Here are the main points from the Downing Street lobby briefing.
- No 10 refused to back Brandon Lewis’s claim that the fine levied on Boris Johnson for breaking lockdown rules was similar in seriousness to a parking ticket. (See 12.27pm.) The PM’s spokesperson confirmed that Boris Johnson would cover this in his statement to MPs this afternoon, but he would not say what Johnson would tell the Commons, beyond reiterating what the prime minister said on this last week.
- The spokesperson confirmed that, if Johnson receives further fines over Partygate, the public will be told. Asked if further fines would be followed by further statements to the Commons, the spokesperson said that would depend on the circumstances, but that he would expect Johnson to comment publicly.
- Cabinet ministers were told that the next phase of the war in Ukraine could last several months, the spokesperson said. Commenting on what happened at this morning’s cabinet, the spokesperson said:
The prime minister updated cabinet on the latest situation in Ukraine. He said Ukraine’s position remained perilous with Putin angered by defeats, but determined to claim some sort of victory regardless of the human cost. He said this meant it was more vital than ever to increase global support …
Cabinet were updated by a senior national security official, who confirmed Putin was focusing his attention on the Donbas region and that the next phase of the war was likely to be an attritional conflict, which could last several months. Russia would aim to exploit its troop number advantage but Ukraine had already shown that this was unlikely to be decisive on its own. There are some signs that Russia had not learned lessons from previous setbacks in northern Ukraine. And there was evidence of troops being committed to the fight in a piecemeal fashion. Reports of poor Russian morale continued with claims of some soldiers leaving units and refusing to fight.
The chief of the defence staff updated cabinet on ongoing efforts to support the Ukrainian military. He said other countries, including the US, were expanding military aid to Ukraine and the UK continued to play a leading role, including in sourcing suitable equipment from other countries which could be used as part of Ukraine’s defence.
- The spokesperson indicated that Johnson would not publicly criticise India for not distancing itself from Russia when he visits the country later this week. India abstained last month in the United Nations vote condemning the Russian invasion, and in recent weeks it has increased imports of Russian oil. Asked what Johnson would do on his visit to persuade India to persuade it to find alternative sources of energy, the spokesperson said:
When it comes to India and other democratically-elected countries we think the best approach is to engage with them constructively, to try to broaden the alliance of democratic states against Russia.
We want to provide alternative options to countries which are perhaps more dependent on energy and security. That is the approach we think will be most effective.
We do not think that pointing fingers or shouting from the sidelines are effective ways of engaging with democratically-elected countries.
- Johnson told cabinet that he wanted to get civil servants back in the office, rather than working from home. At cabinet Jacob Rees-Mogg, minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency, briefing colleagues on his plans to get civil servants back to their desks. Rees-Mogg “said face to face working provided clear benefits both to staff and to the public and that it was important all departments took action to return to the pre pandemic position of full occupancy”, the spokesperson said. He went on:
The prime minister agreed and encouraged ministers in the department to do everything possible to speed up the return of more civil servants into the office.
Boris Johnson must have known parties were taking place in Downing Street in breach of lockdown rules, Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, told the Today programme this morning. Asked to justify Labour claims that Johnson was lying when he told MPs that the rules had always been followed and parties had not taken place, she replied:
The sheer number of parties going on at Number 10 on a regular basis make it perfectly clear to any reasonable person, let alone the person who made the rules, that those rules were being broken and they were being broken consciously.
The fact that Dominic Raab said that when he was in charge there weren’t any parties shows that people knew there were parties going on and he made sure that, when he was in charge of Number 10, when the prime minister was in hospital, that those sorts of things stopped, I think, again makes it clear.
Thornberry also confirmed that the opposition parties have been talking to the Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, about holding a vote on Johnson’s conduct this week. But she said she could say more about the negotiations, which are confidential and ongoing. (As Erskine May, the Commons procedural rulebook, makes clear, it is for the Speaker to decide whether to allow such votes, and MPs planning to table a contempt motion are supposed to request permission privately, not in public.)
But Thornberry stressed that the outcome of any vote would be decided by Conservative MPs. She said:
Whatever means we take, the difficulty we will always have is that, since the 2019 election, the Conservatives have an 80-seat majority when there is a vote.
Unless Conservative MPs can look at their consciences and vote the right way, we are not going to get the sort of result that we should get.
Unless the prime minister looks to his own conscience and decides that he should do the right thing, we are not going to get the results that we should get and, frankly, the result that the public want us to get, which is that this prime minister should go.
