UK Politics

Dame Cressida Dick has been forced out as the Metropolitan Police commissioner – just hours after she insisted she had “absolutely no intention” of leaving her post.The surprise announcement comes after Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, put the police chief “on notice” following a series of scandals and the exposure of racist and sexist messages sent by officers in the force.Announcing her resignation, Dame Cressida said that after a discussion with Mr Khan it was “clear that the mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue”.Making clear she was forced out of the role, she added: “He has left me no choice but to step aside as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.“At his request, I have agreed to stay on for a short period to ensure the stability of the Met and its leadership while arrangements are made for a transition to a new commissioner.”Dame Cressida’s tenure was due to end in April but had been extended by two years, after the government reportedly vetoed proposed replacement Neil Basu.The former head of UK counter-terrorism had previously said that Boris Johnson would be barred from joining the police because of his remarks describing black people as “piccaninnies” and comparing Muslim women to “letterboxes”.A replacement has not yet been announced after Dame Cressida’s apparently surprise resignation, and she said she had “agreed to stay on for a short period to ensure the stability of the Met and its leadership while arrangements are made for a transition to a new commissioner”.Hours before Dame Cressida’s resignation was announced, she was asked by the BBC if she would step down and replied: “I have absolutely no intention of going and I believe that I am and have been, actually for the last five years, leading a real transformation in the Met.”Mr Khan said he made clear last week to the commissioner – who has served in the role since 2017 – the “scale of change” required in the force, in order to rebuild the trust of Londoners.It follows a series of scandals at the force, including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer, Wayne Couzens, and racist and misogynist and homophobic messages exchanged by officers at Charing Cross police station. More

Questionnaires being sent out to the attendees of Downing Street parties that may have broken Covid laws will be the written equivalent of police interviews under caution.More than 50 politicians and staff have been given a week to respond to the formal documents by email, and police will then decide whether to fine them for breaking restrictions.The penalties could vary between £100 and £10,000, depending on the law that was in force at the time, the size of the gathering and the person’s role.Prosecutions may follow if people refuse to pay any fines issued to them, and police decide to pursue further action.The Metropolitan Police said the questionnaires demand “an account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event”.The force said the documents “have formal legal status and must be answered truthfully”.A spokesperson told The Independent that answers “will be treated as written statements made under caution”.Police cautions are used when people are suspected of a criminal offence, and warn them: “You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”A criminal barrister told The Independent that the questionnaire process was “almost unheard of”, as police normally interview people in person.Andrew Keogh said the questionnaires appeared to be the equivalent of an in-person interview under caution, “but done on paper with fixed questions”.“When police interview someone they caution them,” he added. “It doesn’t matter if it’s said by a police officer in front of you who’s writing down what you’re saying, which is the normal way, or if you’re sent a questionnaire with that written at the top.”Mr Keogh said that to establish whether there was a defence to Covid offences under the Health Protection Regulations, recipients may be asked specific questions on how long they spent at gatherings and whether there was a “reasonable excuse” for their attendance in law.“It gives the opportunity for people to give a defence or a complete denial,” he added. More

