Boris Johnson news – live: PM under fire as cabinet secretary accused of misleading officials over parties

Britain’s top civil servant has been accused of misleading officials over what he knew about Christmas parties in his own department during lockdown.

Simon Case stepped down last week as head of an investigation into claims of parties in Downing Street, after it emerged there had been a quiz – registered in work calendars as ‘Christmas party!’ – in the Cabinet Office on December 17 last year.

Before being removed from the investigation, Mr Case assured colleagues that he had no knowledge of any parties or social gatherings of any kind at the Cabinet Office in the run up to Christmas 2020, The Independent understands.

Our economics editor Anna Isaac has the full report:

Over to Scotland. The pay rate for MSPs is set to increase by 3.4 per cent next year, after it was frozen in 2021.

The Scottish Parliament Corporate Body, a cross-party group, set out the proposed increase on Tuesday, which will see the basic salary for MSPs go from £64,470 last year to £66,662 in April 2022.

Last year, pay was due to increase by 5.1 per cent but was instead frozen at 0 per cent because of the pandemic.

A report said: “After having agreed to a pay freeze for the current financial year, it is proposed that MSP and ministerial salaries will increase by 3.4 per cent in keeping with the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) index, as provided for in the Members’ Salaries Scheme.”

The proposed increase in the funding provision for MSPs’ staff is 4.5 per cent.

Scottish government ministers have had a voluntary pay freeze since 2008.

Additional reporting by PA Scotland

Household energy bills are tipped to soar to a record £2,000 a year, threatening Boris Johnson with a cost-of-living crisis just as taxes soar.

The price cap – which eases the pain for families – may have to be hiked by more than 50 per cent in April, experts are warning, because of unprecedented wholesale costs.

Suppliers were authorised to increase bills by 12 per cent from October, to £1,277 a year for a typical household on standard tariffs, writes our deputy political editor Rob Merrick. A further announcement is due in February for a second rise in April.

Rishi Sunak did nothing to lift the cloud of confusion over whether tougher Covid restrictions are on the way, has he announced a £1bn package for hospitality and entertainment firms hit by the “lockdown by stealth”.

The cabinet shelved a decision on Monday – and is now awaiting fresh data on the extent to which soaring Omicron infections will trip over into a level of hospital admissions that will swamp the NHS.

That data, from Professor Neil Ferguson and his team at Imperial College, is expected in the next 36 hours, possibly triggering a recall of parliament next week to approve curbs before the New Year.

But the chancellor gave nothing away, repeating Boris Johnson’s plea that the government is wrestling with an enormous amount of uncertainty at the moment.

Asked if harsher restrictions will be imposed before the New Year, Mr Sunak said: “I absolutely appreciate people’s frustration with all of this.

“I’d refer people to the prime minister’s words yesterday and, unfortunately, we’re just dealing with an enormous amount of uncertainty at the moment.

“What the prime minister said is that we’re reviewing the data day by day, hour by hour, keeping the situation under constant review, but can’t rule anything out.”

Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, responds to Rishi Sunak’s announcement of £1bn in support for businesses.

Labour were asking “Where is the chancellor?” last week as Mr Sunak was on a trip to the US while hospitality businesses suffered from cancellations as people chose to stay home to avoid the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Rishi Sunak has announced £1bn in support for hospitality and leisure businesses in England hit by recent changes to Covid guidance.

Each eligible business, such as a pub or restaurant, will be able to claim £6,000 from the support package.

The chancellor will also make £30m available for the culture recovery fund to help venues such as theatres, art galleries and museums.

And the government will cover the cost of statutory sick pay for firms with fewer than 250 employees.

Some reaction to the latest YouGov poll on Boris Johnson’s performance as prime minister. With 71 per cent of the British public saying they thought he was doing a bad job, it is the worst feedback Mr Johnson has seen from a YouGov poll since taking power in July 2019.

Many reacting online have focused on the 29 per cent who did not think he was doing badly.

More than two thirds of Britons think Boris Johnson is doing a bad job as prime minister, according to a new YouGov poll.

On the flip side, just 23 per cent of the near 2,000 adults surveyed believe the current Tory leader is doing “well” in his post.

It comes amid growing distrust in the PM due to anger over alleged lockdown-breaching parties and delayed Covid restrictions.

A Big Ben update now. The famous clock tower will ‘bong’ on New Year’s Eve and have all its faces on display for the first time in four years.

The bell will be struck 12 times to mark the start of 2022, as a project to restore the Palace of Westminster’s Elizabeth Tower nears its end.

In the days running up to 3 December the bell will be heard chiming, as engineers test it ahead of the celebrations.

Ian Westworth, one of parliament’s team of clock mechanics who will be making sure Big Ben strikes on NYE, said: “It’s iconic – it’s probably the world’s most famous clock, and to have had our hands on every single nut and bolt is a huge privilege.

“It’s going to be quite emotional when it’s all over – there will be sadness that the project has finished, but happiness that we have got it back and everything’s up and running again.”

The chimes on 31 December will also be the final occasion that Big Ben will be struck using a temporary mechanism.

Additional reporting by PA