UK Politics

Boris Johnson’s political future hangs in the balance as MPs await the findings of a critical investigation into multiple allegations of rule-busting parties held at No 10 during Covid restrictions.Sue Gray, the senior civil servant tasked with investigating events at Downing Street and other government departments, is widely expected to deliver her report to the prime minister later this week.According to reports, Dominic Cummings, the former chief adviser to Mr Johnson at No 10, who has claimed his former boss “lied” to parliament over the events, will also be interviewed by Ms Gray on Monday as part of her inquiries.Police officers guarding No 10 at the time of alleged rule-breaking parties have reportedly already been spoken to for the probe.Asked how significant their information was, a source told The Telegraph: “Put it this way, if Boris Johnson is still prime minister by the end of the week, I’d be very surprised.” Some Conservative MPs have already called on the prime minister to resign over the scandal, including former ministers Caroline Nokes and David Davis, and others have sent no confidence letters to the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.Aaron Bell, the Tory MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, became the latest backbencher to submit a letter at the weekend, according to The Sunday Times. A total of 54 MPs are required to do so if a no confidence vote is to be triggered.But many are reserving judgement on the prime minister’s future at No 10 until Ms Gray’s findings on multiple events held during Covid restrictions, including the “bring your own booze” gathering on 20 May 2020, are published.Asked whether Mr Johnson’s political future hung in the balance over the report, the senior Tory MP Steve Baker told The Independent on Friday: “I don’t see how anyone can objectively say otherwise.”Speaking on Sunday, Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, claimed there had been a “rallying” around Mr Johnson after the dramatic defection of the Bury South MP Christian Wakeford to Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.However, he dodged questions over whether the report would be published in full, telling the BBC that the “process will be for the prime minister to decide”, and claimed he was “not quite sure the shape and form it would come”.“The substance of the findings will be – there will be full transparency,” he added. “Indeed, he [Mr Johnson] has said he’ll come back to the House of Commons and make a statement, so there’ll be full scrutiny.”However, on Saturday, Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, stressed: “The Sue Gray report must be published in its entirety with all accompanying evidence”.She added that the prime minister “cannot be allowed to cover up or obscure any of the truth when he has insisted on a hugely protracted internal probe to tell him which parties he attended and what happened in his own home”.Ms Gray’s inquiry has also reportedly been widened to examine socialising at the prime minister’s flat above No 11 Downing Street, involving government advisers and close friends of the prime minister’s wife, Carrie.The Cabinet Office declined to comment at the weekend, but Mr Cummings has previously claimed there was a “party” at the flat on 13 November 2020 – the same day he left his government post – while England faced its second lockdown. More

Police officers who guard No 10 have reportedly been interviewed as part of Sue Gray’s inquiry into parties held at Downing Street during Covid restrictions. A source told The Telegraph their statements to the civil servant in charge of the probe were “extremely damning”. Ms Gray is looking into allegations of a number of parties held at Downing Street while the country was under Covid restrictions. She is expected to publish her findings in the next week. Officers who were on duty outside No 10 at the time of alleged rule-breaking parties have now reportedly been spoken to for the inquiry. Access to Downing Street is controlled by the Metropolitan Police’s parliamentary and diplomatic protection command. According to The Telegraph, members of this branch have given detailed testimonies about what they saw to Ms Gray. Asked how significant their information was, a source told the newspaper: “Put it this way, if Boris Johnson is still prime minister by the end of the week, I’d be very surprised.” Downing Street refused to comment on the ongoing investigation. On Sunday, Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, said Tory MPs were rallying behind the prime minister ahead of the Partygate inquiry’s expected publication this week.The Met has previously faced questions over how officers could have been unaware of a “bring your own booze” garden gathering as they stood guard outside Downing Street. Ms Gray is also looking into reports of other gatherings alleged to have happened at No 10 – including two events on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral. Officials working in No 10 claim they have held back information from the investigation into the partygate scandal due to “culture of fear” surrounding the probe. Three sources told The Independent they had not divulged messages and pictures on their phones after a senior member of staff told them to remove anything that could fuel speculation in the wake of the first party revelations.The Met has been approached for comment. More

