Category Archives: Conservatives

Dominic Cummings: Tory unrest increases pressure on PM to sack adviser

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Extraordinary party revolt and public criticisms reflect anger over aide’s lockdown breaches

Boris Johnson faced an extraordinary and growing revolt from within his own party on Tuesday over his refusal to sack his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, for breaching lockdown rules.

On a day of dramatic developments, a junior minister resigned and more than 30 other Conservative MPs called for Cummings to go, many citing inboxes overflowing with hundreds of angry messages from constituents.

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Dominic Cummings refuses to resign or apologise for lockdown breach

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Press conference raises more questions but Boris Johnson gives full backing to adviser

The crisis that has engulfed the government over Dominic Cummings’ conduct continued to rage unabated after an unprecedented press conference in which the prime minister’s chief aide repeatedly refused to resign or apologise for breaking lockdown rules.

After an outpouring of public anger rattled No 10, he attempted to explain why he drove 264 miles from London to his parents’ estate in Durham despite suspecting that both he and his wife had coronavirus.

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Johnson’s defence of Cummings sparks anger from allies and opponents alike

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Possible police investigation of aide is latest in series of Guardian disclosures that have rocked the government

Boris Johnson has staked his political reputation on saving the career of Dominic Cummings, amid growing anger among Conservative MPs that the No 10 chief adviser has not been forced out for breaking lockdown rules.

Under intense pressure to explain why Cummings drove his wife, who was suffering coronavirus symptoms, and son 264 miles to his parents’ farm in Durham, the prime minister said on Sunday that Cummings had “acted responsibly, legally and with integrity”.

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Dominic Cummings clearly broke rules, says ex-police chief

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Former Durham chief says it is obvious aide broke lockdown rules as No 10 faces accusations of cover-up

The former chief constable of Durham has said it is clear that Dominic Cummings broke the lockdown rules with his trip from London to the north-east.

Mike Barton’s intervention comes as Downing Street faced accusations of a cover-up over the trip by the prime minister’s top aide to Durham at the height of the national lockdown, with reports that No 10 knew he had made the 264-mile journey after developing coronavirus symptoms.

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No-deal Brexit ‘would overwhelm local emergency teams’

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Leaked report warns local disaster planning already exhausted by coronavirus crisis

Preparing for the impact of a no-deal Brexit later this year would overwhelm local emergency response teams exhausted by the Covid-19 pandemic, a leaked Whitehall report has warned.

A review by a committee set up to review the response to coronavirus said failing to seek an extension to Brexit negotiations threatened to “compound Covid-19 with a second UK societal-wide, economic and social, chronic threat”.

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Revolt over easing of lockdown spreads as poll slump hits PM

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Manchester mayor unleashes fury at Johnson plan, while public approval for government strategy plummets

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Boris Johnson was hit by a growing revolt over his strategy for easing the Covid-19 lockdown last night as council leaders across the north of England joined unions in vowing to resist plans to reopen schools on 1 June.

Related: Are we all in this together? It doesn't look like it from the regions

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Beneath the mixed messages, the Tories are putting wealth ahead of wellbeing

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The government’s revised lockdown advice is muddled and rife with contradictions, but their priorities are crystal clear

Boris Johnson has urged the public to rely on their “British common sense” as lockdown restrictions are progressively eased over the coming months.

But as estate agents joined nannies and cleaners on the list of workers allowed to enter people’s homes, while friends and family can’t come round for a cup of tea or to visit their grandchildren, questions are being raised about whether the latest rules make any sense, British or otherwise.

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PMQs: Keir Starmer presses Boris Johnson over care home deaths

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PM accused of not knowing government’s coronavirus advice after clash in Commons

Boris Johnson has been accused by Labour of not knowing the government’s advice on coronavirus after he told Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions that it “wasn’t true” that the care home sector had been advised it was unlikely to face an outbreak.

In a tricky series of exchanges in the Commons, Starmer put Johnson under intense pressure to explain the extent of care home deaths.

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Boris Johnson’s lockdown release condemned as divisive, confusing and vague

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Coronavirus lockdown stays in place but more outdoor activity will be allowed in England

Boris Johnson urged the country to take its first tentative steps out of lockdown this week in an address to the nation that was immediately condemned as being divisive, confusing and vague.

In a speech from Downing Street, Johnson said if the circumstances were right, schools in England and some shops might be able to open next month, and the government was “actively encouraging” people to return to work if they cannot do so from home.

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Johnson address shows he has been swayed by hawks in his cabinet

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PM attempted to strike a balance, but slogan change and back-to-work pledge will please libertarian right

Boris Johnson famously dislikes disappointing the people around him.

The result is this weekend’s barrage of confused messaging over whether the lockdown is ending, as he tries to please both sides in the battle raging within the Tory party about how to respond to the coronavirus crisis.

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‘Mixed messages’: UK government’s strategy fuels fears of rule-breaking

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Critics of No 10 warn U-turns undermining efforts to keep public safe from coronavirus

First people were meant to stay at home to save lives, and then government sources raised the prospect of picnics with pals and sunbathing in the park just before a sunny bank holiday weekend.

Boris Johnson told the nation that scientists thought face masks might help stop the spread of the disease, but no change was made to the government advice that they were not needed outside medical and care settings.

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The questions No 10 needs to answer over Covid-19 response

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From lockdown to PPE, the government is under pressure to provide more clarity

No 10 has promised “maximum transparency” on its coronavirus response in the coming days. Here are just some of the areas where the government is under pressure to provide detailed answers – or risk being accused of a whitewash.

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Boris Johnson: second Covid-19 peak will be disaster if lockdown lifted too early – video

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Boris Johnson says there are real signs the UK is 'passing through the peak' during his first public statement since recovering from coronavirus. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street on Monday, the prime minister says the lockdown should only be eased when the government is confident there will be no second peak


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Priti Patel bullying row: ex-Home Office chief launches tribunal claim

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Sir Philip Rutnam takes action under whistleblowing laws, claiming constructive dismissal

Priti Patel is facing legal action under whistleblowing laws after her former permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam lodged an employment tribunal claim on Monday saying he was forced from his job for exposing her bullying behaviour.

Rutnam claims he was constructively dismissed from his role as Home Office permanent secretary after informing the Cabinet Office that Patel had belittled officials in meetings and made unreasonable demands on staff.

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PM Boris Johnson was ‘missing in action’ during early phase of pandemic, claims Labour

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Shortages of PPE set to continue and testing behind schedule after Gove admits Johnson missed key Cobra meetings

Boris Johnson’s government has come under pressure to defend its handling of the coronavirus pandemic after Michael Gove was forced to admit that the prime minister had missed five key emergency meetings when the crisis first hit.

With ministers warning that shortages of protective medical gear could continue, test rates remaining stubbornly low and the hospital death toll rising on Sunday to 16,060, some Conservative MPs have expressed private concern that Downing Street does not have a strong grip on the crisis.

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UK ministers will no longer claim ‘no successful examples’ of Russian interference

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Change of official line is first admission that Kremlin may have distorted UK elections

Ministers have been told they can no longer say there have been “no successful examples” of Russian disinformation affecting UK elections, after the apparent hacking of an NHS dossier seized on by Labour during the last campaign.

The dropping of the old line is the first official admission of the impact of Kremlin efforts to distort Britain’s political processes, and comes after three years of the government’s refusal to engage publicly with the threat.

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Boris Johnson says he will ‘stick by’ Priti Patel under fire from Labour

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PM backs home secretary amid bullying claims, saying she is doing an ‘outstanding job’

Boris Johnson has given the government’s strongest backing yet for Priti Patel in the wake of fresh bullying allegations, insisting the home secretary was doing an “outstanding job”, as Jeremy Corbyn demanded an independent inquiry into whether she had broken the ministerial code.

Patel was alongside Johnson on the frontbench during prime minister’s questions as he told the Commons she was keeping the country safe by increasing the number of police officers on the streets and bringing in a system to “tackle our migration crisis”.

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Top civil servant begins legal case against Priti Patel and Home Office

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Home secretary may have to give evidence under oath if case comes to tribunal

Sir Philip Rutnam, the senior civil servant who resigned on Saturday claiming he was bullied and forced from office, has begun legal action against the government over his treatment by Priti Patel, his union has told the Guardian.

Legal documents name the home secretary, the Home Office and the Cabinet Office as respondents, the FDA said. It would mean that Patel will be expected to give evidence under oath if the case comes to tribunal.

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Cabinet Office to investigate Priti Patel bullying claims

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Gove tells MPs government will not set up fully independent inquiry into allegations Patel breached ministerial code

The Cabinet Office is to launch an inquiry into explosive claims that Priti Patel lied and bullied officials in several government departments, Michael Gove has told MPs.

The de facto deputy prime minister said the government would not set up a fully independent inquiry after Sir Philip Rutnam quit as permanent secretary of the Home Office.

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