UK Politics

Downing Street has backed down after coming under pressure over plans to keep secret any fine imposed on Boris Johnson in the Partygate affair.The climbdown came less than 24 hours after No 10 was forced into a U-turn over Mr Johnson’s bid to prevent the publication of senior civil servant Sue Gray’s full report on the “failure of leadership” that resulted in 12 government events being investigated by police for potential lockdown breaches.No 10 sparked fury on Tuesday morning by refusing to commit to making public any fixed penalty notice issued by police to the prime minister or Downing Street staff.With Scotland Yard saying that the police would not name individuals found to have breached coronavirus regulations, it raised the prospect that the public would never be told if Mr Johnson had been found guilty.Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “The public have a right to know if the prime minister is found to have committed an offence by the police.“No 10 said they would publish the full report. They cannot be allowed to backtrack or hide the results of the police investigation.”Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey also said: “This stinks of a cover-up by No 10. Even Richard Nixon believed a country deserves to know whether their leader is a crook.”Within hours, Downing Street had backtracked on its position.A spokesperson said that No 10 would make it known if the PM was fined “given the significant public interest”.But it remained unclear whether fines imposed – potentially as much as £10,000 – would be kept secret.The Metropolitan Police is not currently planning to name anyone fined as a result of the investigation, unless they contest the penalty and are prosecuted in open court.The Independent understands it is planning to make public what fines have been given over which of the 12 gatherings under investigation, but without identifying recipients.In the first instance, any breaches of Covid laws will be punished using written “fixed penalty notices”, which can range between £100 and £10,000 depending on the date and size of the gathering, and the person’s role.Where a fine is disputed, police can decide to pursue a prosecution in a magistrates’ court, where the person’s name and details would be made public. But if a fine is paid, no further action is taken.The Independent understands that Scotland Yard is not planning to name anyone fined over Partygate because it is not its normal practice for fines and other punishments not involving court cases. More

The Tory rebellion against Boris Johnson’s leadership showed no sign of going away on Tuesday as a tenth Conservative MP called on the prime minister to quit.Peter Aldous, who has represented the Tory heartland of Suffolk since 2010, said that “after a great deal of soul-searching” he had decided that “the prime minister should resign”.Mr Aldous confirmed that he had submitted a letter to the party’s 1922 committee in order to trigger a no-confidence vote in the PM.His call comes 24 hours after ex-chief whip Andrew Mitchell urged Mr Johnson to step down, stating: “He no longer enjoys my support.”Mr Aldous said in a statement on Tuesday: “After a great deal of soul-searching, I have reached the conclusion that the Prime Minister should resign. “It is clear that he has no intention of doing so and I have therefore written to the Chairman of the 1922 Committee of Backbench Conservative MPs, advising him that I have no confidence in the Prime Minister as Leader of the Conservative Party. “I have never taken such action before and had hoped that I would not be put in such an invidious position. “Whilst I am conscious that others will disagree with me, I believe that this is in the best interests of the country, the Government and the Conservative Party.”Other Tory MPs to have publicly called on the PM to go include ex Brexit secretary David Davis, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, and veteran Tory Roger Gale. Other MPs may have anonymously submitted letters in order to oust the prime minister under Tory rules. A total of 54 are required to trigger a no-confidence vote in the parliamentary party, and the PM must then lose in order to trigger a leadership contest.The PM last night tried to rally his parliamentary party at a meeting in Westminster, where he was said to have given a “barnstorming” performance. More

