Media

Four Tory Brexiteer MPs and a peer who gave a disgraced former colleague character references for his court case have written to senior judges calling for them not to release the statements of others. The five politicians have opted to publish their own testimonies in order to publicly challenge a media request for all the […]

Laurence Fox is at the centre of a Twitter storm after being scolded by The Pogues for remarks about the band’s hit Christmas song. The Pogues have called Fox a “little herrenvolk s***e” following a tweet he posted slamming the BBC Radio 1‘s decision to omit a derogative term from the group’s song Fairytale of New York.  Reacting […]

There has been an outpouring of rage after Michael Fabricant, a Tory MP accused of sending Islamophobic tweets, will no longer face disciplinary action. Fabricant has been acquitted of inciting Islamophobia after tweeting a message suggesting Muslims were not English. In a now-deleted message, the MP for Lichfield tweeted: “Nationality and religion are not the same thing.” Fabricant had […]

Led By Donkeys has urged Boris Johnson to meet with the bereaved families of Covid-19 victims in its latest clip beamed onto the Houses of Parliament. The anti-Brexit campaign group have piled pressure on Johnson to make good on his promise to meet the families of people who have died from coronavirus. Johnson is yet to follow […]

Number 10’s new press secretary has ended Boris Johnson’s war with the media, days after the dramatic departure of advisers Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings walked out of Downing Street. Allegra Stratton told a Westminster briefing that Boris Johnson believed the press had played a “powerful role” during the coronavirus pandemic. Cain, a former Mirror […]

An SNP politician has schooled Britain’s trade envoy about the UK’s prospect of becoming prosperous after Brexit. Angus Brendan MacNeil, who chairs the Commons committee on trade that met on Wednesday, said the UK faced years of “poverty” after it permanently leaves the EU on January 1. Probing Tony Abbott, Britain’s newly-appointed trade envoy, on his opinions of Brexit, the newly-minted diplomat […]

Boris Johnson and his former senior adviser Dominic Cummings are set to appear in a special edition of the Beano. BeanOLD, produced for older readers reflecting on the year 2020, will be a pull-out inside the regular Beano and will see Dennis the Menace’s parents look back on Zoom quizzes, home-schooling, delayed Bond films and […]

Post-Brexit trade deals with other countries are going to be implemented prior to parliamentary scrutiny, the government had announced. Trade minister Greg Hands told the Commons on Tuesday that there was not enough time for MPs to scrutinise any trade deals the UK brokes with other nations before December 31. This could come as a blow to parliamentarians […]

A Tory minister has been cautioned after calling Labour MPs “children” during a debate in the Commons. Health and social care minister Jo Churchill was told to retract her statement by the Commons speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. Responding to Labour’s questions over links between the Tory Party and companies hired to supply Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Churchill […]

Robert Jenrick has suggested that “changes in government” – alluding the resignation of Dominic Cummings -are behind the end of the 201-day boycott of Good Morning Britain (GMB). In a veiled swipe at Dominic Cummings, Jenrick, the minister for housing and communities, said that changes within Downing Street “over the last few days” meant ministers were […]

A former Tory minister has challenged claims Boris Johnson will be ‘different’ without Dominic Cummings.  Stephen Dorrell, who served as a health secretary under John Major’s government, said it was unlikely that the prime minister would change tact now that his most senior and controversial adviser has resigned. Speaking with the LBC’s Nick Ferrari, the former cabinet […]

Britain’s decision to leave the EU has seriously undermined the peace efforts in Europe, a former Tory politician has claimed. Lord Michael Heseltine, a former Tory deputy prime minister under John Major, said he was saddened by his country’s decision to vote for Brexit. Speaking with Sky News’ Kay Burley on the prospect of a no-deal […]

The EU has warned it may be “too late” to clinch a Brexit deal with Britain, adding that a “creative solution” was needed to avoid trade chaos. An EU diplomat said the European parliament’s ratification process is already in doubt after negotiators missed a number of vital deadlines, an EU official has said. Trade negotiations […]

Caroline Lucas has topped a list of powerful women. The Green Party MP took first place in the Woman’s Hour Power List, marking positive contributions women make to the environment and sustainability. Lucas is followed by environmental lawyer Farhana Yamin, described by judges as a “powerhouse for climate justice”. Clean air campaigner Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, whose […]

A lobbyist who secretly advised a health minister for six months was given unfettered access to private coronavirus meetings and later leaked sensitive information to clients. George Pascoe-Watson, who chairs the PR firm Portland Communications, advised Lord Bethell on Test and Trace strategy while still a Westminster lobbyist, a Sunday Times investigation has revealed. Portland Communications represents pharmaceutical companies, weapons […]

Matt Hancock has told Piers Morgan he was not able to appear on Good Morning Britain (GMB) because of a ‘busy diary’. The health secretary is the first Conservative MP to appear on GMB following a 201-day boycott which ended with over the weekend. Ministers have shunned the show without an official explanation. When confronted, Hancock explained ministers […]

A BBC News presenter has struggled to show “journalistic balance” over the resignation of Boris Johnson’s senior aide Dominic Cummings, as she mocked some of the responses he received to a tweet highlighting his resignation. Cummings was seen leaving Number 10 with a box of possessions, prompting speculation about his future, before it was revealed that […]

Downing Street has revealed Dominic Cummings has resigned with immediate effect after pictures emerged of him appearing to clear his desk. The news comes after Boris Johnson’s senior adviser was seen leaving No 10 with what appeared to be a cardboard box full of belongings. The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reported that Cummings spoke to the […]

A radio caller has said he thinks Dominic Cummings is leaving Downing Street because his plans to reform Westminster had been ‘ruined’ by the coronavirus. Dan from Warwick suggested Cummings had quit because of a lack of funding to support radical reforms to the way government and public services function. The prime minister most senior adviser confirmed on […]

Laurence Fox has claimed he has been “dropped” by his agent following controversial remarks he made on race. Fox claimed the decision came after he told a Question Time audience member that he finds it racist when someone says he has “white privilege”. The 42-year-old actor told the showgoer that “playing the race card was […]

The media’s focus on infighting in Number 10 is a distraction from the Brexit armageddon facing the UK, a commentator has argued. The Guardian‘s George Monbiot said British newspapers were prioritising ‘scandal’ over the Brexit negotiations. He said: “Putting the resignation of a Downing Street adviser as top headline during a moment of multiple global and national crises […]

A former Tory minister has attacked Jacob Rees-Mogg over claims that MPs working from home were “shirking” their duties. Tracey Crouch, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in June, suggested that measures Rees-Mogg imposed prohibiting MPs from voting remotely meant parliamentarians like her were not able to participate in crucial divisions. She said: “(Rees-Mogg) will be aware there […]

A Tory MP who complained about a National Trust report into slavery and colonialism has had his argument picked to pieces live on air. Journalist and commentator Dalia Gebrial tore apart Ben Bradley’s claim that the National Trust was attempting to “sanitise” history by highlights links between its properties and slavery. The National Trust came under heavy […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock has run away from a Good Morning Britain reporter as ministers continue to boycott the programme. The government has boycotted the programme for 196 days, with a reporter opting to instead shout his questions at the MP as he spoke to other interviewers on other networks over the vaccine. As Hancock’s […]

US comedian Stephen Colbert has given a passionate speech denouncing Donald Trump and urged Americans to “stay cool” amid rising tensions over voter fraud. In an eight-minute-long monologue posted on Twitter, Colbert said the president had been acting like a “sad, frightened fraud” after alleging the US election had been rigged. On Thursday, major US networks stopped broadcasting […]

A Tory minister has been ridiculed after getting the population size of Liverpool wrong during an interview on a new pilot testing programme for coronavirus. Business minister Nadhim Zahawi said 2,000 troops would deliver thousands of coronavirus tests to people living in Liverpool city as part of a pilot programme to map the spread of […]

Nadhim Zahawi has become the second Tory minister to repeatedly refuse to condemn Donald Trump’s election fraud comments. The minister for business joins foreign office secretary Dominic Raab in shirking away from criticising Trump’s allegations that the US election has been ‘rigged’. Speaking with the BBC on Wednesday, Raab said it was ‘common practice’ for the British government not […]

Donald Trump has continued to claim he is being cheated out of re-election in a speech which was dropped by the major news networks. The Republican incumbent made a series of unsubstantiated allegations to claim he is the victim of interference from “phoney polls” as well as “big media, big money and big tech” after […]

Robert Buckland has blamed the public for a second national lockdown after suggesting a lack of ‘compliance’ was the reason for harsher coronavirus measures. The justice secretary said a “tiny group of people” had been breaking Covid-19 regulations and that there was a “huge challenge” to get the public to follow the rules this time around. Speaking with the BBC, Buckland: “Sadly, it’s been […]

Andrew Neil has said he is enjoying his “new-found freedom” since leaving the BBC and used his final appearance on the news channel to criticise the SNP. Neil made the most of his presence on Politics Live to blast the SNP on the issue of poverty in Scotland. The now ex-BBC broadcaster claimed that people being “left behind” in parts […]

Rory Stewart has called Boris Johnson the “most accomplished liar in public life” in a personal swipe against the prime minister in an article in the Times Literary Supplement. Stewart, who was of 21 rebel Tory MPs fired for voted against Johnson’s Brexit agenda last year, accused Johnson of being an opportunist who created the “historical forces” […]

One of Boris Johnson’s ministers was left red-faced after he failed to say how many people had received a coronavirus test on Wednesday during an appearance on BBC Breakfast. Buckland, the minister for justice, suggested over quarter of a million people had been tested on Wednesday but had to quickly retract that statement when he […]