Boris Johnson latest news: PM to offer ‘full-throated apology’ as he faces MPs over Partygate fine

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Boris Johnson has ‘consistently made the right decisions’, cabinet minister claims

Boris Johnson is expected to make a “full-throated apology” to MPs on Monday, after he was fined by police for breaching his own Covid rules when he attended a birthday event at No 10 during lockdown.

The PM will make a statement in the House of Commons later today, following a Cabinet meeting, as MPs return to Westminster following the Easter recess.

It comes after Mr Johnson was last week fined by the Metropolitan Police for attending a birthday bash, thrown in his honor, in the Cabinet room in June 2020, while strict coronavirus restrictions were in place.

A Downing Street source said he will “offer a full-throated apology and recognise the strength of feeling” among MPs on Partygate, but is unlikely to go into too much detail on the matter, according to a report by The Telegraph.

His statement will come a day after a public opinion poll by JLPartners found that Mr Johnson is widely regarded as “a liar” by the British public.

Key pointsShow latest update 1650355329Sending migrants from UK to Rwanda the ‘humanitarian thing to do,’ minister claims

Let’s hear from Brandon Lewis again now, but this time on the widely panned government’s Rwandan immigration plan.

Mr Lewis, who is himself a former immigration minister, defended the move as the “humanitarian thing to do”.

Describing immigration as a “really difficult area” for ministers to get right, he told BBC Breakfast:

“There are horrible scenes and stories of what these people smugglers put these people through.

“We’ve got to break this business model and doing something like this with Rwanda, which has such a strong track record, is right for the people of the UK, who can be rightly proud of our humanitarian support because this is a humanitarian thing to do.

“It is ensuring that we are deterring people from taking a treacherous as well as illegal journey to the UK.”

Asked about civil servants reportedly having raised objects to the scheme over its possible cost – an estimated £120m – Mr Lewis said only that he thinks it “will work”.

Lewis is now the government’s Northern Ireland secretary

(PA Wire)

Sam Hancock19 April 2022 09:02

1650354277’Not in country’s interests’ to replace PM right now – 1922 committee treasurer

More Conservatives are backing Boris Johnson, with the treasurer of the 1922 committee of Tory backbench MPs saying now is not the time for the PM to step down over Partygate.

“And it is certainly not in the country’s interests to think about replacing the prime minister”, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown told BBC Radio 4’s Today program this morning.

Citing the UK’s worsening cost of living crisis, the “bloody war” in Ukraine and a “slowdown of the world economy”, Sir Geoffrey said it would be a mistake to “force the prime minister out and have instability at the top of government for At least two months” while a new leader is chosen.

He said he wanted to see “all the evidence” before a decision is made on Mr Johnson’s future, which would include whether more fines are issued, what Sue Gray has to say and what the verdict of the British people is in the local government elections .

Conservative MPs are not calling for the PM to go at the moment because “they are withholding their judgment and waiting to see what happens”, he said, adding he was “absolutely certain” Mr Johnson had not intentionally misled the Commons.

“The culture in Number 10 has to be advised by the most senior civil servants and at the time that the prime minister made that statement in I am absolutely certain that he believed he had not broken any rules.”

Sam Hancock19 April 2022 08:44

1650353820Watch: PM has ‘consistently made right decisions’, cabinet minister claims

Boris Johnson has ‘consistently made the right decisions’, cabinet minister claims

Sam Hancock19 April 2022 08:37

1650353365Johnson should allow a vote of confidence to go ahead, says Tory MP

A senior Conservative says Boris Johnson should give MPs the opportunity to show that they support him in a vote of confidence.

Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defense committee, told BBC Breakfast that now was the time for a vote on Mr Johnson’s future as leader.

“Unfortunately, many, many MPs continue to be very numbed by this, very, very concerned by where we’re going,” he said, adding:

“We have to defend this at the next general election. We’ve got some more fixed penalty notices likely to come forward, Sue Gray’s report to conclude, and, of course, those important local elections on 5 May.

“If I was the prime minister, I would show leadership here, recognise this requires crisis management as such, and say that ‘these are difficult times, I will give you the opportunity to support me through an actual vote of confidence’.”

The former soldier also said No 10 should refrain from using the war in Ukraine as a distraction against the Partygate saga, saying potential new PMs would likely want to support the eastern European country as much as Mr Johnson has.