Officials working in No 10 claim they have held back information from Sue Gray’s investigation into the partygate scandal due to a “culture of fear” surrounding the probe.Three sources told The Independent they have not divulged messages and pictures on their phones after a senior member of staff told them to remove anything that could fuel speculation in the wake of the first party revelations.Messages in a WhatsApp group were said to contain photographs of people drinking and dancing, as well as references to how hungover people were the next day.The messages are from the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, when there were two parties, one to mark the departure of a No 10 photographer and another to mark the departure of James Slack, Downing Street’s director of communications. Mr Slack has since made a public apology.One source claimed that after being asked to remove information, they subsequently deleted evidence of that party.They said they were also fearful that, having removed material, they could face censure: “I did the wrong thing and actually deleted stuff.”“Everyone’s terrified. It’s a witch hunt,” another source told The Independent. “There’s been a culture of fear [in the office] every day since the first party story broke.”Another source added: “I’ve held back from sharing evidence, it’s too risky. And I’d have to explain why I’d deleted some stuff, which would mean saying I’d felt intimidated.”Ms Gray is expected to report back to the prime minister at the beginning of next week and he will then decide when to make the findings public.One source said going to Ms Gray with such information was tantamount to being asked to “snitch on the PM in an internal investigation”.“That’s why I’ve asked to be anonymous,” one source told The Independent. “I need to keep my job.”When asked about the pressure to withhold information, one source said they felt they had been “frightened into silence”.Asked if they had shared their claims with Ms Gray, as part of her investigation, all three sources told The Independent they did not consider the Cabinet Office as truly separate from Downing Street or political interests.They added that while they respected Ms Gray’s integrity, leaks of plans for her investigation had already reached some newspapers.Sources believe there is therefore considerable risk to their careers from sharing allegations with her team.Sources said that when staff were called for interviews with Ms Gray to offer their accounts of any gatherings in Downing Street or the Cabinet Office, it seemed staff in Number 10 had pieced together who was contacted and when to offer testimony or share information.A Number 10 spokesperson said allegations about pressure on individuals were “categorically untrue” and staff have been instructed to comply fully with the inquiry.Three sources have told The Independent they were approached by a senior staffer after the first reports of parties at Downing Street last month, and advised to remove WhatsApps, diary invites and other digital communications.Senior appointees in Number 10 have been under considerable pressure to stem the tide of reports on parties throughout recent weeks.Sources claim a set of senior figures in Downing Street were loudly told by the prime minister to stop the flow of party news last week.The Information Commissioner’s Office issued a warning after allegations of pressure to delete material were first reported. “Relevant information that exists in the private correspondence channels of public authorities should be available and included in responses to information requests received,” a spokesperson added.“Erasing, destroying or concealing information within scope of a Freedom of Information request, with the intention of preventing its disclosure is a criminal offence under section 77 of the Freedom of Information Act.”Last week, Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, wrote to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case asking him to probe allegations of staff coming under pressure to remove material.A spokesperson for No 10 said: “Staff were given clear guidance to retain any relevant information. As set out in the terms of reference, all staff are expected to fully co-operate with the investigation.“Any suggestion otherwise is entirely false.” More

Former cabinet minister Gavin Williamson has been accused of threatening school funding in the constituency of a recently defected Tory MP, who was considering voting against the government.Christian Wakeford, who joined the Labour Party earlier this week, first made the claim that he was “threatened that I would not get the school for Radcliffe if I do not vote in one particular way” on Thursday.“It’s a town that’s not had a high school for the best part of ten years and how would you feel holding back the regeneration of the town for a vote,” the Bury South MP said.At the time, he did not reveal who was responsible, but speaking to The Sunday Times, the MP alleged Mr Williamson, who was then education secretary, had made the threat to cancel the school outside the Members’ Dining Room in Parliament.Mr Wakeford said the former cabinet minister had told him: ‘It’s not very helpful to back an opposition [motion] against the department where you’re wanting an extremely large favour from said department, so do consider what you’re doing.”Referring to Mr Williamson’s previous stint as chief whip, Mr Wakeford also told the newspaper: “I know the maxim is ‘once a whip, always a whip’, but yeah, that one was Gavin.”In the event, the MP for Bury South chose to abstain in the debate on free school meals in October 2020, and funding for the school went through as planned the following February.In response, Mr Williamson told the paper that he did not remember any such conversation taking place with Mr Wakeford. “I don’t have any recollection of the conversation as described but what I do remember is working tirelessly with Christian and others in order to be able to deliver this school, which I did,” he said.“Such major investment decisions are made after close analysis of the benefits that the investment will bring and certainly not something that can be decided in a brief conversation like the one described.” Mr Williamson has been contacted by The Independent.The row coincides with intense scrutiny on the actions of government whips, after the senior Conservative MP, William Wragg, used a statement in Parliament this week to allege some backbenchers had “faced pressures and intimidation” for considering submitting letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson’s leadership.Speaking on Thursday, Mr Wragg suggested that threats were being made to “withdraw investments” from constituents of those who opposed the prime minister, adding: “The reports which I’m aware would seem to constitute blackmail”.However, a No 10 spokesperson insisted they were not “aware of any evidence to support what are clearly serious allegations”, adding: “If there is any evidence to support these claims we would look at it very carefully.” More

