Boris Johnson

Scotland’s departure from the United Kingdom would lead to more of the politics pro-Europeans have fought against. Douglas Alexander’s excellent article seems to have stirred up some nationalist reaction in your letters page but none seems to answer the fundamental question raised, which is that if you think Brexit is a mistake, then why on […]

A vaccine ban would essentially get Boris Johnson off the hook over coronavirus and Brexit.  Last week’s letters were full of debate about vaccine rates, but one thing is certain: if the EU does go ahead with its proposed vaccine export ban, it will essentially get Boris Johnson off the hook for both coronavirus and […]

Boris Johnson’s most senior black adviser has resigned as ministers face a backlash after a government-backed review concluded there is no evidence of institutional racism in the UK. Samuel Kasumu has quit his role as a special adviser to the prime minister on civil society but will stay in post until May to continue work […]

Rishi Sunak has admitted he was opposed to having a circuit break lockdown in September, insisting there “wasn’t a clear-cut case” for doing so. Ministers last year were accused of ignoring scientific advice after Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) recommended at a meeting on September 21 that a lockdown should be implemented to slow […]

Voters in Wales will “extinguish the Corbyn flame” by ending Welsh Labour’s 22-year reign in government, the Welsh Conservatives’ leader in the Senedd has said. Andrew RT Davies said putting his party in government in Wales after May 6 would “finish the job” started with Boris Johnson’s landslide 2019 UK election victory, which led to […]

Labour has ratcheted up pressure on Boris Johnson over the £200,000 renovation of his Downing Street flat by calling on the Electoral Commission to launch an investigation into the funding. Cat Smith, a shadow cabinet office minister, instructed solicitors at Edwards Duthie Shamash to write to the Electoral Commission. In a letter sent by the […]

A race equality think tank has questioned the suitability of Tony Sewell as chairman of the racial disparity commission after the academic previously claimed that evidence of the existence of institutional racism was “flimsy”. Dr Sewell, chairman of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, said there was evidence of overt racism in Britain but […]

Dominic Cummings was apparently “scouting out the complex” for the production of the new Novavax vaccine in the UK, Boris Johnson joked with business leaders during a meeting. Johnson decided against a Barnard Castle gag at his press conference on Monday where he announced Britain would produce the Novavax jab in the North East, saving it […]

Boris Johnson’s racial disparities commission is reportedly poised to recommend that the term BAME should no longer be used by public bodies and companies. The Telegraph reported that scrapping the acronym – standing for black, Asian and minority ethnic – is a key proposal in a report to be published this week by the Commission […]

The government is seeking a “lessons learnt analyst” to help Test and Trace learnt from mistakes made during coronavirus pandemic.  The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has posted a vacancy a the year-long “senior executive officer” role, which will be based in the Joint Biosecurity Centre and be paid £45,000. The job advert for the post, […]

Boris Johnson has revealed he has already booked a visit to the pub for when restrictions ease but suggested he might wait for a haircut, despite saying he “badly” needed one. The prime minister echoed the thoughts of the nation as he admitted a trip to the hairdressers was overdue, with salons and barbers forced […]

Welcome to the 2021 Maskies! Yes folks, commemorating 12 months of lockdown, it’s the first – and oh please dear God ONLY – annual Maskies Awards, in which we celebrate those who’ve made the job of being a satirist just that little bit easier over the course of this last plague-ridden year.  THE ‘SNAP YOURSELF […]

The prime minister will make his debut appearance in Downing Street’s newly-completed White House-style briefing room next week when he leads a coronavirus press briefing. Downing Street has confirmed that work on its media room in No 9 had cost £2.6 million to install is finished. Labour previously branded the hi-tech refurbishment a “vanity project”. […]

MPs have called for an investigation into whether Boris Johnson broke the ministerial code in remarks he made about the procurement of Covid contracts. Labour’s Debbie Abrahams, Greens MP Caroline Lucas and Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran have written to the cabinet secretary Simon Case demanding an investigation into the prime minister’s comments. Johnson falsely […]

The Commons speaker has been forced to reprimand Boris Johnson following his comments about Labour’s position on Kill the Bill protests. Sir Lindsay Hoyle interrupted Prime Minister’s Questions to rebuff remarks Johnson made accusing Labour of supporting the violent protests in Bristol over the weekend. Johnson was responding to a question by the leader of […]

Vaccine campaigners have accused Boris Johnson of a “warped” understanding of the crisis after he joked that “greed” and capitalism had contributed to the success of the jabs. The prime minister made the comments at a private meeting of Tory MPs, but then hastily sought to backtrack as he praised AstraZeneca for supplying the Oxford vaccine at […]