Sam Hancock19 April 2022 08:29

1650351975Sturgeon apologises after police speak to her over breaching face mask law

Over in Scotland, FM Nicola Sturgeon has issued an apology after being reminded by police “of the importance of wearing a face covering when there is a legal requirement to do so”.

It comes after leaked footage appeared to show Ms Sturgeon breaching Scotland’s Covid face mask laws over the weekend – days before they were dropped.

“Local officers have spoken to the first minister,” Police Scotland said in a statement yesterday, before adding the politician would not be fined.

Until Monday, it was legally required for people to wear face coverings in many indoor settings in Scotland, including shops, hairdressers and public transport. The law has now become guidance.

Sam Hancock19 April 2022 08:06

1650350991PM ‘not the first leader’ to break the rules, insists Tory MP

More from Brandon Lewis now, who, in the same Sky News interview as mentioned in my last post, has suggested Boris Johnson’s Partygate fine was akin to ministers who have previously received parking fines.

“I think we do see consistently, whether it is through parking fines or speeding fines, ministers of both parties over the years have been in that position,” the Northern Ireland secretary told presenter Kay Burley.

“We’ve had prime ministers in the past who have received penalty notices, from what I can see, and also front bench ministers.

“I saw there was a parking notice that Tony Blair had once. We’ve seen front bench Labor ministers and, let’s be frank, government ministers as well.”

In an apparent attempt to muddy the waters, Mr Lewis insisted the PM was not the first minister to break the rules, so should not be penalised as though he is.

“You’ve asked me, can someone who sets the laws and the rules, they can also be someone who breaks the rules,” he said, adding:

“That clearly has happened with a number of ministers over the years.”

Sam Hancock19 April 2022 07:49

1650350433Cabinet minister denies PM lied to parliament over Partygate

This week’s defense for Boris Johnson has begun, with cabinet minister Brandon Lewis denying that Boris Johnson is a liar.

Mr Lewis, who is the Northern Ireland secretary, claimed his boss did not mislead parliament over the so-called Partygate claim, having initially insisted that coronavirus guidance was followed in No 10.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Lewis denied that Mr Johnson was a liar, saying:

“As he said last in his statement, and the prime minister will be talking to later today to make a statement, but at every point he has been clear with what he believes to be the truth.

“What he also accepts is that the police have looked into this particular issue and taken a view that a fine should be issued – he accepts that, he has paid that fine, he has apologised for that.”

Asked whether Mr Johnson accepts that he broke the rules, Mr Lewis insisted that the fact the PM had paid his fine was evidence of this. He added:

“But that doesn’t mean that anything he said to parliament was inaccurate at the time. What he said to believe, he believed to be true at the time.”

Sam Hancock19 April 2022 07:40

1650349305Good morning

Hello, and welcome to The Independent’s rolling politics coverage.

Stay tuned as we bring you the latest, including live updates on Boris Johnson’s scheduled address to the House of Commons, in which he will apologise to MPs after being fined by the police in relation to the Partygate saga.

Sam Hancock19 April 2022 07:21

1650347374Faith in justice system has collapsed, Labor says

Labor has claimed that the justice system has collapsed under Tory management.

Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, argued that belief in the criminal justice system is being “devastatingly criminald” under the Conservatives, adding that “Britan deserves better”.

According to a new analysis from the party a quarter of reported crimes are going unpunished due to victims not pursuing charges.

Sravasti Dasgupta19 April 2022 06:49

1650346638NHS leader urges mask usage as Tories ‘pretend Covid doesn’t exist’

NHS leader Chris Hopson has said that there should be a debate about Covid restrictions as infections surge.

He was quoted as saying to The Sunday Times that infections were surging partly because of pretending Covid “doesn’t exist any more and that nobody needs to take any precautions”.

He highlighted the need for mask usage and outdoor socialising and said that “no one is arguing” for a return to lockdown.

“There is concern across the NHS that the government doesn’t seem to want to talk about coronavirus any more.

“We think we need a proper grown-up national debate about what living with Covid actually means.”

Nearly 2,000 people have died in the last week in the UK within 28 days of a positive Covid test – similar to the last peak in January, reported The Mirror.

(PA Wire)

Sravasti Dasgupta19 April 2022 06:37

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