UK Politics

Boris Johnson announced this week the government wants to end all domestic Covid-19 restrictions in England, including the legal requirement to self-isolate, a month earlier than planned.The prime minister told MPs on Wednesday: “Provided the current encouraging trends in the data continue, it is my expectation that we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions – including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive – a full month early.”He said he would present the government’s “Living With Covid” strategy when the Commons returns from its recess on 21 February. Aides said remaining restrictions are expected to be lifted by 24 February at the latest.The move will make England the first major nation to stand down all of its domestic coronavirus rules, as Downing Street said that the country was “entering the stage of endemicity” of the disease, thanks to a successful vaccine and booster programme.What do you think about this decision? Do you think this is the right move or is there an alternative. Take part in our poll below and let us know what you think in the comments below. More

A ministerial aide who publicly defended Boris Johnson privately told a constituent the prime minister’s position appeared “terminal” amid the fallout from partygate allegations.The comments from Lucy Allan, the Conservative MP for Telford and parliamentary private secretary to cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, come as the prime minister faces the prospect of being questioned by police over parties held in No 10.After Mr Johnson was dealt a blow following the resignation of key aides from No 10, including his longstanding ally Munira Mirza, Ms Allan said in a letter to a constituent last week that she did not support efforts to remove the prime minister.However, according to Politico, she added that in her own view “the position now appears terminal.”Asked about the correspondence, she later told the news website: “The phrase ‘terminal’ was used in one letter to one constituent. “At the time of writing to that constituent the PM’s position did indeed appear ‘terminal’ but that is not the case today.“The PM is building a new team and is earning back support. But of course, there may be more to come out including the outcome of a police investigation”.She also told The Independent Mr Johnson’s position had “improved” since last Friday following the mini-reshuffle and recent appointments to the No 10 team.Her private remarks, however, will be viewed a sign of the unease within the party over the prime minister’s perilous position, with the Met police expected to contact over 50 individuals in No 10 and Whitehall in the coming days.As part of Operation Hillman, those contacted will be sent a questionnaire with “formal legal status”, which will request “an account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event”.While some Tory MPs have already submitted letters of no confidence in Mr Johnson, many are reserving judgement on Mr Johnson’s premiership until the Met police concludes its investigation and Downing Street publishes Whitehall mandarin Sue Gray’s internal report into allegations of rule-breaking parties in No 10 in full.Just yesterday Ms Allan defended the prime minister and criticised the former Tory leader Sir John Major, who delivered a scathing analysis of the current government.The former prime minister said Mr Johnson and his officials had flouted lockdown laws, “shredded” Britain’s reputation, and urged Conservative MP to “put country before party”.Ahead of Sir John’s speech, Ms Allan, who works under Mr Mogg – the recently appointed Brexit “opportunities” minister – posted on social media: “Trying to remove an elected PM with a huge personal mandate, mid-term, is anti-democratic”.“Those who seek to do so are destablising democracy,” she added. “If you respect democracy, Mr Major, Mrs May, Mr Heseltine et al, do it through the ballot box, not by abusing your power and influence”. More