Sir Keir Starmer renewed calls for a public inquiry into the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as the nation marked the anniversary of the first national lockdown. The Labour leader said on Tuesday that NHS staff and bereaved families are owed answers about what went wrong in the last year so the mistakes never […]

People will be allowed to leave the UK to prepare a second home for rent or sale under new Covid travel rules coming into force on March 29. The latest restrictions will include a list of specific “reasonable excuses to travel” outside the UK, including what Labour has dubbed the “Stanley Johnson clause”. The prime […]

Boris Johnson has said coronavirus restrictions are being eased “once and for all” as the UK marks the anniversary of the first national lockdown. The prime minister offered his “sincere condolences to those who have lost loved ones” and praised the “great spirit” displayed ahead of the nation pausing in remembrance on Tuesday. With the […]

The government has acquired a second plane painted in the colours of the Union flag to ferry the prime minister and other dignitaries around on short-haul trips. The six-month-old Airbus A321 was captured at Stansted Airport at the weekend with the new red, white and blue paintwork, The Independent revealed. Downing Street came under fire last […]

Britain must brace for another wave of coronavirus infections being imported from Europe as cases rise on the continent, Boris Johnson has warned. The prime minister said he expected the third wave of Covid-19 infections, seen in countries such as France and Italy, to “wash up on our shores as well”. But Johnson said he […]

Boris Johnson is expected to ask European leaders this week to dismiss any proposals to block coronavirus vaccine exports to the UK. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has ramped up the rhetoric this weekend, saying the EU has the power to “forbid” exports, adding: “That is the message to AstraZeneca.” The warning reflects […]

While Indyref2 still looks the most likely end of the UK as we know it, and the SNP makes headlines, another constituent part’s fate is in the balance. Compare the British government’s approach to Scotland and Northern Ireland as it attempts to address the chaotic consequences of Brexit. The post-Brexit mood in both Scotland and […]

As the pride of the British fleet prepares to sail to the South China Seas, MARK MARDELL offers a timely analysis of what ‘Global Britain’ might actually mean. There’s little that says ‘Global Britain’ so well as traveling halfway around the world to deliver the message “Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough!” The Royal […]

TIM WALKER on the tax implications for the prime minister’s controversial Downing Street makeover. Boris Johnson‘s cunning plan to have party donors fund the £200,000 refurbishment of the Downing Street flat he shares with Carrie Symonds could trigger a significant personal tax liability for him. By any reckoning, this amounts to a “gift” and the Ministerial Code […]

Downing Street has sought to distance Boris Johnson from Jacob Rees-Mogg’s verbal attack on a journalist, but declined to issue an apology. No 10 said on Friday they were “not comments that the PM would’ve made,” but a spokesman chose not to rebuke the Commons leader. Rees-Mogg abused the HuffPost journalist after he published a […]

The prime minister is due to receive his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a host of European countries announced they would return to using the jab following fresh safety assurances. A slew of countries, including Germany and France, reversed their decision to temporarily pause its use over blood clot concerns after the European […]

Priti Patel’s clampdown on demonstrators is part of a chilling pattern of government moves to silence dissent Priti Patel is clamping down on the right to protest. She won’t admit it, of course. When she presented her new police, crime, sentencing and courts bill to the Commons this week, she insisted it had no impact […]

Which minister’s mate charged the government £2.6million for the new No.10 Downing Street press briefing room, asks Mitch Benn as he hands out political awards to Boris Johnson and Priti Patel Hello and welcome to this, the first of my columns to be 100% compliant with the terms of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts […]

Boris Johnson has been reprimanded over misrepresenting Labour’s stance on the police bill that passed through the Commons Tuesday evening. Johnson was gently rebuffed by Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle at the conclusion of today’s Prime Minister Questions after he claimed Labour had voted against a bill on the wrong grounds. Responding to Sir Keir […]

Dominic Cummings has revealed the four demands he made of Boris Johnson before joining No 10 as the prime minister’s chief adviser. Cummings told a group of MPs in his first public appearance since leaving No 10 that he persuaded the prime minister to sort of the “disaster zone” of Whitehall. Appearing before the Commons […]

Dominic Cummings is to appear before MPs for the first time since he quit as Boris Johnson’s chief aide.     Cummings be questioned by MPs over the government’s new “high-risk” scientific research agency that he championed before his dramatic departure from No 10. In his first public appearance since the dramatic departure late last year, the […]