Boris Johnson’s government has been accused of “wasting” billions on unusable personal protective equipment (PPE) and buying kit at inflated prices, after a report revealed the huge scale of losses.The department of health’s annual accounts report revealed that £8.7bn spent on PPE last year had been written off – admitting to a “significant loss of value to the taxpayer”.The annual report stated: “The department estimates that there has been a loss in value of £8.7bn of the £12.1bn of PPE purchased in 2020-21.”Around £2.6bn was spent on PPE “not suitable for use in the NHS” and another £673m was spent on kit not suitable for use by anyone, the report discovered.Labour said this level of “waste” destroyed Conservative claims to be “careful stewards” of taxpayers’ money, while the Liberal Democrats said the losses showed the Tories “cannot be trusted with our money”.As well the huge sums lost to unsuitable PPE which could not be used by the NHS, another £750m was spent on excess items that were not used before their expiry date.The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) attributed the biggest losses to the value of its remaining stock being slashed by £4.7bn as the price of PPE dropped.At the start of the pandemic, prices for protective equipment rose sharply as countries clamoured to get hold of items such as face masks.The accounts further reveal that the DHSC expects that equipment that was scheduled to be delivered after the end of the financial year will lose £1.2bn in value.Pat McFadden, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “Along with the government’s laissez faire attitude to fraud, this will be particularly galling to hard working households wondering how they will pay the higher taxes the Chancellor is imposing this April.Lib Dem health spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: “With billions being lost to fraudsters, and now this, it’s plain to see that this Tory government cannot be trusted with our money.”She added: “Sajid Javid must now come before parliament, explain how his government ended up throwing good money after bad and what he’s going to do to get his department in order.”Earlier this week health minister Edward Argar confirmed that the government had bought PPE from Pestfix worth £169m, and Ayanda at £145m, that was not “not currently available” to the NHS “due to technical and quality issues”.It comes as a World Health Organisation (WHO) study on PPE waste pointed to “unnecessary” use in the UK.It said: “Between February and August 2020, three billion items of PPE were used, resulting in 591 tonnes of waste per day. The greatest contribution came from gloves. Much of this PPE use was unnecessary.” More

The government has broken its promise to publish internal documents that could shine a light on whether Tory MPs helped private healthcare companies land lucrative emergency Covid contracts.On 17 November last year MPs voted to force ministers to release minutes of meetings between Owen Paterson, health minister Lord Bethel and private healthcare company Randox.The government was also ordered to release all correspondence relating to two contracts with the company – which Mr Paterson lobbied on behalf of, in breach of Commons rules.The department of health and social care committed to releasing the documents by the end of January, but has still not done so – causing anger among opposition MPs.Raising a point of order in the Commons on Tuesday Labour party chair Anneliese Dodds urged the Speaker to take action.”Seventy-six days have passed since this House agreed to the terms of a humble address, compelling the government to publish the minutes and notes of the meeting of 9 April 2020, between Lord Bethel, Owen Patterson, and Randox representatives, and all correspondence relating to two specified government contracts awarded to that company,” she said. “Sixty seven days have passed since the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care promised in writing that the government would respond to the House no later than the end of January. “Given that today is 1 February, and taking into account that the chair has expressed an expectation on the government to fulfil its obligations under that humble address in a timely fashion, is it in order for ministers to feel to meet a self-imposed deadline to comply with the instructions of this house? If not, what consequences should befall those on the government benches, who fail to keep their promise?”The health department had been asked for the documents under freedom of information law in 2020, well before MPs ordered their release.That FOI request was already 11 months old when the Owen Paterson scandal hit the headlines in earnest in October 2021. FOI requests are meant to be answered within 28 days but the department said it had not found the time to respond.Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, said Mr Javid had told him with one day to go before the latest January deadline elapsed that the documents would now be delivered before the February recess.”What I will say is that the Secretary of Health did notify me yesterday that he will confirm that the relevant materials will be laid by the February recess,” he said.”What I would say is if not, I’m sure a UQ and the honourable member would use other ways to ensure that that is delivered. But that is the state of play at the moment.The Independent has contacted the department for health and social care for further comment on this story.Randox was notably awarded two major contracts for Covid-19 testing during the pandemic – one for £133m on 18 May 2020 and another for £346.5m contract on 26 November 2020. Neither contract was advertised or opened to competition, which was allowed under the rules because of the urgency of the situation. In August 2020 Randox recalled 750,000 test kits sent to care homes and individuals because of faults, while the health secretary at the time also said Randox kits should not be used until further notice.The company was also paying then Conservative MP Owen Paterson £8,333 a month for 16 hours of work. Mr Paterson quit as an MP after he was sanctioned for his lobbying on behalf of the company – but not before the government tried to abolish the Commons standards watchdog that ordered its suspension. Randox has said: “Owen Paterson MP has played no role in securing any Randox contract with DHSC.”An inquiry by the National Audit Office into the Randox contracts is due to report in early 2022. More

