Boris Johnson expected to lift set of England Covid restrictions January 18, 2022 Boris Johnson is expected to announce the lifting of at least some Covid restrictions in England tomorrow as he prepares to meet with his cabinet to discuss the latest data. Number 10 last night said “the latest data is encouraging, with cases beginning to fall” and that the Prime Minister would “update parliament” tomorrow afternoon. [...]
Labour calls on Treasury to do more to recover £5.8bn lost in Covid fraud January 18, 2022 Labour has called on the government to launch an investigation into how £5.8bn was stolen by fraudsters through Covid support schemes and for the Treasury do more to recover these funds. Shadow chief secretary the Treasury Pat McFadden told MPs that the government’s target of recovering a quarter of the stolen founds was tantamount to [...]
Johnson denies ‘lying to parliament’ over Downing Street parties scandal January 18, 2022 Boris Johnson has denied claims by Dominic Cummings that he “lied to parliament” last week when he said he thought a lockdown-breaking Downing Street party was a work event. Johnson today said that “nobody told me and said that this was something that was against the rules”. The Prime Minister last week all but admitted [...]
Sunak breaks cover to say ‘of course’ he believes PM in Downing Street parties saga January 18, 2022 Rishi Sunak has made a public appearance for the first time in a week to say “of course” he believes Boris Johnson’s claims that he thought lockdown-busting Downing Street parties were work events. Sunak said Johnson “has set out his understanding of this matter in parliament last week” and refused to say whether he unequivocally [...]
Government wins appeal over contract given to Dom Cummings’ friends January 18, 2022 The government has won its appeal to overturn a court judgement that a contract handed to a company run by Dominic Cummings’ friends was unlawful. The High Court ruled last year that a £550,000 government contract given to Public First, a firm founded by friends of the former Number 10 aide, was unlawful due to “apparent [...]
Dom Cummings accuses Johnson of ‘lying’ to Commons over Downing Street party January 17, 2022 Boris Johnson “lied to parliament” when he said he thought a boozy May 2020 party at Downing Street was a work event, according to former top Number 10 aide Dominic Cummings. Cummings claimed on Twitter tonight that Johnson was warned the lockdown-busting party should not go ahead, but that he ignored the advice. Writing on [...]
Labour takes 13-point lead over Tories in latest Westminster polling January 17, 2022 Labour has taken a 13-point lead over the Tories in polling out today, which is the party’s largest lead since 2013. Polling from Redfield Wilton put Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour on 43 per cent, with Boris Johnson’s Conservatives on 30 per cent. It comes as Johnson is fighting for his political life in the face [...]
Dorries hits out at ‘London-centric’ BBC as she confirms licence fee freeze January 17, 2022 Nadine Dorries has hit out at the BBC for being stuck in a “London bubble” and mired in “impartiality” as she confirms the yearly licence fee cost will be frozen for two years. The culture secretary said she would launch a review into changing the licence fee funding model, a popular cause among rank and [...]
Patel warns that ‘we can expect’ more MI5 revelations about foreign spies in parliament January 17, 2022 Priti Patel has warned that “we can expect” more MI5 warnings about foreign agents trying to influence MPs in the wake of a Chinese spy being outed by the intelligence agency last week. Patel told the House of Commons today that she was “utterly appalled” by the news that Chinese spy Christine Lee had been [...]
Davos: Xi says China’s ‘common prosperity’ drive is not egalitarianism January 17, 2022 Xi Jinping has declared China’s “common prosperity” agenda, which has seen a government crackdown on wealthy firms, is not about pursuing egalitarianism. The Chinese President also called for a change to the current “Cold War mentality” in light of the growing conflict between China and the US. Beijing’s common prosperity drive is aimed at narrowing [...]