Dominic Cummings tells Covid inquiry foul-mouthed messages about colleague weren’t misogynistic – UK politics live

Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser denies contributing to an atmosphere of misogyny at No 10, saying he was ‘much ruder about men’

Heather Hallett, the chair, intervenes at this point. She asks Cain if he is defending the 10-day gap. She says she finds that curious if he is.

Cain says locking down the country is a huge, huge undertaking. In government terms, that is government acting at speed. But it was “longer than you would hope”, he says.

Do I understand from what you said earlier that you would defend the 10-day gap between the decision taken that there had to be a national lockdown and actually implementing that decision? Because I find that curious.

As I said, I think it is longer than you would like, but I think it’s important just to emphasise the amount of things that had to be done and the amount of people we had to take with us to deliver a nationwide lockdown.

It’s a huge, huge undertaking and to be honest, from my understanding of government, that is government moving at a tremendous speed – which maybe says more about government than other things.

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Rishi Sunak says he is ‘totally, 100% on it’ in battle against inflation – UK politics live

Prime minister says he knows people will be anxious about rate rise but ‘it is going to be OK’

Rishi Sunak has posted a thread on Twitter setting out what the government is doing to help people with the cost of living. It starts here.

He ends by saying “if we can hold our nerve” he is confident the plan will deliver.

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MPs voting on report that found Boris Johnson misled parliament – UK politics live

Theresa May says parliament must punish MPs who break rules as Penny Mordaunt says Johnson ‘undermined democratic process’

At the Labour event Keir Starmer is now speaking. He starts with a jibe at the SNP, saying the tide is turning in Scotland.

Turning to energy policy, he says Labour wants to promote security.

Can we still achieve great things? Can we unite and move forward? Can we still change, can we grow, can we get things done, can we build things? New industries, new technologies, new jobs; will they come to our shores, or will the future pass us by?

You can put it even more starkly. Around the world people want to know, are we still a great nation? If the question is about the British people, the answer is emphatically: yes.

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Dozens of Tory MPs expected to abstain in vote on committee’s Partygate report

Rightwingers claim Boris Johnson suspension ‘unnecessarily high and fierce’ after findings he deliberately misled parliament

Dozens of Tory rightwing MPs are preparing to abstain from voting in the Commons on Monday over the parliamentary investigation that found Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs, in a sign of support for the former prime minister.

Between 60 and 70 MPs with constituencies in the “red wall” were said to be feeling “incredibly warm” towards Johnson, after he urged his parliamentary supporters not to vote against the committee’s findings.

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Who was at Conservative HQ Christmas party during Covid lockdown?

New Partygate video shows Tory officials at party at height of pandemic. We look at who was there

A new Partygate video that shows Conservative officials dancing, joking and drinking during lockdown has forced thousands of people across the UK to relive harrowing memories of the sacrifices they made during lockdown.

Michael Gove has apologised and said their actions were “indefensible”, but he refused to back calls for some of the attendees to lose honours they were given by Boris Johnson, who has been found guilty of misleading parliament over the Partygate scandal.

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‘Indefensible’: Michael Gove apologises for Tory HQ Partygate video

But levelling up secretary insists Shaun Bailey and Ben Mallet should keep their honours

Michael Gove has apologised for a new Partygate video that shows Conservative officials dancing and laughing as they broke Covid lockdown rules, deeming their actions “terrible” and “indefensible”.

The video, obtained by the Mirror, shows members of staff drinking alcohol at the gathering in London on 14 December 2020, and mocking lockdown rules the public were following at the time. At least 24 people were in attendance, including Shaun Bailey – made a peer in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list – whose campaign team organised the event. He left before the video was taken.

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Video emerges of Conservative HQ Christmas party during Covid

Footage shows members of staff drinking alcohol and dancing at the gathering on 14 December 2020

New footage has emerged appearing to show a Christmas party at Conservative party headquarters during coronavirus restrictions in 2020.

The video, obtained by the Mirror newspaper, shows members of staff drinking alcohol at the gathering in London on 14 December 2020. At least 24 people were reportedly in attendance.

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Partygate report: key findings of Commons privileges committee

How Boris Johnson was found to have misled MPs and why report recommended a 90-day suspension from parliament

The House of Commons privileges committee has found that Boris Johnson repeatedly misled MPs when he told them he knew nothing about lockdown-breaking social gatherings in and around Downing Street. These are the main points of what is a highly damning and hugely detailed report.

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Boris Johnson deliberately misled parliament over Partygate, MPs find

Cross-party committee says ex-PM would have faced 90-day suspension had he not quit in rage at findings last week

Boris Johnson deliberately misled parliament over Partygate and was part of a campaign to abuse and intimidate MPs investigating him, a long-awaited report by the privileges committee has found.

In an unprecedented move, the cross-party group said he would have faced a 90-day suspension from the Commons had he not quit in rage at its findings last week.

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Rishi Sunak would block Boris Johnson comeback as Tory MP, sources say

PM has clashed publicly with predecessor over failed attempts to elevate several close allies to Lords

Rishi Sunak would block Boris Johnson from standing again as a Conservative MP before the next election, sources have told the Guardian, as the two men engaged in an extraordinary war of words.

The prime minister clashed publicly with Johnson over his failed attempts to elevate several close allies to the House of Lords, accusing him of having lobbied to overturn due process to appoint the three Tory MPs. Johnson dismissed his claims as “rubbish”.

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Boris Johnson’s hopes for a comeback must surely now be futile ones

The ex-prime minister’s surprise resignation as an MP followed a collapse in his popularity that is likely to be terminal

When Boris Johnson sat down to draft his resignation statement after learning the privileges committee had concluded that he lied to MPs over Partygate, he was determined to leave his enemies – on both sides of the Commons – a clear message.

It is very sad to be leaving parliament,” he wrote. “At least for now …” That he still harbours hopes of a comeback – despite the damage that he has done to his own reputation, the Conservative party brand and to the country more widely – should surprise nobody.

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Sue Gray will take up Labour role no matter how long the delay, says party

Labour leader’s spokesperson says Gray will become chief of staff even if watchdog recommends long delay to start date

The former senior civil servant Sue Gray will take up her new role as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff even if the government’s appointments watchdog recommends a long delay to her start date, Labour has said.

Labour insiders believe the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) will suggest that Gray should wait for a significantly shorter period than the maximum two years it could recommend for senior officials taking up a job outside government.

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Partygate: Johnson should reject any finding that he broke rules, say allies

Former PM should refuse to accept outcome if privileges committee rules he knowingly misled MPs, say supporters

Boris Johnson should refuse to accept the outcome of the privileges committee investigation if it concludes that he intentionally misled the Commons over the Partygate scandal, his allies have said.

Some of the former prime minister’s supporters believe he should reject the cross-party group’s findings if they decide, based on written evidence and a fractious three-and-a-half-hour evidence session on Wednesday, that he broke strict parliamentary rules.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Boris Johnson makes last-ditch bid to discredit Partygate inquiry

Ex-prime minister due at televised Commons committee hearing, with legal team about to publish new evidence backing his claims

A defiant Boris Johnson is preparing an extraordinary televised defence of his actions during the Partygate scandal, as his allies this weekend accused the parliamentary inquiry into the affair of relying on weak evidence compiled by a former civil servant recruited by the Labour party.

With a potentially explosive appearance at the Commons privileges committee due on Wednesday, the Observer can reveal that the former PM’s legal team intends to publish written evidence, including new witness statements, supporting Johnson’s claim that he did not knowingly mislead MPs over lockdown parties – as well as examples of the advice he was given at the time.

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Boris Johnson may be only witness called in Partygate investigation

Privileges committee rebuffs lawyer’s request to give evidence alongside former prime minister

Boris Johnson may be the only witness called by the privileges committee for its investigation into whether he misled parliament over Partygate, as the inquiry has rebuffed his lawyer’s request to give evidence alongside him.

The former prime minister is preparing to appear at a televised hearing on Wednesday. The length of the grilling will depend on how much he says.

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