UK Politics

England is a “global outlier” in the fight against the Omicron wave of coronavirus because of its anti-restrictions stance, Wales’s First Minister has said.At a Welsh Government press briefing on Friday, Mark Drakeford once again aimed a blistering attack at Boris Johnson.He said: “In England, we have a Government that is politically paralysed, with a Prime Minister who is unable to secure an agreement through his Cabinet to take the actions that his advisers have been telling him ought to have been taken.“And even if he could get his Cabinet to address them, he can’t get his MPs to agree them.”Asked to justify the continuation of restrictions for another week following the Welsh Government’s weekly review, while neighbouring England remains rule-free, the First Minister said: “The outlier here is not Wales. Wales is taking action, as is Scotland, as is Northern Ireland, and as are countries right across Europe, and right across the globe.“The one country that stands out as not taking action to protect its population is England.“The real question is, why is England such a global outlier, in the way in which governments elsewhere are attempting to protect their populations from coronavirus?“The political contrast between Wales and England is this: here in Wales we have a Government that is capable of acting and determined to act when it is necessary to protect our population.”Mr Johnson and a number of Conservative MPs mocked Wales’s restrictions during a House of Commons session in Parliament on Thursday.The Prime Minister called the measures “baroque eccentricities”, and former business secretary Andrea Leadsom described them as “bonkers”.Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant said it was “no more than political posturing”.Alert level 2 restrictions remain in Wales, including wearing face coverings indoors, groups in public places such as restaurants limited to six people, and working from home if possible.Indoor events of more than 30 people or outdoor events for more than 50 people are not allowed.Mr Drakeford said 994 people with Covid-19 are being treated in Welsh hospitals – a rise of 43% compared with last week and the highest number since last March – while around 40 are in critical care, the majority of whom are unvaccinated.He said Omicron is putting significant pressure on the NHS, due to rising hospital admissions and staff absences, but denied it is “overwhelmed”.The latest data from Public Health Wales shows another 38 people have died from coronavirus; however, Mr Drakeford said those are likely to have been from the Delta variant.More than 1.7 million people in Wales have now had their booster jab, the Government confirmed. More

Angela Rayner jokes there ‘might be a vacancy for PM soon’Tory MPs have accused Jacob Rees-Mogg of crying “crocodile tears” over the National Insurance rise.The Commons leader is understood to have spoken out against the 1.25 per cent rise in cabinet but some Tories have said it was now too late for a rebellion on the plan agreed in September.Senior Tory MP Jake Berry, chair of the Northern Research Group told Times Radio: “It’s all very well to turn around with crocodile tears now and say, ‘Look what my policies have created’.Meanwhile, small business minister Paul Scully has defended Boris Johnson over “cash for access” allegations, insisting that “nothing untoward” occurred in a WhatsApp exchange between the prime minister and the Tory donor who paid for the luxury revamp of his Downing Street flat.In messages published on Thursday, the prime minister asked Lord Brownlow for support with the £112,000 upgrade, while also discussing the possibility of a “Great Exhibition 2.0”, an arts project backed by the peer. The donor later met Oliver Dowden, then culture secretary, to discuss the idea. Labour said the government needed to explain Mr Johnson’s actions, with deputy leader Angela Rayner labelling it “corruption plain and simple”.Show latest update

1641566851Javid warns cabinet that relaxation of travel rules could increase risk of lockdownSajid Javid reportedly warned his cabinet colleagues earlier this week that removing the need for travellers to take PCR tests would be a mistake. The health secretary is thought to have said that relaxing international travel restrictions would increase the risk of another lockdown. My colleague Ashley Cowburn has more details: Rory Sullivan7 January 2022 14:471641565441Voices: PM’s WhatsApp excuse is laughable Yesterday, our political sketch writer Tom Peck turned his attention to an interesting claim from Boris Johnson…That he had forgotten to tell his ethics adviser Lord Geidt about a string of WhatsApp messages between himself and Tory donor Lord Brownlow about his luxury Downing Street flat renovations. By way of excuse, the prime minister said the messages were on an old phone and he no longer had access to them. “It is so laughable, an analogy is hardly possible,” writes Tom Peck. Rory Sullivan7 January 2022 14:241641563574Helen Morgan MP: ‘PM has learned nothing from the North Shropshire by- election’Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan achieved a memorable by-election win last month when she overturned a large Conservative majority in North Shropshire. When she arrived in Westminster for her first week, the new MP thought Boris Johnson would have learned a lesson from her victory by paying closer attention to rural voters.