UK Politics

The government has said it could use its new Brexit “freedoms” to ditch planned EU car safety regulations.The UK was involved in drawing up the General Safety Regulations, which include higher standards for cars and lorries to make them less deadly for pedestrians.But ministers have now said they could “capitalise on our regulatory freedoms” and decide not to implement the safety measures after all. The regulations include requirements to build buses and lorries with better lines of sight so that they are less likely to accidentally crush pedestrians and cyclists – known as the Direct Vision Standard.They also require cars and vans to have advanced emergency braking systems to help prevent collisions, go through more comprehensive crash tests, and include design changes to prevent head injuries for pedestrians and cyclists. The regulations were finalised while Britain was still in the EU but because they are being phased in they did not automatically apply to Britain.But asked whether the UK planned to go ahead with the regulations, transport minister Trudy Harrison, said no decision had been made.Campaigners urged the government not to ditch the new rules and said they would save lives.Jason Wakeford, head of campaigns at Brake, the road safety charity, told The Independent: “The EU proposals, which the UK helped to shape prior to Brexit, provide the biggest leap forward for road safety this century – perhaps even since the introduction of the seat belt. “We urge the UK Government to commit to adopting these lifesaving regulations, helping reduce needless deaths and serious injuries on British roads.”Stephen Edwards, interim chief executive of Living Streets said: “Pedestrians cause the least amount of road danger but are often left paying the price on our roads, accounting for a quarter of all road deaths. We need the highest standards for vehicle safety to reduce the number of lives lost each year. “If we want people to choose cleaner and healthier ways to travel, then we need to improve safety. This means the highest standards for vehicle safety alongside measures that protect pedestrians, including lower speed limits, more effective crossings and better street maintenance.” Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrats’ transport spokesperson, said: “I’m sure that when the Tories to promised to ‘take back control’ people didn’t think it meant more dangerous roads and less safe cars.”The Direct Vision standards for lorries and buses included in the EU package were first developed by Transport for London – and then adopted by Brussels. Some Brexiteers in government and the Tory party have spoken out at what they see as foot-dragging by the government on ditching EU rules. Lord Frost, who negotiated the Brexit deal, articulated the view last year when he said that Britain would only make a success of Brexit if pushed ahead with a low-tax economy that focused on deregulation.Last week ministers promised a bonfire of Brexit freedoms cut “cut £1 billion of red tape” for British businesses.In a written answer to a parliamentary question, transport minister Ms Harrison said: “The package of European measures known as the General Safety Regulation includes vehicle construction requirements covering pedestrian safety and a range of additional new technologies. “The Department for Transport was involved in developing these requirements, but as they apply from July 2022 it will be for the Government to decide whether to mandate the same systems in GB. No decision has yet been taken.”The UK’s departure from the EU provides Government with the platform to capitalise on our regulatory freedoms. The vehicle safety provisions included in the EU’s General Safety Regulation are currently under consideration. Government will implement requirements that are appropriate for GB and where they improve road safety.” More

Rishi Sunak has delayed a crucial plan to confront the huge NHS patient backlog because he believes Boris Johnson’s government is “dying”, a health chief says.Matthew Taylor, the head of the NHS Confederation, made the extraordinary claim after the “elective recovery plan” – due to be unveiled by the prime minister and the health secretary on Monday – was shelved suddenly.Sajid Javid, the health secretary, blamed the fallout from the surge in Covid infections from the Omicron variant for the delay to the strategy to cut the waiting list of 6 million people.But Mr Taylor, head of the No 10 policy unit under Tony Blair, said the episode was reminiscent of Gordon Brown throwing his weight around as Mr Blair’s power waned.“Increasingly getting the sense that Johnson now faces the same (but more intense and short term) challenge TB had in his third term,” the NHS Confederation chief executive tweeted.