UK Politics

Boris Johnson’s policy chief has quit because of his attempted smear of Keir Starmer over Jimmy Savile’s crimes, in a devastating blow to his authority.Munira Mirza condemned “an inappropriate and partisan reference to a horrendous case of child sex abuse”, in a resignation letter.“I believe it was wrong for you to imply this week that Keir Starmer was personally responsible for allowing Jimmy Savile to escape justice,” she has written, in a letter revealed by The Spectator.“There was no fair or reasonable basis for that assertion. This was not the usual cut and thrust of politics.”Meanwhile, chancellor Rishi Sunak distanced himself from Johnson’s remark, telling a press conference in London that he would not have accused Sir Keir of failing to prosecute Savile, as the prime minister did in the House of Commons on Monday.“Being honest, I wouldn’t have said it, and I’m glad the prime minister clarified what he meant,” said the chancellor, who is viewed as most likely to inherit the keys of 10 Downing Street if Mr Johnson is toppled.But he insisted he continues to back the PM, saying: “He has my support and I’m glad that he is doing what he is doing.”Asked about Ms Mirza’s departure, Mr Sunak said: “She was a valued colleague and I very much enjoyed working with her and I am very sorry to see her leave government.The blow is enormous because Mr Johnson once hailed Ms Mirza as one of the five women who have most inspired him, after 14 years of service.The resignation was quickly described as “an unmistakeable signal the bunker is collapsing & this PM is finished”, by Dominic Cummings, in a tweet.Nikki da Costa, a former Downing Street director of legislative affairs, said: “Munira was the very best of No10 – this is a huge loss.”The resignation also derails the so-called “dead cat strategy”, which has often seen Mr Johnson make outrageous statements to distract public attention from criticism of him.And it is likely to trigger further letters demanding a no-confidence vote from Tory MPs angry at the smear, revealing further turmoil in an already-chaotic No 10 – still reeling from the Partygate scandal.The bombshell comes despite the prime minister being forced to finally retract his false claim that Sir Keir “failed to prosecute” Savile, while director of public prosecutions.In her letter, the former close aide reveals she had urged Mr Johnson to go further – by apologising for the slur – something he failed to do, on a visit to Blackpool.Ms Mirza has written: “You tried to clarify your position today but, despite my urging, you did not apologise for the misleading impression you gave.”‘You are a better man than many of your detractors will ever understand which is why it is so desperately sad that you let yourself down by making a scurrilous accusation against the leader of the Opposition.”Mr Johnson had rebuffed growing pressure from Tory MPs to retract the allegations, doubling down in the Commons – even after Sir Keir accused him of “parroting fascists”.The claim is false because, although Sir Keir was the head of the Crown Prosecution Service at the time of Savile’s crimes, he was not the reviewing lawyer for the case.Ms Mirza has been as one of Mr Johnson’s most loyal aides, having worked with him since his days as Mayor of London and surviving the infighting in No 10 in recent years.Even in her resignation letter, she praises him as “a man of extraordinary abilities with a unique talent for connecting with people”, The Spectator said.Downing Street announced the appointment of the MP Andrew Griffith as her replacement, saying: “We are very sorry Munira has left No 10 and are grateful for her service and contribution to government.” More

Jacob Rees-Mogg has been accused of spreading a “harmful clinical falsehood” about morning-after pills during a parliamentary debate.The Tory Commons leader was urged to correct the record after he likened the emergency contraceptives to an abortion on Thursday.He had been asked to make parliamentary time for a discussion about “proper funding and accessibility for women’s contraception and health services”.But in response to the question from Labour’s Diana Johnson Mr Rees-Mogg replied: “The right honourable lady cannot expect me to speak in favour of abortifacients.”Mr Mogg said in 2017 that he was “completely opposed” to abortion including in cases of rape or incest.After the debate Dame Diana raised a point of order with the Speaker, stating: “The World Health Organisation say that emergency contraception pills prevent pregnancy by prevention or delaying of ovulation and they do no induce an abortion.”Emergency contraception cannot interrupt an established pregnancy or harm a developing embryo.”How can I ensure that the Leader of the House corrects the record, as what he said I think is a harmful clinical falsehood and I am sure does not represent the Government’s policy?”In response, deputy speaker Dame Eleanor Laing said: “It is open to her to simply ask the minister to correct the record.”It does appear to me that if there is a factual inaccuracy in the matter to which she has just referred, it is rather an important matter and one in which I would judge that anything that is said in this chamber ought to be 100 per cent correct, because it is not a matter on which we should allow people who will be affected by it to be misled, and that the facts ought to be straight.”The morning after pill is considered to be a contraceptive medicine because it prevents conception, rather than a method of aborting a pregnancy.Superdrug’s Online Doctor website defines the difference as follows: “The morning-after pill is emergency contraception that stops the egg inside your body from being fertilised. When taken correctly, the morning-after pill prevents a pregnancy from taking place. An abortion is a termination of an egg that’s already been fertilised.” More

