“Boris Johnson deliberately misled parliament over the Downing Street parties scandal, a committee of MPs will find on Wednesday after rejecting his central defence. The former prime minister claimed that he was advised by senior officials that both Covid rules and guidance had been complied with at all times in No 10 during the pandemic. However, the privileges committee, a parliamentary standards body that has investigated Johnson, has concluded that officials did not advise him that social-distancing guidelines had been followed, despite him repeatedly making the claim in the Commons. One of his most senior officials in fact warned him against making such a claim on the basis it was “unrealistic”.” – The Times
“Boris Johnson today accused Rishi Sunak of “talking rubbish” as their extraordinary war of words intensified. The ex-PM hit out at his successor for alleging he had wanted to bend the rules to dish out honours to his MP pals. Mr Sunak this morning said he was “not prepared” to overrule the appointments watchdog Holac despite Mr Johnson’s demands. He said BoJo had “asked me to do something I wasn’t prepared to do… and if people don’t like that then tough.” But in an escalation of their growing feud, Mr Johnson this afternoon fired a missile back at his former Chancellor… MPs including Former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, Alok Sharma, ex-minister Nigel Adams and Alister Jack were expected to be on the peerages list revealed last week, but did not appear.” – The Sun
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“Allies of Boris Johnson yesterday stepped up criticism of the Commons Partygate investigation, despite warnings they could face suspension from Parliament. The Commons Privileges Committee reacted angrily at the weekend after Boris Johnson branded it a ‘kangaroo court’ over its ‘biased’ investigation into claims he lied to MPs when he said lockdown gatherings in No 10 did not break Covid rules. In a statement, the committee, chaired by Labour’s former deputy leader Harriet Harman, said Mr Johnson had ‘impugned the integrity’ of the Commons with his attacks. Whitehall sources said the committee could also censure allies who have criticised its proceedings.” – Daily Mail
“Rishi Sunak would block Boris Johnson from standing again as a Conservative MP before the next election, sources have told the Guardian, as the two men engaged in an extraordinary war of words. The prime minister clashed publicly with Johnson over his failed attempts to elevate several close allies to the House of Lords, accusing him of having lobbied to overturn due process to appoint the three Tory MPs. Johnson dismissed his claims as “rubbish”. The exchanges brought into the open the bitter long-running dispute between the two politicians, which has caused a wider rift in the Conservative party and triggered a series of byelections that could test Sunak’s grip on power.” – The Guardian
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>Yesterday: Local Government: The London Conservative Mayoral shortlist. Scully isn’t on it – but Hossain, a surprise choice, is.
“Nigel Farage has urged Boris Johnson to join a centre-right insurgency. He also suggested more than ten Red Wall Tory MPs could be willing to join a new party. Ex-UK Independence Party leader Mr Farage said: “I think it’s the end of Boris Johnson in the Conservative Party. If he really wants to be in politics he is going to have to be part of some sort of centre-right realignment.” … He asked whether Mr Johnson would want to be part of a new attempt to break the mould of British politics or just be on the after-dinner speaking circuit. He pointed to those MPs in the so-called Red Wall in the north of England that Boris Johnson helped win as part of his 80-seat majority in 2019.” – The Sun
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“I know, I know, as the reader you are probably thinking ‘oh cry me a river’ – and I get it. But it was important to me to show that someone from my background could break the class ceiling. Once the list had been agreed with No 10, it was submitted to the House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC), an independent body which undertakes the vetting of nominees (including police and HMRC checks). The list is returned to No 10 and the PM hands it straight over to the King. No sitting prime minister has ever interfered with the honours list of a former PM. It was a precedent, stretching back a century or more – until last week that is.” – Daily Mail
“Jeremy Hunt has promised to lower taxes in the future as he launched a major review on how to make the public sector more productive. The Chancellor said on Monday that if state organisations were as efficient as the private sector, it would help the country save money and put it on a “sustainable path to lower taxes”. The comments came after Boris Johnson’s surprise resignation from Parliament on Friday night, when he accused Rishi Sunak of diverting from the path of conservatism. In his 1,000-word statement, the former prime minister demanded that Mr Sunak “cut business and personal taxes rather than endlessly putting them up”.” – Daily Telegraph
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>Yesterday:
“MPs will be asked to vote through new powers tonight for police to tackle slow-walking Just Stop Oil protesters as new figures revealed that the campaign group cost the Metropolitan Police £4.5 million over the last six weeks. Activists from the hardline environmental campaign group have held demonstrations every day since April 24 and have said that they will carry on indefinitely until the government stops granting new licences for gas, coal and oil. New figures published by the Met revealed that the force has made 86 arrests over the six-week period. Nearly 13,770 officer shifts have been used dealing with the demonstrations, the force said.” – The Times
