News and Opinion

Piers Morgan has told Michael Gove his attempt to deny No 10 had pursued a policy of herd immunity “would not survive” a public inquiry. Michael Gove sought to downplay the claims brought forward by senior SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) scientist Sir Patrick Vallance. The cabinet minister, who chairs the government’s Covid committee, told Good Morning Britain England’s […]

A German ambassador has hit out at business secretary Alok Sharma after he claimed that Britain was leading “humanity’s charge against” the coronavirus by fast-tracking the vaccine. “In years to come, we will remember this moment as the day the UK led humanity’s charge against this disease,” Sharma claimed on Twitter, after celebrating the deployment of […]

Number 10 has been left angered after the SNP’s constitution and Brexit secretary branded Boris Johnson and his Tories as ‘extremists’. Michael Russell hit out at the Westminster government for their “damaging and harmful” Brexit ideology. Speaking at Holyrood, he told MSPs: “It is utterly incredible that some 1,629 days since the European Union referendum, […]

Boris Johnson has scrambled together a new unit in Downing Street to manage the government’s response to the “nightmare scenario” of a no-deal Brexit. The winter control and co-ordination cell, based in No 10, will report daily confidential briefings to the prime minister about emerging threats such as a surge in Covid-19 cases and extreme […]

A radio presenter has made a passionate plea for Brexiteers to let go of their “incoherent anger” – insisting they will not be blamed for the outcome of their vote. LBC radio presenter James O’Brien was keen for Brexiteers to drop the anger now that the UK has left the European Union, after still receiving […]

Former Tory chancellor George Osborne has claimed that one of the biggest winners of Brexit will be the European Union. Writing in the Evening Standard, Osborne said that although the “sovereignists” would be clear victors, he said there was so few of them who would actually welcome the outcome of Brexit. He explained: “Even among Eurosceptics, […]

Ineos boss Jim Ratcliffe has been accused of making “hollow promises” about the benefits of Brexit after he confirmed the new Grenadier cars will be built in France, and not in Wales, as had been hoped. The firm said the former Mercedes-Benz Hambach factory in Moselle, France, will build the new model of 4x4s following a deal […]

Sir Keir Starmer will grill Boris Johnson from home as he takes part in Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) remotely while isolating after a member of his office staff contracted coronavirus. The Labour leader will appear on screens in the Commons, weeks after the first virtual PMQs took place while Johnson self-isolated. This time, the prime […]

A BBC presenter has clashed with two Labour MPs over a series of “clarifications” about Boris Johnson’s ‘oven-ready deal’ Brexit deal comments after she claimed he had only promised to deliver the Withdrawal Agreement. On Tuesday’s programme, Politics Live presenter Jo Coburn dismissed suggestions from Labour MP Angela Eagle that the prime minister has misled the electorate with […]

A war of words has broken out after a BBC presenter was criticised after issuing two clarifications over Boris Johnson’s ‘oven-ready deal’ Brexit deal comments, claiming he had only promised to deliver the Withdrawal Agreement. On Tuesday’s programme, Politics Live presenter Jo Coburn dismissed suggestions from Labour MP Angela Eagle that the prime minister has misled […]

Michael Gove has been challenged to explain why it is a good thing that Northern Ireland is given the “best of both worlds” with access to the benefits of the UK and European Union, but that it should not apply to England, Scotland or Wales. Gove told reporters that the agreement with the EU will […]

Tory Brexit hardliners have issued a fresh warning to Boris Johnson ahead of his meeting with EU leaders in Brussels. Sir Bill Cash, chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, told the prime minister that they will be “watching” with “great diligence” over what he proposes and they hope their confidence in him will be justified. The MP […]

New document have revealed Matt Hancock backtracked on tough tech laws following a meeting with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Then culture secretary, Hancock promised the “tone” of new regulations would shift after Zuckerberg hinted he might pull plans to invest in the UK. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) obtained minutes from the secretive meeting via […]

Tory claims that Boris Johnson’s “oven-ready deal” only referred to the Withdrawal Agreement have been disproven by the re-emergence of a video from the last general election. MPs on the government’s benches have scrambled to dismiss questions about the prime minister’s claims of an agreement “ready to go” by claiming it only referred to the […]

Brexiteers in Spain are “the ones who are moaning the most now” about leaving the EU, a Briton living in the country has said. A caller by the name Gareth has told the LBC’s James O’Brien that Remainers living in Europe had “adjusted” to the Brexit process better than “the Leavers”. Gareth, a Remainer with Veterans for Europe,  said […]