Northern Ireland’s government is on the verge of collapse over Brexit port checks, as the EU accuses the UK of another breach of international law.Paul Givan, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) first minister, is expected to resign as early as Thursday – a move that will also force Michelle O’Neill, his Sinn Fein deputy out of office.Although the rest of the Stormont Executive could remain in place, it could not take significant decisions, preventing the coalition from agreeing a crucial three-year budget.A planned official state apology by Mr Givan and Ms O’Neill to victims of historic institutional abuse, scheduled for next month, would also have to be pulled.The turmoil comes after the DUP unilaterally announced a halt to Brexit port food checks, in an apparent breach of the Northern Ireland Protocol and EU Withdrawal Agreement.The European Commission immediately accused the UK of breaking the agreement – despite the Westminster government’s attempt to distance itself from the decision.“I’m not sure what the purpose of this move is. It’s an absolute breach of international law,” Mairead McGuinness, the Commissioner for financial stability told RTE radio.In the Commons, Ian Paisley Jr, a DUP MP warned: “We are moments away from the collapse of the Northern Ireland executive.”The latest crisis has been prompted by Edwin Poots, Stormont’s DUP agriculture minister, announcing a halt to the checks from midnight on Wednesday – despite Sinn Fein opposition.Despite the order, it appeared that the SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) inspections on goods from Britain are continuing, amid legal uncertainty over the move.The suspension is being seen by many as an attempt by the DUP to boost its fading popularity ahead of crucial elections to Stormont, in May.Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, argued: “This is a decision that the minister in Northern Ireland has taken” – denying it was a “stitch-up” between the government and the DUP.The claim that the devolved government has sovereignty on the issue made some question the basis on which the government took Remain-voting Northern Ireland out of the EU in the first place.The FDA union for civil servants urged ministers to ensure its members are not dragged into a political battle over the legality of the DUP’s instruction.“Civil servants have an obligation to uphold the rule of law,” said general secretary Dave Penman.“In contentious areas of legal dispute such as this, ministers have an obligation to protect the political impartiality of the civil service, rather than upping the stakes for their own political agenda.”Boris johnson’s spokesman suggested he wants checks to continue, saying: “We certainly weren’t aware this was an approach the DUP would take.”Senior DUP figures are meeting later to confirm the timing of Mr Givan’s resignation statement, which could come as early as Thursday.In the Commons, George Eustice, the environment secretary, rebuffed calls to use the 1998 Northern Ireland Act – giving London power over actions “incompatible with international obligations” – to ensure the checks stay.He told MPs that stage had not been reached, instead urging the Executive to step in and reach a decision that might over-rule Mr Poots. More

A Conservative former home secretary has denounced Boris Johnson’s Jimmy Savile smear as “disgraceful” and “Trumpian” and said she does not believe the prime minister can survive the current crisis at 10 Downing Street.Amber Rudd said that Mr Johnson may even call a no-confidence vote in himself in the hope of securing another 12 months at No 10 by forcing MPs decide before they see the full report into the Partygate scandal.Under Tory party rules, a PM who gets more than half the votes – currently 180 MPs – in a ballot on his or her leadership cannot be challenged again for another year.Ms Rudd told ITV’s Peston that Mr Johnson was wrong to try to distract attention from the Partygate row by raising the 2013 apology which Keir Starmer made as director of public prosecutions for the Crown Prosecution Service’s failure to prosecute paedophile Savile.An official report at the time said Starmer played no part in the decision, but Mr Johnson told the Commons that the Labour leader had failed to take action.Ms Rudd said: “I thought that was a disgraceful thing to say, and I think you’re absolutely right that there are a lot of Conservative MPs to whom that was a step too far and are thinking that he can’t reform if he’s going to carry on behaving like that.“That is a Trumpian response to try and deflect from himself and use something so outrageous that people will talk about that rather than the big issue.”Ms Rudd said the delay in publication of senior civil servant Sue Gray’s full report while police complete inquiries had won Mr Johnson time.But she added: “In the end that may or may not be a good thing.”Asked if the PM can survive the Partygate scandal, she replied: “I don’t think he can.She said Mr Johnson would now be thinking “strategically” about moves he can make in the coming weeks to increase his chances of remaining leader after the release of the full report and any -penalties imposed by the Metropolitan Police over 12 allegedly lockdown-breaching events.But she said whatever the outcome, voters and MPs have largely made up their minds already whether they want him to stay.“Most people have already made up their mind,” she said. “I think MPs have kind of made up their minds, but they’re waiting – because they’re allowed to wait – for the Sue Gray report or the Met report.“So I think that Boris Johnson will be thinking about whether he should bring forward that no confidence vote.”She added: “When I talk to MPs, Conservative MPs, they are getting a lot of letters, and they’re not the normal standard letters. And also one MP said to me they’re the letters from church wardens: ‘I’ve always voted Tory, but I’m not voting Tory, I can’t vote for you – you’re a lovely MP but I can’t vote for you while that man is in’.” More

