Politics

Countries that do not attend the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow will be “outliers”, a minister has told Sky News. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps was speaking to Kay Burley after it was reported that China‘s leader, Xi Jinping, will not be coming to the gathering. “If countries don’t come they’ll be the outliers rather than

Fully vaccinated passengers and children arriving in England from non-red list countries can take a cheaper lateral flow test from 24 October instead of a PCR test. The government last week said it would switch from arrivals having to take a pricey PCR test on the second day after arriving from a non-red list country

The chancellor has appeared to rule out helping businesses with soaring gas prices, saying “it’s not the government’s job” to manage the costs of individual products. Asked if he would accept some companies going out of business, Rishi Sunak said he “believes in a market economy”. He said the government has been working “very constructively”

We could be back in 2018 again – Brexit and the will-there-won’t-there-be-a-deal questions are back on the agenda. Brexit minister Lord Frost gave a headline-grabbing speech in Lisbon yesterday in which he savaged the very same Northern Ireland Protocol he was responsible for negotiating with the EU two years ago. You may remember Boris Johnson

The EU is expected to outline its response to UK demands to alter post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland following this summer’s tense “sausage war” between the two sides. European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic is set to hold a news conference on Wednesday afternoon in which he will deliver Brussels’ verdict on UK proposals for the

Brexit minister Lord Frost has accused the EU of being an organisation “that doesn’t always look like” it wants the UK to succeed as he demanded changes to post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland. In a speech in Lisbon, the cabinet minister called on Brussels to help “tackle the fundamental issues” with the Northern Ireland Protocol

The UK’s independent inquiry into COVID-19 is due to launch in spring 2022. Until then, this parliamentary report is the best assessment we are likely to get into the government’s pandemic response.  And putting aside the success of the vaccine and former health secretary Matt Hancock‘s “100,000 tests target”, the cross-party committee’s conclusions are damning.

The education secretary and health secretary have written to parents of secondary school and college students, urging them to ensure their children are testing regularly and also encouraging them to get vaccinated against coronavirus. The letter from Nadhim Zahawi and Sajid Javid comes after official estimates showed that around 270,000 secondary pupils had COVID-19 in

A minister has denied that the business secretary lied when he said there were talks ongoing in government about help for manufacturers and energy firms. Appearing on Sky News, Home Office minister Damian Hinds was asked if Kwasi Kwarteng had lied when he made the claim about his team being in discussions with the Treasury,

Boris Johnson’s decision to take a holiday following the Conservative Party conference has been defended by a senior cabinet minister. The Prime Minister is reported to have flown to Marbella in southern Spain with his wife, Carrie Johnson, and their son, Wilfred. According to the Mail on Sunday, Mr Johnson and his family jetted abroad

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has told Sky News that the price cap on consumers’ energy bills “will not be moved” this winter and he is “convinced” that the UK won’t suffer gas shortages in the coming months. Speaking to the Trevor Phillips On Sunday show, Mr Kwarteng said he was “convinced we will have full

Spiralling gas bills could soar further under government plans to impose new charges to pay for eco-friendly heating, it has been reported. The move to introduce a levy on the fossil fuel is contained in a new strategy due to be published ahead of next month’s COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, according to The Times.

Funding for more than 9.5 million pothole repairs this year has been cut from council budgets, new analysis has found. The Local Government Association (LGA) said overall capital funding from the Department for Transport to councils in England for local road maintenance in 2021/22 is £1.39bn, down from £1.78bn the previous year. That £399m reduction

Conservative MP and former cabinet minister James Brokenshire has died at the age of 53, his family has said. The MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup announced in August that his lung cancer had “progressed” and that he would be beginning a new line of treatment. Mr Brokenshire stepped down as security minister in July

Grant Shapps has said he wants returning international travellers to be able to use lateral flow tests instead of costly PCR tests by the half-term holiday. Speaking to Sky News, the transport secretary said ministers “anticipate” the change coming into force before the October break which will make family trips abroad “much easier, much less

A leading fuel industry body has said recovery from the supply crisis is not happening fast enough – with London, South East and East England still suffering from low fuel levels, Sky News understands. The South East is struggling the most, with fuel stock levels remaining below 20% as the area continues to be hit