The prime minister has been referred to the independent police watchdog over claims of potential “misconduct” while he was London mayor.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) has asked the Independent Office for Police Conduct to assess whether Boris Johnson should be formally investigated over his relationship with the US tech entrepreneur and former model.
It wants the probe to explore whether Ms Arcuri was allowed to join trade missions, and received large grants, “when she and her companies could not have expected otherwise to receive those benefits”.
The referral does not mean or imply he is guilty, but is a request for an investigation. While London mayor, he was also a police and crime commissioner, which is why the police regulator is now involved.
The prime minister denies any impropriety but the announcement comes at the end of a tumultuous week for Mr Johnson.
His right-hand man Dominic Cummings has continued No 10’s ‘people versus parliament’ rhetoric by saying the anger of Leave voters was “not surprising”.
The controversial aide told Labour MP Karl Turner to “get Brexit done”, after the MP said he had received death threats overnight.
Elsewhere in Westminster the SNP said it could support Jeremy Corbyn’s bid for prime minister, in order to stop a no-deal Brexit.
“Nothing is risk free but leaving Johnson in post to force through no deal – or even a bad deal – seems like a terrible idea to me,” party leader Nicola Sturgeon said on Twitter.
An SNP spokesperson said the party was committed to stopping a no-deal Brexit and removing “this dangerous and undemocratic prime minister as soon as possible”.
If you would like to see how the days events unfolded, please see what was our live coverage below
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of events at Westminster and beyond.
Boris Johnson has called for tempers to cool in his latest interview. But the PM refused to apologise for describing attempts to block a no-deal break with the EU as the “surrender act”.
Johnson acknowledged that he would have to be able to “reach out” to opposition MPs if he was to secure their support for any new deal he negotiated with the EU.
“I need to reach out across the House of Commons,” he told the BBC. “I think it is fair enough to call the ‘surrender act’ what it is. I think it is absolutely reasonable. But we do need to bring people together, and get this thing done.
“Tempers need to come down, and people need to come together because it’s only by getting Brexit done that you’ll lance the boil of the current anxiety and we will be able to get on with the domestic agenda.”
The Church of England criticised MPs’ language as “not worthy of our country”.
Parliamentary tensions prompted 118 archbishops and bishops on Friday to issue a statement warning against “further entrenching our divisions”.
The statement read: “In the last few days, the use of language, both in debates and outside parliament, has been unacceptable. We should speak to others with respect.
“We should not denigrate, patronise or ignore the honest views of fellow citizens, but seek to respect their opinions, their participation in society, and their votes.”
Sir John Major has warned that Boris Johnson may be planning to bypass a law blocking a no-deal Brexit by issuing a Privy Council order to suspend it until after the scheduled date of Britain’s EU withdrawal on 31 October.
The order could be passed by ministers acting in the Privy Council without the involvement of parliament or the Queen, said Sir John, who denounced the tactic as “a piece of political chicanery that no one should ever forgive or forget”.
Our political editor has all the details.
Boris Johnson could bypass key law blocking no-deal Brexit, John Major warns
Former PM warns against use of ‘piece of political chicanery’ that would do permanent damage to Tories’ reputationInternational development secretary Alok Sharma has claimed Boris Johnson is right to label the Benn bill, which commits the government to extending Article 50 if no exit deal is agreed, the “surrender act”.
Sharma told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If you look at the fundamentals of what that Bill does, it does surrender our ability to have effective discussions with the European Union and it does surrender our ability to be able to walk away from the table if that is what happens.
“We are surrendering our ability to negotiate effectively with the EU. If you were going into a negotiation with both hands tied behind your back, would you not think it somehow a form of capitulation?”
Sharma refused to answer when asked how the government could abide by the Benn bill and yet still leave the EU on 31 October.
“I’m not going to set out discussions that have occurred in the privacy of cabinet,” said the minister.
“We are absolutely going to comply with the law, we are working incredibly hard to get a deal and we will be leaving on October 31.”
Dominic Cummings has said public anger at MPs over Brexit was “not surprising”.
Speaking at the launch of a new book by Vote Leave supporter and businessman Stuart Wheeler, the No 10 adviser claimed MPs were “swerving all over the shop”.
“It is not surprising some people are angry ... I find it very odd that these characters are complaining that people are unhappy about their behaviour now and they also say they want a referendum. How does that compute for them?”
Asked about the pressure No 10 is under, Cummings also claimed: “We are enjoying this.”
The controversial aide was also confronted by a Labour MP Karl Turner who said he had suffered death threats. “That tone of language is going down well, Dominic. I’ve had death threats overnight.”
Cummings replied: “Get Brexit done then.”
Dominic Cummings confronted by Labour MP over Boris Johnson's 'tone of language'
‘Don’t tell me to get Brexit done,’ rages Karl TurnerThe SNP is considering backing Jeremy Corbyn as a temporary caretaker prime minister to prevent a no-deal Brexit on 31 October, according to ITV News.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon and Ian Blackford, leader of the SNP in Westminster, are worried it not be possible to guarantee a Brexit extension unless Boris Johnson is removed from office.
“Trying to find a compromise candidate, a national unity candidate, is too complicated, especially in the time we have. Whether people like it or not, the temporary prime minister has to be Corbyn,” a party source told Robert Peston.
Former Tory cabinet minister David Gauke said Boris Johnson would face a fresh legal challenge if he tries to use a legal loophole to bypass a law ordering him to delay Brexit to prevent a no-deal.
Our correspondent Lizzy Buchan has the details.