And here are some more lines from the Keir Starmer’s interview with ITV’s Lorraine.
- Starmer said it was “offensive” for No 10 to use the Ukraine war as a reason to argue Boris Johnson had to remain in office. He said:
I don’t really buy into this idea, by the way, that Johnson is the only person of any importance in the Ukraine crisis … He is using that, really, as a shield and I think that’s pretty offensive.
- He said Tory MPs were making a “huge mistake” if they thought the public would just forget about Partygate. “I think people still talk about this, they really hurt about it,” he said.
- He said he believed Johnson had lied to parliament about it.
Good morning. It used to be said that Boris Johnson was a politician who always refused to apologise for anything. While in some respects true (although most politicians are loth to issue an apology), it is no longer a useful observation to make about Johnson because he has now established quite a substantial back catalogue of Partygate apologies. We will get another addition to the collection today.
Today’s is likely to be modelled on the statement he made on camera at Chequers a week ago today which started:
Today I have received a fixed-penalty notice from the Metropolitan police relating to an event in Downing Street on 19 June 2020, and let me say immediately that I have paid the fine and I once again offer a full apology.
And in a spirit of openness and humility, I want to be completely clear about what happened on that date.
Over the last week some of Johnson’s aides and allies have been briefing journalists, without attribution, that the fine does not matter much because it is akin to a parking ticket, or a speeding offence. This morning. Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, tried deploying this argument on the record. He told Sky News:
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. We’ve had prime ministers in the past who have received penalty notices, from what I can see, and also frontbench ministers.
I saw there was a parking notice that Tony Blair had once. We’ve seen frontbench Labour ministers and, let’s be frank, government ministers as well.
You’ve asked me, can someone who sets the laws and the rules, can they also be someone who breaks the rules. That clearly has happened with a number of ministers over the years.
It was not clear what Lewis was referring to – Blair never drove a car when he was PM, so parking tickets were a matter for his driver – but the folly of making the parking/speeding ticket comparison were highlighted when Lewis tried it again an hour or so later on the Today programme. He said there had been cases in the past where Labour or Conservative ministers were given speeding fines (no mention of Blair and a parking ticket this time). When the presenter, Mishal Husain, asked him to clarify this, Lewis said:
As I say, if somebody gets a speeding ticket – and I’m not in any way trying to equate a speeding ticket that somebody has had with the situation of the sacrifices people made through Covid, I’ll be really clear about that …
Husain interrupted, telling Lewis: “You’ve actually literally just done that.” Later she told him:
These were rules that we were told we couldn’t even flex because lives are at stake. This was a moment of national crisis in which all our lives changed. And you are essentially downplaying that by bringing in some spurious reports that you’ve heard without even backing.
At this point Lewis retreated, falling back on his point that when Johnson told MPs that the rules had been following in No 10, he was saying what he believed to be true at the time.
Opposition party MPs have ridiculed Lewis for his comments. This is from the Green MP Caroline Lucas.
Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas)
Oh spare us Brandon Lewis – have some self respect & stop trying to defend PM. “If someone gets a speeding ticket …I’m not in any way trying to equate a speeding ticket with sacrifices people made.” That’s exactly what you’re doing & trashing decency in public life @BBCr4today
And this is from the Plaid Cymru MP Hwyel Williams.
Hywel Williams AS/MP (@HywelPlaidCymru)
Across the UK good people are shouting at the Today Programme R4 as Brandon Lewis MP discredits and debases himself by protecting Boris Johnson. Tory MPs should realise this is no longer just about Johnson’s fate, but about their own credibility with the people who elect them.
Here is my colleague Aubrey Allegretti’s overnight preview story. Although there will be interest in the exact nature of Johnson’s latest apology, and the Tory reaction to it, the main news today is likely to come when Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, announces how he will respond to opposition calls for a debate on a motion about claims Johnson deliberately misled MPs. It seems we are likely to have a vote later this week on some form of contempt motion, either calling for an inquiry, or declaring outright that Johnson did intentionally mislead MPs. Given the size of the Tory majority, Johnson is almost certain to win, but the opposition parties want to shame the MPs who have to defend him.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10.30am: Energy companies give evidence to the Commons business committee about energy prices.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
After 3.30pm: Boris Johnson is due to make a statement to MPs, covering Ukraine and his fine for attending a surprise birthday party in No 10 in breach of lockdown rules.
Early evening: Johnson is due to address a private meeting of Conservative MPs.
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Source: This post first appeared on The Guardian
