Politics

A Labour frontbencher has defended a social media post used by the party which claims Rishi Sunak does not think child sex abusers should go to prison. Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said the post was part of “political campaigning” but admitted: “It won’t be to everybody’s taste.” Asked whether she was “comfortable with pointing

More than 400 people crossed the English Channel in small boats in one day, despite the government’s efforts to crackdown on illegal migration. The Home Office confirmed 437 migrants arrived in the UK on Wednesday – the highest number on a single day so far this year, bringing the total number of crossings in 2023

Nicola Sturgeon has pulled out of a climate change event due to take place on Thursday as police continue to investigate the SNP’s funding and finances. The former first minister had been due to take part in a conversation with Mexican diplomat Patricia Espinosa, former chair of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

A Conservative MP has been caught indicating he would be willing to break parliamentary lobbying rules for money in an undercover sting operation by The Times. Scott Benton, the MP for Blackpool South, met undercover reporters posing as employees of TAHR Partners, a fake company lobbying to influence government policy, at a central London hotel

Post-Brexit checks on goods coming to the UK from the EU are to be reduced, Sky News understands. A Cabinet Office source told Sky News a new model will be announced later on Wednesday to “reduce the need for checks for many types of goods”. The government has delayed putting in place the checks four

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has said convicted criminals should be forced to attend their sentencing in court, after Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s murderer Thomas Cashman refused to face his punishment. New videos of Olivia were released by her family the day after Cashman was sentenced to a minimum of 42 years in prison before parole is considered.

Liz Truss told the family of a British hostage who was set to be released by Iran with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe that he was not her “problem” anymore, MPs have claimed. The then-foreign secretary had indicated to US officials and the family of conservationist Morad Tahbaz, a UK-US-Iranian trinational, he would be included in a deal

Nicola Sturgeon has said online rumours and the need to seek more privacy was “part of the reason” she resigned. The former SNP leader announced her shock resignation as Scotland’s first minister in February, saying “in my head and in my heart” she knew it was time to step down. But she has now revealed

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has refused to confirm if deportation flights to Rwanda will begin this summer. The policy to deport migrants arriving in the UK on small boats to Rwanda is one of the home secretary’s key pledges. But since the scheme was introduced in April 2022, no flights have taken off due to

The Home Secretary has announced people working with children in England will have a new legal duty to report “signs or suspicions” of child sex abuse. Suella Braverman will announce new measures to beef up child protection on Sunday. Writing for the Mail on Sunday in an article published this evening, Ms Braverman set out

A leaked government report has revealed some teachers are working 60 hours or more a week, with a quarter considering leaving the profession altogether because of the “unacceptable” high workload. The findings from a survey conducted by the Department for Education (DfE), and seen by Sky News, said eight in ten were working upwards of

Conservative MPs defending slim majorities have accused colleagues of “gaming the system” to try and move to safer seats and maximise their chances of keeping their jobs. There is “fury” at the “ultra-confidential” process which will allow some Tories to switch constituencies ahead of the next election. Around 15 parliamentarians have applied to be declared

The UK has been accepted into an Indo-Pacific trade bloc in what the government says is its biggest trade deal since Brexit. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a free trade agreement between 11 countries across the Indo-Pacific, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and

Sir Keir Starmer says he is “prepared to be ruthless” to ensure Labour wins the next election, including when it comes to his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn. Earlier this week, Sir Keir put forward a motion to Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), to block Mr Corbyn from running for the party at the

An MP who travelled by train with COVID in the early stages of the pandemic is facing a 30-day suspension from the House of Commons – raising the possibility of a by-election. Margaret Ferrier admitted she broke COVID rules in September 2020 by travelling on a train between Scotland and London despite having tested positive

Voters across much of England will head to the ballot box for local and mayoral elections on 4 May. It will be the first time people in England will have to show photographic identification at voting stations before they can cast their ballot. Sky News takes you through all you need to know about the

Local Tory councils have threatened to take legal action against the government over its plans to house asylum seekers in disused military bases in their areas. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick confirmed the scheme today, saying “thousands” would be accommodated at former RAF sites in Essex and Lincolnshire. But Braintree District Council said it was planning

The government has presided over a “lost decade” and risks exposing the UK to a host of climate threats because of “lacklustre planning and preparation”, its advisers have said. The preparedness of various sectors such as food security, water supply, transport, health, business, agriculture and finance are “lacking across the board” due to a failure

Kate Forbes has rejected a job offer from Scotland’s new first minister Humza Yousaf and will return to the backbenches after serving in government for almost five years. A senior source told Sky News that Ms Forbes, who narrowly lost the SNP leadership race to Mr Yousaf on Monday, was asked to take on the

Humza Yousaf is expected to be declared Scotland’s new first minister later today. The 37-year-old has replaced Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader, triumphing over Kate Forbes and Ash Regan in the contest for the party’s top job. Mr Humza is now set to face a vote at Holyrood before being formally confirmed as the country’s