A former Conservative prime minister says Tory MPs may have to put the needs of the country first, by voting with the opposition to get rid of Boris Johnson should police discover he lied to parliament about Downing Streetlockdown parties.
Speaking to The Independent after a keynote speech on democracy, John Major said he hoped “Conservative MPs would always put country before party, in all circumstances”. Pressed on if that included potentially rebelling against the government in a Commons vote of confidence, Sir John repeated: “In all circumstances.”
In a blistering address at the Institute for Government, in which he attacked the government for providing “brazen excuses” in the face of Partygate allegations, Sir John said plainly: “At No 10, the prime minister and officials broke lockdown laws. Brazen excuses were dreamed up … Parliament has a duty to correct this.”
If Mr Johnson wins a likely no-confidence vote among his MPs, the only route to removing him will be a confidence vote on the Commons floor – which can only succeed if several dozen Tory MPs rebel.
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Watch: Tory minister replies on PM facing consequences over Partygate
Tory minister goes on ‘democracy’ rant when asked about PM’s position
A Conservative minister has launched into a bizarre rant about “honouring democracy” after she was asked whether Boris Johnson would face consequences for allegedly breaking the law during lockdown.
Suella Braverman was fielding questions in the Commons when she was asked by Labour member Rupa Huq whether “anyone who is found to have breached lockdown regulations, whatever their rank” would face “the same consequences as Joe Public did”.
In response, Ms Braverman, who as the attorney general is the government’s top legal chief, said she would not add to what had already been said by the PM “in light of the live police investigation”. However, she added: “[Ms Huq] mentioned the rule of law and I would just say that fundamental to the rule of law is also democracy: and I’m very proud to be supporting this prime minister, a prime minister who’s honoured democracy by delivering Brexit.”
Judging by Ms Huq’s facial expressions following the Tory MP’s entire response, it’s safe to say the Labour MP was not entirely satisfied with the answer.
Jon Stone, our policy correspondent, has more:
Partygate probe could last months if PM ‘lawyered-up’, says expert
Our politics reporter Adam Forrest has this:
Adam Wagner QC, an expert on Covid laws, has raised the possibility that we could still be “months” away from knowing if Boris Johnson will be fined for rule breaches.
“My experience of legal settings, especially once you’ve got lawyers involved, and I’m sure the prime minister and a number of officials will be lawyered-up, things can get complicated and messy,” he told Sky News.
“So as much as the police might want to get this resolved quickly and get some fixed penalty notices out, that may not actually be realistic – so we could be looking at weeks or months left.”
Wagner said earlier today that Johnson could face more than £10,000 in fines if police rule that multiple events in Downing Street breached lockdown restrictions.
Major: Tory MPs may have to vote with Opposition to remove PM
Tory MPs may have to “put country before party” by voting with the opposition to bring down Boris Johnson if he has lied to parliament, John Major says.
Speaking to The Independent after a blistering speech, in which he attacked the PM and his officials for giving “brazen excuses” in the face of Partygate, the former Tory PM declined to pre-judge the police inquiry into the No 10 parties, arguing it is better to “wait and see” if Mr Johnson has “given an accurate version of what happened”.
But, asked if Tory MPs should “put country before party”, if Mr Johnson is shown to have lied to parliament, he replied: “I hope Conservative MPs would always put country before party, in all circumstances.”
Pressed, by The Independent, if that included potentially rebelling against the government in a Commons vote of confidence, Sir John repeated: “In all circumstances.”
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has more:
Watch: Tory peer attacks ‘fanciful’ claim people don’t care about Partygate
Welsh first minister tests positive for Covid
Welsh FM Mark Drakeford has tested positive for Covid, a spokesperson has confirmed.
A statement issued on Thursday said: “The first minister of Wales has tested positive for coronavirus after taking a PCR test.
“He is self-isolating and working remotely”.
The country’s economy minister Vaughan Gething will host the three-weekly coronavirus regulations review due to take place at midday on Friday in Mr Drakeford’s place.
This file photo shows Drakeford addressing Wales residents at one of his Covid briefings
” height=”726″ width=”982″ layout=”responsive” class=”i-amphtml-layout-responsive i-amphtml-layout-size-defined” i-amphtml-layout=”responsive”> This file photo shows Drakeford addressing Wales residents at one of his Covid briefings
No legal advice for PM over Met’s party probe – No 10
Back to Partygate. Boris Johnson will not receive personal legal advice from government lawyers in relation to the Metropolitan Police probe, No 10 has said.
The PM’s official spokesperson also confirmed that Mr Johnson had not yet been contacted as part of the force’s Operation Hillman investigation into a dozen events held during Covid restrictions. Earlier, Dame Cressida Dick, the force’s commissioner, confirmed questionnaires would be sent to 50 people thought to have taken part in lockdown-busting events.
However, they added: “We would look to confirm contact of this sort as relates to the prime minister given the significant public interest”.
Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn has the full report:
PM arrives in Warsaw for Russia-Ukraine talks
In the last hour, Boris Johnson arrived in Warsaw and was been taken by motorcade to the chancellery of the Polish prime minister.
The PM is due to receive an official welcome from his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki.
The pair are then due to hold talks about tensions with Russia before giving statements to the press in Poland’s capital.
After that, they will travel to a military base to meet Nato armed forces, including UK troops.
Johnson made a brief visit to Brussels before flying on to Poland’s capital
” height=”726″ width=”982″ layout=”responsive” class=”i-amphtml-layout-responsive i-amphtml-layout-size-defined” i-amphtml-layout=”responsive”> Johnson made a brief visit to Brussels before flying on to Poland’s capital
Scrutiny of policies made by computer ditched
“Human review” of decisions made by computer algorithms will be quietly axed under a bonfire of EU laws, MPs have been warned – risking a repeat of the 2020 “A-levels fiasco”. Report by Rob Merrick:
Sir John ‘to blame for Brexit’
Of course, not everyone appreciates John Major’s words, and some blame him for Brexit:
