Politics

The Metropolitan Police has said its commissioner was “in a hurry” after he grabbed a Sky News journalist’s microphone and threw it to the ground. Sir Mark Rowley grabbed part of the microphone and discarded it as he walked off after Sky News journalist Rob Catherall asked if he was “going to end two-tier policing”.

The home secretary has said prison places “are ready” for the “thuggish minority of criminals” rioting across the UK, ahead of an emergency COBRA meeting today. Yvette Cooper will hold the emergency meeting this morning following nearly a week of rioting in cities and towns across the UK. More than 140 people have been arrested

The prime minister has vowed to do “whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice” as he addressed the nation amid rioting in UK streets. “I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, either directly or those whipping up this disorder online,” Sir Keir Starmer said in a televised address. UK rioting

Sir Keir Starmer has told the police they have ministers’ full backing to take “all necessary action to keep our streets safe” from “thugs” who “sow hate” as violent protests erupted across the UK following the stabbing of three girls in Southport. A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister had met senior ministers including

Robert Jenrick has said the political system he was part of is broken as he claimed he is the person who can change that as Tory leader. The former minister told a leadership race rally in his Newark constituency he wants to “breathe new life into our party” and will ensure it becomes a “mass

The cost of putting homeless people in temporary accommodation has soared by 25% for London councils in the past year as landlords sell up or choose private tenants, Sky News can reveal. Some councils in the capital are facing potential bankruptcy as the growing demand for homelessness services alongside increasing accommodation costs has meant local

The culture secretary has said BBC newsreader Huw Edwards should return his salary after he admitted accessing indecent images of children. Edwards was paid £200,000 after he was arrested in November while he was suspended by the broadcaster up until he resigned in April on medical advice. On Wednesday, the 62-year-old BBC veteran pleaded guilty

A senior Labour politician who lost their seat in a shock result on election night has hinted at a future to return to parliament. Jonathan Ashworth, the former Labour MP for Leicester South who was defeated by an independent candidate, told Beth Rigby’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast that he was “still around” and “not going anywhere”.

Robert Jenrick thinks the Tories can win at the next election – but he added the party has a “mountain to climb” and must show “where we went wrong”. The former immigration minister will formally launch his campaign for the Conservative leadership on Friday. He will say the Tories need to undergo “serious changes” to

Angela Rayner has defended her decision to remove the need for “beautiful” buildings from Labour’s housing policy, claiming the word was “preventing and blocking development”. The stipulation was added to planning rules by the previous Conservative government, with then housing secretary Michael Gove saying it would encourage communities to support new projects. But his successor

The sister of a man who has spent 12 years behind bars on an abolished prison sentence has pleaded with new justice minister Lord Timpson to intervene in her brother’s high-profile case. Clara White, whose brother Thomas White has been in prison since 2012 for stealing a mobile phone, said offenders like him who are

This year’s budget to support the next wave of renewable energy schemes has been raised to a “record” £1.5bn, the government has announced, following a failed funding process in 2023. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the additional £500m for the looming renewable energy auction represented a commitment towards Labour’s goal of delivering clean, cheap, low-carbon

The prime minister has visited Southport to pay his respects to the victims of Monday’s stabbings, and to their families who are “going through raw pain and grief”. Sir Keir Starmer laid flowers near the Hart Space, a community centre where children had been attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop before the attack. Three young

Rachel Reeves has strongly hinted there will be tax rises in the autumn budget as she promised to be “honest” about “difficult” decisions that lie ahead. The chancellor said while she did not want to increase taxes on working people, the public had been “misled for too long” about the state of the country’s finances.

The government has offered junior doctors a 22.3% pay rise to end strike action, Sky News understands. The British Medical Association’s (BMA) junior doctors committee has agreed to put the offer to its members, and if it is accepted it will end months of walkouts over pay. The pay rise offer will amount to 22.3%

By now, you are probably aware that at 3.30pm the new chancellor will tell MPs of an approximately £20bn black hole in the public finances, necessitating immediate painful spending cuts today and paving the way for tax increases in an October budget. Rachel Reeves and her team will then challenge the Tories over who knew

Conservative leadership contests always start with much handshaking and hat doffing, but it never takes long for the muckraking and kneecapping to commence. Mel Stride managed as much – albeit in a characteristically courteous manner – when he popped up on Friday to announce his campaign. Asked about another candidate’s apparent volte-face on the European

The government is considering repealing a controversial law that could have seen universities and student unions fined for failing to uphold freedom of speech on campus. A Whitehall source branded The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which was due to come into force next week, “an antisemites’ charter” that could have lent a

The government is expected to agree to above-inflation pay rises for public sector workers in the coming days, amid concerns over the costs of not settling, Sky News understands. Independent pay review bodies have already recommended the above-inflation figure to ministers for teachers and nurses of about 5.5% to keep them in line with increases

Rachel Reeves will echo one of the great cameos in cinema history on Monday, when she updates Parliament on the findings of a Treasury audit of the public finances. Channelling Claude Rains’ masterful turn as Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca, she will tell MPs she is shocked at the state of the public finances, and