Boris Johnson news – live: Labour denies Sue Gray appointment a ‘distraction’ from Partygate inquiry
Labour chairwoman Anneliese Dodds says she is “delighted” Sue Gray has joined Labour and that the right procedures will be followed
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Hiring Sue Gray to work as Keir Starmer’s next chief of staff is not a “distraction” said Labour’s chairwoman, Anneliese Dodds, responding to criticism of the appointment.
In an interview with Sky News Ms Dodds hit back at criticism that by hiring Sue Gray Labour was needlessly causing controversy and undermining confidence in civil service neutrality.
Ms Dodds said: “Sue Gray is a person of enormous integrity. Someone who served in the civil service under ministers of a number of parties actually, someone who’s always served with that integrity.”
She added: “I’m really delighted she’s joining the Labour team at that point where we’re readying ourselves for government if the British public backs us at the next general election.
“What’s important to us as Labour, as ever, is that we see the same rules and approaches being applied to this, as she would see with any other appointment. That’s why the civil service procedures on confidentiality will be followed.”
However, the appointment has provoked widespread outrage in the Convservative Party with some MPs saying it raises question about the impartiality of her report on Partygate that contributed to Boris Johnson’s resignation.
Analysis: What does Boris Johnson have to fear from the Partygate inquiry?
What does Friday’s explosive Priviliges Committee report mean for Boris Johnson?
Now that the Committee’s report has been released Mr Johnson faces questioning and even sanctions.
Punishments the committee can reccomend include oral or written apologies, suspension from the House of Commons for a specified period, or even expulsion. Voters in his constituency might even be given an opportunity to and force Mr Johnson to face a by-election to keep his seat.
The Independent’s Sean O’Grady analyses Mr Johnson’s murky political future.
What does Boris Johnson have to fear from the Partygate inquiry?
Johnson’s chances of a comeback are in the hands of fellow MPs – and possibly the voters of South Ruislip, says Sean O’Grady
A ”great gaping hole”: the key takeaways from explosive new Partygate report
An explosive report on Boris Johnson’s behaviour during Partygate was released Friday, by The Commons Select Committee of Privilege.
The comittee, tasked by MPs with investigating whether or not the former prime minister lied to parliament, released 24-page document which will be used to question Mr Johnson when he appears before MPs later this month.
Key points include:
Mr Johnson’s communications chief admitted there was a "great gaping hole" in the prime minister's account of Partygate
Mr Johnson could see a notorious gathering point for Downing Street parties during lockdown from the bottom of the stairs leading up to his flat.
Mr Johnson would also sometimes join the No 10 press office drinks on Friday evenings during Covid.
Mr Johnson was also present at seven gatherings at No 10, including one in the garden and another to celebrate his birthday.
Mr Johnson may have misled the House when he said no rules or guidance had been broken and when he failed to tell MPs about his own knowledge of the gatherings.
Mr Johnson also apparently failed to correct statements he repeatedly made to the Commons.
Kate Devlin reports.
Key takeaways from explosive new Partygate report
Boris Johnson to be grilled by MPs later this month on new allegations in the scandal
“Eat out to help the virus get about”, Matt Hancock criticised Sunak’s signature scheme
Former health secretary Matt Hancock was critical of Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out Scheme, expressing concern that it was helping spread coronavirus.
Mr Hancock’s worries have been revealed by the most recent batch of leaked WhatsApp messages from the former health secretary, published by the Daily Telegraph.
Mr Hancock even dubbed the scheme “eat out to help the virus get about”.
He also suggested Mr Sunak’s policy choices were partly shaped by his political ambitions and attempts to build support in the party. “What’s Rishi’s dilemma? Whether to stop the virus, or tilt at the party & show ankle to the hard right?” he wrote in messages to the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, who is supposed to be politically neutral.
The messages also show Mr Hancock lobbying Mr Case to support him in challenging the chancellor and other ministers who favoured looser lockdown policies.
One such row was with Sir Alok Sharma, then-business secretary, over guidance to cafes and restaurants about keeping a register of customers’ details for NHS Test and Trace. Mr Hancock wanted guidance to read that eating establishments “should” do this while Sir Alok preferred “can”.
Dominic McGrath Reports.
Hancock hit out at Sunak amid fears his Eat Out to Help Out scheme spread Covid
The details emerged in the latest tranche of leaked messages from the former health secretary
‘How bad are the pictures?’ leaked WhatsApp messages show Matt Hancock’s battle to save his job
Matt Hancock’s leaked WhatsApp messages show the former health secretary’s scramble to save his job after his lockdown breaking affair with his aide was revealed.
The exchanges are among the latest set of WhatsApp conversations to emerge from the leak of more than 100,000 messages by journalist Isabel Oakeshott to The Telegraph.
Mr Hancock was alerted that his affair with his aide Gina Coladangelo would be made public the night before the publication.
Leaked WhatsApp messages show Mr Hancock speaking with his special advisor, Dominic Poole, trying to work out what was known and how to respond.
Mr Hancock asked Mr Poole: “How bad are the pics?”