Boris Johnson’s response to Russian aggression against Ukraine has been “more Chamberlain than Churchill”, the Conservative chair of the House of Commons defence committee has told The Independent.Tobias Ellwood said that the recent visits of foreign secretary Liz Truss to Moscow and the prime minister to Poland were “completely” designed to distract from the Partygate scandal in London and played into Vladimir Putin’s hands by putting him at the centre of international attention.In the absence of leadership on Ukraine from Washington, it fell to the UK to fill the vacuum, but Mr Johnson had shown no appetite to think about the wider challenge facing the West, said Mr Ellwood.“We have entered an era of epic change in the world and we have our heads in the sand,” he told The Independent.A former soldier who served as a minister in both the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence under David Cameron and Theresa May, Mr Ellwood said that the Johnson administration lacked senior figures thinking strategically inside No 10 about the security of Europe.“We are making a lot of noise, but there’s no strategy,” he said. “Ultimately, we are looking more like Chamberlain than Churchill and not appreciating the bigger picture.“If we don’t have the strategists – as Churchill had Alanbrooke – in No 10, pointing out the wider dangers on the horizon, then our adversaries will take advantage of the internal chaos. That is what’s happening now.“We don’t have a comprehensive strategy on Russia. Historically, when America absents itself form the international stage in terms of political leadership – as it is doing now over Ukraine – Britain steps forward, but we are unable to do that now.”Mr Ellwood said that Ms Truss’s visit to Moscow on Thursday – which Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov afterwards described as being like “talking to a deaf person” – had been a “humiliation”.“Lavrov is a wily operator and he absolutely humiliated Liz Truss,” said the Bournemouth East MP. “She should never have gone. If you have no cards to play, no leverage, no hard power, no alliance behind you to alter Russia’s behaviour, what can you gain from going to Russia?“All it does is make Putin feel important, which is something he really wants.”Mr Ellwood said that the tensions over Ukraine were part of a broader economic and military pivot by Putin towards China, which necessitates persuading the Russian population that Europe and the West are an enemy with aggressive intentions towards them.Reliance on sanctions to be imposed in response to an invasion would merely reinforce this impression, he warned.Instead, he suggested that the UK should be leading calls for a division of Nato troops to be stationed inside Ukraine itself to make President Putin “think again” about infringing on its territory.While President Joe Biden was reluctant to take the political lead on the issue, the US would be ready to pile in with military contributions if such a move was seen to be led from Europe, he said.“The consequences of an invasion, both on food prices because of the colossal grain exports and on oil and gas prices, will have a ripple effect right across Europe to the UK and beyond, potentially triggering another global economic recession,” warned Mr Ellwood.“These are bigger considerations which are simply not being discussed around the table at No 10,” he said. “They go to the core argument of No 10’s capability as government headquarters to be able effectively to digest the threats and respond to them. There is an absence of appetite to even look into these things.“There is an expectation that Britain will step forward when others hesitate and instead we are hesitating. If we look at all impressive it is only because other Nato countries are doing less.” More

MPs are calling for the genocide of Roma and Sinti people in the Holocaust to be included in the national curriculum.It follows outrage over comments made by comedian Jimmy Carr, who used the Nazi murders of Gypsy people as a punchline in a Netflix stand-up routine.He said people “never mention the thousands of Gypsies that were killed by the Nazis” in the Holocaust because “no one ever wants to talk about the positives”.More than 500,000 Roma and Sinti people were tortured, starved, subjected to forced labour and medical experiments under the Nazis.Now, members of three all party parliamentary groups (APPGs) have written to the education secretary Nadhim Zahawi, calling for the genocide to be taught in schools.The Holocaust is a mandatory subject on the secondary school history curriculum – but the mass murder of Roma and Sinti people by the Nazis is not.The letter says it is “wholly inappropriate” to leave this to the discretion of schools.“This must change, so that children and society as a whole can fully understand the dangers of ‘othering’ and racist views against Roma and Gypsy communities,” it says.Labour MP Kim Johnson, an officer of the APPG for Race Equality in Education, argued it was vital the genocide was not “air-brushed out of teachings on this dark period.”She warned racial hatred and discrimination against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities is “very much alive.”Mr Carr’s comments were greeted with laughter and applause by his audience on the Netflix special His Dark Materials – but have since been denounced by politicians, including the prime minister.The letter adds: “A number of cabinet ministers have rightly condemned the ‘joke’ but government must move to address this in a way that effects meaningful change.”It also called for broader measures to support Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children in school.Research by the charity Friends, Families and Travellers found 86 per cent of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children had been bullied at school, while 73 per cent had experienced racism.Ms Johnson said: “We have a duty not only to address and tackle racial prejudice, but to take steps to ensure that Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children have an inclusive learning environment to help address the desperately poor educational outcomes they experience.”One initial step would be celebrating Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month in schools, the letter says.It was signed by the APPGs for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma, the Prevention of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, and Race Equality in Education officers.Baroness Janet Whitaker, co-chair of the APPG for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma, said: “Racial hatred has no place in a civilised society.“Now is the time for government to take steps to ensure a more comprehensive education around the Holocaust, which takes account of the Roma and Sinti annihilation, and for schools to reinforce the message that all people are of equal worth and equally worthy of respect.”The department for education has previously explained schools “have the flexibility to teach about the persecution of different groups of people by the Nazis” but stopped short of saying the genocide of Roma and Sinti people should be made compulsory. More

