UK Politics

Martin Lewis has accused Kwasi Kwarteng of “denigrating the experience of fraud victims” with his “outrageous” defence of Boris Johnson’s false claim that crime had fallen under his leadership.Seeking to rescue his premiership amid the fallout from Sue Gray’s Partygate update, the prime minister told the House of Commons that crime had fallen by 14 per cent – a claim later denounced as “misleading” by the head of the UK Statistics Authority watchdog.Mr Johnson’s claim is only true when excluding fraud and computer misuse – with overall crime having actually risen by 14 per cent, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.But seeking to defend the prime minister, the business secretary suggested on Sunday that Mr Johnson had only been referring to crime which “people experience in their-day-to-day lives”.On Tuesday, the MoneySavingExpert website founder accused Mr Kwarteng of causing an “outrage” with the comments, and urged him to apologise.“To hear the business secretary say that fraud and online scams aren’t something people experience in their daily lives is outrageous,” Mr Lewis told BBC Radio 4.“Millions of people face it every day. I’ve had over 30 scam reports just about me today before I did this interview.“And to have the business secretary – and I don’t normally get political, or party political, at least – but to have the business secretary try and defend the fact they put out slightly questionable, iffy crime figures by denigrating the experience that people in this country have with scams, and the lives that have been lost or destroyed because of scams, is an outrage.“He must and needs to apologise if he has any shred of decency in him.”Mr Lewis was backed up by television presenter Kirstie Allsopp – who caused her own controversy this week when she suggested in a Sunday Times interview that young people could afford to get on the housing ladder if they made “sacrifices” – who tweeted that he was “spot on about fraud and its impact”.The government has been placed under investigation by the UK Statistics Authority after receiving complaints about claims that crime is falling, made by Mr Johnson in the Commons and by home secretary Priti Patel, in a quote published by the Home Office.Despite a fall in most crimes during coronavirus lockdowns, some are now reaching or exceeding pre-pandemic levels – with rises in some offences like fraud offsetting reductions seen elsewhere, the ONS said last week.Additional reporting by PA More

Jacob Rees-Mogg has been appointed minister for Brexit opportunities, in Boris Johnson’s latest reshuffle.The title of the post may seem odd, but the government already has a Brexit Opportunities Unit, which the new minister is likely to work closely with.The unit is based in the Cabinet Office department and it was announced in June last year.Ministers say it is involved in “setting the strategy for the Government’s ambitious approach to regulation, reviewing and reforming existing policy and regulation, and supporting the scrutiny and introduction of new regulation”.It was established by Lord Frost, who left government complaining of Boris Johnson’s political direction. One of his frustrations was that the government was no going far enough in doing things outside the EU it could not do inside: in particular strip out regulations.Appointed Mr Rees-Mogg as the minister for the area looks like an attempt to throw “red meat” to the Tory base. He is considered a dogmatic Thatcherite and Tories who want the government to be more radically right-wing on economic policy trust him.Mr Rees-Mogg has long said he wants to use Brexit to get rid of EU standards and regulations. In December 2016 he said the government could go “a very long way” to rolling back high EU standards on imported products and that regulations that were “good enough for India” could be good enough for the UK.“We could, if we wanted, accept emissions standards from India, America, and Europe. There’d be no contradiction with that,” Mr Rees-Mogg told a parliamentary committee.“We could say, if it’s good enough in India, it’s good enough for here. There’s nothing to stop that.“We could take it a very long way. American emission standards are fine – probably in some cases higher.“I accept that we’re not going to allow dangerous toys to come in from China, we don’t want to see those kind of risks. But there’s a very long way you can go.”The unit has produced little concrete work of note since it was announced last year. It is thought to be involved in decisions like whether to legalise pint bottles of Champagne, and whether to or not to implement new EU car safety rules.Previous reviews of red tape in government have generally failed to find anything they actually want to get rid of – in particular things that they want to get rid of that are politically popular. More

