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Boris Johnson must resign if he broke ministerial code, Scottish Tory leader says.mp4Boris Johnson should resign if he broke the ministerial code over the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, the Scottish Tory leader has said, amid a growing list of allegations of Conservative “sleaze”.Douglas Ross admitted that the prime minister should step down if rules were broken, after he made the same demand of SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon earlier this year.It came as the Tories’ lead at the polls appeared to take a dive this weekend following a month of scandals for Mr Johnson’s governemnt.In a new poll conducted for The Observer, the Tory lead fell from 11 points to five points with just days to go before this week’s local and devolved elections. Among the latest allegations of “sleaze” are claims that Conservative donors were asked to pay for questionable costs including the fees for Mr Johnson’s nanny, as well as for his personal trainer.According to The Sunday Times, one unidentified Tory MP received a complaint from a supporter who said they were asked to pay for childcare for Mr Johnson’s one-year-old son, Wilfred. The donor was reported to have told the MP: “I don’t mind paying for leaflets but I resent being asked to pay to literally wipe the prime minister’s baby’s bottom.”Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has defended the Government’s decision to slash aid in response to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday, Mr Raab said the government needed to “find savings” to cope with the impact of Covid-19.“We’ve had to make this extremely difficult decision to reduce and find savings in the aid budget, that’s because of the impact Covid has had,” he said, adding: “I’ve found the process of making those savings very difficult but, of course, you’d expect that.”Show latest update

1619966678UK sends 1,000 ventilators to Covid-stricken India but pressure grows over vaccinesThe UK is sending another 1,000 ventilators to India to help with its Covid crisis, as Boris Johnson comes under pressure to scrap a deal which would take five million vaccination doses out of the country.The Foreign Office is poised to announce a boost to the 200 ventilators, 495 oxygen concentrators and 3 oxygen generation units already being sent.Our deputy political editor, Rob Merrick, has the full story below:Conrad Duncan2 May 2021 15:441619965998UK officials play down reports of payment to free Nazanin Zaghari-RatcliffeUK officials have played down reports from Iran that Britain is willing to pay a £400m debt in order to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.It is understood that Iran has made the claim before, without her having been released, and that the government’s position has not changed.“We continue to explore options to resolve this 40-year-old case and will not comment further as legal discussions are ongoing,” a Foreign Office spokesperson.Conrad Duncan2 May 2021 15:331619965361Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family has ‘heard nothing’ to confirm £400m fee reportNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family has “heard nothing” to confirm the rumours that the government is preparing to pay to free her from Iranian prison, Labour MP Tulip Siddiq has said.“I am aware there are news reports circulating about the debt being paid to #FreeNazanin. I have spoken to her family and they have heard nothing confirming any of these rumours,” Ms Siddiq, who is the MP for Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s constituency, said.“It was however welcome to hear Dominic Raab refer to her torture this morning on Marr. I hope the government is doing all it can to get the hostages home.”Conrad Duncan2 May 2021 15:221619964535Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to be released from prison ‘when UK pays £400m fee’British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe will be released from prison when the UK pays an outstanding £400 million military debt, Iranian state TV has reported.Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has already served a five-year prison sentence after being detained on charges relating to national security in 2016.Our reporter, Chantal da Silva, has more on this breaking story below:Conrad Duncan2 May 2021 15:081619963247Johnson urged to call off Tory threats to elections watchdog over ‘cash for cushions’ rowBoris Johnson is under pressure to call off Conservative threats to abolish the UK’s elections watchdog while it investigates the ‘cash for cushions’ row over the refurbishment of the PM’s Downing Street flat.Labour and the Liberal Democrats have said the Electoral Commission must be allowed to conduct its probe “independently and without fear or favour”.Our Whitehall editor, Kate Devlin, has the full story below:Conrad Duncan2 May 2021 14:471619962593Opinion: ‘How a reinvigorated Environment Bill would set an example to the world’The UK needs to show leadership in order to urgently meet