Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailBoris Johnson is expected to apologise for “unquestionably” making mistakes in his handling of the pandemic during his appearance before the Covid Inquiry.But the former prime minister will argue that his controversial decisions ended up saving “tens if not hundreds of thousands of lives”.Mr Johnson will be grilled next Wednesday and Thursday over the government’s decision-making during the pandemic in two marathon evidence sessions.He faces a mammoth task to salvage his reputation, however, with the inquiry over the last two months having heard:The former PM, who has since quit as an MP, will argue that without restrictions in place a considerable number of individuals would have experienced “miserable and unnecessary deaths”, some of them occurring in hospital car parks and corridors, with the healthcare system overwhelmed by the virus.And he will tout his vaccine programme and argue that the country emerged from the final lockdown before other economies.The probe so far has painted a damning picture of Mr Johnson’s Downing Street team, with clandestine WhatsApp messages exposing the internal turmoil and discord behind the scenes.His senior aide Dominic Cummings has emerged as a vocal adversary of Mr Johnson following their contentious parting. Mr Cummings described the former prime minister as the “trolley”, referring to his habit of changing his mind more often.The former prime minister is expected to counter accusations of him constantly changing his mind by underscoring the substantial volume of briefings he received, the rapid evolution of advice, and the enormity of the decisions he was compelled to make, those who helped prepare him for his appearance told the BBC.But it is understood that his statement barely mentions Mr Cummings.Mr Johnson will also argue that Britain’s obesity problem made tackling coronavirus more difficult, The Daily Telegraph reported. “ As a nation, we are fatter, less fit, there’s lots of factors in our public health that are just facts which made the UK very different from other comparable democracies,” a source close to the former PM said. And Mr Johnson will extraordinarily clash with Sir Patrick Vallance and Sir Chris Whitty, claiming the controversial Eat Out to Help Out scheme was “properly discussed” with the scientists, The Times reported. Both the former chief scientific adviser and Prof Whitty, who is the chief medical officer, have said they were blind-sided by the scheme. The paper added that the ex-PM will claim it is misleading to take his WhatsApp messages out of context, where “dark humour is lost or morphs into mockery”.He will also defend the use of his colourful language during his tenure and taking more provocative positions in private. He will argue that the strategy helped him get the best work out of his advisors and it would not have been correct for a prime minister to sit in silence when being briefed by experts.“Ministers can argue for their briefs, as they should. So a health secretary will argue for public health. A chancellor will argue for the economy,” a source said.“But there is only one person in the British system of government that has to arbitrate between the competing arguments and ultimately come to a decision, having made a call on the trade-offs.”The person said: “There is only one guy in this country who can tell you what it is like to be prime minister in a pandemic. And one day there will be another one.”Mr Johnson is poised to support the embattled former health secretary, Matt Hancock, despite criticisms from numerous inquiry witnesses who singled him out, crediting him for doing a “good job in very difficult circumstances”.Mr Hancock has said in his written statement to the inquiry that “the then prime minister has apologised to me for appointing his chief adviser and for the damage he did to the response to Covid-19”.Mr Johnson’s statement to the inquiry, which is said to be 200 pages long, has been already submitted.Mr Johnson will be the only figure at the inquiry next week and is scheduled to sit from 10am to 4.30pm on Wednesday and Thursday. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailKing Charles has worn a Greek tie to Cop28, just days after Rishi Sunak’s spat with Athens over the Elgin Marbles.The PM has denied throwing a “hissy fit” after he scrapped a planned meeting with the Greek PM, accusing Kyriakos Mitsotakis of “grandstanding” about the return of the sculptures.It seems Charles may have decided to enter the political controversy by sporting the blue and white tie and handkerchief on Friday.The pattern in the monarch’s tie showed both the colours of the Greek flag and its distinctive cross, symbolising Eastern Orthodox Christianity.But Buckingham Palace suggested the Greek flag-coloured tie was a random choice by the King. Royal sources pointed out that Charles also wore the tie when he met South Korean leaders last week.Charles’s father