Markus Andrews

The civil service is still failing on diversity from top to bottom of the organisation, new figures reveal.Just 6.2 per cent of Ministry of Defence (MoD) staff are black, Asian or minority ethnic, according to statistics published by the Institute for Government (IfG) think-tank in its annual Whitehall Monitor. While the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has the highest proportion of both female civil servants (65 per cent) and disabled civil servants (18.2 per cent) across all departments, it has one of the lowest proportions of civil servants from an ethnic minority background.In 2021, the civil service became more diverse with some 14 per cent of civil servants identifying as coming from an ethnic minority background, including 11 per cent of senior civil servants, compared with 13 per cent of the economically active population.The Department for International Trade (DIT) is by far the most ethnically diverse department, figures reveal, with more than a quarter of civil servants coming from an ethnic minority background. However, it is one of the few departments where less than half of civil servants are female.  More

A bonfire of EU laws on everything from data privacy to road standards will be forced through behind parliament’s back under new plans to seize “Brexit freedoms”, it is feared.The alarm has been raised over the announcement of a single Bill to remove all unwanted “retained law” – using backstage regulations, instead of allowing full scrutiny and votes.The move marks the two-year anniversary of the UK leaving the EU, to cut “red tape”, Boris Johnson claimed – provoking ridicule, as truckers queue for many miles to get through Brexit checks at the Channel ports.A booklet will be issued to celebrate “the benefits of Brexit”, although many of the “benefits” – the Covid vaccine rollout and stronger animal welfare rules – were possible without withdrawal.A ban on pavement parking is believed to have been dropped when it was pointed out that London cracked down on the practice in 1974 and the Scottish Parliament in 2019.The booklet is being seen as an attempt by No 10 to calm Brexit-backing Tory MPs who resent the snail’s pace progress in striking out EU regulations since departure day in 2020.Ministers have been forced to boast about the possible return of pounds and ounces, the adding of the Crown mark to pint glasses and selling “pints of champagne”.But most concern centres on the use of a single Bill to delete retained law, to prevent the need for different legislation that “would take years”, No 10 admits.Catherine Barnard, professor of EU law at Trinity College Cambridge, has warned: “This raises issues about the quality of parliamentary scrutiny of any changes, especially if, as proposed, an ‘accelerated process’ is involved.”Sarah Olney MP, Liberal Democrat business spokesperson, said: “This is sneaking through a bonfire of retained law without proper scrutiny. This is likely to end badly for farmers and businesses already shafted by this government.”And Naomi Smith, head of the campaign group Best for Britain, said: “In a barely concealed attempt to save his own skin, the prime minister is proposing scrapping standards in the UK with minimal scrutiny and no consideration of the consequences.”Before he suddenly quit last year, the former Brexit minister David Frost pointed to data rights, genetically modified crops, medical trials and “outdated EU vehicle standards” as likely targets.To ensure continuity of the legal system, amid the turmoil of Brexit, all EU law was converted into UK law and given supremacy over pre-withdrawal UK law.Tearing that up could come at a price, if divergence triggers disputes under the Brexit trade deal, potentially allowing Brussels to curb access to EU markets for British firms.But the prime minister said: “The plans we have set out today will further unleash the benefits of Brexit and ensure that businesses can spend more of their money investing, innovating and creating jobs.“Our new Brexit Freedoms Bill will end the special status of EU law in our legal framework and ensure that we can more easily amend or remove outdated EU law in future.”Asked if the “Brexit benefits” booklet – to be published online only – will stretch to a rumoured 100 pages, a government source said only “it’s a big document”. More