air pollution limits set by the World Health Organisation, according to Labour (Co-op) MP Geraint Davies.Mr Davies writes:“Now, more than ever, the public will not accept that things can’t be done, or have the economy used as a shackle to prevent the introduction of progressive environmental and health policy.”You can find his full piece below:Conrad Duncan2 May 2021 14:361619961612Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is Iranian ‘hostage’, Raab admitsDominic Raab has admitted that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is effectively being held hostage by Iran, with the foreign secretary asserting that her treatment amounts to “torture”. Speaking on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show , the foreign secretary said Zaghari-Ratcliffe was being “subjected to a cat and mouse game” by Iran. Asked if it would be fair to describe her as a hostage, he said: “I think it’s very difficult to argue against that characterisation.”“It is clear that she is subjected to a cat and mouse game that the Iranians, or certainly part of the Iranian system, engage with and they try and use her for leverage on the UK,” he said. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national and mother of one, was sentenced to a fresh one-year jail term on Monday and given a travel ban in Iran for the same amount of time on a new charge of“spreading propaganda against the regime”.Already, she has served five years in prison after she was arrested on national security charges at Tehran airport in 2016 while making her way back to the UK. Her family has maintained that she has been detained by Iran in an attempt to force the UK to pay a long-running debt dating back to the 1970s. Asked about the debt on Sunday, Mr Raab said: “It’s not solely about that.“That is not actually the thing that’s holding us up at the moment, it’s the wider context as we come up to the Iranian presidential elections and the wider elections on the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) which, inevitably from the Iranian perspective, the two are considered in tandem.”“Nazanin is held unlawfully, in my view, as a matter of international law. I think she’s being treated in the most abusive, tortuous way. I think it amounts to torture, the way she’s being treated,” he said.Chantal Da Silva2 May 2021 14:201619961033SNP on track for Holyrood majority, poll suggestsNicola Sturgeon is on track to win a “knife-edge” majority in the Scottish Parliament election on Thursday, a new poll suggests.Conducted for The Herald by BMG Research, the new poll’s findings suggest that the SNP could be set to win 68 seats, while other projections show the Alba Party taking two seats, with the regional distribution of its support considered.The poll’s findings also suggested that the Greens could pick up nine seats, leaving Holyrood with 79 pro-independence MSPs out of 129.“There is no question that the SNP will be returned as the largest party in Holyrood next week, but their prospect of a majority remains on a knife-edge,” Robert Struthers, head of polling at BMG, told The Herald.“With little movement since our last poll in mid-March, there is no real evidence that any party has gathered significant momentum ahead of voters casting their ballots next week,” he said.The poll saw 1,023 Scots aged 16 or over surveyed between 27 and 30 April.Chantal Da Silva2 May 2021 14:101619960374Raab dismisses claim Tory donor was made to pay PM’s childcare as ‘tittle tattle’ Dominic Raab has said he has “no idea” if a Conservative donor was asked to pay for a nanny for Boris Johnson’s young son as he dismissed the claim as “tittle-tattle”. Speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Mr Raab spoke in defense of the prime minister ahead of a string of allegations of Conservative “sleaze”, including accusations that donors were made to pay for Mr Johnson’s nanny and personal trainer. Asked about the allegations Mr Raab said: “I have no idea, you don’t have conversations like that with the PM.”“I can’t comment on every little bit of gossip that’s in the newspapers,” he said. “The last thing you asked me about I think is an example of tittle-tattle.”The Cabinet minister further declined to deny reporting in The Sunday Times that a second invoice for renovations of the Prime Minister’s Downing Street flat may have been paid by a Tory donor.