Prince Philip was born in Greece into the Greek royal family, and the King has spoken about his enduring affection for the country.The gesture in Dubai, which some have perceived as a snub to the PM, recalls the controversy over the Queen’s blue and yellow outfit at the 2017 state opening of parliament – seen as a gesture of goodwill to the EU after the Brexit referendum.However, the Queen’s dresser Angela Kelly later insisted that the colours were merely a coincidence and had been overinterpretated in the heated days after the divisive vote.The Greek media saw the choice of tie as Charles offering backing for their country in the antiquities row. “The diplomacy of the tie has spoken,” said Lifo magazine. Proto Therma said the move “could well be interpreted as a show of support for our country”.King Charles III speaks with Rishi Sunak at the opening ceremony of the World Climate Action Summit at Cop28 in DubaiCharles’s choice of tie comes after Mr Sunak parked a diplomatic row by controversially snubbing Mr Mitsotakis during his visit to London. The Greek leader compared the artefacts’ removal and presence in the British Museum to cutting the Mona Lisa in half.No 10 claimed Mr Mitsotakis had reneged on a promise not to discuss the centuries-old dispute over what are now known as the Parthenon Sculptures, with the Tory leader using PMQs to accuse the Greek PM of “grandstanding”.Former Tory chancellor George Osborne – who is the chair of the British Museum – said Mr Sunak may have thrown a “hissy fit” because the Greek PM  chose to meet Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer first.Mr Osborne has been talking with the Greek government about a potential arrangement which would allow the sculptures to be displayed in Greece.“Is it just petulance? Is it just having a bit of a hissy fit?” said Mr Osborne on his Political Currency podcast. “And, I think, if that’s the reason, it’s not because Mitsotakis was going to raise the Elgin Marbles. It’s because he had met Keir Starmer the day before,” he said.Asked whether the former chancellor was right about a “hissy fit”, Mr Sunak told journalists at Cop28: “No, no. I think I’ve said everything I’ve got to say on this in parliament the other day.”The royal tie, worn at Cop28 summit on FridayThe Tory leader also hinted that a loan arrangement could be impossible due to Greece’s current stance. “Our position is very clear – as a matter of law, the marbles can’t be returned and we’ve been unequivocal about that,” he said.“And I think the British Museum’s website itself says that in order for the loans to happen the recipient needs to acknowledge the lawful ownership of the country that’s lending the things.”Mr Sunak added: “And I think the Greeks have not suggested that they are in any way shape or form willing to do that. Our view and our position on that is crystal clear: the marbles were acquired legally at the time.”Greece has long demanded the return of the historic works, which were removed by Lord Elgin from occupied Athens in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman empire.The 1963 British Museum Act prohibits the removal of objects from the institution’s collection, a position in law that Mr Osborne said would ensure Greece would have to return the sculptures following any exchange.But the Tory grandee said on Thursday that it was clear from events this week that Mr Sunak’s government would not support an exchange.Some Tory MPs have criticised Mr Sunak’s apparent own goal – which saw him plastered across Greek front pages this week, including one carrying the words “F*** you b******”. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak’s threw a “hissy fit” with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the Elgin Marbles because he chose to met Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer first, George Osborne has suggested.The PM created an unexpected diplomatic firestorm this week after abruptly cancelling a meeting in London with his “baffled” Greek counterpart, with No 10 claiming Mr Mitsotakis had reneged on a promise not to discuss the centuries-old dispute over the Parthenon Sculptures.Mr Sunak then deepened the row by accusing Mr Mitsotakis of “grandstanding”, with Sir Keir suggesting the PM had “lost his marbles” and was playing “small politics” in a bruising Commons session on Wednesday.On Friday Mr Sunak was forced to deny throwing a “hissy fit”, and suggested that any loan deal sought by Mr Osborne – the British museum chairman – was impossible.The ex-Tory chancellor said on his Political Currency podcast that he had heard “various theories” of why Mr Sunak cancelled the meeting.