In his 59 years as front man of the Rolling Stones, Sir Mick Jagger can rarely, if indeed ever, have penned a more aptly named song that coincided so perfectly with political events than yesterday’s surprise release, Easy Sleazy. Jagger’s duet with the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl is about lockdown but its title could well […]
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A former chief constable has warned Britain is “dangerously” edging towards the type of “paramilitary policing” linked to “repressive regimes”. Michael Barton, who was chief of Durham police and the Crime Operations lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said ministers are “flexing their muscles via their police forces”. He and Sir Peter Fahy, another […]
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Pupils from better-off families are set to benefit most from the £700 million pound catch-up programme announced by the government. Education secretary Gavin Williamson laid out details of the fund at today’s (Tuesday) Downing Street briefing and stated that no pupil’s prospects should be “blighted by the pandemic”. Williamson confirmed that all schools in England […]
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Matt Hancock’s blueprint to reform the NHS, better integrate social care and “do away with irksome bureaucracy” will also hand greater power over the NHS to ministers. Conservatives have broadly welcomed Hancock’s shakeup to the health service, laid out today, while Labour has been questioning the health secretary’s priorities and timing given the UK is […]
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British ports have recorded a massive 68% drop in the volume of exports to the EU this January, compared to same month last year. The Road Haulage Association (RHA) have called on Michael Gove to finally take action and address the problems that have led to the huge fall-off in trade to the EU since […]
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The head of the inquiry into claims of bullying by Priti Patel at the Home Office has resigned after the prime minister ignored the findings that the home secretary broke the ministerial code. Boris Johnson’s ruling that Patel should not step down is an unprecedented act, forcing the resignation of Sir Alex Allan, the prime […]
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The highly critical National Audit Office report into the government’s awarding of £18 billion in procurement deals has been overshadowed by infighting in the Labour party and the prime minister’s green plan for the UK. The parliamentary watchdog made a number of startling findings including a lack of transparency, failures to explain why certain suppliers […]
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Priti Patel wants to ban protests of more than two people during the second lockdown and has briefed senior police officers to enforce coronavirus law banning marches and demonstrations. Chief constables are concerned the home secretary’s move is too oppressive for a liberal democracy while a civil law barrister warned the ban could breach human […]
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The Home Office has spent £30,000 to charter a jumbo jet in order to deport a single asylum seeker to France. An investigation by Channel 4 News discovered the “deportation flight chartered by the Home Office yesterday [Thursday] was carrying just one Sudanese man” and followed an operation requiring “3 mini buses, 2 coaches, a […]
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Boris Johnson’s promised Whitehall shake-up is continuing apace. Director general of the Attorney General’s Office, Rowena Collins Rice, announced her resignation only hours after the departure of Sir Jonathan Jones, head of the Government Legal Department. This brings to seven the number of top civil servants leaving their job since the general election. The head […]
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