Dominic Cummings says Boris Johnson is obsessed with monuments in his memory “like the Roman emperors” – as he describes how it is his “duty” to get rid of him.In his latest attack on the prime minister, the former chief aide said he only got excited about “Big Ben’s bongs” and “looking at maps” to find places to build things in his honour.Mr Cummings called his campaign to topple Mr Johnson “an unpleasant but necessary job” like “fixing the drains”, calling him “a complete ****wit”.The pair’s bitter fallout has seen the exiled aide first reveal the lockdown-busting No 10 garden party, in May 2020, that has plunged the prime minister into his biggest crisis.Speaking to New York magazine, Mr Cummings described his former boss’s focus on the next day’s papers, saying: “In January 2020, I was sitting in No 10 with Boris and the complete ****wit is just babbling on about: ‘Will Big Ben bong for Brexit on 31 January?’”Another time, he alleged, Mr Johnson told him: “I’m the ****ing king around here and I’m going to do what I want.’“That’s not OK. He’s not the king. He can’t do what he wants,” Mr Cummings said, adding: “Once you realise someone is operating like that, then your duty is to get rid of them, not to just prop them up.”The prime minister muses on “what would a Roman emperor do?” with the power he had, he told the magazine.“So, the only thing he was really interested in – genuinely excited about – was, like, looking at maps. Where could he order the building of things?” Mr Cummings said.He fantasised about “monuments to him in an Augustine fashion, ‘I will provide the money. I will be a river to my people. I will provide the money that builds the train station in Birmingham.’ Or whatever.“And it will have statues to me, and people will remember me after I am dead like they did the Roman emperors.’”The warning comes amid fears – even among senior Conservative MPs – of a Partygate “cover-up”, amid a growing belief that crucial parts of Sue Gray’s inquiry will never be revealed.A heavily-redacted draft of the civil servant’s report will be released, probably on Monday, but with references to parties that the police are investigating stripped out after the police demanded it.By the time the Met investigation is over, the Gray report will be “out of date”, as one government insider put it – and it will be in Mr Johnson’s power to decide not to hold a further investigation.Tory MPs who are wavering over whether to submit demands for a no-confidence vote in his leadership, while they “waited for Sue Gray”, are likely to continue to sit on their hands. More

MI5 should investigate Boris Johnson as “a security risk” following the leaks of TV footage and emails about the No 10 parties, David Blunkett says.The emergence of the evidence suggests the prime minister’s staff do not have “the first idea about the potential of cyber-attack”, the former Labour cabinet minister warned.“The counterterrorism division of the Met, together with MI5, should take a very urgent look. I would be very surprised if they’re not,” Lord Blunkett said.The call comes amid an allegation that Mr Johnson left top-secret documents lying around when visitors came to his Downing Street flat – prompting his aides to ban him from taking the files upstairs.Martin Reynolds, the prime minister’s private secretary, insisted he approve secret intelligence requests in his No 10 office, after complaints about security in the home he shares with his wife Carrie, The Sunday Times reported.Dominic Cummings became alarmed over the “frat house” atmosphere in the flat and in the couple’s private rooms at Chequers, the prime minister’s country retreat, the paper claimed.Lord Blunkett seized on the evidence of parties that has come to light, ahead of the release of Sue Gray’s – heavily censored – report, as early as Monday.“There’s a real problem, I think, at Downing Street in terms of understanding the genuine security that they should have in place,” he told LBC Radio.Asked if he considers Mr Johnson “a security risk”, Lord Blunkett replied: “I think so, yes.“The way that this has emerged – and it’s in the public interest that it has – but the way it’s emerged asks me to ask the question, ‘what if it was a foreign power with malign interests that had actually infiltrated the systems at Downing Street, including CCTV and the like?’.“It clearly wasn’t, but at one stage, I was thinking, ‘who knows, who’s behind this, as well as Dominic Cummings’.Lord Blunkett added: “Whilst we must clear up, who did what and why – and whether they let us down very badly, in terms of the breach of rules that they were making – in the long term, we’ve got to get these other issues sorted.”Theresa May reportedly ordered some intelligence to be withheld from Mr Johnson when he was her foreign secretary, after he earned a reputation for lax security.Documents are taken home in red boxes by ministers to read overnight, including some at the highly classified “strap” level.The Sunday Times reported that Mr Cummings found Carrie Johnson and her friends relaxing while the prime minister’s red box sat open and “strap” documents were left lying around.It also claimed that Ms Gray uncovered evidence that “several” of Ms Johnson’s friends were given the access code to go in and out of the Downing Street flat. More

