Boris Johnson news: PM referred to police regulator over claims of potential misconduct
Downing Street sources accuse City Hall of political move after Greater London Authority decision
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The prime minister has been referred to the independent police watchdog over claims of potential “misconduct” while he was London mayor.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) has asked the Independent Office for Police Conduct to assess whether Boris Johnson should be formally investigated over his relationship with the US tech entrepreneur and former model.
It wants the probe to explore whether Ms Arcuri was allowed to join trade missions, and received large grants, “when she and her companies could not have expected otherwise to receive those benefits”.
The referral does not mean or imply he is guilty, but is a request for an investigation. While London mayor, he was also a police and crime commissioner, which is why the police regulator is now involved.
The prime minister denies any impropriety but the announcement comes at the end of a tumultuous week for Mr Johnson.
Supreme Court verdict: Boris Johnson prorogation unlawful
Show all 16His right-hand man Dominic Cummings has continued No 10’s ‘people versus parliament’ rhetoric by saying the anger of Leave voters was “not surprising”.
The controversial aide told Labour MP Karl Turner to “get Brexit done”, after the MP said he had received death threats overnight.
Elsewhere in Westminster the SNP said it could support Jeremy Corbyn’s bid for prime minister, in order to stop a no-deal Brexit.
“Nothing is risk free but leaving Johnson in post to force through no deal – or even a bad deal – seems like a terrible idea to me,” party leader Nicola Sturgeon said on Twitter.
An SNP spokesperson said the party was committed to stopping a no-deal Brexit and removing “this dangerous and undemocratic prime minister as soon as possible”.
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Boris Johnson has called for tempers to cool in his latest interview. But the PM refused to apologise for describing attempts to block a no-deal break with the EU as the “surrender act”.
Johnson acknowledged that he would have to be able to “reach out” to opposition MPs if he was to secure their support for any new deal he negotiated with the EU.
“I need to reach out across the House of Commons,” he told the BBC. “I think it is fair enough to call the ‘surrender act’ what it is. I think it is absolutely reasonable. But we do need to bring people together, and get this thing done.
“Tempers need to come down, and people need to come together because it’s only by getting Brexit done that you’ll lance the boil of the current anxiety and we will be able to get on with the domestic agenda.”
The Church of England criticised MPs’ language as “not worthy of our country”.
Parliamentary tensions prompted 118 archbishops and bishops on Friday to issue a statement warning against “further entrenching our divisions”.
The statement read: “In the last few days, the use of language, both in debates and outside parliament, has been unacceptable. We should speak to others with respect.
“We should not denigrate, patronise or ignore the honest views of fellow citizens, but seek to respect their opinions, their participation in society, and their votes.”
Sir John Major has warned that Boris Johnson may be planning to bypass a law blocking a no-deal Brexit by issuing a Privy Council order to suspend it until after the scheduled date of Britain’s EU withdrawal on 31 October.
The order could be passed by ministers acting in the Privy Council without the involvement of parliament or the Queen, said Sir John, who denounced the tactic as “a piece of political chicanery that no one should ever forgive or forget”.
Our political editor has all the details.
International development secretary Alok Sharma has claimed Boris Johnson is right to label the Benn bill, which commits the government to extending Article 50 if no exit deal is agreed, the “surrender act”.
Sharma told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If you look at the fundamentals of what that Bill does, it does surrender our ability to have effective discussions with the European Union and it does surrender our ability to be able to walk away from the table if that is what happens.
“We are surrendering our ability to negotiate effectively with the EU. If you were going into a negotiation with both hands tied behind your back, would you not think it somehow a form of capitulation?”
Sharma refused to answer when asked how the government could abide by the Benn bill and yet still leave the EU on 31 October.
“I’m not going to set out discussions that have occurred in the privacy of cabinet,” said the minister.
“We are absolutely going to comply with the law, we are working incredibly hard to get a deal and we will be leaving on October 31.”
Dominic Cummings has said public anger at MPs over Brexit was “not surprising”.
Speaking at the launch of a new book by Vote Leave supporter and businessman Stuart Wheeler, the No 10 adviser claimed MPs were “swerving all over the shop”.
“It is not surprising some people are angry ... I find it very odd that these characters are complaining that people are unhappy about their behaviour now and they also say they want a referendum. How does that compute for them?”
Asked about the pressure No 10 is under, Cummings also claimed: “We are enjoying this.”
The controversial aide was also confronted by a Labour MP Karl Turner who said he had suffered death threats. “That tone of language is going down well, Dominic. I’ve had death threats overnight.”
Cummings replied: “Get Brexit done then.”
The SNP is considering backing Jeremy Corbyn as a temporary caretaker prime minister to prevent a no-deal Brexit on 31 October, according to ITV News.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon and Ian Blackford, leader of the SNP in Westminster, are worried it not be possible to guarantee a Brexit extension unless Boris Johnson is removed from office.
“Trying to find a compromise candidate, a national unity candidate, is too complicated, especially in the time we have. Whether people like it or not, the temporary prime minister has to be Corbyn,” a party source told Robert Peston.
Former Tory cabinet minister David Gauke said Boris Johnson would face a fresh legal challenge if he tries to use a legal loophole to bypass a law ordering him to delay Brexit to prevent a no-deal.
Our correspondent Lizzy Buchan has the details.
Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay and the European Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier will meet in Brussels on Friday in the latest attempt to make progress towards a Brexit deal.
The mood music is not very good at the moment.
Our Europe correspondent Jon Stone explains why all goodwill towards the British PM has faded.
Deputy Commons Speaker Eleanor Laing says some MPs no longer see Speaker John Bercow as being impartial.
Ms Laing, one of the contenders to replace Bercow when he stands down at the end of October, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There are a lot of members of parliament who feel the impartiality of the chair has possibly been diminished.”
She urged MPs to behave “with courtesy and politely”, and said she would enforce “respect” for parliament if elected Speaker.
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