Boris Johnson was rebuked by the House of Commons speaker and warned that “words have consequences” after a mob surrounded Sir Keir Starmer and shouted abuse, repeating slurs about Jimmy Savile.Sir Lindsay Hoyle condemned the discredited claim made by the prime minister that the Labour leader “failed” to prosecute Savile, saying his remarks in Commons last week were “inappropriate” and “only inflame opinions”.As criticism mounted from Tory backbenchers over the smear, the Archbishop of Canterbury also offered a veiled reproach to the prime minister, issuing an appeal for those involved in political disputes to “learn to disagree well”.“When politicians are harassed and threatened it’s a threat not just to the MPs themselves, but to the health of our democracy,” said Justin Welby. “We must condemn it and stand united against it.Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon also criticised Mr Johnson for failing to say sorry. “If he has a single shred of decency, he will withdraw the comments that he made completely and he will fully, unreservedly, unequivocally apologise.”The interventions came after Monday’s incident reignited anger over Mr Johnson’s smear on 31 January, when he accused Sir Keir of “failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile” during a Commons debate.Updating MPs on Tuesday, Sir Lindsay also revealed he had requested a “situation report” from the Metropolitan Police over the incident which saw officers protect Sir Keir from protesters shouting “traitor” and “Jimmy Savile”, and accused him of “protecting paedophiles”.The Commons speaker said: “I know it has been reported that some abuse was directed at the leader of the opposition yesterday related to claims made by the prime minister in this chamber.“But regardless of yesterday’s incident, I made it clear last week that while the prime minister’s words were not disorderly they were inappropriate.”Sir Lindsay added: “As I said then, these sorts of comments only inflame opinions and generate disregard for the house and it is not acceptable. Our words have consequences and we should always be mindful of the fact.”Downing Street later insisted that Mr Johnson would not apologise for his Savile comments. His official spokesperson acknowledged his original words in the Commons were “capable of being misconstrued”, which was why he subsequently issued a “clarification”.Tory MP Caroline Nokes condemned Mr Johnson for failing to withdraw apologise for his “vile” Jimmy Savile slur against the Labour leader – linking it to the “completely acceptable” mob harassment suffered by Sir Keir.Asked on Tuesday if the PM was to blame, the backbencher told Sky News: “We have to play back the language used in the House last Monday … [he] actually used a vile smear against Sir Keir Starmer.”Ms Nokes added: “Do I want the prime minister to apologise? Of course I do … I want him to own the mistake.”At least 10 Tory MPs – including David Davis, Sir Roger Gale, Stephen Hammond, Tobias Ellwood and Julian Smith – have now tweeted criticism of the prime minister or spoken publicly condemning his remarks.Meanwhile, Jacob Rees-Mogg said he did not “recollect” feeding Mr Johnson the smear about Sir Keir “failing” to prosecute Jimmy Savile.Asked about a report in The Sunday Times that suggested he gave the PM the idea for using the attack line in the Commons, the cabinet minister told ConservativeHome’s podcast: “That isn’t my recollection.”The former Commons leader, given the new role of Brexit opportunities minister, said: “I think it came from behind us, but it seemed to me a perfectly fair point to use. I wasn’t sitting next to the prime minister, so I wasn’t in a particularly good position to be feeding him lines.”A snap poll by Savanta ComRes on Tuesday found that two thirds (68 per cent) of voters believed the prime minister should apologise for the Savile comments in the House of Commons. The survey also found that 69 per cent believed he was responsible for the behaviour of protesters who harassed Sir Keir. More

