Next year will be even worse for Biden and the West
For a year that was meant to mark a welcome revival in the fortunes of the Western alliance, 2021 has proved to be not so much a…
Ministers must reject further Covid lockdowns
Piercing the gloom comes good news this Christmas. The first real time, as opposed to modelled, data currently indicates that the omicron variant is producing a milder…
The Great British Sewing Bee: Celebrity Christmas Special, review: Sara Pascoe sets out her stall
Although four celebrities gamely donned their thimbles for this year’s The Great British Sewing Bee: Celebrity Christmas Special (BBC One), it was comedian Sara Pascoe who was…
Madame Tussauds: The Full Wax, review – much more than just a puff piece for a famous tourist trap
Every time I drive past Madame Tussauds I marvel at the queues outside. Marvel and despair. This is, to my mind, a monstrous diddle meted out upon…
Wednesday evening UK news briefing: UK Covid infections surpass 100,000 for first time
Talking of real world evidence, the mass vaccination of children as young as five will not yet go ahead, despite safety regulators giving the jab the green…
Laurence Fox urged to settle libel case after ‘paedophiles’ Twitter row
Laurence Fox has been urged to settle a libel suit over a “pointless” exchange in which he called three people “paedophiles” on Twitter. The actor is being…
No need for new Covid restrictions as omicron hospital risk two thirds lower, No 10 told
Tim Loughton, a former minister, said: “If it continues to be the case that we don’t have a surge of hospital admissions, there is absolutely no basis…
DUP to pressure Liz Truss to trigger ‘nuclear option’ in Brexit negotiations
Sir Jeffrey held video talks with Ms Truss on Tuesday afternoon. Sources close to the Foreign Secretary denied she had been told to trigger Article 16 in…
Former Trump adviser Michael Flynn sues January 6 committee in bid to block release of phone records
Mr Flynn’s lawsuit is the latest in a flood of litigation by targets of the committee seeking to prevent it from enforcing its subpoenas for testimony or…
Labour accused of flip-flopping over Covid restrictions
The Labour Party has been accused of flip-flopping over Covid measures after Sir Keir Starmer said he does not want a circuit-breaker lockdown despite previously calling for…
Jacob Rees-Mogg cleared by parliamentary watchdog over £6 million loans
The Commons Standards Commissioner has rejected a Labour Party claim that Jacob Rees-Mogg broke parliamentary rules by failing to declare loans worth £6 million. Kathryn Stone, who…
Liz Truss has ‘gone too early’ in Tory leadership pitch, say insiders
Although it is understood that Ms Truss does not consider her position on Covid regulations to be a bid for the Tory leadership, sources close to the…
Lady Nicholas Gordon Lennox, model who became the perfect diplomatic wife – obituary
In 1997 Mary Gordon Lennox became chairman of the Friends of Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, which had been founded in 1982 in a Grade I-listed Queen…
To avoid the next financial crisis, we must shed EU-style regulation
How did this situation arise? After the 2007-8 financial crisis an extraordinary intellectual leap occurred, where the EU’s controlling instincts and engrained suspicion of Anglo-Saxon financial markets,…
Boris Johnson urgently needs a new adviser, and I know just the man: George Osborne
Boris Johnson’s premiership is in difficulty. With Cabinet resistance to the prime minister’s intended omicron measures, Lord Frost’s resignation, and ongoing ‘partygate’ revelations, he faces an urgent…
Investigate crime not hurt feelings, officers told as Priti Patel overrules police guidance
Ms Patel said: “The police will always have my backing to fully investigate hate crimes, but they must do so whilst protecting the fundamental right of freedom…
Nicola Sturgeon cancels New Year celebrations as omicron cases rise
All measures will be reviewed on Jan 11, almost two weeks after her Dec 31 target for 80 per cent of the adult population to get their…
Liz Truss sticks to Lord Frost’s guns with echo of Margaret Thatcher’s ‘not for turning’
The Foreign Secretary has modelled herself on Mrs Thatcher, her political hero, most recently being pictured riding in a tank 35 years after the former prime minister…
Questor: stocks to buy for your children this Christmas
The pandemic has done the shares no favours and they stand 36pc below where we tipped them in August 2018 and no higher than in December 2012….
The rise and rise of the pandemic millionaire homeowner
Those 15 newly-minted wards that surged past the £1m threshold were largely in London’s commuter belt, where bidding wars broke out amid a race for space, a…
The neighbourhoods where surging house prices made new millionaires in 2021
He added: “The scale of growth in Surrey and Hertfordshire was the biggest surprise. But that is the first stop that London money makes on its way…
Taxes are up and inflation is rising – here’s how to protect your money
At the same time, the £12,570 personal allowance for income tax will stay frozen until at least 2026. It means more could be dragged into higher tax…
‘The grants don’t match reality’ – pubs rebuke Rishi Sunak’s £1bn offer
Pubs and restaurants have rebuked Rishi Sunak’s £1bn leisure and hospitality grant scheme after customers stayed at home en masse this week. Firms across Britain have seen…
What is the Plug-in Car Grant, how much is it – and what are the best cars that still qualify for a discount?
Price: £28,595 after PiCG The Renault Zoe is well established as one of the best small EVs, not least thanks to its long range of up to…
Dear Prue: ‘Should we go booze-free this Christmas?’
Dear Prue, My father-in-law has recently given up alcohol, much to the whole family’s delight. He drank far too much for years and it had become a…