UK Politics

Boris Johnson rules out ‘psychological transformation’ to change his characterAt the G7 summit, Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron failed to discuss the subject of thousands of migrants risking their lives to cross the English Channel.The British and French leaders met at the summit in Germany’s Bavarian Alps, where they spoke about geopolitical crises such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.But they did not address the situation which has seen more than 12,000 people cross the Channel so far this year.When asked why the boat crossings weren’t discussed, Mr Johnson’s official spokesman said: “There are very significant issues of geopolitical concern to discuss, not least the crisis in Ukraine.“They have talked about those issues previously and I’m sure they will again. But, obviously, on the eve of the G7, that’s pretty much, I’m sure, at the forefront of both of their minds.”Mr Johnson is expected to use the G7 to urge France and Germany to provide more military support to Ukraine.Back in the UK, he remains under pressure after a series of scandals and two damaging by-election losses.Show latest update

1656276647Thanks for following along with our live blog. We’re pausing it for the evening but here is the latest on the G7 summit. G7 leaders have been urged not to water down commitments on climate change amid growing fears they are set to pursue “disastrous” fossil fuel projects to ease supply problems stemming from the Ukraine war.There are growing fears of a shift back to coal and gas investment, as the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Japan, UK, US and Canada kicked off three days of talks on the economy, energy and security issues in Bavaria on Sunday.Germany and Italy have announced plans to revive old coal plants as gas supplies from Vladimir Putin’s Russia dwindle, while Boris Johnson has hinted at support for a new mine in Cumbria.Holly Bancroft26 June 2022 21:501656273639ICYMI: PM warns Macron against giving Putin ‘licence to manipulate’In case you missed it…Boris Johnson has warned his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that any attempt now to settle the conflict in Ukraine will give Vladimir Putin a “licence to manipulate” other countries.At the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mr Macron had been criticised for negotiating with Putin and saying Russia must not be “humiliated”.Mr Johnson told Mr Macron that compromise will “only cause enduring instability” as the pair met to discuss the war at the G7 summit in Germany.Read the full story by Adam ForrestLamiat Sabin26 June 2022 21:001656271972Independent inquiry to review treatment of asylum seekers in ScotlandAn independent inquiry has been launched to look at the treatment of asylum seekers in Scotland during the pandemic.Campaigning organisation Refugees for Justice called for a review in the wake of stabbings at the Park Inn hotel in Glasgow which was being used to house asylum seekers during lockdown in 2020.On Sunday 26 June, the second anniversary of the incident, Refugees for Justice announced that it has commissioned an independent inquiry, which will be led by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC.An inquiry report published on Sunday focused on events in Glasgow at the start of the first major Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, when 321 people seeking asylum were moved from their homes into hotels by Home Office contractors.Badreddin Abadlla Adam, 28, from Sudan, was shot dead by police after his knife attack at the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow in June 2020, which injured six people including 42-year-old police constable David Whyte.The Home Office said it has undertaken a number of “significant changes to keep asylum seekers safe” since the incident.The report also mentions the case of Adnan Elbi who died in one of the hotels in May 2020.Lamiat Sabin26 June 2022 20:321656270032Ex-Tory MP says ‘police confiscated his guns in case he shot himself’Former Tory MP Neil Parish has claimed police took away his shotguns “for his own safety” after he was forced to resign for watching pornography in the Commons.Speaking to LBC’s Swarbrick On Sunday, he said: “The police very kindly and rightly took away, because I am a farmer you see I’ve got shotguns – so they took those away from me.”When asked why, he replied: “Because when you have blown up your parliamentary career for 12 years, you are not feeling in the best place, and they took them away for my own safety, not that I was going to shoot anybody else, in case I shot myself.“I did say to them in a moment of black humour, ‘I am a very bad shot, I will probably miss,’ but they didn’t naturally see the joke at the time, or nor was it very funny.”Full story here by Joe MiddletonLamiat Sabin26 June 2022 20:001656268232‘More than 30 MPs demand confidence vote in PM’ – reportThe Sunday Times is reporting that more than 30 MPs are understood to have submitted letters to the 1922 Committee of backbenchers.They are demanding a confidence vote in prime minister Boris Johnson’s leadership, three weeks after he narrowly won the last vote.Lamiat Sabin26 June 2022 19:301656266432PM threatened with legal action for delaying Covid public inquiryBoris Johnson is being threatened with legal action for failing to set a start date for his promised public inquiry into his handling of the Covid pandemic.The prime minister had said that the inquiry would be started in “spring 2022”.Now bereaved families have announced plans to explore a judicial review.Read the full story here by Rob MerrickLamiat Sabin26 June 2022 19:001656264668Decisions on steel tariffs to be made soon, Downing Street saysThe government said its decisions on steel tariffs would be made shortly and would “balance our international obligations and the national interest”.The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We’re consulting with foreign counterparts on our proposals before making a final decision ahead of the deadline.”The spokesman added: “There is more capacity to produce steel around the world than there is demand and that causes steel prices to be artificially low, damaging and potentially putting steel-makers in countries like ours, who can’t compete with lower prices, out of business.“So whilst the UK was a member of the EU, the EU placed tariffs on some steel products being imported into the EU, we kept those safeguards on when it left the EU, and also set up the TRA (Trade Remedies Authority) when we left.“Following the review last year we extended the measures and the reasons were set out there now. We are considering our position now and we’ll come forward with our decision in due course.”PA26 June 2022 18:311656262814PM: ‘Putin wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine in face of 1922 committee’Boris Johnson has suggested that Vladimir Putin would have not invaded Ukraine earlier this year if he had the 1922 Committee of Tory backbench MPs “on his case”.The PM made the claim at the G7 summit in an interview with CNN.Read the full story here by Adam ForrestLamiat Sabin26 June 2022 18:001656259259Brexit allowed UK to lead on Ukraine crisis, claims PMBoris Johnson claimed that the UK would have not been able to be at the forefront of providing support for Ukraine if it was still in the EU.When asked if the UK is better off after Brexit, the PM told CNN: “It is (better off)”, before mentioning the Covid vaccine response and the ability to strike trade deals.He added: “We are able to change some of our regulations to take back control of our borders. We are no longer spending shedloads of money on projects that we couldn’t control. And that was a good decision.”Mr Johnson went on: “I don’t think that the UK within the European Union and within the kind of matrix of the common foreign policy and security policy that we then had, I don’t think that we would have been out in front, as the first European country to arm the Ukrainians, to give them the wherewithal to protect themselves.”Lamiat Sabin26 June 2022 17:001656258314Unite says Labour’s refusal to back potential BA strike is ‘new low’Unite the union has criticised Labour’s refusal to back a potential British Airways (BA) strike as a “new low”.Earlier today, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy has said he “categorically” does not support a potential strike by BA check-in staff, who are being balloted by Unite and GMB.Speaking to BBC and Sky News, the Tottenham Labour MP said the party continues to support negotiations and a deal when it comes to disputes over pay, jobs and working conditions.Mr Lammy said: “All of us are feeling the pinch with inflation. Many of us might want a (pay) rise of 10%; in truth, most people understand it’s unlikely that you’re going to get that.“It absolutely would not be right, it would not be responsible opposition if I suggested yes to every strike.” More