Boris Johnson was using the Donald Trump playbook when he brought far-right invective into the heart of public debate with his notorious smear falsely linking Keir Starmer with Jimmy Savile, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy has told The Independent.Mr Lammy was with Sir Keir when they were mobbed by anti-vaccine protesters who shouted “paedo protector” and “Savile” at the Labour leader on Monday.And he said that the mob’s language – which Starmer said had never been directed at him before – drew on the prime minister’s slur in the House of Commons the previous week, when he suggested the Labour leader, as director of public prosecutions, had failed to take action against the celebrity paedophile.Mr Lammy told The Independent that the potential consequences of the tactic could be seen in the storming of the Capitol in Washington on 6 January last year by Trump supporters fired up by mistruths and slanders from the former president.The Tottenham MP said he had already been concerned about some of the tactics used by anti-vaxxers, particularly when protests have harassed children outside schools in a way which he described as “deeply ugly and un-British”.But he said he had never before seen the demonstrators who regularly gather in Westminster burst through security barriers to confront politicians directly in the way they did on Monday as he and Sir Keir walked back down the Embankment from a Ukraine briefing at the Ministry of Defence.“I heard continually the phrase ‘paedo’ shouted at us, which was not something I’ve experienced before,” he said.“That was the language that we that we saw from Boris Johnson – stories around Jimmy Savile that have existed on the far-right dark web, that should never have made their way to the despatch box and should never have been uttered by a prime minister of this country.”His comments came after Starmer told The Times he believed there was a link between Johnson’s comments and the incident on Monday.“I have never been called a paedophile protector before,” said Starmer. “That happened for the first time in my life.“If others want to argue that this is unconnected with precisely what the PM said one week before, then let them make that case. But they’ll never persuade me that there is no link.”Mr Lammy described the PM’s comments as “worrying” and drew a clear comparison with Trump’s tactic of firing up supporters with unsubstantiated slurs sourced from the political extremes.“The only modern-day example of a leader pulling stuff from the fringe into the centre is Donald Trump,” said the shadow foreign secretary.“And we saw where that led. It led to the horrendous, horrific assault on the Capitol. And I’m afraid there were elements of that in some that were gathered on the Embankment last week.”Mr Lammy praised the work of the police who bundled Starmer into a car to take him to safety.And he said he was heartened by a public response which recoiled from the abusive behaviour of a handful of protestors.“The abuse that was being directed at us, the threats that were being made, the general aggression and violence and skirmishes and jeering that was taking place took me back to the sort of abuse and thuggery that you would see sometimes when you went to a football match in the late 70s or early 80s,” he said.“I think that the public reaction to the behaviour that was shown towards the leader of the opposition really conveys the strength of feeling – people don’t like that sort of behaviour in this country.”Mr Johnson has issued a clarification making clear that he knew Sir Keir played no role in the decision not to prosecute Savile. But he has refused to apologise, despite being rebuked by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and seeing an aide resign and two senior cabinet colleagues distance themselves from his words. More

Boris Johnson broke lockdown laws and has “shredded” the UK’s reputation over the Partygate scandal, John Major has warned – telling The Independent that Tory MPs may have to rise up to oust him.In a blistering attack, the prime minister was accused of inventing “unbelievable” excuses to obscure his clear flouting of Covid rules, shattering trust in British democracy at home and abroad.Sir John insisted “deliberate lies to parliament have been fatal to political careers – and must always be so”, making clear Mr Johnson must quit or be forced out, if he misled the Commons.And he put Tory MPs on notice to “put country before party”, if necessary, even to the extent of joining forces with opposition MPs if the crisis ends in a Commons vote of confidence.The warning of a “shredded” reputation dogged Mr Johnson on a trip to Poland to warn of Russia’s threat to Ukraine – where he called it “demonstrably untrue”, while ducking questions about the police probe into No 10 parties.In further evidence of his inability to escape the scandal, a cabinet minister admitted more damaging photos of parties are likely to be leaked in the coming days – as Dominic Cummings has predicted.Speaking in London, Sir John attacked Mr Johnson over the parties and both weak cabinet ministers and the cabinet secretary for failing to stand up to his rule-breaking.“At No 10, the prime minister and officials broke lockdown laws. Brazen excuses were dreamed up. Day after day the public was asked to believe the unbelievable,” he said.“The lack of trust in the elected portion of our democracy cannot be brushed aside. Parliament has a duty to correct this. If it does not, and trust is lost at home, our politics is broken.”Questioned by The Independent, the former Conservative prime minister said Tory MPs may have to side with opposition parties, if Mr Johnson is found to have lied – but has survived a confidence vote of his own MPs.“I hope Conservative MPs would always put country before party, in all circumstances,” he said, when asked about a confidence vote on the Commons floor.The intervention came as Tory MPs still await the full Sue Gray report and the conclusion of the Met investigation, before deciding whether to demand a party no-confidence vote.The prime minister’s problems deepened when the police sent out 50 questionnaires to individuals believed to have broken rules at the parties – including to him, it is believed.A flustered Mr Johnson refused to say whether he had received a letter, or whether he will resign if he is fined by police, in a series of difficult interviews in Brussels and Warsaw.“You are going to hear all in due time on that matter,” the prime minister said, on receiving a Met questionnaire, adding: “I will have more to say on all that when the process is complete.”Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, told Times Radio: “Yes, there could be a photograph tomorrow, the next day or the day after – that’s clearly what’s behind some of the people’s motives.”In a wide-ranging attack, speaking to the Institute for Government, Sir John also:* Appeared to blame Mr Johnson for the hounding of Keir Starmer over the Jimmy Savile smear – saying: “Lies can become accepted as fact, as the speaker has pointed out.”* Attacked the Borders Bill for introducing four-year jail terms for asylum seekers reaching the UK by an “unsanctioned route” – calling it “punishment without compassion”.* Attacked moves to “allow the police to impose conditions on protest marches likely to be ‘noisy’”.* Warned that “undermining [the BBC] and starving it of funds is self-defeating for UK interests”.Asked if he had “shredded” the UK’s reputation abroad, Mr Johnson replied: “That is demonstrably untrue.”Pointing to the UK’s efforts to counter the Russian threat in eastern Europe, he added: “You can see that, actually, it is the United Kingdom that has been working for months to warn people about what was happening.” More

