVID crisis is “a long way from over” and that the situation in the UK is “concerning”. Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, quit the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) at the end of October. Sky News can

A British scallop trawler detained by French authorities as part of a fishing feud with the UK is still being held, despite a cabinet minister earlier telling Sky News it had been released. The impounded Cornelis Gert Jan, a Scottish-registered scallop dredger that was seized by officials near Le Havre last week, will continue to

The rollout of smart motorways should be suspended amid safety concerns, MPs and campaigners have said. Government plans to remove the hard shoulder from all future smart motorways and use the lane for live traffic are “premature”, a report from Commons Transport Select Committee (TSC) has said. Demonstrators carried 38 cardboard coffins to the Houses

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has set a 48-hour deadline for a fishing dispute with France to be resolved before the UK moves ahead with legal action. Speaking to Sky News at the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, Ms Truss hit out at the French for behaving “unfairly” and accused them of operating outside the

“It’s one minute to midnight and we need to act now,” the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson will declare on Monday as he seeks to stir world leaders into dramatic action at urgent UN climate talks. At the COP26 opening ceremony, the prime minister will say humanity has “long since run down the clock on

COP26 President Alok Sharma has said he wants “more out of every country” and now is the time to deliver on limiting temperature rises to below 1.5C. Ahead of around 120 world leaders gathering at the event in Glasgow on Monday for a two-day summit, Mr Sharma urged them to do more to help the

This year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow is “the world’s moment of truth” in the fight to tackle global warming, Boris Johnson has said on the eve of its opening. Speaking ahead of the COP26 climate summit which begins on Sunday, the prime minister described the event as a moment for “decisive action” from