Politics

Philip Hammond has been accused of using the knife crime crisis to blackmail MPs over Brexit after he told media there would be cash to deal with the issue if MPs backed Theresa May’s agreement with the EU. Another teenager was stabbed to death on the streets of London yesterday, bringing the number of people knifed to death in the UK this year to at least 28. The victim, described only as being in his late teens, was stabbed in the...

It is thought that around 3.5 million people only have until tomorrow to renew their passports to protect their ability to travel in a no deal Brexit scenario. In the event of a no-deal Brexit on March 20, which is still looking possible, British people will need at least six months left on their passport from the date they arrive in their chosen foreign destination. Without an up to date passport Brits could be turned away from countries in the...

French border guards have warned Brits to expect lengthy delays after Brexit with 1970s-style customs and checks in place. Long queues formed at Gare du Nord and traffic jams built up around the French port of Calais this week as border officials imposed a “work-to-rule” to demonstrate the need for more staff to deal with checks after the UK quits the European Union. One border guard declared: "This will be what it is like after Brexit. Back to 1970s", as passengers...

In more unsettling Brexit news, it has been reported that in a No-deal Brexit scenario the UK economy would tank. According to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) the UK economy would slide into recession and growth would plunge under 1 per cent. Even if there is a smoother Brexit the OECD believes that UK economic growth would fall to 0.8 per cent, following on from 1.4 per cent growth in 2018. The last time UK growth was...

A Tory council leader has been suspended from the party for retweeting a post supporting Tommy Robinson. Andrew Bowles, Swale Borough Council leader, retweeted the post which included an image of Tommy Robinson's head superimposed on Mel Gibson's on The Patriot film cover and called Tommy Robinson a 'patriot'. He appeared to support Robinson over his ban from a number of social media platforms. The tweet read: "I knew this would happen...@SkyNews now reporting Tommy Robinson banned from Instagram and Facebook...this comes directly...

Momentum spokesperson Laura Parker has hit back over "disproportionate" fines for "incredibly minor offences" after the grassroots movement was handed a £16,700 penalty for "multiple breaches of electoral law". The Electoral Commission cited the group for "repeated revisions to their spending return" and "poor record keeping" when issuing the fine, which is the highest issued to a non-party campaigner in history. They were penalised £12,150 for failing to submit a spending return that was complete and accurate, £2,700 for omitting £22,958.46...

The government’s approach to protecting workers’ rights after Brexit has been heavily cristicised. With claims that the substitutes are “not worth the paper they are written on”. The prime minister said: “We have as a country led the way in workers’ rights while maintaining a flexible labour market. The enormous success of our jobs market and the wealth of opportunities for workers across the nation have long been underpinned by the policies and standards that exceed the minimums set by...

Labour MP and solicitor Onasanya, 35, had been jailed for lying during her speeding court case

Theresa May’s Cabinet today welcomed the first fall in rough sleeping since 2010 after numbers dropped by 2 per cent, but failed to acknowledge the 165 per cent increase since 2010 when the party took the keys to number 10. The figures, which have been described as a "2 per cent slowing down of the tsunami", emerged last week and have been trumpeted by Communities Secretary James Brokenshire to promote a £1.2 billion investment in homeless services. He said: "Councils...