Nusrat Ghani Islamophobia claims won’t be looked at until ‘she makes a formal complaint’, says RaabDominic Raab, the deputy PM, has said there can be no investigation into the claim made by a Tory MP that she was sacked over her Muslim faith until she submits a “formal complaint” to the Conservative Party.Nusrat Ghani said she was dismissed from her role as a transport minister in 2020 due to concerns around her “Muslimness”. She claimed she was told by an unnamed government whip that her faith was “making colleagues uncomfortable”. Chief whip Mark Spencer has since denied the allegations, calling them “completely false” and “defamatory”.Mr Raab told Sky News earlier that while Ms Ghani’s claim was “incredibly serious”, she “hasn’t made a formal complaint” despite being “asked to do so”. He added: “In the absence of [this], there will be no specific investigation.”The latest blow to Boris Johnson’s government came after The Sunday Times reported that the partygate inquiry may have unearthed details of Carrie Johnson hosting friends at their Downing Street flat during lockdown. The PM’s wife is said to have explained the visits as work-related events.Show latest update

1642948582‘Disappointed’: Nusrat Ghani responds to No 10 statement on IslamophobiaAs The Sunday Times’ Caroline Wheeler reports in this lengthy thread:Sam Hancock23 January 2022 14:361642948240Watch: BBC called ‘irresponsible’ for inviting anti-vaxxers on Question TimeBBC branded ‘irresponsible’ for inviting anti-vaxxers to appear on Question TimeSam Hancock23 January 2022 14:301642947640Gavin Williamson accused of threatening MP over school fundingOn that note, former cabinet minister Gavin Williamson has been accused of threatening to withdraw funding for a school the constituency of a recently defected Tory MP, who was considering voting against the government.Christian Wakeford, who joined the Labour Party earlier this week, first made the claim that he was “threatened that I would not get the school for Radcliffe if I do not vote in one particular way” on Thursday, writes our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn.At the time, he did not reveal who was responsible, but speaking to The Sunday Times, the MP alleged Mr Williamson, who was then education secretary, had made the threat to cancel the school outside the Members’ Dining Room in parliament.Sam Hancock23 January 2022 14:201642947139‘Criminal offence’ to threaten withdrawing funding, says ex-whipThere’s more trouble for the government after an ex-Tory chief whip said it would be a criminal offence if government whips threatened to withdraw public funding from the constituencies of MPs who refused to toe the party line.It comes after backbencher William Wragg said he would be meeting police this week to discuss his claims that MPs seeking to oust Boris Johnson were warned investment could be cut from their local areas.Andrew Mitchell, the MP for Sutton Coldfield, said that if such allegations were true, it would be misconduct in public office.“There is an absolute rule that you do not go outside the stockade and use the media or blackmail to do in a colleague,” he told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend.“Using taxpayers’ money in a way to try and persuade a Member of Parliament not to vote in the way that they wish, that would be – if it were true, and I emphasise that is a quite a big ‘if’ – it would undoubtedly be misconduct in public office.“It would be a criminal offence and it could result in a prison sentence.”Sam Hancock23 January 2022 14:121642945478No 10 admits holding back information from partygate inquiryOfficials working in No 10 claim they have held back information from Sue Gray’s investigation into the partygate scandal due to a “culture of fear” surrounding the probe.Three sources told our economics editor Anna Isaac they have not divulged messages and pictures on their phones after a senior member of staff told them to remove anything that could fuel speculation in the wake of the first party revelations. Messages in a WhatsApp group were said to contain photographs of people drinking and dancing, as well as references to how hungover people were the next day.The messages are from the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, when there were two parties, one to mark the departure of a No 10 photographer and another to mark the departure of James Slack, Downing Street’s director of communications. Read the full exclusive report:Sam Hancock23 January 2022 13:441642944003Watch: Spirits high as Ireland relax Covid restrictionsSpirits high as Ireland relax Covid restrictionsSam Hancock23 January 2022 13:201642942803Defected MP accuses Johnson of ‘poisoning’ Tory partyThe former Conservative MP who defected to Labour has accused Boris Johnson of having “poisoned the Tory Party from top to bottom” as he said the PM was “living on borrowed time”.Christian Wakeford crossed the floor on Wednesday in protest at the PM’s leadership and the row over Downing Street parties.He has also said he was threatened about the loss of a school in his constituency if he did not toe the line.Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Wakeford said the investigation into No 10 by civil servant Sue Gray would show Downing Street was “hosting parties while the rest of us were obeying the rules”.“The PM attended and then lied about it. He showed no respect for the Queen while she was in mourning for her husband,” Mr Wakeford wrote.“His behaviour has been an insult not just to Her Majesty but to the whole nation. His lack of honesty and integrity has poisoned the once great party he leads.”Mr Wakeford added he had “too much respect for the people who voted me into parliament to stay silent in the face of such intimidation”. More