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“Peers have complained of being “abused, bullied and intimidated” by the Government over the controversial plans to tackle the small boats crisis. The charge was levelled as the House of Lords again sat into the early hours of this morning debating the Illegal Migration Bill. With proceedings having started at 2.30pm on Monday, the upper chamber eventually rose at 2am. It comes after a marathon session last week which saw the proceedings continue until 4.16am on Thursday as peers discussed in detail the flagship legislation, which has encountered fierce opposition in the Lords. Responding to criticism at the time, the chief whip in the Lords blamed peers for repeating the same arguments “again and again”.” – Daily Express
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“Judges in England and Wales are to be given greater powers to throw out lawsuits designed to intimidate critics of the super-rich into silence under legislation brought forward by the UK government. A long-awaited crackdown on so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps) — threats of expensive litigation to bully journalists, publishers and campaigners — is to become law through amendments to an economic crime bill going through parliament, the government announced on Tuesday. However, the restrictions will only cover such tactics when they relate to economic crime, giving deep-pocketed individuals and companies scope to adopt them in other cases.” – FT
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“The care minister, Helen Whately, has declined to back Matt Hancock’s claim that the government threw a “protective ring around care homes” at the start of the pandemic. Whately worked under the former health secretary in the first 18 months of Covid, but she avoided endorsing her former boss’s assertion, which will be tested at the public inquiry which starts in earnest this week. Asked whether Hancock was right in May 2020 when he told parliament “we absolutely did throw a protective ring around social care”, Whately told the Guardian she wanted to “use my own words which is that I look back on doing everything I felt that we could to help care homes and social care more broadly at an incredibly difficult time”.” – The Guardian
“Abortion legislation is “very much out of date” and should be overhauled, the chair of the Commons women and equalities committee has said, after a woman was jailed for procuring drugs to induce an abortion after the legal limit. There was outrage on Monday after the woman, a mother of three, was sentenced to more than two years in prison. She received the medication under the “pills by post” scheme, which was introduced during the Covid pandemic for unwanted pregnancies up to 10 weeks, after a remote consultation… Caroline Nokes, a Conservative MP, said the judge in the case indicated he had believed there was a clear case for parliament to reconsider legislation surrounding abortion.” – The Guardian
“Single-sex refuges must be protected, Jess Phillips has insisted in comments that will be seen as a challenge to Sir Keir Starmer. Ms Phillips, the shadow domestic violence minister, warned “the status quo isn’t working” as Labour appeared to clarify its position on trans issues after months of confusion. It came as Maria Caulfield, the health minister, warned it would “take time” before any final decision was made by the Government on changing the Equality Act. “What we don’t want to do is to create additional problems by changing or clarifying the Equality Act that are unforeseen,” Ms Caulfield said.” – Daily Telegraph
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>Yesterday: Maya Forstater in Comment: Today’s Common debate on sex, gender and the Equality Act. The Government must clear up this mess.
“Labour will fight to win all the by-elections triggered by Boris Johnson and his allies, amid optimism that victories in the three contests would show that Sir Keir Starmer is on course for a large majority at the next general election. The by-elections in Uxbridge & South Ruislip, Selby & Ainsty and Mid Bedfordshire will all test Starmer’s mission to broaden Labour’s appeal to different segments of the electorate. A senior Labour source insisted that the party was “going for the treble”, despite the Liberal Democrats pushing to be the main anti-Conservative option in Mid Bedfordshire, which is currently represented by Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary who was ultimately denied a peerage in Johnson’s resignation honours list.” – The Times
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: The Northern Research Group Conference. ‘How can we deliver everything and nothing?’
“Labour came under fire last night after frontbencher David Lammy admitted the European Union would be the party’s ‘number one priority’ for foreign policy. In remarks seized upon by the Conservatives, the shadow foreign secretary said there was ‘much that we can do in partnership’ with the EU. Earlier this year Mr Lammy advocated for a ‘Britain Reconnected’ that would be ‘outside of the EU but a leader in Europe once again’. But he has now gone further by claiming that the EU would be Labour’s ‘number one priority’ for rebuilding Britain’s reputation as a world leader post-Brexit.” – Daily Mail
“Scotland’s First Minister is facing mounting pressure to suspend his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon from the SNP after her arrest. Under-fire Humza Yousef says he “sees no reason” to withdraw her party membership after she was quizzed by cops probing the party’s financial affairs. The new party leader, speaking yesterday after Sturgeon was released without charge, added: “I will do what I believe is right to the values of natural justice.” … Several SNP MPs and Members of the Scottish Parliament were suspended during Ms Sturgeon’s time in charge even when there was no criminal investigation.” – The Sun
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>Yesterday: ToryDiary: By refusing to suspend Sturgeon, Yousaf risks placing a time-bomb under his leadership