“Namely that HMT [Her Majesty’s Treasury] is loath to agree to any No 10 plans involving money as the ChX [chancellor] sees these as opportunistic and wasted on a dying administration.”The claim comes as Mr Sunak is accused of being “on manoeuvres”, following his criticisms of the prime minister over the Partygate scandal and the Jimmy Saville smear of Keir Starmer.Before that, the chancellor – the favourite to take over if Mr Johnson is toppled – has clashed repeatedly with No 10 over tax and other policies.Treasury sources have briefed that Mr Sunak was unwilling to sign off on the multi-billion pound NHS recovery plan because its targets are ill-conceived.The chancellor appears to fear that the plan will target very long waits – which attract the worst headlines – over patients who have waited less time, but need treatment more urgently.The clash comes as Mr Johnson attempts to prop up his government with further changes at No 10, but as more Tory MPs demand a no-confidence vote in his leadership.Mr Taylor told BBC Radio 4 that the strategy for clearing the backlog, which will take at least three years, must be made on “rational, objective grounds”.“Clearly in any situation where the government is under political pressure, these things tend to get politicised both in the outside world and in Whitehall.”Mr Javid denied the Treasury had held up his plan, insisting: “There has been no argument – there has been a very active discussion.”He told BBC Breakfast: “The plan has been delayed, but it’s been delayed by Omicron,” calling the Treasury “an excellent partner”.But he pointed to the need “when you publish something so ambitious and important that you make sure that, across the government, everything is agreed and that everyone is behind the plan”. More

Boris Johnson is “fighting a losing battle” in his efforts to recover with voters from the Partygate scandal, according to one of the country’s top polling experts.While the prime minister tries to win back support from Tory MPs with changes within No 10, Sir John Curtice told The Independent that public opinion had hardened against him in recent weeks in a way that was “very difficult to reverse”.The political scientist said a high proportion of Conservative voters “don’t believe what he is saying”, and revealed that his own analysis of recent surveys shows that 41 per cent of Tory voters at the last election think Mr Johnson should resign.“When two-fifths of the people who voted for him in 2019 think he should go – that’s pretty striking, substantial stuff,” said the University of Strathclyde expert.It comes as former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith raised doubts that Mr Johnson could recover after losing the electorate’s trust. “When you lose [trust], it’s a very difficult task to get it back,” he told the BBC.However, Sir Iain urged colleagues not to submit letter of no-confidence and plunge the party into the “internecine warfare” of a leadership contest while the government had to focus on the cost of living crisis.The senior Tory figure also told challengers to “temper their ambition”, in an apparent warning to chancellor Rishi Sunak and others thought to be considering leadership bids.Cabinet minister Kwasi Kwarteng issued a strong defence of the prime minister during media interviews on Sunday, as No 10 desperately tries to shore up backbench support following the appointment of Cabinet Office minister Steve Barclay as No 10 chief of staff.The business secretary rejected a claim made by senior Tory Sir Charles Walker that it was now “inevitable” Mr Johnson would be ousted, and urged MPs to give Mr Johnson “time and space” to deliver on promises of a reset.Mr Kwarteng also dismissed “feverish speculation” about the number of no-confidence letters submitted by MPs to 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady, following a report that the PM’s own shadow whipping team believes that at least 35 letters have already been sent.No 10 is braced for the possibility that the threshold of 54 letters will be hit soon, triggering an immediate vote on Mr Johnson’s leadership, as wavering backbenchers still angry over parties weigh up whether the prime minister can possibly recover his party’s standing in the polls.In an interview with The Independent, Sir John pointed to the latest Opinium poll showing that 75 per cent of 2019 Conservative voters think Mr Johnson broke his own Covid rules – and 61 per cent of Tory voters do not believe he is telling the truth about parties.“A high proportion of Tory voters believe he broke the rules and they don’t believe what he is saying – this is a real problem for him,” said Sir John. “The question becomes, what will they believe him on in future?”The expert added: “Political parties can recover from electoral trouble. But leaders rarely recover, once a leader becomes very unpopular. It’s very difficult to reverse.