“There are three reviews now I think into this and I think the right thing for me to do is not add political commentary that could otherwise prejudice those reviews but to respect the integrity of them,” he said. “So I’m not going to offer you I’m afraid any more commentary or if you like chatter on the various different reports and speculation that I see in the Sunday papers.”Chantal Da Silva2 May 2021 13:591619959150Cutting aid budget ‘difficult,’ but necessary, Raab says Cutting the aid budget has been “very difficult”, but necessary, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said. Speaking with Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday, Mr Raab said the budget needed to be reduced in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. “We’ve had to make this extremely difficult decision to reduce and find savings in the aid budget, that’s because of the impact Covid has had, the biggest contraction we’ve seen in the economy for 300 years, a budget deficit double what we saw in the peak of the financial crisis in 2008-2009,” Mr Raab said. “I’ve found the process of making those savings very difficult but, of course, you’d expect that,” he added.The foreign secretary’s comments came amid strong backlash over the decision, with the United Nations warning that the world’s most vulnerable children would “suffer the consequences” of the Government’s decision to cut Unicef’s UK funding by around 60 per cent. Warning that it was “deeply concerned” by the decision, the UN children’s fund called on ministers to restore aid funding by the end of the year.Meanwhile, Labour shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said slashing the funding was an “extraordinarily short-sighted” move.“It doesn’t make any sense and absolutely undermines our moral authority on the world stage,” she told Ms Ridge.Chantal Da Silva2 May 2021 13:39 More

Labour is facing another possible elections hammering in its heartlands when voters go to the polls this week, Lisa Nandy has admitted.Asked if the party could lose all three key tests it faces – the Hartlepool by-election and the mayoral races in the West Midlands and Tees Valley – the shadow foreign secretary replied: “Anything is possible.”Ms Nandy suggested Labour was encountering a cool response from voters on the doorstep, who were only “glad you’ve come because I’m thinking about it”.“For a party that lost our entire base in every nation and region of the UK just over a year ago, that’s not a terrible place to be,” she told Times Radio.The comments will be seen as expectation management before the elections on Thursday, but Labour has been genuinely alarmed that it is failing to win back its lost voters.It is almost unthinkable for a mid-term government to win a seat in a by-election, especially one mired in sleaze allegations, but the Hartlepool result is on a knife-edge.Labour won the seat in the 2019 general election, but it benefited from a split vote between the Tories and the Brexit Party. Defeat would be a crushing blow for Keir Starmer.In the wider Tees Valley, the Conservative mayor Ben Houchen – whose victory in 2017 was early evidence of his party’s march into Labour areas – is the favourite to win again.And, in the West Midlands, the former John Lewis boss Andy Street has successfully modelled himself as a new-style Tory not beholden to No 10 and keeping the HS2 project on track.Ms Nandy said: “We’re not going to take anybody for granted. We always expected these elections would be difficult for us.”But she added: “Nevertheless, it does feel, as I’ve been out in different parts of the country including in Hartlepool twice in the last few weeks, that something has shifted.“People have noticed that Labour is under new management and they appreciate it. They are really quite frustrated with the Tory government and the numerous allegations of sleaze and misconduct.”There is some evidence of the polls narrowing ahead of election day, one finding that more voters now believe Mr Johnson is corrupt and dishonest.The Opinium survey for The Observer showed the Tory lead falling from 11 points to 5, after a week when the prime minister was also under for reportedly saying he would rather see “bodies pile high” than order another Covid-19 lockdown.A Sunday Times poll found survey his party’s lead nationwide had fallen sharply, with the Conservatives on 40 per cent, only one point ahead of Labour.The elections are the first since the pandemic struck – last year’s having been shelved – and represent the first electoral test for Sir Keir since he became Labour leader in April last year. More

Boris Johnson is facing intense pressure to allow a second Scottish independence referendum if the SNP win a majority at Holyrood on Thursday, after a new poll for The Independent showed British voters think he would be wrong to deny a fresh ballot.The UK government argues that now is not the time for another vote and that politicians should focus on rebuilding the economy in the wake of the Covid pandemic.But Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP has said outright victory in this week’s Holyrood elections would be a mandate for a second referendum.And a new BMG poll for The Independent suggests Britons agree. The survey found that 41 per cent of those asked said Mr Johnson should allow another vote within four years if pro-independence parties win a majority in the Scottish Parliament this week, compared to just 33 per cent who opposed and 26 per cent who said they did not know. The poll also suggested that Mr Johnson would be heavily expected to win another referendum.Just 19 per cent said Scottish independence would be positive for the UK, while 41 per cent believe it would be negative.The only part of the UK where voters were