Boris Johnson news live: Minister insists PM ‘safe at work’

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All you need to know about the Downing Street Party Inquiry

Nadim Al-Zahawi said today that Boris Johnson is safe in his job, as reports emerged of another rally to break the Covid law last night.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Education Minister – after being asked three times – said the Prime Minister would remain in office.

Al-Zahawi’s comments said following a report in The Mirror that Mr Johnson attended a holiday before Christmas 2020, during which he delivered a speech marking the departure of his defense advisor, Captain Steve Higham.

In an effort to survive the scandal, Mr Johnson could reportedly reform his top team and make a raft of political ads, including assigning the military the responsibility of stopping small boats from crossing the canal.

That plan was criticized today by Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative MP who chairs the House of Commons defense committee, who said the army’s “immigrant challenge” was a “great distraction”.

Show last update 1642423406 Party query: What happens next?

Sue Gray, the government employee tasked with investigating the Downing Street parties, could present her report this week, it has been suggested.

But what happens next to inquire?

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock takes a closer look:

Rory Sullivan Jan 17 2022 12:43

1642422907DUP Denies Government Deal Over Dual Jobs

The DUP leader has denied making a deal with the British government to allow politicians in Northern Ireland to hold jobs in Westminster and Stormont simultaneously.

Sir Geoffrey Donaldson said he had nothing to do with the controversial UK plan, which has been widely criticized by other parties in the territory. The scheme is seen as unfavorably favoring the DUP, with Ulster Federal leader Doug Petty calling it a “fraud”.

While Sir Geoffrey distanced himself from the decision, he said he would benefit from the double-action policy.

“I think there is a benefit to the union leader in continuing to have a voice in Westminster as well as having a role in Stormont because we are going through critical times,” he told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme.

Rory Sullivan Jan 17, 2022 12:35

domestic politics

The prime minister has been accused of “distracting” the public from the party scandal with an attack on the BBC.

My colleague Matt Mathers has more on this and other key political stories today in his daily newsletter:

Rory Sullivan Jan 17 2022 12:19

Apology from the Prime Minister: ‘I should have been more aggressive’

I have received a copy of the Prime Minister’s text of next year’s apology to Parliament, and it is right that I publish it now, wrote Sean O’Grady.

Joe Middleton Jan 17 2022 12:01

The Conservative Party chief said the army’s plan to take over operations of the Canal crossings was a “great distraction”

A senior Conservative MP has accused Boris Johnson of presiding over a “massive distraction” amid reports the military has been tasked with stopping small boats crossing the canal.

As Johnson faces a dangerous moment in his premiership over allegations of rule-breaking parties in 10th place, he is said to give the Royal Navy “primacy” over all government ships in the Canal this month.

According to The Times, the change being considered could include processing asylum applications in Ghana and Rwanda, although the Home Office would not be relied upon for such suggestions following a diplomatic spat earlier this year over similar reports.

Our political correspondent, Ashley Cowburn, brings us the latest news.

Joe Middleton Jan 17 2022 11:39

1642418771 Gary Neville Deals With Keir Starmer On ‘Not Being Strong Enough’ Regarding Covid-19 Rules

Keir Starmer has revealed that he has been criticized by football analyst and Labor member Gary Neville for not being strong enough in confronting the government over coronavirus rules.

Former England international Neville, 46, has joined the Labor Party but Sir Keir has admitted they have differed in the past over the procedures to deal with Covid-19.

Neville, the former Manchester United defender, told the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast: “I think…maybe (at) the end of 2020 I thought Labor should have been a lot stronger. I think Labor had it at that point.”

“I would be open with Kerr about this, I don’t think he was strong enough at that point. Now I think he realizes he needs to take his gloves off.”

Sir Kerr told LBC Radio that the couple had spoken about the situation and praised Neville’s analysis as “fantastic”.

The Labor leader said, “Gary thought I wasn’t strong enough. He thought we should have voted against government restrictions in the caste system. I didn’t. I didn’t agree with the caste system but it was all or nothing in those days.”

“If you don’t vote for restrictions, there are no restrictions and I don’t think that’s the right thing.

“He thought differently and we had an exchange.”

Joe Middleton Jan 17 2022 11:26

1642417202 Drop in Covid cases could mean Omicron wave ‘turning around’, says chief expert

A senior government expert said today that the decline in Covid cases could indicate that the Omicron wave is “turning around.”

Professor Mike Tildesley, from the University of Warwick and a member of the Scientific Group on Pandemic Influenza Modeling (Spi-M), said the latest case numbers were “cautiously good news” and hoped the country would have the “type of influenza” relationship to the virus by the end of the year.

The latest data shows a 38% drop over the past seven days across the UK in the numbers testing positive for Covid-19, with 70,924 new cases reported on Sunday.

“It appears that cases across the country are declining,” Prof Tildesley told BBC Breakfast, adding: “We’ve had a very, very high number of cases throughout late December and early January – we peaked at around 200,000 at some point.

“It looks like we’re a little bit past that now. Hospital admissions are still relatively high although there is some evidence that they may be stabilizing or perhaps even declining in London, which is cautiously good news.

“I would say we probably need an extra week of data to really see the impact of getting kids back to school – we’re still only two weeks since kids go back to school – but if we still see that over the next week or so, I’d be pretty confident that we see This wave is turning around.”

Joe Middleton Jan 17 2022 11:00

To be clear, Boris Johnson did nothing wrong – his sister told us so

On her LBC radio show yesterday, Rachel Johnson tried to set the record straight on “Party Gate,” which went as expected, writes Robert Huxley.

Joe Middleton Jan 17 2022 10:39

1642415459

Nadim Al-Zahawi denies that the Prime Minister plans to stay ‘partgate’ in ‘Operation: Save Big Dog’

Joe Middleton Jan 17 2022 10:30

Labor leader refuses to apologize for ‘close beer drinking picture’

Keir Starmer refused to apologize for photos of him drinking beer in an office in April 2021 in the run-up to the May 2021 elections.

At the time, coronavirus rules meant that socializing in enclosed spaces was banned in England.

“The restrictions allowed people to work when they needed to, we were campaigning, we were in a constituency office,” the Labor leader told LBC Radio.

He said there were no restaurants or bars open and the hotel he and his colleagues were staying in did not serve food, so “if you don’t get takeaway, our team won’t eat that evening.”

Asked if he was prepared to apologise, Sir Kerr said: “We didn’t break any rules, we were working in the office and we stopped for takeaway.”

“We did nothing wrong,” he added.

Sir Kerr said he usually traveled with a team of about six people and the incident happened at the office of MP Mary Foy in Durham.

Joe Middleton Jan 17 2022 10:05

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