Press play to listen to this article
Presented by MSD.
 |
By ALEX WICKHAM
PRESENTED BY
Send tips here | Subscribe for free | Listen to Playbook and view in your browser
Good Tuesday morning.
DRIVING THE DAY
SUE NIGH: Boris Johnson stands accused of misleading parliament this morning after photos emerged of the prime minister raising a glass in a toast at Downing Street during lockdown. Once again ITV’s Paul Brand got the story, piling pressure on the PM in the week that is expected to see the publication of Sue Gray’s report on Partygate. As of late last night it remained unclear when exactly the report will land, which means it is possible it could come today. Playbook for one hopes so, because he has well and truly run out of tenuous Gray puns with which to lead this email.
Back in December last year … Labour MP Catherine West asked Johnson in the Commons: “Can the prime minister tell the House whether there was a party in Downing Street on 13 November?”
Johnson replied: “No, but I’m sure whatever happened the guidance … and the rules were followed at all times.”
Just haven’t Met you yet: Yesterday’s photo dump certainly means the privileges committee has some ammo as it probes whether Johnson deliberately misled the House. Downing Street will argue that this was not a party but a work event, and that Johnson had a reasonable excuse in saying goodbye to his departing comms chief Lee Cain, in an event that was reported at the time. No. 10 also briefed Brand that photos similar to the ones ITV published were obtained by Gray, who passed them to the police, who in turn decided not to fine Johnson. Former Labour aide Tom Hamilton explained how the wording of the PM’s answer might provide a get out of jail card with the privileges committee.
**A message from MSD: How can we help children recover from lost time in school over COVID-19? Vaccine-preventable diseases like chickenpox continue to disrupt children’s lives across the UK. The time to act on chickenpox – and Stop the Spots – is now. Find out more here.**
Judgment day: Whether those excuses pass muster in the court of public opinion, or indeed the all-important court of Tory MPs’ opinion, is another question. Members of the public who were unable to see dying family members during the pandemic went viral on social media yesterday as they expressed outrage at the champers pics. The story led the BBC News at Ten last night and splashes almost all of today’s papers.
And as for Tory backbenchers: Rebel ringleader Steve Baker pointedly tweeted a government COVID graphic of a hospitalized woman emblazoned with the emotive words: “Look her in the eyes and tell her you never bend the rules.” …
… Johnson critic Roger Gale told Times Radio: “It’s absolutely clear there was a party, that he attended it, that he was raising a toast glass to one of his colleagues. Therefore, he misled us from the despatch box. Honorably there is one answer.” …
… And Scots Tory flip-flopper Douglas Ross veered back toward resignation chat: “These images will rightly make people across the country very angry. The PM must outline why he believes this behavior was acceptable. To most, these pictures seem unjustifiable and wrong.”
Picture set: The wisdom of some of that weekend briefing against Gray is also up for debate as today’s papers reveal more details of what’s to come. The Mirror’s Pippa Crerar hears the Gray report will publish “even more incriminating” photos. A source tells her: “Everybody is furious that loads of people got fined but him and nobody can figure out why, because there’s all these photos of him with booze.”
(Don’t) publish and be damned: Fresh revelations have also come out about *that* curious Johnson-Gray meeting to discuss the handling of her report a couple of weeks back. The Times‘ Steve Swinford and Oli Wright have a top scoop revealing the PM urged Gray not to publish her full report in light of the police investigation into the events. Johnson is said to have asked Gray if there was much point in publishing it given “it’s all out there.” Given this detail has now ended up on the front page of the Times, it would appear the request did not go down well.
Copping flak: The Met is also coming under fire from opposition politicians and commentators over its inability to explain its decisions on which events and which attendees broke the rules and merited fines, and why. The whole saga has been handled with a characteristic lack of transparency, consistency or common sense by the police, leaving huge questions over why some present at the toast appear to have been fined while others weren’t, as ITV’s Robert Peston notes. Not to mention why the birthday cake event warranted fines for Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, but this one didn’t. Some might say this is the thin end of the wedge when it comes to equality under the law in modern day Britain.
