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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow and Kevin Rawlinson

Steve Baker declines role in Boris Johnson government – as it happened

Closing summary

That’s all from us for this evening. Here’s a summary of the day’s events:

And, if you’d like to read about the early discussions between Number 10 and the EU, my colleagues Heather Stewart, Lisa O’Carroll and Daniel Boffey have the full story:

Downing Street has just announced what’s understood to be the final set of junior ministerial appointments for this evening.

Chris Skidmore moves from his job as universities minister to serve as a junior minister in the Department of Health and Social Care. He will work alongside Caroline Dinenage, who remains in her post there. And Chris Heaton-Harris is appointed a junior transport minister.

Each was a consistent backer of May’s deal in the Commons.

Updated

Three more junior ministerial appointments now confirmed by Downing Street.

Andrew Stephenson will serve in the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development, where he will join Andrew Murrison, who remains with both.

And Justin Tomlinson stays in his job at the DWP.

Tomlinson and Murrison voted for May’s deal each of the three times it came before the Commons. Stephenson backed it the first time and was a teller for the second and third divisions.

Steve Baker is giving little away here:

There has been speculation in Westminster that Baker was upset that he wasn’t offered a more senior role – perhaps including a seat at the cabinet table. Baker has himself indicated he felt the position he was offered would leave him powerless.

Updated

The new home secretary, Priti Patel, holds a £1,000-an hour contract with a global communications firm that supplies products and services to the UK government, the Guardian can reveal.

Patel, who was appointed on Wednesday by the new prime minister, Boris Johnson, as a part of a wholesale gutting of the cabinet, has been working for Viasat for the past three months as a strategic adviser earning £5,000 for five hours’ work a month.

She recorded the role on the MPs’ register of interests, and the contract is due to expire on 31 July.

Viasat, a Californian company with a UK base in Farnborough, supplies services and products to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The MoD works in collaboration with the Home Office on numerous projects, including the Innovation and Research Insights (IRIS) Unit, which sets up technology-based contracts for both departments.

Patel, who was forced to resign from government two years ago for failing to disclose secret meetings with Israeli ministers, is understood to have been advising Viasat on a matter relating to India.

Downing Street has announced that Chris Pincher has been appointed as a junior Foreign Office minister.

Pincher stood down from a role in the whips office in November 2017, at the height of the Westminster sexual harassment scandal. He was subsequently cleared over allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour by an independent panel and went on to serve as deputy chief whip.

Mark Lancaster remains a junior MoD minister, No 10 has added.

Both men consistently voted for May’s deal.

Updated

Senior hard Brexit-backer turns down role in Johnson government

The former junior Brexit minister and deputy chair of the hard Brexit-supporting ERG, Steve Baker, says he’s declined a ministerial position this evening:

Updated

And two more junior ministerial appointments now confirmed by No 10: George Eustice and Thérèse Coffey, both consistent supporters of May’s deal, go to Defra.

Eustice served as agriculture minister until February, when he resigned, saying May’s decision to allow a vote on delaying article 50 would be “the final humiliation of our country”.

At the time, Johnson praised him, saying:

Updated

Downing Street has now officially announced the following appointments:

  • Kit Malthouse as a Home Office minister
  • Conor Burns as a junior minister at the Department for International Trade
  • Nick Gibb remains a junior education minister

Burns, like the new prime minister, voted against May’s deal the first two times it came before the Commons, before supporting it the third time. Malthouse and Gibb both voted for it on each occasion.

There seems to be some intrigue in the case of the hard Brexit-supporting Steve Baker, however. He was thought to be on the cusp of an important government job, having headed into No 10. He even seemed to be indulging in some jocular back-and-forth with journalists while inside.

Now, it seems there may have been a snag:

Updated

In its account of the discussions between Johnson told Juncker, Downing Street has stressed the prime minister made clear that he required the “abolition of the backstop”.

The prime minister today received a call of congratulation from European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker. The PM thanked the president for his message.

On Brexit, the PM reiterated that he wants a deal, and will be energetic in pursuit of finding a way forward, but said the withdrawal agreement has been rejected three times by the UK Parliament and will not pass in its current form.

The PM said that, if an agreement is to be reached, it must be understood that the way to a deal goes by way of the abolition of the backstop. The PM and the president agreed to stay in contact.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has not said when he will make a move in the Commons to potentially trigger a general election. Outside Parliament this evening, however, he’s attending a rally to demand one. He’s expected to say:

Never mind the bluster and arm-waving, [Boris Johnson] has got no plan for this country. No plan on Brexit, no plan to rebuild our public services, and no plan to tackle the climate emergency.

He spent his leadership campaign promising tax giveaways to the richest and the big corporations. And he’s threatening a no-deal Brexit, staking all of our futures on a sweetheart trade deal with Donald Trump that would risk the takeover of our NHS by US corporations.

He’s expected to highlight Johnson’s appointment of what Labour see as a hard-right cabinet:

This prime minister wasn’t chosen by the people, he was chosen by fewer than 100,000 unrepresentative Tory party members.

You deserve your say. Whether that’s in a public vote on Brexit or in a general election, so everyone has the chance to decide the future of our country.

The choice will be between Johnson’s divisive government for the wealthy few – and a radical Labour government that will bring the country together and deliver for the many.

Updated

Downing Street has now confirmed that Jesse Norman will remain as financial secretary to the Treasury, Nigel Adams will become the minister of state at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Lucy Frazer will become a minister of state at the Ministry of Justice.

Adams quit May’s government in April over her decision to hold talks on Brexit with Jeremy Corbyn. All three voted for May’s withdrawal agreement on each of the occasions it came before the Commons.

Updated

We told you earlier that the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, had told Johnson the EU would not give in to his demand to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement.

My colleague, Jennifer Rankin, has a succinct assessment of the discussions between Johnson and Juncker

There are multiple unconfirmed reports from Westminster correspondents of more ministerial movement, as Boris Johnson continues to build his government this evening

Yet more MPs have been seen heading into No 10, including the hardline Brexiter, Steve Baker:

Updated

Boris Johnson is still reshuffling his government. These are from Stephen Hammond, one of the most pro-European Conservatives, who has quit as a health minister.

That’s all from me for today.

My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is now taking over.

This is from Reuters.

EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has told Britain’s new prime minister, Boris Johnson, that the bloc’s member nations will not give in to his demand to renegotiate the Brexit withdrawal treaty.

Juncker called the existing deal “the best and only agreement possible.”

Juncker and Johnson had their first phone conversation late Thursday since Johnson took over from Theresa May as Britain’s leader.

Johnson has insisted that the current agreement to leave the EU and arrangements regarding the Irish border were not good enough and had to be renegotiated.

An EU official with knowledge of the exchange said that despite Juncker’s refusal to reopen the legal 585-page legal agreement, Juncker said he “remains at the disposal of the United Kingdom to add language” to a political text on future relations and “to analyze any ideas put forward by the United Kingdom, providing they are compatible with the withdrawal agreement.”

And here is my colleague Owen Jones on Boris Johnson.