Related video: On Wednesday, Johnson refused to retract Savile smear after being accused of ‘parroting fascists’ Boris Johnson admitted today Sir Keir Starmer had “nothing to do” with decisions around the prosecution of Jimmy Savile, backtracking on a smear he made against the Labour leader in the Commons this week. The climbdown will be seen as a further blow to the PM’s position after a number of his own MPs condemned what was said, with former chief whip Julian Smith branding the remarks “false, baseless slurs”. It is thought Mr Johnson will now be urged to issue a full-scale apology. Elsewhere, Paul Givan, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)’s first minister, is reportedly preparing to resign later today, owing to unsolved issues caused by the Northern Ireland protocol. It comes after the party’s agriculture minister, Edwin Poots, instructed officials to halt agri-food checks of goods coming into Northern Ireland from Great Britain last night, in protest at the contested post-Brexit rules. Mairead McGuinness, the EU Commissioner for financial stability, has since described the move as an “absolute breach of international law”.Show latest update

1643899782PM’s Savile smear ‘Trumpian,’ says former Tory ministerDisdain at Boris Johnson isn’t going away following the uproar around his Jimmy Savile remarks this week.A Conservative former home secretary denounced the smear as “disgraceful” and “Trumpian”, and said she does not believe the PM can survive the current crisis at 10 Downing Street.Amber Rudd said that Mr Johnson may even call a no-confidence vote in himself in the hope of securing another 12 months at No 10 by forcing MPs decide before they see the full report into the Partygate scandal.She told ITV’s Peston that Mr Johnson was wrong to try to distract attention from the Partygate row by raising the 2013 apology which Keir Starmer made as director of public prosecutions for the Crown Prosecution Service’s failure to prosecute paedophile Savile.Our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports:Sam Hancock3 February 2022 14:491643899354Government ‘bystanders to crumbling Brexit deal,’ says LabourLet’s hear Labour’s position now, after the party accused Boris Johnson’s government of acting as “bystanders” while their Brexit deal falls apart.Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Peter Kyle told the Commons: “In the last week, both the foreign and Northern Ireland secretaries said the Irish Sea border checks are a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.“The protocol was signed into international law by the UK government, and now they are bystanders as their deal falls apart – pathetically claiming it’s all someone else’s responsibility.”For clarity, he put posited: “Just think of the implications: is the message that Wales’ Senedd or the Scottish parliament can break international law too and the government will have nothing to say about it?”Mr Kyle condemned the last days as “another piece of vandalism committed against our union by a reckless government, too busy partying to notice what’s going on in the real world”.Sam Hancock3 February 2022 14:421643899120Tory MP calls on govt to back its own Brexit agreement The fallout in Northern Ireland has sparked criticism of the government’s ability to back its own Brexit agreement. Conservative former Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith warned the UK “cannot be a country that agrees an agreement and then doesn’t stand behind it”.He told environment secretary George Eustice today that while he supports the government’s negotiations with the EU on improving the protocol, “the British government has to back this letter of 1 April and support those civil servants in Northern Ireland doing the checks”.Mr Eustice swiftly repeated claims that suggest the government does not want to get involved: “We’re not at the position yet of having to consider any kind of direction in the way that he suggests,” he said. “Of course, in the first instance we would all agree that it would be preferable here if the Northern Ireland Executive could reach a resolution to this issue on its own terms and find an ability to discuss it.”Sam Hancock3 February 2022 14:381643898768Watch: Stormont minister orders halt to Brexit checks at Northern Ireland portsStormont minister orders halt to Brexit checks at Northern Ireland portsSam Hancock3 February 2022 14:321643898348UK government distances itself from NI flouting protocol More on the Brexit fallout in Northern now. George Eustice has said it is “entirely unnecessary at this stage” for the UK government to intervene in the nation’s stand against the post-Brexit protocol.It comes after the DUP’s agriculture minister, Edwin Poots, instructed officials to halt agri-food checks of goods coming into Northern Ireland from Great Britain last night.Claiming the checks were still taking place, Mr Eustice told MPs today: “The checks are actually continuing, there is no change at the moment. Yes, a direction has been issued, officials in Daera (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) are taking their own legal advice as accounting officers on elements related to that.“What we very much hope is that in the first instance the implementation of this can indeed be delivered in its right and proper place through the Northern Ireland Executive.”He added the issue was a “devolved matter” and responsibility for it, therefore, falls to the Daera under the Stormont executive.Sam Hancock3 February 2022 14:251643895095BREAKING: PM backs down on smear linking Starmer to Jimmy SavileBoris Johnson has backed down on his smear linking Keir Starmer and Jimmy Savile, admitting the Labour leader had “nothing to do” with the case.Our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports:Emily Atkinson3 February 2022 13:311643894401Labour Shadow Chancellor accuses Sunak of giving ‘with one hand now and taking all back later’Emily Atkinson3 February 2022 13:201643893388Givan’s resignation ‘gross betrayal’ of Northern Irish families, says SDLP leaderThe anticipated resignation of Paul Givan as first minister is a “gross betrayal” of Northern Ireland, the SDLP leader has said.Colum Eastwood MP said: “The actions of the DUP leadership represent a gross betrayal of people in Northern Ireland.“Whatever community you’re from, whatever your background or beliefs, no-one benefits from this cynical, and totally predictable, electioneering stunt.“Resigning from government when people are struggling to provide for their families, heat their homes and deal with the cost of living tells you all you need to know about the DUP – for them the party will always come first and ordinary people come last.“People deserve better than a choice between bad government or no government.“That has been the cycle of the last 15 years and it has delivered nothing but failure. It is time to break that cycle and offer people a different choice.”Emily Atkinson3 February 2022 13:031643892484Sunak ‘most incompetent Chancellor I have ever seen’, says Labour MPRishi Sunak is “the most incompetent Chancellor I have ever seen”, a veteran Labour MP told the Commons.Barry Sheerman, who has been MP for Huddersfield since 1979, said: “Can I tell him that someone who has been in this House since 1979, he is the most incompetent Chancellor I have ever seen.“When children in my constituency go to bed with no food in their tummies, with no heating in their homes, what does he really think is the honourable position of a Chancellor who has just allowed one of his policies directly to be taken in fraud… £4.3 billion of fraud under his watch?“Any other Chancellor that I have known would have come to the House today to resign.”Emily Atkinson3 February 2022 12:481643892319Opinion: Tory MPs have had enough of Boris Johnson’s political soap operaDowning Street is banking on the public getting tired of Partygate now. It’s true, the media caravan is starting to move on. It felt refreshing yesterday to escape Westminster and focus on tackling inequality – or “levelling up” in government parlance – in Stockton-on-Tees, writes Cathy Newman.But despite the fatigue among both political and media classes, and the appetite for debating serious concerns about Russia’s antics or the cost of energy, Downing Street can’t switch off the soap until the star of the show is written out of the plot.Emily Atkinson3 February 2022 12:45 More

