UK Politics

A government minister today struggled to convert metric measures into what Downing Street has called “universally understood” imperial units. Lord Parkinson appeared perplexed when quizzed on the conversion amid reports the government will open a consultation on reviving imperial measures.Appearing on Sky News, the arts minister was first asked how many ounces are in a pound – to which he incorrectly said 14.Host Kay Burley continued: “If you are ordering a pound of sausages, approximately how many grams of sausages are you getting? 250, 350, 450, or 550?”Cambridge University-educated Lord Parkinson hesitantly chose the first answer – again, incorrect – before being asked which volume was greater: four pints or three litres.“Three pints?” he answered, seemingly uncertain. More

Led by Donkeys video chronicles the times Boris Johnson told people to ‘follow the rules’Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser Lord Geidt has warned that the ministerial code is at risk of “ridicule”, as he urged the prime minister to set out in public why he did not believe his Partygate fine represented a breach.Mr Johnson insisted in response that he “did not breach” the code, citing “past precendents” of ministerial breaches “where there was no intent to break the law”, his public apology, and his having “corrected the parliamentary record”. It comes as Andrea Leadsom became the latest Tory MP to turn on Boris Johnson amid the fallout from Sue Gray’s damning report into Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street.The former business secretary ally of the prime minister said he resided over “unacceptable failings in leadership” adding it was now time for Conservative MPs to decide on the “right course of action” to restore trust in the government. Former Tory leader William Hague also warned that Boris Johnson could face a no-confidence vote “next week”.Show latest update

1654029409That’s all for our live coverage this evening. Come back tomorrow for more updates. Katy Clifton31 May 2022 21:361654026353Exclusive: Expand free school meals in time for summer holidays, Boris Johnson toldBoris Johnson is under pressure to extend the free school meals programme before the summer holidays amid warnings more than a million children face going hungry because of the cost of living crisis.Former education secretaries from both Labour and the Conservatives, as well as the mayor of London, unions and charities have urged the government to act as it did during the Covid pandemic.Kate Devlin and Zoe Tidman have the exclusive story here:Andy Gregory31 May 2022 20:451654024563Rebels putting themselves ahead of Queen’s Jubilee, says Tory peerA Tory peer has suggested that rebellious Tory MPs are “putting their own thoughts ahead of” the country’s desire to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.Asked on LBC whether he thought it was “offensive” for Conservatives to be declaring their opposition to Boris Johnson ahead of this weekend’s celebrations, Lord Jonathan Marland said: “I think they’re putting their own thoughts ahead of what the British people are really thinking.“And the British people are really thinking, ‘I’m looking forward to this weekend, I want to celebrate the magnificent achievement of the Queen as head of the Commonwealth … and her leadership of this country’.“Let us enjoy that, let us celebrate. We’ve had a very difficult time, and we’re going to have very difficult times. Let’s have the noises off and concentrate on her.” Andy Gregory31 May 2022 20:161654023053John Rentoul | The PM’s defences are crumbling – but one thing might still save himIn his latest analysis, our chief political commentator John Rentoul writes that “Boris Johnson’s defences are falling, one by one”. But he suggests that there is “one argument that might just slow down the advance of the guerrilla army that is swarming over the barricades”:Andy Gregory31 May 2022 19:501654021553Boris Johnson’s ‘clearly p***** off’ ethics adviser hints he could resignBoris Johnson’s ethics adviser has appeared to hint that he could resign over the prime minister’s response to the Partygate scandal if the prime minister rejects his advice.“I have attempted to avoid … offering advice to a prime minister about a prime minister’s obligations under his own ministerial code,” Lord Geidt said in a letter to Mr Johnson. “If a prime minister’s judgement is that there is nothing to investigate or no case to answer, he would be bound to reject any such advice, thus forcing the resignation of the independent adviser.”While Mr Johnson’s response to Lord Geidt’s letter likely reduces the chances of this, it would mark the second such exit during his term, with the advisor’s predecessor, Sir Alex Allan, resigning in 2020 after Mr Johnson rejected his finding that Priti Patel had been guilty of bullying civil servants.The i newspaper’s chief political commentator suggests that Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser is “clearly p***** off with him”.Andy Gregory31 May 2022 19:251654019993Breaking: Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have received police questionnaires, Labour