“Is it just petulance? Is it just having a bit of a hissy fit?” said Mr Osborne. “And, I think if that’s the reason, it’s not because Mitsotakis was going to raise the Elgin Marbles. It’s because he had met Keir Starmer the day before,” he said.Regardless of his reasoning, Mr Osborne said Mr Sunak had opened the door to a “pretty devastating line of attack” from Sir Keir.The museum chair and Tory grandee said: “He should be doubling down on being the serious person who of course meets another European leader when they’re in town to discuss things like Ukraine or the energy crisis or migration, all of which Greece is relevant to.”Sir Keir Starmer met with the Greek PM in London on Monday Mr Osborne added: “It just shows again that they’re not focused on delivering a coherent strategy week after week after week, which is the Conservatives’ only chance of getting back into this political fight.”Asked whether the former chancellor was right about a “hissy fit”, Mr Sunak told journalists with him at Cop28: “No, no. I think I’ve said everything I’ve got to say on this in parliament the other day.”The Tory leader also hinted that a loan arrangement could be impossible due to Greece’s current stance. “Our position is very clear – as a matter of law the marbles can’t be returned and we’ve been unequivocal about that,” he said.“And I think the British Museum’s website itself says that in order for the loans to happen the recipient needs to acknowledge the lawful ownership of the country that’s lending the things.”Mr Sunak added: “And I think the Greeks have not suggested that they are in any way shape or form willing to do that. Our view and our position on that is crystal clear: the marbles were acquired legally at the time.”The Parthenon Sculptures are on display in the British Museum Greece has long demanded the return of the historic works, which were removed by Lord Elgin from occupied Athens in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.As British Museum chair, Mr Osborne has been talking with the Greek government about a potential arrangement which would allow the sculptures to be displayed in Greece.The 1963 British Museum Act prohibits the removal of objects from the institution’s collection, a position in law that Mr Osborne said would ensure Greece would have to return the sculptures following any exchange.But he said on Thursday that it was clear from events this week that Mr Sunak’s government would not support an exchange.The Labour leader sought to position himself as PM-in-waiting as he used his own meeting with Mr Mitsotakis to taunt Mr Sunak, saying: “I discussed with the Greek prime minister the economy, security, immigration. I also told him we wouldn’t change the law regarding the marbles. It’s not that difficult.”As Tory MPs cringed at Mr Sunak’s apparent own goal, which saw him plastered across Greek front pages this week, including one carrying the words “f*** you b******”, an alternative explanation was floated by Mr Osborne on Thursday.Mr Sunak sough to brush off suggestions the Labour leader’s meeting with the Greek premier could make him appear more statesmanlike, pointing to his own “fantastic track record” of global diplomacy over the last year. More

Matt Hancock questioned over resignation after affair with Gina Coladangelo Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailMatt Hancock has admitted his affair with aide Gina Coladangelo in breach of his own lockdown rules damaged public confidence, as he gave evidence to the Covid inquiry.Taking the stand for a second day on Friday, the ex-health secretary suggested that “the lesson for the future is very clear” in that “it is important that those who make the rules abide by them”, adding: “I resigned in order to take accountability for my failure to do that.”Mr Hancock also defended his decision to discharge hospital patients into care homes without testing them for Covid-19 as “rational and reasonable”, adding: “Nobody has yet brought to me a solution to this problem that I think, even with hindsight, would have resulted in more lives saved.”The MP claimed on Thursday that a phone call he had with Boris Johnson on 28 February 2020 marked the moment government “really started to come into action”, and claimed that had his own “doctrine” been followed, the first lockdown would have come three weeks earlier – saving 90 per cent of those who died in the first wave.Show latest update
1701456358That’s the end of our live updates for today – thanks for following here.We’ll be back next week for two days of bombshell testimony from Boris Johnson. You can read our latest coverage on Matt Hancock’s hearings by clicking here, or else keep scrolling to catch up on today’s events, as we reported them:Katy Clifton1 December 2023 18:451701452398Opinion | The strange allure of super-dweeb Matt HancockIn this Independent Voices piece, Rowan Pelling writes:Matt Hancock is what my schoolfriends and I, aged 17, would have unkindly called a “dweeb”. Maybe even a super-dweeb. What we would have meant by that is he seems gawky, bungling, eager but hopeless, fatally lacking in charisma, wit and social graces. Politics’ very own version of Frank Spencer.And yet somehow, during lockdown, he managed to attract the undeniably gorgeous Gina Coladangelo