Politics

An MP who travelled between London and Scotland in 2020 in breach of COVID rules has been told by a court to undertake a 270-hour community payback order. Last month, in a hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court, Scottish MP Margaret Ferrier admitted that she culpably and recklessly exposed the public to risk of COVID-19 infection.

King Charles III paid tribute to the Queen and said he feels the “weight of history which surrounds us” as he addressed parliament for the first time as monarch. In the speech, he quoted William Shakespeare in a tribute to his late mother, saying: “As Shakespeare said of the earlier Queen Elizabeth, she was a

Liz Truss will visit the devolved nations with King Charles this week as the monarch leads the UK through a period of national mourning. Both the new prime minister and the King will head to Scotland on Monday morning, followed by visits to Northern Ireland on Tuesday and Wales on Friday. While King Charles and

In a “hot-mic moment” captured by Sky News in 2014, then prime minister David Cameron revealed that the Queen “purred down the line” when he told her a majority of Scots had voted against independence. Mr Cameron privately apologised and later called the remarks “a terrible mistake”. Yet they provided the rarest glimpse of an

Senior MPs have pledged their allegiance to King Charles III in a rare Saturday Commons sitting. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle was the first to do so. He was followed by Father of the House, the longest serving male MP, Conservative Sir Peter Bottomley. Then came the Mother of the House, the longest serving female

This week will be remembered as one of the most significant in our nation’s history. Never before has a country lost a monarch and ushered in a new prime minister in such a short space of time. It was only on Tuesday that Queen Elizabeth II asked Liz Truss to form a government. By Thursday

Liz Truss has faced constant tests in the infancy of her premiership.  Forty-eight hours after being appointed by the Queen, the PM had to lead a nation in paying tribute to her. Today the Commons chamber was a sea of black as MPs stood for a minute’s silence, and the prime minister was again tasked

MPs have paid tribute to the Queen in the House of Commons, with Boris Johnson making his first appearance since stepping down as prime minister, asking the public to “think what we asked of her and think what she gave”. His successor, Liz Truss, the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the Speaker, Sir Lindsay

The King told Liz Truss the death of the Queen was a moment he had “been dreading”, as he held his first audience with the prime minister at Buckingham Palace. King Charles III shook Ms Truss’s hand as he welcomed her to the first of what will be their weekly meetings. Discussions between the monarch

Prime Minister Liz Truss has led tributes to the Queen following her death, saying she was “the rock on which modern Britain was built”. In an address in Downing Street, Ms Truss, who has only been in Number 10 for 48 hours, said: “Britain is the great country it is today because of her.” She

The biggest, most expensive policy Liz Truss will ever announce has landed.  Voters will probably like it, sensing the alternative would be ruin for millions. Her MPs will cheer it, knowing that a failure or delay to act would be electoral ruin. The consequences of today’s announcement will be felt for decades because of the

Liz Truss’s energy statement later today – barely 48 hours into the job – will probably be the most expensive commitment she ever makes as prime minister – and that’s if things go well. For this reason, it could also be the most important statement she makes as PM, certainly this side of a general

Prime Minister Liz Truss says she will take “immediate action” to deal with soaring energy bills – and will make an announcement tomorrow. However she has been accused of “protecting profits and forcing working people to pay the bill” after ruling out extending the windfall tax to fund her energy plans. Ms Truss is widely

Prime Minister Liz Truss will hold her first cabinet with her newly assembled top team this morning – before going head-to-head with Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs. On Tuesday, in her first speech as prime minister, Ms Truss said the UK would “ride out the storm” caused by the war in Ukraine and promised a

Liz Truss has begun appointing her cabinet after being officially asked by the Queen to form a new government. Shortly after making her first speech as PM, details began to emerge as to who would be in Ms Truss’s new cabinet. Kwasi Kwarteng, formerly Boris Johnson’s business secretary, has been confirmed as the new chancellor.

“That’s it, folks,” Boris Johnson said, flanked by dozens of his MPs and staff, as he and his wife Carrie left Downing Street for the last time. Jovial and never emotional – that’s not his style – this was (mostly) a more good-humoured affair than his resignation speech in July, which was raw with bitterness

Priti Patel is to resign as home secretary when Liz Truss takes office as prime minister. Writing a letter to Boris Johnson on Monday afternoon, Ms Patel said “it has been the honour of my life to serve our country as home secretary for the last three years”, adding that she will now “champion many

On a prime minister’s first day in office, they are taken into a top secret meeting and asked to make a plan in case of nuclear attack. Kate Fall, David Cameron’s ‘gatekeeper’ and deputy chief of staff, remembers that moment because she was firmly ushered out of the PM’s den: “I was told categorically: ‘No.

A close ally of Boris Johnson has said he should not be written off as he hinted at a potential return to frontline politics for the PM in the future. Lord Edward Lister was asked on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday about reports some MPs were experiencing “seller’s remorse” over Mr Johnson’s departure and

The home secretary has spelled out to the new Scotland Yard commissioner the vast improvements she is demanding in his force’s culture and performance. Priti Patel writes in a letter to Sir Mark Rowley: ‘It is absolutely vital that trust and confidence is restored and that visible, responsive policing which cuts crime is at the