More serious claims: Inevitably the Met’s silence has led to unproven allegations of collusion between the police and politicians. Deputy Met assistant commissioner turned Lib Dem politician Brian Paddick made this inflammatory claim to LBC’s Andrew Marr last night: “I think that the Met may not have investigated this as thoroughly as they could have done because they didn’t want to upset No. 10.” How Paddick squares this with the fact that the Met fined Johnson for another event is another question.
House arrest: The Met’s chaotic handling of the whole affair will come under the spotlight on Thursday when Acting Commissioner Stephen House appears in front of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee. (H/t Pippa Crerar.)
In the meantime … as we await the Gray report or any more leaks, we reenter that impossible but very important territory of “taking the temperature” of Tory MPs who hold Johnson’s fate in their hands. Politics Home’s Eleanor Langford and Noa Hoffman spoke to some Tory backbenchers who want to move on from the scandal, and others who say Johnson is not out of the woods yet.
**Mircea Geoană, deputy secretary general of NATO will join POLITICO Live’s event “War in Ukraine: a watershed moment for European defense policy and transatlantic security?” on June 9 at 11 a.m. CEST. Will you? Register now!**
TODAY IN WESTMINSTER
HOUSE OF COMMONS: Sitting from 11.30 a.m. with justice questions … then any urgent questions or ministerial statements at 12.30 p.m. … then it’s the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill second reading until 7 p.m.
COST OF LIVING CABINET: Any Gray news could quickly take over, but first up this morning Boris Johnson hosts Cabinet — with Downing Street and the Treasury still at odds over how to help Britons struggling with the cost of living. The FT’s George Parker, Jim Pickard and Nathalie Thomas have a strong story reporting Rishi Sunak has ordered officials to draw up plans for a windfall tax on more than £10 billion of excess profits by electricity generators, including wind farm operators. “North Sea oil and gas producers are only half the picture,” a government insider tells the paper. “The other half is that high gas prices have led to some pretty substantial windfall profits for all electricity generation.” The Sun’s Jack Elsom says Universal Credit recipients may get more support.
NOW OPEN: We are told the PM will “hail infrastructure investment to unlock growth and boost jobs” as the Elizabeth line opens in London this morning. Services on the new line will be running from 6.30 a.m. between Paddington and Abbey Wood. London Mayor Sadiq Khan will be on one of the first trains and says: “Today is an historic day as the Elizabeth line opens to passengers. This is a huge moment, not just for London but the entire country — particularly in this special Jubilee year.”
About that … RMT union Secretary-General Mick Lynch tells Talk TV’s Tom Newton Dunn that rail strikes could extend into next year if no negotiated settlement is reached.
24 HOURS TO SAVE CHELSEA: There are major developments in the footballing world today as the U.K. government warns that if a deal to sell Chelsea is not closed imminently then the club may be barred from the Premier League next season. The government is due to approve the £4 billion sale to a consortium led by American investor Todd Boehly, but a senior Whitehall insider briefs the FT’s George Parker it “still has major hurdles to overcome” as Portuguese authorities also have to approved the deal due to current owner Roman Abramovich’s citizenship in that country. The U.K. government is now in intense discussion with Portugal and the European Commission to provide them the assurances they need to licence the deal.
One government source struck a very somber tone: “It’s transfer deadline day for Chelsea and I’m seriously worried about the outcome. If the deal doesn’t get final sign off today, the sale probably can’t happen in time — that could mean Chelsea out of the league. Even if HMG grants the licence today, it’s not clear that Portugal will do the same. It’s going to come down to the wire, and unless something changes I’m not optimistic.”
