Markus Andrews

Boris Johnson faces the task of persuading Conservative MPs he can still lead his party into the next general election, despite being booed by the crowd outside the Queen’s platinum jubilee service.In a new humiliation for the prime minister, desperately trying to stave off a no-confidence vote, he was met with a loud chorus of boos, jeers and whistles as he walked up the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral with his wife Carrie on Friday.BBC presenter Jane Hill noted that there was a “substantial amount” of booing as Mr Johnson entered the cathedral. The PM was also heckled as he left the service – with one person heard shouting “f*** off Boris”.A Labour source told The Independent: “The boos for the prime minister will have been a rude awakening to those Tory MPs who have been in denial about the public’s anger at the industrial-scale law-breaking they’ve seen in No 10.”During the service, Mr Johnson gave a reading from the bible about integrity. Quoting a passage from Philippians 4:8, Mr Johnson said: “Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable … think about these things.”The jeers came as Downing Street is said to be preparing for a “charm offensive” of wavering rebel MPs in the hope they can be won over and a leadership vote avoided.Around 30 backbenchers have publicly called for the prime minister to resign, and committed rebels believe they are close to reaching the threshold of 54 no-confidence letters needed for a leadership ballot.No 10 officials have drawn up a list of 64 Tory MPs they believe can still be won over, including senior figures such as Theresa May, Tom Tugendhat and Julian Smith, according to The Telegraph.Meanwhile, rebel Tories MPs shared fears about the timing of a push to remove Mr Johnson, with some expressing doubts that next week is the right moment for a vote of no-confidence to be triggered.One Tory MP keen to see Mr Johnson replaced has urged colleagues to withdraw their no-confidence letters to prevent a vote happening “by accident” at the start of next week, according to The Guardian.Rebels have previously told The Independent that they fear a confidence vote could be triggered too soon “accidentally” – allowing Mr Johnson a good chance of staying in power for another 12 months.Tory rules mean that a majority of the party’s MPs – 180 – would have to vote against Mr Johnson in order to spark a contest to find his replacement. If the PM survives, he is protected from another vote for a year.Anxious anti-Johnson backbenchers are said to fear that potential leadership candidates have not had enough time to mobilise and encourage wavering MPs to look beyond Mr Johnson.Some believe the period after two by-elections on 23 June would present the best chance of defeating the PM in a confidence vote.Andrew Bridgen – the Tory MP who recently resubmitted his letter after withdrawing it at the outbreak of the Ukraine war – reportedly predicted in a Tory WhatsApp group that No 10 would be told on Monday that 54 letters had already gone in to 1992 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady.Tory MP Mark Francois, who has not called for Mr Johnson to go, suggested the PM still had work to do to convince many of his wavering backbenchers that things will change after Partygate.“We will come back on Monday and colleagues will ask, ‘Who is going to take responsibility for this?’” he told Times Radio on Friday. “Having spoken to colleagues in the past few days, the mood is, they want to know, ‘Who is going to carry the can?’”It comes as the head of the Grassroots Conservatives activist group called on Mr Johnson to resign over the Partygate scandal, saying the PM would “put off voters” at the next general election.Ed Costelloe told The Telegraph that Mr Johnson had not been “wholly honest” about the law-breaking gatherings in Downing Street. “If he had any sense he would resign before he was pushed.” More

