News and Opinion

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The union has proved its worth during the coronavirus crisis ‘time and time again’, Boris Johnson has claimed. Johnson said there has been good co-operation across the UK during the pandemic despite ‘surface differences’, after being asked about support for Scottish independence and whether he is ‘the biggest threat to the union’. Recent opinion polls […]

As a Labour MP, Ruth Smeeth was an outspoken critic of her own leader. Her new job is likely to be equally combustible… as a flag bearer in the battle for free speech. She talks to MATT WITHERS about cancel culture, JK Rowling and the continuing problems of anti-Semitism in her party. You would have […]

Readers have their say on the latest developments over Brexit and the government’s response to coronavirus. Ministers say they trust people to do the sensible thing when it comes to face masks. That presumably includes all those people who have ignored all the advice and instructions so far, refuse to wear a face mask under […]

Prominent Brexit supporters’ stance on face masks is just as illogical and damaging as their opinions on leaving the European Union, says STEVE ANGLESEY. As the old saying goes, at least Dick Turpin wore a mask. Far less keen on face coverings, it seems, are the modern generation of people determined to part us from […]

Tory MPs helped put the prime minister in Number 10 a year ago and they can ultimately decide how long he stays there. LIZ GERARD addresses them directly and wonders if they are coming to the same conclusion as she is. Dear Conservative backbencher, This time last year you were being asked to choose a […]

FLORENCE HALLETT on two new books which find a fresh side to Vincent Van Gogh, exploring the artist’s literary interests and his writing and how they influenced his work. When Vincent van Gogh died in 1890, two days after shooting himself in the chest, he was 37 years old and had been an artist for […]

MITCH BENN on the tell-all memoir by Mary Trump which delves deep into the president’s pschye. I’m sure you’ve all heard the expression ‘I think, therefore I am’; it was first coined by the philosopher René Descartes in 1637 and it describes, succinctly, the limits placed upon human cognition and on the whole idea of […]

The campaign to ensure the government bails out the culture sector during the coronavirus crisis is another reminder of the complicated relationship between ministers and the arts, explains ADAM BEHR. The Beatles outside Buckingham Palace after receiving their MBEs from the Queen. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images – Credit: Getty Images In 1982, an episode of […]

ROGER CASALE considers whether the world’s most vulnerable are now better protected or even more exposed 25 years after the Srebrenica massacre. Srebrenica is a small town in Europe, located in the easternmost part of Republika Srpska, one of the two entities which make up Bosnia-Herzegovina, near the border with Serbia. As the crow flies, […]

A US trade expert has suggested ways the UK could be forced to lower its agricultural standards after Brexit in order to secure a trade pact with president Donald Trump. The head of commerce for the US-UK Business Council told a meeting of the House of Commons EU sub-committee that Britain should be prepared to […]

Joan Collins previously endorsed leaving the European Union but now her make-up range has been scrapped from Marks and Spencer, and she blames the instability the vote brought. STEVE ANGLESEY picks his Brexiteers of the week. THE DAILY EXPRESS It’s extraordinary enough that the government is spending £93 million on a new pre-Brexit advertising campaign […]

The outcome of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK ‘has not been good’, the government’s chief scientific adviser has said. Sir Patrick Vallance told the Science and Technology Committee there will be ‘many factors’ that determine how well countries respond to the outbreak. He said: ‘As (chief medical officer Professor) Chris Whitty has said before, […]

Boris Johnson has defended his pick of the UK’s race commissioner who previously called evidence of institutional racism ‘flimsy’. Prime minister Boris Johnson revealed that Tony Sewell, an education consultant and columnist, will chair the new Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities. Sewell previously told Prospect magazine in 2010 that examples of institutional racism in […]

Hackers with connections to Russian intelligence agencies have been attempting to target British scientists working to develop a coronavirus vaccine, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned. In a joint statement with the US National Security Agency and the Canadian Communication Security Establishment, the NCSC said the attacks were part of a global campaign […]

Dominic Raab has been accused of ‘distracting’ from the Russia report contents by claiming that Jeremy Corbyn ‘amplified’ papers released by ‘Russian actors’ at the last election. The papers relating to UK and US trade talks were used by the then Labour leader to back his claims that the Conservatives were preparing to ‘sell off’ […]