more likely to back Mr Johnson’s position on holding a second referendum than oppose it was Scotland.There, 41 per cent thought the prime minister should grant another referendum, while 44 per cent thought he should not.In response, Ms Sturgeon said: “What this poll shows is that Boris Johnson and the Tories can’t deny democracy forever. “When the Scottish parliament decides it is the right time for the people of Scotland to choose their future, it would be foolish for a Westminster Tory government to stand in the way of the democratic will of the people of Scotland.”But a UK government spokesperson said the SNP’s push for a “divisive referendum” was “irresponsible”.The poll also shows that across Britain as a whole, only the over-65s believe Mr Johnson’s government has taken the right approach.They back his position by 45 per cent to 35 per cent.But no other age group agreed.And young people were especially likely to believe the outcome of Thursday’s vote could lead to another independence poll.Among 18-24 year olds, 48 per cent thought the government should allow another referendum, while just 15 per cent thought they should withhold permission.As well as the SNP, the Scottish Greens also support independence, as do Alba, the new party formed by Ms Sturgeon’s rival and former ally Alex Salmond.He is hoping that voters will deliver a ‘super majority’ among pro-independence parties on Thursday.UK ministers were spooked by a series of polls earlier this year which suggested support for independence had risen in Scotland.However, polls in recent days suggest that backing for independence may have waned during the course of this election campaign.Some UK government insiders believe the chances of a pro-independence majority on Thursday are currently touch-and-go.A UK government spokesperson said: “Now more than ever, people in Scotland want to see the UK government and the devolved administrations working together to protect lives and livelihoods.“The United Kingdom is the most successful political and economic union the world has ever seen, and this pandemic and our collective response, from the furlough scheme to vaccine procurement and the backing of our military personnel, has shown that we are at our strongest when we work together towards a common goal.“The push for a divisive referendum is simply irresponsible. It is a distraction, when we need to focus on continuing to tackle the pandemic and rebuilding our economy.” More

The UK is sending another 1,000 ventilators to Covid-stricken India – but Boris Johnson is facing calls to scrap a deal to take 5 million vaccination doses from the country.The terrible scenes in India – where people are dying in hospital corridors and bodies are being cremated in car parks – has led the government to step up its emergency aid to Delhi.The Foreign Office is poised to announce the boost to the 200 ventilators, 495 oxygen concentrators and 3 oxygen generation units already being sent.In addition, the UK’s health and science chiefs are giving advice to their Indian counterparts on coping with the world’s worse pandemic surge.But pressure is growing on the prime minister to scrap or shelve an agreement to receive the 5 million doses – already delayed by the Delhi government, because of the crisis.Professor Andrew Pollard, who runs the Oxford Vaccine Group, said it was unacceptable for the UK to be vaccinating younger age groups with “thousands of people dying” in poorer nations.And he was backed by the leading immunologist and government adviser Peter Openshaw, who agreed the UK should not “take the vaccines away while this situation is so serious”.“That would seem a very reasonable arrangement to come to,” Prof Openshaw said, adding: “We in this country ordered at least twice as much vaccine as we could possibly use.”The member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) said the UK could donate about 120 million doses struggling countries.But he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that it was best to work through the World Health Organisation (WHO) rather than giving it directly to specific countries.“That doesn’t mean we have actually got it in store houses ready to go out, but certainly we could be donating something over 120 million doses, but probably best through the WHO Covax system,” he said.But, asked about giving vaccines to India, the foreign secretary Dominic Raab said: “I haven’t had a request I can tell you on that specifically.”His Labour shadow, Lisa Nandy, also backed the UK completing its vaccination programme first, saying: “We haven’t defeated this virus in Britain yet and we need to keep up the momentum.”But Patrick Watt, Christian Aid’s director of policy, said: “Now that almost all British adults in high risk categories have been vaccinated – many of them with doses made in India – the UK should be sharing supplies with South Asia and other poorer regions where roll out has been slow.”On Tuesday, Mr Johnson will hold a virtual meeting with Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, “to deepen cooperation”, having been forced to scrap a planned visit last month. More

