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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

Partygate: Boris Johnson ‘told barefaced lie’, says Labour, as Covid victim group urges Tory MPs to remove PM – as it happened

CBI ​​Rishi Sunak Tony Danker United Kingdom Inflation
Boris Johnson in front of a Metropolitan police van
Boris Johnson has been told by the Metropolitan police that he won’t face any further fines on Partygate. Photograph: Joshua Bratt

Afternoon summary

  • Downing Street has denied reports claiming it is blocking the Treasury from imposing a windfall tax on energy companies (see 9.48am) as the chancellor faced pressure from the CBI to “help the hardest-hit now” with financial help to get them through the cost of living crisis. (See 9.09am.) As PA Media reports, the PM’s spokesperson said he had seen “lots of reports” on division between the departments, but he insisted Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak were “aligned” on the issue. Labour accused the government of acting like “headless chickens” on the matter and suggested a U-turn was inevitable. (See 12.52pm.)

Updated

Here is an article explaining what some of our readers are saying about their response to Partygate.

Updated

These are from Danny Shaw, the BBC’s former home affairs correspondent, on why Boris Johnson may have received just one fine over Partygate.

Keir Starmer visiting a park and ride in Leeds, where he was meeting Labour mayors on Thursday. Back row: Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool city region, and Dan Norris, the West of England mayor. Front row: Starmer and Tracy Brabin, the mayor of West Yorkshire.
Keir Starmer visiting a park and ride in Leeds, where he was meeting Labour mayors on Thursday. Back row: Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool city region, and Dan Norris, the West of England mayor. Front row: Starmer and Tracy Brabin, the mayor of West Yorkshire.

 Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

Updated

Earlier this year, as the Partygate scandal first erupted, Sir Charles Walker, a former vice-chair of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, said he thought Boris Johnson would have to resign because he thought his position was irrecoverable. In an interview with Newsnight, Walker now says he was wrong. Johnson was able to defy predictions because he is an “extraordinary politician”, Walker says.

Updated

The Conservative former chancellor George Osborne thinks Boris Johnson will survive as PM for now because none of his rivals are determined enough to oust him.

In the run-up to the Brexit referendum in 2016, Osborne and Johnson were arguably the two best-placed candidates in the contest to succeed David Cameron as prime minister. Johnson got there in the end, and Osborne now chairs a museum. He knows more than most people about how power struggles can turn out.

Updated

Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, shares her Netflix account with four other households, including her mother’s, she told MPs at the culture select committee this morning, calling the streaming service an “incredibly generous system”. My colleague Alex Hern has the story here.

Updated

This is from Adam Wagner, the barrister and lockdown regulations specialist, on why Boris Johnson may have been able to avoid being fined for his attendance at the BYOB party in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020.

Beergate controversy has not significantly damaged Labour's standing with voters, polls suggest

There are two new polls out today. Both of them suggest that the Beergate controversy has not caused any significant damage to Labour’s prospects.

According to Ipsos Mori, Labour has a six-point lead over the Conservatives – up one point from last month (when the Beergate story had yet to reach full intensity). Here are the figures.

Here is a chart illustrating this.

Latest polling
Latest polling Photograph: Ipsos MORI

And here is the full write-up, which points out that Labour has a 15-point lead over the Conservatives on the cost of living, while the Conservatives have a nine-point lead on expanding the economy.

Polling on issues
Polling on issues Photograph: Ipsos MORI

And Savanta ComRes has a poll giving Labour a seven-point lead over the Conservatives – up two from early May (when Beergate was prominent as a story).

The same poll suggests Keir Starmer’s favourability ratings have fallen. But Boris Johnson’s have fallen even more, and Starmer has a narrow lead over him on who would be the best PM.

Updated

From Newsnight’s Lewis Goodall

This is from the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar on why Simon Case may not have been fined over the surprise birthday party for the PM. (See 2.58pm.)

The FT’s Sebastian Payne points out that Simon Case was not fined over the surprise birthday party for Boris Johnson in the cabinet room – even though Johnson (who supposedly did not know about it in advance) and Rishi Sunak (who was only present because he had arrived for a meeting) were both fined.

