UK Politics

Boris Johnson is facing renewed pressure over the Partygate scandal amid suggestions of a second gathering in the No 10 flat and a drip-feed of Tory MPs calling for his resignation.Despite his attempts to “move on” from the rule-busting events that have rocked his premiership, allegations also emerged over the weekend that officials had attempted to dilute Sue Gray’s report.On Sunday, the Cabinet Office was forced to issue a statement denying that senior figures had been able to edit or influence the 37-page document that was published on Wednesday.A spokesperson stressed that Ms Gray’s long-awaited report had been “impartially conducted”, and that its contents “represent the findings and conclusions of the investigation team alone”.“As with all such investigation reports, the process of obtaining formal representations from those perceived to be criticised prior to publication took place. This is an appropriate and usual process in such matters,” they said.But Labour said Mr Johnson still had questions to answer after The Sunday Times claimed that messages suggest the prime minister’s wife, Carrie, held a second gathering in the No 10 flat on the evening of 19 June 2020.The alleged event is not mentioned in Ms Gray’s report, and is said to have been separate from Mr Johnson’s birthday gathering in the Cabinet Room on the same day, in respect of which the couple each received a fixed penalty notice.Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said it “looks like yet another cover-up and there are new questions the prime minister must answer for his involvement”. She added: “The public deserve the truth about why the holding of a lockdown party in the prime minister’s flat on his own birthday has not been made public until now.”The Sunday Times report claimed that messages sent by Ms Johnson on 19 June 2020 appeared to show that she was in the flat with several friends. Under Covid regulations, indoor socialising was banned, but an exemption was in place to allow people to meet for work purposes.No 10 did not deny the event had taken place, and a spokesperson for Ms Johnson told The Independent: “As The Sunday Times acknowledges, Sue Gray was aware of these exchanges as part of her exhaustive inquiry into alleged breaches.“Staff were given ample opportunity to present evidence, including these messages, and all relevant information was passed to the Metropolitan Police for investigation.”They added: “The lunchtime gathering in the Cabinet Room on 19 June 2020 was subsequently found to be in breach, and a fixed penalty notice was issued to Ms Johnson, among others, for which she apologised unreservedly and promptly paid the fine.”The allegations, which threaten to reignite anger over the Partygate scandal, have emerged as a drip-feed of Conservative MPs have publicly called for the prime minister to resign.Around 25 Tory MPs have urged Mr Johnson to step aside since the scandal emerged, with over a dozen submitting letters of no confidence to the chair of the Conservative 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.Over the weekend it was revealed that further letters had been submitted by Anne-Marie Morris, who had the whip restored just two weeks ago, and former health minister Steve Brine, with the latter saying a confidence vote was “inevitable”.In order for such a vote to be triggered, 54 MPs have to write to Sir Graham, but, given the secretive nature of the process, it is currently unclear whether the rebels are close to the threshold.Speaking to The Independent, Sir Roger Gale, one of the first MPs to declare no confidence in the prime minister last December, said: “As far as I’m aware, there’s no orchestrated plot; it seems to be coming from all directions.“I’ve actually said to James Duddridge [Mr Johnson’s parliamentary private secretary] that if I was him I would have triggered it now.”Referring to the forthcoming by-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton & Honiton on 23 June, Sir Roger said: “He stands more chance of winning it now than he probably does after a bad by-election result.”After Mr Johnson came under fire on Friday for amendments made to the ministerial code, Sir Roger added: “Of all times, he’s chosen now to move the goalposts over the ministerial code. That seems to me to be crass stupidity, because that really seriously is going to get up people’s noses I would have thought.”Another MP, who has submitted a no-confidence letter, said it was “not surprising” there was a drip-feed of colleagues across all wings of the party coming out against the prime minister.“There is that sense [that] there needs to be a change of direction before the next general election,” they added. “The party has shown in the past it can change direction – we need to demonstrate that now.”Speaking on Sunday, Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, suggested that Mr Johnson would win a confidence vote, but played down the prospect of one taking place, claiming: “I don’t think we’re in that space. I don’t think it’s in the interests of the country; I don’t think it’s in the interests of the Conservative Party. No, I don’t think we will see that happen.” More

