Politics

The government says it wants to recruit 10,000 more foster carers by the end of the next parliament, launching what ministers describe as a major drive to reverse a long-term decline in support for vulnerable children. Backed by £88m in funding, the plan promises to open fostering up to younger and more diverse households, sweep…

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈 Another day and another podcast dominated by Peter Mandelson – but as the political pressure ramps up across parliament, how will Number 10 react and is the carnage over? In a frantic 24 hours, Lord Mandelson gave up his peerage and the Metropolitan Police…

Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour high command may be relieved that Peter Mandelson has quit the House of Lords. But for both the prime minister and the soon-to-be ex-peer, their humiliation and torment may be about to get even worse. Mr Mandelson faces a full-blown probe by the Met’s specialist crime team into allegations…

Peter Mandelson is set to retire from the House of Lords following the latest revelations about his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. His decision to leave the upper chamber was announced by the Lord Speaker, Lord Forsyth, shortly before 3pm. His departure will become effective overnight. In response to the announcement, a Downing Street spokesperson…

Kemi Badenoch has said that Sir Keir Starmer should have been able to secure the release of pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai during his visit to China. The Conservative leader, who has been critical of the prime minister’s attempts to reset the UK’s relationship with Beijing, said that was something a “strong prime minister would have…

Photos of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor crouching over a woman were taken in Jeffrey Epstein’s New York City mansion, while an image of Peter Mandelson in his underwear was taken in the paedophile financier’s Paris flat, a Sky News analysis has found. Our Data and Forensics unit matched elements shown in the photos to details in images…

Anas Sarwar has vowed to ban transgender women from the female prison estate “within days” if he becomes first minister after the Holyrood election. The Scottish Labour leader has pledged his party will “act swiftly” to ensure prisons are “single-sex, based on biological sex” if it gets into power in May. His declaration comes ahead…

In the end, it was a scandal too far, even for Peter Mandelson. The latest explosive Epstein revelations have forced him to resign from his beloved Labour Party, he says, to save the party from “further embarrassment”. It’s difficult to imagine what could be more embarrassing than this weekend’s disclosure of alleged payments by Jeffrey…

Lord Mandelson has said he does not remember receiving payments totalling $75,000 (£54,000) from Jeffrey Epstein after documents were found in newly released files that appeared to show the paedophile financier sent him the sum. The peer may have been sent three separate payments of $25,000 (£18,000) by Epstein in 2003 and 2004, documents released…

Former Labour minister Lord Triesman, who was “vital” to New Labour, according to Sir Tony Blair, has died at the age of 82, the party has said. David Triesman, who also served as chairman of the Football Association, died “peacefully and at home” on Friday, the party said in a statement. He was the general…