Boris Johnson spent hours in a state of fury in No 10 after claims about his wife were published in the serialisation of an unauthorised biography by a Tory peer – even threatening to take legal action, according to Downing Street insiders.The prime minister claimed the book by Lord Ashcroft, which has been serialised in the Mail, was defamatory and told one worker he was getting advice from lawyers, The Independent understands.Biography First Lady: Intrigue at the Court of Carrie and Boris Johnson alleges that Ms Johnson wields influence over her husband and, by extension, government decisions – though a spokesperson for Ms Johnson said she played no role in government. The prime minister was focused on how to fight back against the negative press faced by his wife Carrie on Friday and over much of the weekend, sources claimed, describing him as “distracted and furious”.This week one of the key pillars of the No 10 operation to get the Johnson premiership back on track, its plan to address the NHS backlog was not able to be unveiled on Monday as planned. Instead, the plan was published on Tuesday with reports suggesting it had been held up due to disagreements between No 10 and the Treasury over health service targets and funding. Health secretary Sajid Javid denied that was the case, saying that it was instead delayed by efforts to get cross-Whitehall and NHS support for the drive. The response to the reports about Ms Johnson’s influence over the prime minister has been mixed. Mr Javid is among those claiming the allegations in Lord Ashcroft’s book against Ms Johnson are sexist, telling Sky News on Monday that he thought “the partners of politicians should be off limits”. It is rare for a sitting prime minister to issue legal proceedings. In 1993 Sir John Major successfully brought a libel case against satirical magazine Scallywag and the New Statesman over a report claiming he had had an affair with a member of No 11 catering staff. It later emerged that Sir John did have an affair, though it was with Edwina Currie, a fellow Conservative politician, in the 1980s.In 2012, Mr Johnson used the services of legal firm Collyer Bristow to defend himself against a libel claim by union leader Bob Crow. Mr Johnson was successful in having the claim struck out.When contacted for comment, No 10 said it was “completely untrue” legal action was being considered by the prime minister, who a spokesperson said was “entirely focused on delivering on the people’s priorities”. A spokesperson for Biteback, the publisher of Lord Ashcroft’s book, said of possible legal action: “That should help worldwide book sales and international publicity. All authors’ royalties are being donated to NHS charities.” More

Jacob Rees-Mogg has said he does not recall feeding the prime minister the controversial jibe about Sir Keir Starmer failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile while he was director of public prosecutions.The Sunday Times reported that Mr Rees-Mogg, who has been moved from Commons Leader to the newly minted position of Brexit opportunities minister in the mini-reshuffle, “originally whispered” the idea of using the attack to Boris Johnson in the Commons last week.But the Cabinet minister said that while he “mentioned the point about journalists”, he was not close enough to Mr Johnson to “feed him lines”.The Conservative Party leader last week accused the Labour leader of having used his time as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to pursue journalists and “failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile”, the notorious celebrity paedophile.

I wasn’t sitting next to the Prime Minister, so I wasn’t in a particularly good position to be feeding him linesJacob Rees-MoggThe comments sparked a political row and critics both on the Conservative and opposition benches have blamed the remarks for protesters targeting Sir Keir outside Parliament on Monday, with the mob accusing him of being a “paedophile protector” before he was escorted away in a police vehicle.Mr Johnson has sought to clarify his comments made in an exchange following a Commons statement on 31 January about the interim Sue Gray report into alleged lockdown-breaking events in No 10, but he has refused to apologise.During an interview with Conservative Home’s The Moggcast, Mr Rees-Mogg was asked about the suggestion that he was the person who initially handed the PM the idea for the Savile remark.He said: “That isn’t my recollection.“What was going on at the time was a very noisy chamber and people were shouting things out.“I think it came from behind us, but it seemed to me a perfectly fair point to use.”Pressed on whether he was sure it did not come from him, the senior Tory replied: “I certainly mentioned the point about journalists in the back and forth across the chamber, but I think it came from behind both of us.“I wasn’t sitting next to the Prime Minister, so I wasn’t in a particularly good position to be feeding him lines.”At least six Tory MPs – including one former Cabinet minister – have called for Mr Johnson to formally apologise for the remarks. His long-standing ally Munira Mirza quit as head of policy at No 10 last week in protest at his refusal to withdraw what she called a “scurrilous accusation”.Although Sir Keir was head of the Crown Prosecution Service in 2009 when a decision was taken not to prosecute Savile, he had no personal involvement in the deliberations.However, supporters of the prime minister argue that they are entitled to hold him to account for the failings of the organisation.Mr Rees-Mogg, during the podcast interview – which was recorded on Monday, before his ministerial job change – likened the situation with Sir Keir to the Crichel Down affair, in which a minister resigned after taking responsibility for actions taken by civil servants.“You are responsible for what goes on within your department, even if you don’t know about it at the point at which it takes place,” Mr Rees-Mogg said. More

