UK Politics

Boris Johnson gave his party a campaign boost with a visit to a byelection constituency – but then got the Tory candidate’s name wrong.On a whistle-stop visit to Oswestry in the North Shropshire constituency, the Prime Minister described Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst as a “fantastic” candidate – but did not quite get the correct name for the Conservative Party hopeful, a former British Army medical officer and honorary NHS consultant who now works as a barrister.Mr Johnson, wearing a mask, said: “I think we’ve got a fantastic candidate, Dr Neil Shastri-Hughes, who I’ve just been seen contributing already to the life of the community by vaccinating people, he’s a doctor amongst his many other talents and what he’s also going to do is work very, very hard for the people of North Shropshire.“I used to live in this constituency, I used to come shopping in Oswestry, so I know it a bit.“And he’s got all the issues, he understands what needs to be done, to support the NHS to get investment into our hospitals here but also make sure we do things like, duelling the A5, looking at the Oswestry to Gobowen railway line, other projects like that, I think he’s a fantastic candidate.” More

A billionaire Tory donor’s firm continued to claim millions of pounds’ worth of taxpayer-funded furlough money after recording a £75.3m profit, The Independent can reveal.Malcolm Healey’s company, Wren Kitchens, used public funds to help bankroll its staff costs during the Covid pandemic even though it banked tens of millions of pounds’ worth of pre-tax profits in its 2020 accounts.It came as Healey personally donated £500,000 to Boris Johnson’s party in December 2020, meaning he has given the Tories over £2.3m since 2017, according to Electoral Commission records.An analysis earlier this year found Healey – who resides in a 12,000-acre estate and has been described as a reclusive figure – had been the largest individual donor to the Conservatives since Johnson entered Downing Street.Kitchens tycoon Healey’s firm received £15.5m in 2020 via the government’s job retention scheme, set up to help struggling businesses pay staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to its latest accounts. But rather than feeling the pinch during the pandemic, the kitchen manufacturer saw its pre-tax profit climb to £75.3m in the 12 months to the end of December 2020, up from £65.1m the previous year.There is no suggestion Healey’s firm has broken any rules but a Labour MP said the use of the scheme went against “the whole spirit” of it, labelling it “immoral”.Many companies which claimed furlough money during the pandemic either stopped doing so when they endured the crisis better than expected, or paid funds back. Instead of handing furlough money back to the taxpayer, Wren Kitchens continued to claim from the public purse in 2021, receiving more than £3m in furlough payments, according to an analysis of HMRC data by The Independent.Labour MP Rushanara Ali, a member of the influential Treasury Committee, told The Independent: “This goes against the whole spirit of the furlough scheme. It is unjust and immoral for a billionaire Tory donor’s firm to take taxpayers’ money to pay staff when their business is not in need, at a time when millions were struggling and continue to struggle to make ends meet. “Support should only go to those employers who needed it. Many companies returned funds back to the Treasury after weathering the crisis better than expected, which was the right thing to do.”For each of the three months between January and March, Wren Kitchens Ltd claimed between £1,000,001 and £2.5m, as well as between £250,001 and £500,000 in April. During this period, the scheme paid 80 per cent of a furloughed employee’s wages up to a cap of £2,500 a month. The company did not make any claims between May and August.The figures are detailed in data published by HMRC on the scheme, which ended on 30 September after being set up by chancellor Rishi Sunak in March 2020 at the outset of the pandemic. It means the firm has claimed at least £3.2m of furlough cash since the turn of the year – although the figure could be much higher as the HMRC data is only provided in bands.Wren Kitchens’ accounts also show that the firm paid directors a total of £1.5m in 2020, with the highest paid receiving £186,636. The figures emerged in its latest Companies House accounts, which were published on 25 June.The firm, which manufactures and supplies fitted kitchens, faced criticism from the Unite union – which has members at the company – at the outset of the pandemic in March last year for laying off hundreds of staff. At the time, Wren said it had “anticipated that there would be a reduction in economic activity due to the coronavirus and had identified team members who were under-performing and taken steps to reduce its headcount accordingly”.Of the furlough details, Unite regional officer Mike Wilkinson said: “The gall of Wren Kitchens is totally unsurprising. The rot set in with Wren when they rushed to get rid of showroom staff at the first whiff of lockdown.”He added: “It should come as no surprise that Wren, under the guidance of the owner Malcolm Healey, would seize the opportunity to use taxpayers’ money to subsidise his already huge fortune.”Wren Kitchens is a subsidiary of The West Retail Group Ltd, whose ultimate controlling party is Malcolm Healey. Malcolm and his brother, Eddie, who died in August, were listed as being worth £2.2bn when they were jointly ranked 75th in the latest Sunday Times Rich List – a £200m increase in wealth from the previous year. Malcolm Healey lives on the Warter Priory estate, near York, which he purchased for £48m in 1998.Wren Kitchens did not respond to requests for comment.A Treasury spokesman said: “Furlough provided a lifeline to more than a million businesses across the UK and protected nearly 12 million jobs – with businesses passing all the money they received from the scheme on to employees .“We won’t apologise for doing everything we could during this unprecedented economic shock to support eligible businesses; as a result of our action the economy is growing, more employees are on payrolls than ever before and unemployment has fallen for nine months in a row.”The Conservative Party did not respond to a request for comment. More