This is one of the many unexplained mysteries thrown up by the Met’s Partygate decision-making. Maybe it is something to do with Case being cabinet secretary, and the cabinet room being notionally his office?

Updated

Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, is not going to get fined over Partygate, the Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith reports. Earlier No 10 said he had not yet received a fine, but they could not say for certain that a fine was not in the pipeline.

The former Conservative chancellor Norman Lamont has urged the government to ensure that extra help for people with the cost of living is targeted at those most in need. This could be done by restoring the £20 a week universal credit uplift introduced during the pandemic, he said. He told Radio 4’s World at One:

The top priority must be to give help to the most vulnerable, those who are struggling to feed themselves, to heat their homes - one is hearing daily the heart wrenching stories. Although the government has given considerable help already, I think it is clear that a further package will be necessary ...

I think they ought to do something on universal credit; perhaps restore the temporary increase that was then withdrawn, also act on the warm homes discount and widen its scope.

One of the debates in government at the moment is to what extent extra help should be aimed at the poorest. Targeting the support is the best way to alleviate poverty, but there is a political price to be paid if middle income families do not feel they are getting some support too. When Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, announced his £9bn energy bills package in February, the money was spread round quite widely, with 80% of households getting the £150 council tax rebate.

Updated

In an interview with Radio 4’s World at One Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, was asked if he could explain why Boris Johnson only received one fine over Partygate despite being at several of the events for which people were fined. (See 12.07pm.) “You’d have to discuss that with the police,” Malthouse replied. He went on:

My job is to look at the results and be relieved that it’s done and get on with the really important stuff that we need to focus on.

Keir Starmer (left) meeting Labour’s candidate in the Wakefield byelection, Simon Lightwood, in Wakefield today.
Keir Starmer (left) meeting Labour’s candidate in the Wakefield byelection, Simon Lightwood, in Wakefield today. Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

Campaigners for Covid victims urge Tory MPs to remove Johnson as PM

The campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK has posted a thread on Twitter with its reaction to the news that the Partygate investigation has finished. It starts here.

The group is urging Tory MPs to remove Boris Johnson as party leader and PM.

Craig Oliver, who used to be head of communications at No 10 for David Cameron, is doubtful as to whether the Sue Gray report will be as damning as many people expect.

These are from James Johnson, a Tory pollster who used to work in Downing Street when Theresa May was PM.

Labour says PM told 'barefaced lie' about parties as conclusion of Met inquiry means privileges committee probe can start

The conclusion of the Met investigation into Partygate does not just mean that the Sue Gray report into the lockdown-busting events will be published imminently; it also triggers the launch of the privileges committee inquiry into claims that Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs when he said the rules were followed at all times.

The Commons voted for this investigation to go ahead last month, but the motion passed by MPs said the committee would “not begin substantive consideration of the matter” until the Met inquiry was over.

In an interview with Radio 4’s World at One Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, said that Johnson told a “barefaced lie” in the Commons and that this was the most important reason why he should resign. She said:

Based on the 126 fines from the parties as at No 10, just looking at the sheer scale of law breaking which has been laid bare by the police, what we know now, for absolute certainty, is that when Boris Johnson came to the House of Commons and said there were no parties in Downing Street and no rules have been broken, that that was a barefaced lie. There is no possible way in which he can claim that he was unaware that these parties that he was attending didn’t break the rules here.

And for that - we think it’s an extremely important point, always been the most important point - he should resign.

Emily Thornberry.
Emily Thornberry. Photograph: Tayfun Salcı/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock

Boris Johnson has another of his regular calls with Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, this morning. They speak frequently, but the calls often seem to coincide with Partygate stories being in the news. According to No 10 today they discussed “a range of issues, including military support and global food security”. No 10 says:

President Zelenskiy updated on the situation in the Donbas and the ongoing fight to regain all of Ukraine’s sovereign territory and counter Russian disinformation in contested areas. The prime minister stressed his undimmed admiration for the brave defenders of Mariupol and urged Russia to treat any prisoners of war with dignity and respect.