Labour’s Angela Rayner has demanded an investigation into text messages suggesting a second gathering took place in the No 10 flat on Boris Johnson’s birthday.According to The Sunday Times, messages sent by the prime minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, appear to show that she was in the flat with several friends on the evening of 19 June, 2020.The alleged event is not mentioned in the senior civil servant Sue Gray’s report into lockdown-busting events that was published on Wednesday following the conclusion of the Metropolitan Police investigation.It is also separate to a birthday celebration held for Mr Johnson in the Cabinet Room earlier the same day — an event which the couple have both been issued with fixed penalty notices for.Under Covid regulations, indoor socialising was banned, but exemptions were available for work purposes.A spokesperson for Ms Johnson insisted Ms Gray was “aware of the exchanges as part of her exhaustive inquiry into alleged breaches”.However, Ms Rayner claimed it “looks like yet another cover up and there are new questions the prime minister must answer for his involvement”.In a letter to the cabinet secretary Simon Case — published on Sunday evening — the Labour deputy leader demanded the messages relating to the flat gathering are published and investigated.Referring to reports in The Sunday Times, she said a gathering in the No 10 flat on 19 June, 2020, was first reported earlier this year, but knocked back as “totally untrue” by a No 10 spokesperson.In a series of questions, Ms Rayner asked whether Mr Case had received correspondence from No 10 staffers “indicating this third gathering took place” and whether he had provided any evidence to Ms Gray’s inquiry.She also demanded to know whether Mr Johnson was present at the gathering on 19 June, 2020, and if any other ministers or civil servants attended the alleged gathering.She added: “It is crucial that you now advise the prime minister to come clean about his involvement in this apparently rule-breaking gathering.“Given the public interest at stake, I request that you make public his correspondence pertaining to this event and his whereabouts on the date of Friday 19 June 2020 and publish the relevant messages you have received, as well as handing them over to the Privileges Committee to consider as part of their investigation.”Earlier, No 10 did not deny the event took place, but said: “As per the terms of reference, the Gray investigation was able to look at other gatherings where there were credible allegations and these would be covered by the general findings in her final report.“Downing Street staff were given clear guidance to retain any relevant further information and co-operate fully with the investigation”.They added: “The process quite properly involved sharing information continuously with the Metropolitan Police. The Metropolitan Police have concluded their investigations and set out their findings”.A spokesperson for Ms Johnson also told The Independent: “As The Sunday Times acknowledges, Sue Gray was aware of these exchanges as part of her exhaustive inquiry into alleged breaches.“Staff were given ample opportunity to present evidence including these messages and all relevant information was passed to the Metropolitan Police for investigation.”They added: “The lunchtime gathering in the Cabinet Room on 19 June 2020 was subsequently found to be in breach and a fixed penalty notice was issues to Mrs Johnson among others for which she apologised unreservedly and promptly paid the fine”. More

Rishi Sunak says he will give his £400 energy rebate to charityThe Cabinet Office has appeared to reject claims that Sue Gray’s Partygate report was tampered with prior to publication, with details of an alleged party at Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat supposedly removed.Senior members of Mr Johnson’s team are also alleged to have put pressure on the civil servant to remove certain details and names from her report into coronavirus rule-breaking, according to the Sunday Times, which quoted a source as saying that “the entire machine fought her” once she made clear an intention to publish emails and WhatsApp messages.But the Cabinet Office insisted on Sunday that Ms Gray’s report “was impartially conducted and its contents represent the findings and conclusions of the investigation team alone”.Earlier, a No 10 source had denied the allegations, saying: “It is untrue that anyone on the political side saw anything in advance or sought to influence it.”The claims come as the prime minister fends off increasing pressure over the report, with 24 of his own MPs now publicly calling for his resignation.Show latest update

