Related video: Boris Johnson refuses to apologise for handling of sleaze scandal
Scotland Yard is formally considering calls to investigate accusations of links between donations to the Conservative Party and the granting of peerages.
It follows a letter sent to the Metropolitan Police, by SNP MP Peter Wishart, saying 22 of the Tories’ biggest financial contributors had been made members of the House of Lords in 11 years – and demanded this be looked into.
While a decision on whether to launch a full-scale probe has not yet been made, nor the allegations formally assessed, a spokesperson for the force could confirm: “At this time, we are considering the contents of the correspondence.”
Boris Johnson is facing anger from all sides after saying he will not intervene in revelations about Tory MP Geoffrey Cox voting from the Caribbean during lockdown and his role advising the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven, when the Foreign Office brought an inquiry against it.
Labour demanded No 10 investigate whether the £1m-earning lawyer “is a Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP”. But the PM’s spokesman said rules about MPs holding second jobs “are set” by the Commons – not Downing Street.
UK armed forces deny troops defeated in Afghanistan evacuation
The head of the UK’s armed forces is insisting British forces were never defeated on the battlefield in Afghanistan.
General Sir Nick Carter, speaking before the Commons defence committee, said “what unravelled the whole effort [to evacuate Afghanistan] was the political context in which all of this was conducted”.
He also defended “bullish” comments he made predicting the Afghan government would survive, despite his fears morale was being undermined by the withdrawal of foreign forces.
“The plan was to try to get the Afghan government to hang in and hold it together,” he told MPs looking into the chaos that surrounded the military operation.
“I am one of the voices they listen to, more so probably than any other foreigner other than the odd American.”
General Carter added: “If I had said that, then definitely I would have undermined them even more than they were undermined.”
Sam Hancock9 November 2021 18:38
Parliament must fix sleaze scandal to avoid being seen as ‘dictatorship’ – speaker
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, has given his verdict about the recent sleaze-filled weeks in Westminster.
He suggested the public could start to see the Commons as a “dictatorship” if parliament does not get its house in order, reports our policy correspondent Jon Stone.
On Tuesday, Sir Lindsay was asked whether the damage to parliament could become irreparable and replied: “Well, if we haven’t got democracy, we’re a dictatorship. And that’s one thing that we are not going to become.”
His comments come after a string of revelations about MPs’ second jobs, including the resignation of former cabinet minister Owen Paterson over a lobbying scandal.
Sam Hancock9 November 2021 18:02
DUP says EU-UK deal over NI protocol ‘unlikely’
A Brexit update now, as DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says a deal between the UK and EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol is “unlikely”.
Speaking to reporters at Belfast City Airport today, he said:
“I hope we don’t get to a situation where there is a trade war between the UK and the European Union, I don’t think it’s in anyone’s interests that that is the outcome.
“The meeting I had yesterday with Lord Frost certainly suggested that from the UK’s perspective, there’s still a couple of weeks left in these negotiations.
“Although it is evident at the moment that in the absence of the EU stepping up and putting firmer, more realistic proposals on the table, I think a positive outcome in terms of an agreed solution is unlikely and, in those circumstances, I do expect the UK government to take unilateral action to address the difficulties created by the Northern Ireland Protocol.”
Sir Jeffrey added Article 16 is an agreed mechanism within its structure and the UK is “perfectly entitled” to trigger it.
Sam Hancock9 November 2021 17:43
Travel to Ethiopia ‘strongly advised against’ due to military clashes
Over to Africa now. The Foreign Office is advising against all travel to Ethiopia over military clashes in the country.
FCDO officials also urged British nationals currently in the country to leave “while commercial routes are available”.
A statement on the department website said: “The FCDO now advises against all travel to Ethiopia, except for Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (where advice remains against all but essential travel). The FCDO also advises you to leave Ethiopia while commercial routes are available.”
The conflict is ongoing in the Tigray, Amhara and Afar regional states of Ethiopia, and the FCDO said it “has the potential to escalate and spread quickly and with little warning”.
Tory MP Vicky Ford, the minister for Africa, tweeted the following:
Sam Hancock9 November 2021 17:02
Met considers probe into Tory ‘cash for honours’ accusations
Scotland Yard is formally considering a call to investigate allegations of links between donations to the Conservative Party and the granting of peerages.
Peter Wishart, the Scottish National Party (SNP) Commons leader, wrote a letter to the Metropolitan Police saying that 22 of the Tories’ biggest financial contributors had been made members of the House of Lords in 11 years.
While a decision on whether to launch a full investigation has not yet been made, a spokesperson for the Met said: “The Met has received correspondence relating to recent media reports concerning the awarding of peerages. At this time, we are considering the contents of the correspondence.”
Our home affairs correspondent Lizzie Dearden has this breaking report:
Sam Hancock9 November 2021 16:35
Watch: Government failed Grenfell residents, Gove tells MPs
Government failed Grenfell residents, Michael Gove tells MPs
Sam Hancock9 November 2021 16:28
PM allows Commons to censure disgraced Owen Paterson
Boris Johnson has bowed to pressure to formally reverse his attempt to fix Commons sleaze rules and allow the disgraced Owen Paterson to be censured, writes Rob Merrick.
Instead, a vote to scrap a proposed new Tory-dominated standards committee will be allowed.
“Having listened to those again yesterday afternoon, we will table a motion tonight for next week to formalise the change of approach by unpicking the amendment,” the prime minister’s spokesperson said.
Rory Sullivan9 November 2021 16:10
‘His brass neck beggar’s belief’: Displeasure in Devon at MP Geoffrey Cox’s Caribbean revelations
Constituents in the Torridge and West Devon seat have expressed their displeasure at the latest sleaze scandal to rock the Tories.
The controversy centres on their MP Geoffrey Cox, who spent four weeks of this year’s lockdown working a second job in the British Virgins Islands (BVI).
Maurice Pearce, a retired shop owner, told The Independent: “What would I say to him now?” the 74-year-old ponders. “Get your arse back here where you belong and do your job.”
David Brenton, a Labour member of Torridge District Council, shared this sentiment. “His brass neck beggars belief,” he says. “Well, now he’s shown us all where his priorities lie: making a few quid.
Rory Sullivan9 November 2021 15:53
Health secretary defends PM for not wearing mask in hospital
Health secretary Sajid Javid has said the prime minister did nothing wrong by not wearing a mask during a visit to a Northumberland hospital yesterday.
This comes despite Hexham General Hospital advising that face coverings should be worn at all times inside.
Answering a question from a Labour MP about the incident, Mr Javid claimed “the prime minister and his team followed all rules that were required”.
Rory Sullivan9 November 2021 15:36
Javid confirms mandatory jabs for NHS staff
Frontline NHS and social care staff will need to be fully vaccinated by 1 April to keep their jobs, the health secretary has said.
Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Sajid Javid said these workers “carry a unique responsibility” to their patients.
Only those who are medically exempt and those who not have close contact with patients can be unvaccinated.
Rory Sullivan9 November 2021 15:16
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