Politics

This Thursday, three dozen satellites will be fired into space from a launch station in a desolate corner of eastern Russia, less than a hundred miles from the northern Chinese border. Each a little bigger than a fridge, they are attached to a Russian rocket which will travel 750 miles up into what is known

Refugees arriving in the UK will be given the right to remain permanently, under a new system the home secretary has described as “fair but firm”. Priti Patel will announce that those fleeing war or persecution who come through the “safe and legal resettlement route” will be given indefinite leave to remain. Currently, resettled refugees

More than 60 MPs have signed a letter to the home secretary calling for the easing of COVID-19 restrictions to allow protests to go ahead. The letter to Priti Patel, organised by campaigns group Liberty and Big Brother Watch, warns that allowing the police to criminalise people for protesting “is not acceptable and is arguably

Boris Johnson has had the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. The prime minister, who is aged 56, got his first dose at London’s St Thomas’ Hospital, where he was treated in intensive care last April after contracting COVID-19. By having the vaccine, Mr Johnson joins more than 26 million people in the UK who have received a

Sky News can reveal further details contained in a report that found Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon misled parliament. Holyrood’s harassment committee also concluded that it finds it “hard to believe” she didn’t know of concerns around Alex Salmond’s behaviour before November 2017. And committee members have included a passage in their report to say

A Scottish parliamentary committee has concluded that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon misled parliament. Sky News understands that Holyrood’s harassment committee has reached the conclusion by a majority vote ahead of the publication of its final report. Members have decided that Ms Sturgeon misled the committee itself and, as such, misled parliament and potentially breached the

The prime minister has said there will be “no change” to England’s lockdown easing roadmap, despite the NHS warning of a “significant reduction” in the supply of coronavirus vaccines next month. Speaking at a Downing Street news conference, Boris Johnson said: “Our progress along the road to freedom continues unchecked. “We remain on track to

Boris Johnson will be told to “stand by” the nurses who helped save his life after he contracted coronavirus – and reconsider the government’s 1% NHS pay offer. The leader of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will make a direct appeal to the prime minister, recalling the description he gave of his life-saving care

The health secretary has played down criticism from Dominic Cummings, who described the Department of Health and Social Care as a “smoking ruin” in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Matt Hancock said the UK’s rollout of COVID-19 jabs was a “huge team effort” by the health department, the vaccine taskforce and the NHS

Dominic Cummings, the former Downing Street aide described as Boris Johnson’s “Rasputin”, is to break his silence following his dramatic departure from Number 10 late last year. The prime minister‘s former de facto chief of staff, who quit in a bitter power struggle involving Mr Johnson’s fiancée Carrie Symonds, is appearing before a high-powered committee

Boris Johnson has warned against a “new Cold War on China” as he came under pressure from senior Conservative MPs over continuing “naivety” in the UK’s relationship with Beijing. Setting out the government’s wide-ranging shake-up of foreign, defence and security policy, the prime minister told the House of Commons that “China will pose a great

Labour and the Conservatives are heading for a fierce showdown on crime after Sir Keir Starmer ordered his MPs to vote against a flagship piece of government legislation. MPs are voting on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill at the end of a two-day Commons debate dominated by clashes about protection for women and

Boris Johnson has given his full backing to the head of the Metropolitan Police but admitted the chaos at Saturday night’s vigil for Sarah Everard was “very distressing”. Cressida Dick has faced calls to resign over her force’s handling of events at Clapham Common in south London, after police were seen grabbing several women and

Boris Johnson will meet senior police officers on Monday as the UK’s largest force continues to face criticism over its handling of a vigil for Sarah Everard, with the prime minister “deeply concerned” about what happened. The Metropolitan Police has come under fire from across the political spectrum and beyond after the ugly scenes on

Labour has revealed it will vote against the government’s flagship crime legislation, branding it a “mess” that could lead to tougher penalties for damaging a statue than attacking a woman. Shadow justice secretary David Lammy said the suspected murder of Sarah Everard had “instigated a national demand for action to tackle violence against women”. In

Boris Johnson has said new efforts to radically boost the UK’s cyber capabilities will “transform our ability to protect our people”. The impact of the new technology will be comparable to the emergence of military air power a century ago, the prime minister said. His comments come ahead of next week’s publication of the government’s