Boris Johnson was booed by the crowd outside St Paul’s Cathedral as he arrived for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee service.Members of the public could be heard booing, jeering and whistling as the prime minister walked up the steps with his wife Carrie on Friday morning.Many of the senior political figures – included former Tory prime minister David Cameron and Labour London mayor Sadiq Khan – were cheered by the crowd behind the barricades.But BBC presenter Jane Hill noted that there was “really quite a lot of booing, actually – a substantial amount” received by Mr Johnson as he entered the cathedral.The arrival of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and cabinet ministers such as Priti Patel and Liz Truss went unmarked by the crowd outside St Paul’s. The loudest cheers appeared to be for Harry and Meghan.Some people could be heard applauding and cheering as Mr Johnson ascended the staircase, while some supporters were heard chanting: “Boris, Boris, Boris” as he the PM left the cathedral.But the prime minister was also heckled as he left the service, with one person shouting “f*** off Boris”.Clement Jacquemin said he booed Mr Johnson as he left St Paul’s because “he is a disgrace” – saying the PM should have “stayed home, made himself forgotten, and let the British public enjoy this day”.A Labour source told The Independent: “The boos for the prime minister will have been rude awakening to those Tory MPs who have been in denial about the public’s anger at the industrial scale law breaking they’ve seen in No10.”It comes as rebel Tories MPs expressed fears about the timing of a push to remove Mr Johnson, with some sharing doubt that next week is the right moment to trigger a no-confidence vote.One Tory MP keen to see Mr Johnson replaced has urged colleagues to withdraw their no-confidence letters to prevent a vote happening “by accident” at the start of next week, according to The Guardian.Anxious anti-Johnson backbenchers are said to fear that potential leadership candidates have not had enough time to mobilise and encourage wavering MPs to look beyond Mr Johnson.Some believe the period after two by-elections in June would present the best chance of defeating the PM in a confidence vote.Meanwhile, Ed Costelloe, head of the Grassroots Conservatives activist group called on the Tory leader to resign over the Partygate scandal – saying the PM would “put off voters” at the next general election.Tributes were paid to the Queen’s 70 years of “dedicated service” as 2,000 people including Mr Johnson, senior ministers, opposition leaders, and first ministers of devolved governments fill the historic church.Prince Charles represented his mother after the 96-year-old monarch pulled out of the high-profile occasion at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.She suffered “discomfort” following a busy first day of festivities including a double balcony appearance and a beacon lighting. She will be watching the ceremony on television as she rests at Windsor Castle.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were back in full public view alongside the Windsors for the first time since they quit the monarchy for a new life in the US two years ago.Public service is the theme at the heart of the religious event, with 400 people who are recipients of honours, including NHS and key workers who were recognised for their work during the pandemic, invited.The Archbishop of York will deliver the sermon and has described the prospect as a “slightly terrifying gig”. The Most Rev Stephen Cottrell had to step in at the 11th hour after the Archbishop of Canterbury contracted Covid. More

The government has failed to engage Muslim communities with its counter-extremism Prevent strategy – creating a “vacuum” for Islamists, a senior adviser has warned.Dame Sara Khan, the independent adviser for social cohesion, said winning support for the counter-terror programme must be done “in a much better way”.She accused the government of failing to explain the strategy aimed at stopping people being drawn into terrorism – saying there had “clearly been mistakes” in explaining the purpose of the scheme.Dame Sara told the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast: “They didn’t do this effectively, they didn’t go out and explain to the Muslim communities what Prevent is about.”She added: “In essence they left a vacuum, which when Islamists then dominated and said, ‘Well this is what Prevent is about.”Dame Sara acknowledged that some people had claimed it was a “spying operation when it clearly wasn’t”.She added: “There were issues like that that caused detrimental failures and caused people not to respect and appreciate the programme.”The top adviser added: “So those types of challenges have continued and I think continuing to engage with communities, explaining what the programme is, addressing concerns – that’s got to continue in a much better way than we’ve seen previously.”The controversial anti-radicalisation programme was launched in 2007 and was aimed at stopping people being drawn into extremist ideology – but has been accused of overreaching and stigmatising young Muslims.Prevent came under renewed scrutiny after it was revealed the terrorist who murdered Sir David Amess had been referred to the programme but continued to plot his attack in secret.Leaked extracts of the long-delayed review into Prevent reportedly show questions have been raised about “double standards” when it comes to right-wing extremism and Islamist extremism.According to extracts shared last month with The Guardian, an initial review of the scheme has seen the policy criticised for focusing too much on far-right problem.The independent review by Sir William Shawcross, a former chairman of the Charity Commission, was delivered to the Home Office in late April but is still undergoing fact and legal checks.In 2012, while director of the Henry Jackson Society think tank, Sir William said: “Europe and Islam is one of the greatest, most terrifying problems of our future. I think all European countries have vastly, very quickly growing Islamic populations.”Sir William’s draft review into counter-terrorism in the UK is understood to have called for a renewed focus on Islamist extremism and mental health support for all individuals referred to Prevent.Sir William’s appointment to the chair of the government’s review into its anti-radicalisation programme drew criticism from Amnesty and other human rights groups earlier this year.In a joint letter published in February, Amnesty was joined by a coalition of 17 groups in saying they would boycott the review “given [Sir William’s] well-known record and previous statements on Islam”.Meanwhile, London’s mayor has paid tribute to members of the emergency services who “ran towards danger”, as he marked the fifth anniversary of the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attack.Sadiq Khan said the capital’s residents will “always stand united in the face of terrorism” as he remembered the victims of the atrocity on 3 June 2017.Counter-terror expert Sir Ivor Roberts said it remains “unclear how much has been learned from this tragedy”.The former head of counter-terrorism in the Foreign Office said the attack could be attributed “in significant part, to the failure of the intelligence community to monitor appropriately subjects of interest”. More