Five things we learned from Johnson about the possible Tory autumn election campaign

The Boris Johnson statement to the Commons, and the two and a half hours he spent responding to questions from MPs, threw up quite a lot of interesting material. You can read his opening statement here. My colleague Jessica Elgot has written a summary and analysis of the policy pledges he made in it here. And I have written about some of the other newsy comments Johnson made later in the session on the blog, including his support for an amnesty for up to 500,000 undocumented migrants (see 2.34pm) and his call for all government cleaners to get the London living wage (see 4.09pm).

There was also a lot of political knockabout in the session. Normally this does not get a lot of attention, but it is worth flagging up today because it felt as if we were getting a sneak preview of the Tory autumn election campaign. It also felt as if we were getting a strong hint that there will be an autumn election campaign. When Johnson was talking about policy, he sounded unengaged, but when he was rehearsing attack lines for use against Labour and the SNP, he sounded – to use his own word – “energised”. And in the context of the Commons chamber, he was effective.

Five key campaign themes emerged.

Boris Johnson’s election campaign themes

1) Johnson is explicitly running on a Trump-style ‘make Britain great again’ platform. He did not use that slogan, but that nevertheless was the message. Election campaigners often argue that appeals to emotion are more powerful than appeals to reason. And hope is seen as easier to sell than fear (although there are lots of elections where fear wins). Johnson has absorbed these ideas. This is how he started his statement.

Our mission is to deliver Brexit on 31 October for the purpose of uniting and re-energising our great United Kingdom and making this country the greatest place on earth. When I say “the greatest place on earth”, I am conscious that some may accuse me of hyperbole, but it is useful to imagine the trajectory on which we could now be embarked. By 2050, it is more than possible that the United Kingdom will be the greatest and most prosperous economy in Europe, at the centre of a new network of trade deals, which we have pioneered.

2) He is happy to attack Labour as a remain party. In his response to Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn called for a referendum on Johnson’s Brexit plans and said Labour would campaign for remain. In his reply, Johnson seized on this, claiming Corbyn had made a strategic error.

He speaks about trust in our democracy. I have to say that a most extraordinary thing has just happened today. Did anybody notice? Did anybody notice the terrible metamorphosis that took place, like the final scene of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers? At last, this longstanding Eurosceptic, the right honourable gentleman, has been captured. He has been jugulated, he has been reprogrammed by his honourable friends. He has been turned now into a remainer! Of all the flip-flops that he has performed in his tergiversating career, that is the one for which I think he will pay the highest price.

It is this party now, this government, who are clearly on the side of democracy in this country.

Theresa May also used to attack Labour for supporting a second referendum. But Johnson did it today with more gusto, and he sought to frame it as an argument not about the EU, but about democracy. It also sounded like an argument you would deploy in an election before the UK had left the EU – another reason why journalists came away sensing an autumn election was likely.

3) Johnson sought to steal Labour’s main party slogan. Corbyn says Labour is the party for the many, not the few. Today Johnson sought to appropriate this. In his response to Corbyn he also said:

The reality now is that we are the party of the people. We are the party of the many, and they are the party of the few. We will take this country forwards; they, Mr Speaker, would take it backwards.

4) Johnson is going to campaign on an old-fashioned, law-and-order platform. The independent MP Chris Leslie tried to embarrass him by asking him about Priti Patel, the new home secretary’s previous support for the death penalty. Johnson said he did not support it himself, but then he went on the offensive over crime. He told Leslie:

I do not support the death penalty, but what the people of this country want to see is proper sentencing for serious violent and sexual offenders.

He claimed some Labour MPs were nodding, and went on:

There are members opposite who know where their constituents truly are on some of these issues, and they are right, unlike the current leadership of the Labour party.

5) Johnson is challenging Labour to a spending war. This came when the Labour MP Meg Hillier challenged Johnson to explain how his spending promises were affordable. In reply he claimed his proposals were modest and easily affordable. He then challenged Labour to say if they were not prepared to match his spending plans. He said:

If Labour members are now opposing that spending – if they now think that we should not be putting another £1bn into policing and another £4.6bn into education—then now is the time to speak.

Labour’s response

Much of what Johnson said today was implausible, evasive or just downright wrong – like his reply to Meg Hillier quoted above. (The Institute for Fiscal Studies says his plans are anything but modest.) Many Labour MPs made these points, including Jeremy Corbyn, whose opening statement highlighted numerous flaws in Johnson’s case. Corbyn ended up making a sound plea for competence over bluster.

The challenge to end austerity, tackle inequality, resolve Brexit and tackle the climate emergency will define the new prime minister. Instead, we have a hard-right cabinet staking everything on tax cuts for the few and a reckless race-to-the-bottom Brexit. He says he has “pluck and nerve and ambition”; our country does not need arm-waving bluster; we need competence, seriousness and, after a decade of divisive policies for the few, to focus for once on the interests of the many.

But does this message work? It is hard to know without proper polling, but the election of Trump in America showed that reason and truth does not always win over against emotive falsehoods. It felt as if the two Labour MPs who did the most to puncture the Johnson hubris bubble were Liz Kendall (see 12.32pm) and Hillier (see 12.45pm) who both asked questions that contrasted Johnson’s “fantasy” with reality. But, overall, no one came close to discomforting Johnson. Labour and the other opposition parties will need to think harder about how to upend him.

Verdict from Twitter commentariat

Other commentators feel the same way. Here are some of their tweets.

From LabourList’s Sienna Rodgers

From Sky’s Lewis Goodall

From the Daily Mail’s Jason Groves

From BuzzFeed’s Alberto Nardelli

From the Evening Standard’s Kate Proctor

From the Times’ Matt Chorley

From the Spectator’s James Forsyth

Updated

Alister Jack, the new Scottish secretary, has implied he may not back a no deal Brexit if the government has failed to properly prepare for it, despite positioning himself as a supporter of Boris Johnson’s readiness for a no deal divorce

In an interview to be broadcast by the BBC, Jack was asked whether he backed exiting without an agreement. His answer strongly suggested his support for Johnson’s no deal agenda is not unconditional.

I will take stock of the situation and if we have to leave without a deal, if I feel we have prepared for that, then we will leave without a deal. That will be a cabinet decision and that is what we have all signed up to and the preparations start in earnest … We need to make sure we are absolutely ready.

He said it was essential that Johnson spent the £4.2bn made available for no deal contingency preparations.

Jack was appointed Scottish secretary after Johnson sacked the veteran and originally pro-remain Tory MP David Mundell on Tuesday. Jack and Mundell hold neighbouring constituencies in southern Scotland, but Jack only became an MP in 2017; Mundell has sat in the Scottish and then Westminster parliaments for 20 years.

Jack told the BBC he believed a no deal Brexit could prove liberating for the British economy but stressed again he believed there had to be proper preparation for that:

I don’t think a no deal Brexit will be seriously damaging if we prepare for it properly. I do think there will be bumps along the way. I’m quite realistic about that … One thing I would like to see is a strong deal with our European partners – so that’s quite clear: a free trade agreement.

A leave supporter, Jack voted three times for May’s deal but has latterly hovered on the fringes of the hard Brexiteers, signing the rebel letter written by 62 MPs in February 2018 urging Theresa May to guarantee the UK would not be tied to the customs union or single market post Brexit.

