Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis shows support for Johnson in wake of partygate
The Northern Ireland secretary insists Boris Johnson will survive the ongoing Partygate scandal to fight and win the next general election as Conservative leader.
Brandon Lewis’s comment came amid growing pressure on the PM – some from his own MPs – to quit if he is fined by police over alleged lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street, with ex-leader Iain Duncan Smith saying it would be “very tough” for him to stay on.
“He has my absolute 100 per cent-plus loyalty,” the cabinet minister said of his boss, adding he had got all “the big decisions right”.
Meanwhile, police have been asked to investigate death threats made against Sir Keir Starmer by right-wing extremists in the wake of the PM’s false claim that he “failed to prosecute” the paedophile Jimmy Savile. Messages from users of the Telegram app have been sent to police by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate. Among them were calls for the Labour leader and shadow foreign secretary David Lammy to be “executed”.
That’s it for today
We’re ending our live UK politics coverage for the day, thanks for following along.
We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Sam Hancock13 February 2022 16:27
Watch: ‘Cultural issue in Met’ that must be ‘unpicked’, says former chief
‘Cultural issue in the Met’ that must be ‘unpicked’, says former police chief
Sam Hancock13 February 2022 16:11
Letters: If PM is found to have broken Covid laws, he must go
Today, our readers give their thoughts on everything from Partygate to Boris Johnson’s new communications director, Guto Harri.
Sam Hancock13 February 2022 15:37
Khan will oppose Met chief who can’t tackle force’s ‘cultural problems’
More from Sadiq Khan, who has pledged to oppose the appointment of a new Met Police chief unless they have a “robust plan” to deal with the “cultural problems” that have led to a series of scandals at the force.
Writing in The Observerthe London Mayor said he was “deeply concerned” that public trust and confidence in the country’s biggest police force “has been shattered so badly”, which he concluded could only be rebuilt with new leadership at the top of the Met.
Dame Cressida Dick dramatically announced she was standing down as Metropolitan Police Commissioner on Thursday evening after Mr Khan made clear he had no confidence in her plans to reform the service.
Sam Hancock13 February 2022 15:07
Watch: NHS chief ‘frustrated’ govt won’t sign up to recruitment plan
NHS chief ‘incredibly frustrated’ that govt won’t sign up to long-term NHS recruitment plan
Sam Hancock13 February 2022 14:41
Labour: Reforms needed to deal with ‘perfect storm’ for policing
Following my earlier post (1.45pm), here’s what Yvette Cooper said about Britain’s policing in full, as reported by our political editor Andrew Woodcock.
The shadow home secretary warned an overhaul is needed to police training, misconduct proceedings, whistleblowing structures and social media use, writes
In the wake of the death of Sarah Everard and the exposure of misogynistic behaviour at Charing Cross police station in London, she called on home secretary Priti Patel to make tackling violence against women and girls a strategic policing requirement for all forces, as recommended in a report last year by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.
Sam Hancock13 February 2022 14:40
Ministers voice security fears as PM seeks closer ties to China
A cabinet split over UK-China relations has deepened after it emerged Boris Johnson is seeking to boost trade with the Asian superpower.
Boris Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak are looking to form what sources close to them describe as a more pragmatic and balanced approach to ties with Beijing. The tone adopted by No 10 and 11 is at odds with what some cabinet figures view as a mounting threat to British security from the world’s second largest economy.
Foreign and business secretaries Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng are among those in cabinet who The Independent understands favour a more guarded approach which reduces the UK’s economic dependence on China, rather than reinforces it, writes our economics editor Anna Isaac.
Sam Hancock13 February 2022 13:55
Watch: Policing in UK facing ‘perfect storm,’ says shadow home sec
Yvette Cooper tells Sophy Ridge that policing in UK is facing ‘perfect storm’
Sam Hancock13 February 2022 13:45
‘Stretching’ NHS targets not enough to stop waiting lists rising – health chief
An update on the post-Covid NHS crisis. Waiting lists are likely to continue growing for longer than government ministers have suggested, even if trusts meet their “very stretching” targets to tackle the backlog of treatment which has built up during the Covid pandemic, a health service boss has warned.
Launching a plan to speed up elective treatments last week, health secretary Sajid Javid acknowledged that queues will lengthen over the coming years as people who held back during the pandemic seek help, but said they were expected to be on a downward trend by March 2024.
But the chief executive of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson, today said that waiting lists could continue to swell beyond that point, even if trusts meet the target of stepping up to 130 per cent of normal levels by 2024/25.
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has the full report:
Sam Hancock13 February 2022 13:27
Sunday services still affected by pay rows
Some transport news now. A rail operator was running a limited service on Sunday because of a strike by conductors in a dispute over pay.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said its members on TransPennine Express (TPE) were solidly supporting a 24-hour walkout. More strikes will be held on the next three Sundays.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Reports from the ground show that RMT members are solidly supporting the action on TPE this morning in what is a fight for basic pay justice.
“Our members refuse to be treated unfairly and will be continuing with industrial action until the pay discrimination is dealt with. The company need to wake up to that fact and we hope today’s action will shake them out of their slumber.”
The company announced an amended timetable for Sunday, with a “significant” reduction in available services.
Sam Hancock13 February 2022 13:04