“So far, Boris Johnson is fighting a losing battle in persuading people that he did not break the rules … The art of rhetoric, at which he is brilliant, may not be sufficient to enable him to restore his reputation.”Sir John said Mr Johnson’s appeal with voters had been badly damaged not only by stories about parties at No 10, but the PM’s own explanation that he thought he was attending a “work event” at the “bring your own booze” garden gathering in May 2020.“We know from the Barnard Castle episode that people regard rule-breakers during a public health crisis with a great deal of moral disapprobation. The phrase ‘work event’ has entered the lexicon in the same way Barnard Castle did,” the polling expert said.The most recent surveys by YouGov, Savanta ComRes and Ipsos MORI put Labour’s lead at between six and nine points respectively. Sir John said polling shows that the Tory vote in red wall seats has “plummeted by exactly the same proportion” as the rest of the country.Tory peer Gavin Barwell, who served as chief of staff to Theresa May, said on Sunday that there was a “strong case for change” at No 10 – but warned MPs that there was “not a chance in hell that the prime minister is going to voluntarily resign”.Lord Barwell told Sky News: “My inclination is that the Conservative Party would be better making a change and I also think, for the good of the country in terms of trust and faith in our politics … But it’s not up to me to make a decision.”The peer also raised questions about how much difference the appointment of Mr Barclay as his chief of staff, and journalist Guto Harri as his director of communications, would make to his operations.Lord Barwell said Mr Barclay would have to find “a different way” to do the job despite his other duties, but added: “There’s only so much different advisers can make if the person at the top is not actually listening to the advice that we’re giving.”Comments made by Mr Harri criticising Mr Johnson also surfaced on Sunday. The new No 10 spin doctor said back in 2018 that he would be a “hugely divisive figure” if he became Tory leader and also referred to him being “sexually incontinent”.The new communications chief also told the BBC’s Newscast podcast in recent weeks that he PM had “weaknesses” to cover and had “always underestimated how critical it is to have a fantastic team around him”.Meanwhile, No 10 fears Mr Johnson’s former strategist-turned-nemesis Dominic Cummings could blog new evidence about the funding of his flat this week, according to a report in the Sunday Times.Mr Cummings was said to have established WhatsApp groups across Whitehall for people to send him information about any “unethical or incompetent behaviour” by Mr Johnson. More

Boris Johnson is “fighting a losing battle” in his efforts to recover with voters from the Partygate scandal, according to one of the country’s top polling experts.While the prime minister tries to win back support from Tory MPs with changes within No 10, Sir John Curtice told The Independent that public opinion had hardened against him in recent weeks in a way that was “very difficult to reverse”.The political scientist said a high proportion of Conservative voters “don’t believe what he is saying”, and revealed that his own analysis of recent surveys shows that 41 per cent of Tory voters at the last election think Mr Johnson should resign.“When two-fifths of the people who voted for him in 2019 think he should go – that’s pretty striking, substantial stuff,” said the University of Strathclyde expert.It comes as former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith raised doubts that Mr Johnson could recover after losing the electorate’s trust. “When you lose [trust], it’s a very difficult task to get it back,” he told the BBC.However, Sir Iain urged colleagues not to submit letter of no-confidence and plunge the party into the “internecine warfare” of a leadership contest while the government had to focus on the cost of living crisis.The senior Tory figure also told challengers to “temper their ambition”, in an apparent warning to chancellor Rishi Sunak and others thought to be considering leadership bids.Cabinet minister Kwasi Kwarteng issued a strong defence of the prime minister during media interviews on Sunday, as No 10 desperately tries to shore up backbench support following the appointment of Cabinet Office minister Steve Barclay as No 10 chief of staff.The business secretary rejected a claim made by senior Tory Sir Charles Walker that it was now “inevitable” Mr Johnson would be ousted, and urged MPs to give Mr Johnson “time and space” to deliver on promises of a reset.Mr Kwarteng also dismissed “feverish speculation” about the number of no-confidence letters submitted by MPs to 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady, following a report that the PM’s own shadow whipping team believes that at least 35 letters have already been sent.No 10 is braced for the possibility that the threshold of 54 letters will be hit soon, triggering an immediate vote on Mr Johnson’s leadership, as wavering backbenchers still angry over parties weigh up whether the prime minister can possibly recover his party’s standing in the polls.In an interview with The Independent, Sir John pointed to the latest Opinium poll showing that 75 per cent of 2019 Conservative voters think Mr Johnson broke his own Covid rules – and 61 per cent of Tory voters do not believe he is telling the truth about parties.