ENGLISH

    International Trade minister Mark Garnier will be investigated over a possible breach of ministerial rules after he admitted asking a former aide to buy sex toys. The Cabinet Office will probe whether the Wyre Forest MP broke the Ministerial Code after he confirmed allegations made by his former secretary, including that he called her sugar t***. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt confirmed the investigation on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show. The Prime Minister will also write to House of Commons Speaker John Bercow to ask how a sexual harassment scandal engulfing Westminster can best be addressed. It comes as Theresa May was reported to get weekly updates about indiscretions by her MPs from Conservative Party whips, leading to calls for allegations to be reported to police. Meanwhi...

    Theresa May faces a difficult decision over whether to publish more details of the government’s planning for a no deal Brexit. Senior Tory donors have warned that Theresa May should walk away from Brexit talks rather than accept an unsatisfactory and unfavourable deal that would poison relations with Europe for another generation. In a sign of growing frustration among pro-Brexit Tories over the lack of progress made in talks with Brussels, one donor said he feared some pro-Remain cabinet ministers were suffering from Stockholm syndrome when hostages develop a bond with their captors. The calls for May to be prepared to walk away comes amid new warnings that a no deal outcome will lead to foreign firms leaving, steep price rises, widespread job losses and disaster for the ...

    A former councillor was exposed as a disability benefits cheat after he was caught building a shed while claiming he could walk zero metres for zero minutes. Lying Robert Woodbridge claimed to be in such pain he could hardly move. But the former Labour deputy leader of Swanley Town Council was caught carrying items to his car, driving and even building a shed during a Department of Work and Pensions investigation. The 58-year-old, from Swanley, Kent, who later stood in elections for the Green Party and Liberal Democrats , denied dishonestly failing to notify a change of circumstances. He claimed he had good days and bad days, but he was convicted by a jury at Maidstone Crown Court today in just 20 minutes. Prosecutor Edmund Fowler said Woodbridge initially made a legitimat...

    May’s head and seek their own Brexit talks with the European Union, the Evening Standard has learned. A group of rebels wants an independent line of communication to check whether the Prime Minister is genuinely offering the best terms available. The plan emerged after Brexit Secretary David Davis made clear that the Government intends to engineer a take it or leave it vote on the deal Mrs May negotiates. That would leave MPs under massive pressure to cave in to her terms or risk the chaos of a no-deal Brexit. A former minister told the Evening Standard: By talking directly to Europe we can assess whether Parliament has other options available, including the option to instruct the Prime Minister to go back to the negotiating table and seek new terms. A key question to be a...