PM must focus on junior doctors strike not peerage row over Johnson ‘cronies’, says Labour
Labour has said Rishi Sunak must focus on resolving junior doctor strikes rather than his row with Boris Johnson over the former PM’s resignation honours list. Mr Sunak claimed earlier this week that Mr Johnson asked him to overrule the House of Lords Appointments Commission after his proposed peerages to prominent allies were blocked. Mr […]
After Boris, can Rishi Sunak find his ‘mojo’?
These are tantalising times for Rishi Sunak. His problem predecessor-but-one, who has majored on manoeuvring since his failed leadership run in October, has entered self-imposed exile, his House of Commons days — for now at least — behind him. The problem is that he has done so in typical Johnsonian style, with a flailing broadside […]
Nadine Dorries accuses ‘posh boy’ Rishi Sunak of blocking her peerage
Nadine Dorries has claimed “posh boys” Rishi Sunak and his close friend and adviser James Forsyth were the key players behind the move to block her from getting a peerage. The ex-culture secretary used an interview with TalkTV, for whom she also works as a presenter, to accuse the PM of using “weasel words” and […]
How likely is a Nigel Farage-Boris Johnson alliance ‘to defend Brexit’?
The Boris Johnson psychodrama has developed in phases. From the three “Ps” — “Patersongate”, “Partygate” and the “Pincher affair” — which preceded the former PM’s defenestration last summer; to the botched rebellion over the Windsor Framework; and now his resignation as an MP, prompted by a letter from the privileges committee trailing its damning report […]
Michael Gove dismisses Boris Johnson’s claim that privileges committee is ‘kangaroo court’
Michael Gove has dismissed Boris Johnson’s claim of being a victim of a “kangaroo court”, while declining to say whether he will accept the privileges committee’s findings on the former PM and “partygate” The levelling up housing and communities secretary also suggested this morning that the government is now attempting to move on from the […]
Boris Johnson resignation statement in full
Boris Johnson has tonight announced his resignation as an MP with immediate effect. The move, which comes after he received a letter from the committee investigating ‘partygate’, triggers a by-election in his seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip. It also follows the resignation earlier today of Nadine Dorries from her Mid-Bedfordshire seat. Here is the […]
Week-in-Review: Sunak’s embrace of secrecy leaves him exposed
A week is a long time in politics. This one began with revelations that Covid inquiry chair Baroness Hallett was requesting Boris Johnson’s pandemic-era WhatsApps and ended with the government suing that same inquiry, set up under Johnson, created to investigate the government’s Covid conduct. We can trace the origins of the week’s developments back […]
Minister admits government will ‘probably’ lose Covid inquiry legal case – amid ‘cover-up’ accusations
The Cabinet Office yesterday confirmed it was launching a legal challenge in a bid to block the Covid inquiry’s request for Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages, diaries and notebooks. The department said it was bringing a judicial review challenge “with regret”, but added that there were “important issues of principle at stake”. The decision, which […]
Government will be ‘robustly transparent where appropriate’ on Covid inquiry, minister vows
Amid an almighty row between the cabinet office, the chair of the Covid public inquiry and Boris Johnson over the release of the former PM’s pandemic-era WhatsApp messages, a cabinet minister said the government “intends to be absolutely transparent and candid”. The Covid inquiry chair Baroness Hallett yesterday granted the cabinet office a short extension […]
Government accused of ‘cover-up’ over Covid inquiry WhatsApp row
Lord Kerslake, the former head of the civil service, has said there appear to be attempts at a “cover-up” by the government with ministers set to refuse to hand over unredacted WhatsApps to the official Covid inquiry. As a result, the Covid inquiry and the cabinet office now look to be building to a legal […]