Noting the recent announcement of an additional £1.3bn in UK military aid for Ukraine, the prime minister set out the support flowing to Ukraine’s defence, including long-range artillery, shore-to-ship missiles and unmanned drones.

The leaders discussed progress in negotiations and agreed to step up work with allies, including the US, France and Germany, to define the longer-term security architecture for Ukraine.

The Prime Minister raised his significant concerns about the growing global fallout from Russia’s illegal invasion and President Putin’s craven and reckless blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, including rising food prices in developing countries. They looked at options to open up critical sea and land supply routes for Ukrainian grain stocks, and committed to direct their teams to work urgently on the next steps.

Met says 35 men and 48 women in total fined over Partygate

The Metropolitan police have now updated their statement on the Partygate investigation to clarify the exact number of people fined. The new version says:

Of the referrals, all resulted or will do so in a FPN being issued. In total, this refers to 83 individuals. The breakdown of recipients is 53 FPNs were issued to 35 men and 73 FPNs to 48 women. A total of 28 people received between two and five referrals.

The original statement just said that 126 fines had been issued, and that some people had been fined more than once. But it also said “the breakdown of recipients is, 53 were men and 73 were women”, implying that a total of 126 individuals had been fined, when what it actually meant was that 53 of the fines were issued to men, and 73 to women.

These figures show that, on average, people were fined one and a half times each. This was the same for men and women.

Updated

Starmer restates call for PM's resignation over Partygate – but mostly criticises him over cost of living crisis

Keir Starmer has given his first reaction to the news that the Met Partygate investigation is now over, and that Boris Johnson is not going to receive any further fines. When asked, he restated his call for Johnson to resign - but more as a formality than with any gusto. (Once a politician calls for a rival to resign, it is almost impossible to retract with any credibility, as the Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, among others, has discovered.) What was telling, thought, was how, in the face of repeated questions on Partygate, Starmer kept trying to get off the subject and talk about the cost of living crisis instead.

Asked if he was still calling for the PM to resign, even though he has just been fined once, Starmer replied:

My view of the prime minister hasn’t changed. After an investigation that shows 120-plus breaches of the law in Downing Street, of course he should resign. He’s responsible for the culture.

He also needs to focus on the cost of living crisis because people are really struggling with their bills. Inflation is up, prices are up, wages are down and the government is imposing tax on them at the same time. And he’s got no answers.

Starmer also accused the government of “running round like headless chickens not knowing what to do in the middle of a cost of living crisis”. And he said he expected Johnson to U-turn on the windfall tax, and introduce one for energy companies.

Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer Photograph: Sky News

Updated

Downing Street says Sue Gray's report into Partygate to be published 'as soon as possible'

The Downing Street lobby briefing has just finished. Here are the key points on Partygate.

  • Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie have both been told by the police that they will not be recieving any further fines over Partygate, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists. That means the police have accepted that the PM’s appearance at various gatherings being investigated was justified. Adam Wagner, a barrister and specialist in lockdown rules, says the PM attended at least five of the events being investigated.

It had been thought that Johnson and his wife were quite likely to be fined over at least one further event – the gathering held in the Downing Street flat on the night Dominic Cummings quit. Loud Abba music was heard coming from the flat that night, and Carrie Johnson (who was delighted to see Cummings go) was said to be celebrating with friends who work as government advisers. Sources have claimed that they were there for a work meeting, and that the PM was interviewing one of the attendees about a potential job.

  • Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, has still not received a fine over any Partygate event, the PM’s spokeperson said. But he said Case had not had an assurance from the Met that he definitely won’t be fined. (Some fines have been referred to the ACRO Criminal Records Office, but not yet sent out.) The spokesperson also said that Rishi Sunak, the chancellor (who was fined last month over the PM’s surprise birthday gathering) ,has not received a further fine. Sunak has not been given an assurance that no further fine is coming, but he is not expected to receive another because he is not known to have attended any of the other relevant events.
  • The spokesperson said that No 10 would publish the full Sue Gray report “as soon as possible”. But Gray still has to finalise the report, and the timing of that is up to her. The report is definitely not expected today.
  • Johnson is due to make a further statement to MPs when the Gray report is published, the spokesperson said.

