Downing Street

Boris Johnson has denied he tried to block an official leak inquiry following a series of incendiary allegations by his former top adviser Dominic Cummings. In a furious outburst, Cummings accused the PM of seeking to halt the investigation into the leak of plans for a second lockdown after he was warned a close friend of […]

Dominic Cummings told Boris Johnson plans to have donors “secretly pay” to revamp his official Downing Street flat were “unethical, foolish” and “possibly illegal”, the ex-Number 10 aide said. The prime minister stopped speaking to his top adviser about the issue last year, Cummings said. He said he had refused to help Johnson organise payments […]

Downing Street has outlined details of Boris Johnson’s communications with billionaire James Dyson, but stopped short of publishing their messages amid a lobbying row. The prime minister insisted there is nothing “sleazy” about their discussions, but the summary published by No 10 falls short of what many had expected. The publication outlines how the entrepreneur was […]

Sir Keir Starmer has called for an investigation into renovation work on Boris Johnson’s official flat. The Electoral Commission says it is trying to establish whether money being funneled into the project needs to be considered as political donations. There have been ongoing reports about the cost of the refurbishments to the Downing Street flat, […]

Political journalist Robert Peston has claimed that Boris Johnson is on the path to “mutually assured nuclear destruction” as Dominic Cummings is brought into the lobbying row. Cummings has been accused of being “bitter” over the government’s “great progress” since departing as the prime minister’s senior aide. It has been claimed he leaked text messages between […]

David Cameron has hit back at claims Greensill Capital had been begging for access to the government-backed Covid loan scheme. Cameron said it was “nonsense” to say the finance firm has been “in difficulty” when he lobbed on its behalf. But Labour said the company, which later collapsed, had been “desperate for access to taxpayer […]

A Tory minister has been left humiliated live on-air after she admitted to not having Boris Johnson’s private number. Culture minister Caroline Dinenage said the prime minister did not give his number out “willy-nilly” in an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain, adding she did not even have it. Dinenage then defended billionaire businessman James Dyson for possessing […]

Downing Street is embarking on an incompetent battle to preserve the Union Boris Johnson doesn’t care about Scotland. There are a lot of complex elements to the government’s anti-independence strategy, but at the heart of it is that one simple fact. He doesn’t understand Scotland and he isn’t interested in it. There couldn’t be a worse […]

Downing Street has announced an internal inquiry into the leak of private text messages between Boris Johnson and billionaire James Dyson over the tax status of his employees. Johnson promised the entrepreneur he would “fix” the issue after personal lobbying from Dyson as he sought to build ventilators at the height of the coronavirus crisis, […]

Whitehall officials still fail to take working-class people seriously, Boris Johnson’s former communications director has said in his first public comments since departing No 10. Lee Cain also suggested on Thursday that the government could have averted its “terrible tangle” over free school meals if more senior politicians had experienced food poverty. He left Downing […]

Dominic Raab has clashed with MPs as he sought to defend a cut to the government’s foreign aid budget by £8billion. Raab faced the International Development Committee on Thursday after last night’s confirmation that official development assistance (ODA) was being slashed from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income. Committee chairwoman Sarah Champion accused the foreign secretary of  […]

Downing Street has scrapped the Pick for Britain campaign to recruit British workers for seasonal farm roles after as little as 5% signed up. According to The Grocer, the government is now focusing on removing barriers to recruitment rather than running another national campaign. This comes as estimations suggest Britons made up between 5% and 11% of the […]

A former defence minister has described Boris Johnson’s government as a “cesspit” and the “most distrustful, awful environment” that he has ever worked in. A day after quitting his job, Johnny Mercer launched an extraordinary attack on Johnson and fellow ministers, accusing them of being “cowards” for backtracking on promises to end “vexatious historical investigations” of veterans who […]

Academics have urged Number 10 to grant the EU ambassador in London full diplomatic status, warning failure to do so could be emboldening Europe’s enemies. Britain has so far refused to grant the ambassador full status, arguing the EU is an organisation rather than a country. But experts are urging a government rethink, warning the ongoing rift is emboldening […]

Boris Johnson has been challenged over his conduct with businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri during a press conference from Downing Street. The prime minister was asked if he had acted with “honesty and integrity” in line with the code of conduct for people in public life, following reports about his relationship with the American businesswoman. Arcuri made […]

