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Nicola Sturgeon said her responsibility regarding decisions made during the coronavirus pandemic was “to the Scottish people, not Boris Johnson”.The former first minister was being questioned on Wednesday, 31 January, about announcing Covid measures before the UK Government, something she said was not designed to “annoy” Westminster.“The nature of the decisions we were taking meant that they had to be communicated quickly and clearly to the public,” Ms Sturgeon said.Ms Sturgeon added that if she were to seek to not “irritate” the former prime minister, she would have had to agree to do “whatever Boris Johnson wanted me to do”. More

Nicola Sturgeon fought back tears as she was grilled by the Covid inquiry about deleted WhatsApp messages during the pandemic.Giving evidence, the former first minister was asked if she thought she was well suited to be a leader after heavily criticising Boris Johnson’s handling of the crisis.“I was the first minister when the pandemic struck. There’s a large part of me that wishes that I hadn’t been”, Ms Sturgeon said, appearing upset.“But I was and I wanted to be the best first minister I could be during that period.” More

The Labour leader has accused the Conservatives of laughing at an Iceland employee who is struggling to pay his mortgage.Sir Keir Starmer started Prime Minister’s Questions today (31 January), saying: “This week I met one of the employees at Iceland in Warrington, Phil.”After being interrupted by heckling during his question in the Commons, Sir Keir said: “Laughing at an employee at Iceland who’s struggling with his mortgage, shame.“He told me that his mortgage is going up by a staggering £1,000 a month, Prime Minister. Mr Sunak replied: “Thanks to this Government, Phil and millions of other workers, not just at Iceland but across the country, are benefitting this month in their pay packet for a tax cut worth £100s for someone on an average salary.” More

Sir Keir Starmer has mocked a Conservative MP who claimed he could not afford to pay his mortgage on a £118,300 ministerial salary.George Freeman, MP for Mid Norfolk, quit as science minister last November in order to take other jobs.“One of the most difficult experiences for any member of this house is speaking to those at the sharp end of this government’s cost of living crisis. So nobody could fail to be moved by the plight of the member of Mid Norfolk,” Sir Keir began.“His mortgage has gone up £1,200 a month. He’s been forced to quit his dream job to pay for it… a Tory MP counting the cost of Tory chaos.“After 14 years, have we finally discovered what they meant when they said: ‘We’re all in this together?’” More

James Cleverly hailed “impressive” French efforts on illegal migration as he met his French counterpart in Paris, with the pair promising to build closer ties to tackle crossings in the Channel.The meeting between the home secretary and French interior minister Gerald Darmanin on Tuesday evening (30 January) came as Rishi Sunak hopes to show progress in his promise to “stop the boats”.More than 1,000 migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year after crossing the Channel, as Mr Cleverly acknowledged that figures were “comparable” to last year. More

Angela Rayner said she would “do everything I possibly could” to stop what’s happening in the Middle East, as she explained why she abstained from a ceasefire vote in November 2023.Labour’s deputy leader said her party wants to see Hamas release Israeli hostages taken on 7 October and that Labour are “pushing” for more humanitarian aid to get into Gaza.“Realistically what we are trying to do is bring about a ceasefire. Bring about the release of those hostages and bring about a two-state solution for that area,” Ms Rayner said.“I would give everything to make that happen.” More

Gillian Keegan was chastised by the House of Commons speaker on Monday 29 January for giving lengthy answers that may have been a “ploy” to stop scrutiny from MPs.Lindsay Hoyle told the education secretary to be “punchy” with her responses as she took questions in the Commons.“We’re having this problem every time. If it’s topical [questions], they’re meant to be short and punchy,” Mr Hoyle said.“I’ve got to get these members in and all you’re doing is stopping the members not getting in, and if that’s the ploy, it’s not going to work.”Ms Keegan was discussing exams in the aftermath of the crumbling school buildings crisis when she was reprimanded. More

Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Iceland staff members at a Warrington store after the supermarket’s executive chairman gave his backing to Labour.Richard Walker, who quit the Conservative party last October in a blow to Rishi Sunak, said Sir Keir’s party was the “right choice” for business and voters.The former Tory donor said it was the Conservative party rather than him that had changed.”When I was trying to become a candidate, I was told to pipe down on issues that really matter to me, like the alarming rise of food banks, by very senior people within the party,” Mr Walker told BBC Breakfast. More