Politics

Jacob Rees-Mogg has been criticised for leaving “crass, demeaning” notes on the empty desks of civil servants urging them to return to the office. The government efficiency minister has recently called for the “rapid return” of civil servants to their desks in Whitehall now COVID restrictions have ended. In notes left for civil servants, he

Boris Johnson will shortly return to England with his premiership under increasing strain amid the ongoing partygate scandal. The prime minister has been on a two-day official visit to India this week where he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and vowed to deepen trade ties with the country. But now, heading back to Westminster,

At least one Number 10 official has received a fixed penalty notice from the Metropolitan Police for attending a lockdown-busting “bring your own booze” event held in the Downing Street garden, Sky News understands. It is not known who has been fined for the gathering which was held at the height of the UK’s first

Boris Johnson has said he is sure he will still be prime minister in six months despite further rumblings of backbench discontent over partygate. The PM has faced repeated questions about his future as the scandal continues to dog him despite his attempts to move on to broader issues during a trip to India. On

Boris Johnson is to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday as a investigation into whether he misled parliament about lockdown-busting Downing Street parties looms. The prime minister will try to progress UK-India trade talks when he meets Mr Modi in New Delhi, emphasising the importance of the partnership between the two nations for

The Met Police have confirmed that they will not issue any further partygate updates before the May local elections. Scotland Yard confirmed to Sky News that the investigation would carry on and officers would continue recommending fines – but they will not put out press notices on referrals until after the elections. So far, more

If the prime minister was feeling bruised or laid low over the storm that has been building over his fine for breaking COVID-19 regulations, the attempt by MPs to investigate his conduct and the prospect of more fines from other events he attended, he did a very good job of disguising it as he bounded

Boris Johnson acted in the “heat of the moment” to interpret the rules when he attended events at the heart of the partygate scandal, a minister has said. Business minister Paul Scully defended Mr Johnson’s conduct as the prime minister prepared to face a second day of grilling by MPs following his Commons apology after

Sir Keir Starmer has branded Boris Johnson “dishonest” and “a joke” as a senior Tory MP said the prime minister is no longer “worthy” to be in his role following his partygate fine. As Mr Johnson addressed MPs in the Commons for the first time since being issued the fine by the Metropolitan Police for

A cabinet minister has likened Boris Johnson’s lockdown fixed penalty to a parking fine – ahead of the prime minister facing MPs for the first time since the punishment was issued. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis also told Sky News’ Kay Burley that Mr Johnson had not misled parliament when he initially declared that no

Nicola Sturgeon has been spoken to by police to “remind her of the importance of wearing a face covering when there is a legal requirement to do so”, Police Scotland has said. The Scottish first minister has apologised for what she said was “a few seconds” without a face covering and said officers were “absolutely

Boris Johnson is preparing to set out his “version of events” on partygate as he faces MPs this week for the first time since being fined as a result of a police investigation. Mr Johnson is expected to update the House of Commons on the affair as parliament resumes following the Easter break – after

New allegations have emerged regarding lockdown parties in Downing Street – with Labour claiming Boris Johnson has “deliberately misled the British people at every turn”. The prime minister has already been fined once for breaking COVID rules on his birthday in 2020, but that is said to be regarded as the least problematic of a

The government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is “opposite the nature of God”, the Archbishop of Canterbury will say. Reverend Justin Welby will use his Easter Sunday sermon to criticise the government scheme that will see refugees who reach the UK through illegal routes deported to Rwanda. He is expected to say that

The Home Secretary has issued a “ministerial direction” in relation to the Rwanda asylum plan, overruling concerns from her own civil servants, Sky News understands. Ministerial directions are used when the top civil servant in a department has objected to the costs or feasibility of a spending plan. A Home Office source said: “Home Office

In our analysis of the government’s new plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, we’ve looked at the moral and legal implications as well as the cost. There is one thing we’ve overlooked, though, and that is how those changes will impact the country which the government says will process “tens of thousands” of asylum

Coming two days after the prime minister was fined for breaking his own lockdown rules, today’s eye-catching asylum announcement has been greeted by many as a cynical attempt to change the subject. In reality, this unveiling has been in the offing for a while, with details of the home secretary’s trip to Rwanda pencilled in

Boris Johnson said he will face the Commons next week to “set the record straight” over his partygate fine – as more of his MPs called on him to quit. The prime minister apologised earlier this week after he was ordered to pay a £50 fixed penalty for attending a birthday gathering in Downing Street

Conservative peer David Wolfson has quit as justice minister over the “scale, context and nature” of breaches of COVID regulations in Downing Street. Lord Wolfson said in a letter to Boris Johnson he was quitting not only over the events themselves, or the prime minister’s “own conduct,” but also “the official response to what took

Two people suspected of illegally leaking CCTV footage of Matt Hancock and his aide Gina Coladangelo will not be prosecuted due to insufficient evidence, the information watchdog said. The footage leaked to the Sun last year, showing Mr Hancock kissing Ms Coladangelo in his departmental office, led to him resigning as health secretary for breaking