However, he is also seen as a classic shire Tory: a farmer and self-made millionaire educated at Glenalmond boarding school, he is a member of the Queen’s Royal Company of Archers, who act as a ceremonial honour guard in Scotland, and was previously chair of the River Annan Trust and District Salmon Fishery Board.

Updated

Dominic Raab has been addressing Foreign Office staff in his new capacity as foreign secretary.

Johnson says all government departments should pay cleaners London living wage

This is what Boris Johnson said to the Labour MP Catherine West when she asked for an assurance that every single entry-level cleaner in Whitehall would be paid the London living wage. Johnson replied:

I have to say – the answer is yes. I was very proud that I when I was running London that we massively expanded with the living wage. And we made sure that it was paid not just by by GLA bodies, but by their contractors as well. And that is what we should be doing.

When asked of evidence for his commitment to social justice, Johnson tends to refer to his record as London mayor, and particularly the expansion of the London living wage, The Greater London authority was one of the bodies that paid it to all its staff.

The London living wage is currently set at £10.55 per hour. It is a voluntary target which is intended to set what would be an acceptable minimum for workers in the capital. It is not the same as the national living wage, the statutory minimum wage for workers over 25, which is £8.21 per hour.

Updated

Here is my colleague Daniel Boffey on Michel Barnier’s note to the EU27. (See 3.15pm.)

Updated

Boris Johnson drops target for getting annual net migration below 100,000

The new government has abandoned the target of getting annual net migration below 100,000. This was set as a goal by David Cameron, and maintained by Theresa May, but their governments never came close to meeting it.

After Boris Johnson’s statement to MPs, the prime minister’s spokesman, when asked about the 100,000, target, said Johnson was not interested in a “numbers game”. The spokesman said:

His view is that we need to introduce an Australian points-based system that allows us to take back control of our borders

He is determined to deliver it, which is why he has commissioned Mac (the Migration Advisory Committee) to carry out the work to get that system.

He said in the campaign he wasn’t interested in a numbers game.

Here is my colleague Jessica Elgot’s summary of what Boris Johnson was promising in his statement to MPs in the Commons.

The Financial Times’ Alex Barker says Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has written to EU member states saying that Boris Johnson’s call for the backstop to be removed is “unacceptable”.

Updated

Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach (prime minister), has restated his government’s support for the backstop. He said:

The position of the European Union and the position of Ireland has not changed.

The backstop is an integral part of the withdrawal agreement; without the backstop there is no withdrawal agreement, there is no transition phase, there is no implementation phase and there will be no free trade agreement until all those matters are resolved.

So I hope that the new UK prime minister has not chosen no deal, but that will be up to them.

Updated

Campaigners for EU nationals have expressed disappointment that Boris Johnson did not commit to new legislation to seal their rights to remain in the UK post Brexit.

They were hoping he would use his first appearance at the dispatch box to put flesh on the bones of his campaign pledge to ensure all their rights were guaranteed after Brexit.

They are looking for a “declaratory” system, which would require EU citizens to simply register as living in the UK, rather than apply for the right to stay as they do under the current settled status scheme.

Nicolas Hatton, co-founder of the3million, said:

Another damp squib on citizens’ rights by another prime minister. No commitment to fully protect our rights for our lifetime but vague guarantee as if it was 2016. Meanwhile, EU citizens in the UK and Brits in Europe are still the bargaining chips of the Brexit negotiations.

British in Europe are astonished that for a second day running Johnson did not refer to the 1.2 million who are living on the continent.

Updated

Scottish and Welsh governments urge Johnson to reject option of no-deal Brexit

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, and her Welsh opposite number, Mark Drakeford, have written jointly to Boris Johnson urging him to abandon plans for a “catastrophic” no-deal Brexit.

Calling for urgent inter-governmental talks, the duo also urged Johnson to give both devolved governments an equal say in the planning for Brexit, alongside guarantees that neither government would be financially worse off as a result of leaving the EU and that both would get a fair share of any post-Brexit emergency funding.

Johnson is thought to be planning a tour of the UK within the next week, with some speculation he will travel to the north-east of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which will bring these questions to the fore.

Sturgeon and Drakeford also called on Johnson to prepare the UK for a second EU referendum, pointing out that both the Welsh and Scottish governments officially backed a second vote on Brexit.

They said they were still making preparations for a no-deal Brexit, but added that that option would be disastrous. They said:

It would be unconscionable for a UK government to contemplate a chaotic no-deal exit, and we urge you to reject this possibility clearly and unambiguously as soon as possible.

We are also clear that the decision on EU exit must now be put back to the people. It is the policy of both governments that the UK parliament should legislate for a further referendum. If such a referendum is held we will argue strongly that the UK should remain in the EU.

In a lengthy shopping list of demands, they asked for a seat in any trade talks post-Brexit with the EU and other countries which honoured recent promises by David Lidington, Michael Gove’s predecessor as Cabinet Office minister, to increase their involvement.

They also asked for Theresa May’s immigration white paper to be replaced by new measures to guarantee migration policy did not damage the Scottish and Welsh economies. The Tories have already said May’s proposals, including a £30,000 minimum salary for new entrants, would be scrapped. However, Priti Patel, the new home secretary, is an immigration hardliner who supported May’s “hostile environment” strategy.

Updated

Irish minister says Johnson cabinet's Brexit language 'quite alarming'

The Irish government has expressed “alarm” at the new approach of the Boris Johnson’s approach to Brexit and Ireland.

Asked what he thought about the new cabinet, Michael Creed, agriculture minister, said “the makeup of this government seems to be a mirror image of his own viewpoint substantially and obviously that would be of concern to us”.

Speaking as the Irish cabinet met in Donegal, Creed added:

What the government is concerned about now is the approach of new administration in UK to the withdrawal agreement. We see that as the way to have a planned withdrawal arrangement and obviously what we are hearing from the government is quite alarming.

But we consider all of those matters when we have greater clarity about the intention of the government in the UK.

Updated

Boris Johnson backs amnesty for up to 500,000 undocumented migrants

This is what Boris Johnson said during his statement about considering an amnesty for migrants in the UK illegally. He was responding to a question from the Labour MP Rupa Huq, who said that when Johnson was mayor of London he proposed an amnesty for illegal immigrants. (It is an idea that Johnson has long advocated, and one that he did raise during the Tory leadership contest, but only tentatively.) Huq said, now Johnson was in a position to do something about this, he could show whether or not he was a man of his word.

Johnson insisted he was still committed to the idea. He told her:

It is absolutely true that I have raised it several times [when] I was in government. I must say, it did not receive an overwhelming endorsement from the previous prime minister when I raised it in cabinet.

But I have to say I do think our arrangements – theoretically being committed to the expulsion of perhaps half a million people who don’t have the correct papers and who may have been living and working here for many, many years without being involved in any criminal activity at all – I think that legal position is anomalous.

And we saw the difficulties that that kind of problem occasioned in the Windrush fiasco. We know the difficulties that can be caused.

And I do think – yes, I will answer [Huq] directly – I do think we need to look at our arrangements for people who have lived and worked here for a long time, unable to enter the economy, unable to participate properly or pay taxes without documents.