Some social distancing and mask-wearing rules will stay in place as life returns only “close to normal” in June, Dominic Raab has suggested.The government is exploring what “extra safeguards” will be needed, even when the end of the current roadmap is reached on 21 June, the foreign secretary said.Last week, Boris Johnson said there is now a “very good chance” of ending all legal coronavirus restrictions next month, in what was his most bullish assessment yet.But Mr Raab struck a far more cautious tone, saying: “We’re looking at what extra safeguards, caveats, need to be put in place.“We want to get to a position, at the end of June, where we can get life back as close to normal as possible, but they’ll still need to be some safeguards in place.”When asked to explain what he meant, the foreign secretary added: “It will be around distancing, maybe there’ll be something around masks, but I don’t really want to pre-judge. Those are just some of the options.”Mr Raab also ducked an explosive warning from the Scottish Tory leader that the prime minister will have to quit if he has broken the ministerial code over his lavish flat makeover.Asked if Mr Johnson should resign if rules were broken – the same demand he made of Nicola Sturgeon over the Alex Salmond controversy – Douglas Ross had replied: “Of course.”However, Mr Raab said the prime minister’s fate was “hypothetical speculation”, while insisting he had “followed the codes of conduct”.“I think the right thing for me to do is respect the integrity of those reviews and let them run their course – rather than commenting that what may or may not be found,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Programme.Scientific advisers are optimistic that infection rates, hospital admissions and deaths will continue to fall, allowing an end to emergency coronavirus laws on Midsummer’s Day.This would allow the return of mass gatherings, nightclubs, festivals, conferences and other events that did not reopen last summer.However, what is less certain is whether it will be possible to return completely to normal contact – without Covid-status certificates or reduced numbers in public places.A review of social distancing is due to report on whether restrictions such as the “one-metre-plus” rule will need to be maintained beyond the summer.Mr Raab repeatedly referred to lifting “almost all social restrictions” and said the government would continue to be “evidence driven”.Before the decisions are made for 21 June, the government is almost certain to confirm the return of limited indoor mixing on 17 May – an announcement expected a week earlier.And it will lift the ban on overseas travel, the all-important list of “green list” countries – where quarantine on return will not be needed – due out in the next few days. More

Boris Johnson is under pressure to call off Conservative threats to abolish the UK’s elections watchdog while it investigates his ‘cash for cushions’. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have also called on the Conservatives to cease all attacks on the Electoral Commission and allow the body to conduct its probe “independently and without fear or favour”. The commission triggered a political earthquake last week when it launched a formal probe into the recent refurbishment of Mr Johnson’s Downing Street flat, saying there were “reasonable grounds” to suspect offences may have been committed. But the commission’s future looks uncertain after it was told last year to reform or face abolition by Amanda Milling, the Tory party co-chairman and a minister without portfolio in the cabinet office.After this week’s probe was announced, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, also criticised the body, saying: “For them to make this announcement – and the timing of it – does seem to me to be very questionable. Its reputation is in tatters over its very poor behaviour over the Vote Leave campaign.” Cat Smith, Labour’s shadow minister for democracy, accused the Conservatives of attempts to intimidate the Electoral Commission she said “come straight out of the Republican Party playbook”. “This is just one part of a concerted strategy by the Tories to remove scrutiny and proper accountability,” she said. “The Conservative government must make a clear statement revoking these threats.” Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, has also written to Ms Milling, warning that while the commission’s investigation is underway “it would be entirely improper for you to continue to make threats regarding its future”. He added that the watchdog “must not be given any reason to believe that their conclusions in this investigation could lead to repercussions for the Commission from this government”. The public will only have faith in the outcome of the probe if “you and your party immediately cease any attacks on the Commission and allow them to operate independently and without fear or favour.” The calls were backed by Sir Alistair Graham, the former chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. He described the Tory chairwoman’s suggestion last August that the commission could be abolished as a “form of bullying”. For the duration of the investigation, the Electoral Commission “should do their job as set out in the legislation without politicians interfering in any way. They are an independent; body they should be allowed to operate independently,” he said.  