A police questionnaire given to Sir Keir Starmer is said to include a series of questions about a non-league football shirt handed to the Labour leader during last year’s visit to Durham.Durham Constabulary is investigating potential breaches of Covid laws by Starmer and his team over the “Beergate” gathering at which beer and curry was consumed.The questionnaires sent to Starmer, Labour deputy Angela Rayner and party staff is “incredibly comprehensive” – and includes queries about a Consett AFC football top, according to The Times.The Durham non-league team’s shirt was handed to Sir Keir on 30 April when the Labour leader was campaigning for the local elections.The North West Durham Labour Party tweeted at the time that they had “interrupted Keir Starmer while he was hard at work … to proudly show him our Consett AFC strip ahead of their historic FA Vase final”.When the photo of Starmer holding the shirt emerged in the Daily Mail in May, a Labour spokesman said: “As this tweet clearly shows, Keir Starmer was working. No rules were broken.”The Durham force announced last month that it would probe potential breach of Covid laws by Starmer and Labour staff over 30 April gathering at the party’s constituency office at which beer and curry was consumed.It came despite the fact the force initially decided not to take action when images of Starmer drinking a beer gathering first appeared.Starmer has vowed to resign if he is issued with a fixed penalty notice by the force. “I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the rules must follow them,” he said last month.Both Sir Keir and Ms Rayner have continued to stress that they believe none of the regional Tier 2 rules in place at the time – which allowed for political campaigning – were broken.Starmer has said he and his team had “got on with their work” as the ate takeaway curry. “I simply had something to eat while working late in the evening, as any politician would do days before an election.”But senior Labour MP Nick Brown, formerly chief whip under six party leaders, has suggested Starmer could put himself forward in a leadership contest even after he upholds his promise to step down.The ex-minister last week told BBC Politics North: “If they did [fine him], Keir would do what he said he would do and would resign. And I would be the first person urging him to seek re-election and to lead us into the next general election.”Ms Rayner, who was also at the event last spring, said she too would “do the decent thing and step down” if issued with a fixed penalty notice. More

Rebel Conservative MPs are panicking about the timing of a push to remove Boris Johnson, with some expressing doubt that next week is the right moment to trigger a no-confidence vote.Around 30 backbenchers have publicly called for the prime minister to resign, and backbenchers believe they are close to reaching the threshold of 54 no-confidence letters needed for a leadership ballot.But one Tory MP keen to see Mr Johnson replaced has urged colleagues to withdraw their no-confidence letters to prevent a vote happening “by accident” at the start of next week, according to The Guardian.Anxious anti-Johnson backbenchers are said to fear that potential leadership candidates have not had enough time to mobilise and encourage wavering MPs to look beyond Mr Johnson.Some believe the period after two by-elections in June would present the best chance of defeating the PM in a confidence vote.Rebels have previously told The Independent that they fear a confidence vote could be triggered too soon “accidentally” – allowing Mr Johnson a good chance of staying in power for another 12 months.Tory rules mean that a majority of the party’s MPs – 180 – would have to vote against Mr Johnson in order to spark a leadership contest to find his replacement. If the PM survives, he is protected from facing another vote for a year.Some of Mr Johnson’s allies are said to be keen on a no-confidence vote in the period before the 23 June by-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton.Conservative polling guru Lord Hayward told Sky News: “If I was a plotter, I’d probably want it to go on for a while because it allows the conversations to take place longer. The byelections on 23 June … will be key.”The Tory peer added: “If I was a Boris fan, I’d probably want it as quickly as possible to get it out of the way because 54 is relatively easy. 180, which is the number on a vote of confidence, is a different matter.”Andrew Bridgen – the Tory MP who recently resubmitted his letter after withdrawing it at the outbreak of the Ukraine war – reportedly predicted in a Tory WhatsApp group that Downing Street would be told on Monday that 54 letters had already gone in.Tory MP Mark Francois, who has not called for Mr Johnson to go, suggested the prime minister still had work to do to next week to convince wavering backbenchers that things will change after Partygate.“We will come back on Monday and colleagues will ask, ‘Who is going to take responsibility for this?’” he told Times Radio on Friday. “Having spoken to colleagues in past few days, they mood is, they want to know, ‘Who is going to carry the can?’”It comes as the head of the Grassroots Conservatives activist group called on Mr Johnson to resign over the Partygate scandal – saying the PM would “put off voters” at the next general election.Ed Costelloe told The Telegraph that Mr Johnson had not been “wholly honest” about the law-breaking gatherings in Downing Street. “If he had any sense he would resign before he was pushed.”Lesley Bambridge, the Tory mayor of West Norfolk, said she feared Mr Johnson had now “lost his grip” on No 10. “I think it is time for him to seriously reflect and decide whether he is the right man for the job at the moment.” More

