Sir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of “taking people for fools” amid reports 10 Downing Street held multiple Christmas parties last year while indoor mixing was banned under covid restrictions.
Following a Daily Mirror report stating that between 40-50 people attended a bash at No 10 where staff drank and celebrated late into the night, the Labour leader wrote on Twitter: “Boris Johnson hosted multiple parties when the country was in lockdown over Christmas.
“Yesterday he claimed that was within the rules. He is taking people for fools. It’s one rule for the Conservatives and another for everyone else.”
Government ministers and spokespeople from No 10 have insisted that all staff “followed the guidance.”
Asked about public frustration following the Christmas party reports, business minister George Freeman told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I totally understand that people around the country expect that, when we make sacrifices, that we all make them.”
He added: “I can’t get drawn into who was or wasn’t in the room and who was drinking which cocktail. You’ll understand I wasn’t there.”
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Andrew Grice: Therese Coffey has got her tongue in a twist over snogging guidelines
The work and pensions secretary has sparked further confusion over the government’s opaque advice on the omicron variant, writes Andrew Grice.
Read his full piece below:
No 10: Important to use ‘measured and appropriate language’ on protocol
Downing Street has said it is important to use “measured and appropriate language” in relation to the Northern Ireland protocol after President Macron suggested resolving the current deadlock was a matter of “war and peace”.
Mr Macron reportedly told the European Committee of the Regions, an EU advisory body: “It’s a question of war and peace for Ireland. So we should avoid any temptation to be less than serious.”
In response, the PM’s official spokesman said: “When it comes to the protocol it is vital that we use measured and appropriate language given the sensitivities involved.
“It is obviously welcome that Mr Macron recognises that a serious situation needs to be resolved. We urgently need to make progress.”
Downing Street has said it is important to use “measured and appropriate language” in relation to the Northern Ireland Protocol after President Macron suggested resolving the current deadlock was a matter of “war and peace”.
Brandon Lewis: Triggering Article 16 still on table
Brandon Lewis has said triggering Article 16 was still on the table as “substantive gaps” remained between the UK and EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Northern Ireland secretary made the comments at a press conference at the Foreign Office on Thursday, following a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.
He said: “Obviously, we believe that the conditions were met for Article 16 in the summer. We haven’t triggered Article 16 because we don’t want to.
“We want to find a negotiated, agreed solution with the EU that gives certainty. Those conversations are ongoing.”
He added: “Ultimately, as I say, my position is, as is [Lord Frost’s] and the Prime Minister’s, very much that [an] agreed solution between us and the EU is the best way forward.
“But there are substantive gaps between us and if we need to use Article 16 to move things forward, then we will have to do that. We don’t want to. Hopefully we can get a positive solution through the negotiations and discussions.”
Brandon Lewis said triggering Article 16 was still on the table as “substantive gaps” remained between the UK and EU on the Northern Ireland protocol.
UK ‘must build equivalent of worlds biggest wind farm every 10 weeks for next 20 years’ to hit net zero targets
The UK must build the equivalent of a 1.2-gigawatt offshorewind farm – the largest ever built – every 10 weeks for the next 20 years in order to hit its legally binding net-zero targets, a report from the Tony Blair Institute claims.
The report highlights how the current energy crisis, which has resulted in numerous small energy providers going bust, has exposed “profound problems of design and regulation in the retail and wholesale energy markets”, and says without major adaptation, the energy market is heading towards a greater level of centralisation and higher costs for consumers.
Our environmental correspondent, Harry Cockburn has the full story below:
Labour demands formal government investigation into No 10 lockdown Christmas parties
Labour is demanding a formal government investigation into possible breaches of Covid rules at parties held at No 10 over Christmas last year.
Deputy leader Angela Rayner has written to cabinet secretary Simon Case to ask whether he will make inquiries into events held at Downing Street – and refer any violations found onto the Metropolitan Police.
My colleague Adam Forrest has the full report:
ICYMI: Macron called Boris Johnson ‘un clown’, French press reports
Fresh evidence emerged of the depths to which the UK’s relationship with France has sunk, as French media reported that Emmanuel Macron referred to Boris Johnson in private as “un clown”.
Amid a continuing stand-off over France’s handling of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, a former French ambassador to London, Sylvie Bermann, said that cross-Channel relations had “never been so bad since Waterloo”.
Our political correspondent Andrew Woodcock has the full story below:
No 10 stresses it doesn’t want parties to be cancelled, amid mixed messages from ministers
No 10 has stressed that it does not want Christmas parties to be cancelled, despite government departments opting to do so.
Asked why government departments were cancelling festive celebrations despite Boris Johnson urging people not to, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has been very clear on this.
“On Christmas parties, we don’t want people to cancel such events. There is no government guidance to that end.
“It is right that post-Step 4 (of the road map out of lockdown), we returned to the position where people can use their individual judgment, but there is certainly no government guidance to that end, and the Prime Minister has been very clear.”
Asked what Mr Johnson made of the department for business, energy and industrial strategy (Beis) deciding to ditch plans for a pre-Christmas get-together, the spokesman said he had not spoken to the Prime Minister about it.
Cabinet Office fined £500,000 over New Years Honours data breach
The Cabinet Office has been £500,000 for a New Years Honour data breach which included Elton John’s details.
The Cabinet were accused of “complaceny” in the incident which led to accidentally disclosing the personal details of prominent recipients of the 2020 New Year Honours online. Concluding a probe, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said the government had breached data protection law by publishing a file containing the names and redacted addresses of more than 1,000 people on the honours list.
The list included celebrities such as Sir Elton John, TV chef Nadiya Hussain, cricketer, Ben Stokes, alongside former Conservative Party leader, Iain Duncan Smith, who branded the breach in December 2019 a “complete disaster.”
Our political correspondent, Ashley Cowburn, has the full story below:
Watch: ‘I haven’t been kissed under the mistletoe for years’, says minister
Government minister George Freeman said he hasn’t been kissed under the mistletoe for years after work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey advised Brits against sharing the intimate exchange with strangers in a bid to curb the spread of omicron.
Boris Johnson ‘has spent whole life breaking the rules’ Angela Rayner says
Angela Rayner has also joined leaders slamming Boris Johnson following reports he broke lockdown rules by hosting a Christmas party last year at 10 Downing Street.
Writing on Twitter, the Labour deputy leader said: “As I said on Monday @BorisJohnson has spent his whole life breaking the rules and facing no consequences.
“He thinks it’s one rule for him and another for the rest of us and he takes the British people for fools.”