Boris Johnson has suggested that Vladimir Putin would have not invaded Ukraine earlier this year if he had the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers “on his case”.Speaking at the G7 summit, the prime minister boasted to CNN that he had “a new mandate for my party” after squeaking through the recent confidence vote arranged by the powerful Tory committee.“I’m very happy … I got a higher percentage of the parliamentary votes than I did the first time. So, I’m very happy, we will move forward,” he said on the challenge by Tory rebels.“I think the great thing about democracy is that leaders are under scrutiny and that I do have, even though you say I got things going on back home, that’s a good thing. I have got people on my case, I have got people making arguments,” said Mr Johnson.The PM added: “Do you really think that Vladimir Putin would have launched an invasion of another sovereign country if he’d had people to listen to properly … arguing, if he’d had a committee of backbenchers, the 1922 Committee, on his case?”It comes as Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said the 1922 Committee rules should not be changed to allow a second confidence vote against Mr Johnson within 12 months – despite his own calls for the PM to resign.Current rules state that confidence votes can only be held once a year. But Tory MP Andrew Bridgen has outlined plans to stand for the 1922 Committee’s executive role on a manifesto pledge to change the rules.Speaking on BBC’s Sunday Show, Mr Ross said: “I’m a member of the 1922 Committee but I’m not on the executive committee and it is for the executive committee to look at rule changes.”He added: “I personally don’t think we should change the rules midway through a process. I think that’s the wrong way to do it.”Senior Tory MP Tim Loughton said on Sunday that ministers who oppose Mr Johnson should have the courage to resign, a senior Tory MP says – arguing that would provide the “momentum” to force him from power.Meanwhile, Mr Johnson also claimed that the UK would have not been able to be at the forefront of providing support for Ukraine if it was still in the EU.Asked if the UK was better off after Brexit, the PM told CNN “it is [better off]”, before mentioning Britain’s Covid vaccine response and its ability to strike new trade deals.The PM added: “We are able to change some of our regulations to take back control of our borders. We are no longer spending shedloads of money on projects that we couldn’t control. And that was a good decision.”Mr Johnson went on: “I don’t think that the UK within the European Union… I don’t think that we would have been out in front, as the first European country to arm the Ukrainians, to give them the wherewithal to protect themselves.” More

