Politics

Boris Johnson has accused the European Union of “moral blackmail” over the Northern Ireland backstop as he insisted he would never allow the return of a hard border with the Republic. In the latest Tory leadership hustings held in Belfast, both Mr Johnson and his rival Jeremy Hunt insisted the backstop had to go if there was to be a Brexit deal with Brussels. Mr Johnson told party members he had felt so strongly over the issue he had resigned...

Ballots for the leadership election will be issued towards the end of this week.

Liberal Democrat MEPs also wore ‘stop Brexit’ T-shirts.

The Liberal Democrats wore bright yellow t-shirts with 'Bollocks to Brexit' on the back, setting out their thoughts on the Brexit issue on their first day on the job. It was the first day for the new intake of MEPs in the European parliament. Photograph: European Parliament. Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit negiotiator for the European parliament, tweeted his delight. He said: "Here's my new view in the plenary of the European Parliament!" However, it didn't go downthat well with everyone as...

Jeremy Corbyn has called for a “speedy and thorough” independent investigation into reported claims by senior civil servants that he is “too frail” to be prime minister. The Labour leader, in a letter to Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, said the matter had “undermined confidence in the principle of civil service neutrality”, as he called for a probe. The Times reported at the weekend that it had been told by two senior civil servants that Mr Corbyn, 70, may have...

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee says electoral laws are no longer fit for purpose.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock had said the public sector would be ‘shown some love’ if Boris Johnson wins the Tory leadership contest.

Britain’s manufacturing sector plunged to its worst level of decline for more than six years in June as the end of a Brexit-related stockpiling push continued to send shockwaves through the industry. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed a reading of 48 last month, down from 49.4 in May. This put the index at its weakest level since February 2013. It was the second month in a row that the figure has been below 50, the...

Tory leadership candidate previously said pay rises should be paid for by getting rid of staff A union has warned Tory leadership candidate Boris Johnson’s warms words on pay rises mask an ugly plan to slash jobs. Johnson’s supporter Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Times that public sector workers would get a “fair” pay rise under Johnson. Warning prized public services are not safe in his hands, GMB said Johnson had previously indicated public sector pay rises could be...