UK

Downing Street has refused to comment on reports that reveal details of lockdown parties Boris Johnson is alleged to have attended. In new allegations this evening, two newspapers detail claims the PM attended a party in his flat and also went to two separate leaving dos. In the pared-back report released by Sue Gray on

Children are being sexually exploited by networks in all parts of England and Wales in the “most degrading and destructive ways”, according to a report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The report found that perpetrators are finding “new ways” to groom younger children, including through social media and dating apps. It

The police watchdog has condemned Scotland Yard officers for a range of bad behaviour, including racism, misogyny, harassment and offensive social media messages. An investigation was launched after a complaint that an officer had sex with a drunk person in a police station, but it later uncovered much more. The Independent Office for Police Conduct

James Bond actress Lashana Lynch and West Side Story’s Ariana DeBose are among the latest crop of young performers nominated for BAFTA’s rising star award. Before appearing as the new 007 in No Time To Die last year, Lynch, 34, had starred in Marvel’s Captain Marvel opposite Brie Larson, and Sky police drama Bulletproof. DeBose

Tesco said 1,600 jobs were at risk as it announced a further round of restructuring across its store network. Britain’s biggest supermarket said it was moving overnight re-stocking to the daytime in 36 large stores and 49 convenience stores. It is also converting 36 of its petrol stations to become pay-at-pump only sites during overnight

Shoppers are facing a further rise in grocery bills equivalent to £180 a year on average as the squeeze on households intensifies, new industry figures show. Grocery prices in the four weeks to 23 January rose by 3.8%, according to data company Kantar. It adds to the cost of living surge facing households with consumer

House price growth picked up to 11.2% in January – the strongest start to the year since 2005, according to figures from lender Nationwide. It suggested the surge in the cost of living, with inflation at a near 30-year high, had yet to dent housing market activity, the lender said. The year-on-year pace of growth

Tom Tugendhat has become the first MP to say he would run to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a Tory leadership contest. The ex-soldier and Foreign Affairs Select Committee chairman told Times Radio it would be a “huge privilege”. He said he had not been “canvassing support”, but “of course, you should have a

As an angry mob gathered outside a police station, Alison Lewis thought she was going to be killed. The former Welsh women’s rugby international, and ex-policewoman, had been arrested over the brutal killings of three generations of the same family – and a “baying, screaming” crowd was waiting for her. After four days of intense

Boris Johnson is reportedly considering a U-turn on plans to raise national insurance as the wait goes on for the publication of Sue Gray’s inquiry into partygate allegations. The prime minister is facing pressure from some Tory MPs to scrap the controversial tax hike in order to win back support to save his job. The

Boris Johnson has dismissed claims he approved the airlift of animals out of Afghanistan, saying they are “total rhubarb”, as Sky News obtained more emails which call into question the government’s account. Leaked messages appear to show that the prime minister‘s top parliamentary aide, Trudy Harrison, told Virgin Atlantic her efforts to secure a plane

Prince Andrew has asked for a jury trial and denied all the allegations against him as he officially responded to Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault lawsuit. Court documents filed in New York show he “hereby demands a trial by jury on all causes of action asserted in the complaint”. Ms Giuffre accuses the Duke of York

Whistleblower emails have raised further questions over Boris Johnson’s insistence that he did not intervene to assist animal charities during the evacuation of Afghanistan. Last December the prime minister dismissed claims made by a former Foreign Office official that the government prioritised animals over people as “complete nonsense”. But new emails released by the Foreign

The return to school is driving up Omicron infections in children and could lead to another surge in adults, scientists have warned. The latest results from the REACT-1 study, which is based on around 100,000 random tests across England, show that the infection rate in primary school-age children was 7.8% – and rising – during

Boris Johnson is meeting his Cabinet amid the growing threat of war with President Putin in eastern Europe and more humiliating Downing Street party allegations at home. After a lengthy council of war with President Biden and other European leaders, the prime minister is expected to step up diplomatic efforts to prevent a Russian invasion

Dominic Cummings has revealed he has provided written evidence to the investigation into Downing Street parties during lockdown – and claims “other damaging stories” will emerge until Boris Johnson is out of office. Sue Gray is looking into parties and gatherings in Number 10 and other government departments during COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021.

The Liverpool terror attacker’s asylum claim was dismissed six years before he tried to carry out his strike, court documents show. Emad al Swealmeen died after his homemade bomb detonated inside a taxi outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Remembrance Sunday last year. He came to the UK legally in May 2014, with a Jordanian passport.

Boris Johnson met Tory MP Nusrat Ghani in 2020 following her claim she was sacked over her “Muslimness” – and “invited” her to make a formal complaint, Number 10 has said. The prime minister’s official spokesman said Mr Johnson held a meeting with Ms Ghani after she claimed a Tory whip told her her faith

The chief whip has said an MP’s claims that she was sacked as a minister because of her Muslim faith are “completely false”. Nusrat Ghani, the 49-year-old MP for Wealden in East Sussex, was sacked as transport minister in a February 2020 re-shuffle. Ms Ghani said she was told by a whip, who she did

Attempts to pressure Tory MPs trying to topple Boris Johnson are illegal, the head of a Westminster sleaze watchdog has argued. Labour MP Chris Bryant, who is chairman of the Commons Standards Committee, said alleged threats to pull public funding from members’ constituencies amounted to “misconduct in public office” and should be reported to the