Boris Johnson is being threatened with legal action for stalling on the promised public inquiry into his handling of the Covid crisis, with no date set for it to start.Bereaved families have announced plans to explore a judicial review – accusing the prime minister of breaking a pledge that the probe would get underway in “spring 2022”.It has been six months since the former Court of Appeal judge Heather Hallett was picked to lead the inquiry and more than six weeks since she recommended terms of reference, they said.The delay is a breach of the 2005 Inquiries Act, which requires the government to announce an inquiry’s start date “within a reasonable time” of appointing its chair, it is argued.The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign called the wait of more than six months “unprecedented and totally inexplicable”.“In the vast majority of inquiries, a setting-up date is given within days or weeks of the chair being appointed,” said Elkan Abrahamson, the group’s legal representative.“The consequences are extremely serious, as it only becomes a criminal offence to destroy or tamper with evidence after the inquiry’s start date.“By failing to give one, the prime minister is opening the door to key evidence being destroyed.” More

Brandon Lewis has been criticised for referring to train driver’s salaries while discussing the RMT rail strike – just a day after Boris Johnson did the same thing.The Northern Ireland secretary appeared on Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme where he said train drivers were earning between £56,000 and £70,000.He added that the dispute – which prompted industrial action on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – is an “issue between the employer and unions” and that people want to see a resolution.However Mr Lewis’s use of the higher figures that train drivers earn is said to be misleading as most are represented by another union, ASLEF, while the RMT acts on behalf of lower paid workers such as cleaners and train guards.In an interview while in Kigali, Rwanda, the prime minister made a similar comment while bemoaning the strike action and the wages of train drivers.He received a swift riposte online from RMT, who said on Twitter: “Can someone please tell the man with the wallpaper made of gold that this is not a train drivers strike!”For example, train guards earn between £23,000-£36,000 while track maintenance staff receive wages of between £16,000-£34,000.RMT boss Mick Lynch has repeatedly made the point that most of the staff involved in the pay and conditions dispute with Network Rail and train operator firms are on between £25,000 and £30,000.According to the ONS the median household disposable income in the UK in 2021 was £31,400.After the latest walk out on Saturday Mr Lynch did not rule out further strike action with little sign of a breakthrough in discussions between the union and rail operators.Speaking outside Euston station at a picket line, he said: “We’re not ruling out strikes but we have not put down any dates for any strike action.“We’re going to review with our national executive next week, who have been all the way round the country this week on the picket line, so we’re all going to get together the leadership of the union and see where we are.“We are not going to name dates immediately and we’re going to continue working constructively with the companies to strike a deal, but that is a really steep challenge at the moment because of the agenda they’ve got and the effects they want on our members.” More

