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Kemi Badenoch has denied that she is part of an alleged plan to oust Rishi Sunak as prime minister.“This is a nonsense story. This is the media trying to fuel lots of gossip about Westminster,” the Conservative minister said on Thursday, 1 February.It comes after The Guardian reported that the business secretary is a member of a Tory WhatsApp group called “evil plotters”, a name her allies insist is a tongue-in-cheek joke.A Tory insider told the newspaper that Ms Badenoch is not directly involved with any plot to topple Mr Sunak, but “she’s got a campaign ready for when the moment does eventually come.” More

Lindsay Hoyle has revealed that all MPs “get death threats” as he addressed Mike Freer’s resignation.The government minister has said he will stand down at the next general election after a series of threats and an arson attack on his constituency office.Mr Freer has said he can no longer put his family through the anxiety for his safety.“We all get death threats, but Mike really has been targeted,” Sir Lindsay said, reacting to the resignation on Thursday morning (1 February).“Thankfully, he’s here to tell the story, but I’m really saddened he’s felt he’s had to stand down.” More

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