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Rishi Sunak allies are fighting back against Boris Johnson amid a growing Tory row over the former prime minister’s decision to quit the Commons.
Senior Cabinet minister Grant Shapps said “the world has moved on” and that Tories did not miss the drama of a Johnson administration. One senior MP, who is close to Mr Sunak, told The Independent: “Good riddance.”
Mr Johnson dramatically resigned as MP on Friday over the outcome of the Partygate inquiry, with two of his allies – Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams – also quitting with immediate effect, triggering three by-elections.
Senior Tories accused the former PM and his allies of a “coordinated attempt to damage the Sunak government”. Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg also claimed Johnson could “easily get back into Parliament” and warned the Conservative Party not to “block” his return.
But Sunak loyalists have attempted to play down the row, insisting the PM will be relieved at having a chance to draw a line under the “Boris madness”.
SNP reacts to Sturgeon’s arrest
An SNP spokesperson said: “These issues are subject to a live police investigation.
“The SNP have been co-operating fully with this investigation and will continue to do so, however it is not appropriate to publicly address any issues while that investigation is ongoing.”
Why is the SNP under investigation over its party finances?
Police Scotland’s investigation into alleged financial irregularities within the Scottish National Party (SNP), known as Operation Branchform, has taken a further twist after Nicola Sturgeon was arrested.
Police Scotland said the former SNP leader, who quit in February, is in custody and is being questioned by detectives.
A spokesman for Ms Sturgeon said she attended an interview “by arrangement with Police Scotland, where she was to be arrested and questioned in relation to Operation Branchform”.
Peerages committee says it did not support eight of Boris Johnson’s nominations
The House of Lords Appointments Commission said it would “not comment on individuals” as it confirmed it had not supported eight peerage nominees submitted in former prime minister Boris Johnson’s resignation honours.
A spokesman for the independent commission said in a statement: “The House of Lords Appointments Commission (Holac) considered the nominations proposed by the Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP in line with its usual processes.
“All nominations made by Mr Johnson were received and processed by Holac.
“Eight nominees were not supported by the commission.
“The commission is advisory to the Prime Minister and is not involved in the appointment processes after providing advice.
“The commission does not comment on individuals.”
The SNP leader said this just hours before Nicola Sturgeon’s arrest…
What has Nicola Sturgeon said in response to her arrest?
A spokesperson for Nicola Sturgeon said the former SNP leader voluntarily attended an interview with Police Scotland and that she would co-operate with the investigation.
Breaking: Nicola Sturgeon arrested in connection with SNP finances probe
Nicola Sturgeon has been arrested in connection with the investigation into the SNP’s finances.
Police Scotland said she is in custody and is being questioned by detectives.
The force said: “A 52-year-old woman has today, Sunday, June 11, been arrested as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.”
The former first minister’s arrest comes after her husband Peter Murrell was arrested in April.
Mr Murrell and MSP Colin Beattie, who was SNP treasurer at the time, were both released without charge pending further inquiry.
As well as the arrests, searches were carried out at a number of properties, including Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon’s home – where a police tent was erected in the garden – and SNP headquarters in Edinburgh.
Why Eurostar trains built to link Manchester to Paris permanently hit the buffers
Trains were constructed and new track even laid to link cities across the North, Scotland, and Wales to the Channel Tunnel, writes Jon Stone. But the plans fell at the last hurdle.
Read Jon’s full long read below:
Comment: The ghost of Boris Johnson will continue to haunt the Tories for a long time
He will continue to grab headlines whenever he chooses, distracting attention from the PM’s painstaking work to drag the Tories back into the game, writes Andrew Grice.
Read the full piece here:
ICYMI: Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list in full
Below is the full list of gongs handed out to those favoured by the prime minister:
Top Sunak aide secretly removed names from honours list – Johnson allies
One of Rishi Sunak’s top aides secretly removed names from Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list before it was submitted to a committee for approval, it is claimed.
Allies of Boris Johnson say James Forsyth, Mr Sunak’s political secretary, was responsible for the move, which he and No 10 deny, Isabel Oakeshott reports.
She wrote on Twitter: “As I revealed on @TalkTV and @bbclaurak this morning, Boris believes Sunak’s best friend and political Secretary James Forsyth secretly removed 5 names from his honours nomination list *before* it was submitted to the honours committee.
“This broke a long standing convention that sitting PMs don’t meddle with their predecessors’ honours lists. Boris allies claim no10 “lied and lied” about what they did. That is emphatically denied by Downing St and James Forsyth today. But the suspicion -right or wrong – is what triggered Friday night’s resignations.”
