Top story: Fears PM could veto Sue Gray inquiry conclusions
Hello, Warren Murray here, thank you all for coming. I am pretty sure this is a work thing, but in any event I am only staying briefly.
Boris Johnson’s prime ministership hangs in the balance with Conservative MPs openly calling for his resignation after he admitted attending a garden party in lockdown, claiming he thought it was a “work event”. Johnson delivered a carefully worded apology about the alcohol-fuelled gathering of up to 40 officials in May 2020, which was described in an email invitation as “socially distanced drinks” in the warm weather. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has called for Johnson to “do the decent thing and resign”, castigating the prime minister as “a man without shame” and someone the British public widely viewed as a liar.
After Johnson’s statement, one of the Conservatives’ most senior backbenchers, William Wragg, and Douglas Ross, the leader of the party in Scotland, publicly called for the PM to resign. Two possible challengers for the prime minister – the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and the foreign secretary, Liz Truss – held back for much of the day before tweeting their support for the apology. Some MPs said the prime minister appeared less contrite in private conversations than in his apology. One Tory adviser predicted the prime minister had 72 hours to turn things around.
The inquiry that is being held into the Downing Street parties should be given greater independence from No 10, former civil servants and a union leader have warned this morning, amid concerns the prime minister could veto the findings of Sue Gray if she recommends he be investigated under the ministerial code. “The prime minister himself gets to decide if he needs to be investigated under the ministerial code,” said Dave Penman, the head of the FDA union for senior civil servants.
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Djokovic into Australian Open – Novak Djokovic has just now been included in the draw for the Australian Open, which starts on Monday. Australia’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke, has said this morning that a decision has not been made on whether he will overturn the player’s visa. The prime minister, Scott Morrison, stressed a short time ago that people entering the country must be double vaccinated, and that authorities must implement Covid entry rules – remarks that placed Djokovic’s effort to play in the Australian Open in fresh doubt.
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Outcry over anti-protest powers – Activist groups are urging Labour to oppose a policing bill they say will undermine the right to protest at a critical moment in the climate crisis. The bill includes powers for the home secretary to ban marches and demonstrations that might be “seriously disruptive” or too noisy; a criminal offence of obstructing infrastructure such as roads, railways, airports, oil refineries and printing presses; jail sentences for attaching or locking on to someone or something; bans on named individuals from demonstrating or going on the internet to encourage others; police stop-and-search powers to look for protest-related items; and up to 10 years’ prison for damaging memorials or statues. The bill is going through the Lords this week and next.
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Prince Andrew faces trial prospect – Prince Andrew is facing a lengthy and embarrassing legal ordeal with the lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre in Manhattan likely to go to trial by jury, US legal experts say. It comes after a New York judge refused to throw out a civil case over allegations that Andrew sexually assaulted Giuffre when she was 17 years old. The Duke of York has been forced to scale back his royal duties in the wake of the allegations, which he strenuously denies.
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Watch out, tyrants told – Human Rights Watch has released its World Report 2022 in which it argues increased repression and violence by autocrats and military regimes are signs of their desperation and weakening grip on power. It says opposition parties are forming alliances to challenge the corrupt or repressive for power. HRW points to the Czech Republic, where the PM, Andrej Babiš, was defeated, and Israel, where Benjamin Netanyahu lost the prime ministership after 12 years in power. Electoral alliances are also lining up against Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey. The HRW director, Kenneth Roth, argues that repression and “overt electoral charades” in countries such as Russia and Nicaragua should be seen as a sign of weakness, not strength. “There is a narrative that autocrats are prevailing and democracy is on the decline, yet if you look at the trends in human rights over the last 12 months it doesn’t look so rosy for the autocrats.”
