Former prime minister also admits he should have worked more closely with devolved administrations
Hugo Keith KC is questioning Johnson.
He asks if Johnson’s approach has been to give all relevant material to the inquiry.
I understand the feelings of these victims and their families and I am deeply sorry for the pain and the loss and suffering of those victims and their families.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Channel 4 film says officials contacted the palace in 2020 owing to concerns about Lord Lebedev’s father’s links to Putin regime
Government officials asked whether the late Queen would block Evgeny Lebedev’s peerage because of concerns that he could be a national security risk due to his father’s links to the Putin regime, a documentary has claimed.
The aides contacted Buckingham Palace in July 2020 to request that the monarch intervene, which she was constitutionally entitled to do, after Boris Johnson decided to press ahead with the controversial peerage despite warnings from the intelligence agencies, according to the film-makers.
Continue reading...The Russian businessman is the father of Evgeny Lebedev, who was given a peerage by Boris Johnson
Ukraine has imposed sanctions on Alexander Lebedev – the former KGB intelligence officer whose son Evgeny sits in the House of Lords – in connection with Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
The national security and defence council in Kyiv imposed sanctions on Lebedev Sr last October. The decision – first reported by Tortoise media – emerged on Thursday and follows a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Continue reading...Labour would, however, stick to plans to nationalise the railways if it won the next election, Starmer says
Polling from YouGov suggests that Liz Truss was perceived by Tory members to have outperformed Sunak on every issue covered in last night’s debate.
In particular, she led on Ukraine, cost of living and levelling up, although her lead was weaker on Brexit, the environment and taxation.
There are some lines on PA from Robert Buckland, the Wales secretary who is supporting Rishi Sunak for the Tory leadership, defending last night’s fierce TV showdown as “robust debate”.
There’s this balance to be struck between having a vigorous debate and being sort of almost too polite to each other.
I think it’s inevitable that you’re going to have candidates disagreeing, and frankly, we need to hear what the arguments are.
Continue reading...Not releasing MI5 advice on granting peerage makes government look like it has something to hide, Labour says
Ministers have been accused of “bending the rules to dodge scrutiny” after Downing Street missed the deadline for publishing the security advice it received about granting Evgeny Lebedev a peerage.
MPs voted last month for the material to be released after reports that MI5 raised security concerns when the Evening Standard owner and son of a KGB officer was nominated by Boris Johnson to join the House of Lords in March 2020.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Conservative whips allow MPs to abstain in vote on publication in U-turn after backbenchers threaten to support Labour motion
Boris Johnson has suffered a fresh humiliation after Tory rebels joined with Labour to force the publication of security advice relating to Evgeny Lebedev’s peerage.
Labour launched a bid to reveal information about Johnson’s appointment of his friend to the House of Lords, following the revelation that the intelligence services had concerns about the Russian-born businessman and son of a former KGB officer.
Continue reading...Angela Rayner to force binding vote on release of information, including on PM’s involvement in decision
The government could be forced to reveal private advice over the appointment of Evgeny Lebedev to the House of Lords, amid evidence the security services had concerns about the peerage.
Labour will force a binding vote on releasing information about Boris Johnson’s involvement in the decision to award the peerage to the Evening Standard owner. Angela Rayner, the party’s deputy leader, will demand the information concerning the appointment from the Cabinet Office.
Continue reading...As London’s ‘local’ paper hits troubled times, we examine the profitable past and challenging future for Britain’s provincial press
What job title did George Osborne, the former Conservative chancellor of the exchequer, and the late Labour leader Michael Foot both hold? It is a pub quiz teaser, but one that becomes easier if you add the names of journalists Max Hastings and Paul Dacre to the list.
The answer is that all four of them have at one time edited the Evening Standard, the London local newspaper that has long stood alongside Britain’s major national titles, mainly by virtue of covering a vast capital city and serving a captive audience of commuters.
Continue reading...Read the list of super-rich claimants, from Saudi princes to Dubai monarchs, tax exiles to the UK’s richest
Glympton Park is a sprawling, 2,000-acre estate featuring an 18th-century stately home, nestled in the verdant Oxfordshire countryside near Woodstock.
It was bought for £8m in 1992, by Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, the senior Saudi royal whose past roles include ambassador to the US. He is said to have spent £42m on renovations, including a pheasant shoot and bullet-proof glass on the driveway to thwart would-be assassins.
Continue reading...PM mingled with Russian elite amid claims of Moscow interference in UK politics
It was the equivalent of a V-sign cheerfully flashed at his critics. The day after his landslide election victory, Boris Johnson and his girlfriend Carrie Symonds dropped into a caviar-fuelled Christmas party in London hosted by former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev and his son Evgeny.
During the campaign Johnson had stubbornly refused to publish the Russia report, written by the last parliament’s intelligence and security committee.
Continue reading...Independent owner hosted Saudi leader in London last year
Evgeny Lebedev, the owner of the Independent and the Evening Standard, hosted a private dinner for the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, raising further questions about the media mogul’s links to the de facto ruler of the Middle Eastern kingdom.
Lebedev’s news outlets are being investigated due to public interest concerns over a mysterious Saudi investment made through a web of offshore bank accounts, with the UK government suggesting that the Independent and Evening Standard are now part-owned by the Saudi state. The culture secretary, Nicky Morgan, has until Friday to decide whether or not to appeal against a court ruling that the UK government missed a deadline to intervene in the deal.
Continue reading...Potential PM will not say whether he had police protection during weekend in Italy while foreign secretary
Boris Johnson is refusing to give details of a trip he made to Italy when he was foreign secretary for a weekend-long party held at a restored castle owned by the media billionaire and socialite Evgeny Lebedev.
The Guardian has learned that the likely next prime minister went to Palazzo Terranova in Perugia in April 2018 at the invitation of Lebedev, the owner of the London Evening Standard and the Independent who is renowned for hosting glamorous events for the world’s rich and famous.
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