1653835570Union leader ‘cannot see a way out of’ rail strikesA union leader has said he “cannot see a way out from the strikes” which could hit the rail sector from next month.Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators overwhelmingly backed industrial action in a ballot over jobs and pay, threatening huge disruption. The union will have to give two weeks’ notice of strikes, which could start in mid-June.On whether a strike is inevitable, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch told Sky News: “I cannot see a way out from the strikes at the moment unless there is a breakthrough and the government instructs these companies – which they are doing to change their line rather than harden their line – it is very, very likely there will be strike action and it will be very soon.”Fears have been raised that staff walkouts could lead to much of the rail network being closed, affecting petrol and diesel supplies and the delivery of goods to shops.Union leaders will decide next week when to call strikes after workers overwhelmingly backed industrial action over jobs, pay and conditions.He could not say the level of disruption union action may cause, but added: “We will decide that if it happens. We want to make the strike action as effective as possible from our point of view. Our members are prepared to take effective strike action in pursuit of the settlement of this dispute.”Andy Gregory29 May 2022 15:461653834610Dominic Cummings scorns PM’s ‘distraction’ planBoris Johnson’s favourite former chief political aide has weighed in on the prime minister’s latest “cunning plan” with typical aplomb:Andy Gregory29 May 2022 15:301653833486Cabinet Office rejects claims Sue Gray report tampered withFollowing claims in the Sunday Times that senior members of Boris Johnson’s team put pressure on Sue Gray to remove certain details and names from her Partygate report, a Cabinet Office spokesperson has said: “The report was impartially conducted and its contents represent the findings and conclusions of the investigation team alone.“As with all such investigation reports, the process of obtaining formal representations from those perceived to be criticised prior to publication took place. This is an appropriate and usual process in such matters.”Patrick Daly has more on the allegations here:Andy Gregory29 May 2022 15:111653832542Voters ‘pleased’ with moves towards greater use of imperial measurements, minister claimsVoters and businesses are “pleased” that the UK government is set to open the door to greater use of imperial weights and measures, Brandon Lewis has insisted.Ministers are preparing to consult on how to further incorporate imperial measurements in Britain after Brexit, with Boris Johnson reportedly keen to announce the move on Friday to coincide with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.The move has faced criticism from the Conservative backbenches, with Alicia Kearns – one of 24 Tory MPs to declare they have lost confidence in the prime minister over his handling of lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street – calling the idea “a nonsense”.But Mr Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, said that while the policy was “light-hearted”, there were people who “want to go back” to using imperial weights, such as pounds and ounces, and measures such as yards and miles.The EU weights and measures directive came into force in 2000, with traders legally required to use metric units for sale-by-weight or the measure of fresh produce. It remains legal to price goods in pounds and ounces but they have to be displayed alongside the price in grams and kilograms.Andy Gregory29 May 2022 14:551653824710Brandon Lewis plays down threat of no confidence vote in Boris JohnsonOur political correspondent Ashley Cowburn has more details on the Northern Ireland secretary’s insistence this morning that Boris Johnson will not face a no confidence vote:Andy Gregory29 May 2022 12:451653823810Tories have ‘massive identity problem’, former leader saysBoris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have given the Tories a “massive identity problem” by raising rather than cutting taxes, a former party leader has said.Iain Duncan Smith told The Observer that, rather than impose a windfall tax, the chancellor should have cut taxes for middle and lower earners.“He had the headroom not to do a windfall tax,” Sir Iain said. “Getting growth going is the priority. We have to avoid recession and to do that we have to lower taxes and get people spending.“Conservatives believe in lower taxes, leaving people with more of their own money because they make the best choices. Unless we get back to this approach and cut taxes in the autumn budget we are in real trouble.”The Tories now risk being seen as a high tax, big state party after also breaking their manifesto pledge with a national insurance hike, he reportedly said, adding: “I don’t just think we have a bit of an identity problem, we have a massive identity problem.”Andy Gregory29 May 2022 12:301653822730A possible rail strike over jobs and pay could go on “for a very, very long time”, a union leader has suggested.Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators have overwhelmingly backed industrial action in a ballot.RMT general secretary Mick Lynch told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “They could go on for a very, very long time. There is no sign at the moment of that anybody is backing down on their side of the table.”He could not say the level of disruption union action may cause, but added: “We will decide that if it happens. We want to make the strike action as effective as possible from our point of view.