Boris Johnson news - live: MPs to investigate PM over potential partygate Commons lies
PM accused of ‘running away’ from Commons drama with twice-delayed India trip
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Boris Johnson is set to be investigated for potentially lying to MPs over parties held at Number 10, after a landmark decision by the House of Commons.
This comes after the prime minister rejected a call by former Brexit minister Steve Baker for him to resign over Partygate, insisting that he has “absolutely nothing, frankly, to hide”.
Tory MP claimed the prime minister “now should be long gone” after – in a major U-turn, amid fears of a rebellion – the government backed down from a bid to force its MPs to delay a vote on whether to hold a Commons inquiry into whether he misled parliament, which is now expected to go ahead.
Ahead of Thursday’s debate, Labour threatened to plaster the names of MPs who blocked the probe across election leaflets, and accused Mr Johnson of using his two-day trip to India as a distraction.
Speaking from a JCB factory in Gujarat, Mr Johnson claimed he was “very keen for every possible form of scrutiny” and said MPs “must do whatever they want.”
In the Commons, the SNP’s Ian Blackford branded Mr Johnson a “liar” – and was not ordered to retract his remark by the Speaker.
British PM Johnson signals visa flexibility with India to win trade deal
Boris Johnson has indicated that the UK might be willing to offer more visas to India in return for the free-trade deal that could boost bilateral trade by billions of pounds.
Speaking with reporters on the plane, he said: “I have always been in favour of talented people coming to this country. We are short to the tune of hundreds of thousands of people in our economy and we need to have a progressive approach and we will.”
Boris Johnson doubles down on criticism of archbishop over ‘morally right’ Rwanda plan
Boris Johnson doubled down on his attack on Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for criticising his plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, insisting that the removals are “the morally right thing to do”.
He said: “I think it is the morally right thing to do, to stop cynical criminal gangs exploiting people. I think it’s a sensible, brave and original policy and Priti (Patel) has come up with something that is extremely difficult to pull off.”
Read Andrew Woodcock’s piece here:
Johnson doubles down on criticism of archbishop over ‘morally right’ Rwanda plan
PM ‘surprised’ to hear migration plan criticised by Justin Welby
Boris Johnson visits Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat
Boris Johnson arrived in India this morning and visited the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.
Mr Johnson paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and penned this note in the visitor’s book: “immense privilege to come to the Ashram of this extraordinary man.”
He also tried his hand at ‘charkha’, or the spinning wheel.
News agency Press Trust of India reported that Mr Johnson will later visit the Gujarat Biotechnology University, the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, and also a plant of JCB company at Halol near Vadodara city. He is also expected to hold a closed-door meeting with a “leading businessman” from the state.
Satellite firm OneWeb signs deal with India as Johnson begins visit
Boris Johnson will welcome taxpayer-backed satellite firm OneWeb signing a contract for launches with India to deal with the disruption to the programme caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to India, Downing Street described the agreement with New Space India Limited as a “historic” move that will be a “significant development” for the company’s operations.
Read the full story here:
Satellite firm OneWeb signs deal with India as Johnson begins visit
The agreement aims to tackle disruption cause to the launch programme caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Tory MP urges Boris Johnson to ‘take responsibility’ over Partygate
A Tory MP calling for Boris Johnson to resign has urged him to “take responsibility” over the Partygate scandal.
“I think the prime minister should take responsibility of his actions, and I don’t believe for one minute that he has done that,” Craig Whittaker told BBC Breakfast.
“An apology doesn’t constitute taking responsibility, and that’s why I’ve asked him to resign.”
He added that he suspects there are “probably more” of his Conservative colleagues who believe the prime minister should resign than those who have publicly declared this belief, but who are “keeping the powder dry to wait to see how this all develops through the process”.
Boris Johnson claims people should ‘stop talking about politicians'
Boris Johnson is reported to have given a bullish interview about his prospects in relation to Partygate, as he was accused of “running away” from a Commons debate and vote on his actions with today’s trip to India.
The prime minister told reporters on the flight to Gujarat that he will fight the next general election and refused to say whether there were any circumstances which could see him resign.
“I think the best thing that we can all do is focus on the things that really change and improve the lives of voters and stop talking about politicians,” Mr Johnson was quoted as saying.
Earlier, Naomi Smith, chief executive of better democracy campaign group Best for Britain, had said: “The fact that this trip means Johnson will miss a key debate and vote on his own lawbreaking is more than just a coincidence. His running away shows he doesn’t have the bottle.”
Boris Johnson has boarded an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter to visit a new factory in Vadodara being opened by JCB, which is owned by major Tory donor Lord Bamford.
Here are some more images from the prime minister’s visit so far:
Minister dismisses Partygate vote as Labour 'shenanigans’
My colleague Adam Forrest reports:
A vote on a Commons investigation into whether Boris Johnson misled parliament over Partygate has been dismissed as Labour “shenanigans” by a senior cabinet minister.
The government is attempting to delay the matter today by tabling an amendment to Labour’s motion – which would defer the vote on the probe until a police investigation into parties is complete.
Asked about Thursday’s vote, education secretary Nadhim Zahawi claimed that a delay was “the right chronology” – but he also dismissed the Labour move as “petty politics”.
“The right chronology is to wait for the police to complete their investigation and the full Sue Gray report to publish,” he told Sky News. “That is the right way of doing this.”
Urging Tory MPs to back a delay, Mr Zahawi added: “If you want to pay politics with this, then the shenanigans that Labour are attempting today is the route … The amendment is the right way to follow due process.”
Vote on probe into Boris Johnson dismissed as Labour ‘shenanigans’ by minister
Education secretary urges Tory MPs to back a delay, as PM insists he will lead Tories into next election
Minister denounces Partygate vote as ‘petty politics'
Here are more comments from education secretary Nadhim Zahawi, who has criticised today’s vote on a Commons inquiry into Boris Johnson’s Partygate comments as “petty politics”.
He told LBC: “My worry for the Labour Party is they are playing petty politics when we have got a global battle against inflation, when we have got to make sure that the six million backlog in the NHS is dealt with, when we're dealing with Putin and the Ukraine."
He added: “Playing petty politics with this is wrong, due process is right. I will be voting for the amendment because I think that is the right thing to do.”
Last night, the government tabled an amendment which would defer the Commons vote on the probe until the Metropolitan Police investigation into No 10 parties is complete.
Nothing wrong with ‘light smack on arm’, says education secretary as he rejects smacking ban
Nadhim Zahawi has rejected a call by England’s Children’s Commissioner to ban smacking – saying there was nothing wrong with a “light smack on the arm”.
Dame Rachel de Souza has signalled her support for changing the law so England follows Scotland and Wales in banning the smacking of children.
But the education secretary rejected the idea as “nanny state” politics, and revealed that his wife occasionally gives their nine-year-old daughter “a light smack on the arm if she’s being completely naughty”.
You can read the full report here:
Nothing wrong with ‘light smack on arm’, says minister as he rejects smacking ban
Discipline ‘up to parents’, says Nadhim Zahawi after commissioner calls for law change
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