Downing Street

The government has been accused of rewriting chunks of its reports on racial disparities, an expert has claimed. Significant sections of the report published on March 31 – which has been widely criticised – were not written by the 12 commission appointed by Boris Johnson last July, the Observer reported. It also said none of the […]

David Cameron has accepted he should have communicated with the government “through only the most formal of channels” as he acknowledged he made mis-steps over the Greensill Capital lobbying controversy. Breaking his weeks of silence, the former prime minister said in a statement that having “reflected on this at length” he accepts there are “important […]

Downing Street has deleted a blog that talks up the economic prospects of Scottish independence, sparking concerns it was actively stifling freedom of speech. The SNP condemned the move and said it showed the government was “terrified” of the growing support for a Yes vote. It comes after a high-profile scientist warned the removal of the article, co-authored […]

The apparent indifference of many in the UK to allegations facing the prime minister is not shared elsewhere. Especially in Ireland, which has a recent history of indulging political corruption. 

Labour is calling for an investigation into Boris Johnson’s verbal attack on London mayor Sadiq Khan during a televised government press conference on coronavirus. The prime minister accused the Labour incumbent of “blowing” Transport for London (TfL) finances through an “irresponsible fares policy”, claims which have been rejected by Khan. The remarks were made from Downing […]

Downing Street has been accused of “abusing BBC neutrality” by hosting daily coronavirus briefings which attack opponents during the election period. The BBC has held urgent talks over the briefings after opposition parties including the SNP accused the prime minister of going on a “political rant” at the latest event. During Monday’s briefing, the prime minister […]

The London Labour party is considering making a formal complaint to the BBC and the head of the civil service about Boris Johnson’s verbal attack on Sadiq Khan during a government press conference on coronavirus. Johnson accused Khan of “blowing” Transport for London’s (TfL) finances through an “irresponsible fares policy” after he had left them […]

Legal campaigners are taking the government to court contending the £4.8billion Levelling Up Fund is unlawful as 40 out of 45 scheme to be approved had at least one Tory MP. The Good Law Project claim Rishi Sunak and Robert Jenrick’s constituencies are among the areas to have benefitted from that a funding formula that […]

Boris Johnson’s former deputy at the Foreign Office has claimed the prime minister is an “embarrassing buffoon” in a new book. Sir Alan Duncan, who was MP for Rutland and Melton from 1992 until the last election and who served on the Conservative front bench over a period of 18 years, also criticises former PMs […]

While wealthier newspapers with larger readerships bowed the knee to the prime minister, this proud regional broadsheet refused to toe the line. Few in academia will profess ignorance of “no-platforming”. This expression of ideological zealotry seeks to restrict debate to orthodoxies with which its supporters sympathise. It restricts freedom of speech upon which, since the […]

Tony Blair has said he did not enjoy being the UK prime minister due to the huge responsibility it entailed. Blair, who was prime minister between 1997 and 2007, also said it was “crazy” that the experience required for the role is so “nugatory”. The comments were made during an interview with BBC Radio 4 […]

The chairman of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has defended it against accusations of putting a “positive spin on slavery and empire”, saying that to suggest it was “trying to downplay the evil of the slave trade” is “absurd”. The commission’s report into racial disparities in Britain, published on Wednesday, was hit by […]

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 […]

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 […]

David Cameron “did absolutely nothing wrong” in his dealings with Greensill Capital, according to a senior government minister. Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng indicated his belief that “everything was above board” with the former prime minister’s connection to the financial services company which collapsed earlier this month. Speaking on Sky News, Kwarteng said that, with Cameron […]

A lobbying watchdog has concluded that David Cameron’s activities “do not fall within the criteria” that requires registration on the Register of Consultant Lobbyists. The Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists said that the former prime minister was an employee at Greensill and so not required to register, following an investigation into whether he […]

Talks are to be held with Brussels over post-Brexit trade difficulties between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, cabinet office minister Lord Frost has said. The Tory frontbencher told peers at his first dedicated question time in the Lords, that a “specialised committee” would meet on Friday March 26, to consider “all the issues” related to implementing […]

Consultants Deloitte is being paid to help ministers draft parliamentary answers to defend the Test and Trace programme. The responsibility forms part of many under the £323million worth of work Deloitte was drafted to do for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the National Testing Programme. Four different contracts show that Test […]

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 […]

Campaigners and charities have condemned the government’s plans to overhaul the asylum system, with some branding the plans as “inhumane”. Particularly of concern are plans to judge asylum seekers on how they arrived in the UK and not on merit. Migrant Voice said the proposals would condemn asylum seekers “to a life in limbo with […]

British weather and “grow-your-own food” will be among the themes celebrated during the Festival of Brexit, organisers have announced. A total 10 teams have been chosen to host events which includes showcasing the largest home-made vegetable patch project in modern times. The carnival remains a contentious issue among the public who say it is ‘politically motivated’ and a waste of £120million […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Liberal Democrats are pushing ahead with a pledge to overhaul the UK’s asylum seeker laws and boost refugee intake numbers at this weekend’s party conference. Members will be asked to vote on boosting the UK’s refugee intake to 10,000 applicants a year and strengthen family reunion rights.   A motion being brought forward by former Lib […]

Asylum seekers could be sent to processing centres abroad under Priti Patel’s plans to overhaul the immigration system, according to reports. The British overseas territory of Gibraltar is a location under consideration by officials, according to The Times, as well as the Isle of Man and other islands off the British coast. Priti Patel has […]

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 […]