News

This is the moment Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is mistakenly called “Prime Minister” by the Speaker of the House of Commons.Lindsay Hoyle made the mistake in a heated Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (10 January), when Rishi Sunak confirmed new legislation to exonerate wrongly convicted Post Office branch managers,Addressing MPs, Mr Hoyle said: “I can’t hear the questions. I don’t want any more interruptions, please, it’s a very important topic.”He then looked over at Sir Keir and said “Mr Prime Minister”, before the Labour leader continued with his speech. More

The government are considering mass pardons to clear the names of hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly accused of fraud by the Post Office.Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake told Good Morning Britain that a “blanket overturning of all convictions” is one solution that could be adopted.“What it means is parliament interfering with the independent judicial process, which is something we don’t want to do,” Mr Hollinrake said.“Ideally, we don’t want to do [that]… But we’re not in a perfect world here at all so we know we need to do something potentially very significant.” More

Taylor Swift tickets are easier to get than an NHS dental appointment, ministers have been told.Labour MP Ashley Dalton drew laughter in the House of Commons as she made the comments on Tuesday 9 January.The warning came as the government was urged to grasp the crisis in access to NHS dental care across England.“It’s easier to get your hands on Taylor Swift tickets in 2024 than it is to get an NHS dental appointment,” Ms Dalton said.She also claimed she was met with “laughter down the phone” when trying to register herself and her 88-year-old mother with a new NHS dentist. More

Jeremy Hunt was unable to tell Martin Lewis whether the public should save or spend money to help the economy.The chancellor was grilled by the MoneySavingExpert founder on his eponymous ITV show broadcast on Tuesday (9 January).Mr Lewis pressed Mr Hunt on whether a “good citizen” should spend money to boost the economy or save to keep inflation down.“I pride myself on always giving people direct answers to questions, but I’m not going to answer that one… that is very, very individual,” Mr Hunt responded. More

Michael Gove appeared to have an injury to his face as he arrived at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 9 January.The housing secretary also appeared on BBC News with a mark visible on his forehead.It came as the government announced proposals to bring in a strict time frame for landlords to fix problems under legislation named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his home in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.Landlords will have to make emergency repairs within 24 hours under the proposals. More

Sir Ed Davey has described the Post Office scandal as a “conspiracy on a huge scale”.The Lib Dem leader was postal affairs minister from 2010 to 2012 and has been accused of having “fobbed off” victims of the Horizon IT scandal.“I wish I knew then what I know now,” Sir Ed told Sky News on Monday 8 January.“This is quite a national scandal and at the front of our minds should be those subpostmasters who had their lives ruined.”Sir Ed added that justice must be served and victims should be “properly compensated”. More

Conditions on the Bibby Stockholm barge are “harrowing and humiliating,” a Labour MP has claimed.Nadia Whittome met with asylum seekers housed on the vessel and asked them about the conditions on board.“The men I met said it felt like living in a prison,” Ms Whittome said, adding that their testimony was “emotional and harrowing”.“Conditions are cramped, but their ability to leave the barge is restricted… they’re searched not only on the way in but also the way out. It’s time-consuming and it’s humiliating.”Ms Whittome shared further testimony from Bibby Stockholm residents in the video she posted on social media and vowed to fight for an asylum system that “treats people with dignity and care” on her return to parliament. More

A Lancashire resident had a sweet reaction to meeting Rishi Sunak at the Accrington Stanley Community Sports Hub on Monday, 8 January.The prime minister met members of the football club’s first team, a disability sports group, and students studying BTEC Sports courses.Mr Sunak also played bowls during his visit to the club.It came as Mr Sunak spoke in the town a year after he announced it would receive £20m in levelling-up funds.Accrington also received a further £20m boost after it was identified as one of the government’s 55 so-called “forgotten towns” in the country. More