Boris Johnson to face fresh legal challenge if he tries to bypass law blocking no-deal Brexit
'If it is necessary for it to be challenged, then it will be challenged', says former cabinet ministerBrexit Secretary Steve Barclay and the European Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier will meet in Brussels on Friday in the latest attempt to make progress towards a Brexit deal.
The mood music is not very good at the moment.
Our Europe correspondent Jon Stone explains why all goodwill towards the British PM has faded.
What does Brussels really think of Boris Johnson’s bluster?
Goodwill towards the new prime minister has faded, Europe Correspondent Jon Stone writesDeputy Commons Speaker Eleanor Laing says some MPs no longer see Speaker John Bercow as being impartial.
Ms Laing, one of the contenders to replace Bercow when he stands down at the end of October, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There are a lot of members of parliament who feel the impartiality of the chair has possibly been diminished.”
She urged MPs to behave “with courtesy and politely”, and said she would enforce “respect” for parliament if elected Speaker.
As Tory MPs head off to Manchester for the Conservative party conference, they have been told to operate a “shift rota”, with everyone under orders to hop back on the train to parliament when necessary.
There was initial puzzlement after the Commons voted against a recess yesterday, with the Tory whips reportedly sending out two different messages.
The first explained “we will need as many as possible of you in London”, before a second message said “we will need as many of you in Manchester as possible”.
Paranoia appears to have been induced by Labour, after Jeremy Corbyn hinted at “parliamentary action” to block a no-deal Brexit next week.
Ministers still have a “significant amount” of work to do to ensure the continued supply of vital medicines to the NHS in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Whitehall spending watchdog has warned.
All the details here.
Watchdog warns of ‘risks’ to medical supplies from no-deal Brexit
‘There remains a significant amount to do before 31 October,’ National Audit Office warnsDUP MP Sammy Wilson has said Boris Johnson is “absolutely right” to use the term “surrender” in discussing the Benn bill.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, Wilson also suggested MPs backing Remain could be described as “fifth columnists” – the term for any group of people who undermine a larger group from within, usually in favour of an enemy group or nation.
“That’s what it is, a surrender document. And the PM hit the nail on the head yesterday and also I think the fact that the Labour Party were so incandescent with rage about it, they knew that this was the kind of allegation that was going to hurt them,” the DUP MP said.
Dominic Cummings appearance at a London book launch last night is still the talk of the town this morning. So what was being launched, exactly?
The No 10 chief played host at an event for Stuart Wheeler’s autobiography Winning Against the Odds. Wheeler is a former Tory donor booted out of the party for donating to Ukip.
Cummings told the gathered crowd the current political crisis “is a walk in the park compared to the referendum. We’re enjoying this.”
And – in his most controversial remarks – he said the only way for threats against MPs to “respect the result” of the 2016 referendum.
A British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero, held by Iran for more than two months, has been released by Tehran.
On Friday morning the vessel and its crew were heading for freedom after leaving the port of Bandar Abbas, on the southern coast of Iran.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said: “The Stena Impero was unlawfully seized by Iran. It is part of a pattern of attempts to disrupt freedom of navigation.
“We are working with our international partners to protect shipping and uphold the international rule of law.”
Boris Johnson has said it would be a matter of “impoverishing the language” if he were to stop using words like “surrender”.
Speaking on a visit to a hospital in Harlow, Essex, said: “I think the threats against MPs and particularly female MPs are absolutely appalling and we’re doing a lot of work to give MPs the security that they need.
“But then there’s another question which is - can you use words like ‘surrender’ to describe a certain act or a certain bill?
“And quite frankly I think that you can and if you say that you can’t then you’re kind of impoverishing the language and impoverishing political debate because, after all, the use of that kind of metaphor has been going on for hundreds of years.”
He added: “I genuinely think that once you do that [leave the EU], the heat and anxiety would come out of the debate … get it done, and we’ll all be able to move on.”
The prime minister’s spokesman has distanced No 10 from Sir John Major’s extraordinary suggestion that the Privy Council will be used to escape the law that would require Boris Johnson to delay Brexit.
The former prime minister suggested Johnson would issue an order to suspend the Benn Act – requiring the prime minister to seek an Article 50 extension, to stop a crash-out on 31 October – until after exit day.
Asked if the wheeze could be used, the spokesman replied: “I do not recognise that at all.”
A senior government source went further, describing the idea as “total cobblers” – and it did appear clear that Downing Street was as bemused by Sir John’s warning as everyone else.
Nevertheless, such hares will keep running because No 10 has refused to explain how Johnson will “comply with the law” while also insisting he will not seek a delay, even if the law orders it.
The Benn Act sets a deadline of 11pm on 19 October for the request to be sent to Brussels if, as seems increasingly likely, no deal has been passed by that date.
Dominic Cummings has had a dig at TV news.
“Everyone watching at home should know – don’t watch the news. Because it’s almost all bull****,” he told Sky News’ Lewis Goodall.
Asked about obeying the law by MPs to block a no-deal Brexit, he said: “Of course the prime minister will obey the law … We’ll see what we do about the Benn Act when we get to the right date.”
“I don’t have a masterplan,” he added. “People say all sorts of. You say all sorts of things – you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Here’s Boris Johnson’s claim that to stop using the term “surrender” would be a matter of “impoverishing language”:
Nicola Sturgeon has offered support for the idea of Jeremy Corbyn becoming a caretaker prime minister, in a bid to secure an extension to the Brexit deadline.
The Scottish first minister tweeted on Friday that she agrees with the idea of installing the Labour leader as PM through a vote of no confidence in the Conservative administration so he can secure a Brexit extension.
All the details here.
