Boris Johnson ‘Fears For The Security Of Europe’ As Tensions Grow Over Potential Russian Invasion Of Ukraine

Boris Johnson “fears for the security of Europe” as tensions mount over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine and British people were urged to leave the country.

The UK prime minister voiced his concern during a call with Western leaders – including US president Joe Biden – as the Foreign Office updated its advice on Friday evening to urge UK nationals to “leave now while commercial means are still available”.

At the same time, Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said there is the “credible prospect” of an invasion of some sort taking place before the end of the Winter Olympics on February 20.

He said the Russians are in a position to “mount a major military operation in Ukraine any day now”, which could include a “rapid assault on the city of Kyiv” or on other parts of the country.

The warning was echoed by UK defence secretary Ben Wallace, who said warned an invasion could come “at any time”.

Tensions have heightened in the last 24 hours as Russian president Vladimir Putin has now amassed an estimated 130,000 troops on the border with Ukraine.

<img class="img-sized__img landscape" loading="lazy" alt="US national security advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily White House press briefing.” width=”720″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.wellnessmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/boris-johnson-fears-for-the-security-of-europe-as-tensions-grow-over-potential-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2.jpg”>
US national security advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily White House press briefing.

Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images

The Foreign Office followed the US in advising against all travel to Ukraine, with a spokesman saying: “The safety and security of British nationals is our top priority, which is why we have updated our travel advice.

“We urge British nationals in Ukraine to leave now via commercial means while they remain available.”

After Johnson and world leaders held the virtual call, a No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister told the group that he feared for the security of Europe in the current circumstances.

“He impressed the need for Nato allies to make it absolutely clear that there will be a heavy package of economic sanctions ready to go, should Russia make the devastating and destructive decision to invade Ukraine.

“The prime minister added that president Putin had to understand that there would be severe penalties that would be extremely damaging to Russia’s economy, and that Allies needed to continue with efforts to reinforce and support the Eastern frontiers of Nato.

“He urged the leaders to work together to deliver economic and defensive support to Ukraine.

“The leaders agreed that if president Putin deescalated, there was another way forward, and they pledged to redouble diplomatic efforts in the coming days.”

Speaking from the White House, Sullivan said Russia could choose “in very short order to commence a major military action against Ukraine” but stressed the US does not know whether Putin has made a final decision.

Moscow denies it is planning an invasion and called the Western military actions provocations meant to bait Russia into war.

But diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis have yet to yield results.

The two countries share a border, and between 1919 and 1991 Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in the early-1990s but maintained close economic and cultural links with Russia.

Russia has been trying to reunite with its neighbour even since, with Putin calling the break-up of the Soviet bloc the “greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century”.

It’s not entirely clear why Putin is acting now. There’s speculation he may be moving because the US looks weak following the messy evacuation from Afghanistan.

Share Button

Cressida Dick Forced Out As Metropolitan Police Chief

Metropolitan Police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick has been forced out as head of the force after a series of controversies.

The under-fire police chief said earlier in the day she had “absolutely no intention of going”, but later admitted the mayor of London Sadiq Khan “no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue”.

In a statement, she made clear her resignation followed a meeting with the mayor which “left me no choice but to step aside”.

Dick’s leadership has been dogged by a series of scandals, including the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens and racist, misogynist and homophobic messages exchanged by officers shared by officers at Charing Cross police station.

In a statement, Khan, said: “Last week, I made clear to the Metropolitan Police commissioner the scale of the change I believe is urgently required to rebuild the trust and confidence of Londoners in the Met and to root out the racism, sexism, homophobia, bullying, discrimination and misogyny that still exists.

“I am not satisfied with the commissioner’s response.

“On being informed of this, Dame Cressida Dick has said she will be standing aside. It’s clear that the only way to start to deliver the scale of the change required is to have new leadership right at the top of the Metropolitan Police.

“I would like to thank Dame Cressida Dick for her 40 years of dedicated public service, with the vast majority spent at the Met where she was the first woman to become Commissioner. In particular, I commend her for the recent work in helping us to bring down violent crime in London – although of course there is more to do.

“I want to put on the record again that there are thousands of incredibly brave and decent police officers at the Met who go above and beyond every day to help keep us safe, and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

“I will now work closely with the home secretary on the appointment of a new commissioner so that we can move quickly to restore trust in the capital’s police service while keeping London safe.”

In a statement, Dick said: “It is with huge sadness that following contact with the Mayor of London today, it is clear that the Mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue.

“He has left me no choice but to step aside as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.”

Hours earlier, when asked by the BBC if she should step down she said: “I have absolutely no intention of going and I believe that I am and have been, actually for the last five years, leading a real transformation in the Met.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Share Button

Nadine Dorries Says She Would Only Stop Supporting Boris Johnson If He ‘Kicked A Dog’

Nadine Dorries has spelled out how far her loyalty to Boris Johnson goes as she defended the prime minister over leaked photos of a Christmas party during lockdown.

The culture secretary has developed a reputation for robustly supporting the under-fire PM against any critics since she became a cabinet minister in September.

Last week, a still from PMQs of Dorries staring at Johnson – smiling – quickly became a meme.

Now, in an interview with US broadcaster CNN, Dorries made clear there would be little Johnson could do to shake her off.

When asked if there was any situation which would cause her to withdraw her support of him, Dorries replied: “Well, of course there are. If he went up and, you know, kicked a dog, I’d probably withdraw my support for him, but no, based on his professional delivery for the UK, no, absolutely not.”

Of the leaked photos of him taking part in a quiz with champagne and tinsel during lockdown, she added: “What I would say on the food, it was an open packet of crisps, it was Christmas, it was a Zoom quiz with the wider staff. So, I mean, basically that’s all I’ve got to say on it. I’m not sure who didn’t do a Zoom quiz during lockdown with an open pocket of crisps.”

It’s the latest bizarre contortion from a Tory MP in an effort to defend their leader.

Junior minister Conor Burns claimed Johnson was effectively “ambushed by cake”, and therefore his alleged rule-breaking birthday party was not his fault.

And backbencher Adam Rosindell compared partygate to robbing a bank in an odd exchange on Sky News.

Rosindell described so-called “cakegate” as a “frenzy”, and said: “He’s made a mistake, no question about that, we all do.”

He continued: “I think we’ve all done it, let’s not be so judgemental that the prime minister of the United Kingdom has not committed some horrendous, terrible crime the deserves the entire government to be derailed.”

Sky News’ Kay Burley replied: “And you’re confident that it’s OK for the prime minister who makes the rules to break the rules and thus break the law – that’s OK?”

“No it’s not – you know I’m sure there are ministers who get parking tickets and speeding fines too,” Rosindell said.

“Anyway, lots of people break the law in small ways, sometimes unintentionally.

“He’s not robbed a bank.”

The Metropolitan Police is currently investigating 12 alleged parties, and may launch a formal probe into another after the new image emerged of Johnson taking part in a Christmas quiz on December 15, 2020.

Share Button

Met Police To Begin Contacting More Than 50 Downing Street Party Attendees This Week

Detectives investigating alleged Downing Street and Whitehall rule-breaking parties are to begin contacting more than 50 attendees this week.

The Metropolitan Police said it would be sending notices asking for “an account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event”, and added the inquiry has been named Operation Hillman.

The announcement on Wednesday came hours after the force said it is reviewing whether a Christmas quiz at No.10 may have breached Covid-19 restrictions after a picture emerged showing Boris Johnson and colleagues near an open bottle of champagne.

Officers will send formal questionnaires to more than 50 people, starting by the end of this week, in relation to eight dates that are being investigated between May 20 2020 and April 16 2021.

“This document, which asks for an account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event, has formal legal status and must be answered truthfully,” the Met said.

“Recipients are informed that responses are required within seven days. In most cases contact is being made via email.”

The statement added: “It should be noted that being contacted does not mean a fixed penalty notice will necessarily be issued to that person.

“Nevertheless, if following an investigation, officers believe it is appropriate because the Covid regulations have been breached without a reasonable excuse, a fixed penalty notice will normally be issued.

“We understand the interest in and impact of this case, and are progressing the investigation at pace. We are committed to completing our investigations proportionately, fairly and impartially.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Share Button

Rebekah Vardy’s ‘Nasty’ Text Was Not About Coleen Rooney, Court Told

Rebekah Vardy was not referring to Coleen Rooney when she called someone a “nasty bitch” in a message to her agent, the High Court has heard.