Boris Johnson has backed down on his smear linking Keir Starmer and Jimmy Savile, admitting the Labour leader had “nothing to do” with decisions on the case.The prime minister’s humiliating climbdown came after a number of Conservative MPs voiced distaste over his comments, which former home secretary Amber Rudd branded “disgraceful” and “Trumpian”.Mr Johnson will now come under intense pressure to apologise for his comments, widely seen as an effort to distract attention from allegations he repeatedly breached lockdown rules, in what is known as a “dead cat” strategy.The incident is certain to increase question marks over his future as PM, with Tory MPs privately saying that his use of the smear had made them more likely to demand a vote on his removal.Under fierce questioning in the House of Commons after Sue Gray’s finding of a “failure of leadership” over No 10 parties, Mr Johnson lashed out in what appeared to be a pre-planned attempt to divert criticism onto the Labour leader.In his time as director of public prosecutions, Mr Johnson claimed, Starmer had “spent more time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile, as far as I can make out”.An official report at the time made clear that Sir Keir played no part in decisions which prevented the prosecution of the paedophile celebrity, but he apologised as DPP on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service.The slur was cited by senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood yesterday when he announced he was writing a letter of no confidence in Johnson as leader, and a string of other senior Conservatives called on the PM to withdraw his remark.Starmer himself said that the party once led by Churchill was now helmed by a man “parroting the conspiracy theories of violent fascists”.Johnson stood by his slur in a newspaper interview and at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday.But challenged over the comments during a visit to Blackpool on Thursday, he told TV cameras: “I want to be very clear about this because a lot of people have got very hot under the collar, and I understand why.“Let’s be absolutely clear, I’m talking not about the Leader of the Opposition’s personal record when he was DPP and I totally understand that he had nothing to do personally with those decisions.“I was making a point about his responsibility for the organisation as a whole. I really do want to clarify that because it is important.”TV presenter Savile was knighted by a previous Conservative administration for his charity work in 1990, but was exposed after his 2011 death as a serial child sex abuser who had preyed on young people over six decades. More