saysSir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have received questionnaires from Durham Constabulary, Labour has said.The force is investigating a gathering in Labour Party offices in April last year while lockdown rules were in force.The Labour leader – who was photographed through a window drinking a beer – and his deputy have both said they will resign if fined by police over the event.My colleague Adam Forrest has more details here:Andy Gregory31 May 2022 18:591654019220Boris Johnson insists he ‘did not breach’ ministerial code’Boris Johnson has insisted he “did not breach” the ministerial code after receiving a fixed penalty notice for breaching his own coronavirus rules.Mr Johnson’s ethics adviser Lord Geidt has written to him to urge the prime minister to set out “in public” the reasons why he believes his police fine was not a breach of the code.In his letter to Lord Geidt, Mr Johnson said: “In coming to that conclusion, (a) I have duly considered past precedents of ministers who have unwittingly breached regulations where there was no intent to break the law; (b) I have been fully accountable to Parliament and the British people and rightly apologised for the mistake; (c) I have corrected the parliamentary record in relation to past statements; and (d) I have followed the principles of leadership and accountability in doing so.“In my view, the same principles apply to the fixed penalty notice paid by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.”Earlier in his letter, Mr Johnson reiterated there was “no intent to break the regulations”, adding: “I did not consider that the circumstances in which I received a fixed penalty notice were contrary to the regulations.“I have accepted the outcome and paid it in compliance with legal requirements. Paying a fixed penalty notice is not a criminal conviction.”Andy Gregory31 May 2022 18:471654018553Ministerial code at risk of ‘ridicule’ over Partygate, Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser warnsOur political editor Andrew Woodcock has this breaking report:Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser has warned the ministerial code of conduct risks being placed in “ridicule” after the prime minister failed to heed his advice over Partygate.In his annual report, Christopher Geidt revealed that he had repeated urged the PM to make a public statement to make clear whether he felt he had personally breached the code with the police fine he received in relation to unlawful lockdown-breaking gatherings at No 10.But Lord Geidt said that the advice – intended “simply been to ensure that the prime minister should publicly be seen to take responsibility for his own conduct – had not been heeded by Mr Johnson.Mr Johnson last week released an update to the ministerial code which gave the independent adviser the power to reveal if a PM has blocked an inquiry into ministers’ misconduct, but stopped short of granting him the power which he had requested to launch investigations on his own initiative.Lord Geidt said that this had left him in the position where if he felt an investigation into the PM’s own conduct was merited, he would have to request permission from the PM and would be forced to resign if it was refused.“Such a circular process could only risk placing the ministerial code in a place of ridicule,” he warned.You can refresh the story below for updates:Andy Gregory31 May 2022 18:351654016920Cabinet is ‘very, very poor’, Dominic Cummings saysHere’s more from Dominic Cummings’ interview with Suzanne Moore.Asked whether he believes Boris Johnson will remain in No 10, his former chief political aide said: “As far as we [his Vote Leave team] know. “The fact that Rishi blew himself up makes it much more likely that Boris will somehow survive. I don’t want to say ‘no chance’, but I think Rishi is out of the running. They’re going to be thinking who can win the next election. “Whatever you might think of Michael Gove’s abilities, he is not a loved character. There are some very junior people who I like, who I won’t curse by naming – if I name them then everyone will hate them. But it’s a very, very poor Cabinet.”Andy Gregory31 May 2022 18:081654015914Home Office announces plans for first Rwanda flightsThe Home Office has begun issuing formal removal directions to asylum-seekers due to be sent to Rwanda, with the first deportation flight planned to depart in two weeks on 14 June.The government described the move as the “final administrative step” in its partnership with the east African nation, whereby people who are deemed to have entered the UK illegally will be encouraged to rebuild their lives thousands of miles away.“Our world-leading partnership with Rwanda is a key part of our strategy to overhaul the broken asylum system and break the evil people-smugglers’ business model,” Priti Patel said.“Today’s announcement is another critical step towards delivering that partnership and, while we know attempts will now be made to frustrate the process and delay removals, I will not be deterred and remain fully committed to delivering what the British public expect.”Multiple journalists have reacted by drawing links to the growing crisis of confidence in Boris Johnson, including The Mirror’s Kevin Maguire, and Tom Harwood of GB News.My colleague Liam James has more details here.Andy Gregory31 May 2022 17:51 More

