UK News

Sir Keir Starmer said voters had sent Rishi Sunak a clear call for change in the last big test of public opinion before a general election. Labour took Blackpool South in a by-election by a huge margin and won target councils across England. Mr Sunak admitted results so far were “disappointing” although his party retained the Tees Valley mayoralty. Many ...

Former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson was turned away from his local polling station after forgetting to bring acceptable photo ID. As first reported by Sky News, he returned later with the necessary ID and was able to vote. He cast his ballot in South Oxfordshire, where voters are choosing a police and crime commissioner. New rules requiring photo ID ...

The UK has sent its first asylum seeker to Rwanda under a voluntary scheme, The Sun Newspaper reported on Tuesday, saying the unnamed migrant was flown out of the country on Monday, reports Reuters. The voluntary scheme is separate from a forced deportation programme that the UK is about to embark on in the next few months, seeking to deter ...

Hamas has been offered a 40-day ceasefire and the release of “potentially thousands” of Palestinian prisoners in return for freeing Israeli hostages, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Monday. The Palestinian group has been given “a very generous offer of sustained 40 days ceasefire, the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners, in return for the release of these hostages,” ...

The threat of deportation to Rwanda is causing migrants to head for Ireland instead of staying in Britain, Ireland’s deputy prime minister told a British newspaper on Friday, reports Reuters. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s flagship programme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda if they arrive in Britain illegally was approved by parliament earlier this week and the government wants ...

The deaths of five people, including one child, while trying to reach the UK by crossing the Channel are “tragic”, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. Speaking as news of the deaths first emerged, the PM said it underscored the need for his plan, which would see some asylum seekers sent to Rwanda. He said breaking “the business model” of criminal ...

Six people have been arrested at a St George’s Day event in central London, the Metropolitan Police has said. A man was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty after “a police horse was targeted” in Westminster. Three have been held on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker, one for suspected assault and one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly. ...

The first flights deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda will take off in 10 to 12 weeks Rishi Sunak has announced – missing his original spring target. The government has already prepared an airfield and secured charter plane slots to ensure flights take off, the PM said. Mr Sunak promised to keep MPs and Lords late into the night on Monday ...

MP Mark Menzies will stand down at the next election and has quit the Conservative Party, after it found he had shown a “pattern of behaviour” falling below the standards for MPs. The Fylde MP had been accused of using party money to pay off “bad people”. The party said it “cannot conclude” whether party funds had been misused because ...

Rishi Sunak has “set us back” on climate change and left the UK at risk of falling behind other countries, the head of a government watchdog has said. Chris Stark, head of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), told the BBC the prime minister had “clearly not” prioritised the issue as much as his predecessors. He accused Mr Sunak of sending ...