Boris Johnson’s Savile claim ‘a ridiculous slur’, says Keir Starmer
Boris Johnson gave a speech at a leaving event revealed by Sue Gray to have been held in Downing Street just over a week into the third national lockdown, according to a new report.
In her damning update into the Partygate scandal, the top civil servant said that the gathering at No 10 on 14 January last year was among a dozen events now being investigated by the Metropolitan Police. Both The Telegraph and The Guardian reported on Tuesday night that the prime minister was in attendance.
The former also claimed that Mr Johnson was witnessed heading up to his Downing Street flat on the night of 13 November, when a gathering also under police investigation allegedly took place following the exit of his former chief aide-turned-nemesis Dominic Cummings.
As he faced a battering – including from his own benches – in the Commons on Monday, Mr Johnson said he would not say whether he had been in attendance at his flat that night as a result of the ongoing police investigation, a line repeated by Downing Street when asked about the fresh claims on Tuesday evening.
It came after a tenth Tory MP publicly called on the PM to resign, and Downing Street backed down after coming under pressure over plans to keep secret any fine imposed on Johnson as a result of the parties row, after opposition parties warned of a potential “cover up”.
Antonia Romeo ‘rejects’ role at No 10
Antonia Romeo, one of the UK’s most senior female civil servants, has ruled herself out of the running for the role of permanent secretary at Number 10, reported the Telegraph and the Times.
This comes in the wake of “partygate” findings as the prime minister attempts to regain political ground. Ms Romeo, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, reportedly sought the role and was seen entering Downing Street last month. She would however, be continuing with the current role, reported the Times.
So far, Mr Johnson has not announced changes in his inner circle, even as Sue Gray’s report concluded “failures of leadership and judgment”.
Namita Singh2 February 2022 05:36
Johnson promises better opportunity for all in ‘Levelling Up’ plan
Struggling to regain the political initiative after the ‘partygate’, Boris Johnson is promising to break the link between “geography and destiny” as the Government publishes its long-awaited blueprint for “leveling up” the country.
The White Paper will set out a series of wide-ranging national “missions” – from improving public transport to ensuring access to 5G broadband – to be enshrined in law.
At the same time, ministers are promising to provide more power to the regions in a “devolution revolution” with the offer of a London-style deal for any area of England that wants one.
Labour however dismissed the plan as “more slogans” with “few new ideas”.
Namita Singh2 February 2022 05:04
Presentation that convinced Johnson climate change is real
A slide presentation that convinced prime minister Boris Johnson on climate change has been released for the first time, following a freedom of information request filed by UK climate website Carbon Brief, reported BBC News.
The “teach in” was organised on 28 January 2020 by the office of Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser. Consisting of 11 slides showing the impact of climate change, the presentation took place in the Cabinet Room of Number 10 Downing Street and was led by Prof Stephen Belcher.
The presentation showed the increase in global temperature since 1850, along with graphs showing rise in carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere and rising sea levels.
Namita Singh2 February 2022 04:40
Billions for leveling up ‘wasted’ as government picks wrong projects, warns study
Billions of pounds spent on “leveling up” may be wasted because ministers are picking projects too small to revive poorer areas and failing to analyse “what works”, a damning report warns.
The study – released as a long-delayed blueprint for Boris Johnson’s flagship policy is unveiled – sharply criticises grants from the £4.8bn Leveling Up Fund and £3.2bn Towns Fund for not being “based on evidence”.
Read the report by Rob Merrick:
Namita Singh2 February 2022 04:09
Johnson tries to reset premiership with ‘levelling up’ policies
The Boris Johnson government on Wednesday will set out its plan to “level up” up the country, as it attempts to move away from the scandal of lockdown parties in Downing Street and focus on one of the big policy pledges which got Mr Johnson elected in 2019.
The White Paper is expected to be published on Wednesday in which communities secretary Michael Gove is expected to detail plans for creating better opportunities out the South East of England.
The plan to establish more equal education and employment chances was a key tenet of the prime minister’s offer at the 2019 general election, at which voters handed him a landslide majority.
Namita Singh2 February 2022 03:57
Border Force Officers seek high court injunction over ‘push policy’
The representatives of Border Force officers and a charity are bringing in a legal challenge in order to prevent the Home Office from acting on a controversial measure to “push back” migrants crossing the English Channel.
The Public and Commercial Services Union and Care4Calais have sought a High Court injunction against the government over moves to push vessels carrying migrants back to France.
In the argument on Wednesday, they would be seeking an injunction to block the use of this measure till the court decides on it.
Namita Singh2 February 2022 03:47
Here’s the latest assessment on the PM’s situation from Dominic Cummings…
Andy Gregory2 February 2022 02:59
Analysis | The Treasury sat on its chequebook over Levelling Up and it shows
Ahead of the government’s long-awaited Levelling Up white paper, which is due tomorrow, officials have toldThe Independent that Whitehall squabbles have left the much-feted document long in word and short in deed.
Our economics editor Anna Isaac has this insight into the policy paper:
Andy Gregory2 February 2022 02:03
Billions for levelling up ‘wasted’ as ministers pick wrong projects and ignore ‘what works’, study warns
A damning report has warned that billions of pounds spent on “levelling up” may be wasted because ministers are picking projects too small to revive poorer areas and failing to analyse “what works”, our deputy political editor Rob Merrick reports.
The study – released as a long-delayed blueprint for Boris Johnson’s flagship policy is unveiled – sharply criticises grants from the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund and £3.2bn Towns Fund for not being “based on evidence”.
The spending watchdog rebukes ministers for failing to produce a proper business case, while ignoring advice that small schemes “do not usually drive significant growth”.
Andy Gregory2 February 2022 01:02
Labour calls on Sunak to halt bankers’ tax cut to pay for cost-of-living help
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has this exclusive report:
Labour is challenging chancellor Rishi Sunak to cancel a planned £1bn-a-year tax cuts for banks and use the cash to ease the blow of the cost-of-living crisis on working people.
An amendment to the Finance Bill being debated in the House of Commons on Wednesday would halt a planned cut from 8 to 3 per cent in the surcharge levied on banking profits over £25m from next year.
Instead, Labour says the estimated £1bn annual cost of the reduction could be used to fund home improvements for hundreds of thousands of families to soften the blow of energy bill rises expected to average around £700 from April.
You can read more details here:
Andy Gregory2 February 2022 00:08