Politics

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

The French government has stepped back from a threat to impose disruptive port checks on lorries and boats after the UK threatened to take legal action in a row over post-Brexit fishing licences. Key talks between the two sides will take place later this week aimed at resolving the disagreement, but the risk of further

France has backed down on immediate threats to ban British vessels from French ports as the two nations continue to feud over post-Brexit licences to fish in UK waters. French President Emmanuel Macron had warned that Paris could block UK boats from landing their catches and impose physical checks on lorries travelling to and from

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has set a 48-hour deadline for a fishing dispute with France to be resolved before the UK moves ahead with legal action. Speaking to Sky News at the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, Ms Truss hit out at the French for behaving “unfairly” and accused them of operating outside the

“It’s one minute to midnight and we need to act now,” the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson will declare on Monday as he seeks to stir world leaders into dramatic action at urgent UN climate talks. At the COP26 opening ceremony, the prime minister will say humanity has “long since run down the clock on

COP26 President Alok Sharma has said he wants “more out of every country” and now is the time to deliver on limiting temperature rises to below 1.5C. Ahead of around 120 world leaders gathering at the event in Glasgow on Monday for a two-day summit, Mr Sharma urged them to do more to help the

This year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow is “the world’s moment of truth” in the fight to tackle global warming, Boris Johnson has said on the eve of its opening. Speaking ahead of the COP26 climate summit which begins on Sunday, the prime minister described the event as a moment for “decisive action” from

Boris Johnson has not ruled out triggering the dispute mechanism against France as a row between the two countries over post-Brexit fishing rights escalates. On Friday, France seized a British scallop trawler and threatened to block ports and increase checks on boats and lorries over the UK denying some boats a licence to fish in

Boris Johnson on Friday warned that “team world” was “5-1” down at half-time in the fight to tackle global warming, as he implored world leaders to act now on the eve of two global gatherings of world leaders. Speaking to journalists en route to the G20 in Rome, the prime minister acknowledged the scale of

The environment minister has said “two can play at that game” after France made threats over fishing in UK waters – which he said were “unacceptable”. George Eustice told Sky News the UK has issued post-Brexit licences to 1,700 vessels, including 750 French fishing boats, which amounts to 98% of applicants. He said the remaining