We should look at it. And the truth is the law already basically allows them an effective amnesty. That’s basically where things have settled down. But we should look at the the economic advantages and disadvantages of going ahead with the policy that [Huq] described and which I think she and I share.

Updated

Theresa May was not in the chamber for Boris Johnson’s statement. Along with Greg Clark, the former business secretary, and David Gauke, the former justice secretary, she has been at Lords watching the England v Ireland test match. All three left the cabinet yesterday. Gauke and Clark are seen as leading members of the “Gaukward squad”, former ministers set to oppose any attempt to take the UK out of the EU without a deal, and that fact that they’re with May will fuel suspicions that she is an honorary member too.

Theresa May poses for a photograph in the stands during day two of the Specsavers Test Series match at Lord’s
Theresa May poses for a photograph in the stands during day two of the Specsavers Test Series match at Lord’s Photograph: Bradley Collyer/PA

Johnson has now finished. He was on his feet for two and a half hours.

John Bercow, the Speaker, said he took 129 questions.

I will post a summary and reaction soon.

Johnson refuses to admit he was wrong to blame EU for kipper packaging rules

The SNP’s Stephen Gethins asks Johnson to accept that he was wrong to say kipper packaging rules are made by the EU.

Johnson says it is extraordinary that the SNP has decided to respond to the issue of fish, given that their policy would keep Scotland in the common fisheries policy.

  • Johnson refuses to acknowledge that he falsely blamed the EU for deciding new rules on kipper packaging.

The SNP’s Peter Grant says the assurances in the settled status scheme do not offer EU nationals the same rights they have now. Will Johnson ensure people keep the rights they have now?

Johnson says the government is giving those assurances. It wants to see them reciprocated by other EU nations.

Updated

Gavin Shuker, the independent MP, asks if Johnson will hold a confidence vote in September.

Johnson says the right thing to do is to go ahead and deliver Brexit.

Updated

The SNP’s Tommy Sheppard asks if Johnson will respect a decision by the Scottish parliament to decide to consult people on independence.

Johnson says the decision was taken in 2014. That was the right one.

  • Johnson refuses to commit to allowing the Scottish parliament to hold another referendum on independence.

Updated

The DUP’s Ian Paisley asks if Johnson will intervene to help the coachbuilder Wrightbus.

Johnson says the current mayor of London abandoned a contract with the firm. The government will do what it can to help, he says.

Updated

The SNP’s Patrick Grady asks if Johnson supports the principle in the Claim of Right for Scotland.

Johnson says the people of Scotland had a vote on independence, and took a decision.

Updated

Labour’s Jack Dromey asks if Johnson will meet a delegation from manufacturing industry to hear their concerns about a no-deal Brexit.

Johnson says Michael Gove, who is in charge of no-deal planning, would be happy to meet them.

According to Sky’s Sam Coates, Alberto Costa, the Conservative MP who has been campaigning for EU nationals living in the UK to have their rights guaranteed, does not think the assurance from Boris Johnson today goes far enough.

Updated

Labour’s Diana Johnson asks Johnson what his priority is: Crossrail for the north, between Hull and Liverpool, or Crossrail 2 in London.

Johnson says he cannot choose between them. That is like asking a tigress to choose between her cubs, he says.

Updated

Johnson floats idea of amnesty for illegal immigrants

Asked about immigration, Johnson says in effect there is already an amnesty for migrants who have been in the country illegally for many years. He says the government should consider the case for formalising this.

  • Johnson floats idea of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

This is an idea that Johnson has floated before.

Updated

Giles Watling, a Conservative, asks if Johnson can improve the rail service to places like Clacton, his constiuency.

Johnson says he wants to use infrastructure to level up the country.

Johnson repeats his point about how the SNP would have to campaign to hand back control of fishing to the EU after Brexit if it continued to campaign for EU membership. He says he expects the party to perform a U-turn on that at some point.

Catherine West, the Labour MP, says Johnson believes in the London living wage. But many government departments do not pay it. Will Johnson commit to ensuring that they do pay it.

  • Johnson says all government departments should pay their cleaners the London living wage.

UPDATE: See 4.06pm for the full quote.

Updated

Chris Leslie, of the Independent Group for Change, asks if Johnson agrees with Priti Patel on the death penalty.

Johnson says he does not support the death penalty. But he says he does want to see serious offenders serve their sentences properly. He says Labour MPs should realise that this is what their constituents want.

UPDATE: Originally this post said Johnson said he abhorred the penalty. I’m sorry; I misheard. He just said he did not support the death penalty. I’ve corrected that now.

Updated

Labour’s Anneliese Dodds asks why Johnson said so little about the climate emergency if he really cares about it.

Johnson says the Conservatives are the only party that believes private sector-driven new technology can provide a solution to the problem.

Labour’s Clive Efford says the leave campaign wanted to restore parliamentary sovereignty. So why has Johnson hired an adviser, Dominic Cummings, found in contempt of parliament.

Johnson ignores the question and says it is a disgrace Labour wants to reverse the referendum result.

Updated

Asked what changes he wants to the withdrawal agreement, Johnson says the first step should be to get rid of the backstop.

Alec Shelbrooke, a Conservative, asks if Johnson will back his plan to ban unpaid internships.

Johnson says Shelbrooke is “entirely right”. People should get jobs on merit.

Updated

Mark Menzies, a Conservative, asks if Johnson will commit to more spending on small transport projects.

Johnson jokes that he has lost count of how many road schemes he has committed to backing.

Labour’s Stephen Kinnock says the Tory manifesto said there would be a deal. So does Johnson accept he has no mandate for no deal.

Johnson says the party also said no deal would be better than a bad deal.

Labour’s Peter Kyle asks what legal changes Johnson wants to introduce to enhance workers’ rights that would not be allowed if the UK remained in the EU?

Johnson says that is for the Commons to decide.

Updated

Peter Bone, the Tory Brexiter, says for the first time in months he has slept soundly. Will Johnson ensure that continues?

Johnson says he is going to take the country out of the EU by 31 October.

Updated

Labour’s Chi Onwurah asks Johnson to give the three things he admires most about the north-east.

Johnson says the people of the north-east should answer that. It would be patronising for him to answer. But he does know that the north-east is the only region of the county that is a net exporter, he says.

Updated

Henry Smith, a Conservative, asks when MPs will know how many extra police officers each force area will get.

As soon as possible, Johnson says.

Labour’s Emma Lewell-Buck says it is important for the PM do be on top of the detail. So can he say now what is in paragraph 5(C) of Gatt article 24?

That is a reference to one of the questions Andrew Neil asked Johnson in his BBC interview recently.

Johnson declines to answer, but he says he plans to rely on paragraph 5(B).

Updated

Colin Clark, a Tory, asks Johnson if he will support the oil industry in Scotland.

Johnson says this industry has a great future.

Asked about the Lib Dem leader, Jo Swinson, saying she would still oppose Brexit, even if people voted for it in a second referendum, Johnson says the opposition are like dictators; they want to ignore the will of the people.

