Johnson threatens to ‘privatise the arse’ off Passport Office and DVLA April 26, 2022 Boris Johnson has threatened to “privatise the arse” off the Passport Office, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and other under-performing public bodies. The Prime Minister told cabinet colleagues that he wanted to end the “post-Covid mañana culture” among arms-length public bodies, which now have huge backlogs, by increasing scrutiny. Senior government sources also say [...]
Number 10 says Elon Musk must ‘protect users’ after Twitter buyout April 26, 2022 Downing Street has said that Twitter must continue to “protect consumers” after Elon Musk’s impending buyout of the social media giant. Boris Johnon’s spokesman today told journalists that “it is too early to say what if any changes will be made to how Twitter operates”, but that “all social media platforms must be responsible”. Twitter’s [...]
Ukraine: US wants ‘Russia weakened’ to stop further expansion April 25, 2022 The US wants to see “Russia weakened” so it cannot pursue any further hostile military expansion, US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin has said. Austin said Russia has “already lost … a lot of its troops” during the war and that Vladimir Putin has “failed” in his attempted invasion of Ukraine. Austin’s strong statement came [...]
Commons speaker summons Mail journalists over ‘misogynistic’ Angela Rayner story April 25, 2022 House of Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has summoned the Mail on Sunday’s editor over a “misogynistic and offensive” article about Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner. Hoyle said he would discuss the “demeaning” article with the Mail, with rumours abound that the Commons speaker could take the unprecedented step of banning journalists from the newspaper [...]
Gray report into partygate could be so bad PM is forced to quit April 25, 2022 Sue Gray’s report into the partygate scandal could be so bad that Boris Johnson is forced to resign, according to new speculation. The Times reports that officials in Number 10 are expecting Gray’s report to be “excoriating” and “incredibly difficult for the Prime Minister”. The full release of Gray’s report into the many allegations of [...]
MPs say UK’s Covid restrictions on air travel were ‘disproportionate’ April 25, 2022 The UK government’s restrictions on air travel during Covid-19 were “disproportionate to the risks to public health” and led to a severe shock to the aviation sector, according to a Westminster committee. A new report from MPs on the Transport Committee also said the restrictions regime for international travel was “not transparent or consistent, nor [...]
Rishi Sunak to host major City figures at £10,000-a-table Tory fundraiser April 24, 2022 Rishi Sunak will host City heavyweights at a £10,000-a-table Tory fundraiser next week as he tries to court new major donors for the party. Investment banker and Conservative party treasurer Malik Karim has organised the event, which will see the chancellor as guest of honour. Sky News reports that the event will be held at [...]
Exclusive: Labour takes seven-point lead in new City A.M. poll April 24, 2022 Labour has taken a seven-point lead over the Conservatives in a new poll, with key local elections just weeks away. Forty per cent of people said they would vote for Labour in the next General Election in a BMG Research/City A.M. poll, while the Conservatives polled 33 per cent and the Liberal Democrats eight per [...]
Rees-Mogg lashes out at ‘inefficient’ civil servants in push to curb working from home April 24, 2022 Jacob Rees-Mogg has said that getting civil servants back into the office en masse will mean greater efficiency and less waste as he pushes to curb working from home in Whitehall. The government efficiency minister said “it is my job to ensure the government estate is run efficiently and commercially … Empty offices are a [...]
Zelensky says Ukraine ‘will surely win’ in Orthodox Easter message April 24, 2022 Volodymyr Zelensky has today claimed that “Ukraine will surely win” against its Russian invaders as a part of his message on Orthodox Easter. The Ukrainian President said “the great holiday today gives us great hope and unwavering faith that light will overcome darkness, good will overcome evil, life will overcome death”. Zelensky will welcome US [...]