Politics

Rishi Sunak has insisted he will “ignore” international law in order to ensure asylum seekers get deported to Rwanda. The prime minister managed to get his controversial policy through its latest parliamentary stage last night after days of rebellions from Conservative MPs, who want to see the bill toughened up. But despite two rebel sources

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

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

The prime minister was never going to lose the two amendment votes, but the results tonight would have been hard to hear. On both rebel amendments, up to 60 of his own MPs told Rishi Sunak that his flagship illegal immigration plan doesn’t go far enough. In parliament’s central lobby after the vote tonight, one

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

Rishi Sunak is a prime minister who has always found it easy to build consensus on the world stage. But when it comes to his own backyard, this premiership tells a very different story. PM’s own deputy chair rebels on Rwanda – live updates With voters, he is struggling to build any sort of coalition,

It is “critical” for members of NATO to increase their defence spending to at least 2% of GDP, says Grant Shapps. In a wide ranging speech on Monday, the defence secretary insisted the UK would “strive” to reach its own goal of 2.5% “as soon as possible”. But he urged allies to grow their own

Tory MPs plotting the Rwanda rebellion are resigned to securing minimal changes to the legislation – despite some belief senior figures are poised to quit party roles over the bill. Almost 60 MPs have publicly backed the bill and some rebels hope that Lee Anderson, deputy chair of the Conservative Party, may resign and back

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has said he cannot remember receiving a detailed briefing about the Horizon scandal while he was prime minister – but says he is sorry for an “appalling miscarriage of justice”. The apology by the former Tory leader and MP comes amid continuing fallout from the Post Office debacle that led to

Migrants crossing the English Channel to the UK have been reported for the first time in 2024. Arrivals have not been recorded since 16 December, according to Home Office figures, with poor weather conditions potentially contributing to the lack of activity at sea. On Saturday, a group of people believed to be migrants were brought

Ministers are “failing to act” on the lessons from the Post Office scandal by refusing to change laws around public contracts, union leaders have said. The TUC said the Procurement Act, passed last October, was a “huge missed opportunity” to tighten up rules governing the awarding of taxpayer-funded contracts to private companies. The legislation was

Sir Tony Blair was warned the Horizon IT system could be flawed before it was rolled out across the Post Office, a document shows. A letter sent to the then-Labour prime minister on 9 December 1998 by a Downing Street special adviser said pressing ahead with the project was a risk because of spiralling costs

Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd has said he has an “aggressive and untreatable” form of leukaemia. The veteran politician, 73, who has represented Greater Manchester for over 40 years, said he had been receiving treatment for blood cancer, but the illness had progressed. He said he would be leaving hospital on Thursday in order to

Brexit has cost the UK £140bn so far, according to new analysis, and could see the nation £311bn worse off by the middle of the next decade, according to a new report. Economists and analysts at Cambridge Econometrics – commissioned by London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan – have modelled how the UK’s economy would have acted

Post Office investigators were offered monetary bonuses for successful prosecutions and confiscation of money from sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses impacted by the faulty Horizon software, the inquiry was told. Evidence from Sir Wyn Williams’ inquiry into the scandal shows there was an incentive to those making cases against innocent employees. The faulty Horizon software, developed by

The longest strike in NHS history, during which junior doctors walked out for six days, led to more than 113,000 patient operations, appointments and procedures being postponed, new figures show. The industrial action started last Wednesday and continued until yesterday, with 25,446 staff absent from work at the peak, which was the day the strike

More than 30 Tory MPs are poised to back amendments aimed at “toughening” Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill when it returns to the Commons next week. The prime minister is braced for yet another showdown with the right-wing faction of his party, which believes the legislation in its current form will not stop further legal challenges

Israel “might have taken action” in breach of international law in Gaza, the foreign secretary has said during a tense exchange with MPs on the conflict in the Middle East. Lord Cameron also confirmed two British nationals are still being held hostage by Hamas, as he made his first appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee

Hundreds of domestic abuse survivors will receive cash payments of £2,500 each to help them flee their tormentors, under a new initiative. The £2m scheme, which launches this month, is described as a “lifeline” for women who can’t flee – or are forced to return to – abusive relationships because they cannot afford essentials. A

Rishi Sunak began 2023 hounded by the contamination of the Johnson and Truss premierships, and kicks off 2024 weighed down by what happened on David Cameron’s watch, as the hundreds of Post Office managers wrongly criminalised and convicted comes back to haunt his new year.  Travelling to Accrington in the marginal seat of Hynburn on