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer was reportedly sacked by Number 10 despite hours earlier saying he was a “valued” minister. There had been speculation Mercer was intending to resign after frustration at a lack of progress over legislation to protect British veterans who served during the Troubles. Downing Street confirmed last night that the prime minister had […]

Boris Johnson personally promised Sir James Dyson he would “fix” an issue over the tax status of his employees after he was directly lobbied by the entrepreneur, it has been reported. The BBC said it has seen a series of text messages between the two men after Sir James was unable to get the assurances […]

Downing Street has scrapped plans for White House-style press conferences despite more than £2.6 million having already been spent on the media room. The room in No 9 Downing Street has been kitted out with cameras and rows of chairs for journalists, and the prime minister’s press secretary Allegra Stratton was due to field questions […]

A UN group has “misrepresented” the findings of a report into racial disparities after it claimed it attempts to “normalise white supremacy”, the government has said. The UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent said it “categorically rejects and condemns” the findings of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (Cred). The […]

Boris Johnson has cancelled his visit to Delhi next week, as the coronavirus crisis worsens in India and concerns grow over a new variant there. The prime minister’s already-curtailed trip was scrapped altogether on Monday, with plans for him to instead speak to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi later in the month. Downing Street issued […]

A minister has confirmed Boris Johnson’s trip to India later this month was “under review” amid concerns over a new Covid variant in the country. This comes as Downing Street last week said the trip would be “slightly shorter” than planned with important meetings taking place all in one day. Top UK scientists have been calling […]

Boris Johnson risks losing his election gains against Labour if he does not clean up the “shameful” Westminster lobbying controversy, a Conservative grandee has warned. Sir Bernard Jenkin, chair of the Commons Liaison Committee – made up of senior MPs, has urged the prime minister to get a grip on the lobbying system following a […]

Boris Johnson has been urged to act after an Indian Covid variant with potentially harmful mutations was discovered in the UK. Scientists said the appearance of the ‘double mutant strain was a “disaster” and branded the prime minister “crazy” for still considering a trade trip to India later this month. Questions have been raised as […]

Further links have emerged between Whitehall and Greensill Capital, the collapsed lender that David Cameron lobbied for. David Brierwood combined a role as a crown representative in the Cabinet Office with being a director at Greensill for three and a half years. The Cabinet Office stressed that Brierwood’s role was nothing to do with supply […]

Peers have defeated the government in demanding help for an estimated 250,000 “mortgage prisoners”. The House of Lords backed by 273 votes to 235, majority 38, a change to the Financial Services Bill, which would require the regulator to introduce an interest rate cap for affected households. It would also ensure in some cases access […]

Boris Johnson intervened after a Saudi bid to buy Newcastle United ran into difficulties, it has been reported. The Daily Mail said the prime minister asked one of his top aides to investigate after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warned a row over the sale of the Premier League club could damage relations between […]

Conservative MPs have voted down a proposal for a parliamentary inquiry into the Greensill lobbying scandal. MPs rejected Labour’s bid to establish a committee to investigate the lobbying of government by 357 votes to 262, with a majority of 95. Under the proposal, ministers would be forced before parliament to give evidence and the government would […]

The government’s LGBT panel has been scrapped after three members quit last month. A government spokesperson said a replacement panel “will be set out in due course”, the BBC has revealed. Some members told the national broadcaster they were willing to stay on when their terms ended on March 31. Panellists have also said they […]

The former head of Whitehall procurement became an adviser to Greensill Capital while still working as a civil servant in a move approved by the Cabinet Office, it has emerged. Downing Street has announced an independent review into how the failed firm secured government contracts, following a series of reports on former prime minister David […]

The Department for Education has still not fulfilled its pledge to provide 1.3 million laptops and tablets to disadvantaged pupils, figures have suggested. A school leaders’ union has criticised the government’s “painfully slow” progress one month after all pupils in England returned to the classroom. Data from the Department for Education (DfE) shows 1,295,752 laptops […]

A scathing new report has accused Boris Johnson of “speaking for England alone” and having “considerable indifference” to the devolved nations. Research from the University of Cambridge’s Bennett Institute for Public Policy accuses Westminster of treating devolved administrations with contempt and handling the maintaining of the Union as “someone else’s problem”. The “Union at the Crossroads” document comes […]

Significant differences remain between the government and the European Union over the operation of the Brexit deal in Northern Ireland, No 10 has said. Talks have continued between the two sides, with European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic and Brexit minister Lord Frost picking up the phone last week. But Downing Street said there are still […]