Category Archives: Boris Johnson

Steve Baker says Boris Johnson ‘should be long gone’ as MPs are set to vote for inquiry into claims PM misled parliament – live

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Latest updates: Senior Tory says PM should go after No 10 U-turn means MPs are set to vote for inquiry into the PM

In the Commons Mark Spencer, the leader of the Commons, has just announced that Tory MPs will get a free vote in the debate today.

That means the government may not have enough votes to pass it amendments. It could therefore decide not to press it to a vote.

Can I say to the leader of the house ... I greatly struggled with lockdowns, and the legacy of Covid. It has pumped so much poison into the veins of this country and the veins of this place?

Can we please try and find a way today not to have a fractious debate and a division? I believe genuinely that the prime minister is a good and decent man and he can make the case to the privileges committee directly without having this house to divide and yet more poison be pumped into public life. Please the chief work find a way of making that happen?

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Boris Johnson set to face Commons inquiry as No 10 pulls amendment

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Dramatic Downing Street U-turn comes as two more Tory MPs call for PM to quit from floor of Commons

Boris Johnson is expected to face a Commons inquiry over whether he lied to parliament, after Downing Street dramatically pulled an amendment aimed at forcing Conservative MPs to delay the new Partygate investigation.

Two more Tory MPs called for Johnson to quit from the floor of the Commons, including the influential Brexiter Steve Baker. “The prime minister now should be long gone,” the former minister said. “Really, the prime minister should just know the gig’s up.”

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India is a huge – but elusive – trade prize for Boris Johnson

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Analysis: Deal is seen by some as single most important UK negotiation, but agreement will take time

Of all the deals that Boris Johnson could sign with countries outside the EU to lift UK trade, one with India is the among the biggest prizes.

After landing in the country on Thursday morning, the prime minister must be hoping his two-day trip – taking in his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujurat and then New Delhi – will add impetus to talks already under way to reach a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.

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MPs should wait for ‘full facts’ on Partygate, says Johnson in India

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Row over breaching of lockdown rules rumbles on as PM begins two-day visit to discuss trade and security

Boris Johnson has insisted MPs should wait for the “full facts” before deciding whether to trigger a fresh investigation into Partygate, as he kicked off a two-day trip to India.

Johnson will discuss trade and security with India’s premier, Narendra Modi, on his first visit to the country since becoming prime minister in 2019. He landed in Ahmedabad and was greeted warmly with multiple bunches of roses. The road into the city centre was lined with billboards featuring large photographs of Johnson.

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PM abandons efforts to block inquiry on misleading Commons over Partygate

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Government changes tack and attempts to delay investigation until after the full publication of Sue Gray report

Boris Johnson has been forced to abandon efforts to block an inquiry into whether he misled MPs over Partygate lockdown breaches, instead urging rebellious MPs to delay any investigation.

Government whips scrambled on Wednesday night to derail a Labour motion designed to trigger a Commons inquiry into whether Johnson lied about rule-breaking in Downing Street – including the potential release of hundreds of damaging messages and photographs.

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PMQs live: Boris Johnson refuses to apologise to archbishop of Canterbury after criticising his stance on Rwanda policy – as it happened

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Prime minister refuses to apologise for reported comments about archbishop and denies criticising BBC’s Ukraine coverage

Asked if the House of Lords Appointments Commission ever approves people for a peerage, only for a peerage not to be awarded, Bew says this has happened, but that it is very rare.

He also says that, under his chairmanship, the commission for the first time rejected a nominee who was subsequently appointed by Downing Street.

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No 10 goes into battle with archbishops over Rwanda asylum plan

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Downing Street refuses to deny PM told MPs archbishops were being unfairly critical as church figures defend Justin Welby

Downing Street has gone into open battle with the Church of England over its condemnation of the Rwanda deportation scheme, with No 10 officials doubling down on Boris Johnson’s claim that archbishops were being unfairly critical.

The prime minister reportedly told Conservative MPs on Tuesday evening that senior clergy had criticised plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda more than they had condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This was not denied by No 10.

