Extinction Rebellion could be treated as an organised crime group as part of a major crackdown on its activities that may also include new protections for MPs, judges and the press, the Telegraph can disclose.

Whitehall sources said Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have asked officials to take a "fresh look" at how the group is classified under the law, after the Prime Minister described its blockading of major printing presses as "completely unacceptable". 

On Saturday, police were criticised for failing to act more quickly after the blockade began on Friday evening.

Hertfordshire police faced anger for stating that officers were “working to facilitate the rights of both the protesters and those affected by their presence” but protesters were not cooperating.  

"It's clear they're not your normal protest group, so you have to look at them in a different way," said one Whitehall source.

Ministers are also considering new powers...

The Prime Minister has branded Extinction Rebellion's blockading of major printing presses to stop papers reaching shops on Saturday "completely unacceptable".

Boris Johnson said a free press is "vital" and criticised the activists for trying to "limit the public’s access to news".

More than 100 protesters used vehicles and bamboo lock-ons to block roads outside the printing works at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, and Knowsley, near Liverpool. By Saturday morning, police said some 63 people had been arrested.

The presses print the Rupert Murdoch-owned News UK's titles including The Sun, The Times, The Sun on Sunday and The Sunday Times, as well as The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, and the London Evening Standard.

Mr Johnson wrote on his social media profile: "A free press is vital in holding the government and other powerful institutions to account on issues...

Some or all could be introduced to pay for the Covid crisis, to finance general government spending pledges and to compensate for the reduced tax take caused by a shrunken economy.

However, the proposals have been met with fierce opposition in No?10, with senior figures said to be instinctively opposed, and expressing frustration that officials are failing to present other options, such as cutbacks to Whitehall departments’ current spending budgets.

While Downing Street has indicated it could live with a few billion pounds worth of tax rises, especially the elimination of perceived loopholes for the wealthiest in the areas of capital gains and pensions, Boris Johnson’s aides fear conducting a major tax raid on Middle England in the midst of the pandemic risks derailing the economic recovery.

Instead, they favour introducing cuts to current spending, but are said to be highly frustrated at the failure of officials across government to identify...

Some or all could be introduced to pay for the Covid crisis, to finance general government spending pledges and to compensate for the reduced tax take caused by a shrunken economy.

However, the proposals have been met with fierce opposition in No?10, with senior figures said to be instinctively opposed, and expressing frustration that officials are failing to present other options, such as cutbacks to Whitehall departments’ current spending budgets.

While Downing Street has indicated it could live with a few billion pounds worth of tax rises, especially the elimination of perceived loopholes for the wealthiest in the areas of capital gains and pensions, Boris Johnson’s aides fear conducting a major tax raid on Middle England in the midst of the pandemic risks derailing the economic recovery.

Instead, they favour introducing cuts to current spending, but are said to be highly frustrated at the failure of officials across government to identify...

Some or all could be introduced to pay for the Covid crisis, to finance general government spending pledges and to compensate for the reduced tax take caused by a shrunken economy.

However, the proposals have been met with fierce opposition in No?10, with senior figures said to be instinctively opposed, and expressing frustration that officials are failing to present other options, such as cutbacks to Whitehall departments’ current spending budgets.

While Downing Street has indicated it could live with a few billion pounds worth of tax rises, especially the elimination of perceived loopholes for the wealthiest in the areas of capital gains and pensions, Boris Johnson’s aides fear conducting a major tax raid on Middle England in the midst of the pandemic risks derailing the economic recovery.

Instead, they favour introducing cuts to current spending, but are said to be highly frustrated at the failure of officials across government to identify...

Rishi Sunak has threatened to withhold funding for poorly thought out infrastructure projects as part of a new Whitehall war on waste, amid mounting concern over the state of public finances.

The Telegraph can reveal the Chancellor has moved to bolster the Treasury's grip over the building of schools, hospitals, rail and roads by handing more power to experts who report directly to it and the Cabinet Office.

Treasury sources warned there will be "much more digging into the detail" of major projects proposed by Government departments, with Mr Sunak acutely aware there is growing pessimism over the prospect of a V-shaped economic recovery.

While the Chancellor is fully behind Boris Johnson’s £100bn "Project Speed" plan, he is also conscious of the need to keep a tight grip over the public finances and deliver value for money.

There is a growing row within the Conservative Party as to whether tax hikes, or spending...

Teenage killers aged 15 or over will be handed longer jail terms under changes to the sentencing regime for youth offenders being considered by the Justice Secretary, The Telegraph can reveal.

Robert Buckland is likely to propose increasing the starting point for determining sentences for 15-17 year olds who commit murder from a minimum of 12 years under plans expected to be unveiled next month.

The new changes are likely to be referred to as “Ellie’s law” after teenage victim Ellie Gould, whose family have pushed for tougher sentences for older adolescents after she was murdered in 2019 by her then 17-year-old boyfriend.

The Ministry of Justice is also due to put forward changes to ensure child murderers face life imprisonment without parole, as set out in the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto.

At present the starting point for murderers aged under 18 who are convicted or who plead guilty to murder is 12 years, as...

According to a Whitehall source, Downing Street has made clear there can be “no ifs, no buts” in delivering on the national priority. “Schools not coming back is not an option,” they added. “Failure is not an option.”

Senior Conservative MPs have called for Mr Johnson to take the lead on schools and sideline Mr Williamson, amid fears that widespread anger over this week’s exams about-turn has left him incapable of shaping public opinion positively.

Their concerns have been echoed by several Cabinet ministers, with one saying: “We’ve got to get schools back. That’s the test for him.”

Throughout the pandemic, the prolonged closure of schools has been among the greatest concerns weighing on the minds of Mr Johnson and his most senior aides and ministers. 

Tens of thousands of British tourists in Spain have had their holidays thrown into disarray after the Government imposed an immediate two-week quarantine for anyone returning home from the country.

Ministers reimposed restrictions on travel from Spain, including its islands, last night following new outbreaks of coronavirus which prompted Spanish health officials to warn of a potential second wave of infections.

Holiday firms have already began urgently cancelling trips to the country, with TUI stating that that it "won't take customers on holiday" if they were required to quarantine on their return. It will offer refunds to all those whose trips are being cancelled.

Meanwhile, ministers were drawing up plans to offer Covid-19 tests to those who have returned from Spain in recent days.

The sudden removal of Spain from the list of countries exempted from the Government's quarantine rules is expected to have a chilling...