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American businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri has told of her four-year affair with British prime minister Boris Johnson between 2012 and 2016.Ms Arcuri said the pair shared a “physical and intellectual attraction” after meeting while she was a student in 2011 and he the mayor of London and married to lawyer Marina Wheeler, with whom he has four children“We were in an intimate relationship for four years,” she said in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mirror. “I loved him, and with good cause. But the man I thought I knew doesn’t exist any more.”She describes first meeting him at a tech event and remembers: “He’d turn the whole room into a bunch of howling schoolgirls. I made a beeline for the front of the line.”Their paths crossed again in spring 2012 when she volunteered to work for his re-election campaign and they began texting, his number saved in her phone as “Alex the Great”, a nod to his given Christian name and much-trumpeted passion for antiquity.Read more:Busy with his campaign and preparations for the upcoming London Olympics and Paralympics, Mr Johnson could not pursue his interest in Ms Arcuri until they met for a “private drink” at the Tavistock Hotel in Bloomsbury in May 2012.“He showed up late, dishevelled and chaotic. He was biking – he came in with his helmet. I thought, ‘That’s a great look for the start of this’,” she remembers.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday“He went to the bar and came back within a minute and said, ‘Jennifer can I borrow £3.10?’ I thought, ‘I’m a student buying you a beer, you should be ashamed of yourself’.”After a second dinner date at Ciao Bella on Lamb’s Conduit Street, Mr Johnson reportedly told her: “I want to date you, you’re the only American I’ve ever fancied.”He also allegedly tried to kiss her in the street, which she laughed off, suggesting he was being incautious.“This is my city, I don’t care,” he is said to have answered, before biking off “in a huff”.As the affair progressed, Ms Arucri says they bonded over a love of William Shakespeare’s sonnets and that she sent him intimate photographs, one of which he allegedly described as “enough to make a bishop kick through a stained-glass window,” the phrase apparently lifted from the legendary crime writer Raymond Chandler.But, by 2016, she was involved with tech analyst Matthew Hickey and the affair had cooled.Speaking of her upset at Mr Johnson’s refusal to defend her when questions were raised about her presence on three high-level trade trips and receipt of £126,000 of taxpayer money in event sponsorships and grants, she comments: “It’s embarrassing. What a child. You can’t get on the phone and say, ‘Look Jen, this is crazy, welcome to politics’?”He just took the most cowardly, wet noodle of approaches. This is who he is and it’s about time we recognised that.“A great leader is charismatic, courageous and brave. None of these words I would use to describe Boris Johnson.”The Greater London Authority is currently investigating whether Mr Johnson breached the Nolan Principles of Public Life, the code of conduct by which the city mayor is expected to abide, by not confessing his affair with Ms Arcuri. More

Labour under Keir Starmer is suffering from a “lack of authenticity” and direction, Len McCluskey has claimed as he challenged the leader to “honour” left-wing pledges he committed to 12 months ago to offer a credible alternative to the Conservatives.In a scathing assessment of the Labour leader’s first year, the general secretary of Unite — one of Labour’s biggest financial backers — said Sir Keir’s personal ratings were “plummeting” and suggested voters were unsure who the party speaks for.Writing in The Independent, the union chief said: “Focus groups show that at best his Labour Party is seen as dull, absent of convictions or presence, at worst opportunistic, only following the political wind after it has blown, rarely making the weather.”Citing a complaint by the late Conservative Willie Whitelaw that Labour under Harold Wilson at the 1970 election campaign was going around the country “stirring up apathy”, Mr McCluskey went on: “Today it is true”.“Turmoil engulfs constituencies at the sharp end of unwarranted and undemocratic interference from on high, just as we head to the biggest day of voting since the general election on May 6,” the key ally of the Corbyn project said.Read more:“Keir would have to be living in a cave to be unaware of the concerns about the direction, or lack of it, of his Labour party and the consequent disaffection this has caused in voters.”He later added: “The danger is that voters can smell it — an identity confusion, a lack of authenticity. They know that this is a party unsure about who it now is and who it now speaks for.”Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayIn recent weeks Sir Keir has sought to attribute polls showing a widening gap between Labour and the Conservatives to a “vaccine bounce” — reflecting the relative success of the UK’s vaccination programme. He also admitted that he as leader and the party have “got to do better” to win over support.The remarks from Mr McCluskey underscore how the left has become increasingly at odds with Labour’s high command over the party’s direction almost one year on from Sir Keir’s landslide victory at the 2020 leadership contest.A key point of frustration has been the 10 pledges made during Sir Keir’s leadership campaign, which built on his predecessor’s policy platform. Critics have hit out at certain commitments being abandoned, including EU free movement, while the party’s prevarication over whether to support increases in corporation tax also provoked a backlash ahead of the chancellor’s Budget. Other dividing lines have concentrated on the so-called SpyCops bill and the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn from the parliamentary party over his response to the equalities watchdog antisemitism inquiry — a decision Sir Keir has stood by.Raising the pledges during the leadership contest, Mr McCluskey added in his article: “They [voters] may not much like Johnson or his right-wing cabal, but really they ask themselves, where’s the alternative?“Fortunately for Keir he has that alternative. The ten policies he stood on, policies popular with the public, spoke to hope, renewal, the reversal of inequality and a better country for our people as we build back out of Covid.  Those policies, building on the best of Labour’s values, would put the pressure on the Tories if powerfully advocated. More

The first minister of Wales has become the first senior Labour figure to back ‘vaccine certificates’ for venues – saying there are “prizes to be won”.Mark Drakeford admitted to “big practical and ethical challenges”, but revealed he had held talks with Michael Gove, who is reviewing the controversy for Boris Johnson.Wales would only act on a “four-nation basis”,  but Mr Drakeford said: “I think there are definitely prizes to be won through domestic vaccine certification.”Keir Starmer and other Labour figures have stopped short of backing the idea of someone proving they have had a jab – promoted by the prime minister last week – other than for overseas travel.Mr Drakeford said he hoped to follow England by bringing back pubs and restaurants serving outdoors by the end of April, although indoor meetings were unlikely until May.Read more:Asked whether this is the last lockdown, he told BBC ‘s Andrew Marr Show: “I’m afraid I don’t think anybody responsible in my position will be able to do that any time soon.“There’s a job of work that still needs to be done in making sure that coronavirus is genuinely in the rear view mirror.”Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayThe first minister also warned Welsh people to expect some Covid-19 measures will still be in place by the end of the year.“I still think that we will need to go on doing the things we’ve learnt to do, the mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing.“The idea that with one bound we are free and coronavirus is something that is over, that’s not my message to people here in Wales.”In England, the government plans to lift all legal distancing restrictions in mid-June, while warning the timetable depends on the virus remaining under control. Mr Gove’s review of certificates is expected to back technology to prove either proof-of-a-jab, a negative test or the presence of antibodies – but there is strong opposition on the Tory benches.On vaccine certificates, Mr Drakeford said it should “definitely” be considered provided they were “fair and reliable”.“I think there are definitely prizes to be won through domestic vaccine certification, but there are very big practical and ethical challenges to face as well,” he said.“What about those who can’t be vaccinated because their health conditions don’t allow that to happen?“If it’s a self-certification system, then what reliance can we put on the fact that somebody produces a certificate?” The comments came as a Cabinet minister described the worsening Covid situation on the continent as “very worrying” casting further doubt on hopes for foreign holidays this summer.Rising cases across the Channel have tended to hit the UK “a couple of weeks or three weeks later”, Oliver Dowden said – when asked if the go-ahead would be given.The culture secretary – while insisting the lockdown-easing was currently on track – also warned the public that restrictions might have to stay in place beyond mid-summer.“Of course they could if the situation deteriorates,” Mr Dowden said, ahead of the return of groups meeting up in England on Monday. More

Alex Salmond says Scots may have to take to the streets to achieve independence, with Boris Johnson set to reject a second poll.“Peaceful street demonstrations” may be necessary to force the prime minister to act, he warned – saying: “Any and all of these things are tactics to achieve the strategy.” The former SNP first minister, who has enraged Nicola Sturgeon by setting up a new party, said he was willing to share a stage with her, but did not mean forgiveness.“No. I’m not saying forgive. The word forgiveness is yours not mine. Some things are bigger than personalities though,” he told Times Radio.And, on the charge that his past behaviour towards women made him unfit for office, Mr Salmond: “I am not going to say a word in this campaign, denigrating either the SNP or indeed any other party. I’m not rising to any bait whatsoever.”Read more:Ruth Davidson, the former Scottish Conservative leader warned that the country was about to be consumed in “this Sturgeon/Salmond psychodrama”.The call for demonstrations was a “dog whistle to the zoomers”, she said, adding: “We need to rebuild after a pandemic which has left no person or street or shop or business untouched.” Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayMr Salmond’s new Alba Party, launched on Friday, will only attempt to elect ‘top up’ MSPs on the regional list PR system, in an attempt to win a “super majority” for independence at Holyrood.It has already gained the boost of two MPs who have defected from the SNP, after Neale Hanvey followed Kenny MacAskill in joining the new party.Mr Salmond himself will standing as a candidate in May’s elections, potentially returning to the political frontline after being cleared of sexual harassment allegations. Mr Johnson has said he will refuse a Section 30 order to authorise so-called ‘Indyref2’ – calling it “completely irrelevant” and suggesting a 40-year gap between referendums. Discussing how to force him to change his mind, Mr Salmond said the 2014 referendum sanctioned by David Cameron “wasn’t something he suddenly offered”.“We should be negotiating as a parliament as quickly as possible using that array of independent supporting parties in that Parliament to give the authority,” he argued.“Then we’ll see what comes out of that negotiation, whether it be a Section 30 referendum, whether it be a plebiscite organised for the Scottish Parliament.”The pressure might involve “mobilising international opinion and international legal opinion on Scotland’s right of self-determination” or “peaceful street demonstrations”.“Any and all of these things are tactics to achieve the strategy, which is to achieve Scottish independence,” Mr Salmond said. More

People will have to self-isolate after coming into contact with Covid-19 for many years as the UK learns how to “live with this virus”, a government adviser is warning.Mark Woolhouse, a professor of epidemiology, said the test-and-trace system is here to stay – as, probably, are some social distancing measures such as screens.He also admitted to being “nervous about a full relaxation in June”, calling the idea of emerging from the lockdown “in one great bound” wide of the mark.“I still suspect that looking forward – and I am talking now right through 2021 and into the years ahead – that we are still going to have to be alert to coronavirus,” Prof Woolhouse said.“There are still going to be situations where we might need to use personal protective equipment, we might well need to do some kind of social distancing, put some kind of biosecurity measures in place.”Read more:It would also be necessary to “maintain our capacity to test and trace, and particularly to isolate people who are infected,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.“That final thing is going to remain important for the entire future – that, when we get cases of novel coronavirus, that those people are then going to have to be asked to self-isolate and their contacts.” Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayProf Woolhouse, who sits on the SPI-M modelling group, which feeds advice into the main Sage body, also vaccine certificates to enter nightclubs and other venues might be necessary.“It’s certainly something we have to consider seriously as part of a wider package of measures that are designed to make our activities safe,” he warned.And, on another lockdown, he said: “We should regard that as a failure of public health policy if we have to go that route again.” The comments came as a Cabinet minister described the worsening Covid situation on the continent as “very worrying” casting further doubt on hopes for foreign holidays this summer.Rising cases across the Channel have tended to hit the UK “a couple of weeks or three weeks later”, Oliver Dowden said – when asked if the go-ahead would be given.The culture secretary – while insisting the lockdown-easing was currently on track – also warned the public that restrictions might have to stay in place beyond mid-summer.“Of course they could if the situation deteriorates,” Mr Dowden said, ahead of the return of groups meeting up in England on Monday. Prof Woolhouse added: “I have to say I am a little bit nervous about a full relaxation in June.“This is the particularly important thing, exactly how well are the vaccines performing? If they are going at this rate, I think we can get quite close to a full release.“The idea that we can suddenly emerge from this in one great bound, I think, is a little over-optimistic.” More