A former defence chief says Boris Johnson is too weakened by the No 10 parties scandal to intervene in the Ukraine crisis, warning other leaders know he has “a time bomb under him”.The prime minister has put himself at the forefront of efforts to deter Russia’s expected invasion – and is expected to speak to Vladimir Putin on Monday, ahead of visiting eastern Europe.But he faces accusations that the trip is an attempt to distract from the Partygate controversy and it could yet be derailed by the publication of Sue Gray’s heavily-censored report.Now General Richard Dannatt, a former chief of the general staff, has cast doubt on a “flawed” Mr Johnson’s ability to influence events, with Europe on the brink of its worst conflict since the Second World War.“He will travel to Moscow, or wherever he’s going in eastern Europe this week, but everyone will know that he’s a man with a time bomb sitting under him,” he told Times Radio.The general said, of Liz Truss’s visit to Moscow next week: “She represents the British government, headed by Boris Johnson – and his position is insecure.”The warning comes amid fears – even among senior Conservative MPs – of a “cover-up”, amid a growing belief that crucial parts of Ms Gray’s inquiry will never be revealed.A heavily-redacted draft of the civil servant’s report will be released as early as Monday, but with references to parties that the police are investigating stripped out after the Met demanded it.Ms Truss, the foreign secretary, again urged people to move on from the scandal, claiming “that is what the public wants” and insisting Mr Johnson’s job is secure.She refused to say an “unredacted” version of the report will be released, saying only that “our intention is to publish the full report” – apparently meaning the censored version.Ms Truss said: “The prime minister has apologised for what happened. He made it clear that mistakes were made.“And we have so many other issues that are of major importance for this country to focus on. You’ve been talking about the recovery from Covid, I’ve been talking about the threat we face from Russia on the Ukrainian border.”Asked about Tory MPs’ threats to topple Mr Johnson, she told the BBC: “There is no there is no contest, there is no discussion,” adding: “The future of the prime minister is assured.”By the time the Met investigation is over, the Gray report is expected to be “out of date”, as one government insider put it – and it will be in Mr Johnson’s power to decide not to hold a further investigation.A partial report – without evidence about the most serious allegations – will give Mr Johnson crucial breathing space, in his battle for survival.Tory MPs who are wavering over whether to submit demands for a no-confidence vote in his leadership, while they “waited for Sue Gray”, are likely to continue to sit on their hands. More

Super-rich Russian oligarchs in London will be hit with tough new sanctions to deter Moscow from invading Ukraine, even if it hurts the UK economy, Liz Truss says.The foreign secretary rejected claims that the power and wealth of Russians in so-called “Londongrad” will prevent the UK – and the West as a whole – punishing Vladimir Putin’s aggression.Ms Truss said legislation for new sanctions is imminent, alongside the expected sending of 1,000 further British troops to Estonia and warships to the Black Sea.She rejected a claim that the cost to the UK would be “dramatic”, saying: “The most important thing is defending freedom and democracy and that is more important than immediate financial issues.“We cannot favour short term economic interests over the long term survival of freedom and democracy in Europe – that’s the tough decision that all of us have got to make.”The threat comes after ministers appeared to shelve long-promised ‘McMafia’ legislation, to target the unexplained wealth of kleptocrats – after many years of inaction.US experts close to the White House have warned the wealth of kleptocrats invested in London – and their “close ties” to the Tory party – will thwart the UK’s pledges to act tough against Russia.On the Trevor Phillips on Sunday programme, Ms Truss faced the accusation that “the cost of it to this country is dramatic”.“For every Russian oligarch whose accounts are frozen, that means that somebody isn’t going to get investment from that Russian money in this country – for example, to support the levelling up agenda?” she was asked.But Ms Truss said: “Currently, the economic sanctions are fairly narrowly drawn, so we could only target companies with a direct involvement in destabilising Ukraine.“What we are looking to do is widen that, so any company of interest to the Kremlin and the regime in Russia would be able to be targeted, so there will be nowhere to hide for Putin’s oligarchs, for Russian companies involved in propping up the Russian state.”On the threat of an invasion, the foreign secretary added: “We absolutely need to stop this happening. That is our number one priority.”The UK is hardening its military response to the crisis, which threatens Europe with its most serious conflict since the Second World War.Boris Johnson has offered to deploy jets to Romania and Bulgaria, warships to the Black Sea and the further 1,000 troops to Estonia, ahead of a Nato meeting on Monday.The prime minister is expected to speak to Mr Putin tomorrow and travel eastern Europe early this week, to warn that thousands of lives will be lost if Russia invades Ukraine.His plans could yet be derailed by the expected publication of Sue Gray’s heavily-censored report into the Partygate scandal – and he faces accusations that the trip is an attempt to distract from that controversy. More