Told it was a “snog and heavy petting”, he replied: “How the f*** did anyone photograph that?”
The messages also show the reaction of Mr Hancock and Ms Coladangelo to a video obtained by The Sun.
In response to the video showing the two kissing, Ms Coladangelo said: “OMFG.”
Mr Hancock said: “Crikey. Not sure there’s much news value in that and I can’t say it’s very enjoyable viewing.”
Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports.
WhatsApp leak reveals Hancock’s 41-hour battle to save job over affair
Former health secretary was told to ‘think hard’ about whether he broke any social distancing rules
Isabel Oakeshott hangs up on fiery interviews about The Lockdown Files
The journalist who published thousands of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages hung up on a radio interview after getting into a heated row about leaking the story to The Telegraph.
Isabel Oakeshott, TalkTV’s international editor, has made headlines in recent days over her decision to leak thousands of messages sent by Mr Hancock when he was health secretary during the pandemic and when his lockdown-breaking affair was revealed.
Interviewed on Times Radio by Cathy Newman on Friday, Ms Oakeshott objected heatedly to question about why she had shared the story with The Telegraph rather than her TalkTV colleagues or other organisations owned by News Corp.
Growing angry about a mention of her salary Ms Oakeshott tried to turn the tables by asking about her interviewers salary.
“I haven’t hit the headlines. You’ve hit the headlines, Isabel,” Ms Newman said.
“Well maybe if you broke some stories you would,” Ms Oakeshott shot back.
Shortly after Ms Oakeshott hung up without answering a single question.
“The system is definitely working” care minister told Matt Hancock after travelling fifty miles to get a coronavirus test
Helen Whately, the social care minister, told Matt Hancock that the testing system was “definitely working” after she managed to get a test fifty miles from her home in September 2020.
The most recent leaks from The Lockdown File, published in The Daily Telegraph, show Ms Whately and Mr Hancock discussing how the former had managed to secure a test for a relative after a long drive.
At the time at home testing kits were not available for the general public, and people requesting tests were sometimes directed to testing centres hundreds of miles away.
After struggling to get a test for a relative with a temperature she messaged Mr Hancock 18 September saying: “Good news from my mystery shopping of our testing system - by repeat visits to testing app as advised have got test for XXXX (who is isolating with XXXX) just 50 miles from home.”
She then updated Mr Hancock the next day by saying: “Negative result arrived for XXXX 24 hours after XXXX test, so my mystery shopping shows the system is definitely working, at least for some.”
Mr Hancock replied: “For MOST!
Anneliese Dodds: ‘The right procedures will be followed’
Ms Dodds added: “I’m really delighted she’s joining the Labour team at that point where we’re readying ourselves for government if the British public backs us at the next general election.
“What’s important to us as Labour, as ever, is that we see the same rules and approaches being applied to this, as she would see with any other appointment. That’s why the civil service procedures on confidentiality will be followed.
“It’s why the civil service watchdog Acoba will need to look at this, just as it would with any other appointment, and it’s quite right those procedures will be followed. They will be for Sue Gray, just as they would be for any other senior civil servant.”
Labour denies hiring Sue Gray is a distraction from Johnson inquiry
Labour chairwoman Anneliese Dodds has rejected any suggestion the party’s move to hire partygate investigator and top civil servant Sue Gray is a distraction from the Privileges Committee inquiry into Boris Johnson.
Ms Dodds, who is set to address the Women’s Institute in London later, denied to Sky News the appointment was a “distraction”.
“Quite the opposite,” she said. “Sue Gray is a person of enormous integrity. Someone who served in the civil service under ministers of a number of parties actually, someone who’s always served with that integrity.”
Boris Johnson: ‘I have been vindicated'
The former prime minister yesterday offered a robust defence to the interim report, as he claimed that the inquiry’s findings showed he was being “vindicated” and he sought to cast doubt on civil service investigator Sue Gray’s own report into events in Downing Street following her move to Sir Keir Starmer’s office.
Boris Johnson said: “I believe that their labours have helped establish the obvious truth: It is clear from this report that I have not committed any contempt of Parliament.
“It is also clear that what I have been saying about this matter from the beginning has been vindicated.
“That is because there is no evidence in the report that I knowingly or recklessly misled Parliament, or that I failed to update Parliament in a timely manner.”
In what is likely to be a highly anticipated appearance, Mr Johnson is expected to give oral evidence as part of the inquiry and which will be broadcast live on television in the week starting March 20.
Read bombshell Partygate inquiry Whatsapp messages in full
The texts released yesterday show Downing Street officials were worried about the gathering media storm developing over Partygate and admitting that they were “struggling” to formulate credible defensive lines to answer the increasingly persistent questions of Westminster lobby journalists.
In one particularly damning exchange, Boris Johnson’s communications chief concedes that there is a ”great gaping hole in the PM’s account” of the controversy.
You can read the complete messages included in the report below:
Read bombshell Partygate inquiry Whatsapp messages in full
‘I’m struggling to come up with a way this one is in the rules in my head’
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