Boris Johnson yet again finds himself fighting for his political future as the furore surrounding Partygate refuses to die down, even after the publication of the Sue Gray report, with many of the prime minister’s own MPs continuing to call for his resignation.Ms Gray, a respected veteran Whitehall civil servant, last week finally delivered her long-awaited dossier into the string of lockdown-breaking social events that occurred behind the scenes in Westminster while the rest of the country was pulling together, making personal sacrifices and observing strict rules to fend off Covid-19.Her inquiry into the multiple newspaper revelations about wine suitcases, “BYOB” garden parties and Christmas quizzes had been delayed by the Metropolitan Police launching an investigation of its own based on the evidence she had collected, which ultimately led to 83 individuals receiving 126 fixed-penalty notices, the PM, his wife Carrie Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak among their number and forced to fork over £50 each.Following the eventual conclusion of the Met’s investigation, Ms Gray was at last able to publish her dossier in full on 25 May, which carried previously unseen photographs and further lurid details of security staff being insulted by drunken revellers, janitors left to sponge claret stains and vomit from the walls of the corridors of power and staff stumbling out of “work events” in the early hours of the morning surreptitiously via a rear door.“There were failures of leadership and judgement by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times,” she wrote.“Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place. Other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did.”Mr Johnson has repeatedly attempted to ride out the storm of indignation, protesting his innocence with credulity-straining excuses and brazenly rejecting calls to step aside despite being found to have broken his own laws in office.While he might have hoped his subsequent apology would draw a line under matters, he must still appear before the Commons Privileges Committee to answer questions about whether he knowingly misled Parliament about Partygate, having regularly denied holding any prior knowledge about what went on.Many of his own MPs meanwhile remain incensed and, at the time of writing, 28 have openly called for Mr Johnson’s resignation – including former attorney-general Jeremy Wright – and 16 have admitted to sending letters of no confidence to Sir Graham Brady’s 1922 Committee of axe-wielding backbenchers.Under Conservative Party rules, a leadership contest is triggered if 15 per cent of sitting Tory MPs write to its executive committee, whose 18 members meet weekly to discuss party affairs, demanding a change at the top.Currently, that would equate to 54 letters from the party’s pool of 369 serving MPs.No-confidence letters are handed in confidentially under internal rules, so there is no accurate, publicly available tally of how many have been submitted until the threshold is passed.Should the secretive Sir Graham eventually receive enough to proceed, he would be expected to give the PM advanced warning before making a public announcement.Mr Johnson would then need to secure 50 per cent of the ensuing secret ballot to survive, equating to around 180 MPs, without which he would be forced to step down, prompting a fresh leadership contest in which the likes of Jeremy Hunt, Liz Truss and Tom Tugendhat are presently being tipped as likely front-runners.If he were to secure a majority, the PM’s prize would, in theory, be the guarantee of a full-year’s immunity from further challenges, potentially giving him time to steady the ship, rebuild alliances and strengthen his grip over the parliamentary party.In practice, Mr Johnson may find himself unable to survive that period politically: you will recall that, six months after emerging victorious from a confidence vote, Theresa May announced her resignation outside No 10.As to how likely these proceedings are to occur this time around, Andrew Bridgen MP, for one, has said he believes the true number of letters in Sir Graham’s hands is “close” to the threshold of 54 but the matter is far from a foregone conclusion and highly unpredictable by nature.Two senior members of Parliament have meanwhile said that a loss in the upcoming by-elections in Tiverton and Honiton in Devon and Wakefield in West Yorkshire could inspire more Conservatives to reach for their feather quills.“There will be another round of [no-confidence letters] post the by-elections,” one unnamed MP told The Financial Times. More