**Stay proactively informed with POLITICO Pro. Join the 1000+ organizations who rely on Pro every day for exclusive and reliable news and intelligence on politics and policy in Europe. Request a demo today.**
TROUBLES BILL: Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis is up in the Commons after lunch for the second reading of the Troubles Bill seeking to protect Northern Ireland veterans and deliver better outcomes for victims of the Troubles. Lewis will say: “The legacy of the Troubles is an issue that successive governments have attempted but ultimately failed to resolve — bluntly, because it concerns one of the most complex, sensitive and difficult periods in our history. This legislation is focussed on effective and timely information recovery, providing answers and accountability to families and survivors and aiding reconciliation, to help society move forward.” Lewis has given an interview to the Express‘ David Maddox.
What’s Labour doing? It’ll oppose the legislation, the Indy’s Kate Devlin reveals, meaning the government doesn’t have cross-party support for its proposals on the Northern Ireland peace process.
AFGHAN REPORT: Top Foreign Office civil servant Philip Barton should resign over the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle, a report by the foreign affairs committee out today says. Barton infamously stayed on holiday as the crisis unfolded. The report concludes: “The fact the Foreign Office’s senior leaders were on holiday when Kabul fell marks a fundamental lack of seriousness, grip or leadership at a time of national emergency. The committee has lost confidence in the Permanent Under-Secretary, who should consider his position.” The Sun’s Kate Ferguson has more.
TRADE SCOOP: The U.K. is preparing to ditch checks on freight trucks leaving Britain with nothing in them, in a bid to ease headaches for exporters, POLITICO’s Emilio Casalicchio reports. Ministers hope the move will take effect from the start of July, on the assumption that tax office HM Revenue and Customs will sign off on it. Hauliers welcomed the news that the regulation, carried over from the EU after Brexit, will be ditched, with the government estimating that about a third of trucks that enter Britain filled with goods return with nothing.
LOBBYING LATEST: The committee on standards this morning publishes its final recommendations for a new package of reforms designed to improve transparency and clean up lobbying in parliament following the Owen Paterson scandal. You’ll be able to read them here.
COMMITTEE CORRIDOR: The highlight is Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and energy bosses up in front of the BEIS committee to talk energy pricing from 11.15 a.m. … (Kwarteng is up at 1 p.m.).
WONK WATCH: Health Secretary Sajid Javid will be speaking at Onward and Create Streets’ Social Fabric Summit on the government’s vision for community health, the importance of community groups to the NHS and what communities can do to reduce the need for health services. Other political speakers include: Rory Stewart, Guy Opperman, John Penrose, Richard Bacon, Miriam Cates and Jon Cruddas. More info here.
UKRAINE UPDATE: A senior diplomat who was part of Russia’s permanent mission to the U.N. resigned Monday over Moscow’s “aggressive” war in Ukraine and “unprofessionalism” in the country’s diplomatic corps. “For twenty years of my diplomatic career I have seen different turns of our foreign policy, but never have I been so ashamed of my country as on February 24,” Boris Bondarev wrote in a post on social media, referring to the day Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to launch their full-scale assault on Ukraine. POLITICO’s Victor Jack has the story.
**A message from MSD: Did you know that chickenpox is estimated to have infected over 90% of the UK population, most often during childhood? MSD funded a recent study from the LSE which found that 49% of children who contracted chickenpox between ages 0 and 3 years and 66% of children who contracted chickenpox between ages 4 and 11 years missed days of school or nursery, with an average of 5.6 school days missed. As children get their education back on track after COVID-19, it is critical that we avoid further disruption wherever possible. Introducing a chickenpox national immunisation programme to Stop the Spots would help to give all children the best start in life. To find out more, visit https://stopthespots.co.uk/home/ (The Stop the Spots campaign has been initiated and funded by MSD. The content of the campaign has been provided by MSD. Job number GB-NON-05951).**
MEDIA ROUND
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps broadcast round: Sky News (7.05 a.m.) … LBC Nick Ferrari (7.50 a.m.) … Today program (8.10 a.m.) … ITV Good Morning Britain (8.30 a.m.).