Updated

Boris Johnson told by Met he will not be receiving any further fines over Partygate

Boris Johnson has been told that he is definitely not receiving any further fines over Partygate, it is being reported by the Guido Fawkes blog and subsequently by the BBC’s Chris Mason.

The news came out at the Downing Street lobby briefing – where what the PM’s spokesperson said was meant to be embargoed until the briefing was over. The Guido Fawkes website has never respected the embargo process.

UPDATE: The Guido Fawkes blog has been in touch to say it did not get the information from the lobby briefing.

But I am confused by the reference to always respecting embargoes. There was a period at the pre-Covid No 10 briefings when they would start under embargo, but half way through the chair would have to lift the embargo because the Guido correspondent in the room had started tweeting what was being said. I remember it well because, once the embargo was lifted, I felt obliged to start live blogging. Most lobby journalists were relieved when this practice stopped, and the meetings went back to being embargoed until over. It meant reporters had time to listen to all the answers before having to file.

FURTHER UPDATE: Here is how the conversation went on.

Updated

Some of the people receiving the final fines issued over Partygate will be getting them within 48 hours, says the Telegraph’s Martin Evans.

Updated

Carrie Johnson told she won't receive any further FPNs

Carrie Johnson, the prime minister’s wife, has been told that she is not going to receive any further fines over Partygate, beyond the one we were told about in April, it is understood. The April fine related to the surprise birthday gathering she organised for the PM in the cabinet room. She was also being investigated over allegations that she held a party in the Downing Street flat on the night Dominic Cummings resigned, where Abba music was played loudly as she celebrated with friends the departure of an enemy. If the Met has decided not to fine her in relation to this, that suggests it has accepted the argument that government advisers who attended (reportedly her friends) were there for a work meeting.

Updated

A reminder: No 10 decreed that this would be “crime week” in its news grid, and at cabinet on Tuesday Boris Johnson delivered a mini-lecture about how the government was committed to tackling crime. “Crime, crime, crime is what we want to focus on,” he said, according to the readout issued by Downing Street.

Updated

From the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar

Sue Gray report into Partygate now expected next week after Met inquiry concludes

The full Sue Gray report is now expected to be published next week, my colleague Peter Walker reports.

Met says it spent almost £500,000 on Partygate investigation

Here are the main things we’ve learnt about the Metropolitan police’s Partygate investigation (officially known as Operation Hillman) from today’s statement.

  • A total of 126 fines were issued, or are in the process of being issued, the Met says. (The statement implies some of the most recent fixed-penalty notices may not have arrived with the recipients). But it says some people were fined more than once, and so the total number of individuals fined will be lower.
  • Men received 53 of the fines, and women received 73, the Met says.
  • The offences were committed on eight dates. The original Sue Gray report (or “Update”, as it was called) said 12 events were being investigated by the police. But those 12 events took place on eight different days (on some days two or three lockdown-busting events took place). The Met statement does not say whether or not offences were committed at all 12 events.
  • Twelve detectives worked on the investigation. They looked at 345 documents, including emails, door logs, diary entries and witness statements, 510 photographs and CCTV images and 204 questionnaires. There is more detail about how they ran the investigation in the statement.
  • No one was interviewed under caution as part of the inquiry.
  • The inquiry cost £460,000.
  • People were fined in relation to one or more of six offences. They were:

20 May 2020 - Regulation 6 of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 – Restriction on leaving, or being outside of, the place where you were living without reasonable excuse.

18 and 19 June 2020 - Regulation 7 of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 – Restriction on participating in an indoor gathering consisting of two or more people.

13 November 2020 – Regulation 8 of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 – Restriction on participating in an indoor gathering consisting of two or more people.

17 and 18 December 2020 – Paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 – Restriction on participating in an indoor gathering in the Tier 3 area consisting of two or more people.