Boris Johnson met with an MP over “extremely serious claims” of Islamophobia in the summer of 2020 and invited her to make a formal complaint, No 10 has said.It comes after Nusrat Ghani alleged that she was informed by a government whip her Muslim faith was “making colleagues feel uncomfortable” when she lost her job as a transport minister.Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, said on Sunday that there will not be a “specific investigation” into Ms Ghani’s allegations until a formal complaint has been made by the Conservative MP for Wealden.A No 10 spokesperson later said: “After being made aware of these extremely serious claims, the prime minister met with Nusrat Ghani to discuss them.“He then wrote to her expressing his serious concern and inviting her to begin a formal complaint process. She did not subsequently do so. The Conservative Party does not tolerate prejudice or discrimination of any kind.”In her interview with The Sunday Times, however, Ms Ghani had suggested she had not pursued the matter at the time, after being warned she be “ostracised by colleagues” and her “career and reputation would be destroyed”.The former minister said she was shocked when the issue of her background and faith was raised during a meeting in the whips’ office after the mini-reshuffle in February 2020. “It was like being punched in the stomach. I felt humiliated and powerless,” she told the newspaper.The alleged remarks brought immediate condemnation from her colleagues on the backbenches and also led to calls for an investigation, including from cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi, who said there was “no place for Islamophobia or any form of racism” in the party.Emily Thornberry, a Labour frontbencher, also demanded the Conservatives hold an an independent inquiry into Islamophobia after the explosive claims, claiming the party “just don’t take Islamophobia in their midst seriously”.Speaking to Sky News, Mr Raab, the deputy prime minister and justice secretary, described the allegations — denied by the chief whip, Mark Spencer— as “incredibly serious”, but said a formal complaint had to be submitted before an investigation is launched.“I’ve looked at that allegation and seen what she’s said, it is incredibly serious,” he said. “Let me just be clear at the outset we have absolutely zero tolerance for any discrimination or Islamophobia in the Conservative Party”.“On the specific allegations, it’s very unusual that the chief whip has come out and said the conversation concerned was with him, Mark Spencer, and he has categorically denied in the what can only be described as the most forthright and robust terms.”After Ms Ghani’s interview in The Sunday Times, Mr Spencer, the chief whip, took the unusual step of outing himself as the individual who spoke to the Conservative MP – although he strongly denied using the words claimed.“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,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter.“These accusations are completely false and I consider them to be defamatory. I have never used those words attributed to me.”He added: “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.” More

Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has said there will not be a “specific investigation” into former minister Nusrat Ghani’s allegations of Islamophobia until a formal complaint is made has been made.It comes after the Tory MP alleged that she was informed by a government whip her Muslim faith was “making colleagues feel uncomfortable” when she lost her job as a transport minister in 2020.In an explosive interview, and amid wider scrutiny over the actions of whips, Ms Ghani said she had not pursued the matter at the time after being warned she would be “ostracised by colleagues” and her “career and reputation would be destroyed”.Ms Ghani’s remarks brought immediate condemnation from her colleagues on the backbenches and also led to calls for an investigation, including from cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi, who said there was “no place for Islamophobia or any form of racism” in the party.Mr Raab, the deputy prime minister and justice secretary, described the allegations — denied by the chief whip, Mark Spencer— as “incredibly serious”, but said a formal complaint had to be submitted before an investigation is launched.“I’ve looked at that allegation and seen what she’s said, it is incredibly serious,” he told Sky News on Sunday. “Let me just be clear at the outset we have absolutely zero tolerance for any discrimination or Islamophobia in the Conservative Party”.“On the specific allegations, it’s very unusual that the chief whip has come out and said the conversation concerned was with him, Mark Spencer, and he has categorically denied in the what can only be described as the most forthright and robust terms.”He added: “”If there are any claims like this they should result in a formal complaint which allows a formal investigation to take place.“As the chief whip has pointed out Nus [Ghani] hasn’t made a formal complaint. She was asked to do so. In the absence of doing so there will be no specific investigation into this.”Mr Raab also told the BBC: “I believe a claim like this should [be investigated], but it can only happen if the person making the complaint makes it formally — that’s when the procedures kick in.”After Ms Ghani’s interview in The Sunday Times, Mr Spencer, the chief whip, took the unusual step of outing himself as the individual who spoke to the Conservative MP – although he strongly denied using the words claimed.“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,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter.“These accusations are completely false and I consider them to be defamatory. I have never used those words attributed to me.”He added: “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.” More

Dominic Raab has said it is “extremely unlikely” that troops will be sent into Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion – but stressed there will be “severe economic consequences” for the Kremlin.The deputy prime minister also assessed the threat of an incursion by Russian forces as “very significant”, as he urged the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to “step back from the brink”.His remarks came after the British government accused the Kremlin of seeking to install a regime of collaborators in Kyiv, as tensions rise in the region over the build up of Russian forces.Over the weekend, a No 10 source said Boris Johnson regarded the situation in Ukraine as “the biggest test to the unity and resolve of the West and the NATO alliance in decades”.Raising the prospect of financial sanctions, Mr Raab told Sky News: “There will be very serious consequences if Russia takes this move to try and invade, but also install a puppet regime”.“We wouldn’t telegraph all of the measures that we would take,” he stressed. “But it’s important this very clear message… that there will be very serious, severe economic consequences”.Pressed on whether troops would be sent to Ukraine in the event of an incursion, the cabinet minister added: “I think it’s extremely unlikely we would do that.“”But what we have said is that are already willing, having engaged in training programmes, to help the Ukrainians defend themselves, that’s absolutely right — for defensive purposes.”Labour’s shadow minister, Emily Thornberry, said her party was “completely unified” with the government on its approach to Russian aggression in Ukraine.”I think that what is really important – and Putin knows this, he has an absolute nose for it – is that we have to be completely unified on this,” she stressed on Sunday.”We have to be strong and we have to be unified, whether it is in Nato, our surrounding allies, and we have to play our part as the opposition also in making sure we in Britain stand unified against this threat.”Ms Thornberry also called for the government to utilise a “new generation of sanctions”, including investigating the “unexplained wealth” of Mr Putin allies living in the UK.Last night, the Foreign Office took the unusual step of naming former Ukrainian MP and media owner Yevhen Murayev as a potential Kremlin candidate to take over in Kyiv, with four others, including a former prime minister and a former acting prime minister, among those who are supposedly to be given senior ranks.In a statement, foreign secretary Liz Truss said the Russian plotting showed the lengths to which the Kremlin was prepared go to undermine the government in Kyiv.“The information being released today shines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking,” she said.“Russia must de-escalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy. As the UK and our partners have said repeatedly, any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs.” More