“A high proportion of Tory voters believe he broke the rules and they don’t believe what he is saying – this is a real problem for him,” said Sir John. “The question becomes, what will they believe him on in future?”The expert added: “Political parties can recover from electoral trouble. But leaders rarely recover, once a leader becomes very unpopular. It’s very difficult to reverse.“So far, Boris Johnson is fighting a losing battle in persuading people that he did not break the rules … The art of rhetoric, at which he is brilliant, may not be sufficient to enable him to restore his reputation.”Sir John said Mr Johnson’s appeal with voters had been badly damaged not only by stories about parties at No 10, but the PM’s own explanation that he thought he was attending a “work event” at the “bring your own booze” garden gathering in May 2020.“We know from the Barnard Castle episode that people regard rule-breakers during a public health crisis with a great deal of moral approbation. The phrase ‘work event’ has entered the lexicon in the same way Barnard Castle did,” the polling expert said.The most recent surveys by YouGov, Savanta ComRes and Ipsos MORI put Labour’s lead at between six and nine points respectively. Sir John said polling shows that the Tory vote in red wall seats has “plummeted by exactly the same proportion” as the rest of the country.Tory peer Gavin Barwell, who served as chief of staff to Theresa May, said on Sunday that there was a “strong case for change” at No 10 – but warned MPs that there was “not a chance in hell that the prime minister is going to voluntarily resign”.Lord Barwell told Sky News: “My inclination is that the Conservative Party would be better making a change and I also think, for the good of the country in terms of trust and faith in our politics … But it’s not up to me to make a decision.”The peer also raised questions about how much difference the appointment of Mr Barclay as his chief of staff, and journalist Guto Harri as his director of communications, would make to his operations.Lord Barwell said Mr Barclay would have to find “a different way” to do the job despite his other duties, but added: “There’s only so much different advisers can make if the person at the top is not actually listening to the advice that we’re giving.”Comments made by Mr Harri criticising Mr Johnson also surfaced on Sunday. The new No 10 spin doctor said back in 2018 that he would be a “hugely divisive figure” if he became Tory leader and also referred to him being “sexually incontinent”.The new communications chief also told the BBC’s Newscast podcast in recent weeks that he PM had “weaknesses” to cover and had “always underestimated how critical it is to have a fantastic team around him”.Meanwhile, No 10 fears Mr Johnson’s former strategist-turned-nemesis Dominic Cummings could blog new evidence about the funding of his flat this week, according to a report in the Sunday Times.Mr Cummings was said to have established WhatsApp groups across Whitehall for people to send him information about any “unethical or incompetent behaviour” by Mr Johnson. More

Boris Johnson’s has been urged to crackdown on a loophole which could allow post-Brexit freeports being used to launder dirty money, as peers move to stop illicit finance from Russia and elsewhere.Eight English ports are to be granted tax breaks by the government in a bid to generate more trade after the UK’s exit from the EU.The Liberal Democrats are attempting to amend the government’s tax bill to stop freeports extending the “London laundromat” across the country.Tabled by Lib Dem peer Baroness Susan Kramer, it would mean freeports could only qualify for tax relief if they establish a public register of business owners operating there.It comes as Labour urged the government to crackdown on illicit finance and called on the Conservative to return donations “from those who have made money from Russia or have alleged links to the Putin regime”.Transparency International UK and other anti-corruption groups have previously warned that the government’s plan to expand freeports pose a major risk of money laundering.Although