Tory MPs should remove Boris Johnson from office sooner rather than later, former attorney general Dominic Grieve has told The Independent. Speaking as part of an expert panel on the alleged lockdown parties in Downing Street, Mr Grieve said the fact that MPs are tolerating a prime minister “who misbehaves in this fashion” is “really rather chilling”. He said: “I think from the point of view of self-interest they are making a very considerable error of judgement but on top of that I do worry.“I think as a matter of propriety and ethics, tolerating a prime minister who misbehaves in this fashion including the lies that are associated with the misbehaviour as well as the misbehaviour itself is really rather chilling.“I would have hoped that some of them would have had greater courage and a sense of integrity that somebody in that position had to go.”Otherwise, he said, they are running a very significant risk of “catastrophic” consequences, including a “complete electoral meltdown”.Joining Mr Grieve on the panel was barrister Adam Wagner, who explained the legal background to the Met Police’s investigation into the parties. He said if Mr Johnson were issued a fixed penalty notice, what happens next would essentially be a political matter. Mr Wagner said paying the penalty is not an admission of breaking the law, but a notice being issued would mean that the police believe that the law has been broken. What would make that worse in the prime minister’s case is that he passed the law in the first place.He said police investigations always take twice as long as expected, so warned a swift resolution is not expected.Anna Isaac, The Independent’s economics editor who reported on some of the gatherings now being investigated, said the parties happened because the people working in Downing Street lost sight of how different life was for so many others outside the heart of government during lockdowns.Marie le Conte, a columnist for The Independent, spoke of conversations she has had with Conservative MPs, saying that some of the immediate pressure to push Mr Johnson out of No 10 had subsided, but that there were still a surprising number of new Tory MPs who thought they would be better off in their traditional Labour heartland seats with Liz Truss as prime minister.She also relayed how the scandal is seen abroad, with some foreign observers struggling to understand why a prime minister should be in danger of losing their job because of some parties. But Mr Grieve said the effect on Britain’s reputation abroad was “catastrophic” and “reinforces the idea of dysfunctional British government”. Other European leaders “don’t want to have anything to do with” the prime minister, he said.Mr Grieve pointed out that there is an alternative to a vote of confidence among Tory MPs in Mr Johnson’s leadership, where Sir Keir Starmer could table a vote of confidence on the floor of the House of Commons, in which all MPs would vote. If 39 Tories voted with the opposition, Mr Johnson would be defeated and, because the Fixed-term Parliaments Act has not yet been repealed, the Conservative Party would have two weeks to propose an alternative prime minister. He admitted this was less likely than an internal Conservative leadership challenge, as “it could rip the Conservative Party to pieces”. But whatever happened, in his view, “Boris Johnson is not leading the party into the next election.” More

Boris Johnson refuses to say if he will resign if found to have broken lawA former Conservative prime minister says Tory MPs may have to put the needs of the country first, by voting with the opposition to get rid of Boris Johnson should police discover he lied to parliament about Downing Streetlockdown parties. Speaking to The Independent after a keynote speech on democracy, John Major said he hoped “Conservative MPs would always put country before party, in all circumstances”. Pressed on if that included potentially rebelling against the government in a Commons vote of confidence, Sir John repeated: “In all circumstances.”In a blistering address at the Institute for Government, in which he attacked the government for providing “brazen excuses” in the face of Partygate allegations, Sir John said plainly: “At No 10, the prime minister and officials broke lockdown laws. Brazen excuses were dreamed up … Parliament has a duty to correct this.”If Mr Johnson wins a likely no-confidence vote among his MPs, the only route to removing him will be a confidence vote on the Commons floor – which can only succeed if several dozen Tory MPs rebel.Follow live updates belowShow latest update