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Omicron crisis in care staffing – Care homes are missing a third of the staff they need and more than one in four have closed their doors to new admissions in a deepening labour crisis that is “putting safety and dignity at risk”, according to the National Care Forum (NCF). It says Omicron absences are running at 14% on top of an 18% job vacancy rate. Nursing and midwifery leaders have urged Sajid Javid to delay the introduction of compulsory Covid jabs for NHS staff. Health service trusts in England are preparing to start sending out dismissal letters from 3 February to workers who have not had their first dose. A health department spokesperson defended the policy: “This is about patient safety, and ensuring people in hospital or care have as much protection as possible.”
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‘Clean rivers with bathing edict’ – Water companies in England should each have to designate a stretch of river as bathing water by 2025 to drive the cleanup of sewage, agricultural waste and plastic pollution, MPs have said. Only one river in the UK – the River Wharfe in Ilkley – currently has an area designated as bathing water, and only 14% of English rivers meet good ecological standards. No river is deemed to be of good chemical status. A bathing designation places a legal obligation on water companies to improve water quality and has triggered huge improvements in coastal water quality.
Today in Focus podcast: Is Johnson’s apology enough?
Boris Johnson faced anger and derision as he admitted attending a drinks party during the first lockdown but claimed that he believed it to be a work event that did not break the rules.
Lunchtime read: ‘Banana, concrete – good gifts!’
There are 7,000 Buy Nothing groups with more than 5 million members worldwide. But their appeal goes beyond the chance to swap everything from nettles to power tools.
Sport
Antonio Conte defended his decision to rest Hugo Lloris and start Pierluigi Gollini in goal after Tottenham’s hopes of reaching the Carabao Cup final were dashed by defeat to Chelsea. Joe Root has thrown his support behind Chris Silverwood, insisting the embattled head coach should keep his job as hobbling England prepare for “one last push” to end their failed Ashes campaign with a win in Hobart. The British Olympic Association will offer temporary phones to Team GB athletes and staff at next month’s Winter Olympics in Beijing after fears they could be spied on by the Chinese government. Crowds at the Australian Open will be capped at 50% after a surge in Covid cases in Melbourne prompted a last-minute change of ticketing policy. And English clubs due to play in France this weekend have given conflicting messages over fulfilling their fixtures but European rugby chiefs were on Wednesday night cautiously optimistic the matches will go ahead as planned.
Business
The end of the era of cheap money has sent Asian stock markets down overnight as investors digested the latest inflation surge in the US. With the Federal Reserve now certain to hike interest rates, central banks all over the world are likely to follow the Bank of England’s early example and put up borrowing costs, ending years of ultra-low rates. The FTSE100 is set to open flat so far, while the pound is on $1.371 and €1.198.
The papers
With Boris Johnson on shakier ground than ever, we have another standalone roundup of the papers – a summary follows.
The Mirror’s banner headline is “Disgrace”, set below a picture of Johnson giving his humiliating apology to the Commons. The Guardian’s main headline is “PM’s future on knife-edge after No 10 party apology”. The Times also has a picture of a grim-faced Johnson and the headline “Defiant PM refuses to quit as polls slip further”. The FT has “Johnson faces Tory calls to quit after attending lockdown party” and the i says “Tories call on Boris Johnson to resign”.
The Scotsman focuses on Tory leader Douglas Ross calling for the PM to quit: “Scots Tories lead rebellion despite Johnson’s apology”. The Daily Record’s splash is a bit more direct – “Cock and Bull Tory” – and nor does the National hold back, screaming “Liar”. The Telegraph takes a softer line: “Sunak leaves Johnson in limbo”, focusing on the chancellor’s half-hearted backing for the embattled PM.
The Mail and Express have both decided it is time to circle the wagons around the PM. “Operation Save Boris” says the Mail, reporting that “cabinet rallies round” but “ambitious Rishi’s lukewarm support” spells trouble ahead. The Express says “I’m sorry … but now prove you can deliver for Britain”. The Star’s splash headline says “Rules are only for little people!” and the Metro has “Sorry … not sorry”. The Sun leads with the Prince Andrew sexual abuse allegations: “Damned old Duke of York”.
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