“Our members are prepared to take effective strike action in pursuit of the settlement of this dispute. I have got no idea how long that will take and I can’t determine from here what the outcomes and side effects of that will be.”Andy Gregory29 May 2022 12:121653821410Cabinet reshuffle coming ‘sooner than everyone thinks’, report claimsOur chief political commentator John Rentoul highlights this story in today’s Mail on Sunday, which claims that Tory Chairman Oliver Dowden faces being moved in a Cabinet reshuffle which is coming “sooner than everyone thinks”.The paper reports that Mr Dowden is expected to pay the price for recent by-election losses and poor performances in May’s council elections, as well as plunging poll ratings.Mr Dowden’s public pledge to change candidate selection processes to ensure that half of Tory MPs elected at the next election are women has alienated both male and female colleagues, according to the paper.Andy Gregory29 May 2022 11:501653820210Tory MP appears to joke about PartygateA Tory MP has made a joke widely interpreted as making light of outrage over Covid rule-breaking in No 10.“Off to the footy,” Brendan Clarke-Smith tweeted. “Making the tough choice not to buy sandwiches and an orange juice in case anybody accuses me of being a lawbreaker.”Andy Gregory29 May 2022 11:301653819010Iceland has seen customers ‘disappearing to food banks’, boss saysRichard Walker, managing director of Iceland, says the supermarket chain serves “some of the poorer demographics” but has seen customers “disappearing to food banks” amid the rising cost of living.Mr Walker told Sky News’s Sophie Ridge On Sunday programme there is a “perfect maelstrom of inflationary pressures”, adding: “The reality is there is no typical Iceland shopper, averages don’t work very well because we have people who come in and spend five quid and people who come in and spend £50.“Generally, I think it is safe to say everyone is feeling the pinch now, it doesn’t matter who you are.“We do serve some of the poorer demographics around the country. We are hearing stories, as you said, of some of our custom disappearing to food banks, which is a reality, or, indeed, some customers when they are at the till asking the cashier when it amounts to 40 quid so that they can leave the rest of their shopping.”Andy Gregory29 May 2022 11:10 More

Brandon Lewis has said he does not think Boris Johnson will face a confidence vote — despite acknowledging only one senior backbencher knows the true number of disaffected MPs.The Northern Ireland secretary also said the prime minister would survive any vote amid warnings from a former cabinet minister over the weekend that discontent is spreading in the Conservative ranks.Since the publication of the Sue Gray report into rule-busting parties in No 10, there has been a drip-feed of Tory MPs expressing no confidence in the prime minister’s leadership.Around 24 Conservative MPs have publicly called on Mr Johnson to resign since the Partygate scandal emerged, with one suggesting in a statement that a no confidence vote is “inevitable”.Over a dozen have revealed they have submitted letters of no confidence, but the number could be higher — due to the secretive nature of the process.Under the party’s rulebook, 54 MPs have to submit a letter of no confidence to the Conservatives’ 1922 chairman, Sir Graham Brady, in order for a vote to be triggered on Mr Johnson’s leadership.Asked whether he thought the prime minister will face a confidence vote, Mr Lewis told Sky News: “I don’t think he will, actually.“I don’t think it’s in the interests of the country, I don’t think it’s in the interests of the Conservative Party. No, I don’t think we will see that happen”.He acknowledged, however, that only Sir Graham is aware of the true numbers of no confidence letters that have been submitted by MPs in the party.“That’s never leaked, I doubt it ever will leak,” he stressed. “So anybody whose debating what the numbers were or are today is pure supposition.”Asked on the BBC’s Sunday politics whether the prime minister would survive a vote of no confidence, Mr Lewis added: “Yes – but I don’t think we’re in that space”.The cabinet minister also played down modelling from the pollsters YouGov which showed over the weekend the Conservatives could lose all but three of 88 key battleground seats in a general election.“Polling is a snapshot,” he said. “First of all, we’ve got a fair way to go. There is not a general election in the next few months. It could well be a fair way away.“And there is a lot of work we are doing to deliver for people and I hope by the time we get to that general election, people will see two key things: one is that we have delivered, the prime minister has got those big calls right, and they will see a manifesto that is exciting about the future.”He added: “The work we do as parliamentarians, as campaigners can make a very big difference, and I still think we will win the next general election and I think that is in the best interests of the country.” More

