United Kingdom

    Downing Street has declined to rule out the possibility of Boris Johnson resigning as prime minister if he fails to secure a general election or a Brexit deal. And pressed on whether he would quit if he was unable to take the UK out of the EU on 31 October, the prime minister himself said only: “That is not a hypothesis I am willing to contemplate.” Speculation over a possible resignation was fuelled when Mr Johnson said on Thursday that he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than go to Brussels to ask for an extension to Brexit negotiations. Legislation due to complete its passage through parliament on Monday will require him to do this unless he has first secured a Brexit deal or parliamentary approval for no-deal. Mr Johnson is expected to fail on Monday in a sec...

    The government is to make a second attempt to secure an early general election, after Boris Johnson's first bid to trigger a 15 October poll was humiliatingly rejected by MPs. Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg told MPs that an election motion will be put forward in the House of Commons on Monday next week. And Downing Street made clear that the prime minister will again seek a poll ahead of the crunch EU summit on 17 October, to allow the new PM to go to Brussels with a clear mandate from voters to negotiate Brexit. Mr Johnson hopes to place maximum pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to agree to a snap election. Labour's support is needed because the Fixed Term Parliaments Act requires a two-thirds majority in the Commons to authorise an early poll. The Labour leader h...

    Boris Johnson’s brother has dramatically quit the government and parliament in an apparent protest at his leadership. Jo Johnson, a higher education minister, said it was impossible to reconcile “family loyalty and the national interest”, adding: “It’s an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as MP & minister #overandout “ It is only six weeks since the younger Johnson faced fierce criticism for returning to serve his brother – despite resigning for the first time late last year, to campaign for a Final Say referendum on Brexit. It leaves the prime minister with the painful task of trying to explain why even his own sibling has lost faith in his handling of the Brexit crisis, as the criticism of Tory MPs grows. In a bombshell tweet, Jo...

    Britain's army of small businesses remain largely unprepared for a no-deal Brexit, some of the financial services industry's top bosses warned the chancellor on Monday. Sky News understands that senior bankers told Sajid Javid that while they had made the necessary contingency plans if the UK leaves the European Union's without a deal next month, many of their SME clients had not. The warning came from executives who had been called to a meeting to discuss "Brexit challenges and opportunities" with Mr Javid. One of those who attended the meeting said the bosses of major UK lenders including HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group were among those highlighting continuing concerns about the readiness of small businesses (SMEs) and possible implications for their supply chains....

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain was bracing for a confrontation with lawmakers on Tuesday as they returned to work a week after his shock announcement of a suspension of Parliament this month. The move, which limited the time lawmakers have to find a way to prevent Britain from crashing out of the European Union on Oct. 31 without a deal, angered the opposition and aggravated divisions within his own party. Now, opposition and rebel lawmakers are trying to wrest the legislative agenda from Mr. Johnson and introduce a measure to bar a no-deal Brexit and require the government to request an extension of the Brexit deadline if no agreement is reached. Mr. Johnson has parried with a threat to call a snap election if lawmakers succeed in passing such legislation...

    Police have released an image of a woman they would like to speak to over a racially aggravated assault that left one victim with potentially broken ribs and a second with internal bleeding. The two women were attacked at around 5.30pm on 23 August as they passed through North Ealing underground station in west London British Transport Police (BTP) said the women, one in her 60s and another in her 30s, suffered verbal abuse for wearing the veil commonly worn by Muslim women. Shortly afterwards they were physically assaulted, leaving the elder of the two with potentially broken ribs and the younger victim with a black eye, bruising and internal bleeding. Officers have since released an image caught on CCTV of a woman they would like to speak to in connection with t...

Protests against Boris Johnson's Brexit stance are to be held as the Prime Minister faces cross-party opposition to his EU withdrawal moves. Demonstrators opposed to Brexit have planned more than 30 events across the UK this weekend as Mr Johnson looked set for a torrid week in the Commons. As Mr Johnson faces Parliamentary attempts to try and legislate against a no-deal exit from the EU, or hold a vote of confidence in his Government, the PM insisted opponents could be making the prospect of a withdrawal from the bloc without an agreement more likely. Mr Johnson's remarks came as a Tory predecessor in Number 10, Sir John Major, announced he wanted to join a legal challenge to the PM's decision to extend the suspension of Parliament over the annual party conference season. Sir Jo...

    A legal challenge aimed at stopping Boris Johnson’s suspension of Parliament has been denied an interim interdict at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. A cross-party group of MPs and peers filed a petition at Scotland’s highest civil court earlier this summer aiming to stop the Prime Minister being able to prorogue Parliament. They called for an interim interdict on Thursday to halt prorogation until a final decision has been made on the case. Judge Lord Doherty heard arguments from a lawyer for the campaigners and a legal representative for the UK Government at a hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. But on Friday, Judge Doherty dismissed the action ahead of a full hearing originally set for September 6. Judge Lord Doherty said: “I’m not satisfied that i...

    Boris Johnson has confirmed he plans to hold a Queen’s Speech on October 14. That means MPs face a race against time to thwart the Prime Minister taking the UK out of the EU without a deal. Johnson says he wants an opportunity to set up new bills to ‘level up’ spending on his priorities, including the NHS, education and policing. But his plan will also dramatically cut down the amount of time MPs have to block Johnson pressing forward with a chaotic no-deal Brexit . Here’s everything you need to know about Boris Johnson ’s new plan - and what it means for Brexit. He’s setting the date for a Queen’s speech. This effectively reboots Parliament, setting off a new ‘session’ and shutting down the old one. This usually happens every year - though it doesn’t have to, ...

    Prince William and Kate Middleton have taken a second short haul flight on a budget airline in a week. The royal couple and their children flew from Aberdeen to Norwich at 2.40pm yesterday as they returned from visiting the Queen at Balmoral, they touched down in Norfolk just 50 minutes later, at 3.30pm. The trip is believed to have cost £365 for the whole family and comes amid a row over Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's four gas-guzzling trips on private jets in just 11 days. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex flew from London to Ibiza and back before making a return trip to Nice earlier this month, fuelling claims they were contributing to climate change. In new pictures, Kate sports a green dress as she holds onto baby Louis, 16 months, while William holds the hand...