Conservative MP Mark Francois is to self-publish a memoir of his own role in the battle for Brexit – claiming he was turned down by book industry people who did not want the UK to quit the EU.The leading Brexiteer, chair of the European Research Group (ERG) of Tory Eurosceptics, said Remain-biased publishing houses turned down his book Spartan Victory.“I wrote it during lockdown and it’s basically about the battle for Brexit – the three-year battle in parliament and media to honour the result of the referendum,” Mr Francois told The Telegraph’s Chopper’s Politics podcast.Explaining that he approached a couple of dozen publishers with his book on the “inside story” of Brexit, the Tory MP said: “The problem was the orthodoxy within the publishing industry is very much Remain.”Mr Francois added: “I got some nice compliments on the book and the writing, but it became fairly evident after a while that no publisher wanted to publish it.”Asked if publishers were really Remain-biased or whether the idea was “in your head”, Mr Francois said: “There was definitely an element of that. I was getting it all second-hand through an agent to be fair, so I wasn’t getting it face to face.”Mr Francois said he was advised to do his own thing by fellow Tory MP Nadine Dorries, recently appointed culture secretary. “She said, ‘Get it self-published, if the book’s worth publishing,’” he said.The ERG chief added: “If 0.1% of the people who voted for Brexit bought the book that would make 17,400 sales.”Meanwhile, the backbench Tory MP said he would like the government to trigger Article 16 to suspend parts of the Northern Ireland protocol if the EU don’t concede to UK demands – saying “ideally” he would like to see the bold move before Christmas.Mr Francois said: “[If] you keep threatening to do [trigger Article 16] and you don’t do it, then you look weak. If we’re going to do, it should be sometime in the next few weeks,” said the ERG chief.On Friday Lord Frost said “significant” gaps still remain following his latest discussions with the EU Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic on the impasse over the protocol, with the two sides agreeing to “intensified” talks.The Brexit minister confirmed the UK remained ready to trigger Article 16 – unilaterally suspending some of the arrangements already agreed with the EU – if a settlement cannot be found.“I made clear that the UK still wanted to find a negotiated solution if that was possible,” he said. “Nevertheless the gap between our positions is still significant and progress on many issues has been quite limited.”The UK is pressing for an easing of checks on goods moving from mainland Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the protocol, arguing they are damaging business and straining community relations.Mr Sefcovic urged the UK to conclude a deal to allow medicines to flow easily from Britain to Northern Ireland as well as other issues concerning trade to the British province. More

Labour’s Chris Bryant has said he believes that a “culture war” waged by the British government has made him “feel less safe” as a gay man for the first time in three decades.The MP for Rhondda in south Wales said that he does not believe Boris Johnson is homophobic, but said that his government policies have made him “feel more nervous”.Speaking to Nick Robinson for the Political Thinking podcast, he said: “I now feel more nervous as a gay man in Britain than I have for 30 years. I’ve discussed this with people who work in Downing Street. “It’s because they’re very happy to have culture wars. They’ve learned this trick in America from Trump and in the end culture wars will always pick on those who are slightly different.”Mr Bryant left the priesthood in 1991 to pursue a career in politics. He entered a civil partnership with his partner in 2010 – the first ceremony of its kind ever held in the Houses of Parliament – before the couple later married.The Labour MP is also chair of the Commons standards committee.He added: “There’s a world where people who think it’s politically advantageous to stir that pot and that makes me genuinely fearful.“I’m not accusing the prime minister of being homophobic but I do feel less physically safe as a gay man than I did 30 years ago.“It’s a very strong part of people’s experience of modern Britain and I just worry about some of the language.”When questioned about examples of problematic policies, Mr Bryant mentioned the government’s position on issues relating to trans people, and added that ministers did not seem willing to put an outright ban on “conversion therapy”.A No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister is proud of this government’s record on LGBT issues and we continue to make progress in areas such as banning conversion therapy and extending same-sex marriage to all parts of the UK.“He is also absolutely clear there is no place for homophobic abuse.”No10 also said that the UK “continues to be recognised as one of the top 10 most progressive countries in Europe for LGBT rights by ILGA-Europe,” with one of the “world’s strongest legislative frameworks to prevent and tackle discrimination”.The government has been criticised in the past for its stances against “woke” practices and beliefs, such as the taking of the knee as an anti-racism gesture during the Euro 2020 football tournament. More