to his side – a woman he’d known since his Oxford student days, but who seemed out of his league back then. So, what’s changed? Or to alter the question made famous by Mrs Merton: what was it that first attracted you to cabinet minister Matthew Hancock?The fact is power works like catnip on many women. Men who wouldn’t have warranted a second glance as an accountant, or even a backbencher, suddenly acquire a sexy sheen when they are promoted to secretary of state, with the sudden ability to hold sway over huge budgets and millions of lives. Even more so, you imagine, when they’re in charge of the nation’s health during a crisis, when they can muster top scientists and logistics people round a table and talk about “saving lives”, “battling the virus” and using language more suited for war.Andy Gregory1 December 2023 17:391701451318Analysis | Covid inquiry half-time report: the winners and losers so farThe Covid inquiry is supposed to be about delineating what happened during the pandemic, learning lessons, and making findings that can be treated as recommendations. It is independent, and run by senior judge Baroness Hallett, who has been visibly fair in her role. Being statutory, established under the Inquiries Act 2005, and with the chair able to run it as she deems fit, it has no political agenda. It is an investigatory tribunal, and nobody is on trial.Even so, the reputations of many politicians and civil servants are being tested. The final report, which will focus on institutional and “structural” factors, may still criticise or censure key players. There is a human factor.Thus far, there have been some notable winners and losers. Matt Hancock, who was health secretary for most of the pandemic, is a case in point. And on Wednesday and Thursday next week, Boris Johnson will offer his testimony…Our associate editor Sean O’Grady gives his half-time verdict: More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday his government was not prepared to “review its goals” in Ukraine — delivering a blunt and confrontational message to Western leaders on a rare trip to a NATO member state.“We aren’t seeing any signals from Kyiv or its masters about their readiness to seek any kind of political settlement,” Lavrov told reporters while attending a security conference in North Macedonia.“We see no reason to review our goals,” he said.North Macedonia, which joined NATO in 2020, waived a flight ban on Russian officials so that Lavrov could attend the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, prompting the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to skip the meeting in protest.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a brief stop in North Macedonia’s capital of Skopje before Lavrov arrived.Participants at the two-day conference accused Moscow of undermining the OSCE. The Vienna, Austria-based organization — originally created to ease Cold War tensions — includes countries from North America, Europe and the former Soviet Union.“It is Russia that is waging an unprovoked and unlawful war against Ukraine, and it is Russia that is obstructing the OSCE agenda,” Katrina Kaktina, Latvia’s representative at the organization said Friday. “Russia is continuing violations of human rights: deliberate killings of civilians, including children, forced deportations, tactics of torture and sexual violence. Those are war crimes being committed by Russia in Ukraine,” she said.Speaking at a news conference in Skopje, Lavrov accused Western countries of showing cowardice by refusing to meet with him.“They probably want to emphasize their intention to isolate Russia but I think they just chickened out,” Lavrov said during the briefing that lasted over an hour.“They’re afraid of any honest conversation,” he said. “It’s cowardice, simple cowardice.”While in Skopje, Lavrov held several bilateral meetings including talks with the foreign ministers of Armenia and North Macedonia as well as with Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister of Hungary which has maintained close ties with Moscow despite European Union sanctions. ___ Gatopoulos reported from Athens. More

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightLabour’s David Lammy has promised that strengthening the UK’s relationship with the EU is the party’s top foreign policy concern if it wins power next year.The shadow foreign secretary said forging closer ties with Brussels after the damage done by Brexit was Sir Keir Starmer’s “number one priority” in foreign affairs.Mr Lammy also claimed EU leaders and officials find dealing with Sir Keir like “honey on toast” after constant clashes with the Tory government since Britain choose to leave the bloc.The senior MP added that if Labour were to win the election, there would be “a tonal shift” in UK-EU relations with a move to return to more regular talks between the governmental powers.“It’s our number one priority because it’s our backyard,” Mr Lammy told the i’s podcast on a stronger partnership.