Lead News

Move comes after MEP says party must choose between being a ‘genuine one nation force’ or ‘an English nationalist movement’ The former foreign secretary Boris Johnson is to a face a disciplinary investigation following a string of complaints that his comments about the burqa breached the Conservative party’s code of conduct. The investigation represents the first step in any disciplinary ...

Labour leader faces damaging defeat over the party’s ‘no second referendum’ policy Labour has been considering how to head off a concerted attempt by remain-supporting members to stage a vote at its annual conference on calling for a second referendum, to avoid what would be an embarrassing defeat for Jeremy Corbyn on the party’s Brexit policy. About 130 constituency Labour ...

Three members of Rochdale gang face possible deportation to Pakistan after court ruling Three members of a Rochdale grooming gang face possible deportation to Pakistan after court of appeal judges upheld a decision to strip them of their British citizenship. Abdul Aziz, Adil Khan and Qari Abdul Rauf were among nine men jailed in May 2012 for their part in ...

Exclusive: Sayeeda Warsi says burqa jibe adds to view that Muslim women are ‘fair game’ One of the Conservative party’s most high-profile Muslims has accused Boris Johnson of making “hate crime more likely” with an indefensible, “dog-whistle” reference to fully veiled Muslim women. Sayeeda Warsi, writing in the Guardian on Wednesday, said the former foreign secretary had used rightwing, “alt-right” ...

Education secretary wants UK and Silicon Valley firms to help put tech at heart of classrooms Tech companies in the UK and abroad, including Apple and Microsoft, have been urged to help foster an education revolution by putting technology at the heart of the classroom. The education secretary, Damian Hinds, said only a minority of schools and colleges were taking ...

Former minister asked to say sorry for comparing veiled Muslims to bank robbers Boris Johnson has been told by Conservative party chiefs to apologise for his claim that Muslim women in burqas resemble letter boxes and bank robbers. The Tory chairman, Brandon Lewis, said he had asked the former foreign secretary to say sorry for his controversial remarks in an ...

Exclusive: leaked letter warns home secretary of ‘significant loss of operational capacity’ A no-deal Brexit poses a substantial risk to public safety, with police officers instantly losing vital access to cross-border investigative powers and databases, the home secretary has been told in a damning letter from the national body of police and crime commissioners. In the leaked document – marked ...

Developers made proposals for 35,000 homes in protected parts of England in 2017 Applications to build an additional 35,000 homes on green belt land were submitted last year, taking the total number proposed for construction on protected land to a record 460,000. New data from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) released on Monday showed that more than 24,000 ...

Universities UK says educating people of all ages would help to meet economic challenges The report calls for continual learning and for policymakers to help reverse the decline in part-time and mature student numbers. Photograph: Sam Edwards/Getty Images/Caiaimage The UK economy could benefit from more people of all ages attending university, a report has concluded. It also suggests the advance ...

A tropical snake has been filmed eating a pigeon on a busy east London street.   Dave Fawbert spotted the boa constrictor, thought to be an abandoned pet, on High Road, Leytonstone, on Saturday morning.  The RSPCA has since taken the reptile to a wildlife centre and is appealing for information about how it may have come to be in ...