Mrs Rooney, 35, accused Mrs Vardy, 39, in an October 2019 Twitter post of leaking stories about her private life after a months-long “sting operation”.

The wife of former England star Wayne Rooney, dubbed “Wagatha Christie”, claimed Mrs Vardy had shared fake stories she posted on her personal Instagram account with The Sun newspaper.

Mrs Vardy, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie, denies the accusations and is suing Mrs Rooney for libel.

At the start of a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, the High Court heard that WhatsApp messages between Mrs Vardy and her agent and friend Caroline Watt had been disclosed to Mrs Rooney’s legal team.

Mrs Rooney’s barrister David Sherborne claimed that “abusive” messages were sent about Mrs Rooney.

However, on Wednesday, Mrs Vardy’s barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC said a text in which she referred to someone as a “nasty bitch” was not about Mrs Rooney.

“This is not a passage about Mrs Rooney, it is a passage about someone else,” he said.

Coleen Rooney
Coleen Rooney

Anthony Devlin via Getty Images

Mr Tomlinson previously told the court that the messages referred to by Mr Sherborne, which were said to “reveal that Mrs Vardy and Ms Watt are responsible for the leaking”, were “selective”, and said parts of the exchanges which were left out had “precisely the opposite effect”.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the barrister quoted messages from Mrs Vardy to Ms Watt in which she said she was “offended” that Mrs Rooney thought she was the person who had leaked the information.

He added: “If one reads these messages in full, what one sees is that Mrs Vardy expresses shock at being accused and she is here communicating with the person that Mr Sherborne says is her co-conspirator.

“These are obviously candid personal messages, and if she was really concerned – ‘Oh, this is terrible, we have been found out’ – then it would have been completely different.”

Mrs Rooney is bringing a claim against Ms Watt for misuse of private information and is asking for it to be joined to the libel case.

Mr Sherborne told the court that if Mrs Vardy wins her claim on the basis that she was not the person who leaked the information, then Mrs Rooney will be left without “vindication” unless she is able to bring the claim against Ms Watt as part of the same case.

He also said that while Mrs Rooney’s lawyers wanted further information from the WhatsApp messages between Mrs Vardy and Ms Watt, Ms Watt’s phone had fallen into the sea after a boat she was on hit a wave, shortly after the last hearing.

“(It was) most unfortunate, because it was only a short time after the court ordered that the phone should be specifically searched,” he said.

Discussing the lost phone on Wednesday, Mr Tomlinson said: “That is what happened. Mrs Vardy was not present when that happened. She (Ms Watt) was on holiday, she lost her phone.”

Mrs Vardy’s lawyers have opposed the application to add the claim against Ms Watt to the libel case.

“If the defendant had genuinely wished to bring a misuse of private information claim against Ms Watt in order to vindicate her rights this claim could have been brought 15 months ago,” Mr Tomlinson said in written arguments.

Ian Helme, for Ms Watt, also opposed the application and previously said she has given “clear and consistent” denials against the claim for misuse of private information.

The trial is due to begin in early May but is likely to be delayed.

The hearing before Mrs Justice Steyn concluded on Wednesday, with judgment expected on Monday morning.

Share Button

Police May Now Investigate No.10 Christmas Quiz After Photo Of Boris Johnson Emerges

Scotland Yard has said it could now investigate a Christmas quiz held in Downing Street during lockdown, after a new photograph of Boris Johnson attending the event emerged.

Meanwhile, detectives probing alleged breaches of Covid-19 regulations in Downing Street and Whitehall are to begin contacting more than 50 attendees this week.

On Wednesday afternoon, The Daily Mirror published the new picture of the gathering on December 15, 2020.

The prime minister can be seen in a room with three people, apparently hosting a virtual quiz with others taking part online.

One person is wearing a Christmas hat, another has purple and pink tinsel draped around their neck.

There is an open bottle of champagne on the table and a half-eaten packet of crisps.

Covid rules in London at the time banned two or more people from different households from mixing indoors.

The police are investigating 12 parties or gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall held during England’s lockdowns.

But the December 15 quiz is not currently one of them.

Following the publication of the photograph, the Met said in a this could change.