Boris Johnson has warned Emmanuel Macron that any attempt to settle the conflict in Ukraine now will give Russian president Vladimir Putin “license to manipulate” other countries.The prime minister told the French president that compromise will “only cause enduring instability” as the pair met to discuss the war at the G7 summit in Germany.Mr Macron was criticised for negotiating with Putin at the start of the invasion and saying Russia must not be “humiliated” – raising fears Ukraine could be pushed into giving up territory.The PM “stressed any attempt to settle the conflict now will only cause enduring instability and give Putin licence to manipulate both sovereign countries and international markets in perpetuity,” said a No 10 spokesperson after Sunday’s talks.Earlier on Sunday, Mr Johnson said there was some “fatigue in populations and politicians” when it came the conflict. “I think the pressure is there and the anxiety is there, we have got to be honest about that.”No 10 sought to play down talk of a dispute with the French president, saying the pair had enjoyed a “very friendly and useful” discussion on Ukraine.Asked whether Mr Johnson’s warning against a “bad peace” was aimed at Mr Macron, the PM’s official said it was aimed at “those who would seek to suggest it was right to settle for Ukraine to somehow settle or cede territory”.“Both the prime minister and president Macron stressed the need to support Ukraine to strengthen their hand in both the war and any future negotiations,” said No 10.The Independent understands that Mr Johnson’s team is hopeful the final communique of the G7 will include a clear commitment to long-term support for Ukraine.Mr Johnson is keen to push EU leader to provide more military support. Asked whether France and Germany ware doing enough over Ukraine, the PM only mentioned the German response.“I never believed in my lifetime that I would see a German chancellor stepping up in the way that Olaf Scholz has and sending weaponry to help the Ukrainians to protect themselves,” he said. “He has made huge, huge strides.”The PM’s spokesman said the pair had not discussed the contentious top of small boat crossings in the English Channel, choosing instead to focus on “very significant geopolitical issues”.A French official said Mr Johnson had told Mr Macron that he was favourable towards the idea of Britain joining a “European political community” – an idea the French president first floated last month. Mr Macron had suggested a new network could include both the UK and Ukraine.The PM’s spokesman played down the idea Mr Johnson was enthusiastic about the idea. “We’re always looking at ways to further partner with likeminded European countries … It makes sense to listen to any idea put forward by like-mind countries.”No 10 pushed back against any suggestion the UK would return to pre-Brexit free movement of people as part of the community. “As far as I’m aware of, the prime minister hasn’t had any formal details put to him on that.” Seen arm in arm during brief exchanges before their talks, Mr Johnson told the French president, who had taken off his suit jacket in the hot meeting room, that he was “looking well”.Mr Johnson was also seen in jovial mood with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, as the pair mocked the Russian president.The British PM asked assembled G7 leaders if they should keep their jackets on or off, saying: “We have all got to show that we’re tougher than Putin.”Mr Trudeau joked: “Bare-chested horseback ride,” before Mr Johnson then said: “We’ve got to show our pecs.” More

A senior Labour figure has toughened the party’s stance ahead of a ‘Summer of Discontent’ over falling pay by saying he does not “support strikes”, triggering a backlash.David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, said he “categorically” does not support a walkout by BA check-in staff, dismissing their call for a 10 per cent pay increase.Calling it “very sad when any union calls its members out,” Mr Lammy also said: “I don’t support strikes” – before adding: “I support the right to strike of course.”The stance was criticised by John McDonnell, Labour’s former shadow chancellor, who said striking rail workers were right to seek “protection against the cost of living”.The chair of Young Labour, Jess Barnard, attacked the party leadership for “sending out its senior politicians to attack 50 of its own MPs and thousands of workers on national television”.Earlier, the respected backbencher Jon Cruddas, an adviser to Tony Blair on unions, said Labour must back families facing an historic slump in their incomes.“The rail strikes are arguably the canary down the coalmine. You cannot dodge this. Labour has to be supportive of those seeking to defend their living standards,” Mr Cruddas said.Mr Lammy said the party’s chief whip would speak to up to frontbenchers who defied Keir Starmer by joining RMT picket lines – and hinted the order will be repeated for future strikes.He acknowledged “further disputes” are likely – with teachers, NHS staff and legal aid solicitors all contemplating strike action – and warned the rebels: “I don’t think it’s helpful to stand on picket lines.”Last week, Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, defied Sir Keir by backing the rail workers’ decision to strike, saying they “have been left with no choice”.But Mr Lammy denied his leader had “lost control of his own MPs”, after up to 50 backed the strikers, adding: “The Labour party is not divided.”In the BA strike, unions are seeking to reverse a 10 per cent pay cut imposed on workers during the pandemic when global lockdowns grounded flights – not a pay rise.On the rail strikes, the shadow foreign secretary, told Times Radio: “It hurts working people who need to get to work by using the railway. And of course, those within the union are hurt as well.“So I absolutely support the right to strike, but I’m very sad that it’s reached this stage and it’s reached this stage because the government’s not showing leadership.”Mr McDonnell told the same programme: “I heard David. Like a lot of people in the labour and trade union movement, I was pretty disappointed.“On all of these occasions, you have to do what you think is right. And, on the RMT dispute. I just think I can’t see how people can’t see this as a just cause.” More

