Top story: Labour opens up six-point poll lead
Hello, Warren Murray bringing you the first tidings of Friday.
Dozens of Tory backbenchers are threatening to rebel or abstain from the vote for “plan B” Covid restrictions because of their fury over the impact of the proposed rules and Boris Johnson’s handling of the Christmas party scandal. At least 30 Conservative MPs are expected to vote against regulations on masks, home working and vaccine passports, and many more are vowing to stay away from Tuesday’s vote – potentially leaving the prime minister relying on Labour support to win. Johnson is also accused of misleading his own ethics adviser, exposing the PM to a potential suspension from the House of Commons, over the source of funds for redecoration of his Downing Street flat. A Downing Street spokesperson has said “The prime minister has acted in accordance with the rules at all times. He has made any requisite declarations.”
Recent reports have said that Jack Doyle, the then deputy director of communications, gave out awards to staff during the supposed No 10 party on 18 December and there was food, drinks and games. Doyle, now head of press for Downing Street, has been contacted for comment. An inquiry hastily called by Johnson into the matter has been expanded to examine other alleged events including another Downing Street party on 27 November last year – reportedly a leaving event at which Johnson spoke – and one at the Department for Education on 10 December.
In a further blow for the prime minister, a Survation survey for the Daily Mirror has put Labour six percentage points ahead of the Conservatives, at 40% to 34%. A YouGov poll for the Times had Labour four points ahead on 37% to 33%. There is next week’s byelection in North Shropshire as well – the direct outcome of another Tory politician seeming to put himself above the rules.
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‘Mushrooms under the beds’ – Checks on the private rented sector are in “chaos”, the chair of the Commons public accounts committee has said, with the health effects of squalid rental homes costing the NHS £340m a year. Nearly 600,000 private rented homes in England, about 13%, have been classed as a serious threat to health and safety by the National Audit Office (NAO) while nearly a quarter are “non-decent”. Krystalrose Shirley, 27, who rented with her three-year-old daughter in north London, said: “There was a period when I was afraid to turn on my light in my bedroom because I was afraid of the mould … There were mushrooms growing under mine and my daughter’s beds.” Evictions are nearing pre-pandemic levels – Generation Rent estimates that at current rates, 83 households will be evicted in England and Wales every working day. The government has delayed until next year a white paper that would end to no-fault evictions. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has been contacted for comment.
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Smollett guilty over fake assault – A jury in Chicago has found the US actor Jussie Smollett guilty of faking a hate crime against himself to raise his celebrity profile. Many fellow stars initially rushed to support Smollett when claimed in January 2019 that he had been attacked by people that had shouted “This is Maga country,” a reference to Donald Trump’s trademark political slogan “Make American Great Again”. Smollett told police he had been assaulted on a darkened street by two masked men who put a noose around his neck and poured chemicals on him while yelling racist and homophobic slurs and expressing their support for Trump. A month later police arrested Smollett himself, accusing the actor of paying two brothers $3,500 to stage the assault in a ploy to get public sympathy and boost his profile.
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‘Flow before you go’ – Covid slogan of the week goes to Wales where the government says people should take a lateral flow test before going out Christmas shopping or to a festive party. The first minister, Mark Drakeford, is also asking people to “flow before you go”, and to wear face coverings in pubs and restaurants except when they are eating or drinking. There will be no new restrictions in Wales when Drakeford announces the results of its regular three-weekly review on Friday. Many of the “plan B” measures that are looming for England, such as wearing masks in indoor public places, are already in force in Wales.
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‘We’ll continue talking’ – Efforts in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal have been hauled back from the brink of collapse after pressure on Tehran from Russia and China and clear warnings that the EU and the US were preparing to walk away. Joe Biden has still warned that the United States is preparing “additional measures” against Iran. The UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has said the talks represented the last chance for Iran to come back into compliance. Israel has been preparing military strikes in the expectation that the talks will fail, which would leave the Iranian nuclear programme unconstrained by any major multilateral agreement. The Iranian chief negotiator, Ali Bagheri, said on Thursday: “I felt other parties have a more serious will to enter effective and result-oriented talks … We’ll continue talking.”