1644504525Watch: Tory minister replies on PM facing consequences over PartygateTory minister replies on whether Boris Johnson will face consequences for breaking lawSam Hancock10 February 2022 14:481644504421Tory minister goes on ‘democracy’ rant when asked about PM’s positionA Conservative minister has launched into a bizarre rant about “honouring democracy” after she was asked whether Boris Johnson would face consequences for allegedly breaking the law during lockdown.Suella Braverman was fielding questions in the Commons when she was asked by Labour member Rupa Huq whether “anyone who is found to have breached lockdown regulations, whatever their rank” would face “the same consequences as Joe Public did”.In response, Ms Braverman, who as the attorney general is the government’s top legal chief, said she would not add to what had already been said by the PM “in light of the live police investigation”. However, she added: “[Ms Huq] mentioned the rule of law and I would just say that fundamental to the rule of law is also democracy: and I’m very proud to be supporting this prime minister, a prime minister who’s honoured democracy by delivering Brexit.”Judging by Ms Huq’s facial expressions following the Tory MP’s entire response, it’s safe to say the Labour MP was not entirely satisfied with the answer. Jon Stone, our policy correspondent, has more:Sam Hancock10 February 2022 14:471644503537Partygate probe could last months if PM ‘lawyered-up’, says expertOur politics reporter Adam Forrest has this:Adam Wagner QC, an expert on Covid laws, has raised the possibility that we could still be “months” away from knowing if Boris Johnson will be fined for rule breaches.“My experience of legal settings, especially once you’ve got lawyers involved, and I’m sure the prime minister and a number of officials will be lawyered-up, things can get complicated and messy,” he told Sky News.“So as much as the police might want to get this resolved quickly and get some fixed penalty notices out, that may not actually be realistic – so we could be looking at weeks or months left.”Wagner said earlier today that Johnson could face more than £10,000 in fines if police rule that multiple events in Downing Street breached lockdown restrictions.Sam Hancock10 February 2022 14:321644501907Major: Tory MPs may have to vote with Opposition to remove PMTory MPs may have to “put country before party” by voting with the opposition to bring down Boris Johnson if he has lied to parliament, John Major says.Speaking to The Independent after a blistering speech, in which he attacked the PM and his officials for giving “brazen excuses” in the face of Partygate, the former Tory PM declined to pre-judge the police inquiry into the No 10 parties, arguing it is better to “wait and see” if Mr Johnson has “given an accurate version of what happened”.But, asked if Tory MPs should “put country before party”, if Mr Johnson is shown to have lied to parliament, he replied: “I hope Conservative MPs would always put country before party, in all circumstances.”Pressed, by The Independent, if that included potentially rebelling against the government in a Commons vote of confidence, Sir John repeated: “In all circumstances.”Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has more:Sam Hancock10 February 2022 14:051644500966Watch: Tory peer attacks ‘fanciful’ claim people don’t care about PartygateTory peer attacks ‘fanciful’ government claim people don’t care about No 10 partiesSam Hancock10 February 2022 13:491644500921Welsh first minister tests positive for CovidWelsh FM Mark Drakeford has tested positive for Covid, a spokesperson has confirmed.A statement issued on Thursday said: “The first minister of Wales has tested positive for coronavirus after taking a PCR test.“He is self-isolating and working remotely”.The country’s economy minister Vaughan Gething will host the three-weekly coronavirus regulations review due to take place at midday on Friday in Mr Drakeford’s place. More

