Markus Andrews

MEPs in the European Parliament have slammed Boris Johnson’s “Fawlty Towers approach to politics” and urged him to stop violating international law.Parties from across the EU political spectrum gathered in Strasbourg on Wednesday to slam the UK’s plan to tear up parts of the Brexit deal.As the prime minister faced a mutiny from his own government at home MEPs after MEP stood up to slam the prime minister’s approach. Speaking for the bloc’s largest centre-right political group, Irish MEP Seán Kelly said: “Breaching international law is not acceptable and defies logic, because the protocol is working””I appeal to Boris Johnson and the British government to give over this Fawlty Towers-like approach to politics. “Because if they don’t, there is a danger that Basil will be confused with Boris. “Regardless of the outcome of the volatile situation in No 10 there is only one solution: put this bill aside, come and negotiate and we can reach an agreement. That is what democrats always do.”Natalie Loiseau, a close ally of Emmanuel Macron spoke for the parliament’s liberal Renew group, simply said: “The name if the problem is Brexit and the type of Brexit which was chosen by the current British government.”And senior Green MEP Terry Reintke warned: “What the UK Government is doing right now looks unfortunately more like a group of reckless, privileged people trying to distract from their own mistakes by breaking international law rather than serious governing.”She added that she understood the difference between the UK governemnt and the British people and that there were “millions of people in the UK who want to have a close and strong relationship with the European Union… We will continue to put all our efforts into making that possible.”From the parliament’s centre-left, Thijs Reuten, speaking for the party’s socialists group said: “I thought the Prime Minister ‘got Brexit done’, but instead it looks like he himself may be done.”His domestic misdeeds are one thing, but is he really willing to break international law, to jeopardise the Good Friday Agreement, and to axe the trust between the UK and its most important trading partner – and all that at a time of huge economic turmoil?”The government’s Northern Ireland Protocol Bill effectively give UK ministers powers to change parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol without consulting the EU – which the UK negotiated the agreement with.The protocol was introduced to keep the border open between Northern Ireland and the Republic, in line with the Good Friday Agreement – but to do so it introduces new checks on trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.While the protocol has broad public support in Northern Ireland, it has angered some unionists who want it scrapped or significantly changed. Boris Johnson has characterised the changes as minor, but sat the Wednesday session of the European Parliament, European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said the approach had “no political or legal justification whatsoever”.He said that it was “legally and politically inconceivable that the UK decides” how the EU’s trade border was enforced. More

A Conservative MP has received a round of applause from the Labour benches after calling on Boris Johnson to resign from No 10 at prime minister’s questions.Gary Sambrook, the Tory MP and executive secretary of the party’s 1922 committee, accused Mr Johnson of attempting “to blame other people for mistakes”, and told him directly: “Take responsibility and resign”.Citing an example, Mr Sambrook told colleagues that in “an attempt to boost morale in the tearoom” on Wednesday, the prime minister referred to misconduct allegations against the former chief whip Christopher Pincher.He said “there were seven people, MPs, in the Carlton Club last week and one of them should have tried to intervene to stop Chris from drinking so much”.Mr Sambrook added: “As if that wasn’t insulting enough to the people who did try and intervene that night. And then also to the victims that drink was the problem.“Isn’t it the example that the prime minister constantly tries to deflect from the issue, always tries to blame other people for mistakes and that at least nothing left for him to do other than to take responsibility and resign?”His comment was met with an applause by the opposition benches, which was immediately scolded by Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.Mr Johnson replied: “There is a very simple reason why they want me out, and that is because they know that otherwise we are going to get on and deliver our mandate and win another general election.”During the session, the Conservative MP Tim Loughton also asked the prime minister: “Does the prime minister think there are any circumstances which he should resign”.And former cabinet minister David Davis, who has previously called on Mr Johnson to resign, urged him to put the “interests of the country” first.He said: “Six months ago I called on the prime minister to resign because even then it was clear that his approach to leadership and integrity was already creating a pipeline of problems that will paralyse proper government.“Today I ask him to do the honourable thing, to put the interests of the nation before his own interests and before, in his own words, it does become impossible for government to do its job.” More

