Top Tory MPs ask for £10,000 a day to work for fake Korean company

Video footage shows Matt Hancock and Kwasi Kwarteng discussing pay rates after being duped by campaigners

The former chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, and former health secretary, Matt Hancock, agreed to work for £10,000 a day to further the interests of a fake South Korean firm after apparently being duped by the campaign group Led by Donkeys.

Kwarteng attended a preliminary meeting at his parliamentary office and agreed in principle to be paid the daily rate after saying he did not require a “king’s ransom”. When Hancock was asked his daily rate, he responded: “It’s 10,000 sterling.”

Continue reading...

Liz Truss criticised for ‘stunning lack of humility’ over reported peerage plans

Ex-PM has reportedly nominated at least four new members of Lords despite only lasting 49 days in No 10

Liz Truss has been accused of showing a “stunning lack of humility” following reports that she plans in effect to create a peer for every 10 days she spent in office.

The former prime minister is reported to have nominated at least four new members of the House of Lords, despite being forced from office after only 49 days, following a disastrous mini-budget.

Continue reading...

Union leader urges TUC to unite in defying planned anti-strike law

Fire Brigades Union chief says joint action needed to oppose ‘pernicious’ minimum service levels bill

A leading trade union has called for a concerted campaign of defiance and civil disobedience against the government’s planned anti-strike laws.

Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), urged a coordinated campaign among trade unions of “mass non-cooperation and non-compliance” against the minimum service levels bill.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson insists Partygate leaving dos were ‘essential for work purposes’ during grilling by MPs – as it happened

Former PM suggests ‘unsocially distanced farewell gatherings’ were allowed at work and that he didn’t think following guidance meant following it perfectly

Turning back to the Northern Ireland protocol deal vote for a moment, Steve Baker, the Northern Ireland minister, has said that Boris Johnson risks being remembered as a “pound shop Nigel Farage” for his stance on the Windsor framework.

Baker said that reviving the Northern Ireland protocol bill, Johnson’s declared alternative to Rishi Sunak’s deal (see 9.40am), would “wreck our relations with the European Union and damage our standing internationally”. Sky’s Sam Coates has posted the full quote on Twitter.

Continue reading...

Sunak evades damaging Commons rebellion as NI Brexit plan passes

Boris Johnson and Liz Truss among 22 Tory rebels voting against deal agreed with European Commission

Rishi Sunak has escaped an overly damaging Commons rebellion over his revised plan for post-Brexit Northern Ireland trade, winning a vote on the measure with 22 of his own MPs voting against the deal.

Among the Conservative rebels were Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, another former party leader, Iain Duncan Smith, and the former cabinet ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel and Simon Clarke.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson ‘very much looking forward’ to appearing before MPs investigating whether he misled parliament over Partygate – as it happened

Former prime minister says he believes evidence shows he did not recklessly mislead parliament over Partygate

Boris Johnson claims there is no document showing that he was given “any warning or advice” than any No 10 event may have broken Covid rules. He says:

It is clear from that investigation that there is no evidence at all that supports an allegation that I intentionally or recklessly misled the house. The only exception is the assertions of the discredited Dominic Cummings, which are not supported by any documentation.

There is not a single document that indicates that I received any warning or advice that any event broke or may have broken the rules or guidance. In fact, the evidence before the committee demonstrates that those working at No 10 at the time shared my honest belief that the rules and guidance were being followed.

I accept that the House of Commons was misled by my statements that the rules and guidance had been followed completely at No 10. But when the statements were made, they were made in good faith and on the basis of what I honestly knew and believed at the time.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson set to submit Partygate dossier, saying he didn’t deliberately mislead MPs – UK politics live

Former PM expected to attack privileges committee inquiry as unfair before appearing before it on Wednesday

Downing Street has rejected a claim that government announcements are being held back this week because of all the media attention that the Boris Johnson privileges hearing will get. Asked about the claim (see 11.36am), the PM’s spokesperson said:

There is a large number of announcements being made this week, whether that’s on support for low-income households on energy, and obviously the vote on the Stormont brake on Wednesday so it is a significant week for government.

It’s wrong to suggest government business changes as a result of this committee hearing.

Continue reading...

Several Tory MPs may join DUP in voting against Brexit ‘Stormont brake’

Anger among European Research Group over vote on key part of Windsor framework for Northern Ireland

Rishi Sunak faces a reckoning from hardline Brexiters on his backbenches who are prepared to follow the Democratic Unionist party in voting against a key element of his “Windsor framework” that overhauls the Northern Ireland protocol.

Anger is rising among those in the European Research Group at ministers using a vote on a statutory instrument to implement the “Stormont brake” on Wednesday, as a proxy for MPs to have their say on the whole deal.

Continue reading...

Kwasi Kwarteng: I would ‘never rule out’ Boris Johnson leading Tories again

Prediction comes as former PM set to be grilled by privileges committee as part of Partygate inquiry

Boris Johnson may emerge from a televised grilling next week over claims he misled parliament about Partygate unscathed and go on to lead the Conservative party again, a former cabinet minister has said.

Kwasi Kwarteng, who was made business secretary by Johnson before a short-lived stint as chancellor under Liz Truss – which ended after his notorious mini-budget – said he would “never rule out” a return by Johnson to frontline politics.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson reselected as Tory candidate in Uxbridge

Former PM chosen to run again in constituency he currently holds, quashing speculation that he might seek safer seat

Boris Johnson has been reselected as the Conservative candidate in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.

It comes after speculation that the former prime minister might seek out a safer seat before the next general election.

Continue reading...

NHS workers expected to be offered one-off payments worth up to 6% as part of revised pay offer – UK politics live

Health secretary expected to announce a formal pay offer to key unions later today

Sinn Féin’s US fundraising arm has caused a row by calling for a referendum on Irish unity in adverts in the New York Times, Washington Post and other US publications.

The half-page ads were paid for by Friends of Sinn Féin and ran on Wednesday urging support for unity referendums in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. “It is time to agree on a date,” it said. “Let the people have their say.”

They’re ads from Irish American organisations whose view on reunification is well known and held for a very long time and they take out ads every year. So, the focus now needs to be on getting back to work [at Stormont].

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson ‘Partygate’ evidence to be heard next Wednesday afternoon – UK politics live

Former prime minister’s session with inquiry will be televised

Humza Yousaf, the Scottish health secretary who is seen by many as the frontrunner in the SNP leadership contest, claimed this morning that his support has “dramatically increased” among SNP voters.

Speaking on a visit in Dundee, he acknowledged that he and his opponents’ approval ratings were a long way behind Nicola Sturgeon’s. “What we’re trying to do is build upon that legacy,” he said.

In three weeks I’ve also quadrupled my support among the Scottish public.

If I’ve been able to do that in three weeks, I believe that bodes well for the next three months and even the next three years.

Continue reading...

Gary Lineker row: No 10 refuses to say Sunak has confidence in Tim Davie as star ‘delighted’ to return to BBC – live

Downing Street declines to say whether PM has confidence in BBC director-general after furore over Match of the Day presenter

The former journalist and Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell praised Lineker for his “professionalism, accountability and integrity” and Tim Davie for “admitting they got it wrong” after the BBC apology.

Before the BBC statement, the former BBC director of news James Harding told Radio 4’s Today programme that the corporation had got itself into a bit of a muddle over impartiality.

Continue reading...

Pressure on BBC chair mounts over Gary Lineker suspension

Executives race to resolve Match of the Day presenter standoff as senior Tories stop short of backing Richard Sharp on impartiality

BBC executives are scrambling to repair relations with Gary Lineker and stave off a staff mutiny at the corporation, with hopes that the presenter could be back in post by next weekend.

The row left the BBC’s chair, Richard Sharp, fighting for his future on Sunday night as Jeremy Hunt stopped short of backing him to guard the corporation’s impartiality in the wake of the row.

Continue reading...

Hunt likely to save spending spree for polling day, not budget speech

The chancellor has room for giveaways in this week’s budget, but business and consumer groups fear he will hold them back for the election

Jeremy Hunt is under pressure to be generous when he delivers his first budget speech since he became chancellor last October.

The public finances have improved dramatically from the chaotic days that followed Liz Truss’s mini-budget in September, which rocked international money markets and sent interest rates on government debt soaring. The cost of financing Britain’s debt has fallen in recent months and the cost of gas on wholesale markets has tumbled.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak’s ‘show, don’t tell’ approach brings hope back to Tories

Some of party’s MPs even believe they could narrowly win next election – but the odds remain stacked against them

When Rishi Sunak took over, most Conservative MPs were in despair. Some even suggested the party did not deserve to be in power. “We need a reset,” one said at the time. “A period out of office to get our act together.”

But almost five months on, Sunak has given them hope that they can avoid a total wipeout at the next election. Despite 13 years in office and all the problems the UK is facing, they now believe they could hang on, albeit with a significantly smaller majority.

Continue reading...

Matt Hancock’s leaked messages being ‘used to rewrite history’, say civil servants

Some advisers and civil servants speaking to the Guardian say an ‘anti-lockdown filter’ has been placed on events

The mass leaking of thousands of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages have laid bare in the starkest terms the extent of the divisions inside the cabinet and among advisers and civil servants handling the deadliest pandemic in modern times.

But some who worked in Number 10 and across Whitehall, as well as bereaved families, have been angered by what they see as a rewriting of history by some cabinet ministers and by the framing of some of Hancock’s texts.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak offers soft rebuke to claims Boris Johnson abused honours list

PM said Father’s Day card would be his ‘limit’ in response to Johnson nominating his father for knighthood

Rishi Sunak has said his father would be lucky to get a card on Father’s Day, let alone a knighthood, after accusations that Boris Johnson’s honours list had discredited the system.

Sunak has come under pressure to reject Johnson’s list, in which he nominated his father, Stanley Johnson, for a knighthood, given previous allegations about his behaviour.

Continue reading...

BBC apologises for failure to scrutinise Nadine Dorries’ claims about Sue Gray

Former culture secretary called into question neutrality of civil servant after her appointment as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff

The BBC has apologised for the failure to properly scrutinise claims made by Nadine Dorries on a radio show, capping a day of controversies for the corporation.

The broadcaster said in a statement on Friday that “there should have been more challenge” when the former culture secretary and Boris Johnson loyalist made allegations about Sue Gray on Radio 4’s World at One.

Continue reading...

Europe’s far right praise UK’s illegal migration bill

Alternative für Deutschland leaders were among those lauding Sunak’s bill, while other EU figures raised doubts about its legality

European far-right leaders have praised Rishi Sunak’s illegal immigration bill, after a senior EU official repeated her doubts about the legality of the plans.

“Bravo,” wrote the Alternative für Deutschland party on social media. “Way to go! The current [British] government plans now to deny asylum to illegal immigrants and fly them out to Rwanda,” the party wrote on Facebook, saying Germany should follow this approach. “When will we finally have it?”

Continue reading...