Labour will attempt to force a Commons vote after changes to the ministerial code, accusing Boris Johnson of “trampling all over” long-standing principles.It follows accusations the prime minister had watered down the rules for ministers after the code was amended to make clear they will not automatically lose their jobs for a breach.A government policy document – published on Friday by the Cabinet Office – said it would be “disproportionate” to require ministers’ resignations for “any breach, however minor”.Instead, sanctions could involve “some form of public apology, remedial action or removal of ministerial salary for a period”, it added.But with the prime minister facing a Commons inquiry over whether he deliberately misled parliament over the Partygate scandal, opposition parties said Mr Johnson was “watering down the rules to save his own skin”.The new code, however, continues to state that ministers “who knowingly mislead parliament will be expected to offer their resignation”.When Parliament returns from week-long recess break, Labour said it will use an opposition day debate to ask MPs “to enshrine the commitment that ministers who commit serious breaches of the ministerial code will have to resign”.“This cannot solely apply to misleading the House,” the party added.The changes on Friday also made clear the prime minister has rejected a demand for his independent ethics adviser, Christopher Geidt, to be given powers to launch his own investigations into ministerial misconduct without seeking permission from Downing Street.Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “Boris Johnson is behaving like a tin pot despot and is trampling all over the principles in public life.“Many decent Conservative MPs are deeply uncomfortable with Johnson’s behaviour and they now have the chance to stop his sinister attempts at watering down standards and integrity in our democracy.”“Serious breaches of the ministerial code must result in resignation, whether they are deliberately misleading Parliament, bullying staff, bribery or sexual assault,” she added.“This prime minister simply cannot be trusted to uphold standards in government while his conduct sinks further into the gutter and he gives the green light to corruption.”However, speaking on Friday, Tim Durrant, an expert at the Institute for Government, said that the option of a more lenient penalty has always been available to prime ministers, at the cost of public controversy.“There has been a public expectation that a breach always results in resignation,” he told The Independent. “But the code itself has only ever explicitly included that sanction for ministers who have knowingly misled parliament. This update makes explicit that there are other sanctions available for different breaches, which was not previously stated. At the end of the day, it is always going to be the prime minister who decides who is in his or her government.”Earlier, Chris Bryant, the chairman of the Commons Standards Committee, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the move on Friday demonstrated why an independent process was required when it came to judging possible ministerial wrongdoing.The Labour MP, who has recused himself from chairing the Privileges Committee investigation into whether Mr Johnson misled parliament with his partygate reassurances, said the current system means “it still all lies in the prime minister’s hands and we know that the prime minister always finds himself innocent in the court of his own opinion”.A No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister expects all ministers to maintain high standards of behaviour and to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety.“He carefully considered and agreed the final recommendations on sanctions from the Committee in Standards in Public Life and the independent advisor on ministerial interests made in April 2021, which are now reflected in the ministerial code.”They added: “They said it is entirely reasonable and fair to have a range of sanctions for any breach – in the same way the House of Commons standards process has a range of sanctions.“The new code also has increased the powers and status of the independent adviser on ministerial interests and the requirements on high standards and principles of public life are unchanged.” More

Civil servants allegedly tried to waterdown Sue Gray’s report into Partygate and pressured her to remove names, according to reports. Samantha Jones, the permanent secretary at No 10, reportedly discussed who should be publicly named in the report with MS Gray’s team ahead of publication.According to the The Sunday Times, Ms Gray was lobbied to make changes on Tuesday evening by Ms Jones, cabinet secretary Simon Case, and permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office Alex Chisholm. The report alleged that up to 30 names were scheduled to be included in the report, but in the end only 15 people featured.A Whitehall source told the paper: “On Tuesday night, one last attempt was made to persuade her [Gray] to omit names from the report, but she made it plain to them the only way that was going to happen was if they issued her with an instruction.”Certain details were also removed from the report, according to The Sunday Times, including references to music being played at an “Abba party” in the prime minister’s flat and the leaving times of the attendees. Details about a leaving party for Hannah Young, a No 10 private secretary, were reportedly removed. Downing Street firmly denies that any details were tweaked in the report. A No 10 