“I expected to find a prime minister and a government willing to listen to voters in North Shropshire. How wrong I was,” she writes. “Just like northern towns and cities, rural English communities like mine have been taken for granted by the Conservative party,” she adds. Read the full article here: Rory Sullivan7 January 2022 13:521641562285Lawyers respond to Braverman over Colston statue verdict Attorney general Suella Braverman has been criticised by some of the country’s leading lawyers for saying she might refer the Colston statue verdict to the Court of Appeal in a bid to overturn the result.Ms Braverman claimed that a jury’s decision to acquit four people accused of criminal damage over the toppling of the slave owner was “causing confusion”. “I can think of 100s of jury verdicts that I didn’t agree with, based on the evidence – but the jury system is the best we have,” Nazir Afzal, a former chief crown prosecutor for the North West, said.“I think Govt ministers (current & former) & DPP (the director of public prosecutions) need to speak up to educate the citizen rather than feed ignorance or allow misinformation to flourish,” he added.Elsewhere, the barrister Matthew Scott said: “Prosecutors cannot challenge the verdicts. The attorney general can ask the Court of Appeal to consider any points of law that arose, but any ruling would not affect the acquittals.”Rory Sullivan7 January 2022 13:311641560760Jacob Rees-Mogg accused by Tory MPs of ‘crocodile tears’ over tax riseSenior cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has been accused of crying “crocodile tears” over the National Insurance rise, as Conservative MPs say it is too late for a rebellion over the looming tax hike, writes Adam Forrest.The Commons leader is understood to have spoken out against April’s 1.25 per cent rise at cabinet this week – arguing that it could not be justified amid the mounting cost of living crisis.Senior Tory MP Jake Berry, chair of the Northern Research Group said Mr Rees-Mogg could have opposed the measure when it was proposed last autumn.More on this here:Liam James7 January 2022 13:061641559805No 10: Tory donor was treated same as a member of the publicDowning Street said Tory donor Lord Brownlow was treated the same as a member of the public would have been in having his idea for a “Great Exhibiton 2.0” referred to the culture secretary.A spokesman for the prime minister said the Tory peer’s suggestion was “dealt with in the same way” as a member of the public’s would have been “in that a department will look at it and take a view on it”.He said: “Ministers have a range of ideas and proposals put to them by various people – through MPs, through other parties.“I think it is right and proper that it is passed onto the relevant department to take forward and, in this instance, it was decided not to take it any further.”Liam James7 January 2022 12:501641558752‘Quite usual’: Downing Street defends Tory donor access for ‘Great Exhibition 2.0’Downing Street has defended granting the Tory donor who paid for Boris Johnson’s flat refurbishment access to the culture secretary to discuss “Great Exhibition 2.0”.The prime minister faces “cash for access” allegations after passing on a proposal for the exhibition, which was put to him by Lord Brownlow, who was paying for the refurbishment of his official residence.Lord Brownlow held a meeting with the then-culture secretary Oliver Dowden about the idea, which never came to fruition. A spokesman for the prime minister told reporters: “As is quite usual, when any suggestions such as this are put forward, it is right that it is passed on to the relevant department to take forward.“And as you’re aware, Oliver Dowden met with Lord Brownlow at the Royal Albert Hall on the joint proposal and you’ll have seen that was declared in the regular DCMS transparency returns.