Labour MP Neil Coyle has had the whip suspended following allegations he made racist comments to a journalist on the Parliamentary estate.It comes after the MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark was reportedly banned from bars inside the estate after an alleged incident in which he made a Sinophobic remark about the appearance of Business Insider political reporter, Henry Dyer.“The Labour Party expects the highest standards of behaviour from all our MPs and we take allegations of this sort very seriously,” a party spokesperson told The Independent.“Accordingly the chief whip has now suspended the Labour whip from Neil Coyle pending an investigation.”On Thursday evening, Mr Dyer said the pair had been discussing Barry Gardiner, a Labour MP who received funds from a suspected Chinese spy, when Mr Coyle said his colleague had been “paid by Fu Manchu” – a cartoon villain that draws on traditional Chinese stereotypes.The journalist said that he suggested the reference to a “Chinese trope” was not appropriate and noted that he was British-Chinese.He said the MP told him his heritage was apparent “from how you look like you’ve been giving renminbi to Barry Gardiner”.As he left the bar that night, Mr Dyer said he wanted to defuse the tension with Mr Coyle, so waved him goodbye. He said the MP responded by sticking two fingers up at him. The incident is said to have taken place on Tuesday 1 February, Chinese New Year.The remarks left Mr Dyer feeling “uncomfortable” and he said that he reported the incident to the Speaker of the House of Commons.Mr Dyer said: “The speaker and his staff took immediate action … to suspend Coyle from the bars on the parliamentary estate pending an investigation by the Labour whips’ office into the incidents on Monday and Tuesday evening.”Welcoming Labour’s decision to suspend the whip, Nick Lowles, CEO of antiracism campaign group, HOPE not hate, said: “We stand in solidarity with Henry Dyer. “Given the rise in discrimination and hate that so many people of East Asian heritage have experienced during the pandemic, it is incredibly disturbing that this kind of sentiment has reached the corridors of power in Westminster. We cannot allow racism of any kind to be normalised within the heart of our democracy.”In a statement following the withdrawal of the Labour whip, Mr Coyle said: “I’m very sorry for my insensitive comments, have apologised to everyone involved and will be co-operating fully with the investigation.” More

