Oliver Wright

2 weeks ago | thetimes.com | Max Kendix |Oliver Wright

Women will no longer face prosecution for having an abortion under a change in the law set to be passed by MPs next week. In the biggest overhaul of the rules around abortion in half a century, women would no longer be breaking the law if they terminated a pregnancy after 24 weeks or without approval from two doctors. The move, which has the private support of ministers, is set to be passed in a free vote on an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill when it returns to the Commons next week.

3 weeks ago | thetimes.com | Steven Swinford |Aubrey Allegretti |Chris Smyth |Oliver Wright

It was a brief moment of respite. At 3am on Friday the prime minister was woken by a call from an aide informing him that, against the odds, Labour had won the Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse Holyrood by-election. There may have been just 602 votes in it, but for Sir Keir Starmer at this stage of his premiership a win is a win. It was, he said, a “fantastic” victory. For one local resident it mattered more than most.

3 weeks ago | thetimes.com | Oliver Wright |Steven Swinford |Geraldine Scott

What you need to know Sir Keir Starmer has secured improved commitments from France on tackling small boats but this has yet to translate into action on the ground Labour believes a new bill going through the Lords would make a significant difference in its pledge to “smash the gangs” Despite rejecting the Rwanda plan as a “gimmick”, the prime minister’s plan for return hubs has a similar aim, but is still at an early stage Ministers are looking at tightening the rules around Article 8 of the...

3 weeks ago | thetimes.com | Oliver Wright |Steven Swinford |Adam Sage

Britain is pressing France to “swiftly” close a legal loophole that prevents police from apprehending migrant boats in shallow waters amid growing frustration in government at French inaction. The home secretary told MPs it was “disgraceful and unacceptable” that more than 1,195 migrants had been able to cross the Channel in 18 boats on Saturday, marking a new daily record high for crossings this year.

3 weeks ago | thetimes.com | Steven Swinford |Oliver Wright

The images have become all too familiar. On Saturday, French police stood on the shore watching as dozens of migrants, including young children, crammed on to a dinghy a few hundred metres off the coast. It has happened often, and in some cases migrants have drowned in front of the watching gendarmes. While it appears unfathomable, the refusal of the police to intervene is ultimately a matter of French rules. The UK is pushing for those rules to change. Why don’t the French police stop more boats?