“As I say, it is normal practice that when an idea or proposal is put to the prime minister, it is referred to the relevant departments to take forward, and in this case the decision was taken not to take this any further.”Asked whether Boris Johnson had a role in setting up the meeting, the spokesman said it “would have been referred to DCMS through the usual official channels”.Liam James7 January 2022 12:321641557281DUP to hold ‘crunch meeting’ with Liz Truss next week Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the DUP, will hold a “crunch” meeting with British foreign secretary Liz Truss next week over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland.The talks come after Sir Jeffrey threatened to collapse the Stormont Executive over issues surrounding the Northern Ireland protocol. “We’re now six months on from the UK government’s command paper where they said six months ago that conditions had been met to trigger Article 16,” he said. “And six months later nothing has happened. That is not a sustainable position and if the UK Government isn’t prepared to act, I am.”Rory Sullivan7 January 2022 12:081641556063Braverman tweet on Colston statue verdictFollowing on from my last post, here is Suella Braverman’s tweet about the Colston statue verdict in full: Rory Sullivan7 January 2022 11:471641555636BREAKING: Attorney General could refer Colston verdict to Court of AppealConservative attorney general Suella Braverman has said she is considering referring the Colston statue verdict to the Court of Appeal because it is “causing confusion”.Her comment comes after four defendants were cleared of criminal wrongdoing over the toppling of the statue in Bristol in the summer of 2020. Although Ms Braverman acknowledged that trial by jury is “an important guardian of liberty and must not be undermined”, she said the jury’s decision in this case was confusing. Matt Mathers 7 January 2022 11:40 More

Sajid Javid reportedly warned members of the cabinet against the relaxation of Covid international travel rules, arguing it increased the risk of having to shut down the entire economy.The health secretary was said to have made the intervention during a meeting of the Covid operations committee earlier this week and suggested keeping the requirement for post-arrival PCR tests was vital in detecting new variants.It comes after Boris Johnson announced this week that testing requirements for fully vaccinated arrivals into the UK would be eased, including the removal of the pre-departure tests — a move that was welcomed by the tourism industry.From Sunday, travellers will also be required to take a post-arrival lateral flow test — purchased from a private provider — instead of the current requirement to take a PCR laboratory test on day two of arriving back in the country.The prime minister argued that pre-departure tests “discourages many from travelling for fear of being trapped overseas and incurring significant extra expense”.But according to The Times, Mr Javid strong opposed the relaxation and warned senior ministers present at a meeting earlier this week that PCR requirement was “instrumental” in detecting new variants sooner when people enter the country.“Sajid was very unhappy about the decision to remove the requirement for PCR tests,” a government source told the newspaper.They added: “He argued they are instrumental in spotting new variants sooner. He said that by scrapping them you increase the risk of having to shut down the entire economy. But he lost the argument.”Asked why Mr Johnson decided to relax rules after Mr Javid’s comments during a Covid-O meeting, the prime minister’s official spokesperson told journalists on Friday: “I don’t think you’d expect me to comment on private meetings.“But ministers collectively agreed to these changes to our international travel rules, including the changes around day two PCR testing — given that we feel they are no longer proportionate given that Omicron is the dominant variant in the UK with widespread community transmission.”They added: “I’d also highlight we maintained the requirement for passengers to take post-arrival lateral flow tests, and if that test is positive they will still need to take a PCR test which will help us identify variants.”Pressed on Mr Javid’s reported comments, the business minister Paul Scully also told Sky News: “I don’t believe at this stage that we need any more lockdowns.“What we are doing today is announcing the fact that the money for hospitality, retail, leisure and accommodation is available now for those businesses who have been hard-pressed throughout this pandemic, and especially that Christmas period when plan B came in, for those businesses to be able to approach their local authorities and get the financial support they need.“But what we’ve got to do is make sure we can balance the needs of everybody in what is an incredibly difficult situation – the pressures on the NHS, but also the pressures on the economy, the pressures on households, jobs, livelihoods, and indeed money that is coming in to pay for the public services in the first place.” More