Tory MPs may have to “put country before party” by voting with the opposition to bring down Boris Johnson if he has lied to parliament, John Major says.Speaking to The Independent, the former Conservative prime minister expanded on his dramatic warning that MPs have “a duty” to act, if dishonesty is shattering public trust in politics.If Mr Johnson wins a likely no-confidence vote among his MPs, the only route to removing him will be a confidence vote on the Commons floor – which can only succeed if several dozen Tory MPs rebel.Sir John declined to pre-judge the police inquiry into the No 10 parties, arguing it is better to “wait and see” if the prime minister has “given an accurate version of what happened”.But, asked if Tory MPs should “put country before party”, if Mr Johnson is shown to have lied to parliament, he replied: “I hope Conservative MPs would always put country before party, in all circumstances.”Asked, by The Independent, if that included potentially rebelling against the government in a Commons vote of confidence, Sir John repeated: “In all circumstances.”Although defying Mr Johnson in that way would ordinarily end an MP’s career – preventing them being a Tory candidate at the next election – some Conservatives believe it is a plausible scenario.Some unhappy Tories have already announced they are quitting the Commons and, following the Brexit battles of the last parliament, the whip was later restored to some rebels.One former Tory minister said recently: “The next Conservative leader could decide to bring an MP back in those circumstances, if they were seen to have acted in the national interest.”Sir John spoke after intervening in the Partygate controversy by arguing it is clear that Mr Johnson broke lockdown rules at the No 10 parties now under investigation.In a speech, he condemned the “unbelievable” excuses “dreamed up” to deny that rules were flouted – warning they are weakening public’s trust in politics.Sir John argued that “deliberate lies to parliament have been fatal to political careers – and must always be so”, making clear Mr Johnson must quit or be forced out, if he misled the Commons.“At No10, the prime minister and officials broke lockdown laws. Brazen excuses were dreamed up. Day after day the public was asked to believe the unbelievable,” he said.“The lack of trust in the elected portion of our democracy cannot be brushed aside. Parliament has a duty to correct this. If it does not, and trust is lost at home, our politics is broken.”Tory MPs are still awaiting the full Sue Gray report and Met investigation into No 10 lawbreaking, before deciding whether to demand a no-confidence vote.The crisis deepened for the prime minister overnight, when the police sent out 50 questionnaires to people believed to have broken rules – including to him, it is believed. More

Legislation that will allow Boris Johnson’s government to toughen up its sanctions against Russia will come into force “immediately”, a senior minister has said.As foreign secretary Liz Truss met her Russian counterpart in Moscow in a bid to avoid conflict in Ukraine, the Commons heard that a new law to “expand” sanctions against Russia would be in place on Thursday.Ms Truss had promised MPs that a new sanctions law would be in place by 10 February – prompting Labour to question why MPs had not been given a chance to scrutinise the proposals.Foreign Office minister James Cleverly told the Commons: “As the foreign secretary set out on January 31, we are now laying legislation to broaden the designation criteria for the Russia sanctions regime.He said: “As minister for Europe, I have signed that legislation which we will lay before parliament and intend to come into force this afternoon,” adding that it would “significantly broaden” the range of people and businesses the UK could sanction.But Labour accused the government of behaving in an “autocratic” manner over a crucial changes to the rules determining the UK’s sanctions regime.Shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy said MPs “deserve the opportunity to scrutinise and debate these measures and they need to be in place”.“With 130,000 troops threatening Ukraine, the opposition stands ready to work with the government in the national interest to get the appropriate measures in place. We can only do so if the government keeps its promise to bring forth this sanctions legislation. Where is it?”Mr Cleverly repeated his claim that new sanction laws against Russia would be in force “this afternoon”, adding: “As I said in my initial statement, I have signed the legislation which we intend to come into force this afternoon.”Outraged, Labour MP Chris Bryant, said the minister was “wrong to say today that it’s just going to happen this afternoon” – claiming it was “autocratic” to publish legislation without opportunity for scrutiny.He added: “It’s completely autocratic for government to publish legislation without any opportunity for anybody to scrutinise it, and frankly they have just been lazy. We’re Johnny-come-latelies when it comes to sanctions in this area.”Mr Cleverly said he understood the “frustration” of Mr Bryant and others. But he said the government was “moving at a pace to ensure where possible that sanction regimes are in place ahead of this”.Earlier on Thursday, Ms Truss warned Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov of tough Western sanctions if Ukraine was attacked – saying the Kremlin faced “severe” costs for any invasion.Mr Lavrov responded by criticising “morality lectures” and accused Ms Truss of acting like a “deaf person” to Russian security concerns about Nato.“I’m honestly disappointed that what we have is a conversation between a dumb and a deaf person. It’s as if we listen but we don’t hear,” he said.Meanwhile, Boris Johnson did not rule out going further in giving Ukraine military support in the event of an invasion by Russia, after putting 1,000 UK troops on stand-by.He told a press conference in Brussels: “We will consider what more we can conceivably offer.”The prime minister also warned that the next few days were “probably the most dangerous moment … in what is the biggest security crisis Europe has faced for decades”. More