It is “impossible” for the public inquiry into the government’s response to the Covid pandemic to begin on time after Boris Johnson delayed preparations for it, experts are warning.The prime minister is accused of appearing to shunt the investigation – which he pledged would begin in “spring 2022” – to the bottom of his “to do list”, after dragging his heels on agreeing its scope.No hearings will now be possible before the summer at the earliest, say groups who have studied previous inquiries, after hold-ups appointing a chair and agreeing crucial terms of reference.There are fears of further delays with the government “in paralysis” because of the Partygate scandal, one source saying a promised consultation on draft terms is not expected imminently.A former head of the Civil Service, Bob Kerslake, has told The Independent he will demand answers from the government, saying: “I am concerned if the inquiry is going to be delayed.”The Institute for Government warned it was now “very hard to see how the inquiry can begin until the end of May or June, based on previous inquiries such as Grenfell”.The King’s Fund echoed the criticism, saying it is now “impossible for the inquiry to now start its work in earnest in the spring”.“The public inquiry is too important to be shunted yet again to the bottom of the government’s to do list,” Sally Warren, the independent think-tank’s director of policy, told The Independent.The fresh delay has angered the families of Covid victims, after Mr Johnson rejected repeated pleas to start the inquiry sooner – instead waiting until two years after the pandemic struck.He has been accused of stalling in order to prevent likely damning conclusions coming out before a general election in spring 2024, with public inquiries typically taking two years, at least.Lobby Akinnola, spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said: “Once the inquiry is officially set up, it becomes an offence to tamper with or destroy evidence.“But, until that happens there’s a risk of key evidence, being lost. After the attempts to cover up ‘Partygate’, that is especially worrying.”Mr Johnson finally announced the inquiry last May, but failed to appoint a chair – the former Court of Appeal judge Heather Hallett – until just before Christmas.He said draft terms of reference would be released “in the new year” but they have yet to be published – with only the devolved governments consulted by Baroness Hallett so far.In the Grenfell Inquiry, it took two-and-a-half months between publication and hearings getting underway, but the Institute for Government (IfG) warned the Covid inquiry will be “far more complicated”.The range of controversies is vast, including the timing of lockdown decisions, the scientific advice sought, testing and PPE, the discharge of infected patients into care homes, the initial decision not to close borders, and much more.Many key decisions were devolved, which means a need to delve into the handling of the response in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast – just as much as in Whitehall.“Engaging the public and other parties in a consultation on those terms of reference is likely to be more complicated than the Grenfell consultation, because of the sheer scale of people and organisations who will want to be involved,” said Emma Norris, the IfG’s director of research.“It was always clear that this would be a complex inquiry to set up, so it was important to begin in earnest as soon as possible – so the government should have started earlier.”Mr Johnson defended his stalling on the grounds it would “weigh down” scientific advisers and take up “huge amounts of officials’ time” if the pandemic flared up again.In the Commons last week, he appeared to pre-judge the inquiry, when he boasted to MPs: “We have the fastest-growing economy in the G7 and we have got all the big calls right.”But an inquiry last year, by two Tory-led Commons committees, was damning, calling his response “one of the most important public health failures the United Kingdom has ever experienced”.Delaying lockdown in March 2020 – as a “herd immunity” strategy was explored – and failing to protect elderly and vulnerable people in care caused thousands of avoidable deaths, it said.Lord Kerslake, the head of the civil service under David Cameron, will now ask questions in the House of Lords, saying: “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of pace behind this.”The Cabinet Office declined to discuss the reasons for the delay in publishing draft terms of reference, when panel members will be selected, or whether office space for the inquiry has been secured.A spokesperson said: “As the prime minister has previously stated, the Covid inquiry is set to begin its work in spring 2022.” More