14 January 2021 - Paragraph 3 of Schedule 3A to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 – Restriction on participating in an indoor gathering in the Tier 4 area consisting of two or more people.

16 April 2021 – Paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021 - Restriction on participating in an outdoor gathering in the Step 2 area consisting of more than six people.

  • There were 16,796 fines in total issued by the Met for lockdown breaches, which means the Partygate ones amounted to less than 1% of the total.

Updated

The Met has been giving out more information about the investigation. These are from the Telegraph’s Martin Evans.

Updated

Boris Johnson has still received only one fine over Partygate (the one we were told about in April), the BBC’s Chris Mason reports.

Updated

Until now the Met has said little about how it has carried out its Partygate investigation. But today’s statement is far more extensive than its previous statements on the inquiry (which have tended to run to just a sentences), and it sheds quite a lot of light on what has been going on. I will post a summary soon.

Updated

This is from Helen Ball, acting deputy commissioner at the Metropolitan police, on the conclusion of the Partygate investigation.

There is no doubt that the pandemic impacted all of us in so many ways and strong feelings and opinions have been expressed on this particular issue.

When Covid regulations were introduced, the Met was clear that whilst we would not routinely investigate breaches of regulations retrospectively, there may be occasions when it would be appropriate to do so.

The information that we received with regard to the alleged breaches in Downing Street and Whitehall was sufficient to reach our criteria to begin such an investigation.

Our investigation was thorough and impartial and was completed as quickly as we could, given the amount of information that needed to be reviewed and the importance of ensuring that we had strong evidence for each FPN referral.

This investigation is now complete.

With the Met investigation now closed, the government will now have to publish the full Sue Gray report into what happened. This is expected to be damning because it will contain detail about what actually happened at the No 10 parties. The Met has said almost nothing about what took place, beyond confirming that lockdown rules were broken.

Met says Partygate investigation now closed, with 126 fines issued

The Metropolitan police has a major Partygate announcement.

  • A total of 126 fines have now been issued in connection with Partygate, it says.
  • The Met says it has now closed the investigation.

As of yesterday No 10 were telling journalists that Boris Johnson had not received a further fine. Unless we get a confirmation very soon that there has been a second one, this means that Johnson will have got through this with just one fine.

The Met says:

Of the referrals, all resulted or will do so in a FPN being issued. The breakdown of recipients is, 53 were men and 73 were women. Some people received more than one FPN.

We will not be releasing or confirming the identity of anyone involved in this investigation or providing further details of our findings, in line with the approach we’ve taken throughout the pandemic.

The full Met statement is here.

Updated

Q: So down the line some Channel 4 content could be paid for by subscription?

Dorries says that won’t happen while it remains a public sector broadcaster.

Julian Knight (Con), the committee chair, is taking over now.

Q: Should a privatised Channel 4 consider a subscription model, perhaps with the BBC?

Dorries says that is a matter for whoever buys it.

But she says privatisation is definitely happening. She says the media bill allowing this is coming soon. And Channel 4 will have to carry on making distinctive British content, she says.

Nicolson says a lot of Tories think Channel 4 is being privatised for political reasons, and because Channel 4 News is deemed hostile to the Tories.

Dorries says she is not responsible for what her colleagues say.

She says the government cannot allow Channel 4 to borrow to invest, because the taxpayer would be liable for those debts.

Q: It is making record profits.

That means it would be a good time to sell, says Dorries.

She says the government will receive a “creative dividend” from the sale that it can invest in the production sector.

Public service broadcasting obligations will apply to Channel 4 for 10 years after privatisation, MPs told

Q: Channel 4 is the country’s biggest free streaming service. Can you guarantee that it will not move to a subscription model?

Dorries says Channel 4 is a public service broadcaster and this will continue. It will be part of the sale condition.

Q: For how long?

Dorries says she will not discuss that.

Nicolson says that means she is not guaranteeing that, over the long term, it will not move to a subscription model.

Dorries says Channel 4 will have to continue to make distinctive programmes. She cites Derry Girl as an example.