There is “nothing untoward” about Boris Johnson discussing policy with a Tory donor who pair for his flat refurb, a government minister has said. Labour has called for a new standards commissioner investigation into the prime minister after text messages emerged between him and Lord Brownlow.The conversations show the PM called parts of his Downing Street residence a “tip” and promised to look into the donor’s proposal for a “great exhibition” while negotiating payments for the refurb.Mr Johnson on Thursday apologised for not giving the texts to his independent ethics advisor during the course of a previous probe – as opposition deputy chief Angela Rayner called for a fresh inquiry.In a media appearance on Friday morning business minister Paul Scully was asked whether the conversation amounted to corruption.“Ministers get proposals all the time and what rightly happened was that this got pushed on to the Culture, Media and Sport Department (DCMS) where it sits,” Mr Scully told Times Radio.“Lord Brownlow made his own approaches and it wouldn’t have just gone to the Prime Minister, but the important thing is it’s not gone ahead… so there’s nothing untoward that’s happening out of, you know, a few lines in a WhatsApp.”Labour meanwhile said “cosy text messages” between Mr Johnson and Lord Brownlow raised questions about “cash for access”.The party has said Commons Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone should investigate.Steve Reed, the shadow justice secretary, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “They matter immensely because Lord Brownlow appears to have access to the Prime Minister because he was paying for the flat renovations.“If that is the case, that is corruption. And what we’re seeing here is a case of potentially cash for access where Lord Brownlow was given access to ministers to try and influence them over decisions of spending taxpayers’ money – that is why this matters so immensely.“Those very cosy text messages show there was a quid pro quo in operation between the Prime Minister and Lord Brownlow, and we need to get to the absolute bottom of this.”Asked whether it is still a problem as the Great Exhibition was not given the go-ahead, Mr Reed replied: “The issue is not whether it happened, it is whether rich people can pay to get access to Government ministers to try and influence them over how they decide to spend taxpayers’ money.”Later, No 10 attempted to insist the referral of Lord Brownlow’s suggestion of a “Great Exhibition” to the culture department was “normal practice” and “quite usual”.“It’s routine that when proposals are put to departments that departments take them forward,” the prime minister’s spokesperson said, emphasising the Great Exhibition proposal “wasn’t taken forward”.The spokesperson said it was “quite usual when any suggestion such as this are put forward it’s right they are passed on to relevant department to take forward and as you’re aware Oliver Dowden met with Lord Brownlow at the Royal Albert Hall on the joint proposal — declared in the regular DCMS transparency returns”.They added: “As I say, it is normal practice that when an idea or proposal is put to the prime minister, it is referred to the relevant departments to take forward, and in this case the decision was taken not to take this any further.”Asked whether Boris Johnson had a role in setting up the meeting, the spokesman said it “would have been referred to DCMS through the usual official channels”.The spokesman added the Tory peer’s suggestion was “dealt with in the same way” as a member of the public’s would have been “in that a department will look at it and take a view on it”.Quizzed on why the Great Exhibition 2.0 idea was turned down, the No 10 official replied: “We’ve taken forward the idea of Festival UK and Unboxed 2022, which you can see all the details off on the website and is available for everybody to see. We went with that, which we confirmed in 2018 and was set out in the manifesto in 2019.” More

Senior cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has been accused of crying “crocodile tears” over the National Insurance rise, as Conservative MPs say it is too late for a rebellion over the looming tax hike.The Commons leader is understood to have spoken out against April’s 1.25 per cent rise at cabinet this week – arguing that it could not be justified amid the mounting cost of living crisis.Senior Tory MP Jake Berry, chair of the Northern Research Group (NRG) said Mr Rees-Mogg could have opposed the measure when it was proposed last autumn.“It’s all very well to turn around with crocodile tears now and say, ‘Look what my policies have created’,” Mr Berry told Times Radio. “Surely this shouldn’t have happened. In fact, the time to do something about it was when it was proposed.”He added: “So if Jacob Rees-Mogg wants to vote with his feet that’s up to him. It’s a bit late in the day, and I do hope that the government may think again.”Other Tory backbenchers urging the government to act on the cost of living crisis told The Independent it was now too late for a U-turn on National Insurance, despite Mr Rees-Mogg’s opposition.The party had been asked to back the rise in September to help meet the cost of the government’s social care reforms and growing NHS backlog, with only 10 rebels voting against the 1.25 per cent hike.Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, who opposed the tax rise, said: “I had my doubts that it would be spent on adult social care – my worry is that once it goes into the NHS pot it will never come out again. But a U-turn on that just isn’t going to happen.”Mr Mackinlay, chair of the Net Zero Scutiny Group of Tory backbenchers – who wants the government to scrap green levies on energy bills – said: “We have to look at other ways to help taxpayers.”Tory MP Robert Halfon said: “The decision [on National Insurance] has been made – they are not going to go back on it. Politics is the art of the possible. People don’t want us to put up taxes. But I’d rather focus on ways to help with energy bills.”Chancellor Rishi Sunak has vowed to press ahead with a planned National Insurance hike, but suggested he would consider ways to support hard-pressed families with fuel bills.“I have enormous respect for all of my colleagues,” he told reporters when asked about Mr Rees-Mogg’s apparent revolt. “It’s always easy to duck difficult decisions, but I don’t think that’s the responsible thing to do.”The hike in national insurance will come after inflation hit 5.1 per cent, more than double the UK’s 2 per cent target. Households are set to suffer another blow in April as the energy price cap is expected to be raised.Mr Mackinlay and Mr Halfon are among 20 Tory MPs and peers to have written an open letter asking the government to scrap VAT and green levies on rapidly-rising energy bills.Labour has also urged the government to cut VAT on energy bills, and the Liberal Democrats have called for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies. More

Dominic Raab’s department wasted a “staggering” £238m of its budget last year, according to new figures – an increase of 14 times on the year before.Labour called for an urgent National Audit Office investigation into the losses at the Ministry of Justice, which were driven by overspends worth tens of millions of pounds on an array of ill-advised or bungled projects.The biggest-ticket item driving up the level of waste was £98.2m on a new case management system for electronic tagging of criminals – which was then scrapped before it could be used.The department also had to pay an extra £72.1m HMRC because it had incorrectly reported the employment status of some of its workers, being hit with a further £15m penalty for breaching the rules. This part of the cash was returned to the Treasury.And £14m was paid to private contractors running probation services for the department breaking their contracts early, even though those companies had failed to hit their targets to reduce re-offending.Humiliatingly, HM Courts and Tribunals Service then spent £18m on a software system to manage cases which was so bad that courts staff are now threatening strike action over it.Mr Raab took over running the ministry in September last year, replacing Robert Buckland, who had held the role since 2019.Steve Reed, Labour’s shadow justice secretary, said the figures, put together by the opposition, showed that Mr Raab was unable to control his ministry.“This high tax, soft-on-crime Conservative Government has yet again wasted hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money,” he said. “It adds to a growing charge sheet including record court backlogs that see victims fail to get justice, pitifully low convictions for rape, and a drugs epidemic in prisons. It is another reminder that Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has no grip on his Department. “The National Audit Office needs to investigate urgently so taxpayers can see just why so much public money has been thrown away.”The opposition has in recent months targeted the government over waste and misspending of public funds – previously focusing on the handling of emergency pandemic contracts.Mr Reed reiterated the Labour promise to create an independent Office for Value for Money to scrutinise government spending.A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Achieving value for money for taxpayers is a key consideration in all our decision-making and the department has always stayed within its spending budget.“We have improved public safety by bringing forward reforms designed to help protect the public by reducing re-offending and cutting crime and providing swift access to justice. More

Boris Johnson is facing renewed criticism over the funding of his Downing Street flat refurbishment after his own ethics adviser condemned the “extraordinary” failure to hand over key messages during his investigation.The prime minister offered a “humble and sincere apology” to Lord Geidt – blaming a new mobile phone number for his failure to recall his exchange with Tory donor who offered to pay for the work.So what exactly do we know about the messages, the funding arrangements behind the refurb, and the various attempts to get to the bottom of the row? The Independent took a closer look at the timeline of the scandal’s incredible twists and turns.November 2020Mr Johnson and his partner Carrie wanted to have renovation work carried out on their private flat at 11 Downing Street. The PM contacted to Tory donor Lord Brownlow