The UK is planning to offer 3.7m Covid-19vaccines to the Republic of Ireland in a move that could exacerbate its rift with the EU, it has been reported.Foreign secretary Dominic Raab, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove and Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis are said to have met privately to discuss the plan, which they see as integral to ensuring lockdown restrictions can be lifted in neighbouring Northern Ireland with the reduced risk of border crossings triggering a third wave of infections, according to the Sunday Times.Transmission rates remain significantly higher in the Republic of Ireland at present, with 610 new cases recorded on Saturday compared with 138 in Northern Ireland.But delivering jabs to Dublin would mark the first time the UK has shipped supplies to an EU nation and serve as “a poke in the eye to Brussels”, according to one cabinet minister quoted by Sunday Times.The EU’s response to the vaccine rollout has been far less smooth than Britain’s and seen the bloc threaten to suspend the export of vaccines or key ingredients as it seeks to catch up and safeguard its member states.Read more:“Everyone can see the logic of it. It’s good politics while at the same time solving a genuine public health concern in Northern Ireland,” a cabinet source told the Sunday newspaper.“It is a balancing act, making sure that we have enough vaccines to give the UK’s adult population the second dose. Easter will be when we might be able to start offering vaccines to Ireland.”Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayAsked about the potential delivery of vaccines to Ireland by Sky News anchor Sophy Ridge on Sunday morning, culture secretary Oliver Dowden said that the UK does not yet have a surplus so it is premature to consider next moves.“Clearly our first priority is ensuring that we deliver vaccines in the United Kingdom,” he said.“We clearly don’t currently have a surplus of vaccines – should we get to the point where we have a surplus of vaccines, we’d make decisions on the allocation of that surplus.”Irish prime minister Michael Martin said on 9 March that there would be no question of the UK offering additional vaccines to his country until its own population had been inoculated.“The British prime minister has made it clear to me that obviously his first priority is to vaccinate his people,” the taoiseach said.“It would be helpful to Ireland if the situation arose, but right now he has to concentrate on vaccinating his own people. Until then he won’t be in a position to give vaccines to anybody and he has made that point to me, which I thought was fairly obvious at the outset.”Currently, around 55 per cent of Britain’s adults have received their first jab so that prospect remains some way off.Sir Jeremy Farrar, a scientific adviser to the government’s Sage team, has said the UK “must start sharing” its extra doses and warned against “vaccine nationalism”.“The world won’t be safe while any single country is still fighting the virus. If left to spread, it risks mutating to an extent where our vaccines and treatments no longer work. This goes beyond ethics – it’s a scientific and economic imperative.”While any future vaccine surplus had been earmarked for developing countries, the Cabinet Office is also reportedly planning to send some supplies on to continental Europe to ease the situation in countries like France and Germany where dissatisfaction with the state’s response to the pandemic has led to a rise in support for extremist groups.“The fear is that [Emmanuel] Macron has made such a mess of things that it might mean we end up with [far-right leader] Marine Le Pen getting elected,” a Whitehall source told The Times. “No one wants that.”A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care told The Independent: “Our first priority is to protect the British public, and the vaccine rollout is continuing at pace. We remain on course to offer a first dose to all over 50s in the UK by 15 April and all UK adults by the end of July, as we continue to cautiously reopen society via our roadmap.“We don’t currently have a surplus of vaccines, but we will consider how these are allocated as they become available.” More

A Cabinet minister has described the worsening Covid-19 situation on the continent as “very worrying” casting further doubt on hopes for foreign holidays this summer.Rising cases across the Channel have tended to hit the UK “a couple of weeks or three weeks later”, Oliver Dowden said – when asked if the go-ahead would be given. The culture secretary – while insisting the lockdown-easing was currently on track – also warned the public that restrictions might have to stay in place beyond mid-summer.“Of course they could if the situation deteriorates,” Mr Dowden said, ahead of the return of groups meeting up in England on Monday.He also said he hopes Wembley will be “as close as we can to be being full” for the final of the European football championships on 11 July.Read more:And he sought to calm Tory tensions over ‘vaccine certificates’ to enter venues, insisting the move would not be “permanent” – but “might be a tool in the short run”. Pressed to guarantee that another lockdown will not be needed in England, Mr Dowden said: “My whole experience of the past year, and I think everyone that’s watching’s experience of the past year, is you can’t rule things out.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday“But we have every confidence we won’t have to have another lockdown because we’ve done this and it’s the last thing in the world we would want to do.” The culture secretary said the UK could anticipate having a third vaccine in its armoury within weeks, telling the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “We expect that, in April, Moderna will come.”And he did not deny a report that the UK – having refused to allow the exports of any jabs so far – was poised to send 3.7 million to the Republic of Ireland, to help curb infections in the North. “Clearly, our first priority is ensuring we deliver vaccines in the United Kingdom,” Mr Dowden told Sky News.