The Tory MP at the centre of Islamophobia allegations now has a role overseeing parliament’s complaints system, following Boris Johnson’s reshuffle.Mark Spencer, who was chief whip, was made Leader of the House of Commons on Tuesday, replacing Jacob Rees-Mogg.Among the responsibilities of the job is “upholding the rights and interests of the backbench members of the House”, according to the government’s own description.The Commons leader is the custodian of the complaints system, as well as all standards-related matters. But Mr Spencer was last month criticised after a fellow Tory MP claimed he told her the fact she was a Muslim was making colleagues uncomfortable.She says the whip indicated that this was why she was sacked as minister.Boris Johnson launched a Cabinet investigation into the matter, which relates to an exchange which occurred in March 2020. Mr Spencer has no role in this inquiry.Asked whether Mr Spencer’s appointment was inappropriate, given the ongoing investigation into his alleged comments to Ms Ghani, Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said: “There is an investigation ongoing to establish the facts of what happened and that’s being carried out in line with due process.”It’s right that we need to allow that investigation to conclude without pre-empting it or drawing conclusions whilst that work is ongoing.”Apparently acknowledging Mr Spencer’s promotion, Ms Ghani on Tuesday reposted a statement she had first issued on 24 January when the inquiry was launched.”As I said to the prime minister last night, all I want is for this to be taken seriously and for him to investigate,” she said.”I welcome his decision to do that now. The terms of reference of the inquiry must include all that was said in Downing Street and by the Whip. I look forward to seeing the terms of reference.”The former chief whip says Ms Ghani was invited to use the internal Tory complaints procedure at the time the comments were made but that she declined to do so.On 22 January Mr Spencer said: “To ensure other Whips are not drawn into this matter, I am identifying myself as the person Nusrat Ghani MP has made claims about this evening.”These accusations are completely false and I consider them to be defamatory. I have never used those words attributed to me.”It is disappointing that when this issue was raised before Ms Ghani declined to refer the matter to the Conservative Party for a formal investigation.”I provided evidence to the Singh Investigation into Islamophobia which concluded that there was no credible basis for the claims.”Parliament and government’s overlapping complaints and standards systems have come under scrutiny in recent months following a series of sleaze allegations, including over lobbying and poor behaviour by MPs. More

The Downing Street operation to save Boris Johnson’s job was mistakenly referred to as “Operation Shag a Dog” in the Commons amid confusion over nicknames and accents.It follows The Independent’s exclusive story from last month revealing that the No 10 scheme to sack top officials had been dubbed “Operation Save Big Dog” by the prime minister himself.Labour MP Jim McMahon, opening a debate on the cost of living, said the government was “too busy saving the job” of the PM to get on with the job of running the country.The shadow environment secretary said: “Operation Shaggy Dog in full force. I think it is absolutely outrageous.”Mishearing Mr McMahon’s northern accent, Conservative MP Jerome Mayhew said: “I think the operation wasn’t called Operation Shag a Dog … perhaps he would care to correct that.”Amid laughter and head-shaking in the chamber, deputy Commons speaker Nigel Evans said: “I heard shaggy dog – I am sure everybody heard shaggy dog.”One MP from the Labour benches said: “Learn to speak Northern.”Mr McMahon replied he was “of course referring to the Dulux dog”, from the paint company advertisements.In another tense exchange on Tuesday, MP Lee Anderson called Ian Lavery a “coward” in the Commons after the Labour MP ignored several requests from the Tory to give way.The Labour MP was making a speech on the “grotesque inequality in this country”, calling poverty and hunger a “political choice”, as he contrasted rising yacht sales and other signs of wealth with poverty.The Conservative MP for Ashfield made a number of attempts to intervene, asking Mr Lavery to give way and allow him the opportunity to rise and make a point in the House. Mr Anderson could then be heard saying the word “coward” from a seated position.Following objections from Labour MPs, the deputy Speaker said “please withdraw that word”, and Mr Anderson responded: “I’m sure the honourable member is not a coward.”Meanwhile, Jacob Rees-Mogg said he did not recollect feeding Mr Johnson the discredited smear attack about Sir Keir Starmer “failing” to prosecute Jimmy Savile.Asked about a report in the Sunday Times that suggested he gave the PM the idea for using the line in the Commons last week, the new Brexit opportunities minister told ConservativeHome’s podcast: “That isn’t my recollection.Mr Rees-Mogg added: “I think it came from behind us, but it seemed to me a perfectly fair point to use.”Pressed on whether he was sure it did not come from him, the cabinet minister replied: “I wasn’t sitting next to the prime minister, so I wasn’t in a particularly good position to be feeding him lines.” More