London Mayor Sadiq Khan: Today program (7.10 a.m.) … Sky News (7.30 a.m.) … Good Morning Britain (7.50 a.m.) … BBC Radio 5Live (8.35 a.m.).
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Jonathan Ashworth: LBC Nick Ferrari (7.10 a.m.) … Sky News (8.05 a.m.) … Times Radio (8.35 a.m.).
Also on the Today program: Tory MP David Simmonds (6.50 a.m.) … Foreign affairs committee Chairman Tom Tugendhat (7.15 a.m.).
Also on Times Radio: Shadow Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Minister Catherine West (7.20 a.m.) … Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko (7.45 a.m.) … Former DExEU mandarin Philip Rycroft and former chief of Manchester Police Peter Fahy (8.05 a.m.) … Former Conservative leader William Hague and former Labour MP Louise Ellman (9.10 a.m.).
TODAY’S FRONT PAGES
(Click on the publication’s name to see its front page.)
Daily Express: Nothing To See Here! Yard says Boris Broke No Rules
Daily Mail: Rail Strike Could Cause Blackouts
Daily Mirror: How did he get away with THIS?
Daily Star: Yep, it’s defo not a party
Financial Times: Big power generators in Sunak’s sights for widened windfall tax
i: Lockdown party photos hit PM
Metro: Lockdown In One, PM
POLITICO UK: NATO bid reignites Sweden’s dispute with Turkey over Kurds
PoliticsHome: Government accused of “deliberately misleading” MPs over Afghan withdrawal
The Daily Telegraph: Pressure on Met over pictures of PM raising a toast in No10
The Guardian: Fresh danger for Johnson over No 10 drinks pictures
The Sun: Some PCs Are On The Pitch
The Times: Partying PM ‘misled Commons’
LONDON CALLING
WESTMINSTER WEATHER: 🌧️🌧️🌧️ Some rain, wind and storms. Highs of 18C.
BIRTHDAYS: Brexit Efficiencies Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg … Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve … Former Tory MP and London mayoral candidate Steven Norris … Former Tory MP Richard Ottaway … DEFRA Permanent Secretary Tamara Finkelstein … Scottish Employment Minister Richard Lochhead.
PLAYBOOK COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT: My editor Zoya Sheftalovich, reporter Andrew McDonald and producer Grace Stranger.
SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family: Brussels Playbook | London Playbook | Playbook Paris | EU Confidential | Sunday Crunch | EU Influence | London Influence | Digital Bridge | China Direct | Berlin Bulletin | D.C. Playbook | All our POLITICO Pro policy morning newsletters
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnBvbGl0aWNvLmV1L25ld3NsZXR0ZXIvbG9uZG9uLXBsYXlib29rL3N1ZS1uaWdoLWVsaXphYmV0aC1saW5lLW9wZW4tMjQtaG91cnMtdG8tc2F2ZS1jaGVsc2VhL9IBbWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnBvbGl0aWNvLmV1L25ld3NsZXR0ZXIvbG9uZG9uLXBsYXlib29rL3N1ZS1uaWdoLWVsaXphYmV0aC1saW5lLW9wZW4tMjQtaG91cnMtdG8tc2F2ZS1jaGVsc2VhL2FtcC8?oc=5
2022-05-24 06:06:23Z
CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnBvbGl0aWNvLmV1L25ld3NsZXR0ZXIvbG9uZG9uLXBsYXlib29rL3N1ZS1uaWdoLWVsaXphYmV0aC1saW5lLW9wZW4tMjQtaG91cnMtdG8tc2F2ZS1jaGVsc2VhL9IBbWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnBvbGl0aWNvLmV1L25ld3NsZXR0ZXIvbG9uZG9uLXBsYXlib29rL3N1ZS1uaWdoLWVsaXphYmV0aC1saW5lLW9wZW4tMjQtaG91cnMtdG8tc2F2ZS1jaGVsc2VhL2FtcC8
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar