A further 11 captives – nine women and two children – were released from Gaza into the hands of the Red Cross before being transferred to Egypt and then on to the Israeli military. It means 51 hostages have been released during the four-day halt in fighting, with 33 Palestinian prisoners set free, bringing that total to 150. International go-betweens […]

Simon McDonald reveals he told colleagues he voted against Brexit Lord Simon McDonald, the former Head of the Diplomatic service and Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, served various governments for almost four decades. In that time, he was witness to a host of domestic and foreign policy conundrums and advised both Labour and Conservative governments on overseas […]

Lee Anderson claims the BBC is ‘anti-government’ Lee Anderson has criticised the BBC as being “anti-Government” in a TV debate about the licence fee. The deputy chair of the Conservative Party made the claim during a discussion with former Labour minister Denis MacShane and journalist Alys Denby. He compared the BBC to TV stations in authoritarian countries such as North […]

Jeremy Hunt has delivered his Autumn Statement for 2023, setting out his package of measures including tax cuts to help pave the way to a brighter future. So has the Chancellor gone far enough, or has he unwittingly killed off any potential gains by penny-pinching in other areas? Mr Hunt and Rishi Sunak will have worked overtime to ensure nothing […]

They want the commitment enshrined in new legislation that is currently going through parliament. The call comes on the day the long-awaited Media Bill is debated in the House of Commons. A detailed analysis of the Media Bill by the over-60s campaign group Silver Voices shows that there is no reference to protectingtraditional TV which is currently set to expire […]

Britain and South Korea are set to sign a major £21billion trade, defence and technology deal. The Downing Street Accord follows similar agreements with Singapore and Japan, coming as the UK seeks to bolster influence in the Indo-Pacific. It comes as President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives in the UK for a three-day state visit. It is expected that Prime Minister […]

Humza Yousaf’s SNP risks turning Scotland into an “utter basket case of a failed state” with his party’s plan to take an independent Scotland back into the European Union, Reform UK deputy leader Ben Habib has warned. Mr Habib was commenting after the publication of the SNP’s seventh paper on independence, entitled: “An independent Scotland in the EU.” The 78-page […]

Desk-shy civil servants are being ordered back into the office after receiving a warning from Jacob Rees-Mogg. According to reports, they are being told to spend around 60 percent of their time in the office. The demand comes after a letter due to be sent to staff boasting about the benefits of working in the office was leaked. The Sun […]

Rishi Sunak responds to Daily Express Political Editor over role on ECHR in UK Suella Braverman has demanded Rishi Sunak cuts the spin and gets real about Rwanda, or risk another year of delay and defeats. She says MPs’ Christmas holiday must also be cancelled so they can sit and debate the new emergency legislation before the end of the […]

Rishi Sunak is facing demands for emergency legislation to revive the deportation plan after the Supreme Court ruled it was illegal. Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson even called on the Government to “ignore the laws” and send migrants to Rwanda the same day they arrive in the UK. The MP said the judgment marked a “dark day for the British […]