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A Tory peer has resigned the government whip after he was found to have bullied and harassed two people while drunk.Lord Kulveer Ranger, a former adviser to Boris Johnson, faces being banned from the House of Lords bars following an investigation into his conduct. He has apologised for his behaviour and given up the whip - meaning he will have to sit as a non-aligned peer.A statement from the whip's […]

Jeremy Hunt has pledged to cut national insurance again in the autumn "if we can afford" it. The chancellor has lowered the tax twice since he entered Number 11, which the government says has saved people an average of £900 a year. But speaking at an event in London on Friday, he said "we're not stopping there", adding: "If we can afford to go further to responsibly reduce the double […]

Bodies of deceased patients have been left to decompose inside NHS hospital mortuaries across England, inspectors have warned.Inadequate storage facilities and a lack of freezer space left some dead bodies for too long in unsuitable temperatures, the report said.Inspectors at the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) have warned that NHS trusts were not always adhering to the rules around keeping bodies.Official HTA guidance says that bodies should be moved into frozen […]

Jeremy Hunt will promise further tax cuts if the Tories win the next general election and will accuse the Labour Party of not being honest about how it will fund its spending pledges.The chancellor will give a speech in London on Friday in which he will accuse his shadow, Rachel Reeves, of resorting to "playground politics" with her criticism of the high levels of taxation on UK households. Mr Hunt […]

Former prime minister Theresa May has poked fun at her successors in Number 10, while issuing a warning to them to avoid delving into populist politics. Giving a speech to reporters at an event in parliament, she spoke about her recent book tour, joking it was interesting to see how rival political titles would be categorised in bookshops. "Liz Truss' 10 Years To Save The West?" she quipped. "Well, given […]

Labour is promising to "make a real difference to people's lives" if it wins the next general election - expected later this year.And Sir Keir Starmer is today setting out how he plans to achieve that in what he is calling the party's "first steps to change Britain". So what is on the revamped pledge card from Labour?Follow politics live:Starmer promises to 'change Britain' in key election speech'Deliver Economic stability' […]

Dangerous cycling that causes death could land people up to 14 years in prison after the House of Commons backed a proposed change to the law.On Wednesday night, MPs voted in favour of an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill that would create three new offences: causing death by dangerous cycling; causing serious injury by dangerous cycling and causing death by careless or inconsiderate cycling. The amendment, put forward by […]

Prisoners who have been assessed as "high risk" are being let out of jail under the government's early release scheme, a serving probation officer has told Sky News.That is despite the prime minister telling the House of Commons on Wednesday that "no one" would be put on to the scheme "if they were deemed a threat to public safety". The End of Custody Supervised License (ECSL) was introduced in October […]

Asylum seekers who have already had their claims rejected will now be part of the group being deported to Rwanda, the home secretary has announced.James Cleverly said the UK has extended the deal it has made with Rwanda to now include those who have come to the UK illegally, claimed asylum and had their application rejected. Politics live: Sunak accused of 'misleading' MPs during PMQsPreviously, only those deemed to have […]