Q: What percentage of the 56,000 responses to your consultation supported privatisation?

Dorries says 46,000 of those respondents were from 38 Degrees, a politcally motivated campaign group. She accuses them of rewriting the consultation language to distort what it was saying.

She says polling shows that 53% of people did not realise that Channel 4 was state owned.

Nicolson says 96% of those who responded to the consultation opposed privatisation.

Dorries goes back to an earlier question. She says the terms of sale will maintain Channel 4 as a public service organistion for 10 years.

Dorries says Channel 4 is dependent on one stream of revenue - advertising.

But this revenue is going down, she says. And she says advertisers have more choice.

Netflix would be a good choice for people spending their advertisting budget, she says.

Nadine Dorries is here. The SNP’s John Nicolson goes first, and he is asking about the privatisation of Channel 4.

Q: Why did you refuse to go on Channel 4 News to discuss this?

Dorries replies: “Because it is my right to do so.”

Nicolson says she should be accountable. Dorries says that she is answering questions today, but that she can choose what media she does.

Updated

Nadine Dorries questioned by Commons culture committee

Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, is about to give evidence to the Commons culture committee.

Here is the committee’s summary of the topics that will come up.

In a wide-ranging session, MPs are expected to examine the secretary of state’s priorities and strategic vision. The government’s plans to ensure online safety, in the context of the current online and social media landscape, are expected to be examined. Also on the agenda is the future of public service broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4.

The secretary of state may answer questions on the impact of Brexit and Covid-19 on the cultural sector. Sports policy, amidst allegations of racism in cricket and proposals for a football regulator, may also be discussed.

The government has announced new sanctions against three Russian airlines. Aeroflot, which is owned by the Russian government and which is the country’s largest airline, Ural Airlines and Rossiya Airlines will not be allowed to sell their unused landing slots at UK airports. This will cost them an estimated £50m, the government says.

Petrol and diesel prices continue to climb to new highs, PA Media reports:

Statistics from data firm Experian Catalist show the average cost of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts on Wednesday was 168.2p.

That is up from 167.6p per litre on Tuesday.

Diesel prices reached an average of 181.0p per litre on Wednesday, up from 180.9p a day earlier.

Updated

Sky’s Sam Coates had a good summary of the confusion in government on how to respond to the cost of living crisis in his report last night.

And the Daily Mirror’s Dan Bloom has a helpful round-up of the options being considered by the government.

Government 'intrinsically opposed' to windfall tax on energy companies, says Kit Malthouse

In his interviews this morning Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, also said that the government was “intrinsically opposed” to the idea of a windfall tax on energy companies. But he also conceded it was a possibility. He told Times Radio:

We are intrinsically opposed to that kind of taxation. We want to see a pattern of investment from that industry that will help us with our medium and long-term energy problems.

But the chancellor reserves the right to take all steps he thinks necessary and he’s in conversation with that industry all the time, I’m sure.

It is hard for ministers to answer questions on this topic in interviews because at the top of government there is a split over whether or not to introduce a windfall tax, and it is not obvious which side will prevail. In the Times Matt Dathan and Steven Swinford said the Treasury is now in favour, but No 10 is opposed. They report:

Treasury officials believe that the levy is “politically unavoidable” but are being blocked by the prime minister’s advisers.

Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has left the door open on imposing a one-off tax on energy suppliers as he comes under increasing pressure to do more to help people with the cost of living. In conversations with No 10, Treasury officials have argued that while a windfall tax would not raise a significant amount it would send a powerful message to the public that the government was “on their side”.

However, Boris Johnson’s advisers are said to be resisting the move because it would be viewed as an attack on business. One of them said it would be an “ideologically unconservative thing to do”, The Times has been told.

Harry Cole has a similar report in the Sun, saying that the Treasury wanted Conservative MPs to abstain in the vote on Labour’s amendment to the Queen’s speech calling for a windfall tax (an abstention would have allowed the amendment to pass), but that No 10 insisted Tory MPs voted against.

