UK

Boris Johnson has arrived back in the UK as speculation mounts that the former prime minister will enter the Tory leadership race. Mr Johnson has been on holiday in the Dominican Republic but flew home after Liz Truss’s dramatic resignation on Thursday. The Conservative Party has a week to pick a new leader and prime

Penny Mordaunt has thrown her hat in the ring to become the next prime minister after the dramatic resignation of Liz Truss. The Commons leader said in a tweet: “I’ve been encouraged by support from colleagues who want a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest. “I’m running to be the

The second Tory leadership race in just three months is underway following the extraordinary resignation of Liz Truss. The now-outgoing PM was forced from office after just 44 days following a seismic few weeks in Westminster that saw her tax-slashing mini-budget crash and burn. Ms Truss’s resignation, signalling the end of the shortest term by

Liz Truss has resigned as prime minister just 44 days after taking over from Boris Johnson. She will be the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. A new leader is set to be elected next Friday. In a statement read outside Downing Street, Ms Truss said: “I came into office at a time of great

Liz Truss’s premiership is hanging by a thread after an extraordinary day in Westminster that saw a cabinet minister resign and a Commons motion descend into chaos with allegations of “manhandling and bullying”. The unprecedented events have led to some Tory MPs declaring the Conservative party is “finished”, with one hitting out at the “talentless

At least 45 baby deaths could have been avoided at two Kent hospitals, a report into maternity services at an NHS trust has found. Dr Bill Kirkup, chair of the independent inquiry into maternity at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust said his panel had heard “harrowing” accounts from families receiving “suboptimal” care. He

The NHS is setting up data-driven “war rooms” as it prepares for what could be England’s “toughest winter on record”, new plans have revealed. Under the government’s winter preparation plan, which aims to help the NHS cope during the colder months, the 24/7 “care traffic control centres” are expected to be created in every local

The majority of Conservative Party members want Liz Truss to resign now – just six weeks after voting her in – and their preferred replacement is Boris Johnson, a new poll has found. A YouGov poll of Tory members found 55% would now vote for Rishi Sunak, who lost out to Ms Truss, if they

China has recruited dozens of former British military pilots to teach the Chinese armed forces how to defeat western warplanes and helicopters in a “threat to UK interests”, officials have revealed. One official said some 30 mainly ex-fast jet but also some helicopter pilots – lured by annual salaries of around £240,000 – are currently

Jeremy Hunt has revealed he is reversing “almost all” of the tax cuts announced in his predecessor’s mini-budget and is scaling back support for energy bills. In an emergency statement, the chancellor said a 1p cut to income tax will be delayed “indefinitely” until the UK’s finances improve instead of being introduced in April 2023

Labour has called for Liz Truss to face parliament today after three Tory MPs broke ranks to demand that she quits. The prime minister is facing calls to resign from within her own party just six weeks after entering Number 10, following the economic turmoil in the wake of the mini-budget. Tory MPs Crispin Blunt,

Just Stop Oil campaigners have blocked London’s Park Lane and spray-painted the front of a luxury car showroom in their latest protest. Demonstrators from the environmental group, who are calling for the government to halt all new oil and gas licences, glued themselves to the road in central London at around 11am on Sunday. One

Jeremy Hunt has admitted the government went “too far, too fast” and that he will have to take some “very difficult decisions” on spending and tax to get the economy back up and running. Earlier, the new chancellor admitted there “were mistakes” in Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget in an interview with Sky News.

The new chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said there “were mistakes” in Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget. Speaking to Sky News on Saturday, Mr Hunt said: “It was a mistake when we were going to be asking for difficult decisions across the board on tax and spending to cut the rate of tax paid by

Liz Truss has said “I want to be honest, this is difficult” after sacking her chancellor and reversing key policies of her government’s growth plan. In a news conference shortly after dismissing Kwasi Kwarteng, Ms Truss said: “The way we deliver our mission has to change.” But she said the “mission remains” to deliver a

Kwasi Kwarteng will return to the UK from Washington earlier than planned, as another major mini-budget U-turn is expected. The chancellor was due to brief journalists on Friday morning after attending the International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting in Washington, but held the briefing on Thursday night before announcing he will fly home in the next

Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked as chancellor three weeks after his mini-budget unleashed chaos in the economy. He was appointed to the role by Liz Truss only 38 days ago, making him the second-shortest serving chancellor after Iain Macleod, who died a month after being handed the job by Edward Heath. Number 10 announced an

A neonatal nurse accused of murdering seven babies allegedly left a handwritten note confessing to her crimes that read “I AM EVIL I DID THIS”. Lucy Letby, 32, is alleged to have gone on a year-long killing spree while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital. She is also accused of the attempted murder of

A neonatal nurse killed two out of three triplet boys and smiled after killing another premature baby girl on the fourth attempt, a court has heard. Lucy Letby is charged with 22 counts of murder and attempted murder, involving 17 babies, and is alleged to have gone on a year-long killing spree at the Countess

The Bank of England has confirmed its emergency bond-buying programme will end on Friday as planned after reports suggested it might extend the support for pension funds. On Wednesday morning, it said all temporary and targeted purchases of UK government bonds, known as gilts, will end. This has been the position throughout and has been