Portrait of the week

Portrait of the week: Peter Mandelson resigns, Keir Starmer returns and gold rallies

7 February 2026 9:00 am

Home Lord Mandelson resigned his membership of the Labour party and then retired from the House of Lords; some of…

Portrait of the week: Burnham blocked, Braverman bails and Starmer clashes with Trump

31 January 2026 9:00 am

Home Labour’s National Executive Committee refused permission for Andy Burnham, currently Mayor of Greater Manchester, to stand in a by-election…

Portrait of the week: Jenrick sacked, Chinese super-embassy approved and Trump makes a grab for Greenland

24 January 2026 9:00 am

Home President Donald Trump of the United States made Britain and other countries dance to his tune. Sir Keir Starmer,…

Portrait of the week: Digital IDs ditched, unrest in Iran and an app to check you’re not dead

17 January 2026 9:00 am

Home The government dropped plans to make digital ID compulsory to work in Britain. Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister,…

Portrait of the week: US strikes Venezuela, China taxes contraceptives and happy anniversary to the Birmingham bin-strikers

10 January 2026 9:00 am

Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said Britain was not involved ‘in any way’ in the US strikes on…

Portrait of the week: Farm tax backdown, trail hunting crackdown and anti-misogyny courses for 11-year-olds

3 January 2026 9:00 am

Home The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced plans to criminalise trail hunting ‘amid concerns it is being…

Portrait of the year: Trump’s tariffs, the definition of biological sex and the fall of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

13 December 2025 9:00 am

January Downing Street said Rachel Reeves would remain in her role as Chancellor of the Exchequer ‘for the whole of…

Portrait of the week: ‘Misleading’ Reeves, trial without jury and Great Yarmouth First

6 December 2025 9:00 am

Home What Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, told voters about the economy in a special press conference on…

Portrait of the week: a shambolic Budget, Ukrainian plan and justice overhaul

29 November 2025 9:00 am

Home Before Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered the Budget, the Office for Budget Responsibility accidentally released its…

Portrait of the week: an immigration overhaul, Budget chaos and doctors’ strikes

22 November 2025 9:00 am

Home Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, proposed that refugees would only be granted a temporary right to stay and would…

Portrait of the week: BBC vs Trump, a plot against Starmer and a weight loss deadline for North Sea oil workers

15 November 2025 9:00 am

Home Tim Davie, the director-general of the BBC, resigned, as did Deborah Turness, the CEO of BBC News. Samir Shah,…

Portrait of the week: Train stabbing attack, Mamdani takes New York and the Andrew formerly known as prince

8 November 2025 9:00 am

Home The King ‘initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew’, who is now…

Portrait of the week: Hurricane hits Jamaica, Plaid reigns in Caerphilly and sex offender gets £500 to leave Britain

1 November 2025 9:00 am

Home An Iranian man who arrived on a small boat and was deported to France on 19 September under the…

Portrait of the week: Downfall of a duke, double-decker trains in the Chunnel and no more chocolate Penguins

25 October 2025 9:00 am

Home Prince Andrew said he would no longer use his titles, including as Duke of York, or his honours; his…

Portrait of the week: Gaza ceasefire, unemployment increases and a Gen Z uprising

18 October 2025 9:00 am

Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, praised President Donald Trump for the Gaza ceasefire agreement while in India accompanied…

Portrait of the week: Synagogue attack, pro-Palestine protests and a new Archbishop of Canterbury

11 October 2025 9:00 am

Home Two men at a synagogue at Heaton Park in Manchester were killed on Yom Kippur when Jihad al-Shamie, 35,…

Portrait of the week: Keir vs Nigel, ID cards and Trump’s peace deal

4 October 2025 9:00 am

Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, addressed delegates at the Labour party conference in Liverpool who had been issued…

Portrait of the week: Recognition for Palestine, second runway for Gatwick and questions over Epstein for Fergie

27 September 2025 9:00 am

Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, announced that Britain had recognised a Palestinian state. France, Portugal, Canada and Australia…

Portrait of the week: Charlie Kirk killed, Peter Mandelson sacked and Harry takes tea with the King

20 September 2025 9:00 am

Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, asked Lord Mandelson to step back as ambassador to Washington. This followed the…

Portrait of the week: Angela Rayner resigns, Poland downs Russian drones and Israel bombs Qatar

13 September 2025 9:00 am

Home The government shuddered when Angela Rayner resigned as housing secretary, deputy prime minister and deputy leader of the Labour…

Portrait of the week: Keir Starmer’s reshuffle, Graham Linehan’s arrest and get ready for Storm Wubbo

6 September 2025 9:00 am

Home Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, told the Commons that new applications for refugee family reunion visas would be suspended.…

Portrait of the week: Reform’s migration crackdown, South Korea’s school phone ban and Meghan Markle misses Magic Radio

30 August 2025 4:00 am

Home Nigel Farage, launching Reform’s policies on illegal migrants, said: ‘The only way we’ll stop the boats is by detaining…

Portrait of the week: Ukraine talks, inflation rises and a new house for the Prince and Princess of Wales

23 August 2025 9:09 am

Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, joined President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the…

Portrait of the week: Palestine Action arrests, interest rate cuts and an Alaska meeting

16 August 2025 9:00 am

Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said: ‘The Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is…

Portrait of the week: Migrant treaty kicks in, car finance claim kicked out and a nuclear reactor on the moon

9 August 2025 9:00 am

Home A treaty with France came into operation by which perhaps 50 small-boat migrants a week could be sent back…