UK-India trade agreement ‘about deal and not dates’, minister says March 23, 2023 The UK’s talks with India are “about the deal and not the dates”, a minister has insisted as a Conservative backbencher queried government progress towards a free trade agreement. Trade minister Nigel Huddleston told the Commons “we will not tie our hands in terms of setting an arbitrary deadline”. He spoke in response to Conservative [...]
Starmer rejects ‘heads must roll’ approach to Met Police reform March 23, 2023 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he does not believe in a “heads must roll” approach to reforming the Met Police after an excoriating review into the failing force. Starmer said he would resist a “structural, break-it-up, heads must roll model” to overhauling the force. “I’ve seen that too often before where something goes [...]
TfL budget to cover costs but Londoners still set for fares hikes March 23, 2023 Transport for London (TfL) has said its latest budget will allow it to cover its operating costs, as fare rises continue to hit Londoners’ pockets with a four per cent rise set for next year. London’s transport network will achieve an overall operating surplus of £79m, its 2023/24 financial statement revealed, which it wants to [...]
Can Tulip Siddiq get Labour’s City plans blooming? March 23, 2023 Labour's Shadow City minister talks facing off against her opposite number and the struggle for the Square Mile.
Defiant Boris Johnson insists ‘I did not lie’ and claimed boozy leaving do was ‘essential’ March 22, 2023 A defiant Boris Johnson insisted he “did not lie to the House” and claimed a boozy leaving do was “essential for work” in a fiery evidence session set to determine his political future. Johnson underwent a fierce grilling by the cross-party privileges committee, as MPs aimed to decide if he misled – intentionally or recklessly [...]
Rishi Sunak publishes tax return and reveals he paid £430k last year March 22, 2023 Rishi Sunak has published his tax returns and revealed he paid more than £430,000 in the UK last year. The prime minister paid £227,350 in 2019/20; £393,217 in 2020/21; and £432,493 in 2021/22. The prime minister’s documents, published on gov.uk, cover his time as prime minister and chancellor. Sunak first pledged to reveal his tax [...]
Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal passes despite 22 Tory MPs rebelling including Johnson, Patel, Truss and IDS March 22, 2023 MPs have voted in favour of regulations to implement the Stormont brake aspect of Rishi Sunak’s Windsor Framework Brexit deal by 515 votes to 29. The prime minister’s agreement with the EU on a revised plan for post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland (NI) was backed by a majority of 486 MPs in the House of [...]
Met Police needs to root out ‘several hundred’ officers to repair image, says author of damning report March 22, 2023 The embattled Met Police needs to root out several hundred officers who shouldn’t be in uniform, Baroness Louise Casey said following publication of her blistering report on the institutional failings of the force. Casey’s report branded the Met Police “institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic” and warned killer and rapist cops like Wayne Couzens and David [...]
Ministers shelve plans to lift state pension age due to fear over backlash from middle-aged voters March 22, 2023 Ministers have reportedly shelved plans to raise the UK’s state pension age, over concerns of a backlash from middle-aged voters in the run-up to the next general election. The UK’s state pension age is currently set to rise from 66 to 68 after 2044. The UK government had, however, planned to bring this date [...]
Partygate: Johnson ally admits ‘bring your own booze’ email invite was ‘totally inappropriate’ March 22, 2023 An email inviting No10 staff to “socially distanced drinks” during the Covid-19 pandemic was “totally inappropriate” in its wording, the senior official who sent it has admitted. Martin Reynolds, then Boris Johnson’s principal private secretary, emailed staff inviting them to come for drinks in the No10 garden during the “lovely weather” on May 20, 2020. [...]