Politics

A man has denied sending an offensive email to Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner. Appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, David Perry pleaded not guilty to two charges under the Communications Act. One alleges the message was “grossly offensive” and the other that it was “indecent, obscene or menacing”. The 66-year-old defendant from Weybridge in Surrey

Anne Keast-Butler will become the first female director of GCHQ, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said. She will succeed Sir Jeremy Fleming as the 17th director of the Cheltenham based intelligence agency. Mr Cleverly said: “Anne Keast-Butler has an impressive track record  at the heart of the UK’s national security network, helping to counter threats posed

Compare and contrast the following. Exhibit A – “over the next four weeks, this campaign will be shining a relentless spotlight on Scott Morrison‘s failures as Prime Minister”. Exhibit B – “we are going to be ruthless in showing how 13 years of Tory government has broken our systems and held everyone back”. Nearly half

Rishi Sunak has called for a swift return of the Stormont Assembly ahead of President Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland. “We must get on with the business of governance,” the prime minister said. He will meet Joe Biden when the US president steps off of Air Force One on Tuesday evening – not long after

After receiving a slap down from Tory HQ, Douglas Ross has stood by his controversial statements about tactical voting by essentially saying his comments were taken out of context. Earlier, he urged people to do “what’s best for the country” and support the candidate most likely to beat the SNP in their constituency. That could,

Rishi Sunak will welcome President Joe Biden when he arrives in Belfast this week, pledging to fulfil the promise of the Good Friday Agreement as they mark its 25th anniversary and talking of a “better future” for Northern Ireland. The US president’s visit comes amid a heightened terror threat in Northern Ireland, and with power-sharing

Nicola Sturgeon has said she will “fully cooperate” with police after the arrest this week of her husband Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the Scottish National Party (SNP). The former Scottish first minister broke her silence after Mr Murrell’s arrest on Wednesday as part of an investigation into the SNP’s finances. She said

More brothers and sisters could now be spared the upheaval of being separated when placed into care thanks to increased tax relief for foster parents. The change, announced in the Budget, increases the amount foster carers can earn from £10,000 to £18,140 without needing to pay any tax or National Insurance contributions. After fostering 120

The Labour Party have released a second advert attacking Rishi Sunak just hours after being accused of “gutter politics” for targeting the prime minister personally. Yesterday, the party’s Twitter account released an advert claiming Mr Sunak does not think child sex abusers should go to prison. The tweet on Friday afternoon suggests the prime minister

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