“It’s our number one priority because there is war in Europe and because I believe our future prosperity and security is predicated on good relationships with our European partners.”The frontbencher also said he believed voters would find it “extraordinary” that the government doesn’t sit down for talks with the EU “every four months or every six months” to talk over big issues. “We need to get back to that,” said Mr Lammy.“I did a meeting with Keir Starmer and European ambassadors and they described the tonal difference as being like honey on toast,” said Mr LammyHe said Sir Keir has built “a very good relationship with German chancellor Olaf Scholz, and claimed the “chemistry” between the Labour leader and French president Emmanuel Macron was “very strong”.Keir Starmer recently picked the EU anthem as his favourite piece of classical music The shadow minister also said the Ukraine war show that a defence security pact with the EU would be high on the agenda, after it was rejected by Boris Johnson during the Brexit negotiations.“We said that we think a security pact is fundamental,” Mr Lammy said. “I think war in Europe demonstrates that.” He said any security pact with the EU would “be cast as wide as possible” to include “security issues in relation to migration”.But Mr Lammy stopped short of a Labour pledge to return to the EU institutions such as the single market or customs union – claiming there could be no contemplation of it in the current political cycle.Instead, he insisted that his focus as foreign secretary would be to work in the national interests of both Leave and Remain voters.However, Mr Lammy said he aware of the “changing mood”, as a recent UK in a Changing Europe report found that 16 per cent of 2016 Leave voters now say they would vote to rejoin.The shadow foreign secretary did not rule out a return to the EU down the track, notable after recent polling suggested the British public has an increasing regret about Brexit.It follows European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen saying young Britons could reverse Breixt by deciding to re-join the EU in the years ahead.The top EU figure said it was up to the next generation to “fix” the mistakes made by British politicians on Brexit in surprise remarks. “We goofed it up, you have to fix it,” she said.Tory deputy chair Lee Anderson claimed he would move to the remote Scottish islands of Orkney if the UK ever voted to reverse Brexit.The right-winger recently suggested that migrants should be sent to Orkney if Rishi Sunak fails to enact his Rwanda deportation plan. More

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightTory deputy chair Lee Anderson has doubled down on his newfound affinity with Orkney, as he claimed he would move to the remote Scottish islands if the UK ever voted to reverse Brexit.The controversial MP – who previously told asylum-seekers to “f*** off back to France” – was accused of showing “disdain” and “inhumanity” after he suggested that migrants should be sent to Orkney if the government fails to resurrect its Rwanda plan.“I know it’s a bit parky up there this time of year. But if people are genuinely escaping war or persecution then a nice Scottish island with a few outbuildings would be suitable,” Mr Ashfield told GB News last week.“If we can find an island in the Orkneys or up there that’s got no-one on there to start off with, put some decent accommodation on, then it’s job done,” the Nottinghamshire MP said, adding that “parts of Scotland are a ‘go to’ destination and he would “like to be able to afford a place up there” himself.His remarks were condemed by Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael as “an exercise in corralling as many prejudices as possible into one space and calling it a policy”, while the Scottish Greens hit back that “our islands are not empty wildernesses” but “thriving communities” which have welcomed refugees.Confronted with Mr Carmichael’s criticisms on GB News on Thursday, Mr Anderson said his father had been stationed on Orkney while in the military, and claimed “people like” Mr Carmichael did not want people seeking asylum “in their back yard” despite “bleating on” about accepting more refugees.The Tory MP was then faced with remarks by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen that younger generations should seek to “fix” the mistake of Brexit. Jarring with the conciliatory moves made by Rishi Sunak in his relationship with the German EU chief, the Tory deputy chair said it was the generation which fought the Nazis who had “fixed the problems in Europe”, adding: “She needs to shut up.”Asked if he believed the UK will rejoin the EU in his lifetime, he said: “I hope not because if we do I’m moving to Orkney isles.”Put to him that Mr Carmichael may object, the Tory MP said: “Well that’ll teach him, won’t it … I’m going to live in the Orkney Isles and stand for parliament in the Orkney Isles.” More