“The MPS previously assessed this event and determined that on the basis of the evidence available at that time, it did not meet the threshold for criminal investigation. That assessment is now being reviewed,” the Met said.

Official guidance at the time said: “Although there are exemptions for work purposes, you must not have a work Christmas lunch or party, where that is a primarily social activity and is not otherwise permitted by the rules in your tier.”

Later on Wednesday, the Met said officers will send formal questionnaires to more than 50 people, starting by the end of this week, in relation to eight dates that are being investigated between May 20 2020 and April 16 2021.

The force added the inquiry has been named Operation Hillman.

“This document, which asks for an account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event, has formal legal status and must be answered truthfully,” the Met said.

“Recipients are informed that responses are required within seven days. In most cases contact is being made via email.”

Asked to describe what is happening in the picture published by the Mirror, a spokeswoman for the PM said earlier: “It was a virtual quiz.

“But as Sue Gray said in her report, she was unable to set out full details of those events the Met are not looking into, but as the PM repeated today, as soon as the inquiries are over we will publish in full what Sue Gray reports.”

Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s hostile former chief adviser, tweeted: “there’s waaaaay better pics than that floating around, incl in the flat.”

Share Button

Boris Johnson Blamed For Fuelling Mob Ambush Of Keir Starmer

Boris Johnson’s Jimmy Savile smear of Keir Starmer has been blamed for a mob ambushing the Labour leader near the houses of parliament – prompting a wave of Tory MPs to criticise their leader.

Police had to bundle the opposition leader into a car as the group, some protesting about Covid restrictions and shouting “traitor”, followed him and shadow foreign secretary David Lammy from outside Scotland Yard.

There were angry clashes with police after Starmer was escorted into a police car on the Victoria Embankment shortly after 5pm on Monday. Starmer faced baseless allegations of “protecting paedophiles” and chants about the sex offender from protesters before being bundled into a police car for protection.

After some Conservative MPs said Johnson last week accusing Starmer of having “used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile” while director of public prosecutions for stoking the abuse, the PM condemned the “completely unacceptable” incident. Notably he did not apologise.

Footage posted to social media showed Piers Corbyn, the Covid-19 conspiracy theorist brother of former Labour leader Jeremy, addressing the crowd before the incident and later leading chants of “resist, defy, do not comply”.

Video showed Starmer, surrounded by police, being followed down the street while being targeted with shouts of “why aren’t you opposing?” and “traitor”.

“Why did you go after Julian Assange, why did you go after journalists?,” one man shouted.

It was understood Starmer was not harmed during the incident and was soon back at his desk.

After he was taken to safety, an officer was called a “pathetic little thug” during angry exchanges.

Protesters were seen displaying signs opposing mandatory vaccination and the use of restrictions to prevent Covid-19 deaths.

After footage of the confrontation spread on social media, MPs from across the political spectrum hit out at the prime minister’s slur against Starmer.

The PM on Monday referenced Starmer’s former job as director of public prosecutions, suggesting his opponent was responsible for failing to prosecute serial sex offender Savile – even though fact-checkers have since proven the Labour leader was not.

The prime minister clarified his comments on Thursday and claimed he had not been talking about Starmer’s “personal record”, but notably did not apologise for the slur.

After the attack, Tory MP Julian Smith linked the incident to Johnson’s Savile smear in the Commons last week.

He tweeted: “What happened to Keir Starmer tonight outside parliament is appalling. It is really important for our democracy & for his security that the false Savile slurs made against him are withdrawn in full.”

Another Conservative MP, Robert Largan, added: “I agree with Julian. Words matter. What we say and how we say it echoes out far beyond parliament. It can have serious real world consequences. Elected representatives have a responsibility to lower the temperature of debate, not add fuel to the fire.”

Deputy speaker of the house of commons, Eleanor Laing, said the attack was “unacceptable. Period.”

She tweeted: “Elected representatives must be able to go about their work without the fear of verbal or physical attacks.”

“It doesn’t matter which political party you support we all must stand up for freedom of speech and the rule of law.”

Another Tory MP, Aaron Bell, said: “Physical intimidation has no part in our democracy, and we all have a responsibility to debate in a measured and accurate way.”