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Short trip – A German court has ruled that a man who slipped and broke his back while walking downstairs from his bed to his home office can claim on workplace accident insurance as he was technically commuting. The court noted that the employee usually started working in his home office “immediately without having breakfast beforehand”. Statutory accident insurance was only afforded to this “first” journey to work, suggesting that a trip on the way to get breakfast after already being in the home office could be rejected. In many countries, firms have a duty of care to their employees, regardless of where they work.
Today in Focus podcast: Plan Boris not working out
A video showing Downing Street staffers joking about alleged lockdown breaches is only the latest scandal to rock Boris Johnson’s premiership, reports political correspondent Peter Walker. Next week, “plan B” Covid restrictions are due before parliament, in the days before the Tories attempt to defend their seat in North Shropshire from a newly hopeful Liberal Democrat challenge.
Lunchtime read: Not sure about these methods
The Succession star Jeremy Strong has been widely scorned after a magazine profile revealed his “preening” and “self-indulgent” acting process. But many actors have been lauded for their method – so what has changed?
Sport
After the loss of both openers, a partnership between Dawid Malan and England captain Joe Root managed to slow Australia’s charge towards victory on day three of the opening Ashes Test at the Gabba. Racing has been thrown into turmoil after the National Hunt jockey Robbie Dunne was banned from riding for 18 months, with three months suspended, for conducting a seven-month campaign of bullying and intimidation against his fellow rider Bryony Frost. Tensions between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have ratcheted up again before the Formula One season decider at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Leicester contributed embarrassingly to their own downfall against an under-strength Napoli side and, as a result of a 3-2 defeat, dropped out of the Europa League and into Europa Conference League.
Meanwhile, Ange Postecoglou bemoaned the “ridiculous” fixture list as his Celtic side lost strikers Kyogo Furuhashi and Albian Ajeti to hamstring problems as they rounded off their Europa League campaign with a 3-2 victory over Real Betis. Unstoppable Barcelona barely stepped out of second gear as they humbled Arsenal to cruise into the quarter-finals of the Women’s Champions League. And weightlifting and boxing are the “two problem childs of the Olympic movement” and remain at risk of being removed from the 2028 LA Games programme, the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, has warned.
Business
Borrowers could be spared a rate increase for the time being after expectations of rise at next week’s Bank of England monetary policy committee have begun to cool in the face of the rapid spread of Omicron Covid variant. The policymakers had been nailed on to hike rates to dampen inflation but the likelihood that economic activity will cool because of new health restrictions has changed the outlook in the City. The pound dipped yesterday as a result and is currently buying $1.322 and €1.171. The FTSE100 is also under a Covid cloud and is set to open down 0.3%.
The papers
The Guardian leads with the No 10 flat redecoration controversy – our front-page picture story is “Sienna Miller: tabloid ‘nearly ruined my life’”. The actor has said the Sun forced her to make decisions “about my own body that I have to live with every single day” after the newspaper found out she was in the early stages of pregnancy. Miller, who ultimately did not have the baby, has accepted a settlement from the Sun, which she believes illegally obtained her private medical information from a “blagger”.
We have quoted the Mirror’s polling and the Times has done its own: the resulting story, “Poll blow for Tories as trust in Johnson falls”. It gives Labour a four-point lead. The i takes things even further: “Tory leader contenders circle a PM in peril” and goes to the extent of putting pictures on its front, of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. Even the Express is forced to concede “Boris under the cosh!” but tempers this with news that “Carrie gives birth to baby girl”. “Mum’s the word” says the Metro as the PM takes family time. The Telegraph gets in on the “Good news at last … a baby girl in Downing Street” though its lead is “Lord Geidt on brink of quitting over PM’s flat” in reference to the PM’s standards adviser.
The Mirror packs plenty into its front-page furniture: “Downing Street flat scandal … Another day … another lie … after No 10 parties shame … it’s revealed PM DID know all about £112k refurb cash”. The Daily Mail’s headline is “Tories’ Plan B mutiny”. The Financial Times has “Treasury rebuffs business chiefs’ appeal for extra aid during curbs” – Boris Johnson’s misery is not far below the surface of that, with the second paragraph mentioning the “mounting rebellion” among MPs.
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