Boris Johnson news: PM admits 74 convicted terrorists released early and falsely claims his Queens speech was blocked by parliament

Boris Johnson denies Tory cuts played role in London Bridge terror attack

Boris Johnson has appeared on a combative edition of the BBC's Andrew Marr Show - following a pledge by the broadcaster to refuse the prime minister a platform unless he agreed to an on-air grilling with Andrew Neil.

His on-air appearance comes after a BMG Research poll reveal the Conservative party's lead has been more than halved since the election was called.

Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn has accused Boris Johnson of being “the world’s leading sycophant” towards Donald Trump as the Labour leader outlines his approach to foreign policy if elected.

Key Points

• Corbyn: 'The war on terror has manifestly failed'
• Watch Jeremy Corbyn's response to questions on how to handle detained terrorists in the UK
• Labour's David Lammy has accused the prime minister of "bare-face lies" during his Marr interview​
• Boris Johnson confirms 74 terror convicts released early

[1 December 2019 14:45 · Vincent Wood]

Johnson claimed 'Islam is the problem' in 2005 article

The BBC's Mishal Husain has shared the Spectator article Boris Johnson was attacked for in his Marr interview.

Writing in 2005, Mr Johnson claimed Islamophobia was a "natural reaction" to any "non-muslim" reader of the Koran.

The Prime Minister defended himself in his interview by noting his great grandfather could recite the text off by heart, and that opponents dug up old statements of his to "distract from the fundamental issues at this election".

[1 December 2019 15:00 · Vincent Wood]

Johnson accused of lie on child poverty numbers

Boris Johnson has been accused of lying after claiming child poverty had declined.

According to data from the Child Poverty Action Group, numbers actually dramatically increased since 2010.

[1 December 2019 15:15 · Vincent Wood]

Raab ‘not really’ worried about losing his seat

Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, has played down the prospect of becoming “the next Portillo” at the election, as polls suggest he risks losing his seat due to tactical voting.

A Deltapoll survey indicates he now only holds a five-percentage-point lead over Monica Harding, his Liberal Democrat opponent.

The Tories have held the seat since 1910 but tactical switching by Labour supporters or a higher turnout among the under-40s could hand the seat to the Lib Dems.

More from Jane Dalton below:

[1 December 2019 15:30 · Vincent Wood]

Boris Johnson described most deprived members of society as ‘chavs, losers, burglars and drug addicts’

Boris Johnson once described the poorest 20 per cent of society as being made up of “chavs, losers, burglars and drug addicts”, it has emerged.

The prime minister made the comments during an attack on the Labour government in an opinion piece for the Daily Telegraph in 2005.

Commenting on the piece, Angela Rayner said: "Boris Johnson has no idea what life is like for people who don’t have everything handed to them on a plate. And he doesn't care."

More from Peter Stubley below:

[1 December 2019 15:47 · Vincent Wood]

Extremism expert ‘crazy austerity cuts' at roots of terror risk

An extremism expert has blamed “crazy austerity cuts” for the dangers posed by released terrorists and accused Boris Johnson of misrepresenting the crisis after the London Bridge attack.

Mr Johnson has blamed Labour sentencing policy and claimed only a Conservative general election victory can keep the UK safe, triggering accusations that he is trying to weaponise the tragedy for political gain.

Ian Acheson, who carried out a review for the government, said he was “depressed” by what was turning into an “arms race on sentencing”.

More on this from Rob Merrick below:

[1 December 2019 16:04 · Vincent Wood]

Boris claim on Queen's Speech appears to be inaccurate

Boris Johnson's claimed that legislation that would stop prisoner releases in cases like that of the London Bridge terrorist could have been in place were it not for MPs.

However like his claims on child poverty numbers, that appears to have been a misleading claim.

He told Andrew Marr his Queen's Speech, which included a provision to prevent the automatic release of prisoners, had been "blocked by parliament".

However his Queen's Speech did, in fact, pass - albeit by 16 votes.

You can read about it here, as reported by the Independent on 24 October.

[1 December 2019 16:36 · Vincent Wood]

For the many not the sew

Way back in 2016, in a time before the leadership of Ms May or Mr Johnson, when the result of the Brexit referendum was just a twinkle in a pollster's eye, David Cameron had one request of Jeremy Corbyn.

"Put on a proper suit, do up your tie and sing the national anthem" he bellowed at the Labour leader, invoking the hypothetical advice of his mother.

It is unclear whether Mr Corbyn's latest contribution to the world of fashion would be "proper" enough for the old Etonian, but it's certainly catching attention - with 'For the many not the few' printed along it in red ink.

It's not the first time a politician has tried the look - in 2015 India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi faced criticism for wearing a suit monogrammed with his own name.

However while some were annoyed at the Indian leader for the price of the garment, Mr Corbyn's was apparently a gift from tailor IK Collection in Bradford - according to local paper the Telegraph and Argus.