Updated

Labour’s Debbie Abrahams says she loves this country and its people. But all the evidence shows the richer are getting richer and the poorer are getting poorer.

Johnson says that is not correct. Income inequality has declined since 2010, he says. He says the government has lifted poor people out of tax.

(Actually, recent figures show income inequality is increasing.)

Updated

Labour’s Chris Bryant asks Johnson to get rid of the five-week waiting time for payments under universal credit.

Johnson says people can get advances on their benefit payments. Labour wants to scrap universal credit, he says. He defends the system.

Labour’s Alison McGovern says we now have a Vote Leave government. Does Johnson stand by the promises he made to have no change at the Irish border, and no sudden changes in the economy?

Yes, says Johnson. He says he is opposed to border controls. And as for the economy, he implies that if there were a no-deal Brexit, it would be the fault of the EU.

Johnson refuses to say UK faces climate emergency

Ed Davey, the Lib Dem MP, asks if Johnson agrees the UK faces a climate emergency.

Johnson says the government is leading the world in setting a net zero emissions target for 2050. Carbon emissions have been cut dramatically, he says. When he was London mayor carbon emissions were cut by 14% by new technology. That is the policy he will adopt.

  • Johnson refuses to say the UK faces a climate emergency.

Updated

The SNP’s Stewart McDonald asks Johnson why he has refused to answer questions about his relationship with the former Russian arms dealer Alexander Temerko.

Johnson says if McDonald has an allegation to make, he should put it to him in writing.

Justine Greening, a Conservative, asks Johnson if he agrees any deal must be put to the people in a referendum.

Johnson says he does not agree. Labour is now a referendum party, he says. But a referendum should only happen once a generation.

(In the past Johnson did once express some support for the idea of holding a second referendum.)

Updated

Labour’s Laura Smith asks if Johnson will apologise for what he said about how investigating historical child abuse was spaffing money against the wall.

Johnson says this country can be proud of its record on tackling child abuse.

Updated

Labour’s Angela Eagle says one of the principles of public life is honesty. Has Johnson always been honest in his political career?

Johnson says he has always delivered what he has promised. In fact, he has promised X and delivered X plus 20.

Updated

Meg Hillier, the Labour chair of the public accounts committee, says there is a difference between optimism and fantasy. If Johnson wants to convince people he is not a fantasist, he will need to explain how he will fund his spending plans.

Johnson says his spending plans are relatively modest. He challenges Labour to commit to matching what he has promised.

Updated

Asked if he will guarantee workers’ rights after Brexit, Johnson says he hopes to enhance workers’ rights after Brexit.

Labour has listed 10 questions that it says Boris Johnson did not answer when he was responding to Jeremy Corbyn.

Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, asks if Johnson will honour his promise to lie in front of bulldozers to stop the Heathrow extension.

Johnson says he is watching the court cases taking place with lively interest.

Johnson refuses to commit to giving MPs vote on what happens next if he fails to get Brexit deal

Anna Soubry, the Independent Group for Change leader, asks Johnson to bring the matter back to the Commons if he fails to get a new Brexit deal.

Johnson says MPs have already voted for Brexit.

  • Johnson refuses to commit to giving MPs a vote on what happens next if he fails to negotiate a new Brexit deal.

Updated

Johnson suggests UK no longer feels bound by December 2017 joint report with EU on Brexit

Labour’s Pat McFadden asks if Johnson accepts the commitment on the backstop made in the joint agreement between the UK and the EU in the joint report of December 2017.

Johnson says that is the trap from which the UK is trying to escape.

  • Johnson suggests UK no longer feels bound by December 2017 joint report with EU on Brexit.

Updated

Julian Lewis, the Tory chair of the defence committee, asks Johnson if he agrees defence spending needs to go up.

Johnson says he has a strong desire to increase spending, particularly on ship building.

Labour’s Liz Kendall says, if optimism was all it took, today people would be wandering across the garden bridge (the Johnson project that failed) and taking off on holiday from the Boris island airport (another Johnson scheme that never got off the drawing board). He asks Johnson what he will do about social care.

Johnson says he wants a cross-party solution to this.

Updated

Sir Oliver Letwin, a Tory, says he does not agree with Johnson on Brexit, but he says he thinks there is a possible majority in the Commons for a deal.

Johnson welcomes what he says.

Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville Roberts asks what is Johnson’s priority: delivering Brexit, or maintaining the union? He will have to pick one, do or die, she says.

Johnson says the people of the UK voted to leave the EU, and the people of Wales voted emphatically to do so.

Updated

John Baron, a Tory Brexiter, congratulates Johnson on his “cracking” policies so far. He says it says a lot that the four great offices of state are held by the descendants of immigrants. He asks if Johnson will maintain a cancer treatment initiative.

Johnson says he will carry on with that scheme.

Updated

Labour’s Hilary Benn says Leo Varadkar, the Irish PM, said yesterday trying to negotiate a new deal by October was “not in the real world”. What will Johnson do if MPs vote against no deal?

Johnson says Benn’s question is redolent of the defeatism he deplores. Why does not Benn think the EU might think again? All parties know what will happen if they do not honour the referendum result.

UPDATE: Here are the quotes.

Updated

Labour’s Yvette Cooper asks if Johnson can say what the technology will be for alternatives to the backstop in Ireland. She asked the chancellor 17 times, but he could not say, she says.

Johnson says abundant options are available, including trusted trader schemes.

Owen Paterson, the Brexiter former environment secretary, asks for an assurance that the UK will take back “total sovereignty” over fishing after Brexit.

Johnson says that is exactly what he will do.

Here is the Press Association’s first take on Boris Johnson’s statement.

Boris Johnson has urged Brussels to rethink its opposition to negotiating a new agreement on the terms of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.

In his first statement to MPs as prime minister, Johnson reaffirmed his determination to deliver Brexit by the October 31 deadline, warning of a “catastrophic” loss of confidence in the UK’s democracy if they failed.

Johnson, who entered the Commons chamber to cheers from Tory MPs, insisted that he wanted to take Britain out of the EU with a deal.

But he said Theresa May’s deal had been rejected three times by the House and could not be brought back again.

“I would prefer us to leave the EU with a deal - I would much prefer it,” he said.

“I believe that it is possible even at this late stage and I will work flat out to make it happen.

“But certain things need to be clear. The withdrawal agreement negotiated by my predecessor has been three times rejected by this House.

“Its terms are unacceptable to this parliament and this country,” he said.

He said that his new government was ready to negotiate with Brussels in good faith.

“We will throw ourselves into these negotiations with the greatest energy and determination and in a spirit of friendship,” he said.

But at the same time he promise to “turbocharge” preparations for a no-deal Brexit in the event that they were unable to come to an agreement with the EU.

Updated

Nigel Dodds, the DUP leader at Westminster, welcomes Johnson’s positivity and optimism. He says the UK must be prepared for no deal if necessary.

Johnson thanks Dodds for his support, and for what he has done to protect the people of the UK from the “depredations of the party opposite”.

Updated

Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem leader, says the 3 million EU nationals here are our family, our friends, our carers. But they have been kept in uncertainty. So will Johnson back the bill from the Lib Dem peer Lord Oates backing their rights.

