Politics

A senior Conservative MP under scrutiny over his extra earnings for legal work has defended himself – and declared it is up to his constituents to vote him out if they are unhappy about it. Sir Geoffrey Cox’s entry in the register of members’ interests shows he earned more than £800,000 for law firm Withers,

Labour has called on the government’s anti-sleaze watchdog to investigate a former Conservative cabinet minister, amid claims he mis-used his parliamentary office to carry out legal work. The former attorney general has earned more than £800,000 for his work for law firm Withers, which is representing the British Virgin Islands government in a corruption case

The deputy prime minister has defended Boris Johnson, after the PM was pictured not wearing a mask during a visit to a hospital. “He followed all the advice and all the guidance that he got at all times, I think that’s the right thing for all of us to do,” Dominic Raab told Kay Burley.

Victims of crime could be left waiting for years for justice after Dominic Raab admitted he did not know how long it will take to get through the backlog of the most serious court cases. In an interview with Sky News, the justice secretary said he “couldn’t say with precision” when the backlog of more

Boris Johnson has declined to apologise for his handling of the Owen Paterson scandal, as he said it is “very important” to get the standards system for MPs right. Speaking ahead of a debate in the Commons, the prime minister said: “We are going to make every effort to get it right. We are going

Prime Minister Boris Johnson must apologise to the country for his handling of the Owen Paterson sleaze row, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader said Mr Johnson must also confirm that Mr Paterson, a former cabinet minister, will not be nominated for a peerage. Ahead of an emergency Commons debate on standards at

Boris Johnson is being warned against triggering Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol to suspend parts of post-Brexit arrangements for the Irish border. There is growing speculation that the prime minister could soon trigger Article 16 as ongoing talks between the EU and UK continue to fail to resolve problems such as the “sausage

Ministers and negotiators at COP26 must “pull together and drive for the line” in the second week of the conference, Boris Johnson says. The prime minister was talking as the first week of the climate summit in Glasgow comes to an end, with Saturday marked by the biggest protests to date, and representatives prepare for

Sir John Major has accused Boris Johnson and his government of actions that are “damaging at home and to our reputation overseas”. Sir John, a former Conservative prime minister, was commenting on the government’s handling of Owen Paterson, who stood down as an MP last week. Mr Paterson, who had been an MP for 24

As the UN Climate Conference continues, thousands will take to the streets in Glasgow today, alongside millions more in other towns and cities across the world, in a Global Day of Action against climate change. In Glasgow, a crowd will march to the city for a rally in the afternoon where teenage climate activist Greta

A cabinet minister has admitted it was “a mistake” for the government to attempt to overhaul parliament’s disciplinary processes in combination with saving a Conservative MP from immediate suspension. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News that ministers had reflected on the “conflation” of ripping up the current standards system with the case of Owen

Owen Paterson will resign as the MP for North Shropshire in order to escape “the cruel world of politics” following a furious row over his proposed ban from the House of Commons. The Conservative former cabinet minister has been at the centre of a scandal after it was recommended he be suspended for 30 days.

The government has signalled a U-turn over the controversial blocking of a Conservative MP’s suspension. Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, told MPs on Thursday that a link “needs to be broken” between Owen Paterson’s case and a wider overhaul of parliament’s disciplinary processes. The change in the government’s position comes less than

Scores of major coal using countries like Poland, Ukraine and Vietnam have committed to phase out the fossil fuel, in a series of commitments announced at the COP26 climate talks. The countries who have signed up will rapidly scale up the deployment of clean power generation, the UK government said. It includes a commitment by

Boris Johnson has been accused of delivering “one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us” ahead of a Conservative bid to save a Tory ex-minister from an immediate House of Commons suspension. Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner attacked the prime minister over his support for an overhaul of MPs’ standards rules

One of Britain’s top scientists has quit the government’s pandemic advisory body, warning the COVID crisis is “a long way from over” and that the situation in the UK is “concerning”. Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, quit the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) at the end of October. Sky News can