The Electoral Commission is seen as a particular bugbear of Brexiteers.In 2018 the watchdog imposed a £ 61,000 fine on Vote Leave, the pro-Brexit campaign supported by Mr Johnson, which denied wrongdoing. Tory MP and Brexiteer Peter Bone also accused the commission of being “arrogant, incompetent and vindictive”. In the past, Electoral Commission insiders have been privately pessimistic they can hold off Conservative attempts to scrap or reform the watchdog.A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “We believe all reportable donations have been transparently and correctly declared and published by the Electoral Commission.“We will continue to work constructively with the Electoral Commission on this matter.“While an investigation is ongoing we will not be commenting further.” More

Boris Johnson’s view of women has been “forever impacted” by not mixing with girls until he was much older than the average child due to his all-male education, a senior Conservative MP has said.Caroline Nokes, chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee in parliament, told The Independent the PM’s ministerial appointments are based on finding the “right chap” rather than the “best candidate” for the role as she said women get “overlooked repeatedly”.Ms Nokes argued Mr Johnson, who has frequently been criticised for making sexist and racist remarks, is less sexist than he was but noted he “had a long way to go”.The MP for Romsey and Southampton North said she is “convinced” the Etonian prime minister’s “blokey mentality” partly stems from his education and “the type of upbringing he had”.Ms Nokes added: “What we see is somebody who wasn’t educated with girls. Who didn’t mix with them until he was significantly older than your average child. I think it has forever impacted his perceptions. “Often when it comes to making ministerial appointments, it’s all about who is the best chap for the job, not necessarily who would be the best candidate for the job.”The politician warned the fact childcare was “shut and forgotten” in the first lockdown was “absolute evidence” there needs to be more women “sat around” the decision-making table to make “rounded” choices.“It is really sad even in recent months, we’ve seen the proportion of women in cabinet go down,” Ms Nokes added. “You wouldn’t have thought that was really possible.”Johnson was originally educated at Eton College and went on to study Classics at Balliol College, Oxford.Women account for about a third of MPs and local councillors, while only five out of 23 cabinet ministers are women. For more than six months at the height of the pandemic, there was not a single Downing Street press conference that was not led by a man.

If Boris Johnson truly was a feminist … he would be the sort of person who pulled himself up when he was making decisions. You don’t become a feminist by calling yourself one.Caroline Nokes MPMs Nokes, a former Home Office minister, said Mr Johnson recognises he should have more women in his cabinet yet fails to appoint another woman at “every opportunity” he has.“I don’t think he is a feminist,” Ms Nokes said of her leader. “If he truly was a feminist then he would have far more of a commitment. He would be the sort of person who pulled himself up when he was making decisions. You don’t become a feminist by calling yourself one.”Ms Nokes went on to say while she was not “shocked” by the outpouring of women’s stories about being sexually harassed, assaulted, or abused by men in public spaces after Sarah Everard’s killing, she was “appalled” they were forced to endure such behaviour.The politician warned even in 2021 women are subjected to “hideous everyday incidents” of harassment and abuse – noting they are often reluctant to report it to the police and have fears it will not be “taken seriously or investigated” if they do come forward.In a wide-ranging interview, Ms Nokes argued the backlash from some men over women sharing stories stemmed from an “over-sensitivity” and a fragile male ego as well as a “lack of willingness to be an ally” to women. The politician, who said she fears for her own 22-year-old daughter’s safety, added: “The good guys want to be an ally.”Ms Nokes voiced scepticism at controversial plans for plainclothes police officers to patrol bars and nightclubs to safeguard women from predatory men. Ministers announced the fiercely criticised plans in response to mounting anger the government was not doing enough to tackle violence against women in the wake of Everard’s death.Ms Nokes said she was “sceptical” such plans “would be successful” and when pressed about whether it would be difficult to enforce the measures due to members of the public pretending to be police officers, she warned it could lead to “all sorts of strange situations”.The politician said there is “a lot more to be done” to tackle violence against women and girls as she argued the criminal justice system needed to work better for female victims of crime – adding that the “stats speak for themselves”.Campaigners have long warned rape has been effectively decriminalised, with prosecutions and convictions for sexual assault and rape reaching record lows last year. Government data shows in the year to March 2020 that just 1.4 per cent of 55,130 rape cases recorded by police had resulted in prosecution.