Johnson says he can guarantee their rights. He says 1 million people have already signed up to the settlement scheme.

Updated

Blackford says SNP government considering bringing forward plans for second independence referendum

Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, welcomes Johnson as the last PM of the United Kingdom.

It is sometimes said Johnson lives in a parallel universe. Today he appears to have gone to outer space, Blackford says.

He asks Johnson to accept Nicola Sturgeon’s request for a meeting.

A no-deal Brexit would cost Scotland 100,000 jobs, he says. He says Johnson has admitted he has done no analysis of the outcome of his plan. He says Johnson is deluded. If Johnson tries to take the UK out of the EU without a deal, Scotland will stop him and this parliament “will stop this madness in its tracks”.

He says Johnson does not have a mandate to be PM.

He asks Johnson to rule out changing the Barnett formula.

He says Sturgeon is now reviewing the timetable for a second independence referendum.

  • Blackford says SNP government considering bringing forward its plans for a second independence referendum.

In response, Johnson says Nicola Sturgeon replaced Alex Salmond without a vote.

He asks if the SNP would really campaign to rejoin the EU, and to hand back control of fisheries to the EU, after Brexit.

He says he will govern for the whole of the UK.

Updated

Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, says the EU will have listened to what Johnson had to say. He asks the government to say every week what has been done to prepare for no deal, so that the EU knows when the UK is ready.

Johnson welcomes that idea. He says there will be a very active campaign to get the public ready.

Updated

Johnson is replying to Corbyn.

He says he struggles to identify a question in that.

But under no circumstances will he make the NHS part of any US trade deal.

It is the Conservatives that have allowed the NHS to flourish, through a strong economy.

He says he struggles to identify the country Corbyn describes.

He says wages are outperforming inflation. And the living wage, a Conservative policy he championed in London, has expanded the incomes of those who have received it, he says.

He says Corbyn asked about Iran. But he has been paid by Iranian TV. He repeatedly sides with the mullahs of Iran, Johnson claims.

He says John McDonnell was sacked by Ken Livingstone for faking a budget.

(You would have thought Johnson would not want to accuse people of getting sacked for making things up.)

Johnson says Labour would put up taxes on gardens.

He says a terrible metamorphosis happened today. Corbyn has been captured, and “turned into a remainer”. Of all the flip-flops Corbyn has performed in his tergiversating career, this is probably the most serious, he says.

He says the reality is that the Conservatives are the party of the people. The Tories are the party of the many, Labour of the few. The Tories will take the country forward, while Labour will take it backwards.

Johnson ends, with Tory MPs chanting “more”.

Updated

Corbyn says the challenge to end inequality, tackle Brexit and end austerity will define the new government.

The country does not need “arm-waving bluster”, but competence.

Instead of focusing on the few, the new PM should address the needs of the many.

Corbyn says the office of PM requires integrity and honesty.

So will Johnson correct his claim that the rules on kipper packaging are not from the EU?

And will Johnson admit that the £39bn he talks of is actually £33bn, paid over 30 years? And will he accept that the previous government said this had to be paid. So the threat to withhold it from the EU is a phoney threat.

Corbyn says President Trump has labelled Johnson Britain’s Trump. Will Britain’s Trump rule out the NHS being part of any trade deal with the US?

He says Johnson would make the UK a vassal state of America.

Updated

Corbyn says the wealthy elite will not lose out from a no-deal Brexit.

If Johnson has confidence in his plan, he should take it back to the people, Corbyn says.

He says Labour would campaign to remain in any referendum on a Johnson Brexit deal.

Updated

Jeremy Corbyn is responding now.

He welcomes Boris Johnson to his job.

But he says he is worried that Johnson overestimates himself.

He says the government opted for austerity as a political choice.

He says Johnson is promising tax breaks to business – his own party’s funders.

When will the government set out its spending plans for departments?

Will Johnson match Labour’s plan for a £500bn investment fund?

Corbyn says Johnson has “thrown together a hard-right cabinet”.

Given Priti Patel, the home secretary, supports the death penalty, can Johnson assure MPs he has no plans to bring back capital punishment?

Was Johnson given sight of the Huawei leak inquiry before he made Gavin Williamson education secretary?

Corbyn says Johnson voted for the backstop less than four months ago. Can he explain his flip-flopping, and why he now thinks this is unacceptable.

Updated

Johnson proposes Australian-style points-based system for immigration

Johnson says he wants to continue to attract the brightest talents to the UK.

No one believes more than him in the benefits of immigration, he says.

He says for years the public have wanted an Australian-style points system for immigration. Today he will ask the migration advisory committee to review this as an option.

  • Johnson says he will commission report on moving to an Australian-style points-based system for immigration. (This policy always polls well with voters, most of whom are not aware that the UK already operates something similar.)

He says all his life he has been told that Britain has to be a mediocre country. He does not accept this.

Updated

Johnson says he is absolutely committed to delivering Brexit.

There are many officials in the EU that would be better placed working on trade deals in the UK.

He says the UK will not nominate a new European commissioner for after October.

He says he will not wait until 31 October before rebuilding Britain. He will start on this straight away.

He says NHS money will go to the frontline as soon as possible.

He has asked officials to work on plans to reduce waiting times and to speed up GP appointments.

He says the government will start hiring 20,000 more police officers as a priority.

He says he wants to ensure serious offenders serve their sentences in full.

The minimum level of per pupil funding in schools will increase, he says.

And he will level up every area in the country.

Updated

Johnson says the government is preparing tax cuts to stimulate innovation.

It will intensify work on getting new trade deals.

It will prepare an economic stimulus.

And he says he can give EU nationals an assurance they will have an absolute right to remain after Brexit. (See 10.52am.)

Johnson says there is too much negativity around.

We must take immediate steps, he says.

First, we must restore trust in democracy by taking the UK out of the EU by 31 October. He says to fail to do this would cause a “catastrophic loss of confidence” in our political system.

He says he would prefer to leave with a deal.

But the withdrawal agreement has been rejected by MPs three times. He says the backstop is unacceptable because it undermines Britain’s democracy. It must go, he says. A time limit would not be enough.

He says the Irish border issue should be settled in the negotiations on the future relationship, which is where this issue should always have been decided.

He says he does not accept that the backstop is needed. Other, alternative arrangements are perfectly possible.

He says his team is ready to talk to the EU whenever and wherever they want to do so.

He says he hopes the EU will also be ready to meet, and to rethink their current positions.

He says the UK is more ready for a no-deal Brexit than many people believe. But in the days left before 31 October, the government will step up its preparations.

He says, if the UK does leave without a deal, the UK will have the £39bn available. (This is contested. See 11.31am.)

He says the Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has been put in charge of no-deal planning. And the new chancellor, Sajid Javid, has said any money necessary will be available.

Updated

Boris Johnson says he wants to make UK greatest country on Earth in first statement to MP

Boris Johnson is delivering his first statement to MPs.

He starts with a tribute to Theresa May.

Then he says his mission is to deliver Brexit and make the UK the greatest country on Earth.

He says that might sound like hyperbole. But he claims it is realistic.

