Politics

Ministers agreed to bow to pressure from Australia to drop binding commitments to the Paris climate change agreement from the UK-Australian trade deal, a leaked government email obtained by Sky News has revealed. Liz Truss, the trade secretary, and Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, decided the government could “drop both of the climate asks” from

Boris Johnson has refused to rule out further tax rises prior to the next general election as he defended his abandonment of a Conservative manifesto promise not to raise National Insurance contributions. After unveiling his plan for a hike in National Insurance contributions by 1.25% to pay for the social care system in England and

Boris Johnson has announced a major shake-up of social care funding in England. A hike in National Insurance will pay for a pledge made when Mr Johnson became prime minister in 2019 to “fix the broken care system”. However, this means he will be breaking his promise to not raise taxes, which has angered Tory

Boris Johnson is expected to raise national insurance by about 1.2% to pay for a pledge to end the “catastrophic costs” of social care, a move Tory MPs claim amounts to a £10bn tax raid. On Tuesday, he is planning a major launch of a long-awaited shake-up which he claims will fulfil a pledge he

Boris Johnson is set to face a significant amount of opposition from MPs over his handling of the Afghanistan crisis, possible plans to hike national insurance, and cutting the Universal Credit uplift when parliament resumes today. In a statement set to be delivered to the Commons later, the prime minister will praise the “courage and

Boris Johnson will tell MPs that he will use “every economic, political and diplomatic lever” to help Afghans left behind by the British as he looks to defend his handling of the withdrawal from the country. The prime minister will reiterate the pledge in the House of Commons on Monday, when parliament returns from its

No decision has been made on whether to offer coronavirus jabs to all 12 to 15-year-olds, the vaccines minister has told Sky News. Speaking to Trevor Phillips On Sunday, Nadhim Zahawi said parents of children in this age group will need to give their consent if a rollout takes place. He also confirmed that vaccine

Government “incompetence” is to blame for the shortage of flu vaccines, the shadow business minister has told Sky News. Speaking on Sky News Breakfast, Seema Malhotra said the government needs to “get a grip” on the “supply chain crisis” that is hitting the country. On Saturday, the largest provider of flu vaccines to the UK,

The government is reportedly determined to push ahead with COVID-19 vaccines for 12 to 15-year-olds, despite advisers recommending against it. The Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation said on Friday that, while it would widen the vaccination programme to include more children in that age group with health conditions, it was not recommending the widespread

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has highlighted the importance of engaging with the Taliban as he acknowledged the need “to face up to the new reality in Afghanistan”. While not recognising the militant group as the government in Kabul, the cabinet minister pointed to the necessity of having “a direct line of communication” to discuss a

The prime minister is expected to announce a rise in national insurance payments to fund social care, despite this being a breach of the 2019 Tory manifesto. Reports in The Times and The Daily Telegraph say the plans could be revealed as soon as next week when parliament returns from its summer recess. Both newspapers

One of the many hundreds of Afghans who was eligible for evacuation to Britain but was unable to board a flight has told of his family’s harrowing two weeks on the run from the Taliban. Ahmad – not his real name, and whose location cannot be revealed – is a former Afghan government official who

Dominic Raab has flown to Qatar for talks about evacuating British nationals and interpreters from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. The foreign secretary departed the UK hours after he was questioned by MPs in the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on the events in central Asia. Mr Raab said he was “not confident with any precision”

A leaked Foreign Office report warned government ministers on 22 July that the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan would lead to ‘rapid Taliban advances’, a senior Conservative MP has claimed. Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat, told Sky News that the department’s own principle risk report on Afghanistan suggested the country’s cities

The Foreign Secretary will be questioned by MPs later on how the government intends to deal with the fall-out from the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Parliament is still on its summer break, but an emergency session of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee will take evidence from Dominic Raab this afternoon. Here are some of the

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has rejected claims a British request may have contributed to the risk of a terror attack at Kabul airport – as senior Conservative MPs hit out at a “reprehensible” blame game over last week’s suicide bombing. On Thursday, 13 American troops, two British men and at least 169 Afghans were killed

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has admitted it will be a “challenge” for British nationals left in Afghanistan to now find a route to the UK. Speaking to Sky News, Mr Raab said the number of British nationals who had not been taken as part of the now-ended UK evacuation effort was in the “low hundreds”.

Ministers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are calling on the UK government to keep the £20 uplift to Universal Credit in place beyond the current October deadline. In a letter to Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, they call for the policy to be made permanent and describe the change – which is due

The UK’s evacuation from Afghanistan has been branded a “humiliation” by a senior Tory MP and ex-soldier, who told Sky News there were a “litany of concerns” in the government’s handling of it that need to be addressed. Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the Defence Select Committee, said the Foreign Office no longer had the capability

Football fans in England are set to be allowed to stand at games before the end of the current season, in a reversal of the 30-year rule requiring all-seater stadiums. Many clubs in the Premier League – including Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United – have recently installed “safe standing” areas, with rail seating,