The Belgian prime minister had reminded Boris Johnson that the UK’s Covid-19 vaccine was actually “Made in Europe”. Alexander De Croo trolled Johnson after he tweeted his thanks “to our NHS, to all of the scientists who worked so hard to develop this vaccine, to all the volunteers” as the UK began its roll-out of […]

SNP MP Drew Hendry has angered Tory MPs in a speech to the House of Commons which claimed the governing party has a “casual relationship with the truth”. The Scottish politician used his speech during a debate on the Internal Market Bill to brand the lesiglation “disastrous, petty, grubby, law-breaking, power-grabbing Tory Bill”, prompting calls for him to […]

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has been reminded that he swore on his job that the government would not back down on the Internal Market Bill. Hours after MPs voted to reinstate clauses which break international law into the Brexit bill after the Lords rejected them, Gove announced that it would drop parts of the […]

MPs could be forced to sit in the House of Commons over Christmas to rush through a Brexit deal if one is agreed with the European Union at the last minute ahead of the end of the transition period. It is expected the House of Commons will rise on Monday 21 December to Monday 4 […]

A food and beverage boss has described preparing for Brexit in the middle of a pandemic like “an assault on people’s headspace”.  Ian Wright, chief executive of the UK’s Food and Drink Federation, told a Commons committee on his industry faces a triple whammy of financial hardship if Downing Street proceeds forward with leaving the EU […]

The European Commission has said no date had yet been fixed for a Brexit meeting in Brussels between prime minister Boris Johnson and president Ursula von der Leyen. Commission spokesman Eric Mamer told reporters in Brussels the call had focused on the “sticking points” in the negotiations but said it was a “very cordial” call. There will […]

A pro-Brexit caller on the James O’Brien show said he was delighted to be free of EU regulations but struggled to name one he disagreed with. Dave from Epsom told LBC listeners he was a Brexiteer because he did not believe in a “federal Europe”, which at first he struggled to define but eventually described […]

Boris Johnson has said he is still hopeful about reaching a Brexit deal with the EU but that it was proving “very, very difficult” to make progress. Later this week Johnson will head to Brussels for face-to-face talks with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in an attempt to salvage a deal, with time […]

Welsh politician Vaughan Gething has criticised the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s decision to travel to Wales as Covid-19 cases rise, saying he would prefer it if “no-one was having unnecessary visits”. Health minister Gething said he was not “particularly bothered or interested” when asked during by BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if he thought the […]

Matt Hancock has ignored Britain’s medicines regulator to repeat a debunked claim that Britain fast-tracked the approval of a coronavirus vaccine thanks to Brexit. The health secretary doubled down on claims that being outside the EU allowed Britain to “change the law” to allow a speedy approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine last week, becoming the first country in the world to […]

Dawn French has revealed she dumped an ex-boyfriend after discovering he was a Tory. The Vicar of Dibley actress opened up about her split with Lenny Henry in 2010 after realising “something wasn’t right”. French, 63, told the How To Wow podcast: “I did have a nice time with one chap. He was quite posh. […]

A television presenter has reminded Matt Hancock that the Covid-19 vaccine – first administered in Britain – was an international effort. The health secretary was rebuked last week after he claimed that Britain was only able to become the first country to approve the jab because of Brexit. He told talkRADIO: “It is absolutely clear that […]

A grandmother has become the first person in the world to receive Pfizer’s Covid-19 jab as part of the NHS’s mass vaccination programme . Margaret Keenan, 90, received the jab at 6.31am in Coventry on Tuesday, marking the start of a phased rollout of the vaccine to older people, NHS staff and care home workers. […]

A joke about Boris Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings has topped the list of the top Christmas cracker jokes in the UK. TV channel Gold’s eight annual rankings – chosen by a panel chaired by critic Bruce Dessau – saw 2,000 voters choose a gag about the Vote Leave mastermind. “What is Dominic Cummings’ favourite Christmas song? […]

MPs have voted 357 to 268, a majority of 89, to reinsert a controversial section of the UK Internal Market Bill which enables ministers to breach international law over Brexit. These are the politicians that voted with the government to overturn a House of Lords decision to remove them: Conservative Adam AfriyieAdam HollowayAlan MakAlberto CostaAlec […]

MPs have voted 357 to 268, a majority of 89, to reinsert a controversial section of the UK Internal Market Bill which enables ministers to breach international law over Brexit. The House of Commons restored sections of the Bill removed by peers, as talks between the UK and EU continue in search of a deal […]

The government has been defeated in the Lords over giving parliament a bigger say in the approval of post-Brexit trade agreements. Peers backed by 308 votes to 261, majority 47, a cross-party amendment to the Trade Bill calling for greater accountability and transparency of deals. The legislation will enable the UK to forge new commercial […]