A politician’s troubles are a humorist’s treasures.The scandal-prone British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given cartoonists and meme-makers unimaginable riches for years, and with his hold on power now in jeopardy, their fortunes are only growing.Johnson and his staff are facing civil and criminal investigations into social gatherings they hosted last year while the rest of the U.K. was hunkering down under coronavirus restrictions. The episode raises serious questions about Johnson’s leadership and political accountability.But what gives it extra bite — and gives humorists much to chew on — are the often ludicrous details: political aides hauling suitcases of wine into the prime minister’s residence, or drunkenly breaking a swing set belonging to Johnson’s toddler son.One recent newspaper cartoon captured the collision of tragedy and farce by depicting Johnson as the betrayed Roman ruler Julius Caesar stabbed in the back with corkscrews.Martin Rowson, a political cartoonist for The Guardian newspaper, says mockery is one of the trade-offs in democratic societies between government and governed: “They have power and we have the right to laugh at them.”Britain has a long and proud tradition of political satire. In the 18th century, cartoonists such as James Gillray lampooned British politicians and royalty with an irreverence — even viciousness — that shocked many European visitors.British TV shows like “Spitting Image,” with its latex puppet politicians, carried on the tradition in the late 20th century. These days, internet videos and memes have joined the fun.When Johnson became prime minister in 2019, some feared he would be hard to satirize because he was already a cartoonish figure, with his thatch of blonde hair, rumpled clothes and blustering manner.Steve Marchant, learning coordinator at the Cartoon Museum in London says they needn’t have worried: Johnson is a gift for humorists.“All you need to draw is an egg with some straw on top and you’ve got Boris before you even attempt to draw the face,” Marchant said. “And he is so — gaffe-prone is probably the polite term I should use. Every week something happens with Boris. No cartoonist is going to die poor thanks to the antics of Boris Johnson.”This, after all, is the erratic politician who once mused about being “reincarnated as an olive,” who has offended everyone from the people of Papua New Guinea to the citizens of Liverpool and who once got stuck midair on a zipline while waving two Union Jacks.Rowson says Johnson’s cartoonish persona is deliberately crafted. He’s the latest in a long line of politicians who have “played to being caricatures” to keep themselves in the public eye.“Even though we ridicule them at the same time, it’s a price worth paying for them,” Rowson said.Even so, not all publicity is good news for politicians.Much of the humor around “partygate” has an undercurrent of anger. One of Rowson’s recent cartoons depicted Queen Elizabeth II wearing a gas mask to protect herself from the rotten smell of Johnson and his Conservative government floundering in a swamp behind her. It was inspired by photographs of the monarch sitting alone wearing a black face mask at her husband Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021, the day after one of the party’s held by Johnson’s staff.One of the most popular parodies of the “partygate” scandal is a video by the protest group Led By Donkeys that inserted Johnson into the hit TV detective show “Line of Duty.” Through digital cut-and-paste, Johnson became a suspect being grilled by the show’s anti-corruption police unit for holding illegal parties during lockdown.“You must think we were born yesterday, fella!” the show’s no-nonsense senior police officer Ted Hastings, played by Adrian Dunbar, thundered in the video, which has been viewed millions of times on social media.Led By Donkeys has been blending humor and activism since 2019, when a group of friends got together to blast what they saw as the lies of politicians who took Britain out of the European Union. Named after the description of British soldiers in World War I as “lions led by donkeys,” the group erected billboards exposing hypocritical statements by the Brexit campaign.It has gone on to lambast the government’s response to the pandemic, recently parking a video screen playing testimony from bereaved families outside Conservative Party headquarters. Oliver Knowles, one of the group’s founders, said the “Line of Duty” video struck a chord because it tapped the anger that many people feel.“If you didn’t make your own sacrifices during lockdown, then you know somebody who did,” he said. “I don’t think it is hyperbole to say the nation is hurting.“And I think in that context these parties — plural — of Johnson’s are very, very damaging. Actually, I think it is going to be hard for him to come back from this. I think we are now in the place where he is the prime minister who partied while the rest of us followed the rules.”It’s doubtful mockery alone can trigger political change. But Rowson said political humor serves an essential purpose.“We use laughter very much as a survival tool,” he said. “If we didn’t, we’d go mad with existentialist terror.” More