Category Archives: Boris Johnson

Ukraine urges west to be ‘vigilant and firm’ in Russia talks

Posted on by

US president announces small troop deployment to eastern Europe amid fears of invasion

Kyiv has urged the west to remain “vigilant and firm” in its talks with Russia, as Joe Biden announced a small troop deployment to eastern Europe amid fears Moscow could invade Ukraine.

Washington’s top defence officials warned on Friday that the Kremlin had massed enough troops and hardware at the border to threaten the whole of Ukraine, but called for further diplomatic efforts to avert a “horrific” conflict.

Continue reading...

Sue Gray report: redacted version is imminent, say government sources

Posted on by

Move follows anger after Met police asked civil servant to hold back details in her ‘partygate’ report

A heavily redacted report into Downing Street parties by the senior civil servant Sue Gray will be published imminently, the Guardian understands, after Scotland Yard provoked fury and confusion by revealing it had demanded key details of the worst offending be removed.

MPs labelled the Metropolitan police a broken organisation after the force admitted it had asked Gray to make “minimal reference” in her inquiry report to matters its officers were now investigating. The Met, battered by criticism, insisted it needed to protect the integrity of its investigation.

Continue reading...

Covid live: UK reports 89,176 new cases and 277 deaths; Hong Kong offers hamster reparations after ordering cull

Posted on by

UK cases and deaths fall day-on-day; Honk Kong government to compensate pet shops affected by culling of hamsters for Covid reasons

Nightclubs will be allowed to reopen in Wales from today as Covid restrictions are eased further and “alert level zero” came into effect from 6am this morning.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said in a statement overnight:

We have passed the peak of this omicron wave and there are encouraging signs that cases of coronavirus may be starting to stabilise. But we all need to continue taking steps to stay safe – unfortunately the pandemic is not over yet.

We are moving to alert level zero and we will retain some important protections, such as face coverings in most indoor public places and risk assessments.

For the events the Met is investigating, we asked for minimal reference to be made in the Cabinet Office report.

The Met did not ask for any limitations on other events in the report, or for the report to be delayed, but we have had ongoing contact with the Cabinet Office, including on the content of the report, to avoid any prejudice to our investigation.

Continue reading...

Sue Gray report facing further delay after Met police intervention

Posted on by

Force says it has asked for report to make minimal reference to Downing Street events it is investigating

The publication of the Sue Gray report could be delayed significantly after Scotland Yard revealed it had asked for references to matters it is now investigating to be removed.

Key parts of the long-awaited report on allegations of parties in No 10 that may have broken Covid rules could be pared back after the move.

Continue reading...

‘Time for the truth’: MPs call on Boris Johnson to publish ‘partygate’ report

Posted on by

Cabinet Office officials wrangle over final version of Sue Gray’s findings on alleged Covid rule-breaking parties

Boris Johnson has been told it is “time for the truth to be released” as he faced more calls to publish a long-awaited report into “partygate” in full and not “suppress crucial details”.

Officials in the Cabinet Office are still wrangling over the final version of Sue Gray’s findings on a string of alleged Covid rule-breaking parties in Downing Street and other parts of government.

Continue reading...

Covid news live: England drops all ‘plan B’ restrictions; Moderna begins trial of Omicron-specific booster shot

Posted on by

Compulsory use of face masks, vaccine certificates and work from home guidance all ended in England; Moderna follows Pfizer in launching trial to target Omicron

A couple of snippets from Politico’s London Playbook email this morning suggest we might all be here again on Monday waiting for Sue Gray to publish her report into a lockdown party culture at Downing Street and in Whitehall. They write:

The latest information is that Boris Johnson has still not received the document from Gray. It is possible it will arrive this morning and then be published this afternoon — however it is now just as likely that the whole publication process slips to next week, after a remarkable internal row broke out over what exactly can be made public following the police decision to launch a formal probe.

…

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson ‘will not have to resign’ if police interview him under caution – UK politics live news

Posted on by

Latest news updates: ministers say PM will not follow Tony Blair’s precedent if police read him his rights over partygate investigation

As mentioned earlier, the BBC were calling it Grayja vu this morning. A reader has been in touch to suggest that an alternative would be Groundhog Gray.

Boris Johnson has left No 10 and is doing a visit later this morning, Sky News reports. That means the prospect of his doing a statement in the Commons on the Sue Gray report later today is increasingly unlikely. In his Red Box briefing (paywall) for the Times, Patrick Maguire says the planned trip today will take the PM several hundred miles away from London.

Continue reading...

Fibbing is part of Boris Johnson’s toolkit but could be his undoing

Posted on by

Analysis: PM’s assertions that there were no lockdown parties are increasingly hard to believe

If Boris Johnson’s premiership is brought to a humiliating close in the coming days, it will not only be because he allowed Downing Street’s boozy lockdown parties to happen on his watch – but because he lied about them.

When allegations of parties first emerged, Johnson told MPs in the House of Commons that Covid guidance “was followed completely in No 10”, and on another occasion – vehemently – that he had been “repeatedly assured” there were no parties.

Continue reading...

Starmer slams ‘spectacle of PM under police investigation’ as Boris Johnson awaits Sue Gray report – live

Posted on by

No 10 has still not yet received report on Downing Street parties that could trigger a Tory leadership election

Here is a question from below the line worth answering up here.

The answer is no.

Continue reading...

Covid live: UK reports 346 daily deaths; Denmark aims to end all restrictions

Posted on by

UK also records over 102,000 daily cases; Danish plan would mean most far-reaching easing among Nordic countries

The key lines from UK foreign secretary Liz Truss on Sky News are that she has reiterated her 100% support for the prime minister, she has said that she herself attended no parties during lockdown, and she also said – albeit with a slight pause – that she had not been invited to any parties during lockdown. She declined, when asked, to call for Labour leader Keir Starmer to also be investigated by police over having a beer in a constituency office.

Beyond that she said “I’m not going to prejudice the findings of the Sue Gray report, or indeed, the police investigation” or words to that effect quite a lot. She said:

I believe that he’s done a fantastic job as prime minister, whether it’s delivering Brexit, delivering the Covid vaccines, the booster programmes. We’ve now got a much faster growing economy than many of our competitors, thanks to his work, and I believe that’s what we should focus on … I don’t think it’s helpful to speculate on specific claims or specific accusations about what may or may not have happened.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson accused of lying as emails suggest he approved Afghan dog rescue

Posted on by

PM called claims he intervened to help evacuation of animal charity ‘complete nonsense’

Foreign Office emails appear to contradict Downing Street’s insistence that Boris Johnson did not personally authorise the controversial rescue of cats and dogs from a British animal charity in Afghanistan.

The release of two emails on Wednesday prompted claims that the prime minister lied, while he faces separate accusations about misleading parliament over the Downing Street parties scandal.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson braced for perilous 48 hours with release of Sue Gray’s report

Posted on by

Premiership under threat as MPs see official report that has now triggered police investigation

Boris Johnson is braced for the most perilous 48 hours of his premiership, with exasperated Conservative MPs due to see an official report into Downing Street parties that has now triggered a criminal inquiry.

The Metropolitan police commissioner, Cressida Dick, announced on Tuesday that her officers are investigating allegations of law-breaking at the heart of government on the basis of evidence unearthed during an inquiry by the senior civil servant Sue Gray.

Continue reading...

Met’s ‘partygate’ inquiry is latest run-in between police and politics

Posted on by

Analysis: Cressida Dick has had ringside seat for some of Met’s past painful encounters with politicians

The 48 hours before Cressida Dick’s bombshell announcement of a criminal investigation into “partygate” was intense, busy and momentous for the leadership of the Metropolitan police.

It was only on Sunday that the Met decided it had enough evidence to merit a criminal investigation into claims of parties in Downing Street and Whitehall, attended by those who made the onerous lockdown rules.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson faces fresh outrage over lockdown birthday party

Posted on by

Furious response from MPs and bereaved after revelation of celebration held indoors in contravention of Covid restrictions

Boris Johnson was facing renewed anger from MPs and bereaved families on Monday after the disclosure that his fiancee threw him a surprise lockdown birthday party, as sources said an official inquiry had uncovered “appalling evidence of mismanagement” at the heart of Downing Street.

Sue Gray, the senior civil servant leading the inquiry into Downing Street parties, is expected to make deeply critical recommendations on overhauling No 10’s operation after hearing of repeated failures of leadership, according to a Whitehall source who spoke to the inquiry.

Continue reading...

UK scraps Covid testing after arrival for double-vaccinated travellers

Posted on by

Requirement to take lateral flow test will end from 4am on 11 February, cheered by airlines as a ‘landmark’

Coronavirus testing for double-vaccinated travellers arriving in the UK will be scrapped from 4am on 11 February.

In a boost for travel firms and families planning trips abroad, eligible passengers will no longer have to take a post-arrival lateral flow test (LFT). The change will save families about £100 a trip. The industry body Airlines UK said it was a “landmark day”.

Continue reading...

Johnson orders inquiry into Nusrat Ghani ‘Muslimness’ sacking claims

Posted on by

PM has asked Cabinet Office to conduct inquiry into allegations, says spokesperson

Boris Johnson has ordered a formal inquiry into allegations by the Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani that she was sacked as a minister after being told her “Muslimness” was “making colleagues uncomfortable”.

In a brief statement early on Monday, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister has asked the Cabinet Office to conduct an inquiry into the allegations made by Nusrat Ghani MP.

Continue reading...

Covid live: 74,799 more cases reported in UK; Russia breaks daily infection record

Posted on by

Latest updates: follow all the news and politics developments resulting from the coronavirus pandemic in the UK and around the world

Sturgeon talks about the impact on business. She said she realises that hospitality has been badly affected by the pandemic.

“It’s not about having protective measures and businesses are damaged, or having no measures and everything is fine. It’s having measures than stem transmission, or allowing things to be controlled.”

Continue reading...

Dominic Raab refuses to confirm full publication of Sue Gray partygate report

Posted on by

Deputy PM promises ‘full transparency’ but says it is for Boris Johnson to decide how much detail is released to the public

Dominic Raab has refused to confirm that the Sue Gray report on alleged Downing Street parties will be published in full, saying the amount of detail released publicly will be a matter for Boris Johnson.

The prime minister is braced for a critical week, with many Tory backbenchers reserving judgment on his future until they see Gray’s findings and how Johnson responds.

Continue reading...

Confusion over UK claim that Putin plans coup in Ukraine

Posted on by

Foreign Office claim of plot to install pro-Moscow government in Kyiv comes with scant detail

The Foreign Office has said that it had exposed evidence of a plot to install a pro-Moscow government in Ukraine, and Boris Johnson promised to “ramp up pressure on Russia”, as his own domestic political troubles deepened.

Saturday’s rare reference to intelligence-gathering went into almost no detail about a conspiracy that, if accurate, could mean a serious escalation in the threat to Ukraine. Politicians there were sceptical that the government could be replaced without a full-blown invasion of the capital, Kyiv.

Continue reading...

No 10 staff have swipe card data logged in probe of ‘partygate’

Posted on by

Security logs crucial to future of key staff as Sue Gray also ‘has details of new social event’

The senior civil servant investigating allegations of at least nine lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street has been given access to a detailed log of staff movements in and out of the building from security data including swipecards.

Whitehall figures say the inquiry by Sue Gray – who is expected to publish a report of about 25 pages this week – has been “forensic”, looking in “granular detail” at who was in the building for social gatherings, some of which went on into the early hours, and the precise timings of their arrivals and departures.

Continue reading...