After he was heckled alongside Starmer, Lammy tweeted alongside a video clip of the incident: “No surprise the conspiracy theorist thugs who harassed Keir Starmer and I repeated slurs we heard from Boris Johnson last week at the despatch box.

“Intimidation, harassment and lies have no place in our democracy.

“And they won’t ever stop me doing my job.”

He added: “My thanks to the Met Police who helped get me safely back to parliament.”

Labour MP Chris Bryant tweeted: “This is appalling. People were shouting all sorts at Keir, including ‘Jimmy Savile’. This is what happens when a prime minister descends into the gutter and recycles lies from hard-right conspiracy theorists. Political poison has an effect. Johnson has no moral compass.”

A Labour source told HuffPost UK: “Boris Johnson and his cabinet chose to lie down with the dogs – and now the whole lot of them are covered in fleas.”

Johnson later tweeted: “The behaviour directed at the leader of the opposition tonight is absolutely disgraceful. All forms of harassment of our elected representatives are completely unacceptable.

“I thank the police for responding swiftly.”

Scotland Yard said two arrests were made after the clashes.

A Metropolitan Police statement said: “Shortly after 5.10pm on Monday, February 7, a man who had been surrounded by a group of protesters near to New Scotland Yard, was taken away from the scene by a police car.

“A man and a woman were arrested at the scene for assault of an emergency worker after a traffic cone was thrown at a police officer.

“They have been taken into custody.”

Share Button

Jimmy Carr Condemned For ‘Vile’ Holocaust Joke About Gypsy, Roma And Traveller Community

Jimmy Carr has been denounced for a “truly disturbing” joke made about the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community and the Holocaust in his latest Netflix special.

The comedian, known for his stand-up and roles on shows including 8 Out Of 10 Cats, issued a “trigger warning” to the audience at the beginning of his one-hour show, His Dark Material, admitting his performance contained “terrible things”.

In a widely-shared clip from the show, Carr, 49, said: “When people talk about the Holocaust, they talk about the tragedy and horror of six million Jewish lives being lost to the Nazi war machine. But they never mention the thousands of Gypsies that were killed by the Nazis.

“No one ever wants to talk about that, because no one ever wants to talk about the positives.”

Mikey Walsh, author of the best-selling memoir Gypsy Boy, tweeted that he didn’t know what he should be more “disgusted” by, “the kind of Racism that us GRT people are forced to live with every day … that it’s still absolutely ok to demonise us & our demise as a joke … or the reactions of whooping and cheering from the audience.”

In a tweet referencing the joke, The Traveller Movement, a charity supporting the traveller community in the UK, said: “This is truly disturbing and goes way beyond humour.

“We need all your support in calling this out #StopTravellerHate @StopFundingHate.”

The charity have now launched a petition to Netflix calling for the “removal of the segments of His Dark Material which celebrates the Romani genocide”.

In a tweet, Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, has also urged Netflix to remove Carr’s “vile anti-GRT and antisemitic material”.

“In funding, streaming and profiting from this material, Netflix is legitimising and perpetuating racism,” Whittome wrote in her letter.

“Material of the kind on your platform does not exist in isolation and it has real-life consequences.”

In a synopsis of the programme, which aired on Christmas Day, it says the special features jokes which are “career enders”.

Similarly, not-for-profit organisation the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust shared a statement on Twitter from their CEO Olivia Marks-Woldman who was “horrified” to hear “gales of laughter” following Carr’s remarks.

Hope Not Hate, the anti-fascism and anti-racism campaigning group, also condemned the comedian’s joke on Friday.

In a tweet, they said: “Comedy is an amazing tool for progressive change and it’s such a shame that @jimmycarr decided to use his platform to celebrate the murder of one of the most marginalised groups in society.”

The Auschwitz Memorial called for Carr to “learn about the fate of some 23 thousand Roma & Sinti deported to Auschwitz” in a tweet to their 1.2 million followers.

They added: “It’s sad to hear words that can fuel prejudice, hurt people & defile memory of their tragedy.”

A representative for Carr has been contacted for comment.

Share Button

7 Tory MPs Who Think They’re Helping Boris Johnson But Are Actually Making It Worse

Quite a few Tory MPs want Boris Johnson to resign. But the prime minister does still have some allies willing to defend him in public — with varying degrees of success.

