Politics

Ministers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are calling on the UK government to keep the £20 uplift to Universal Credit in place beyond the current October deadline. In a letter to Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, they call for the policy to be made permanent and describe the change – which is due

The UK’s evacuation from Afghanistan has been branded a “humiliation” by a senior Tory MP and ex-soldier, who told Sky News there were a “litany of concerns” in the government’s handling of it that need to be addressed. Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the Defence Select Committee, said the Foreign Office no longer had the capability

Green politicians are poised to join a government for the first time in the UK after Scottish Greens members voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of a power-sharing deal with the SNP. In an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) involving a two-hour debate, the majority of members voted to support the deal, which will see co-leaders Patrick Harvie

Boris Johnson has paid tribute to the “heroic efforts” of British troops and officials involved in evacuation efforts in Kabul – as the government unveiled plans to help Afghans settle in the UK. The prime minister has written to the armed forces community to thank them for their role in Operation Pitting, which has seen

A migrant charity has told Sky News of its concerns about the impact of leaving asylum seekers trapped in a “dysfunctional” claims system for months and years on end whilst their applications are processed. Care4Calais says government policies which place some in the asylum process in large accommodation centres such as hotels are also making

Boris Johnson has pledged to “shift heaven and earth” to get more people out of Afghanistan after the 31 August deadline. Speaking to reporters, the prime minister shared his “great sense of regret” that more individuals could not be airlifted out of Kabul during what he described as “the first phase” of the evacuation process.

This week Sky News has been identifying the gaps in Britain’s border defences. As the number of small boats crossing the Channel breaks new records and European countries brace for a new wave of people fleeing Afghanistan, the issue is rising up the public consciousness once more. Ministers are meant to be able now to

The prime minister says the UK’s evacuation operation in Afghanistan will continue despite what he described as the “barbaric” terrorist attack at Kabul airport. Boris Johnson was speaking in the wake of two explosions in the Afghan capital suspected to have been carried out by suicide bombers. Live updates on Kabul explosions The Taliban says

The “overwhelming majority” of people eligible for evacuation from Kabul airport have now left Afghanistan, Boris Johnson said, as he promised the UK government will do “everything we can” to get those remaining out of the country. Speaking to reporters on Thursday morning, the prime minister said “around 15,000” people have already been evacuated by

A charity has raised its concerns about the looming end of the £20-a-week uplift to Universal Credit, describing it as the “biggest overnight cut in benefits since the Second World War”.  According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 413 out of a total of 632 parliamentary constituencies in England, Wales and Scotland will see more than

Dominic Raab has admitted that with the “benefit of hindsight” he would have come back from holiday earlier amid the Taliban takeover of Kabul. Speaking to Sky News in his first TV interview since the crisis unfolded, the foreign secretary said it is “nonsense” to say he was “lounging around on the beach all day”

Britain is actively working to keep an airport open in Afghanistan after the final withdrawal of troops, Sky News understands. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after Tuesday’s G7 summit that the number one priority for the West in coming months was to ensure safe passage for people who want to leave Afghanistan after 31 August

The Scottish government says it will hold an independent public inquiry into how it has handled the COVID pandemic by the end of the year, following pressure from bereaved families. The government has said the inquiry will be established by the end of this year to “scrutinise decisions taken in the course of this pandemic,

Boris Johnson is urging President Joe Biden and other world leaders to stand by the Afghan people and not walk away, amid fears that the Taliban is plotting vicious reprisals. The prime minister is chairing a video-link summit of G7 leaders and calling for a boost in international support for refugees and humanitarian aid after

The UK’s evacuation effort in Afghanistan is “down to hours now, not weeks”, the defence secretary has said. Ben Wallace conceded the UK’s involvement will end when the US leaves the country, which is expected to be on 31 August. “The prime minister is, obviously at the G7, going to try and raise the prospect

US and UK troops should have stayed in Afghanistan “to see it through”, Tony Blair has said, as he warned the decision to withdraw personnel could lead to a “security threat” at home. The former Labour prime minister said while he has “enormous respect” for US President Joe Biden, the number of individuals deployed in