Liz Truss would make an “even worse” prime minister than Boris Johnson, former Downing Street adviser Dominic Cummings has said.The strategist – who has been pushing Conservative MPs to oust his former boss – said the foreign secretary was “as close to properly crackers” as anybody he had met in parliament.Despite the steady flow of backbenchers calling for change at No 10, Mr Cummings said many Tories had convinced themselves there was no-one better than Mr Johnson to lead the party.“The Tory party itself is quite rotten now and the sign of that is that they can’t think of anyone better than Boris, who’s clearly just completely shot,” he said in an interview with the Unherd website.“They are collectively saying, “if we get rid of him, we might get somebody worse”. It says a lot about the state of the Tory party.”He added: “And they actually could get somebody worse: Liz Truss would be even worse than Boris. She’s about as close to properly crackers as anybody I’ve met in parliament.”The PM’s former consigliere said chancellor Rishi Sunak had “blown himself up” and also dismissed cabinet minister Michael Gove’s chances of becoming leader – making it more likely that Mr Johnson will “somehow” survive.“I don’t want to say “no chance”, but I think Rishi is out of the running,” he said in his interview with Suzanne Moore.“They’re going to be thinking who can win the next election. Whatever you might think of Michael Gove’s abilities, he is not a loved character.”Mr Cummings also criticised the Partygate report from top civil servant Sue Gray – saying it was “bit brazen” to ignore the alleged “Abba party” in the Johnsons’ Downing Street flat on 13 November 2020.Claiming that “dozens” of staff downstairs could hear loud music in the flat on the evening he left No 10, Mr Cummings adviser: “All the police had to do was interview any one of them to find out”.He added: “Where [Ms Gray] says she stopped investigating the party in the flat because the police got involved — even though the police didn’t then investigate it. So basically, they have sort of just said: “F*** this. We’re not going to get involved with the after-party on the night of 13th.”The Vote Leave campaign mastermind said he did not “feel bad” about going to work for Mr Johnson, saying: “If we didn’t go in and sort it out, Brexit wouldn’t happen, and there would be a second referendum.”However, Mr Cummings said he knew there was “a reasonable chance that this goes t***s up” – before repeating his attacks on Carrie Johnson for “injecting more craziness” into Downing Street.He also said Mr Johnson was “broke” after his divorce and couldn’t afford the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat. He claimed the PM told him: “I want to get donations in to do it. But obviously it’s bad PR so I have to keep it quiet.”It comes as John Stevenson, MP for Carlisle, became the latest Tory to call on Mr Johnson to go over the Partygate “revelations” – telling colleagues to “facilitate a vote of confidence” in his leadership.Under party rules Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, must call a vote of confidence if 54 Tory MPs submit a letter calling for one.Close to 30 Tory MPs have publicly called on the PM to stand down. But more than 40 MPs have openly questioned his future, although not all of them have said whether they have written to Sir Graham.Former Tory leader William Hague said Mr Johnson was now “in real trouble” – predicting that a vote on his leadership could come as early as next week. More

Labour has marched into an 11-point lead over the Conservatives in the latest poll, as Boris Johnson comes under increasing pressure over the Partygate scandal.A steady flow of Tory MPs have called for the prime minister to go in the wake of the Sue Gray report – with a growing number worried that the party is heading for defeat at the next general election.The latest Savanta ComRes survey puts Sir Keir Starmer’s party on 42 per cent – up two points from the firm’s last poll, and Mr Johnson’s party down three on 31 per cent. More

Bookmakers have shortened the odds on Boris Johnson being replaced as prime minister as outrage over the “Partygate” scandal refuses to die down.Veteran Whitehall civil servant Sue Gray has finally delivered her report into the string of lockdown-breaking social events that occurred behind the scenes in Westminster in May, June, November and December 2020 and April 2021, while the rest of the country was pulling together, making personal sacrifices and observing strict rules to fend off Covid-19.“There were failures of leadership and judgement by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times,” she wrote.“Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place. Other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did.”Her inquiry had been delayed by the Metropolitan Police launching an investigation of its own based on the evidence she had collected, which ultimately led to 83 individuals receiving 126 fixed-penalty notices, the PM, his wife Carrie Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak among their number and forced to fork over £50 each.Mr Johnson has repeatedly attempted to ride out the storm of indignation, protesting his innocence with credulity-straining excuses and brazenly rejecting calls to step aside despite being found to have broken his own laws in office.But he is not out of the woods yet and must still appear before the Commons Privileges Committee to answer questions about whether he knowingly misled Parliament over Partygate, having regularly denied