the governing bodies bidding to establish a freeport currently have to set up a register of beneficial ownership, it doesn’t have to be made public – raising fears that “Kremlin-linked oligarchs” and kleptocrats from elsewhere could exploit the ports.Peers will vote on Monday on Baroness Kramer’s move to close the loophole. She told The Independent: “We risk opening our doors even further to Kremlin-linked oligarchs at the moment when we should be putting a stop to this interference.”Urging the government to get behind her amendment to the National Insurance Contributions Bill, and claiming cross-party support for the move, she said: “Freeports must not become a hotbed for criminal activity and money laundering.”Baroness Kramer added: “The sunlight of transparency will act as a deterrent to Russian oligarchs and others who want to flood their dirty money into this country.”Meanwhile, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves wrote to government ministers urging a crackdown on illicit finance. The pair said it was “shameful” for Britain to be described as “the money-laundering capital of the world”.Sir Keir Starmer’s party wants to see a new registration scheme for foreign agents, the rules on political donations tightened up and reform to Companies House registration to prevent fraud.Mr Lammy and Ms Reeves wrote to foreign secretary Liz Truss and chancellor Rishi Sunak, saying: “We believe we must take a broad range of robust steps to address these deficiencies and the Conservatives must do more including with the donations it receives.”Tory ministers have argued that only individuals with British citizenship are allowed to make donations to parties, and are properly registered with the Electoral Commission.Earlier this week Treasury minister Simon Clarke denied the idea that the UK was compromised by suspected dirty Russian money, claiming British politics was “fundamentally clean”.Mr Clarke said: “No-one has taken money from the Russians. Let’s be very clear about this. One needs to be a UK national to make a donation. Any such donations are declared and properly scrutinised.”The government has been under pressure to set out its plan to tackle the influx of dirty money after Tory peer Lord Agnew – who dramatically quit as efficiency tsar – claimed ministers had rejected the chance to put forward anti-fraud legislation.And Tory MP John Penrose warned it would be “about as popular as a cup of cold sick” if a long-awaited Economic Crime Bill was delayed or ditched following reports it was being kicked into the long grass.Challenged on the issue at PMQs this week, the prime minister promised it would be brought forward in the third session of this parliament, set to begin as early as May. More

Cabinet minister Kwasi Kwarteng has denied that Carrie Johnson has “undue” influence at No 10, as details from Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft’s upcoming biography of the prime minister’s wife appear in the press.According to details from the book published in the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, Mr Johnson allegedly voiced frustration at the way his wife tried to exert influence over the running of No 10.Downing Street has rejected claims contained within the book, while culture secretary Nadine Dorries condemned the attacks on Ms Johnson.Mr Kwarteng said it was clear that Ms Johnson had “political views” – but dismissed the idea she had too much say at Downing Street.“Carrie is a really strong supporter of the prime minister. She has political views, like many people, and she’s allowed to have those views,” the business secretary told Times Radio.The minister added: “Contrary to what I’ve read about the Ashcroft book … the reportage is that somehow she has got undue influence – I don’t think that is true. The prime minister has been in politics for 25 years and has a pretty strong set of ideas.”Asked if there was an element of sexism to questions over the extent of her influence, Mr Kwarteng said: “I wouldn’t say that. But it’s interesting that when the spouse is someone in their thirties and has got open positions that are well-known, people feel free to criticise them.”Asked what he meant by “interesting”, the minister replied: “Well, I don’t think it’s sexist. I’m not going to go down the route of saying, ‘Oh well it’s sexist’. But her views are under scrutiny in a way that perhaps other prime minister’s spouses weren’t.”Lord Ashcroft’s book First Lady: Intrigue at the Court of Carrie and Boris Johnson is set to be released next month as the PM fights to save his premiership amid the Partygate scandal.A Downing Street has said the book contains claims which are untrue. Ms Dorries has also accused Mr Johnson’s opponents, including former No 10 staff, of trying to smear his wife in a bid to oust him.The culture secretary said the claims had been made “by vengeful and mendacious men who were once employees in No 10 and is an insight into their warped minds.”Lord Ashcroft responded: “Only a fraction of the book has been published so far. Taken as a whole, it is fair, objective and meticulously researched.”Ms Johnson’s friend Henry Newman is reportedly set to leave No 10 as part of the shake-up in staff and operations, as the prime minister tries to convince backbenchers his premiership can be reset. More

