UK Politics

Conservative MPs have been warned they risk losing their seats if they ditch Boris Johnson as leader.Despite the prime minister’s current unpopularity, which saw him booed by voters as he arrived for the Platinum Jubilee thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, a government source said he remained “an election-winning machine”.Mr Johnson is fighting back against demands from his own MPs for a confidence vote in his leadership, which could come as early as next week.More than 40 Tory MPs have openly called for his removal, with at least 17 submitting no-confidence letters to the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady, who must call a vote if the total reaches 54.Last month’s publication of Sue Gray’s report into the Partygate scandal has prompted a wave of new letters, and Mr Johnson’s supporters fear that pressure for his removal will intensify if Tories lose by-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton & Honiton on 23 June.Speaking to the i newspaper, a senior government source said that none of the potential alternative Tory leaders have the same ability as Mr Johnson to attract voters in the “Red Wall” constituencies in the Midlands and North seized from Labour in 2019.”If you chuck Boris, you blow the Red Wall apart,” said the source. “He is the only leader that holds it together.”The mandate that Boris was given in 2019 was vast and he reaches parts of the country that no Conservative leader has in a generation.”It’s a huge, huge call, two years from an election, to tell an election-winning machine that time is up.”The source also said that Mr Johnson was better-placed than his potential replacements to defend the traditionally Tory “Blue Wall” seats under pressure from Liberal Democrats in the south and rural areas.”Boris has shown that he understands the traditional Blue Wall sensibility and it will be important for him in time to want to then prove and show that,” said the source. More

No port or airport in the UK has a full complement of border staff, with overall numbers one-third below what they should be, unions have warned.The figures emerged as travellers braced for a chaotic weekend with large numbers of Britons returning from half-term holidays in the wake of long delays and queues earlier in the week.Lucy Moreton, professional officer at the ISU border services union, said that numbers meant it was not possible to keep ports and airports queue-free – and Border Force was facing demands from government to cut staffing further.But she dismissed calls from Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary for the army to be called in to clear the chaos, saying: “They are a brilliant resource and they are very very skilled at what they do, but that’s not necessarily either manning a border or doing check-in or baggage handling.”With job vacancies at a high level across the country, she said that low pay and antisocial hours made the Border Force uncompetitive in recruiting staff, compared with jobs like delivery driving.Ms Moreton told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the issues being faced by travellers were caused by shortcomings in port and airport operations, rather than immigration staff.But she added: “Border Force also is understaffed. And there are likely to be issues at some locations and at busy times with getting through the border as well.“We’re about a third under where we need to be nationally so that no port or airport has sufficient staff.“We can’t staff to keep the border 100 per cent queue-free 100 per cent of the time. That’s too expensive.“And of course we now have government’s call to reduce our number still further down to 2016 levels. But of course travel is nowhere near where 2016 was. The work the Border Force does on the small boats crisis – that is all significantly above that level.Ms Moreton said this week’s difficulties had come as a “surprise”, as travel companies and airports should have been aware well in advance that the Platinum Jubilee half-term would generate a surge in passenger numbers.But she said that the industry was suffering from the high demand for staff due to the current state of the employment market.“Unemployment has never been so low, so individuals might be choosing to work in better-paid roles or in roles where you don’t work shifts,” she said.“It’s an issue for recruitment with Border Force, that the salary just doesn’t keep up with today’s expectations. You can earn more as a delivery driver for DHL and the like. That may well have something to do with it.“You need to be able to get your recruitment in line and your salaries into a line where people are going to accept those jobs.” More

The Bishop of Buckingham has joined calls for Boris Johnson to resign, saying he “obviously” lied over parties in Downing Street during lockdown.It was “nonsense” for the prime minister to claim he did not realise what was going on, the Rt Rev Dr Alan Wilson said, adding the country needs a leader it can trust.The senior Church of England figure’s intervention came as Mr Johnson was booed by the public on arrival to St Paul’s Cathedral for the national service of thanksgiving for the Queen.Asked on Times Radio if Mr Johnson should resign, Dr Wilson said: “The only answer is yes. I’m an army baby and what they used to say in the army was you can trust anybody, but you can’t trust a liar.”“In all sorts of contexts, you have to be able to trust the people who lead you, who represent you.”He said excuses for the prime minister’s behaviour – “oh I didn’t realise, I was ambushed by a cake” – were clearly nonsense and that he was “obviously” an out and out liar. More