Whilst attempting to reassure MPs about the flow of goods after the end of the Brexit transition period, Gove said that five sites are being considered for dealing with traffic management. During Cabinet Office questions, Labour former minister Hilary Benn raised the issue of how many sites in Kent are being considered for the building […]

Michael Gove has dismissed polling that shows increasing numbers of Scots want to leave the UK as ‘just another poll’. Gove was taking questions in the Commons when he was asked for his thoughts on why a consistent run of polls show that a majority of Scots want to leave the Union. The SNP’s Pete […]

A group of British manufacturers have warned Boris Johnson that a no-deal Brexit could decimate businesses in ‘Red Wall’ areas won by the Tories in last year’s election. Make UK, a manufacturing lobby group, and the accountancy firm BDO have advised that areas in the north of England, Midlands, and Wales could be hit with […]

Piers Morgan’s description of Boris Johnson’s senior aide as a ‘rat-faced weasel’ has attracted complaints to the television watchdog. Good Morning Britain presenter Morgan used his last appearance on-air before his summer break to slam Johnson and Cummings during another fiery rant. His remarks came as it was revealed the government was looking to force […]

The Intelligence and Security Committee has agreed it will publish its eagerly anticipated report on Russia before parliament rises for the summer next week. The newly formed committee, chaired by Julian Lewis, has reconvened and agreed the report will be published before MPs break for summer. Earlier the former Tory head of the intelligence committee […]

A civil servant in charge of an inquiry into alleged bullying by Priti Patel of her staff has been ‘moved on’ amid claims that the report will ’embarrass’ the government. Helen MacNamara will leave her post next month to take up a role as permanent secretary in an as ‘yet identified’ Whitehall department. A deputy […]

MP Julian Lewis has said that the prime minister does not have the right to choose the chairman of the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee and asking committee members to vote for his preferred candidate was an ‘improper request’. Dr Julian Lewis secured the role despite widespread expectation that Chris Grayling would receive the backing […]

Nigel Farage has appeared on a documentary discussing Rupert Murdoch, crediting the media mogul with helping making Brexit happen. The populist politician appeared on the BBC documentary to give his view on the influence of Murdoch on Tony Blair’s government. He discussed a newspaper column in the now defunct New of the World where the […]

The government has confirmed it has purchased a 27-acre site in Kent which has been dubbed a post-Brexit ‘lorry park’ and a ‘Farage Garage’ by others. The Department for Transport (DfT) was understood to be looking to buy the land near Ashford as it geared up for possible trade frictions as a result of leaving […]

Labour has pressed the government to explain why up to £830 million worth of health contracts had been awarded to close associates of senior ministers and officials. Opposition MPs allege 12 different companies were contracted to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to health services which ‘never materialised’ – three months on from when orders were […]

MICHAEL WHITE on how the cabinet minister can’t make a case for a flailing government. Michael Gove toys with his latest mask. Illustration by Martin Rowson. – Credit: Archant Brexit is finally back near the top of the Covid-infected news agenda and by happy coincidence BBC2’s launch of the mini-series, Mrs America, has introduced younger […]

The Turkish president’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia back to a mosque could backfire on him, suggests SUNA ERDEM, as she explores the politics and history of a contested site. One afternoon in May 1453, the man who would become known as Mehmed the Conqueror rode through streets running with blood, past a waterway where […]

The stage is set for the EU to finally develop from a trading bloc into a major global power, says JOHN KAMPFNER. But will it do so? China has stamped on Hong Kong’s remaining freedoms with a ferocity that is its hallmark. Russia has ‘voted’ to allow Vladimir Putin to stay in power until he’s […]

The death of Emanuel Gomes during the recent lockdown reveals much about how we live, who we value and how we are governed. JACK SHENKER tells his story. Emanuel Gomes. Picture: Submitted – Credit: Archant For Emanuel Gomes, the most striking thing about the coronavirus lockdown was that it never existed. ‘From this evening, I […]

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT on what the rise of celebrity politicians means for democracies. Without the tens of thousands of signatures needed to get on the ballot in all states or the backing of a small party, Kanye West’s chances of winning are almost zero. Yet although West won’t be entering the White House any time soon, […]

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL on why we need a Lord Michael Nolan, the first chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, now more than ever. If I say the word ‘Nolan’, what comes to mind? The Anthony Nolan Trust maybe? For football fans it might be Kevin Nolan; for pop fans of a certain age […]