Inside Politics: Putin’s ‘back to the wall’

Joe Biden says increasingly frustrated Russian president could resort to using chemical and biological weapons in starkest warning yet, writes Matt Mathers

Russia Ukraine War Africa's Stance

Is Boris Johnson out of the woods on the Partygate scandal? Following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, stories about Downing Street drinks gatherings during Covid lockdowns have mostly dropped out of the news, giving the prime minister some much-needed breathing space following a period in which new details about some of the unsavoury scenes taking place at the heart of power made the front pages on an almost daily basis.

The scandal is, however, back in the spotlight this week thanks to the Met Police’s announcement that it is to start interviewing key witnesses. That’s a significant escalation in an investigation that has progressed at a snail’s pace, but that still presents fresh danger for the prime minister, who himself could still technically face the humiliating prospect of a face-to-face interview with officers from the Yard.

The Met has previously said that, in line with its policy, the force would not reveal the identities of people given fixed penalty notices, although No 10 is on the record as saying that it would be made public if Johnson is one of them. Some Tories have suggested they would regard this as a red line. Other senior figures say that MPs are unlikely to ditch him even if he is sanctioned. While the number of letters sent into the 1922 Committee is reported to be high, it does feel as though events in eastern Europe have taken the wind out of moves to oust Johnson from office. It would be hard for MPs plotting against him to justify removing a sitting PM while the Russian president is threatening to use mass casualty weapons.