United Kingdom

    Carrie Symonds is proving she has what it takes to be a fashion influencer, after a dress she wore to watch her partner Boris Johnson speak sold out within hours. On Wednesday, the former PR chief wore a pink and red floral midi dress by Ghost while making her first appearance as the girlfriend of the new prime minister of the UK. The 31-year-old paired the £120 dress with nude pumps and pink lipstick. Shortly after her appearance, the dress, which can be purchased in sizes XXS to XL on the Ghost website, was only available in limited sizes, before it sold out completely. According to Ghost, the dress “features a high neckline with back fastening and voluminous sleeves and seam detailing at the bodice for definition”. There’s also a slight flare to the skirt and ...

      Before taking on the role of ‘Brexit mastermind’ Dominic Cummings in a television drama, actor Benedict Cumberbatch decided to get to know his subject. The Hollywood star duly spent an evening last summer at the North London home of the political strategist and Vote Leave guru. After dining on a vegan pie, the pair sat up into the wee hours, chatting and drinking wine. A few months later, while publicising Channel 4’s Brexit: The Uncivil War, Cumberbatch was asked by an interviewer if anything about his encounter with the famously prickly 47-year-old Cummings had surprised him. To some, that may sound like faint praise. Yet such is the hostility that Dominic Cummings generates, that friends took the remark as a compliment. Yesterday, following the announ...

    A man who planned to use a bomb carried by a remote controlled vehicle to carry out a terror attack has been jailed for 15 years. Farhad Salah, 24, was plotting to use the driverless car in an attack against an unknown target. He was convicted at Sheffield Crown Court earlier this month of preparing to commit acts of terrorism. Jurors heard that Salah posted on social media about using a driverless car in an attack. Counter-terror police said Salah was not close to achieving his aim of putting a device in a vehicle but officers believe he was a "very real risk to the safety of the public in the UK". The raids in Sheffield and Chesterfield happened in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena explosion, the terror attacks on Westminster and London Bridge, and at a time...

    Boris Johnson has been named the new Conservative Party leader - paving the way for him to become prime minister in a little over 24 hours' time. The former London mayor is now set to fulfil his long-held ambition of residing in 10 Downing Street, after beating rival Tory leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt. Mr Johnson said it was an "extraordinary honour and privilege" to be elected Tory leader and pledged to "energise the country" following the announcement. "The campaign is over and the work begins," he added. He also paid tribute to outgoing prime minister Theresa May, thanking her for her "extraordinary service to this party and this country". And Mr Johnson described his leadership opponent Mr Hunt as a "font of excellent ideas". Mrs May pledged her support t...

    Philip Hammond says he will quit as chancellor if Boris Johnson becomes prime minister, saying he would not hang on to be sacked. I intend to resign after prime minister's questions [on Wednesday], before the prime minister goes to the Palace, he said. The chancellor a staunch opponent of a no-deal Brexit also vowed to help lead the Commons campaign to block it, from the backbenches, and predicted success. I am confident that parliament does have a way of preventing a no-deal exit on 31 without parliamentary consent, he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme. I intend to work with others to ensure parliament uses its power to make sure the new government can’t do that, Mr Hammond threatened. Mr Johnson, the near-certain next prime minister, has vowed a do or die Br...

  Senior Conservative MPs are reportedly plotting to ask the Queen to travel to Brussels and request a Brexit extension. Under the plan, the Queen would be enlisted to prevent a no-deal Brexit. It is the latest attempt by British politicians to involve the monarch in Britain's Brexit crisis. However, constitutional experts say it would be extraordinary to involve the Queen in this way. Constitutional expert Dr Ruth Fox told Business Insider "The idea that [the Queen] should be brought into the heart of the political maelstrom around Brexit because the MPs themselves cannot resolve this situation politically within the House would be ridiculous." It was reported this week that senior Conservatives who oppose a no-deal Brexit are so concerned the next prime m...

    Labour MP Gloria De Piero has announced she will not stand at the next general election as she criticised the party’s lack of tolerance. The shadow justice minister has spent more than nine years representing the Ashfield constituency but told local members that she did not know if she could give them the commitment you deserve for what could be a further eight years. In comments carried on her website, the MP said a lack of tolerance for different viewpoints in the Labour Party frankly worries me. We have to have respect for each other, even if we disagree, because we are all part of this party, she added. This party is about a set of values not any individual and we would all do well to remember that. And while I’m at it, and it doesn’t happen in Ashfield, but ...

    Sadiq Khan will demand an overhaul of tenancy laws in a campaign for London rent controls that is set to be the cornerstone of his 2020 re-election campaign. The London mayor has said he intends to introduce a London private rent commission, with a board that would include current renters, to enforce measures to reduce rents and keep them at lower levels, but he currently lacks the legal power to do so. Khan’s demand is unlikely to be viewed sympathetically by the Conservative government, but the mayor will launch a report at City Hall on Friday setting out the new powers he would require and a blueprint for the overhaul of the rental sector. The report says the mayor is seeking devolved powers in order to: Establish a universal register of landlords to acce...

    Former cabinet ministers could be among those who feel they have no choice but to vote down a Boris Johnson administration in order to prevent a no-deal Brexit, Dominic Grieve has said. The former attorney general said it was significant that both Johnson and his rival, Jeremy Hunt, had rejected any prospect of compromise on the backstop at a Sun leadership hustings on Monday night. Johnson and Hunt declared the Northern Ireland backstop “dead” and ruled out trying to tweak it, saying it was no good to have a time limit on the backstop or a way of the UK exiting it unilaterally – even though Eurosceptics had previously indicated they could vote for such compromises. Grieve said the tough stance was not surprising but signalled that no deal was more likely. “I thin...

    Boris Johnson plans to strike an immediate trade deal with Trump after Britain leaves the EU on October 31. Sources close to Johnson say he would travel to the US soon after becoming prime minister to strike a limited deal. However, the UK's International Trade Secretary warns that doing so would break the law. The UK is forbidden from entering international trade negotiations while still an EU member. Boris Johnson's plans to strike an immediate Brexit trade deal with Donald Trump are in "breach of European law," with a US deal likely to take years to complete, the UK's international Trade Secretary has warned. The Times reported on Monday that the frontrunner to replace Theresa May as prime minister, plans to negotiate a deal with the US prior to Br...