Months of rising tension within the Tory party came to a head last night as two senior ministers, Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, decided they had had enough. Boris Johnson has been plagued by ever-insentifying scandals since November when No 10 attempted to rip-up anti-sleaze rules to save veteran MP Owen Paterson. However, questions about Mr Johnson’s premiership insentified after the Tories lost two crucial by-elections, leading to the resignation of party chairman Oliver Dowden, and gropping allegations emerged against MP Chris Pincher.Last night, both the chancellor and the health secretary decided that they could no longer prop up a prime minister who they felt was degrading the political office. Their interventions – barely nine minutes apart – came after a top civil servant made a rare public intervention to question the truthfullness of the Downing Street operation. Sir Simon McDonald, a civil servant of 40 years’ standing, had revealed that an internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by Chris Pincher was carried out in 2019. The investigation upheld a complaint against the Tory MP Mr Pincher and Mr Johnson was briefed in person about “the initiation and outcome of the investigation”. Sir McDonald pointed out that briefings by No 10 that Mr Johnson had not known about these details of Mr Pincher’s behaviour were untrue. It was this revelation that pushed Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid over the edge. More

Steve Barclay, Boris Johnson’s former chief of staff, was promoted to the role of health secretary last night as the prime minister was forced into a mini-reshuffle following the resignations of two high profile cabinet ministers in another night of high drama at Westminster.Mr Barclay replaced Sajid Javid, and Nadhim Zahawi took over from Rishi Sunak as chancellor, after Mr Johnson apologised for promoting Chris Pincher to the role of deputy chief whip – despite being told of a sexual misconduct complaint being made against the Tamworth MP.In a statement after he was appointed, Mr Barclay said it was an “honour” to take on the health brief. “Our NHS and social care staff have showed us time and again – throughout the pandemic and beyond – what it means to work with compassion and dedication to transform lives,” he said.Mr Barclay fought elections in Manchester Blackley (1997) and Lancaster and Wyre (2001) before eventually being elected to parliament as MP for North East Cambridgeshire in 2010, when the Conservatives formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. He was on then-PM David Cameron’s ‘A-list’ of candidates and has increased his majority at each general election since.He landed his first government job in 2015 when he was appointed assistant chief whip at the Treasury. He held two other posts there before being promoted to minister of state for the department he now leads in 2018. More

Boris Johnson faces a potentially nightmarish session of Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday after a dramatic evening of resignations on Tuesday.Chancellor Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid both stepped down saying they had lost confidence in Mr Johnson’s leadership after it emerged that he had not been honest about his decision-making in hiring Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip.The latter’s resignation from that role last Thursday after admitting to drunkenly groping two male colleagues at private member’s club in central London prompted a slew of allegations about his conduct, which appears to have been an open secret in Westminster.Mr Johnson’s belated admission that he had been briefed on the accusations against Mr Pincher, despite previously saying he had not known about the “specific” allegations against him – his hand apparently forced by an intervention from former senior civil servant Lord McDonald – was apparently too much for Mr Sunak and Mr Javid.Having been forced to defend the PM over a slew of scandals since last autumn, from Owen Paterson to Partygate and on, they tendered their resignations and were swiftly followed by no fewer than 13 others, including Tory party vice-chair Bim Afolami, children’s minister Will Quince, solicitor-general Alex Chalk, five junior ministers and two trade envoys.The PM moved quickly to appoint Nadim Zahawi and Steve Barclay as his new chancellor and health secretary respectively, as well as Michelle Donelan as his replacement education secretary to replace Mr Zahawi, but, despite the apparent support of the rest of his Cabinet, the damage looks mortal.Today’s PMQ’s kicks off at 12pm in the Commons and will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC Parliament and covered live on The Independent website via our liveblog.Expect Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and many others to call for Mr Johnson to finally step down and the PM to mount a spirited fightback.Fireworks assured. More

Tory MPs are demanding an immediate rule change to the party’s rulebook in order to force Boris Johnson from office after the devastating resignations of two cabinet ministers.As the prime minister fights for his political survival, former minister Chris Skidmore said he no longer had confidence in Mr Johnson and said it was vital the Conservatives’ 1922 committee “urgently reconsider the rules”.Simon Hoare, another senior Tory MP, said he had also written to the chair of the committee, Sir Graham Brady, requesting a rule change in order to ballot Tory MPs on whether they have confidence in Mr Johnson.Posting on social media, the Tory MP Mr Hoare said: “This will come as no surprise to those who know me but I have written to Graham Brady asking for a rule change governing the holding of a no confidence vote & a further confidence vote to be held.”“Changes is needed & needed now: for the sake of our country, my constituents & my party,” he added.Last night, a third MP, Anthony Browne, said Mr Johnson must be removed from office, describing the situation as “completely untenable”.“I fully support a change in the rules of the 1922 committee to enable another vote of no confidence.”After narrowly surviving a no confidence vote last month, Mr Johnson, under the current 1922 committee rules, is technically safe from another for a 12-month period, until June 2023.But the prime minister’s fate may ultimately lie with backbench MPs if the committee’s rules are changed to allow another vote. It is also expected that elections to the 1922 committee will take place next week, potentially increasing the chances of a rule change.In a letter to Sir Graham, former energy minister Mr Skidmore said the prime minister had “not been truthful to the media, to his own advisers and No 10 officials, and to the party in disclosing what he knew” over allegations against the former deputy chief whip Christopher Pincher.He added: “It is vital therefore that the 1922 must now urgently reconsider the rules that prevent a new vote of no confidence from taking place.“The prime minister has made it clear that he will not change. It is therefore time that we change the prime minister”. More