holding any prior knowledge about what went on.Many of his own MPs, meanwhile, remain incensed and are unconvinced by his message that the country must move on and allow him to focus on supporting Ukraine and addressing the cost of living crisis.At the time of writing, 28 Conservatives have openly called for Mr Johnson’s resignation – including former attorney-general Jeremy Wright – and 16 have admitted to sending letters of no confidence to Sir Graham Brady’s 1922 Committee of axe-wielding backbenchers.A total of 54 would be required to trigger a vote of no confidence in the Conservative Party leader and Andrew Bridgen MP, for one, has said he believes the true tally in Sir Graham’s hands is “close” to that number, representing 15 per cent of the 359 Tories in the Commons.Two senior members of Parliament have meanwhile said that a loss in the upcoming by-elections in Tiverton and Honiton in Devon and Wakefield in West Yorkshire could inspire more Conservatives to reach for their feather quills.The betting site Smarkets now believes that there is a 62 per cent chance of Mr Johnson facing a no-confidence vote this year.Should that happen, the company forecasts an extremely close vote that would see the PM forced from office, seeing that result as 53 per cent likely.All of which means there is only a 41 per cent probability of Mr Johnson clinging to power into 2024, the latest point at which he could face another general election, placing him at his weakest since just prior to the local elections of early May.As to who might succeed him, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, who recently published a book on NHS reform, is at an all-time-high price of 15 per cent, foreign secretary Liz Truss is on 12 per cent and Tom Tugendhat on 11 per cent.Mr Sunak, once a clear favourite, has recovered after being it a string of accusations about his personal wealth, rebounding from five per cent to nine per cent.Patrick Flynn, Smarkets’ political analyst, commented: “There was a prevailing sense among political journalists, and the betting markets, that Boris Johnson’s position as Conservative leader looked more secure after the damp squib Sue Gray report, with the chance of the prime minister leaving his post falling from 36 per cent to 22 per cent after its publication.“However, a trickle of public criticism of Johnson from Conservative MPs over the last week has now turned into a stream, and rumours are abound in Westminster that the threshold of 54 letters requesting a vote of no-confidence in the PM has been reached.“Momentum seems to be moving in one direction, and a confidence vote could turn wavering MPs against the prime minister. MPs, especially those in marginal constituencies, may fear that if they don’t get rid of Johnson this year, they may end up with an unpopular leader taking them into a general election, potentially putting their seats at risk.”Another bookmaker, Coral, responded to the Gray report by placing Mr Johnson at 5/2 to survive the furore, with spokesman John Hill saying there was only a 28 per cent likelihood of him being forced out of No 10.The betting firm has listed his most likely challengers as Ms Truss (6/1), Mr Hunt (13/2), Mr Tugendhat (13/2), Penny Mordaunt (9/1), Ben Wallace (10/1), Sajid Javid (12/1), Mr Sunak (14/1), Nadhim Zahawi (16/1) and Michael Gove (20/1).Star Sports meanwhile puts the chance of a no-confidence vote being triggered this year at 2/5 and likewise lists Mr Hunt and Ms Truss as the PM’s best-placed possible successors at 5/1. More

Boris Johnson is in “real trouble” and a vote of no confidence in his leadership could come as early as next week, the former Conservative leader William Hague has predicted.It comes amid a growing trickle of Tory MPs calling for the prime minister’s resignation in the wake of senior civil servant Sue Gray’s report into the Partygate scandal.The former cabinet minister, Andrea Leadsom, said in a letter to constituents there were “unacceptable failings of leadership that cannot be tolerated and are the responsibility of the prime minister”.While the MP did not call for Mr Johnson’s resignation, she said every Conservative “must now decide individually on what is the right course of action that will restore confidence in our government”.Lord Hague, the Tory leader between 1997 and 2001, said the comments were “another indication” the Conservative Party is “moving faster” towards a vote of no confidence.He told Times Radio: “A leadership ballot, which I said earlier could come next week, or at the end of June, a few more letters like that, and it will come next week”.Under the party’s rules, 54 MPs must write a letter expressing no confidence in Mr Johnson’s leadership to the chair of the Conservatives’ 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady, for a vote to be triggered.Referring to calls from MPs such as Sir Bob Neill urging the prime minister to step aside, Lord Hague stressed: “Boris Johnson is in real trouble.“The Sue Gray report has been one of those sort of slow fuse explosions in politics, it’s still going along, a lot of people misread it really the events of last week meaning the trouble is over.” More