Imposing a windfall tax would be a huge U-turn, and a victory for Labour, which has been pushing hard for one for months. But, for the price of a few days of acute embarrassment, the move would also allow the government to neutralise the Labour party’s main attack line, as well as leaving the opposition without its best-known policy.

Updated

Minister slaps down police watchdog who said officers should use discretion over stealing to eat

Andy Cooke, the new chief inspector of constabulary, has said that the cost of living crisis will trigger an increase in crime and officers should use their “discretion” when deciding whether to prosecute people who steal in order to eat. My colleague Vikram Dodd has the story here.

If you think this does not sound like the sort of statement likely to be endorsed by a Home Office run by Priti Patel, you would be right. Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, was doing the morning intervew round on behalf of the government earlier and he told LBC that he did not agree.

Malthouse said that the idea that an economic shock would automatically lead to an increase in theft was “old-fashioned thinking”. And he said that officers should not be turning a blind eye to people shoplifting to get food. He said:

I’m afraid I find it a bit old-fashioned thinking. We first of all believe the law should be blind and police officers should operate without fear or favour in prosecution of the law.

Secondly it’s not quite right to say that as the economy fluctuates so does crime. We’ve seen economic problems in the past, or not, when crime has risen, or not.

Asked if ministers will ensure police do not ignore shoplifters stealing food, he replied:

Absolutely right. In fact I wrote to chief constables just a year or so ago saying they should not be ignoring those seemingly small crimes.

Kit Malthouse.
Kit Malthouse. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

Updated

There will be an urgent question in the Commons at 10.30am on food price inflation. It has been tabled by Labour’s Jim McMahon and an environment minister will respond.

Growing calls for cost of living rescue measures as CBI tells Sunak to ‘help the hardest hit now'

Good morning. One of the unusual features about the current economic crisis facing Britain is that some of the loudest calls for government intervention to help the poor have come from big business. Normally you would expect opposition parties, the charity sectors and papers like the Guardian to be the dominant voices on this side of the debate. But recently we’ve had Dame Sharon White, chair of John Lewis, calling government intervention on the scale of Covid to alleviate the “shocking” food poverty problem, John Allan, the Tesco chairman, saying that food poverty is at its highest level for a generation and that there is “an overwhelming case for a windfall tax”, and Bernard Looney, BP’s chief executive, also defending the windfall tax plan, saying No 10 is wrong to think it would halt his company’s investments in the UK. It is as if blue chip, corporate Britain has got a better grasp of the welfare needs of the country than Boris Johnson’s government.

And we had another example this morning. Last night Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, delivered a speech to the CBI’s annual dinner. This morning Tony Danker, director general of the CBI, told the Today programme that Sunak did not go far enough, because he did not have a plan “to help the hardest hit now”. Danker said:

There are some choices still to be made. And there are some choices you have to make about what you do now and what you do later.

Look, you have to help the hardest hit now. Helping people with heating bills and eating bills will not fuel inflation.

And you need to stimulate business investment now. That’s not going to overheat the economy now. It’s going to make sure that any downturn in our fortunes is short and shallow because growth is coming soon.

But Danker did welcome the suggestion in Sunak’s speech that a mass, untargeted stimulus now would be inflationary. Danker said:

The thing I think [Sunak] has to leave is mass tax cuts in the economy, mass stimulus in the economy. I agree with him that if you do those things too early in this cycle, then you do risk putting up inflation.

So I think he’s got the principles right. But we didn’t hear last night firm decisions that will help the hardest hit now, that will stimulate business and confidence now and will leave other stuff till later.

Sunak is already under intense pressure to announce some sort of cost of living rescue package soon. I will post more on this as the day goes on.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9am: Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, gives a speech at a drugs summit.

9.30am: Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

10am: Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, gives a speech to the Education Policy Institute.

10.20am: Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, gives evidence to the Commons culture committee.

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

12pm: Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, takes questions from MSPs.

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. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.

Tony Danker (right) and Rishi Sunak at the CBI dinner last night.
Tony Danker (right) and Rishi Sunak at the CBI dinner last night. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters

Updated

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