source said: “It is untrue that anyone on the political side saw anything in advance or sought to influence it.”A Downing Street official also claimed that Ms Gray had investigated whether two couples were caught having sex in No 10 on the night Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain left in November 2020. Ms Gray reportedly couldn’t find enough evidence about the alleged incident to put it in the report. In her report, the senior civil servant said that top officials, including Boris Johnson “must bear responsibility for this culture”. She said that the public would be “dismayed” by a series of breaches of Covid regulations in Downing Street. “It is also the case that some of their involvement in some of these events was permitted given the attendance of senior leaders. The senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture,” she added. Ms Gray was due to investigate an “Abba party” that allegedly took place in the prime ministers’ Downing Street flat on the night of Lee Cain’s leaving do. However the civil servant said that after the Metropolitan Police closed their investigation into the gathering she decided that “it was not appropriate or proportionate” to continue her own probe into the incident. More

Labour will push for a vote on the government’s decision to change the ministerial code in the wake of the publication of Sue Gray’s report.Prime minister Boris Johnson faced significant backlash for the move, with the opposition party arguing that it “waters down” rules and “gives the green light to corruption”. Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner labelled Mr Johnson a “tinpot despot” who could not be trusted. No 10 said the new version of the ministerial code has the backing of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and the adviser on ministerial interests. Under the new policy, ministers found to have breached the code of conduct will no longer be expected to resign or face being fired, instead they would have to apologise or have their salary temporarily suspended.The independent ethics chief, Lord Christopher Geidt, has also been blocked from launching his own investigations into possible violations, and will now require consent from Mr Johnson.When Parliament returns next week, Sir Keir Starmer plans to use an opposition day to encourage Conservative MPs to vote against the prime minister’s changes. More

In the three days since the publication of the senior civil servant Sue Gray’s report into lockdown-busting parties in No 10, there has been a drip-feed of Tory MPs condemning the scandal and calling on Boris Johnson to resign.The former cabinet minister David Davis, who dramatically told the prime minister to step aside in January in the House of Commons, claimed on Saturday that discontent was spreading across the party’s ranks.With a major poll showing the party could hold on to just three out of 88 key battleground seats at the next election, the senior Conservative said many of his colleagues “frankly see their own seats disappearing in many cases”.He is one of 24 MPs (eight of them since the publication of Ms Gray’s report) who have publicly stated they no longer support the prime minister, with over a dozen of them having confirmed submitting letters of no confidence.Under the party’s rules, a confidence vote will only be triggered if 15 per cent of the parliamentary party – 54 Tory MPs in the current parliament – submit a letter of to the chairman of the Conservatives’ 1922 backbench committee, Sir Graham Brady.Sir Graham has a reputation in Westminster for keeping the true figure of no confidence letters a closely guarded secret and he will only publicly disclose the figure if the threshold is passed – traditionally after giving the Tory leader advanced warning.The 1922 committee, which is in charge of running leadership contests, will then ask all Tory MPs to cast their vote in a secret ballot in the corridors of Westminster. If a vote is called, Mr Johnson would have to secure the confidence of 180 MPs – 50 per cent of the parliamentary party – to remain as Conservative leader and prime minister. If he falls, the party will then trigger a leadership contest. Technically, if a Tory leader wins the vote, their position is secured for at least 12 months. Whether they can survive that period politically is another question: six months after emerging victorious from a confidence vote, Theresa May announced her resignation outside No 10.While many in Westminster believe a confidence vote in Mr Johnson is a matter of when, not if, it is not a foregone conclusion and the timing is highly unpredictable. Besides Sir Graham, no individual really knows the true number of no confidence letters that have been submitted. Many MPs will not announce whether they have written to the 1922 committee, and others may have wthdrawn letters without publicly announcing.There also appears to be no evidence to suggest the statements – largely published on MPs’ websites – are coordinated. Take the MP Steve Brine. The former health minister published a statement on Wednesday on his website, saying he had submitted a letter of no confidence. It wasn’t advertised on social media and no one seemed to notice until Saturday. More