Lead News

A Scottish judge has retired to consider a legal attempt to block the suspension of the UK Parliament. Lord Doherty heard arguments from representatives of a cross-party group seeking an interim interdict that would halt the move by the government. Arguing for the UK government, Roddy Dunlop QC said the issue “was not a matter for the courts”. The judge ...

Parliament suspension: Readers’ questions answered Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to suspend Parliament in September, before recommencing just 17 days before the scheduled Brexit date, has prompted many questions from our readers. The idea of shutting down Parliament in this way – known as prorogation – has caused controversy in political circles, with critics saying it would stop MPs being ...

The government has asked the Queen to suspend Parliament just days after MPs return to work in September – and only a few weeks before the Brexit deadline. Boris Johnson said a Queen’s Speech would take place after the suspension, on 14 October, to outline his “very exciting agenda”. But it means the time MPs have to pass laws to ...

The Queen will be asked by the UK government to suspend Parliament days after MPs return to work – and a matter of weeks before the Brexit deadline. The BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, says it will make way for Boris Johnson’s new administration to hold a Queen’s Speech – laying out the government’s future plans – on 14 October. ...

“The job of everybody in Parliament” is to deliver Brexit, the PM has said at the end of the G7 summit in France. Boris Johnson also said he was “marginally more optimistic” about striking a new Brexit deal with the EU. But he refused to be drawn on whether he would suspend Parliament to stop it preventing a no-deal exit. ...

Bournemouth beach enjoy the record-breaking temperatures It has been the hottest late August bank holiday weekend ever – with temperatures reaching 33.3C (91.94F) in west London. The Met Office confirmed the new record temperature, which was set at Heathrow. It beats the previous record of 31.5C (88.7F), set in 2001 and again at Heathrow. The hot temperatures are expected to ...

Trump said Boris Johnson ‘was the right man for the job’ of delivering Brexit President Trump has promised a “very big trade deal” with the UK, saying its departure from the EU will be like losing “an anchor round the ankle”. Mr Trump was speaking after a breakfast meeting with Mr Johnson at the G7 summit in Biarritz in France. ...

Boris Johnson is meeting Emmanuel Macron in Paris for Brexit talks, with the French president saying the UK’s vote to quit the EU must be respected. But he added that the Ireland-Northern Ireland backstop plan was “indispensable” to preserving political stability and the single market. The backstop, opposed by Mr Johnson, aims to prevent a hard border on the island ...

There has been a slight increase in the GCSE pass rate and the percentage of top grades this year, despite concerns about the difficulty of exams. The pass rate edged up to 67.3% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – up 0.4 percentage points on last year. The percentage of papers given a top grade (7 or A and above) ...

Johnson and Angela Merkel will hold a working dinner on Wednesday evening Boris Johnson has arrived to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, where he is expected to reiterate his call for the Irish border backstop plan to be scrapped. The pair shook hands outside the Chancellery in Berlin, as protesters nearby shouted “stop Brexit”. The PM has said the arrangement ...