(This is very Donald Trump. It sounds like a rehash of an interview that Johnson gave to the Daily Telegraph earlier this month.)

Updated

Treasury minister claims UK could keep £39bn in event of no deal – despite attorney general saying otherwise

Rishi Sunak, the new chief secretary to the Treasury, was on the Today programme this morning, and he claimed that if the UK were to leave the EU without a deal, the government would save up to £39bn, because it would not be paying the “divorce bill” set out in the withdrawal agreement. He said this because Boris Johnson made the same claim in his speech outside No 10 yesterday. Sunak said:

The prime minister also said yesterday that the £39bn bill that’s attached to the withdrawal agreement – in the event of no deal, that’s £39bn that is also potentially available.

But that is not the view of Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general. This is what Cox said on this subject in December:

The view of the government, and my view, is that we would have obligations to pay a certain amount of money were we to leave the European Union without a deal. The House of Lords European Union committee concluded that there would be no obligation under EU law. That is a stronger argument – not necessarily an incontestable one – as to our obligations under EU law, but the committee also concluded that we might have obligations under public international law, and with that I agree. There is an argument that we would not have an obligation under public international law, but it is an argument unlikely to be accepted by any international tribunal.

My view is therefore that we would owe a presently unquantifiable sum were we to leave the European Union without a deal. It is impossible at this stage to say how much. It is true that the European Union is not a member state and is not a state, and therefore it is unable to take the case to the international court of justice. It might therefore be difficult to enforce the public international law obligation that existed. However, I ask the house to reflect on the fact that if this country, acknowledging that such obligations probably exist or do exist, did not pay them, it would be likely to cause the deepest resentment, just as it would to any of us who were unpaid a debt. If we leave a club, we pay the bar bill. If we do not pay the bill, we are not likely to get a lot of consideration from the other side.

Cox is still attorney general. It would be interesting to know if he sticks by what he said at the end of last year.

Boris Johnson is about to give his Commons statement. Hopefully he will get asked about this.

Updated

Boris Johnson leaving Number 10 this morning ahead of his statement to the Commons.
Boris Johnson leaving No 10 this morning ahead of his statement to the Commons.
 Photograph: Isabel Infantes/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

In a diary item for this week’s Spectator, Paul Dacre, the former Daily Mail editor, claims he once reduced Boris Johnson to tears. He writes:

I myself have had several emotional dalliances with our hero, including a lachrymose lunch (his tears not mine) with Boris bewailing that the Mail was destroying his marriage, while confiding that, anyway, monogamy is just a bourgeois convention. In fact the Mail, a family newspaper, never broke stories about his extracurricular activities, but I plead guilty to laying waste forests to intellectualise their psycho/socio-implications. The problem for us Brexiteers is there is another side to the man, with whom I have also enjoyed enthrallingly intimate dinners when he spoke with extraordinary passion, lucidity and optimism about Britain’s future outside the EU. For months now, my advice to his phalanx of minders has been to padlock his zipper and to keep her [Johnson’s partner, Carrie Symonds] in the background. Not that he’ll take a blind bit of notice. Like many journalists, he is an outsider who doesn’t give a damn what people think.

Johnson's cabinet has twice as many privately educated ministers as May's, says Sutton Trust

Boris Johnson’s cabinet is more than twice as privileged as the one Theresa May appointed in 2016, judging by how many of its members were privately educated, according to the Sutton Trust, the social mobility charity. It says 64% of Johnson’s cabinet was privately educated, 27% went to a comprehensive, while 9% attended a grammar school.

Here is an extract from the Sutton Trust’s news release.

This proportion of alumni of independent schools is more than twice that of Theresa May’s 2016 cabinet (30%), slightly more than Cameron’s 2015 cabinet (50%) and similar to the 2010 coalition cabinet (62%).

This means that cabinet ministers are nine times more likely to have gone to a fee-paying school for all or part of their secondary education than the general population, of which 7% went to private schools. However, the chancellor, foreign secretary, home secretary – and importantly the new education secretary – were among those educated at state schools.

The proportion of independently educated ministers attending cabinet is less than earlier cabinets under Conservative Prime Ministers, John Major (71% in 1992) and Margaret Thatcher (91% in 1979). Tony Blair and Gordon Brown both had 32% of those attending cabinet privately educated, while 25% of Clement Attlee’s first cabinet had been privately educated.

Of the 33 ministers attending Boris Johnson’s new cabinet, 45% went to Oxford or Cambridge universities. This compares with 31% of all Conservative MPs, 20% of Labour MPs and 24% of all MPs. A further 24% of Johnson’s cabinet were educated at other Russell Group universities (excluding Oxbridge).

Boris Johnson continues the academic dynasty at Number 10 that stretches back to before the start of World War 2: except for Gordon Brown, every prime minister since 1937 who attended university was educated at one institution – Oxford.

Updated

From Sky’s Tamara Cohen

Theresa May did promise last autumn to guarantee the rights of EU nationals living in the EU, even in the event of a no-deal Brexit, but her government did not legislate for this. At an earlier point in the process she refused to give that assurance, on the grounds that it would give away negotiating leverage, even though Labour was saying the UK should guarantee these rights unconditionally.

Jacob Rees-Mogg is replying to Valerie Vaz.

He says Labour can consult Erskine May online for free. Even he could do that, he says. He says Labour is meant to be modern. But Labour could buy a paper copy, he says. It would be a good investment.

On the possibility of parliament being prorogued for Brexit, Rees-Mogg says Boris Johnson has said that he views this as an arcane mechanism, and that he does not want to use arcane mechanisms. Rees-Mogg says that, as he is now bound by cabinet collective responsibility, that is his view too.

On Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Rees-Mogg says he will take this issue up, and will do so every week. He says the first duty of the government is to look after its citizens. The way she has been treated is shameful, he says.

Jacob Rees-Mogg
Jacob Rees-Mogg. Photograph: Sky News

Updated

Valerie Vaz is still responding to Jacob Rees-Mogg.

She says that Rees-Mogg has staff, so he will not need to bring his nanny.

She asks if Labour can get a complimentary copy of Erskine May. It is available online, but she says it would be useful to have a hard copy. (Buying one costs £300.)

She asks Rees-Mogg to confirm that Dominic Cummings, who has just been hired as a policy adviser by Boris Johnson, will not be given a Commons pass because he was found in contempt of parliament.

She asks about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, saying she has promised to raise it every week until Nazanin is free. Will Boris Johnson agree to meet her husband?

Valerie Vaz
Valerie Vaz. Photograph: Parliament TV

Updated

Jacob Rees-Mogg takes business questions

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the new leader of the Commons, is taking business questions now.

He reads out the Commons business for the week starting Tuesday 3 September, when the recess ends. It’s all routine stuff.

Valerie Vaz, the shadow leader of the Commons, is now responding. She says it is not a very “energised” list. (See 10.03am.)

Penny Mordaunt, who was sacked as defence secretary by Boris Johnson yesterday, was doorstepped by Sky News this morning. She said the cabinet had her full support. But she refused to answer when asked what Johnson said to her yesterday.

