Nadhim Zahawi today said Boris Johnson is safe in his job, as reports of a further Covid-rule breaking gathering emerged last night.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Education Secretary said – after being asked three times – that the prime minister will stay in his position.
Mr Zahawi’s comments after a report in the Mirror said Mr Johnson attended a leaving do before Christmas 2020 during which he gave a speech to mark the departure of his defence adviser Captain Steve Higham.
In a bid to survive the scandal, Mr Johnson could reportedly overhaul his top team and announce a raft of policy announcements, including putting the military in charge of preventing small boats from crossing the Channel.
That plan was today lambasted by Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative MP who chairs the Commons defence committee, who said the military taking on the “migrant challenge” was a “massive distraction”.
What is happening in the Commons this afternoon?
In about 45 minutes we are due to hear from Home Secretary Priti Patel who will give an update on security matters. And at 4.30pm Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries will make a statement on the BBC.
Labour’s Lucy Powell confirmed on Twitter that she will be responding to Ms Dorries update in the House of Commons.
Labour accuses government of ‘picking fights’ with British institutions
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper accused the Government of trying to “pick fights” with “important” British institutions and defended the BBC, saying they do “important things”.
Asked if she welcomed reports that the BBC licence fee will be frozen, Ms Cooper told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme: “I think the thing is the BBC is such an important part of our national life. And what’s going on is the Government is now just trying to pick fights with our big, really important institutions, our British institutions.”
Pressed on whether she would allow the licence fee to rise, she said: “I think everybody understands in terms of right now, there are all sorts of issues about making sure that we can support people through a cost of living crisis. But that’s not what really is going on with the Government at the moment.
“What instead that they’re doing is trying to actually talk about undermining or stopping the BBC altogether, seems to be their approach. And that’s what we think is the damaging approach, at a time when the BBC, you know, does so much important things.
“For example, during the first lockdown the BBC provided huge amounts of home support for kids who were doing home learning and provided those sorts of resources.
Sturgeon accuses PM of resorting to ‘cheap, populist policies’ to distract from partygate
Nicola Sturgeon has accused Boris Johnson of resorting to “cheap, populist policies” to distract from the scandals engulfing his leadership.
Scotland’s First Minister responded to reports that Downing Street had launched ‘operation red meat’ in a bid to stem public outrage at the slew of parties reported to have taken place during lockdown.
Ms Sturgeon said proposals such as ending the BBC licence fee and ordering the military to prevent small boats from crossing the Channel was “unedifying” for the Prime Minister.
Speaking to the media at a visit to Irvine after the announcement of offshore energy contracts, the SNP leader said the scandal surrounding the apparent “serial, repeated breaches of the Covid regulations” showed the Conservative Party was “not fit for office”.
She said: “Instead of Boris Johnson taking responsibility, he appears to be preparing to pass the blame to those who work for him and around him, which I don’t think is the kind of thing you would expect from somebody who is leader of his party and Prime Minister.
“But also, looking for cheap, populist policies to try to distract attention, to use refugees and those seeking asylum to save his own skin.
“While everybody will have different degrees of criticism of the BBC, to try to jettison the BBC to save his own skin, it’s unedifying, it’s beneath the office of Prime Minister and all it does really is underline this feeling that Boris Johnson is not just himself damaged irreparably, in my view, but he is bit by bit undermining and damaging the institutions of the country and the institutions that support our democracy and that’s why it’s got to stop.”
No 10 denies Boris Johnson said aides objecting to ‘bring your own booze’ party were ‘overreacting’
No 10 has denied that Boris Johnson told aides objecting to the “bring your own booze” garden party he attended that they were “overreacting” to the staging of the event.
The allegation – put forward by his close friend Dominic Lawson, a newspaper columnist – would contradict the prime minister’s claim that he did not realise the gathering was a party, writes Rob Merrick.
On Sunday, Downing Street said it was “untrue that the prime minister was warned about the event in advance” and that he “believed implicitly that this was a work event”.
It is vital that BBC keep costs down, say No10
Downing Street said it was “vital” that the BBC sought to keep down costs ahead of an expected freeze in the licence fee.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “It’s obviously vital the BBC is doing everything possible to avoid new costs for UK households at a time when many are facing financial pressures and deliver the best value for money for licence-fee payers.”
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said at the weekend that the next announcement about the BBC licence fee “will be the last”, and indicated she wanted to find a new funding model for the BBC after the current licence fee funding deal expires in 2027.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “We have said that we will keep the licence fee until the end of the current charter period in 2027 but ahead of that point we will review how the BBC is funded.”
The spokesman rejected Labour’s claim that the announcement of the plans was an attempt to distract from Boris Johnson’s political difficulties: “The Government’s commitment to BBC reform is long standing.”
PM doesn’t refer to himself as ‘big dog’, says No 10
The prime minister does not call himself “big dog”, Downing Street has said.
This comes after reports emerged last week that Boris Johnson wanted to save himself from the backlash caused by partygate by pinning the blame on others under an initiative called “Operation Save Big Dog”.
When asked whether the prime minister was called “big dog” by staff, his spokesperson said: “I’ve never heard that term used”.
Partygate inquiry: What happens next?
Sue Gray, the civil servant tasked with investigating the Downing Street parties, could deliver her report this week, it has been suggested.
But what happens next with the inquiry?
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock takes a closer look:
DUP denies government deal over double jobs
The leader of the DUP has denied striking an agreement with the British government to allow politicians in Northern Ireland to hold jobs in Westminster and Stormont simultaneously.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he did not have anything do with the UK’s contentious plan, which has been widely criticised by other parties in the territory. The scheme is seen to unduly favour the DUP, with the Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie calling it a “scam”.
While distancing himself from the decision, Sir Jeffrey said he would make use of the double-jobbing policy.
“I do think there is a benefit for the leader of unionism to continue having a voice at Westminster as well as having a role at Stormont because we are in critical times,” he told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme.
Inside Politics
The prime minister has been accused of “distracting” the public’s attention from the partygate scandal with an attack on the BBC.
My colleague Matt Mathers has more on this and today’s other major political stories in his daily newsletter:
