Politics

BMW says it is confident the European Commission will ease regulations that would leave a new generation of electric Minis made at its Cowley plant in Oxford subject to 10% export tariffs. Speaking as the company announced a £600m investment in the UK, including £75m of taxpayer support, BMW board member Milan Nedeljkovic told Sky

China should not be described as a “foe” or a “threat” but it should be regarded as a “challenge”, a cabinet minister has said – following allegations a Chinese spy infiltrated parliament. Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the claims were an “extremely serious concern” but we “shouldn’t be using language that makes people scared”. It

BMW is to build its next-generation electric Mini in Oxford after securing millions of pounds in taxpayer support from the government. The German-headquartered car giant is set to announce later on Monday details of its multi-million pound investment, which ministers say will secure around 4,000 jobs. It comes after Sky News revealed earlier this year

As a PR exercise, the G20 summit in New Delhi was a masterclass by Narendra Modi. At times, the Indian prime minister looked like he’d been anointed, rather than simply the latest rotating host. He is the leader du jour, the much-needed strategic counterweight in a divided world. Image: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his

The home secretary has ordered a review into how “political activism” among officers, including actions like taking the knee, is impacting policing. Suella Braverman has commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to look into impartiality and written to police chiefs to remind them their “focus should be on tackling crime”. In the letter, she highlighted

Ben Wallace has resigned as defence secretary ahead of an expected reshuffle from the prime minister. Mr Wallace had said he would resign from the role the next time Rishi Sunak made changes to his cabinet – ahead of standing down at the next election. Read his resignation letter in full: Dear prime minister, Last

The expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone has led to a number of claims about the controversial charging scheme in the capital. The ULEZ expansion has created a political dividing line, with Conservatives using it as a stick with which to beat Labour and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. Sky News has had a

Police chiefs have warned the home secretary they must have “operational independence” when deciding how to respond to crime. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) was responding to Suella Braverman‘s announcement that police forces in England and Wales must investigate every theft as part of a crackdown on crime. The home secretary said it was

Police forces must investigate every theft, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said. Ms Braverman said it was “unacceptable” crimes such as shoplifting, criminal damage and phone or car theft have been treated as “less important”. Forces have committed to follow all “reasonable lines of enquiry” in an effort to improve investigations and drive down crime

Donald Trump is making a mockery of TV debates just as he has trashed so many other norms of decent behaviour and democratic politics. He has opted out of the first two debates between the candidates vying for the Republican nomination in next year’s US presidential election. That does not mean that he is missing

Suella Braverman has been urged to “stand up” to France as reports emerged the country is intercepting fewer migrants in the Channel despite a £480m funding deal. The call from Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis came as The Telegraph claimed just 45.2% of migrants have been stopped by French patrols since January, down from 45.8% in

The UK and Turkey will work together to “disrupt and dismantle” people smuggling gangs under a new deal announced today. A new operational “centre of excellence” will be established by the Turkish National Police as part of the agreement and both countries will also share intelligence. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said he was unable to

Lee Anderson has refused to apologise for saying asylum seekers who don’t want to be housed on barges should “f*** off back to France”. But the Conservative deputy chairman also said there was “no doubt” the government had failed to tackle illegal immigration. Tory MP Mr Anderson made the remark about asylum seekers after it

The government has announced a “task force” to root out dodgy lawyers after reports that false asylum claims are being submitted for a fee. The Home Office said the unit would bring together regulatory bodies, law enforcement teams and other government departments to act against solicitors and barristers found to be deceiving the courts. The

The government will fail to meet its asylum backlog target without a drastic increase in the processing of applications, a Sky News analysis has found. At present, there are more than 136,000 asylum applications waiting for an initial decision, including 62,000 that were made before 28 June 2022 – the so-called “legacy backlog”. In December

A pay rise of 6.5% has been accepted by a major teaching union. Members of the National Education Union (NEU) voted to accept the deal, which was made based on recommendations by the independent School Teachers’ Review Body. The NEU had advised its members to accept the deal, which also includes an extra £900m in

The Home Office has bought marquees to accommodate 2,000 migrants at disused military sites by the end of August, Sky News understands. The tents will start to be erected over the coming weeks as part of emergency plans to deal with an expected surge of Channel crossings. According to The Times, which first reported on

Wrexham AFC co-owner Ryan Reynolds has said he wants to see more film work “head to Wales” after meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The Hollywood star met with the PM at Number 10 during a break in filming for his new Deadpool movie. Reynolds recently announced a partnership with TV channel S4C which will

Apple has launched a blistering attack on government proposals that would force tech firms to clear new privacy features with the Home Office. The iPhone maker said the changes to the Investigatory Powers Act, which are under consultation, would pose a “serious and direct threat” to the security of user data. In a nine-page submission,

What now? This week’s trio of parliamentary by-elections are bound to be the biggest sampling of voter opinion in an election for Westminster this side of the next general election. That election is most likely more than a year away. November 2024 is currently the favoured date, although the prime minister could run all the