Boris Johnson has said he is considering extending steel tariffs, despite concerns the move could break international rules and put him on course for another major row with the EU.The prime minister is reportedly drawing up plans to slap “safeguard” limits of steel imports from several developing countries, and extend existing tariffs already imposed on China and others.But critics have warned the move to widen tariffs will “violate” World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, with the EU ambassador to Britain warning against any “protectionism”.Lord Geidt, the PM’s ex-ethics adviser, cited steel tariff plans in his resignation letter earlier this month – saying he had been put in the “odious position” of being asked to license a breach of the rules.Mr Johnson said on Sunday he wanted UK steel to enjoy the “same protections” other EU steel economies have – arguing that the industry was going through a hard time due to energy prices.“I think it is reasonable for UK steel to have the same protections that other European, absolutely every other European steel economy does,” he told reporters at the G7 summit in Germany.The PM added: “The difficulty is, is that possible to do while staying within our WTO, our World Trade Organisation obligations? That’s the problem. But these are tough choices that you have to make.”Mr Johnson’s government proposed on Thursday to extend for a further two years an existing package of tariffs, and quotas on five steel products to protect domestic steelmakers.However, The Sunday Telegraph said wider measures were being finalised for announcement in the coming week. No 10 is preparing to hit several developing countries with new “safeguard” import limits, according to the newspaper.A government figure opposed to the widening of tariffs said it would “screw the economy” and was “anti-Conservative”, adding: “It is a total violation of the WTO rules.”But Mr Johnson insisted that Britain should not have to “take off” steel tariffs as scheduled in the coming week. “I don’t think that’s the right way forward. I want another solution.”Asked about the tariff plan, the PM’s official spokesperson said: “No decision has been made. They will be made soon, and they will balance our international obligations and the national interest.” The UK ambassador to the EU Joao Vale de Almeida warned that Brussels would be “very tough” on any breach of trade rules.“I don’t think protectionism is the solution to any of our problems,” he told Sky News on Sunday. “Of course we need to be attentive to the rules of the game. When we find this kind of non-compliance, we are very tough, as needs be.”Labour’s shadow foreign David Lammy suggested that opposition party could support the government plan if it meant extending steel tariffs. “I think it’s the extension that [Mr Johnson] was suggesting … we would support him,” he told Sky News.The plan to override parts of the protocol, agreed by Mr Johnson as part of the Brexit withdrawal deal, sparked outrage in Brussels and raised fears of a trade war if the EU decides to take retaliatory action on tariffs and other controls. More

Boris Johnson and Justin Trudeau were seen mocking Vladimir Putin at the G7 summit in Germany, joking about his infamous bare-chested horseback riding photographs.As the leaders sat down together at Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps on Sunday, the British prime minister questioned whether they should keep their suit jackets on.Warming to his theme, Mr Johnson then added, “Shall we take our clothes off?” – before suggesting: “We all have to show that we’re tougher than Putin.”Amid the laughter Mr Trudeau joined in, suggesting a “bare-chested horseback ride” in a reference to when Mr Putin was pictured shirtless riding a horse in 2009.Mr Johnson then told the group: “We’ve got to show our pecs.”The British PM and his Canadian counterpart were also heard joking about the relative sizes of their jets used to get to the G7 summit, where they will be discussing climate change, among other topics.The two leaders had both flown separately from Rwanda’s Commonwealth meeting to Bavaria.Mr Johnson said he had seen “Canada Force One” on the tarmac, before Mr Trudeau joked that it was “not quite as big as yours”On the size of his official Airbus jet, Mr Johnson replied: “No, ours is very, very modest.” More