The Latest Breaking News from Whitehall

Drones flying into jails in England and Wales are national security threat, says prisons watchdog

Chief inspector of prisons issues warning after surge in weapons and drugs flown into high-security facilities in England and Wales

The Guardian - UK · Jan 14, 2025

Cambridge spy Blunt feared violence from his KGB controller

Newly-declassified files show notorious double agent refused ‘insane’ order to follow fellow spies Burgess and Maclean to Moscow.

The Independent UK · Jan 14, 2025

No 10 backs Rachel Reeves to remain in post for rest of parliament

Keir Starmer offers support to underfire chancellor after bruising start to new year

The Guardian - UK · Jan 13, 2025

Civil service morale worsened despite improving pay levels, survey finds

Whitehall Monitor report also said churn increased as three new departments created under Rishi Sunak

The Guardian - UK · Jan 9, 2025

Post-cold war peace ‘well and truly over’, warns David Lammy

Foreign secretary says keeping the British people safe means standing up to Russia

The Guardian - UK · Jan 8, 2025

Brexiteer meltdown as Starmer makes May’s chief EU negotiator Foreign Office chief mandarin

Sir Oliver Robbins’ appointment is being seen as a signal of intent for Starmer’s plans to reset relations with the EU

The Independent UK · Jan 8, 2025

UK considering frontloading payments to Mauritius over Chagos deal

Downing Street would not be drawn on financial arrangements, but it is thought Whitehall could stump up a number of years’ payments

Evening Standard · Jan 8, 2025

Nine in 10 Scots don't believe Labour will lower energy bills, poll finds

THE Labour Party will not succeed in its pledge to cut energy bills, the vast majority of Scots have said in a fresh poll ...

The National (Scotland) · Jan 3, 2025

Teachers, nurses and civil servants ‘could be offered higher pay for lower pensions’

Reform which could affect the NHS, schools and Whitehall and could help avoid future strikes over wages, has been branded ‘dangerous’ by some unions

The Independent UK · Dec 31, 2024

Potholes everywhere, shoplifters rampant – today’s Britain looks as broken as it feels

This is what happens when power over public services is stripped from local councils and handed to Whitehall, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins

The Guardian - UK · Dec 27, 2024