Politics

A long-awaited report into bullying allegations against Dominic Raab has been handed to Number 10 – with the prime minister “carefully considering” its findings. Mr Raab, the deputy prime minister and justice secretary, has been subject to an independent investigation by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC since November last year. Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said the

Voters heading to polling stations in England on 4 May will need to provide photo ID for the first time.  There are fears some people could lose out on their right to vote as up to 3.5m people don’t have existing photo ID – and only around 50,000 people have applied for voter ID. Here’s

The American statesman who brokered the Good Friday Agreement has urged the people of Northern Ireland to have more self-confidence. George Mitchell told Sky News it was “not beyond the competence or ability” of the political leaders to resolve difficulties preventing the restoration of power-sharing. The retired US Senator, who returned to Belfast to mark

SNP treasurer Colin Beattie is stepping down from his role after he was arrested on Tuesday. He said he will also step down from Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee while the police investigation into the party’s funding and finances takes place. Mr Beattie, who has been SNP treasurer for most of the past 19 years, was

Hundreds of thousands of people could be denied their right to vote unless new compulsory voter ID rules are delayed, a former Conservative cabinet minister has warned. Raising the alarm about the impact of forcing voters to produce ID in England for the first time at May’s local elections, Tory grandee David Davis urged the

A fundamental change to the voting system in England is coming. Brought in with little fanfare but potentially huge consequences, a new requirement for voters to show photo ID for the first time could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of people. The rule change was a Conservative manifesto pledge, and parliament approved the change. But as

Rishi Sunak has criticised vaping companies for appealing to children – and revealed he is looking forward to US singer Katy Perry performing at the King’s coronation concert. In an interview with Sky News’ children’s programme, FYI, the prime minister hit out at vaping companies for targeting children with colourful adverts and characters. He told

Parliament’s standards watchdog has opened an investigation into the prime minister over possible failure to declare an interest. The probe by the standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, was launched on 13 April and cited paragraph 6 of the MPs code of conduct, which governs how MPs should behave. The code states that “members must always be

Government spending on storing personal protective equipment (PPE) in China increased by £2.35m in the year to January – as households struggle to make ends meet amid the cost of living crisis. According to data revealed by the Labour Party, the taxpayer paid £23.5m to store life-saving protective equipment from February 2021 to January 2022

Escalating nurse strike action by withdrawing protection for emergency hospital care will endanger patient safety, a NHS leader has warned as the government said a “full and final” pay offer had been made to staff. Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents health trusts, also raised concerns over the possibility of nursing

The building of new smart motorways is being cancelled following concerns over safety and costs. Fourteen planned smart motorways – including 11 that are already paused and three earmarked for construction – will be removed from government road-building plans, Downing Street has confirmed. Existing stretches will remain but be subjected to a safety refit so

“All options are on the table” regarding possible coordinated strikes by junior doctors and nurses, a union representative has warned. Dr Arjan Singh, chair of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) junior doctors committee, refused to rule out the possibility of coordinating industrial action with Royal College of Nursing (RCN), saying: “We have a very close

Boris Johnson quoted Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day in his final address to the Commons as prime minister.  “‘Hasta la vista, Baby’ – thank you”, he signed off to MPs last July. The quotation, literally “until the view” in Spanish, is usually taken to mean “until we meet again” – a

Members of the Royal College of Nursing are to go on strike again after they voted against the latest government pay offer. The result comes despite a recommendation from union leaders that they accept it and means there will be a round-the-clock 48-hour strike – without exemptions – from 8pm on 30 April to 8pm

Members of the Royal College of Nursing are to go on strike again after they voted against the latest government pay offer. This is despite a recommendation from union leaders that they accept it and means there will be a round-the-clock 48-hour strike – without exemptions – from 8pm on 30 April to 8pm on