ask about paying for planned work by interior designer Lulu Lytle.In these messages – released for the first time this week – Mr Johnson told Lord Brownlow: “I am afraid parts of our flat are still a bit of a tip and am keen to allow Lulu Lytle to get on with it. Can I possibly ask her to get in touch with you for approvals?”Lord Brownlow – who had been planning to set up a trust to fund the refurb, but ended up initially providing the costs – told Mr Johnson: “Of course, get Lulu to call me and we’ll get it sorted ASAP!”The Tory donor added: “I should have said, as the trust isn’t set up yet (will be in January) approval is a doddle as it’s only me and I know where the £ will come from, so as soon as Lulu calls we can crack on.”February 2021Media reports emerge about the funding of Mr Johnson’s lavish new wallpaper and other furnishings – featuring claims that some additional payments were made through the Conservative Party and had not been properly declaredIt became clear that Mr Johnson’s flat refurb had exceeded the annual public grant of up to £30,000 any prime minister can spend on renovations, and that there had been discussions about a Downing Street trust being set up to pay for the work. But No 10 initially insisted that Johnson had met all the costs of the work personally.April 2021A leaked email from Tory donor Brownlow to the party’s co-chair from October 2020 showed he was making donations “to cover the payments the party has already made on behalf of the soon to be formed Downing Street trust”.Mr Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings claimed the PM had planned to have Tory donors “secretly pay” for the work – claiming he had warned against the “unethical, foolish, possibly illegal” funding plan.But the prime minister insisted he had “covered the costs” of the renovations himself, after he was challenged by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs. The same month, the Electoral Commission announced an investigation into the matter.May 2021Mr Johnson’s adviser on ministers’ interests Lord Geidt announced that he had cleared the prime minister of breaching the ministerial code after his own investigation.In a harsh warning, Lord Geidt ruled that the PM had “unwisely” allowed the refurbishment of his flat to go ahead without “more rigorous regard for how this would be funded”.The adviser also said Mr Johnson had assured him he had no knowledge of the payments until immediately prior to media reports in February 2021.December 2021The Electoral Commission ruled that the Conservative Party broke electoral laws over the controversial funding of Mr Johnson’s flat refurbishment – announcing that reporting and recording laws were not followed and handing the party a £17,800 fine.The electoral watchdog also said that in November 2020, Mr Johnson had sent a WhatsApp message to Lord Brownlow “asking him to authorise further … refurbishment works on the residence” – suggesting Lord Geidt had been misled.The investigation found a total of £112,549 had been paid by Huntswood Associates – whose director is Tory donor Lord Brownlow – to cover the refurbishment work by Soane Britain, which is owned by interior designer Lulu Lytle.The Conservatives were negligent in failing to fully report a donation of just over £67,801 from Huntswood Associates Limited, while a separate sum from Lord Brownlow’s company connected to the costs of the was “not reported as required”.The Tory Party had provided a “bridging loan” of £52,802 to the Cabinet Office for the refurbishment, before it was reimbursed by Lord Brownlow.The probe also found that in March 2020, Mr Johnson paid £112,549 to the supplier himself, so the supplier was able to return money received from Lord Brownlow and the Cabinet Office.January 2022Ethics adviser Lord Geidt attacked the failure to provide his investigation “with all the material” behind the funding, as an exchange of letters with Mr Johnson was released.Lord Geidt describes the omission of the prime minister’s communication with Lord Brownlow back in November 2020 as “extraordinary”. The prime minister offered a “humble and sincere apology” for a mix-up he blamed on replacing his phone number due to “security issues”.Labour said the PM’s “pathetic excuses will fool no one”. Deputy leader Angela Rayner said it was “simply impossible to read these exchanges” and conclude Mr Johnson had not broken the ministerial code.Mr Johnson now faces the threat of a further inquiry by the parliamentary commissioner for standards. Questions remain about how Mr Johnson ultimately paid back the £112,549 needed for the renovations.The PM also faces new questions about Lord Brownlow’s idea for a national exhibition. He told the Tory donor he was “on the great exhibition plan”, the latest release of messages revealed. Two months later, Lord Brownlow joined a meeting with the culture secretary “to discuss plans for Great Exhibition 2.0” – a showcase of British innovation later renamed Festival UK. More