Boris Johnson was right to claim crime has fallen despite a rebuke from the official statistics watchdog, the business secretary has suggested.Kwasi Kwarteng defended the prime minister for leaving out the rise in fraud cases when he made his inaccurate claim in the Commons – suggesting that voters did not consider fraud a crime affecting their “day-to-day lives”.The cabinet minister said Mr Johnson was referring to “personal injury and crime in relation to individuals” when he told MPs that the government had been “cutting crime by 14 per cent”.Mr Kwarteng told the BBC: “The point the prime minister was making is that crime that people experience in their day-to-day lives … in terms of burglary, in terms of physical injury, has gone down and that’s absolutely right.”Labour MP Chris Bryant, chair of the select committee on standards, tweeted: “I can understand why Tories don’t want people to think fraud counts as crime.”It followed a Home Office press release which said latest data showed “crime continues to fall under this government”, quoting home secretary Priti Patel as saying it demonstrated the Government’s approach “is working”.The government had been placed under investigation by the UK Statistics Authority after receiving complaints about the claim.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 Office for National Statistics said last week.The figures also showed police recorded the highest number of rapes and sexual offences in a 12-month period, while separate Home Office data detailed how the proportion of suspects being taken to court has fallen to a new record low and remains the lowest for rape cases.In a letter to Alistair Carmichael the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman who raised the issue, UK Statistics Authority boss Sir David Norgrove said the government had presented crime figures in a “misleading way”.But appearing on the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme, Mr Kwarteng said he did not know “what the evidence is” for the PM’s claim not being true. “All I know is certainly on the doorstep, people are saying that there is progress being made,” he said.It comes after the minister who was responsible for tackling fraud, Lord Agnew, dramatically quit the Government over the “schoolboy” handling of fraudulent Covid-19 business loans.In the letter to Mr Carmichael, Sir David said: “In this case, the Home Office news release presented the latest figures in a misleading way.“Likewise, the prime minister referred to a 14% reduction in crime … This figure also excludes fraud and computer misuse, though the prime minister did not make that clear.“If fraud and computer misuse are counted in total crime as they should be, total crime in fact increased by 14% between the year ending September 2019 and the year ending September 2021.”The watchdog works to “promote and safeguard official statistics”, and can intervene if it considers a politician or government department has misused or misrepresented figures.Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Suggesting that fraud is a lesser crime not experienced by people in their day-to-day lives is shamefully out of touch and disrespectful to victims across the country, scammed by dangerous criminals and losing hard-earned life savings. More

Iain Duncan Smith warns challengers to ‘temper ambition’ against Boris JohnsonIt is now “inevitable” that Conservative MPs will remove Boris Johnson from No 10 over the Partygate scandal, former 1922 Committee vice-chair Sir Charles Walker has said – as a Tory peer warned there was “not a chance in hell” the PM would resign of his own accord.As one MP urged his colleagues to “get on with it”, some Tory rebels expressed fears that a no confidence vote triggered “accidentally” too soon could see the prime minister remain in office for at least another 12 months.The warnings came as Mr Johnson announced two new appointments to Downing Street in an attempt to fill the void that had been left by five resignations in the space of 24 hours, with Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay becoming the PM’s chief of staff and former BBC journalist Guto Harri take the role of director of communications.Meanwhile, No 10 insiders warned that the increasingly isolated PM was becoming “unpredictable and erratic”, as his Cabinet appeared to fall into squabbles with reports that multiple ministers had accused Rishi Sunak of being “on manoeuvres” for the leadership – and called on Mr Johnson to sack his chancellor.Show latest update

