United Kingdom

    EU leaders have postponed deciding on the length of a possible Brexit delay as Boris Johnson struggled to gain opposition support for a pre-Christmas election. The decision came after the 27 EU ambassadors met on Friday to discuss granting the UK an extension past the current October 31 deadline. They have agreed that a Brexit extension is needed, with a diplomat saying they will decide on its length next week, which will follow Monday's vote in the Commons on holding a snap election on December 12. It comes as Boris Johnson admitted on Thursday that he would not meet his do or die Halloween deadline and demanded a pre-Christmas poll to end the nightmare Brexit crisis. But Labour - crucially holding the votes needed if he is to get the two-thirds majority in the C...

    Boris Johnson on Thursday called for another general election, but in truth he knows he won't get one yet. Still it was a clever device to distract from the admission he'd rather bury. That he will break his "do or die" promise to leave the EU on 31 October. Writing to Jeremy Corbyn asking him to agree to a poll on 12 December, the prime minister finally wrote down what he perhaps cannot bear to say out loud: "My view has never changed that we should leave on 31 October." However, it is clear from public and private comments of Donald Tusk that it is likely that the EU will offer a delay until 31 January, though it is possible that a shorter delay will be offered. Mr Johnson said only last month he'd rather "die in a ditch" than ask for this delay. And yet he has ...

    Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (AKA Meghan Markle) stepped out in one of her most affordable looks to date at the One Young World summit at Royal Albert Hall last night. As Vice-President of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, this was The Duchess’ first time attending the event as a member of the royal family; she previously attended the summit in Dublin in 2014 and Ottawa in 2016 with mega babe Justin Trudeau. Looking radiant with natural makeup and long tousled waves, Meghan was all smiles in a violet midi dress, paired with her favourite navy Manolo Blahnik pumps. This was Meghan's first public engagement since revealing that she has been struggling to cope with the pressures of royal life in ITV’s emotional AF documentary on Meghan and Harry’s tour of Africa. The cand...

    Boris Johnson’s government and party are deeply split on whether to push for a general election or attempt again to deliver a Brexit deal, after the prime minister failed to secure a rapid timetable for passing the withdrawal legislation. Downing Street is awaiting the EU’s decision on whether to grant a Brexit delay until January 31, 2020, as outlined in Mr Johnson’s letter to EU leaders last weekend. A decision is expected on Friday, after which Mr Johnson will have to decide whether to attempt to get his deal approved by parliament, or to try and force an election. The latest impasse comes after MPs endorsed the prime minister’s Brexit deal in a vote on Tuesday night before rejecting his timetable for passing the legislation, which turns the agreement into UK law...

    Thirty-nine people, including a teenager, have been found dead inside a lorry container at an industrial park in Essex. Police were called by the ambulance service after the discovery at Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays at 1.40am. All 39 people were pronounced dead at the scene and the lorry driver, a 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. The vehicle is believed to have come from Bulgaria and entered the UK at Holyhead in north Wales on Saturday. Essex Police Chief Superintendent Andrew Mariner said: "This is a tragic incident where a large number of people have lost their lives. Our enquiries are ongoing to establish what has happened. "We are in the process of identifying the victims, however I anticipate that this ...

    Meghan Markle has opened up about the impact of the racist vitriol towards her in British tabloids, saying that she tried hard to ignore it but ultimately, she’s not OK. I've said for a long time to H that's what I call him it is not enough to just survive something. That's not the point of life. You've got to thrive and feel happy, she told ITV’s Tom Bradby. ‘I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. I tried, I really tried. But I think what that does internally is probably really damaging. The candid interview, given as part of their ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, has been met with praise but sadly and unsurprisingly, backlash from those wishing to defend the pillar of British culture. It’s baffling to watch i...

    Boris Johnson dropped a political bombshell by saying he will pull his Bill to deliver Brexit if defeated in votes tonight and demand a general election instead. The Prime Minster made the threat at the Dispatch Box at the start of a debate leading to two crunch votes in the House of Commons. The public does not want delay Mr Speaker, he told the House. “What on earth will the public think of us if this house again votes to delay Brexit? If parliament refuses to allow Brexit to happen... in no circumstances can the government continue with this, he concluded. With great regret I will have to say the Bill will have to be pulled and we will have to go forward to a general election. I will argue at that election Let’s get Brexit done... and the people will decide. H...

    Shamima Begum, the woman who left Britain as a schoolgirl to join Islamic State in Syria, has launched an appeal against the Home Office’s move to revoke her citizenship and prevent her from returning to London. At a partially secret hearing before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac), lawyers for Begum, who is now 20, alleged she had been left stateless, was unable to mount a fair and effective legal challenge and was at risk of death, inhuman or degrading treatment. If she was forced to go to Bangladesh, her parents’ country of origin, she was at risk of being hanged, the court was told. Begum, who was born in the UK, grew up in east London. The court was told there was no evidence she had ever visited Bangladesh or applied for citizenship there. In ...

    Boris Johnson is urging MPs to back his Brexit deal as he launches a final bid to force through legislation in time for the UK to leave the EU with an agreement on 31 October. However the government faces a fierce battle after announcing plans to fast-track it through the Commons in just three days. Today, the PM needs MPs to approve a second reading of the bill and a programme motion setting out the timetable for its rapid passage through parliament. Mr Johnson told the Commons that if his government loses the vote on the programme motion this evening then his bill will have to be pulled and we will have to go forward to a general election.

    Boris Johnson is to seek to fast-track legislation to ratify his Brexit deal through the Commons in just three days as he attempts to avoid another delay to Britain’s departure from the EU. Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg told MPs debate on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) would start on Tuesday with ministers hoping to get it through all its Commons stages by Thursday. If they are successful it could pave the way for House of Lords to sit over the weekend in time for the Bill to receive its royal assent at the start of next week. However they are likely to face opposition attempts to amend the legislation including the “programme motion” setting out the Commons timetable for the Bill. Mr Rees-Mogg warned MPs that if the programme motion was defeated they w...