Food banks expect a further surge in demand for help from struggling families this summer unless the government expands support for parents over the school holidays.The Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) said some food banks were having to cut down on the size of parcels, as the cost of living crisis pushes them to breaking point.Yet ministers are resisting calls to extend free school meal eligibility and payments available during the holidays, despite fears one million children could go hungry.Desperate food bank bosses told The Independent they expected the summer break to “push yet more through the doors” – and fear they may even have to turn people away.The Micah Liverpool food bank has seen demand for help increase from around 220 parcels a week last year to more than 400 parcels a week during May.“We can barely cope at the moment,” said executive director Paul O’Brien. “The demand is like we’ve never seen before, and we’re expecting it to get worse when families are pushed into trouble over the school holidays.”Mr O’Brien said the Liverpool charity had been forced to cut parcels to basic provisions and was now having “difficult discussions” about whether it will have a cap on the number of people who can be helped.“We don’t want to turn people away, but this kind of demand is just not sustainable. I fear a lot of food banks will be pushed to breaking point,” he said.A growing number of councils in England are ending the free school meal vouchers which had been available during the holidays, as campaigners insist that the government has not put enough money into support schemes.Alexandra McMillan, who runs the Legendary Community Club food bank in Lewisham, said the support from government was “nowhere near enough” – arguing that it was “extremely unfair to expect food banks to pick up the pieces”.The south London food bank manager also expects a rise in the number of people coming for help during the summer holidays, having seen a 15 per cent increase over the winter.“It’s scary – there doesn’t seem to be any end to the rise in demand,” said Ms McMillan, who warned the charity might not be able to help anyone new in the coming months. “The safety net is crashing and burning before our eyes.”England star Marcus Rashford, teaching unions and charities have all urged the government to extend the eligibility for free school meals.Around 1.7 million children are currently eligible to receive free school meals, but the Food Foundation says 2.6 million children live in households that missed meals or struggled to access food.Food banks and charity chiefs are also worried about the threadbare safety net during the school holidays, after the government ended a national free school meal voucher scheme last year. More

Boris Johnson faces the task of persuading Conservative MPs he can still lead his party into the next general election, despite being booed by the crowd outside the Queen’s platinum jubilee service.In a new humiliation for the prime minister, desperately trying to stave off a no-confidence vote, he was met with a loud chorus of boos, jeers and whistles as he walked up the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral with his wife Carrie on Friday.BBC presenter Jane Hill noted that there was a “substantial amount” of booing as Mr Johnson entered the cathedral. The PM was also heckled as he left the service – with one person heard shouting “f*** off Boris”.A Labour source told The Independent: “The boos for the prime minister will have been a rude awakening to those Tory MPs who have been in denial about the public’s anger at the industrial-scale law-breaking they’ve seen in No 10.”During the service, Mr Johnson gave a reading from the bible about integrity. Quoting a passage from Philippians 4:8, Mr Johnson said: “Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable … think about these things.”The jeers came as Downing Street is said to be preparing for a “charm offensive” of wavering rebel MPs in the hope they can be won over and a leadership vote avoided.Around 30 backbenchers have publicly called for the prime minister to resign, and committed rebels believe they are close to reaching the threshold of 54 no-confidence letters needed for a leadership ballot.No 10 officials have drawn up a list of 64 Tory MPs they believe can still be won over, including senior figures such as Theresa May, Tom Tugendhat and Julian Smith, according to The Telegraph.Meanwhile, rebel Tories MPs shared fears about the timing of a push to remove Mr Johnson, with some expressing doubts that next week is the right moment for a vote of no-confidence to be triggered.One Tory MP keen to see Mr Johnson replaced has urged colleagues to withdraw their no-confidence letters to prevent a vote happening “by accident” at the start of next week, according to The Guardian.Rebels have previously told The Independent that they fear a confidence vote could be triggered too soon “accidentally” – allowing Mr Johnson a good chance of staying in power for another 12 months.Tory rules mean that a majority of the party’s MPs – 180 – would have to vote against Mr Johnson in order to spark a contest to find his replacement. If the PM survives, he is protected from another vote for a year.Anxious anti-Johnson backbenchers are said to fear that potential leadership candidates have not had enough time to mobilise and encourage wavering MPs to look beyond Mr Johnson.Some believe the period after two by-elections on 23 June would present the best chance of defeating the PM in a confidence vote.Andrew Bridgen – the Tory MP who recently resubmitted his letter after withdrawing it at the outbreak of the Ukraine war – reportedly predicted in a Tory WhatsApp group that No 10 would be told on Monday that 54 letters had already gone in to 1992 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady.Tory MP Mark Francois, who has not called for Mr Johnson to go, suggested the PM still had work to do to convince many of his wavering backbenchers that things will change after Partygate.“We will come back on Monday and colleagues will ask, ‘Who is going to take responsibility for this?’” he told Times Radio on Friday. “Having spoken to colleagues in the past few days, the mood is, they want to know, ‘Who is going to carry the can?’”It comes as the head of the Grassroots Conservatives activist group called on Mr Johnson to resign over the Partygate scandal, saying the PM would “put off voters” at the next general election.Ed Costelloe told The Telegraph that Mr Johnson had not been “wholly honest” about the law-breaking gatherings in Downing Street. “If he had any sense he would resign before he was pushed.” More

Boris Johnson was booed by the crowd outside St Paul’s Cathedral as he arrived for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee service.Members of the public could be heard booing, jeering and whistling as the prime minister walked up the steps with his wife Carrie on Friday morning.Many of the senior political figures – included former Tory prime minister David Cameron and Labour London mayor Sadiq Khan – were cheered by the crowd behind the barricades.But BBC presenter Jane Hill noted that there was “really quite a lot of booing, actually – a substantial amount” received by Mr Johnson as he entered the cathedral.The arrival of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and cabinet ministers such as Priti Patel and Liz Truss went unmarked by the crowd outside St Paul’s. The loudest cheers appeared to be for Harry and Meghan.Some people could be heard applauding and cheering as Mr Johnson ascended the staircase, while some supporters were heard chanting: “Boris, Boris, Boris” as he the PM left the cathedral.But the prime minister was also heckled as he left the service, with one person shouting “f*** off Boris”.Clement Jacquemin said he booed Mr Johnson as he left St Paul’s because “he is a disgrace” – saying the PM should have “stayed home, made himself forgotten, and let the British public enjoy this day”.A Labour source told The Independent: “The boos for the prime minister will have been rude awakening to those Tory MPs who have been in denial about the public’s anger at the industrial scale law breaking they’ve seen in No10.”It comes as rebel Tories MPs expressed fears about the timing of a push to remove Mr Johnson, with some sharing doubt that next week is the right moment to trigger a no-confidence vote.One Tory MP keen to see Mr Johnson replaced has urged colleagues to withdraw their no-confidence letters to prevent a vote happening “by accident” at the start of next week, according to The Guardian.Anxious anti-Johnson backbenchers are said to fear that potential leadership candidates have not had enough time to mobilise and encourage wavering MPs to look beyond Mr Johnson.Some believe the period after two by-elections in June would present the best chance of defeating the PM in a confidence vote.Meanwhile, Ed Costelloe, head of the Grassroots Conservatives activist group called on the Tory leader to resign over the Partygate scandal – saying the PM would “put off voters” at the next general election.Tributes were paid to the Queen’s 70 years of “dedicated service” as 2,000 people including Mr Johnson, senior ministers, opposition leaders, and first ministers of devolved governments fill the historic church.Prince Charles represented his mother after the 96-year-old monarch pulled out of the high-profile occasion at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.She suffered “discomfort” following a busy first day of festivities including a double balcony appearance and a beacon lighting. She will be watching the ceremony on television as she rests at Windsor Castle.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were back in full public view alongside the Windsors for the first time since they quit the monarchy for a new life in the US two years ago.Public service is the theme at the heart of the religious event, with 400 people who are recipients of honours, including NHS and key workers who were recognised for their work during the pandemic, invited.The Archbishop of York will deliver the sermon and has described the prospect as a “slightly terrifying gig”. The Most Rev Stephen Cottrell had to step in at the 11th hour after the Archbishop of Canterbury contracted Covid. More

The government has failed to engage Muslim communities with its counter-extremism Prevent strategy – creating a “vacuum” for Islamists, a senior adviser has warned.Dame Sara Khan, the independent adviser for social cohesion, said winning support for the counter-terror programme must be done “in a much better way”.She accused the government of failing to explain the strategy aimed at stopping people being drawn into terrorism – saying there had “clearly been mistakes” in explaining the purpose of the scheme.Dame Sara told the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast: “They didn’t do this effectively, they didn’t go out and explain to the Muslim communities what Prevent is about.”She added: “In essence they left a vacuum, which when Islamists then dominated and said, ‘Well this is what Prevent is about.”Dame Sara acknowledged that some people had claimed it was a “spying operation when it clearly wasn’t”.She added: “There were issues like that that caused detrimental failures and caused people not to respect and appreciate the programme.”The top adviser added: “So those types of challenges have continued and I think continuing to engage with communities, explaining what the programme is, addressing concerns – that’s got to continue in a much better way than we’ve seen previously.”The controversial anti-radicalisation programme was launched in 2007 and was aimed at stopping people being drawn into extremist ideology – but has been accused of overreaching and stigmatising young Muslims.Prevent came under renewed scrutiny after it was revealed the terrorist who murdered Sir David Amess had been referred to the programme but continued to plot his attack in secret.Leaked extracts of the long-delayed review into Prevent reportedly show questions have been raised about “double standards” when it comes to right-wing extremism and Islamist extremism.According to extracts shared last month with The Guardian, an initial review of the scheme has seen the policy criticised for focusing too much on far-right problem.The independent review by Sir William Shawcross, a former chairman of the Charity Commission, was delivered to the Home Office in late April but is still undergoing fact and legal checks.In 2012, while director of the Henry Jackson Society think tank, Sir William said: “Europe and Islam is one of the greatest, most terrifying problems of our future. I think all European countries have vastly, very quickly growing Islamic populations.”Sir William’s draft review into counter-terrorism in the UK is understood to have called for a renewed focus on Islamist extremism and mental health support for all individuals referred to Prevent.Sir William’s appointment to the chair of the government’s review into its anti-radicalisation programme drew criticism from Amnesty and other human rights groups earlier this year.In a joint letter published in February, Amnesty was joined by a coalition of 17 groups in saying they would boycott the review “given [Sir William’s] well-known record and previous statements on Islam”.Meanwhile, London’s mayor has paid tribute to members of the emergency services who “ran towards danger”, as he marked the fifth anniversary of the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attack.Sadiq Khan said the capital’s residents will “always stand united in the face of terrorism” as he remembered the victims of the atrocity on 3 June 2017.Counter-terror expert Sir Ivor Roberts said it remains “unclear how much has been learned from this tragedy”.The former head of counter-terrorism in the Foreign Office said the attack could be attributed “in significant part, to the failure of the intelligence community to monitor appropriately subjects of interest”. More

A police questionnaire given to Sir Keir Starmer is said to include a series of questions about a non-league football shirt handed to the Labour leader during last year’s visit to Durham.Durham Constabulary is investigating potential breaches of Covid laws by Starmer and his team over the “Beergate” gathering at which beer and curry was consumed.The questionnaires sent to Starmer, Labour deputy Angela Rayner and party staff is “incredibly comprehensive” – and includes queries about a Consett AFC football top, according to The Times.The Durham non-league team’s shirt was handed to Sir Keir on 30 April when the Labour leader was campaigning for the local elections.The North West Durham Labour Party tweeted at the time that they had “interrupted Keir Starmer while he was hard at work … to proudly show him our Consett AFC strip ahead of their historic FA Vase final”.When the photo of Starmer holding the shirt emerged in the Daily Mail in May, a Labour spokesman said: “As this tweet clearly shows, Keir Starmer was working. No rules were broken.”The Durham force announced last month that it would probe potential breach of Covid laws by Starmer and Labour staff over 30 April gathering at the party’s constituency office at which beer and curry was consumed.It came despite the fact the force initially decided not to take action when images of Starmer drinking a beer gathering first appeared.Starmer has vowed to resign if he is issued with a fixed penalty notice by the force. “I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the rules must follow them,” he said last month.Both Sir Keir and Ms Rayner have continued to stress that they believe none of the regional Tier 2 rules in place at the time – which allowed for political campaigning – were broken.Starmer has said he and his team had “got on with their work” as the ate takeaway curry. “I simply had something to eat while working late in the evening, as any politician would do days before an election.”But senior Labour MP Nick Brown, formerly chief whip under six party leaders, has suggested Starmer could put himself forward in a leadership contest even after he upholds his promise to step down.The ex-minister last week told BBC Politics North: “If they did [fine him], Keir would do what he said he would do and would resign. And I would be the first person urging him to seek re-election and to lead us into the next general election.”Ms Rayner, who was also at the event last spring, said she too would “do the decent thing and step down” if issued with a fixed penalty notice. More