1644158827UK needs to shift to renewables to protect from energy crises, MPs and experts sayAs the country faces a huge rise in energy prices when Ofgem’s cap is increased at the start of April, MPs and experts have told The Independent that the UK must shift to renewables to protect itself against future energy crises – and that the current turmoil should hasten – not delay – the march to net zero.Among them is shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband, who said that a “failure to transition to zero carbon” has made the UK “more vulnerable as a country”.My colleague Zoe Tidman has the full story here:Andy Gregory6 February 2022 14:471644157634Who is Boris Johnson’s new spin doctor?Much of the focus on Boris Johnson’s new Downing Street appointees rests today on Steve Barclay – and how he will manage to juggle his new role as Mr Johnson’s chief of staff with his existing responsibilities.But his appointment of Guto Harri as No 10 director of communications also may have raised a few eyebrows, given the former journalist’s past remarks about Mr Johnson.Mr Harri – a former chief political correspondent at the BBC, who recently made headlines with an acrimonious split from the fledgling GB News channel after taking the knee live on-air – served as a key aide to Mr Johnson while he was mayor of London.But speaking to BBC Radio 4 in 2018, Mr Harri said that while Mr Johnson had been “a huge unifying figure” in his time as mayor of London, he had since “gone the other way” and had “become more tribal, and tribal within the tribe, so that he would now be – if he were to become leader – a hugely divisive figure”.As Mr Johnson’s new spin doctor at a time of fears that public trust in the government has been harmed by the Partygate scandal, Mr Harri will be part of a No 10 operation seeking to restore any lost faith in Downing Street.Andy Gregory6 February 2022 14:271644154816Labour calls on Tories to give back £5m in Russian donationsThe Conservative Party should hand back £5 million in Russia-linked donations it has received over the last decade, Labour said today.Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves also called on the government to crackdown on money being laundered through the City of London.The Conservative government has warned President Vladimir Putin that ministers will target large Russian firms and Kremlin-linked oligarchs with sanctions if he invades Ukraine – a move that could cut off billions of pounds from the City.Mr Lammy went on Sky News and BBC to urge the Tories to lead by example by paying back the donations.Mr Lammy told Sky News: “Many of those individuals made money under Putin’s regime and if you go back to the break-up of the Soviet Union, taking over what were previously national industries,” he said.“The Times today is reporting the sons and daughters of people linked to Putin buying property here in London. “It’s against that backdrop that it’s wrong to change our election law to say that you can have limitless donations. “Of course it’s important that we are completely above board and any money associated with Vladimir Putin and his regime should be given back.”Lamiat Sabin6 February 2022 13:401644153616‘PM did not include fraud’ in his crime claims – Kwarteng suggestsBusiness secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has suggested that PM Boris Johnson did not include rates of fraud when he falsely claimed in the Commons that crime had fallen under his leadership.He said the prime minister was referring to “personal injury and crime in relation to individuals” when he told MPs “we have been cutting crime by 14 per cent”.On the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme, Mr Kwarteng said he did not know “what the evidence is” for the PM’s claim not being true.He said: “I think fraud is really, really important, but people are talking particularly about burglaries, about personal injury, about physical crimes, and I think in that context we’re seeing lower crimes, I think the Prime Minister was right.”Following the interview, Labour MP and chairman of the Commons Committee on Standards Chris Bryant tweeted: “I can understand why Tories don’t want people to think fraud counts as crime.”The government has since been placed under investigation by the UK Statistics Authority after receiving complaints about its claims on cutting crime.