“We clearly don’t currently have a surplus of vaccines. Should we get to the point where we have a surplus of vaccines, we’d make decisions on the allocation of that surplus.” Meanwhile, a government adviser warned that people will have to self-isolate after coming into contact with Covid-19 for many years as the UK learns how to “live with this virus”.Mark Woolhouse, a professor of epidemiology, said the test-and-trace system is here to stay – as, probably, are some social distancing measures such as screens.He also admitted to being “nervous about a full relaxation in June”, calling the idea of emerging from the lockdown “in one great bound” wide of the mark.“I still suspect that looking forward – and I am talking now right through 2021 and into the years ahead – that we are still going to have to be alert to coronavirus,” Prof Woolhouse said.“There are still going to be situations where we might need to use personal protective equipment, we might well need to do some kind of social distancing, put some kind of biosecurity measures in place.” More

Kenny MacAskill, a former Scottish justice secretary, has quit the Scottish National Party (SNP) to join Alex Salmond’s new political party. The MP announced his move to the pro-independence Alba Party unveiled on Friday, becoming the first big SNP name to defect to the new party. Mr Salmond, Scotland’s former first minister, made a dramatic return to politics this week as the leader of the new party that he said will help “reinforce the momentum behind the independence cause”.Mr MacAskill, once a minister in Mr Salmond’s cabinet, reportedly said he will continue serving as an MP after switching over to Alba Party, which is aiming to win seats on Holyrood’s regional lists to create a “supermajority” in favour of Scotland quitting the UK.In response to Mr MacAskill’s move, Ian Blackford, SNP’s Westminster leader, said: “He has been an increasing embarrassment to many in the SNP and his departure is somewhat of a relief.”Read more:He added: “He should now resign his seat in the House of Commons to let a by-election take place immediately so the people of East Lothian can elect a new MP who will focus on their interests, rather than self-interest.”According to The National, Mr MacAskill wrote to his staff: “I will be joining the newly-formed Alba Party to deliver [a] supermajority for independence through the list vote and which I believe’s essential to achieving our nation’s independence.”Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayLib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael said: “Kenny Macaskill wants to go from being the SNP MP for East Lothian, to the Alba party MSP for Lothians. I will be interested to see how he pursues this role from his home in Banffshire.”Chris McEleny, who was voted in as an SNP councillor in Inverclyde, has also resigned from Nicola Sturgeon’s party for the Alba Party since its launch.Meanwhile, it appears former SNP MP Corri Wilson has also defected to the Alba Party. She retweeted a post on Saturday that quoted her as saying: “I am delighted to be joining Alba Party whose goal is to secure independence for Scotland, the cause that so many in Scotland have given so much to support.”Ms Sturgeon, when asked whether she was worried about more defections after a couple of SNP politicians had switched over, said: “People will make up their own minds. I’m not overly concerned about that.”She told Radio Clyde News: “If people want to do that, that’s up to them.”The first minister also said there were “some significant questions about the appropriateness” of the return of Mr Salmond to public office.The launch of the Alba Party comes after a turbulent period for the SNP and the Scottish government.Mr Salmond has accused senior figures within the SNP of mounting a conspiracy against him, after he successfully challenged the way the government handled harassment claims made against him by two women.A Holyrood inquiry into the government’s botched handling of those complaints was critical of both Ms Sturgeon and her administration, as it concluded the two complainers were “badly let down”.Ms Sturgeon, his successor, said claims of a plot against the former first minister were “absurd” and insisted her government had nothing to hide.Mr Salmond was last year cleared after a criminal trial of a series of allegations, including a charge of attempted rape.After the launch of Alba Party by its former leader, the SNP said: “At this time of crisis, the interests of the country must come first and should not be obscured by the self-interest of someone who shows no sign whatsoever of reflecting on serious concerns about his own conduct – concerns which, to put it mildly, raise real questions about the appropriateness of a return to public office.” Mr Salmond has told potential supporters to vote for his old party in constituency seats or “an independence” party. The Alba Party is “standing only in the list”, he said.Additional reporting by Press Association More