Politics

All children aged five to 11 in the UK will be offered a low dose COVID vaccine after England and Northern Ireland became the latest of the four nations to offer those in that age group the jab. Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed that the UK government’s vaccine advisory body – the Joint Committee on

Boris Johnson has been contacted by the Metropolitan Police as part of the probe into lockdown-busting parties held in Downing Street and across Whitehall. A questionnaire on the partygate scandal has been sent to the prime minister from Scotland Yard. It is understood to have been received late on Friday evening. A Number 10 spokesperson

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will hold fresh talks with EU vice-president Maros Sefcovic over post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland ahead of a hoped-for deadline for a deal later this month. The pair will meet at Ms Truss’s official residence in London on Friday morning for their latest discussions over the Northern Ireland Protocol. It brings

The education secretary has told Sky News he would have been in “big trouble” if he had not been vaccinated against COVID-19. Recounting his experience of the virus, which he contracted at the end of last month, Nadhim Zahawi said he could have ended up on a ventilator. “I think, without the vaccine and the

Former prime minister Sir John Major has launched a stinging attack on Boris Johnson, accusing him of asking the public to “believe the unbelievable” over lockdown parties in Downing Street. In an apparent call-to-action for MPs to move against Mr Johnson, he said “deliberate lies to parliament have been fatal to political careers – and

Police are reviewing their initial decision not to investigate a Christmas quiz in Number 10, held at a time of strict COVID rules, after a picture of Boris Johnson and a bottle of alcohol emerged. Scotland Yard said they would rethink their assessment of the event following the publication of an image of the prime

A minister has warned that “everyone needs to reflect carefully on the language they use” as Boris Johnson faces increasing pressure to apologise over his discredited claim that Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Saville. At Prime Minister’s Questions at noon, the PM will make his first House of Commons appearance since Sir Keir

MPs have mocked Boris Johnson’s triple-jobbing chief of staff after he declined to appear in the House of Commons to explain his new role. Following an exodus of senior advisers from Number 10 in the wake of the partygate scandal, the prime minister has appointed Steve Barclay as his new top aide. He has been

Boris Johnson’s new communications chief has said the PM welcomed him into the job with a rendition of ‘I Will Survive’. In his first interview since being appointed as Downing Street director of communications, Guto Harri told Welsh-language website Golwg360 the pair launched into the Gloria Gaynor classic after he asked Mr Johnson if he

Jacob Rees-Mogg has been made minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency in a mini-reshuffle as Boris Johnson fights for his premiership. Mr Rees-Mogg, who was leader of the Commons, will remain a member of the cabinet in his new role, Downing Street said. Both of his new jobs have been newly created as the

Boris Johnson is starting a new week hoping that a fresh shake-up of his top Downing Street team will ease the concerns of Tory MPs – some of whom have publicly called for the prime minister to resign over his handling of the partygate scandal. The prime minister made key changes to his staffing over

Carrie Johnson has claimed she is the target of a “brutal briefing campaign” from her husband’s “enemies” after she was accused of meddling in decisions taken by the prime minister. A spokesperson for Boris Johnson’s wife said “bitter ex-officials” were trying to discredit her and insisted she played “no role in the government”. It comes

Boris Johnson has replaced two of the five close aides he lost in less than 24 hours as “partygate” allegations continue to threaten his premiership. Cabinet minister Steve Barclay will be the prime minister’s new chief of staff, replacing Dan Rosenfield. Mr Barclay, a former Brexit secretary, will also be charged with integrating a “new

Downing Street has refused to comment on reports a picture of Boris Johnson holding a beer at a birthday party in Number 10 during lockdown has been handed to the Metropolitan Police’s investigation. According to the Daily Mirror, the photo shows the prime minister standing next to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who is holding a soft

An MP welled up in the House of Commons as she described the battles her sister and her nephew, who has Down’s syndrome, have gone through. Siobhan Baillie, Conservative MP for Stroud in Gloucestershire, started to tear up twice as she spoke of her 19-year-old nephew, Rhys. She was talking during the third reading debate

Another aide has reportedly left Number 10, taking the total number of departures in less than 24 hours to five. Number Ten Policy Unit member Elena Narozanski is the latest aide to leave Boris Johnson’s Downing Street operation amid the continuing fallout from the partygate allegations, Conservative Home reports. Her departure comes after Number 10

Two more senior officials are leaving Number 10 in an apparent mass exodus from Downing Street amid the fallout from the partygate scandal. Number 10 revealed on Thursday night that both Dan Rosenfield, the prime minister’s chief of staff, and Martin Reynolds, Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary, are leaving their roles. It came just hours

Boris Johnson was a prime minister who won the 2019 election on his promise to “Get Brexit Done”. Victory secured, the way he planned to secure those gains in the old Labour heartlands was to make it his “mission” to level up the country and make sure that opportunity was brought to those parts of

Another Tory MP has revealed he has submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister over his handling of partygate allegations – the third today. Sir Gary Streeter, one of the Conservative Party’s longest-serving MPs, is the latest to add his name to the list of those who have publicly announced they are,

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