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Speaking at a book launch in Westminster on Tuesday Mr Farage told the PoliticsHome website that he would soon be doing Mr Sunak's job. Teasing Conservative MPs present at the event, the former Ukip leader initially said he was serious but later said he was joking. “I’d be very surprised if I were not Conservative leader by ‘26. Very surprised," he told the website. “They think I’m joking," he said, referring to others present, adding: "I’m serious.” He later tried to row back on his comments and said they were meant “in jest”. Mr Farage quit the Tories 30 years...

The newly revealed exploits of spies who operated in underground tunnels The CIA dug a tunnel under the Kremlin and installed a hi-tech bugging system to eavesdrop on the Soviet Union's most senior figures, according to the former US intelligence officer who executed the plan. The device was put in by a US agent who had to wear a protective suit and was guided by satellite and sonar images of Moscow's underground. The bugging formed part of audacious operations to rescue a key defector, a KGB officer with responsibility for eavesdropping, and to alert Boris Yeltsin to the attempted coup...

Sir John Major has become the second former prime minister within 24 hours to question the Brexit process, saying in a speech that there is a “perfectly credible” case for a second referendum on leaving the EU. Speaking shortly after Tony Blair argued in an interview that Brexit could be reversed if the public changed its mind, Major said that the 48% of voters who wanted to remain should not be subject to the “tyranny of the majority”. The former Conservative prime minister said at a private dinner that the opinions of remain voters should also be heard in the...

Just called it for OUT. This is a rejection pf all Obama and Hillary hold so dear. Plus, with the pre-election polls showing Remain winning, it again shows how the "silent majority" have again been heard at polls. Many MOR voters will not tell pollsters they will vote Trump, but they willQ

Britain has just a 50-50 chance of remaining in the European Union, Sir John Major has warned, saying that opposition to continued membership of the European Union has reached “a critical mass”. In a speech in Berlin on Thursday Sir John warned that Britain’s frustration was “no game”, adding: “There is a very real risk of separation that could damage the future of the United Kingdom—and Europe as a whole.” Sir John—who was a pro-European during his time as Prime Minister from 1990 and 1997—also said that it was time officials in the European Union recognized real concern in the...

John Major yesterday told the Tories to show “a heart and social conscience” as he proposed a windfall tax on energy firms. Piling pressure on David Cameron over soaring power bills, the former prime minister said it was “criminally easy” to overlook the millions of “silent citizens” struggling through no fault of their own. He said it was wrong that so many families would have “to choose between keeping warm and eating” this winter. … Most British voters will opt to remain within the European Union in the proposed in/out referendum, Sir John Major suggested. …

The bitter infighting in Prime Minister Tony Blair's party over when he will quit Downing Street is reminiscent of the rancorous way Margaret Thatcher was forced out, knifed by her own side in 1990. The vultures are circling over the Labour Party leader, demanding his immediate exit, just as they did with titanic Conservative prime minister Thatcher 16 years ago. Both delivered an impressive three straight general election victories for their parties, but Blair now faces the same situation Thatcher did after 11 years in Downing Street: clinging on to power while their rank and file turn against him. Mindful...

Labour's half-truths and spin are a cancer in the body politic By John Major (Filed: 22/02/2005) Since leaving office, I have not sought publicity. Even when provoked I have usually kept my counsel. Yet the changing character of the way politics is conducted is an issue on which it would be wrong to remain silent. The turnout at the last election was pitiful and is likely to be even more so at the next one – probably below that in Iraq, where voters ran the gauntlet of bomb and bullet. In one of the world's most secure democracies, how can...

Since leaving office, I have not sought publicity. Even when provoked I have usually kept my counsel. Yet the changing character of the way politics is conducted is an issue on which it would be wrong to remain silent. The turnout at the last election was pitiful and is likely to be even more so at the next one – probably below that in Iraq, where voters ran the gauntlet of bomb and bullet. In one of the world's most secure democracies, how can such disillusion have set in?One cause is the way politics is conducted. It is a robust...

John Major has issued a grim warning that Saddam Hussein could try to "create Armageddon" if he is attacked by Britain and America. Mr Major, who led Britain in the 1991 Gulf War, said there is a danger Iraq may try to drag the whole Middle East region into a conflagration by attacking Israel. He said Saddam had not used his weapons of mass destruction in the last conflict because the Americans had made clear the consequences for his country if he did. However this time, with the Americans threatening his overthrow, he may decide that he has nothing to...

Former British premier John Major has admitted he had a four-year extramarital affair with Edwina Currie, one of the most flamboyant politicians of her era, when both were serving as ministers in Margaret Thatcher's Government, a media report said today. Major began his liaison with Currie in 1984 when she was a backbencher and he a government whip. It was ended in early 1988 after his swift promotion through the ranks to the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, The Times daily reported. Currie, who later became health minister in the Thatcher Administration, claimed that their friendship continued and...