More than a dozen asylum seekers being housed at an immigration removal centre near Gatwick airport reportedly went on hunger strike after the Home Office threatened them with deportation to Rwanda. Seventeen people from Syria, Egypt and Sudan are said to have taken part in the protest after they were told they would be sent to the central African nation as part of the UK government’s new agreement to “offshore” the asylum process. The group, some of whom said they had begun to self-harm as a result of their imminent removal, were reportedly warned that taking part in the hunger strike could lead to them being “prioritised” for a flight to Rwanda. Home Secretary Priti Patel has said she is “absolutely determined” that the UK will send migrants to Rwanda despite the prospect of legal challenges being mounted by human rights groups.Earlier this month the Home Office started issuing “notices of intent”, informing some individuals they were “in scope for relocation”.The removal directions confirm to people they are being sent to Rwanda, and when, with the first flight expected to depart on 14 June.But those among the group of 17, who ended their five-day hunger strike on Wednesday, said they would rather “die” than be placed on deportation flights.A Syrian man wanted for military service told the BBC that when he heard he was due to be flown to Rwanda he started hitting himself. He said he was “ready to die, but not be moved to Rwanda”. More

Mumsnet user asks why public should believe ‘habitual liar’ Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson today denied he was a “habitual liar” when asked why the public should believe anything he says.In an interview with the prime minister, Justine Roberts, founder of Mumsnet, said users of the online forum asked about his “trust and integrity”.One user asked: “Why should we believe anything you say when it’s been proven you’re a habitual liar?”Mr Johnson said he did not accept the description or the premise of the question. “People throw all sorts of accusations at me about all sorts of things … you’ve just got to look at the record of what I deliver,” he said. The prime minister went on to be asked if he would resign over the Partygate scandal. “I cannot see how it would be responsible right now, with everything that’s going on, simply to abandon … the project on which I embarked,” he said.Earlier, Dominic Raab dismissed the idea that his boss could face a confidence vote as early as next week – describing the speculation as “Westminster froth”.Show latest update