No 10 has refused to share details of staff parties set to be held at Downing Street in the run-up to Christmas, insisting that any “private events” would not be publicly revealed.The Independent understands that staff Christmas parties will go ahead across Whitehall departments during the festive period – despite growing concern about the spread of the Covid omicron variant.The Home Office, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Department for Education are among those in which individual teams will hold smaller parties – but there will be no departmental-wide events.A government source said there were no plans to cancel all the festive gatherings organised across Whitehall in light of the latest data on omicron, saying in-person events would be within current rules.It comes as Professor Peter Openshaw, a member of the government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said he would not feel comfortable attending a party as the “chances of getting infected were too high”.Asked by reporters if Downing Street would share plans for any staff Christmas party, the prime minister’s spokesperson said: “Obviously, events that happen in No 10 that are private events – we wouldn’t inform you.”The No 10 spokesperson added: “We obviously wouldn’t set out details of private functions in No 10 but, as I say, there will be festive events in the run-up to Christmas.”Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden said the Tories had no intention of cancelling their own Christmas drinks event for staff, and encouraged others to continue with their celebrations.“I don’t intend to cancel it as chairman of the Conservative Party,” he told Sky News. “The message to people, I think, is fairly straightforward… keep calm, carry on with your Christmas plans.”Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said the Parliamentary Labour Party had cancelled its Christmas party. “We’ve decided not to do that now,” she said.She said Labour had been “reviewing our Christmas get-togethers” following the rise of the omicron – though the party is not urging businesses to do the same.The Liberal Democrats said individual teams were holding their own Christmas parties, but there would not be a big event at party HQ.A spokesperson told The Independent: “A decision was taken some time ago to have smaller sit-down dinners instead of larger parties. We will continue to review this.”The debate over gatherings comes as scientists and medical groups continue to study the possible threat posed by omicron this winter.The British Medical Association (BMA) has said people should be encouraged to “avoid large groups” and meet outdoors where possible over the festive period.A study in South Africa has suggested that the variant has “substantial” ability to cause reinfection in people who have previously had Covid. But a CovBoost study found that booster jabs may well offer good protection in the face of the variant.Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police has been asked to launch an investigation into Christmas parties held at Downing Street during last year’s lockdown while strict lockdown rules were still in place.In a letter to the force’s commissioner Labour MP Barry Gardiner said officers “should investigate the matter further to establish the facts and see if any laws might have been broken”.Met chief Cressida Dick had said earlier on Friday that she was not aware of any complaints against the prime minister’s office. “If I get a letter, I’ll read a letter,” she told LBC – shortly before Mr Gardiner shared his letter online. More

Sophie Raworth has been announced as the interim presenter of BBC One’s flagship Sunday morning programme, currently known to viewers as The Andrew Marr Show.The BBC said Raworth, 53, will present the temporarily-titled Sunday Morning programme from January 9.The news follows Marr’s recent announcement that he is leaving the BBC after more than two decades.The BBC said in a statement that Raworth will front the popular show for a “short period” while a recruitment process for a permanent presenter takes place.Once a permanent appointment is made, the programme will relaunch with a new presenter, title and a new look, the BBC said.Raworth has covered for Marr in the past and is one of the main presenters of the BBC News At Six and Ten, which she has worked on since 2003.She joined the BBC regional trainee scheme in 1992 and went on to report for Greater Manchester Radio, and later moved to Brussels as a BBC Regions correspondent.In 1995, she moved to Leeds for BBC Look North, which is where she first presented the news. She joined BBC Breakfast News in 1997 as a co-presenter.Raworth has also presented for the broadcaster from the Oscars in Los Angeles, in Washington for Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial, and during a special programme for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002.She hosted BBC Breakfast alongside Jeremy Bowen from its launch in 2000 and has also presented election night coverage, Watchdog, Crimewatch and the Chelsea Flower Show.Marr’s last show will air on December 19. More

The Metropolitan Police have been asked to launch an investigation into Christmas parties held at Downing Street during last year’s lockdown.In a letter to the force’s commissioner Labour MP Barry Gardiner said officers “should investigate the matter further to establish the facts and see if any laws might have been broken”.It comes after claims that No.10 staff drank into the early hours and played party games in contravention of Tier 3 lockdown rules last year.Metropolitan police chief Cressida Dick had said earlier on Friday that she was not aware of any complaints against the prime minister’s office for allegedly breaking the rules.“You asked if we are investigating – the answer to that is no,” said told LBC radio.”And, as far as I’m aware, we have had no complaints and therefore I really can’t comment on what did or didn’t happen thereAsked what would happen if she received a letter, she said: “If I get a letter, I’ll read a letter.“This is the Met. We are professional. We are impartial. We act without fear or favour. We follow evidence. That’s what we do.”Mr Gardiner sent the letter following the interview and said he was “surprised to hear” that no investigation had yet been launched.”It is alleged that over 50 people were in attendance at the event at that this may have been a breach of the then Covid rules,” he wrote.”At the time such large gatherings were banned. It has also been alleged that there was a separate large event on 27 November 2020.”The MP said if the events took place it implied that “there is one rule for the government and another for everyone else”.Some repeat offenders who held parties during lockdown were issued with £10,000 fines.The Covid-19 Bereaved families group on Thursday said they were “sickened” to hear of the revelations. And the ex-head of the government’s legal service hinted the law may have been broken – noting that he had cancelled his own leaving party around the same time “for legal reasons”.A No 10 spokesperson refused to deny parties had taken place and said only that rules had been followed.“Covid rules have been followed at all times,” they said. The government issued similar statements in relation to the affair of Matt Hancock, and Dominic Cummings’ trip to Barnard Castle. More