Penny Mordaunt
Penny Mordaunt Photograph: Sky News

Here is a Guardian panel with views on the new cabinet, with contributions from Aditya Chakrabortty, Sonia Sodha, Katy Balls, Paul Mason and Martha Gill.

During the Tory leadership campaign, Boris Johnson made repeated play of the claim that his team as London mayor was “basically a feminocracy”, saying he would promote women to top jobs.

And while the proportion of women in the four great jobs of state is still the same as at the end of Theresa May’s time in No 10 – 25%, with May as PM replaced by Priti Patel as home secretary – the proportion of women attending cabinet has actually fallen.

May had 29 people in her final cabinet meetings, eight of whom were women, or 27.6%. Under the official list of Johnson’s team sent round by No 10 earlier today (see 9.30am), he also has eight women, but among an expanded group of 33, so 24.2%.

Defenders of Johnson might point out that he has two more full cabinet members than May – seven out of 23 against her final tally of five from 23.

Either way it is, as best, no real progression.

Grant Shapps, the new transport secretary, was on message as he left cabinet. Asked how it went, and what the mood was like, he replied: “Very good, energised.” Energise is, of course, the word Boris Johnson used himself in his victory speech on Tuesday to describe his mission.

Grant Shapps leaving cabinet this morning.
Grant Shapps leaving cabinet this morning. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/AFP/Getty Images

Boris Johnson says government is committed to leaving EU by 31 October 'no ifs, no buts'.

According to the Press Association, Boris Johnson told his new cabinet it was “wonderful to see this new team assembled here” which respects the “depth and breadth of talent in our extraordinary party”. He went on:

As you all know we have a momentous task ahead of us, at a pivotal moment in our country’s history.

We are now committed, all of us, to leaving the European Union on October 31 or indeed earlier - no ifs, no buts.

But we are not going to wait until October 31 to get on with a fantastic new agenda for our country, and that means delivering the priorities of the people.

The new cabinet. Around the table from bottom left: Esther McVey, James Cleverly, Alun Cairns, Gavin Williamson, Liz Truss, Sir Mark Sedwill, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid, Amber Rudd, Robert Jenrick, Alister Jack, Nicky Morgan and Rishi Sunak, Mark Spencer, Jacob Rees Mogg, Alok Sharma, Baroness Evans, Andrea Leadsom, Stephen Barclay, Michael Gove,hidden, hidden, Julian Smith, Geoffrey Cox and Oliver Dowden.
The new cabinet. Around the table from bottom left: Esther McVey, James Cleverly, Alun Cairns, Gavin Williamson, Liz Truss, Sir Mark Sedwill, Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid, Amber Rudd, Robert Jenrick, Alister Jack, Nicky Morgan and Rishi Sunak, Mark Spencer, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Alok Sharma, Baroness Evans, Andrea Leadsom, Stephen Barclay, Michael Gove,hidden, hidden, Julian Smith, Geoffrey Cox and Oliver Dowden. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA

Updated

This is from James Cleverly, the new Conservative party chairman.

There are four BME ministers in the full cabinet (out of 23), and another two in the “attending cabinet” category (out of 10).

Updated

From the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg

From Sky’s Sam Coates

Sky News has just broadcast some footage from the opening of the cabinet meeting. Boris Johnson could be heard saying “no ifs, but we’re going to ....” The rest was inaudible, but the cabinet seemed to like it, because we then saw them banging the table enthusiastically.

Left to right: Sir Mark Sedwill, Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid
Left to right: Sir Mark Sedwill, Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid. Photograph: Sky News
Left to right: Andrea Leadsom, Stephen Barclay, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab
Left to right: Andrea Leadsom, Stephen Barclay, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab. Photograph: Sky News

Updated

Here is another picture of the new cabinet.

Boris Johnson holding his first cabinet meeting.
Boris Johnson holding his first cabinet meeting. Photograph: Aaron Chown/AP

Full list of cabinet

Downing Street has just sent out the full cabinet list. For the record, here it is.

The order in which ministers appear is important, because there is a hierarchy in cabinet and ministers are listed in order of seniority.

It is a good cabinet for Old Etonians. Including those allowed to attend, there are are four of them on the list: Boris Johnson, his brother Jo, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Kwasi Kwarteng.

The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, Prime Minister

The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and First Secretary of State

The Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department

The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Robert Buckland, QC MP, Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice

The Rt Hon Stephen Barclay MP, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union

The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP, Secretary of State for Defence

The Rt Hon Matthew Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade

The Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and Minister for Women and Equalities

The Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE MP, Secretary of State for Education

The Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, Secretary of State for Transport

The Rt Hon Julian Smith MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Rt Hon Alister Jack MP, Secretary of State for Scotland

The Rt Hon Alun Cairns MP, Secretary of State for Wales

The Rt Hon Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, Leader of the House of Lords, Lord Privy Seal

The Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Alok Sharma MP, Secretary of State for International Development

James Cleverly MP, Minister without Portfolio and Party Chair

Attending Cabinet

Rishi Sunak MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council

Mark Spencer MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Chief Whip

The Rt Hon Geoffrey Cox QC MP, Attorney General

Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Minister of State (for Energy), Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy

Oliver Dowden CBE MP, Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Jake Berry MP, Minister of State, Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

The Rt Hon Esther McVey MP, Minister of State (Housing), Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Jo Johnson MP, Minister of State (Universities), Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Education

The Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP, Minister of State (for Security), Home Office

Boris Johnson is chairing his first cabinet as I write. And later he will address the Commons for the first time as prime minister, in a statement that may reveal more about how he intends to deliver Brexit and how he would like to govern Britain.

But we learnt a huge amount about that yesterday, from the most wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle in modern times. On the plus side, as the former Downing Street adviser from the New Labour era, Theo Bertram, argues on Twitter this morning, you could describe it as remarkably successful.

But it’s a reshuffle that does not just involve a wholesale change in personnel; it is one that will fundamentally alter the way people perceive the Conservative party. At one stage during the referendum 2016 campaign, to the surprise of some observers, Vote Leave started acting like a shadow government, making “manifesto” pledges like this one on cutting VAT on fuel. Now that strategy looks more understandable, because the Vote Leave campaign has effectively become the government.

On the Today programme this morning Nick Boles, the former Conservative minister who now sits as an independent, said the reshuffle showed the hard right had taken over his old party. He explained:

It is very clarifying because what it establishes beyond all doubt is that the Conservative party has now been fully taken over, top to bottom, by the hard right, that they’re basically turning themselves into the Brexit party in order to hold off Nigel Farage.

And those few elements remaining of the one-nation, liberal conservative, Cameron-style Conservatives - they are neutered captives in this cabinet. They’ve had to sign up to the pledge to leave [the EU] at the end of October.

There are other assessments, of course. We will be covering them throughout the course of the day.

Here is our overnight lead on the reshuffle.

Here is our guide to who is in the new cabinet.

And here is our guide to the ministers who were sacked, or who chose to leave.

Here is the agenda for the day.

8.30am: Boris Johnson chairs his first cabinet.

After 10.30am: Jacob Rees-Mogg, the new leader of the Commons, takes business questions in the Commons.

After 11.30am: Johnson makes a statement to MPs.

As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to publish a summary when I wrap up.

You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.

If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter.

Updated

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