Politics

Sir Keir Starmer has admitted his decision to increase defence spending was “accelerated” by Donald Trump taking office. The prime minister said today’s announcement was “three years in the making” after Russia invaded Ukraine – but a “very changed context” pushed him forward. Politics Live: PM warns ‘everything has changed’ after announcing defence spending boost

This is the moment the government finally woke up to the enormity of the threat faced by the UK and the inability of its hollowed-out armed forces to cope. But make no mistake, today’s decision to increase military spending is not just about increasing the number of troops, warships and fighter jets or even ensuring

The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has appeared in court after he was accused of making favourable statements about Russia in the European Parliament in exchange for bribes. Nathan Gill, 51, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery under the Criminal Law Act 1977, and with eight counts of

MP Mike Amesbury, who has been jailed for 10 weeks after punching a man in the street, will still get his £91,000 salary in prison. The Runcorn and Helsby MP pleaded guilty in January to assault by beating of 45-year-old Paul Fellows in Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of 26 October. Politics

The prime minister has announced £200m for Grangemouth ahead of the closure of Scotland’s last oil refinery. Sir Keir Starmer, speaking at the Scottish Labour conference on Sunday, said the cash would come from the National Wealth Fund for an “investment in Scotland’s industrial future”. Grangemouth oil refinery, on the banks of the Firth of

Sir Keir Starmer has said the United States “is right” about the UK and Europe needing to take more responsibility for defence and security. The prime minister, speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Sunday, said he is clear Britain “will take a leading responsibility” in protecting the continent. “Instability in Europe always

Jess Phillips has said “there is no place” where violence against women and girls “doesn’t happen” – as a new law is set to make spiking a criminal offence. Earlier on Friday, the government said spiking will now be its own offence with a possible 10-year prison sentence as part of the Crime and Policing

An MP who was sacked as a health minister after he reportedly posted offensive messages in a WhatsApp group is being investigated by parliament’s standards watchdog. Andrew Gwynne, who was also suspended from the Labour Party earlier this month, is listed among the allegations under investigation by Daniel Greenberg, the standards commissioner. According to the

The solicitors’ watchdog has said it will now investigate claims business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has made about his legal career. The Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA) initially said there was “no need to take any action” after Mr Reynolds was accused of misrepresenting his past work as a lawyer. The business secretary worked for Addleshaw Goddard

Northern Ireland’s first minister will not attend the White House for St Patrick’s Day in protest at the “injustice” of Donald Trump’s recent comments on Gaza. Michelle O’Neill, who is also the vice president of Sinn Fein, will be joined by the party’s leader Mary Lou McDonald in boycotting the annual ceremony to mark the

The first domestic violence specialists have been placed in 999 control rooms in response to the death of a woman who was murdered by her ex-husband, despite ringing police on the night she died. Raneem’s Law has been launched in five pilot areas – West Midlands, Northumbria, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Humberside. The legislation – promised

Sir Keir Starmer has held private calls with European leaders to ensure the Western alliance does not fracture, a minister has said, after Donald Trump claimed Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a “dictator”. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast the prime minister has spent a “quite considerable amount of time” over the

Rachel Reeves says “no one ever raised any concerns” about her expenses when she worked at HBOS, as she responds to reports she was investigated while working for the bank. The chancellor was accused by former employees of being involved in an “expenses scandal” while working at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) from 2006 to

A waiting game on tariffs is beginning to play out between the UK and the United States on tariffs, amid warnings that Donald Trump’s latest strategy could hit the UK especially hard. The US president on Thursday revealed he has asked his government to consider what tariffs should be applied to other nations – and

People who believe the things posted in a controversial Labour WhatsApp group shouldn’t have been MPs in the first place, according to Harriet Harman. Speaking on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the veteran Labour parliamentarian said the scandal was “very serious” as the public already thinks MPs are “contemptuous of their voters”. Politics live: Follow the

The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is exploring launching private criminal proceedings against NatWest Group over the debanking scandal which resulted in the lender’s former chief losing her job. Sky News has learnt that Mr Farage has instructed Chris Daw KC of Lincoln House Chambers to examine whether there are grounds for bringing a criminal

Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app Do MPs say one thing in public, and another in private? This week, Beth Rigby, Harriet Harman and Ruth Davidson ask what’s been going on with the two MPs suspended from the Labour Party over WhatsApp messages containing offensive comments. Andrew Gwynne

Farmers forced the prime minister to cut short a visit to a housing development as they drove tractors to the site in a protest against changes to inheritance tax. Sir Keir Starmer was in Buckinghamshire to announce more than 100 new towns could be built under the government’s plans for the “largest house building programme

Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app It is 50 years ago this week that Margaret Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party, and it’s a testament to her legacy that she’s being invoked by both Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch. When she became prime minister in 1979, she drove

Even after half a century, she’s still adored and revered by Tories, grudgingly respected by present and former Labour prime ministers and yet despised and reviled on the left and in many working class communities. It was 50 years ago this week that Margaret Thatcher became Conservative Party leader and began to change the course