Dominic Raab

The deputy prime minister and justice secretary, who got a less important job but a shinier title in the most recent reshuffle, has done his best to downplay the seriousness of the partygate allegations. One gathering in the Downing Street garden could not be a party, he explained, because those photographed eating cheese and drinking wine were “all in suits”.

Nadine Dorries

The culture secretary is probably Johnson’s closely ally in cabinet. In a series of spiky tweets she has attacked the rebels as “a handful of egos” and, as things appeared to be calming down, poked fun at Tory MPs from the so-called Red Wall for being part of a “pork pie” plot to oust the PM.

Jacob Rees-Mogg

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="YouTube" data-component-id="8370" data-component-props="{"itemType":"video","index":12,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

","type":"video","meta":{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SWfqXwSonI","type":"video","version":"1.0","title":"Jacob Rees-Mogg: ‘Douglas Ross has always been quite a lightweight figure’","author":"OldQueenTV","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_1mDKnRagiJYrS060VQ9ig","provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7SWfqXwSonI/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"thumbnail_height":720,"cache_age":86400,"options":{"_start":{"label":"Start from","value":"","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s"},"_end":{"label":"End on","value":"","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s"},"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}}},"fullBleed":false,"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"slideshowAd":{"scriptTags":[],"otherHtml":""},"slideshowEndCard":{"scriptTags":[{"attribs":{},"scriptBody":"\r\n (function(){\r\n var c = document.getElementById(‘taboola-endslate-thumbnails’);\r\n c.id += ‘-‘ + Math.round(Math.random()*1e16);\r\n \r\n var taboolaParams = {\r\n loader: \"//cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/aol-huffingtonpost/loader.js\",\r\n mode: \"thumbnails-b\",\r\n container: c.id,\r\n placement: \"Endslate Thumbnails\",\r\n target_type: \"mix\"\r\n };\r\n \r\n if (typeof window.modulousQueue === \"function\") {\r\n \twindow.modulousQueue.add(function(){ doTaboola(taboolaParams); });\r\n } else {\r\n \tdoTaboola(taboolaParams);\r\n }\r\n }());\r\n"}],"otherHtml":"

"},"isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isMt":false,"entryId":"61fac5ffe4b0f8a1b83e3661","entryTagsList":"uk-news,","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"videoPagePlayer":"19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4"},"customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"61fac5ffe4b0f8a1b83e3661","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"cetUnit":"buzz_body"}}”>

[embedded content]

The Commons leader dismissed the leader of the Scottish Tories as a “lightweight” after Douglas Ross called for Johnson to resign. An intervention that will have done wonders for the Union. Rees-Mogg also decided to warn off would-be rebels by wrongly arguing a general election would need to be held if the party chose a new leader.

Conor Burns

The Northern Ireland minister, another close ally of the PM, explained Johnson had not deliberately attended a short party in Downing Street, rather that he had been in fact “ambushed with a cake”. Burns also went onto argue that in fact “there actually wasn’t a cake”.

Every Westminster scandal has a standout moment, and this one made it to the White House, with Joe Biden’s press secretary jokingly denying the president had not himself ever been surprised by cake.

Andrew Rosindell

Sure, the prime minister might have broken the rules, but the MP for Romford argued everyone was getting a bit overexcited. “Lots of people break the law in small ways, sometimes unintentionally,” he told Sky News. “He’s not robbed a bank.”

Mark Jenkinson

Johnson could be in line for a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) should he be found to have broken Covid regulations. But Jenkinson, the MP for Workington, rode to the rescue to argue they were just a “minor” punishment.

Adam Wagner, the human rights barrister who has spent a lot of time explaining the Covid laws, was not so sure. “This is wrong,” he told Jenkinson.

“A fixed penalty notice can only be given if the police *reasonably believe someone has committed a criminal offence* under the coronavirus regulations. They are not minor. On the contrary, the PM and government spent 2 years telling us they were deadly serious.”

Boris Johnson

The prime minister is sometimes arguably his own worst enemy. In an attempt to change the story, Johnson accused Keir Starmer of having “failed” to prosecute Jimmy Savile when he was director of prosecution. The claim, which has been widely discredited, was cited by at least one senior Tory MP as a reason why they had submitted a letter calling for a no confidence vote.

Share Button