Archive of May 2012

Jeremy Hunt: I considered resigning
Jeremy Hunt considered resigning as media secretary when the row over his handling of the BSkyB bid broke, he revealed today.
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'I was under siege': Cable comes clean about 'war on Murdoch'
Vince Cable has described the series of events which led him to say he was at "war" with Rupert Murdoch.
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Ken Clarke: The press is now more powerful than parliament
The press has altered the culture of British politics and made Britain more authoritarian, Ken Clarke said today.
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Supreme Court votes for Assange to be extradited
The Supreme Court has voted by 5-2 to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to Sweden to answer questions about an alleged sexual assault.
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'Leader in waiting?' Gove surprises everyone with Leveson performance
Right wing commentators branded Michael Gove 'leader-in-waiting' this afternoon after he used his appearance at the Leveson inquiry to launch a full-blooded defence of the British press.
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Clarke launches war with eurosceptic Tories
Ken Clarke sparked a new battle with his eurosceptic colleagues today when he ridiculed them for believing "European bogeys are under the bed".
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Omnishambles returns: Government U-turns on pasty tax
The government is staging a humiliating U-turn on the pasty tax after encountering widespread opposition to the plan.
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Leveson orders investigation as protester breaches Blair security
Lord Leveson was forced into the embarrassing position of having to order a security investigation into his own inquiry today, after a protester burst from behind him to shout at Tony Blair.
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Revealed: Cameron's 'protective wall of sound' at PMQs
The full extent of Tory planning for PMQs has been revealed in a secret email which encourages MPs to barrack Ed Miliband.
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Clegg lashes out at Cameron's gay marriage climb-down
Liberal Democrat MPs will be whipped into backing gay marriage unlike their Tory counterparts, Nick Clegg insisted this morning.
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Clegg: Syria massacre raises Olympic concerns
Senior Syrian officials could be denied entrance to Britain for the Olympic Games, after reports emerged of atrocities against children.
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Warsi property owner: 'I was one of her targets'
The man who owns the property Baroness Warsi stayed in now considers himself "one of her targets", he has told politics.co.uk.
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Pressure, not wrongdoing, forced Hunt ex-spad Adam Smith's resignation
Jeremy Hunt's former special adviser Adam Smith has insisted he did not resign because he behaved inappropriately in evidence to the Leveson inquiry.
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Failing hospitals test gets go-ahead
Hospitals are to be ranked by how many patients are happy for their friends and family to receive the same care they do.
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The memo that brings Hunt scandal to Cameron's door
David Cameron was dragged further into the row engulfing Jeremy Hunt today after another explosive evidence session at the Leveson inquiry.
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Confirmed: Double-dip recession even worse than feared
Britain's economy shrunk more quickly than expected in the first quarter of 2011, in a setback to pundits who had doubted whether the UK really was suffering a double-dip recession.
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No 10 unleashes Tory gay marriage opposition with free vote move
Downing Street has bowed to ministerial opposition to its plans to legalise gay marriage by giving all MPs a free vote.
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No eurozone answers as crisis drifts on
David Cameron has called for "decisive action soon" to resolve the ongoing eurozone crisis.
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Must try harder: £35bn remains in uncollected tax
HMRC has failed to collect £35 billion in tax, partly due to the fact it has laid off staff responsible for collecting the money.
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Leveson vs Paxman: 'You could become an irrelevance'
Jeremy Paxman was in typical form when he appeared at the inquiry into media standards today, as he told Lord Leveson: "Your challenge will be to stop yourself becoming a total irrelevance."
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Cameron lashes out: Ed Balls branded a "muttering idiot"
David Cameron branded Ed Balls a "muttering idiot" in an angry outburst during PMQs today.
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Rees-Mogg: Coalition can't fix Britain
The coalition government will not solve Britain's fundamental problems because of its ideological divide, Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has warned.
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The Watson/Mensch love-in continues… sort of
Tom Watson and Louise Mensch have rekindled their friendship, despite branding each other "naive" and a "Dark Lord of the Sith".
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Pseudo facts? New London Assembly gets off to a rocky start
The new London Assembly has kicked off in much the same way as the last one, with bad-tempered exchanges and angry attacks on Boris Johnson.
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Beecroft stings 'socialist' Cable
No 10 adviser Adrian Beecroft has launched a stinging attack on Vince Cable after his proposals to scrap unfair dismissal were vetoed by the Liberal Democrats.