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 Office for National Statistics said last week.Figures also show police recorded the highest number of rapes and sexual offences in a 12-month period, while the proportion of suspects being taken to court has fallen to a new record low and remains the lowest for rape cases.Lamiat Sabin6 February 2022 13:201644152500Ex-MEP who claims minister was Islamophobic says he will name individuals if Tories launch probeA former senior Tory MEP claims he overheard a serving minister plotting to use his Muslim faith against him politically – and today calls for the Conservatives to mount an investigation, pledging to name names.Sajjad Karim first raised an Islamophobia allegation more than two years ago but has now publicly shared with The Independent his most detailed account after accusing a party inquiry of excluding him.He claims that despite being told by Tory HQ that he would be contacted by the inquiry into discrimination within Conservative party ranks, its findings – which rejected allegations of institutional Islamophobia – were published last year without his evidence.You can read the full article from our chief reporter Simon Murphy here:Andy Gregory6 February 2022 13:011644151600Critical claims about Carrie Johnson ‘interesting’ but ‘not sexist’, minister suggestsA Cabinet minister has denied that Carrie Johnson has “undue influence – as claimed in Tory peer Lord Ashcroft’s new biography, which has been serialised in the Mail on Sunday this weekend.“The reportage that somehow she’s got undue influence, I don’t think that’s true, the prime minister has been in politics for 25 years and has a pretty strong set of ideas,” Kwasi Kwarteng said.But while the PM is reported to believe the claims are misogynistic, Mr Kwarteng said he did not believe the treatment of Ms Johnson was sexist, saying: “I wouldn’t say that but I do think it’s interesting when the spouse is someone in their 30s and has got open positions that are well known, people feel free to criticise – I think that’s interesting.”Pressed on what he meant by “interesting”, the minister replied: “I don’t think it’s sexist, I’m not going to go down the route of saying it’s sexist but I’m saying her views are under scrutiny in a way that perhaps other prime ministers’ spouses weren’t.”Andy Gregory6 February 2022 12:461644150820My colleague Adam Forrest has more details on Gavin Barwell’s comments this morning.Theresa May’s former chief of staff suggested there is “not a chance in hell” that Boris Johnson will step down of his own accord, as he argued there was a “strong case for change” at the top of government.Andy Gregory6 February 2022 12:331644149696Boris Johnson’s changes at No 10 ‘must be an absolute nightmare’, former civil servant saysJill Rutter, a senior research fellow at the UK in a Changing Europe think-tank, has suggested that Boris Johnson’s modifications to his No 10 operation “must be an absolute nightmare for people who have to make the new moves work inside government”.“Sue Gray told [Mr Johnson] that confused accountabilities was the big problem in No.10 – hard to see how these moves make them clearer and a big risk they make them much, much worse,” the former civil servant said.Laying out a number of complexities arising from the appointment of Steve Barclay as his new chief of staff, Ms Rutter said: “We have to assume PM had though through all these questions before he decided that this was the structure he wanted.”Andy Gregory6 February 2022 12:141644147948Tory Party must give Boris Johnson ‘time and space to lead’, minister saysHighlighting the majority secured by Boris Johnson at the 2019 election, the business secretary has told Times Radio: “It’s the job of Cabinet ministers and the parliamentary party to give him time and space to lead.”Asked if he would offer support to a colleague who was on leadership manoeuvres, Kwasi Kwarteng said: “I’d say we should be backing the prime minister to deliver on our manifesto, which we were all elected on.”Mr Kwarteng said nobody knows how many letters of no confidence have been submitted, adding: “My own view is that we’re probably not that near the letters [threshold] but I don’t know – until we reach that point I think it’s idle speculation.”Members of the PM’s shadow whipping operation believe that at least 35 letters have already been submitted to the 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady, according to the Sunday Times – as the PM enters the “danger zone” close to the 54 letters required to trigger a vote.But the PM’s allies are said to suspect the number is likely closer to 45, while some MPs reportedly believe the figure could already be more than 50.Andy Gregory6 February 2022 11:451644146467Here was the moment business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng sought to defend Boris Johnson’s Jimmy Savile jibe against Sir Keir Starmer as “perfectly reasonable”.Boris Johnson’s Savile remarks ‘perfectly reasonable’, says business ministerAndy Gregory6 February 2022 11:21 More