The Commons Speaker has slapped down Boris Johnson for his Commons claim that Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile, amid a growing backlash.Lindsay Hoyle said he could not intervene after the prime minister made the allegation on Monday – because it did not fall foul of parliamentary rules.But he told MPs: “I am far from satisfied that the comments in question were appropriate on this occasion.“I want to see more compassionate, reasonable politics in this House and that sort of comment can only inflame opinions and generate disregard for this House.”The controversy has blown up after a beleaguered Mr Johnson – fighting for survival after Sue Gray’s Partygate report – tried to turn attention onto the Labour leader instead.Sir Keir was “a former director of public prosecutions – although he spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Savile, as far as I can make out”, the prime minister alleged.The claim is false because, although Sir Keir was the head of the Crown Prosecution Service at the time of Savile’s crimes, but he was not the reviewing lawyer for the case.Earlier, the deputy prime minister Dominic Raab admitted he had no facts to “justify” the allegation – but defended it as part of “the cut and thrust of parliamentary debates”.Mr Johnson’s spokesman refused to repeat his claim, arguing it would breach “the principle of civil service impartiality”, but insisted he “stands by” it.Julian Smith, the former Tory Northern Ireland Secretary, urged the prime minister to retract it, tweeting: “The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Saville yesterday is wrong & cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn.“False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust & can’t just be accepted as part of the cut & thrust of parliamentary debate.”After the episode was raised in the Commons, Sir Lindsay told MPs: “I want a nicer parliament. And the only way we can get a nicer parliament is by being more honourable in the debates that we have. Please, let us show each other respect as well as tolerance.”But he warned MPs that, if they wanted him to get tough with MPs spreading smears, they needed to change the rules to give him stronger powers.At present, MPs are barred from accusing each other of deliberately lying – but there is nothing to prevent an MP saying untrue things about another.“Unfortunately, the public out there think I’ve got this magic power,” the Speaker said, after a point of order was raised.“You give me the power. If you’re not happy with the power I’ve got, it’s in your hands to change it,” Sir Lindsay said.Although ministers who mislead the Commons are expected to correct the record, the Speaker has no power to compel them to do so – and Mr Johnson has refused to do in the past. More

Boris Johnson’s partygate debacle is more damaging than the expenses scandal and is corroding the Conservatives “like battery acid”, a former cabinet minister has said.Tory MP Andrew Mitchell – who announced in the Commons on Monday that he wanted Mr Johnson to go – said it was “a crisis that is not going to go away” and is “doing very great damage to the party”.The former chief whip told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It is more corrosive in my judgement than the expenses scandal was and it will break the coalition that is the Conservative Party.”He added: “This, like battery acid, is corroding the fabric of the Conservative Party … I do think that he needs to think very carefully whether remaining is the right thing for our country, whether it is the right thing for the Conservative Party.”Although Mr Johnson appears to have calmed some wavering MPs at a meeting on Monday night, Mr Mitchell urged them to act – saying getting rid of a leader was “best done quickly”.Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg said he had not heard any calls for Mr Johnson to go at Monday night’s meeting – telling reporters the PM had “managed to maintain the support of the party pretty much throughout”.There was no immediate sign of the flood of no-confidence letters to Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, which would trigger a vote on Mr Johnson’s future if they pass the threshold of 54.But Mr Mitchell said: “There’s a lot going on beneath the surface,” referring to the Mr’s Johnson’s meeting as a “showpiece” and “not really a reflection of what’s going on”.The former minister accused Mr Johnson of running his government “like a medieval court” – ignoring traditional Whitehall structures and bodies like his National Security Council.On the social gatherings now under investigation by the Metropolitan Police, Mr Mitchell added: “These sorts of things would never have happened under Margaret Thatcher. Can you imagine it happening under Ms [Theresa] May?”Tory MP Pauline Latham, who has been scathing about gatherings at Downing Street, told BBC Derby that the promise of changes at No 10 were enough for her to maintain support for the prime minister “at the current time”.But the backbencher suggested rebels could wait for “then right time” before sending in letters of no-confidence. “People write to me and say, ‘Put in letters to Sir Graham Brady’. There’s no point in doing that at this time,” she said on Tuesday.“[Sir Graham] needs 54 letters. If he gets them, there will then be a vote of no confidence in the prime minister. This point of time he would win that vote of confidence which automatically give him a year.”Ms Latham added: “What we need to do is wait and see. And when it’s the right time, when things change, if they need to change, then we can go for it. But it’s no good going [now] but you just get an extra year.”Former Conservative leader William Hague also warned that the PM “should be very worried” about his fightback, as he criticised his apology to the Commons.Writing in The Times, Mr Hague said Mr Johnson had plenty of time to craft a substantial response which gave his critics “pause for thought”, but instead “decided to do the minimum”.It follows the resignation on Monday evening of Tory MP Angela Richardson, who quit as a ministerial aide to Michael Gove and shared her “deep disappointment” at the handling of the partygate row. More