Spending watchdog to give speech in parliament following supply scandals, including that involving Lady Mone The government had a responsibility to apply “basic standards” of procurement checks on PPE during the Covid pandemic, the auditor general will say, after scandals over supply, including that involving the peer Michelle Mone. Gareth Davies, the head of the National Audit Office, said people accepted that some normal processes needed to be suspended in an emergency, such as lengthy

Former SNP Commons leader claims he would have seen off his detractors had he sought reelection Ian Blackford has said he could have won the SNP’s race to elect a new Westminster leader if he had put himself forward. Speaking to TalkTV on Wednesday evening, Blackford, who stepped down as the party’s Westminster leader last week, told Jeremy Kyle: “I could have seen this off, I believe I would have won if I’d put myself

MP for Solihull and chair of DCMS committee has had Tory whip removed ‘with immediate effect’ The Conservatives have removed the whip from Julian Knight after a complaint was made to the Metropolitan police. The chief whip, Simon Hart, removed the Tory whip, meaning Knight no longer sits in the Commons as a Conservative, after the complaint was made on Wednesday. Continue reading… ​MP for Solihull and chair of DCMS committee has had Tory whip

TUC and Unison say government is not negotiating in good faith, while PM accuses union leaders of being ‘unreasonable’ Union leaders have told ministers to stop “hiding behind” pay review bodies in winter strike talks amid warnings that industrial action on the railways could continue for six months. As a rolling wave of industrial action looms, Frances O’Grady, secretary general of the Trades Union Congress, and Christina McAnea, the general secretary of healthcare union Unison,

Party to give British Business Bank greater independence to raise capital in latest move to cement growing pro-business reputation Labour is aiming to seize ground abandoned by the Conservatives on economic growth with plans for a shake-up of business funding to help fast-growing startups secure billions of pounds in fresh investment. Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, will use a speech to 350 business leaders in Canary Wharf, east London, on Thursday to announce the findings

Gas company Cadent distributed electric heaters, but residents were told to stop using them after grid breach Sheffield residents say their entire households are sleeping in the same room with a single electric heater or have moved out altogether as they face a fifth day without gas as temperatures plummet. A major incident was declared and 2,000 homes affected in Stannington, a suburb of Sheffield, after 600,000 litres of water entered a gas main on