Politics

France has cancelled a meeting with the UK to discuss Channel crossings after Boris Johnson asked the French to take back migrants arriving in Britain. French interior minister Gerald Darmanin has told Home Secretary Priti Patel “she was no longer welcome” at Sunday’s European meeting on migrant issues, a French government spokesman said. Spokesman Gabriel

The home secretary has said it was a “dreadful shock which was not a surprise” after 27 people died as they tried to cross the Channel last night. Priti Patel said the deaths of the migrants is “a reminder of how vulnerable people are put at peril by criminal gangs” charging to send groups across

The 27 people who died yesterday while attempting to cross the Channel to the UK from France included 17 men, seven women and two teenage boys and a girl, French prosecutors have said. It comes as a picture of the flimsy boat used by the group has been seen by Sky News. Following the deadliest

British patrols along the French coast are needed to prevent migrant boats from attempting to cross the Channel, the prime minister has told France after 27 people died near Calais. Five women and a girl were among the victims after their boat capsized in the water. One of the dead women was later reported to

Sir Keir Starmer questioned whether Boris Johnson was “okay” as he accused him of introducing a “working-class dementia tax” through this week’s reform to social care funding. The Labour leader said the prime minister was fronting a “Covent Garden pickpocketing operation” over the reform that means only what individuals personally pay for their social care

Universal Credit claimants will begin to be told how changes to the benefits system will bolster their incomes ahead of Christmas – but there are warnings that millions of families will still be worse off overall. At his autumn budget last month, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate

Tory criticism of Boris Johnson’s leadership is mounting after his speech about Peppa Pig World and a revolt over social care, with senior Conservative Jeremy Hunt admitting it has “been a bad month” for the government. The former health secretary told Sky News Monday was not a good moment for Mr Johnson after a speech

A requiem mass will be held at Westminster Cathedral later this morning in memory of Sir David Amess. The mass will be presided over by Cardinal Vincent Nichols and a message from Pope Francis will be read out. Sir David, a devout Catholic, will be buried in a private ceremony afterwards. Image: Pall bearers from

A minister has failed to guarantee people will not have to sell their homes to pay for social care ahead of a possible Tory rebellion over the issue. Paul Scully, the small business minister, told Sky News Boris Johnson’s 2019 manifesto promise was a “single headline” and it is not possible to tackle the problem

After a bruising week for the government, with backbenchers unhappy about sleaze and watered-down rail plans, the prime minister’s authority will be tested again this week. The Health and Social Care Bill is back in the Commons and the fine-print on the social care cap has come under criticism. Under the new plans, from 2023

Sajid Javid has played down the need for more restrictions to be introduced in the coming weeks, telling Sky News that England is “firmly” in Plan A at the moment. Speaking on Trevor Phillips On Sunday, the health secretary said ministers must “remain cautious, not complacent in any way” – but said he hoped people

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has commissioned a review into possible racial bias in medical equipment as he promised to “close the chasms that the pandemic has exposed”. It comes amid fears that thousands of patients from ethnically diverse communities died from COVID-19 when they should have survived. Mr Javid referenced research that has shown that

A government review will look at how to stop migrants crossing the English Channel and entering the UK amid concern that current measures are not working. Downing Street has tasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Stephen Barclay with bringing departments together to find a solution. More than 24,700 people have arrived in the

Hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is at increased risk due to a failure to conduct sufficient checks on the now-collapsed finance firm that David Cameron lobbied for, a committee of MPs has found. A a new report by the House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee (PAC), on the lessons to be learned

Michael Gove has said he is “confident” that progress can be made in talks with the European Union over the Northern Ireland Protocol without Article 16 needing to be triggered. Speaking at the British-Irish Council summit in Cardiff, the Cabinet minister said “a constructive approach” is being taken by both sides in the negotiations and

The government was not “fully prepared” for the “wide-ranging impacts” of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report, which found that Brexit both helped and hindered preparations for future crises. There was a lack of detailed plans for shielding, job support schemes and school disruption, the National Audit Office found. According to the watchdog,

The eastern leg of HS2 has been scrapped and plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail have been downgraded, Grant Shapps has confirmed. The transport secretary told MPs that a new £96bn Integrated Rail Plan for the north and the Midlands will instead deliver “faster” train journeys both earlier and cheaper than the original HS2 plans would

Northern political leaders have warned the government will pass up huge economic benefits and betray promises to voters if, as expected, it cancels major rail projects including the eastern leg of HS2 and a new Manchester-Leeds line. Boris Johnson will unveil a long-delayed integrated rail plan for the Midlands and the north of England today,

Sir Keir Starmer pressed Boris Johnson on the ongoing sleaze scandal in a heated PMQs, calling the prime minister “a coward, not a leader”. The Labour leader urged the PM to “do the decent thing and just say sorry for trying to give light to corruption” in the wake of the lobbying row which reared

Boris Johnson is to face questioning by MPs about parliamentary standards as the row over sleaze continues. The prime minister will appear in front of the liaison committee, comprised of the chairs of all Commons select committees, from 3pm today. He will face questions on government standards, violence against women and girls, the COP26 summit