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government faced a new crisis Tuesday after two of his most senior Cabinet ministers resigned within minutes of each other. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid quit, saying the government under Johnson’s leadership was no longer competent or “acting in the national interest.” The apparently coordinated exits came after Johnson was hit by allegations he lied about how he handled claims of sexual misconduct by a lawmaker who was appointed to a senior position. Both Javid and Sunak are key members of the Cabinet and both are seen as potential successors to Johnson, leaving his position perilous. A look at who Sunak and Javid are: ___RISHI SUNAK, TREASURY CHIEFIn his resignation letter, Sunak told Johnson “it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally too different.”“The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning,” he wrote. Sunak was, until recently, widely regarded as the party’s brightest rising star, the best-known of potential leadership contenders — and the bookies’ favorite to succeed Johnson.Sunak, 42, was thrust into the spotlight when he became treasury chief in 2020, tasked with the unenviable job of steering the economy through its worst economic slump on record because of the pandemic. He dished out billions of pounds in emergency spending to help businesses and workers, and his policies have generally been seen in a positive light.But “partygate” changed those fortunes. Like Johnson, he was issued a police fine for attending a lockdown-flouting birthday party at Downing Street in June 2020. He has also come under heavy criticism for being slow to respond to Britain’s severe cost-of-living crisis.Sunak also faced pressure following revelations that his wife, Akshata Murthy, avoided paying U.K. taxes on her overseas income, and that the former investment banker held on to his U.S. green card while serving in government.Born to Indian parents who moved to the U.K. from East Africa, Sunak attended the exclusive Winchester College private school and studied at Oxford.Some see his elite education and past work for the investment bank Goldman Sachs and a hedge fund as a deficit because he seems out of touch with ordinary voters.___SAJID JAVID, HEALTH SECRETARYIn his statement, Javid said he could “no longer, in good conscience, continue serving in this government.”Javid, 52, has been health secretary since June 2021, leading Britain’s COVID-19 response. Before that, he served as treasury chief, but resigned in early 2020 after clashing with Johnson over his order to fire his team of advisers.The fact that Johnson brought him back into the government to handle the coronavirus response reflects his reputation for competence.Javid, a father of four, was first elected in 2010 and has held various positions in government, including serving as home secretary and leading departments for business, culture and housing.He ran in the 2019 Conservative leadership election, but was eliminated in the fourth round and lost to Johnson.The son of Pakistani immigrants, Javid has billed himself as a common-man alternative to his private school-educated rivals — although he had a lucrative career in investment banking before entering politics. More

A minister who defended Boris Johnson just days ago over Christopher Pincher’s conduct after being given inaccurate “assurances” from No 10 has resigned from the government.In another blow to the embattled prime minister, Will Quince tendered his resignation after wrongly claiming the prime minister was not aware of “specific” allegations made against the former chief whip.In a statement on Wednesday, the education minister said: “With great sadness and regret, I have this morning tendered my resignation to the prime minister after I accepted and repeated assurances on Monday to the media which have now been found to be inaccurate.“I wish my successor well – it is the best job in government.”Another minister at the Department for Education (DfE), Robin Walker, also announced they had quit on Wednesday, saying the government has been “overshadowed by mistakes and questions about integrity’’.Their decisions to quit comes as Mr Johnson faces a fight for his political survival after the devastating resginations of the chancellor Rishi Sunak, and the health secretary Sajid Javid.Speaking on Tuesday – moments before the high profile resignations – the prime minister apologised for appointing Mr Pincher deputy chief whip in February 2022, saying it was a “mistake”.It emerged earlier in the day Mr Johnson had been briefed on complaints relating to Mr Pincher in 2019 while he was serving as a minister at the Foreign Office – despite No 10’s previous insistence to the contrary.However, his official spokesman denied the prime minister had “lied” and rather insisted Mr Johnson did not immediately “recall” being told about the complaint when fresh allegations emerged last week.On Monday, Mr Quince, an education minister, defended the prime minister and told broadcasters he was given a “categorical assurance” that Mr Johnson was not “aware of specific claims”. More