Boris Johnson has insisted that Downing Street will not seek to block any names from appearing in Sue Gray’s long-awaited report on the partygate scandal.
Ms Gray reportedly wishes to name civil servants accused of Covid law-breaking in her report that is expected to be published in full next week.
As complaints emerged that the public remained “in the dark” about who was actually involved in the No 10 parties after the Metropolitan Police concluded its investigation yesterday, the BBC reported that Ms Gray’s desire to name individuals could delay her own report.
The prime minister, speaking publicly for the first time since the investigation ended, said it “will be entirely up to Sue Gray” whether she names the accused. He also said he was “looking forward” to the report.
Downing Street officials who received fines for attending the same lockdown parties as Mr Johnson reacted with fury after the prime minister escaped further sanctions despite enouraging staff to “let their hair down”.
Ukraine gifts Boris Johnson embroidered shirt
The Ukrainian Embassy in London has given Boris Johnson a shirt from a famous Ukrainian designer as thanks for the prime minister’s support during the Russian invasion.
The embassy said the gift marked Vyshyvanka Day, a national holiday that celebrates Ukrainian folk traditions.
The shirt is known as a vyshyvanka too, the embassy said. A note with the gift said: “It will be a great honour to see you in your new vyshyvanka on this day.”
The prime minister tweeted his thanks and said “Slava Ukraini” – which translates as “Glory to Ukraine”.
Labour ‘a bunch of semi-repentant Corbynista loons’, says PM
Boris Johnson said Labour were “a bunch of semi-repentant Corbynista loons” over the party’s track record on Nato membership.
Sir Keir Starmer was cautioned by left-wing activists this week for threatening action against Labour MPs who oppose the military alliance.
Elsewhere, allies of the Labour leader are reportedly urging him to purge 11 MPs who signed a Stop The War Coalition statement critical of Nato at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The prime minister, speaking at the Welsh Conservative conference in Newtown, Powys, said Labour’s dispute over defence policy was not confined to the backbenches.
Pointing to Labour shadow ministers who oppose Trident, he said: “Do you think at this juncture when Putin is muttering recklessly about using his nuclear arsenal, do we really want our defence policy handed over to a bunch of semi-repentant Corbynista loons, to put it mildly?
“Eight of the shadow front bench including the shadow foreign secretary voted to scrap this country’s independent nuclear deterrent.”
Boris Johnson visits Powys honey factory
The prime minister has been speaking to the press in the outfit of a factory worker today as he visited Hilltop Honey in Newtown, Powys.
Sinn Fein welcomes US intervention in protocol row
Sinn Fein’s Stormont leader Michelle O’Neill “very much welcomes” US Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s intervention in a row over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Ms Pelosi said the US Congress will not support a trade deal with the UK if the government persists with “deeply concerning” plans to “unilaterally discard” the protocol.
“They’ve [US Congress] made it very clear that there will be no trade deal with Britain if they undermine the Good Friday Agreement,” the Sinn Fein vice-president said after meeting Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh on Friday.
She added: “Those statements are very, very important because we have to protect the Good Friday Agreement.”
Civil servants meet desk shortage after back-to-office order
Civil servants at the Department for Education (DfE) have been forced to work in canteens and corridors due to a shortage of desks after being ordered back into office (Matt Mathers writes).
Staff have been left struggling to find space to work after Jacob Rees-Mogg, the cabinet secretary for efficiencies, launched a concerted campaign to end home-working.
Whole teams have been turned away from some offices because of overcrowding, according to Schools Week.
Figures seen by the outlet showed staff outnumber desks by almost two-to-one across the DfE’s 12 offices.
Boris Johnson says junk food deals barely affect obesity
Boris Johnson said junk food deals make very little difference to obesity as Jamie Oliver led protests outside Downing Street against the postponement of a ban on the promotions [see 14.20 post].
Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Powys in Wales, the prime minister said: “We understand the vital importance of tackling obesity, it costs the NHS huge sums of money.
“Now, there are lots of things you’ve got to focus on, including diet, eating less, eating less is the most important thing, but there are some things at the moment where we think they make very little difference to obesity.
“They can affect people’s weekly outgoings, people’s budgets, and at this particular time, if people can save on their food bills with some offers, then I think we’ve just got to be flexible while continuing to tackle obesity.”
The prime minister’s comments are in opposition to the government’s own assessment that banning junk food deals would bring down obesity.
Full report: Boris Johnson insists No 10 won’t block names appearing in Sue Gray’s report
Boris Johnson has insisted No 10 will not block any names being published in the long-awaited report into the Partygate scandal by Whitehall mandarin Sue Gray (Ashley Cowburn writes).
In his first public remarks since the Metropolitan Police closed its investigation on Thursday — issuing a total of 126 fines — the prime minister said the contents were “entirely” down to Ms Gray.
Mr Johnson also said he was “grateful” to the force’s investigation after he escaped further sanctions, leaving him with one fixed penalty notice for breaches of Covid regulations.
Jamie Oliver presents Eton Mess to Boris Johnson for junk food U-turn
Jamie Oliver has presented an Eton Mess dessert opposite Downing Street to protest against the government’s U-turn on its anti-obesity strategy.
The government announced last week it had postponed for a year a ban on promotional deals for unhealthy foods, among other restricitions targeting junk food, as households face huge rises in expenses in the coming months.
The prime minister is also said to be cold on the idea of legislating against unhealthy foods.
On Whitehall today, Mr Oliver, a celebrity chef famed for healthy eating campaigns, was asked if he was out of touch for demanding the policy change at a time when families are increasingly struggling to put food on the table.
He said: “This whole strategy was designed by the government and has been researched by the government proves that this particular mechanic [two for one deals on junk food] makes people spend more of their income and waste more.”
Supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury’s have pledged to ban two-for-one deals on junk food from October 2022 – the government’s initial deadline.
Oliver outside Downing Street today
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Watch: Bank of England drove inflation by printing money, says former governor
Britain’s former most senior banker has accused the Bank of England of helping to push up inflation by printing money during the pandemic.
Mervyn King, who was governor of the bank during the 2008 financial crisis, said the idea of printing money to stimulate spending was misguided.
“If you simply print lots of money at a time when you’re producing less you’ve got a case of too much money chasing too few goods; and the result of that is inflation,” he said.
Boris Johnson won’t block names from Sue Gray report
Boris Johnson has insisted that Downing Street will not seek to block any names from appearing in Sue Gray’s report on the partygate scandal.
On a visit to Powys, Wales, the prime minister was asked if he would apologise now the Met Police investigation has finished.
In his first public comments since the investigation ended yesterday, he said: “I’m very grateful to the Met for their work, I’m thankful for everything they’ve done. We just need to wait for Sue Gray to report, fingers crossed, that will be very soon, and I’ll be saying some more next week.”
Asked if No 10 would be blocking any names from appearing, he said: “That will be entirely up to Sue Gray and I’ll be looking forward very much to seeing what she has to say and, fingers crossed, that will be pretty soon next week.”
Ms Gray is reportedly planning to include the names of officials who broke lockdown laws in her final report – expected next week.