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Johnson’s ‘dishonest’ excuses over Partygate fine an insult to public, says Starmer – UK politics live, as it happened

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Latest updates: the prime minister apologises for breaking Covid lockdown rules but Labour says the public ‘don’t believe a word he says’

Boris Johnson must have known parties were taking place in Downing Street in breach of lockdown rules, Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, told the Today programme this morning. Asked to justify Labour claims that Johnson was lying when he told MPs that the rules had always been followed and parties had not taken place, she replied:

The sheer number of parties going on at Number 10 on a regular basis make it perfectly clear to any reasonable person, let alone the person who made the rules, that those rules were being broken and they were being broken consciously.

The fact that Dominic Raab said that when he was in charge there weren’t any parties shows that people knew there were parties going on and he made sure that, when he was in charge of Number 10, when the prime minister was in hospital, that those sorts of things stopped, I think, again makes it clear.

Whatever means we take, the difficulty we will always have is that, since the 2019 election, the Conservatives have an 80-seat majority when there is a vote.

Unless Conservative MPs can look at their consciences and vote the right way, we are not going to get the sort of result that we should get.

The Stormer vehicle launches Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles which can be used to target planes and helicopters.

Boris Johnson is expected to speak to allies including the US president, Joe Biden, today to discuss western support for Ukraine as Russian forces focused on capturing the Donbas region.

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Starmer calls Johnson ‘a man without shame’ as PM gives Partygate apology

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Labour leader accuses prime minister of dishonesty, as senior Tory joins those urging him to quit

Keir Starmer called the prime minister “a man without shame” during furious exchanges in parliament as MPs prepared to vote on whether Boris Johnson should be investigated for lying about the Partygate scandal.

Addressing MPs for the first time since receiving a fixed-penalty notice for attending a party thrown for his birthday in June 2020, Boris Johnson spoke of his humility but said it had not occurred to him that the gathering was a breach of Covid rules.

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Boris Johnson must pay attention to basic cybersecurity rules, says security adviser

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Peter Ricketts’ warning comes as UAE accused of using Pegasus spyware to hack into mobile phone at Downing Street

Boris Johnson should “pay close attention” to basic rules of cybersecurity, a former national security adviser has said, after it emerged that the United Arab Emirates was accused of hacking into a mobile phone at Downing Street.

Peter Ricketts, who held the post between 2010 and 2012, said the cyber-attack demonstrated that “commercially made” Pegasus software from NSO Group allowed a “wide range of actors” to engage in sophisticated espionage.

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From prorogation to partygate: 1,000 days of Boris Johnson as PM

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The UK prime minister leaves a trail of scandals, U-turns and law-breaking as he reaches his milestone

Tuesday marks 1,000 days since Boris Johnson first began working in Downing Street on 24 July 2019. When he came to power, many warned that UK was in for a bumpy ride. He promised to defy the “the doubters, the doomsters and the gloomsters”, but since then his premiership has exceeded even the gloomiest, most doom-laden fears of his doubters and detractors.

Here is a list of some of the most notable scandals, U-turns and examples of law breaking.

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Tory plotters eye local elections as next chance to oust Boris Johnson

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Unhappy MPs feel poor results would help their cause, but No 10 believes he has ‘crossed Rubicon’ and will cling on

Tory MPs are eyeing the aftermath of dire local election results as their next chance to oust Boris Johnson, with the prime minister preparing to apologise for his Partygate penalty.

However, Downing Street is feeling bullish that Johnson has “crossed the Rubicon” after receiving his first fixed-penalty notice earlier this month, and will cling on in the face of further charges.

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No 10 suspected of being target of NSO spyware attack, Boris Johnson ‘told’

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No 10 subjected to UAE-linked spyware attack, says report, but Israeli firm suggests allegations are false

Boris Johnson has been told his Downing Street office has been targeted with “multiple” suspected infections using Pegasus, the sophisticated hacking software that can turn a phone into a remote listening device, it was claimed on Monday.

A report released by Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto said the United Arab Emirates was suspected of orchestrating spyware attacks on No 10 in 2020 and 2021.

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‘Lawless logging’ in DRC raises concerns over $500m forests deal signed by Boris Johnson

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Critics say cash from UK, Norway, France and Germany could be wasted as damning report reveals illegalities, corruption and environmental crimes

Environmental groups have raised concerns about a $500m (£380m) forest protection deal signed by Boris Johnson at Cop26, after a damning report into the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s “lawless” logging sector.

Johnson signed the letter of intent on behalf of the Central African Forest Initiative (Cafi) for a 10-year agreement which includes objectives to protect high-value forests and peatlands. Of the £200m committed to protecting the Congo basin by the UK at Cop26, £32m was given to Cafi from the aid budget.

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Boris Johnson says India visit will focus on jobs and economic growth

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PM also expected to discuss free trade agreement and defence with Narendra Modi this week on twice-postponed trip

Boris Johnson has said his long-awaited visit to India this week will focus on “the things that really matter” to the people of both countries, primarily jobs and growth.

Although Tory MPs have been talking up Johnson’s role as a leader of the international pro-Ukraine coalition, an advance government briefing about the visit did not mention the war – which has not led to India loosening its close links with Russia.

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Can Boris Johnson survive? The prime minister is on the ropes but not yet out

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Analysis: the Tory leader is unpopular for breaking lockdown rules but his departure may depend on options for his replacement

Timing is everything. Suspicions that Boris Johnson had broken lockdown rules nearly toppled him in January. Yet now the prime minister looks safe, even as suspicion becomes fact with the issuing of a fixed penalty notice by the police. Johnson’s strong response to the international crisis provoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appears to have saved him for now, though with more fines probably still to come, and Sue Gray’s final report looming, his position remains perilous.

The lockdown party scandals have turned a lot of voters against Johnson. His average net approval ratings across seven national pollsters collapsed from -9 last September to -40 in January. At rock bottom, the prime minister’s ratings were as bad as Margaret Thatcher’s during the poll tax crisis or Gordon Brown’s at the height of the financial crisis. Johnson was less popular with voters in January than Jeremy Corbyn was during the 2019 election campaign. The Johnson brand as a politician with unique popular appeal looked completely shot.

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Russia bans Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Ben Wallace from entering country

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Moscow announces move that will also bar 10 other UK government members and politicians

Russia’s foreign ministry has banned Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Ben Wallace and 10 other British government members from entering the country.

The ministry said the decision was made “in view of the unprecedented hostile action by the UK government”.

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UN refugee agency condemns Boris Johnson’s Rwanda asylum plan

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Gillian Triggs, assistant high commissioner at UNHCR, says plan is ‘symbolic gesture’ that will prove unworkable

The UN’s refugee agency has condemned Boris Johnson’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda as “a symbolic gesture” that will be unworkable in practice.

Speaking to the Guardian, Gillian Triggs, the assistant high commissioner at the UNHCR, said the proposed arrangement would only accommodate a few hundred people a year, making it extremely expensive as well as illegal and discriminatory.

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UK Rwanda plan for asylum seekers decried as inhumane, expensive and deadly

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Politicians, legal experts and refugee groups condemn Johnson’s plan to ‘offshore’ Channel crossing crisis

Boris Johnson’s plans to send unauthorised asylum seekers on a one-way ticket to Rwanda have been roundly condemned amid warnings that it will be challenged in the courts and could result in further deaths in the Channel.

After the prime minister outlined plans to hand an initial down-payment of £120m to the Rwandan government in the hope that it will accept “tens of thousands” of people, politicians and refugee groups condemned the move as inhumane, unworkable and a waste of public money.

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UK plans to send thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda, says Boris Johnson – UK politics live

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Latest updates: opposition parties denounce plan as ‘shameful’ and ‘evil’; home secretary Priti Patel in Kigali today to unveil more details

Simon Hart, the Welsh secretary, made a rare appearance on the morning broadcast round earlier today. He said the plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda would mark a “humane step forward”. He told Sky News:

We have to deal with this problem. We have a very good relationship with Rwanda: it’s an up-and-coming economy, it has got a very good record with migrants in this particular issue.

And it’s an arrangement which I think suits both countries very well and provides the best opportunities for economic migrants, for those who have been in the forefront of this particular appalling problem for so long now.

We’ve put forward proposals to make it more difficult for smuggler gangs to advertise online on social media, which is partly how they do it.

We think there should be safe and legal routes that people need for family reunions and so on, so that they don’t have to arrive through these illegal routes in order to make their asylum claims.

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