A senior Tory has told Boris Johnson to slap down an “ally” who said the police should not punish him with a Partygate fine if it would force him out of No 10.Bob Neill, chair of the Commons justice committee, joined leading lawyers and Opposition politicians in condemning “political pressure” after the call for the police to exercise “a degree of discretion”.It was made by the unnamed ally as the prime minister is expected to appoint his own lawyer if he is questioned over his attendance at No 10 parties during Covid lockdown periods.Mr Johnson is expected to argue he did not break the law because Downing Street is both his workplace and his home – which has also raised eyebrows, because the pandemic forced millions of people to work from home.The prime minister is expected to confirm as early as Friday that he is among 50 people sent a legal questionnaire by the Met police, as its probe into suspected lawbreaking is stepped up.The ally told The Times that the Met needs to be “very certain” that he has breached lockdown rules before issuing a fixed penalty notice – a move expected to be fatal for Mr Johnson’s position.“There is inevitably a degree of discretion here. Do you want the Met Police deciding who the prime minister is?” the individual said.Sir Bob tweeted: “It is completely inappropriate to suggest that there should be any special treatment for anyone involved in these inquiries and any suggestion of political pressure on the police is completely reprehensible. No 10 would do well to disown it.”Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, called the suggestion “perhaps the darkest moment of this whole sorry saga”“It shows a fundamental belief in the heart of government that Boris Johnson should be above the law and that No 10 will bring any institution into disrepute to save Johnson’s skin.”Adam Wagner, a barrister and Covid rules expert, said: “The legal test is that the police “reasonably believe” someone has committed an offence before issuing a fixed penalty notice.“This will be the same regardless of how important the person is – this is the rule of law.”Mr Johnson is thought to have attended 6 of up to 13 gatherings now under investigation, including the notorious ‘bring your own booze’ party in the No 10 garden in May 2020.He claimed it was a “work event” – although no such mass gathering was allowed under the rules – with the garden an extension of his home in Downing Street.Mr Johnson will not be able to make the claim if it is confirmed that he attended the ‘ABBA party’ in his No 11 flat, in November 2020, allegedly to celebrate the departure of Dominic Cummings.Rishi Sunak has suggested he does not expect to be required to fill out a police questionnaire, despite being at the prime minister’s birthday party in the cabinet room in May 2020.The chancellor insisted he was there for a routine Covid meeting and, asked whether he expected to receive a form to complete, replied: “No – well, I don’t know.” More

The police probe into allegations of parties in No 10 during Covid restrictions will “not be affected” by the resignation of the Metropolitan Police commissioner.The vow from the aviation minister, Robert Courts, follows the surprise decision of Dame Cressida Dick to step aside as the country’s most senior police officer.Announcing her resignation on Thursday evening, Dame Cressida said it was “clear” the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, “no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership”.The Met police chief will, however, stay in post for a “short period to ensure the stability” of the force while arrangements are made “for a transition to a new commissioner”, she added.Her move comes in the midst of a politically sensitive investigation into lockdown-busting parties in No 10 during strict Covid measures, with many Conservative MPs reserving judgement on Boris Johnson’s leadership until the probe is complete.As part of Operation Hillman, the force is expected to contact more than 50 individuals in the Downing Street and Whitehall over a dozen events held in government buildings as the rest of the country were subject to draconian restrictions on socialising.The Met said earlier this week that those contacted will be sent a questionnaire with “formal legal status”, which will request “an account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event”.Pressed on what Dame Cressida’s resignation from the force meant for the partygate inquiry, Mr Courts told Sky News: “Police are very used to handling matters where there are different parities involved”.He stressed: “They are totally independent and I have absolute confidence in their ability to carry out an investigation. So they will do that and they will do that in a way that is independent — that will not be affected by the role at the top of the Met.”According to the latest update from No 10 on Thursday, Mr Johnson had been contacted by the Met police, but his official spokesperson said: “We would look to confirm contact of this sort as relates to the prime minister given the significant public interest”.They also stressed that the prime minister will not receive “bespoke” legal advice from government lawyers over the Met police probe, but declined to say whether Mr Johnson would seek personal legal advice if contacted by the force. However, The Times reported on Friday that Mr Johnson has lined up a private legal expert on Covid restrictions to help defend him if he is questioned by the police in the coming weeks.“The prime minister will not be winging it,” a source told the newspaper.“He will take private legal advice. There are relevant considerations. He is in a unique legal situation because Downing Street is both his workplace and his home.”Speaking on Friday, Mr Courts also described Dame Cressida’s resignation as “regrettable” amid signs of tensions between the home secretary, Priti Patel, and Mr Khan over her departure.It is understood the beleaguered Met chief was called to a meeting with the mayor at 4.30pm on Thursday over the reforms to the force, but declined to attend and offered her resignation instead — catching the Home Office by surprise.Mr Khan did not inform the home secretary of his intention to request a meeting with the commissioner, according to Home Office source, who said Ms Patel was not impressed by the handling of the situation they described as “rude and unprofessional”. More