Category Archives: Nadine Dorries

Boris Johnson’s criticism of sexist smear against Angela Rayner inadequate, says Labour – UK politics live

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Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves says action is needed, ‘not just warm words’

The Downing Street lobby briefing has just ended. And we’ve learned that Boris Johnson has not received a fine over the party in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020 – or at least not yet.

There has been speculation that he will be fined for this because at the end of last week it emerged that other people who attended the event in response to an invitation from Johnson’s then principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, are being fined. The invitation told people to BYOB (bring your own bottle).

I, and others in Whitehall, have been clear that the prime minister himself had no direct involvement in decisions around Nowzad.

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Dorries criticises Jacob Rees-Mogg’s ‘Dickensian’ approach to working from home

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Culture secretary hits out after minister leaves notes for civil servants in empty Whitehall offices

Nadine Dorries has criticised Jacob Rees-Mogg, the minister responsible for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency, of foisting a “Dickensian” approach to working from home on the civil service.

Rees-Mogg, who has previously been called “the honourable member for the 18th century” has written to cabinet ministers urging them to coerce staff into a “rapid return to the office” and has been leaving notes in empty Whitehall workspaces with the message: “I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.”

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Channel 4 privatisation plans face Tory backlash – UK politics as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. You can find our latest stories on Channel 4 below:

DCMS select committee chair Julian Knight has questioned if the government’s plans to forge forward with the privatisation of Channel 4 are “revenge”, adding that many Tories believe the move is “payback time” for “biased coverage”.

Knight said Channel 4 could succeed if it was privatised and managed well, but it’s “a big risk” and “must be done as part of a thorough overhaul of all public service broadcasting”.

It is certainly true that Channel 4 will have greater freedom to compete once privatised and if managed well it should be able to continue to innovate and crucially appeal to young audiences - a real USP in today’s broadcast landscape.

However, this is a big risk. The question has to be, do you think a restricted but brilliant small state broadcaster will part compete with the likes of Apple and Amazon or does it need to be able to borrow and grow in a way only privatisation can unlock?

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Nadine Dorries presses ahead with plan to privatise Channel 4

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Ministers hope to raise £1bn from sell-off ending broadcaster’s 40 years in public ownership

The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, is pushing ahead with controversial plans to privatise Channel 4, with the government backing proposals to sell off the broadcaster after 40 years in public ownership.

The government hopes to raise around £1bn from the sell-off, making it one of the biggest privatisations since Royal Mail went public a decade ago. Ministers have suggested they could spend the proceeds to boost creative training and independent production companies, essentially funding their levelling up agenda.

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Nadine Dorries hands top charity role to candidate rejected by MPs

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Orlando Fraser to chair Charity Commission despite select committee calling him ‘slapdash and unimaginative choice’

The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, has pressed ahead with the appointment of former Tory parliamentary candidate Orlando Fraser to chair the Charity Commission, despite his rejection by an MPs’ scrutiny committee.

The news that Dorries had ignored the cross-party group of MPs to appoint Fraser was slipped out in a brief statement by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) early on Friday evening.

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‘Partygate’: Johnson’s removal is now inevitable, warns loyalist

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More MPs set to submit resignation demands as No 10 rejigs team

Boris Johnson’s desperate efforts to save his premiership were undermined on Saturday as one of his most loyal backbench supporters said it was now “inevitable” that Tory MPs would remove him from office over the “partygate” scandal.

In an interview with the Observer, Sir Charles Walker, a former vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, implored the prime minister to go of his own accord in the national interest, and likened events in the Tory party to a Greek tragedy.

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Dorries claims vast majority of Tories behind Johnson

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Culture secretary dismisses resignation calls over ‘partygate’ after another Tory says PM should go

The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, has rejected calls for Boris Johnson to resign in order to restore trust after the “partygate” scandal, claiming that the “vast majority” of the party were behind the prime minister.

It comes after the former schools minister, Nick Gibb, became the latest Conservative MP to publicly call for Johnson to go, citing constituents “furious about the double standards” and the prime minster’s “inaccurate” statements in the Commons.

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Revealed: Tory MPs and commentators who joined banned app Parler

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Nadine Dorries, James Cleverly and Michael Gove joined the platform favoured by Trump supporters

At least 14 Conservative MPs, including several ministers, cabinet minister Michael Gove and a number of prominent Tory commentators joined Parler, the social media platform favoured by the far right that was forced offline last week for hosting threats of violence and racist slurs.

Parler was taken offline after Amazon Web Services pulled the plug last Sunday, saying violent posts and racist threats connected to the recent attack on the US Capitol violated its terms.

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