1654061398‘Brexit could spark potato shortage in Ireland’Brexit could lead to a significant shortage of potatoes for Irish consumers by 2023, experts have warned.Prior to the UK’s departure from the EU, the majority of potato seed used by Irish farmers for varieties such as Kerr Pinks, Golden Wonders and British Queens had been imported from Scotland.But under post-Brexit rules and following the UK’s departure from the single market, exports of seed potatoes – those not consumed but used to plant other potatoes – from Scotland to Ireland are no longer allowed.Andy Gregory reports: Namita Singh1 June 2022 06:291654062318Starmer and Rayner receive police questionnaire over BeergateLabour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner have both received police questionnaires about the so-called “Beergate” event at a party office in Durham last year.The party confirmed that both senior figures had been asked by Durham Constabulary to explain their attendance at the 30 April gathering, at which beer and curry was consumed.The Durham force announced earlier this month that it would investigate potential breaches of Covid laws by Starmer and his staff, despite initially deciding against action when images of the meeting first appeared.My colleague Adam Forrest reporting the detail: Namita Singh1 June 2022 06:451654062993Minister unable to convert ‘universally understood’ imperial measurementsA government minister on Tuesday struggled to convert from metric measures into what Downing Street has called “universally understood” imperial units.Appearing on Sky News, the arts minister was first asked how many ounces are in a pound – to which he incorrectly said 14.
Host Kay Burley continued: “If you are ordering a pound of sausages, approximately how many grams of sausages are you getting? 250, 350, 450, or 550?”Cambridge University-educated Lord Parkinson hesitantly chose the first answer – again, incorrect.The moment came amid reports that the UK may switch back to imperial units, reports Zaina Alibhai:Namita Singh1 June 2022 06:561654064882Raab on Lord GeidtDominic Raab has said he was “not privy to the conversation” following reports that Lord Geidt was about to resign.“He’s made clear a number of concerns but the prime minister has addressed them in his response and in particular made clear the explanation that he didn’t believe he’d broken the ministerial code,” he told Times Radio.“In relation to the single fixed penalty notice, it had been an unintentional breach of the law and inadvertent in the sense that he turned up to the gathering without having realised it would be in breach of the relevant regulations.“Of course, more broadly… No 10 have been working with Lord Geidt over a number of months now to strengthen and reinforce the independent office and I’m glad that those changes have been agreed. It’s an important role.”Zoe Tidman1 June 2022 07:281654065633‘She hasn’t put a letter in as far as I understand,’ Raab on LeadsomDominic Raab has said he does not believe former Cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom has submitted a letter to the 1922 Committee.Outlining his thoughts on her letter to her constituents shared on social media, which criticised prime minister Boris Johnson following the Sue Gray report, the deputy PM told Times Radio: “I’ve known Andrea a long time, we came in as MPs, I hold her in high esteem.“I think it’s clear that she’s expressing her frustration, she hasn’t put a letter in as far as I understand, she hasn’t said that.“The most important thing is the fact that the Prime Minister has addressed all of these points [and] overhauled the No 10 operation.”Zoe Tidman1 June 2022 07:401654067070Sir Graham Brady letters ‘pretty far off’ threshold, Raab saysThe deputy prime minister has said he believes the number of letters which have been submitted to Sir Graham Brady is “pretty far off” the required amount needed to trigger a confidence vote. Dominic Raab told Times Radio: “First of all, you said that there were 30 MPs who have been public [in their criticism of the prime minister]. There’s of course well over 350-odd Conservative MPs.”Presenter Aasmah Mir responded: “Well you need to get to 54, so it’s not that far off, is it?”Mr Raab said: “Well, if you’re at 30, which is what you’ve just said, I think you’re pretty far off, but my point is even then, in terms of the support for the PM, the overwhelming majority have not been public about these kind of criticisms.“Although in fairness, I want to say I understand the frustrations and the concerns.”MPs being publicly vocal in their criticism of Boris Johnson does not mean they have submitted a letter.Zoe Tidman1 June 2022 08:041654068745Boris Johnson will not face any leadership vote, Dominic Raab saysDominic Raab has dismissed the idea that Boris Johnson could face a confidence vote as early as next week – dismissing the speculation as “Westminster froth”.The deputy prime minister said the mood at the top of government was “fine” despite a growing number of Conservative MPs calling on the PM to resign, Adam Forrest reports:Zoe Tidman1 June 2022 08:321654069368Tories need to consider which ‘crimes’ PM has committed, says 1922 committee treasurerThe treasurer of the 1922 Committee has warned Tory MPs that ousting Mr Johnson would mean a leadership vacuum during a “really serious situation”.Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown claimed a leadership contest would take at least eight weeks because of the lack of an obvious successor.“I think at the moment for me, we should leave matters as they are,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.He also said Conservative MPs need to consider which “crimes” Mr Johnson has “actually committed” before launching a leadership coup.Zoe Tidman1 June 2022 08:421654070412‘It’s not that simple’Dominic Raab has been out defending Boris Johson this morning after the prime minister was criticised by his own ethics advisor over Partyagte.In his annual report published yesterday, Lord Geidt said that the fact Boris Johnson had been fined by the police could constitute a breach of the ministerial code in itself.But Raab, the justice secretary and deputy PM, said he thinks it is “not that simple”.”There have been examples in the past where similarly, I think Baroness Scotland, I think in 2009, she was a minister (and was fined),” he told Sky News.”The point was, she hadn’t acted deliberately or intentionally, and therefore Gordon Brown took the view that the code hadn’t been broken.”He added: “So I’m just saying there are precedents for this… I think it’s clear from the circumstances of this particular gathering, where he turned up, was there for 10 minutes, was unaware that it was a surprise birthday cake for him, that wasn’t a deliberate breach of the rules, and that’s the key point.”He also claimed there won’t be a no confidence vote in Johnson next week. More comments from Raab below: Matt Mathers1 June 2022 09:001654071736‘The numbers are definitely rising’The number of no confidence letters going in to the 1922 Committee is “definitely rising”, a Tory peer has said.Lord Hayward said he knew of at least one MP who had been in touch with Sir Graham Brady, chair of the Committee, but had not gone public.He suggested a vote would take place but said it was hard to say when the line would be crossed.Matt Mathers1 June 2022 09:22 More

Scottish Green party MSPs were accused of “petty student politics” after walking out en masse of a parliamentary debate celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.The Scottish Conservatives condemned the boycott after all seven Green representatives left the Holyrood chamber as first minister Nicola Sturgeon led tributes to Her Majesty.But Republican campaigners praised the move – arguing that it reflected the anti-monarchist views of many young people in Scotland. More