“More CCTV, more street lights, these are physical deterrents but they’re not addressing the root cause,” Ms Nokes added, in reference to plans unveiled by the government in April. “A few street lights are not going to prevent a perpetrator who is determined to harass, assault, or stalk a woman from doing so.”A woman is killed by a current or ex-partner every four days in England and Wales, while a recent survey by UN Women found 97 per cent of young women in the UK said they had been sexually harassed and 80 per cent reported experiencing sexual harassment in public spaces. “We have to address the culture around why some men think it is acceptable to abuse and harass women,” Ms Nokes added. A government spokesperson said: “This government continues to deliver policies to improve the support, protection and opportunities available for women. “This includes funding during the pandemic for sectors women are more likely to be employed in, specific protections for female-led start-ups, flexible furlough arrangements for those unable to work due to the closure of schools, nurseries, and childcare services, and enhanced childcare support.“Alongside supporting jobs action is also being taken to protect women and girls and support victims and survivors. The new Domestic Abuse Act will ensure the victims have the protection they rightly need and later this year we will publish our new Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy to tackle all forms of this crime and bring perpetrators to justice.” More

Boris Johnson must quit if he has broken the ministerial code over his lavish flat makeover, the Scottish Tory leader says.Asked if he should resign if rules were broken – the same demand he made of Nicola Sturgeon – Douglas Ross replied: “Of course.”The explosive warning came after Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, admitted he had “no idea” if Mr Johnson sought a Tory donor to pay his childcare bills, as claimed.Mr Raab also failed to deny the flat redecorations cost as much as £200,000 – and that a second payment was sought from an unknown donor to cover the cost.Mr Ross, who led calls for the SNP First Minister to go over the Alex Salmond controversy, was asked if he believed Mr Johnson should suffer the same fate, if the code was broken.“I think people expect the highest standards of those in the highest office of the land and that’s why I think people are looking at the investigations that are currently ongoing and waiting for the answers,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Programme.Mr Johnson is facing up to four inquiries, after repeatedly failing to deny that the Conservative Party originally funded the costly refurbishment of the Downing Street flat.It is believed the party secretly approved paying a £58,000 bill as long as nine months ago – a payment then covered by a wealthy donor, according to a leaked email.He is also under fire for refusing to commit to publishing the findings of his new adviser’s investigation into the affair – despite criticism that he is making himself “judge and jury”.But Mr Raab defended the prime minister being “the ultimate arbiter of the ministerial code”, saying: “There’s no separate body or individual that will have power over him. That’s why we have elections.”The foreign secretary also described the prime minister’s fate as “hypothetical speculation”, while insisting he had “followed the codes of conduct”.“I think the right thing for me to do is respect the integrity of those reviews and let them run their course – rather than commenting that what may or may not be found,” he insisted.Lisa Nandy, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, said the public did not need to have the inquiries to know to know Mr Johnson is “withholding information” about who originally funded the renovations.“It’s appalling we are in a position where he won’t come clean about who loaned him money or gave him money, and what favours or promises may have been given in return,” she told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday.“We already know that this is a prime minister who frankly thinks that the rules don’t apply to him and his friends.“He is quite happy for his cabinet ministers to break the ministerial code and then not resign, he is quite happy for his advisers to drive around the country with Covid in the middle of lockdown and not resign. I think people are angry.” More