Rishi Sunak: Boris Johnson ‘asked me to do something I wasn’t prepared to do’
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Rishi Sunak has hit back at Boris Johnson in a row over his resignation honours list, revealing the former PM asked him to “do something I was not prepared to” by overruling the approval committee for peerages.
Taking questions at the London Tech week conference, Mr Sunak said: “Boris Johnson asked me to do something that I wasn’t prepared to do, because I didn’t think it was right.” He was asked whether anyone in No 10 had intervened in the former prime minister’s resignation honours list.
“That was to either overrule the Holac (House of Lords Appointments Commission) committee or to make promises to people”, Mr Sunak added.
“Now, I wasn’t prepared to do that. I didn’t think it was right and if people don’t like that, then tough.”
Mr Johnson dramatically resigned as MP on Friday over the outcome of the Partygate inquiry, with two of his allies – Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams – also quitting with immediate effect.
The Privileges Committee will meet today to conclude their inquiry into whether the former prime minister misled Parliament over No 10 lockdown parties.
Rishi Sunak: ‘Boris Johnson asked me to do something that I wasn’t prepared to do’
Rishi Sunak said Boris Johnson asked him to “do something I wasn’t prepared to do”, when asked about whether anyone in No 10 had intervened in the former prime minister’s resignation honours list.
Taking questions at the London Tech week conference, Mr Sunak said: “Boris Johnson asked me to do something that I wasn’t prepared to do, because I didn’t think it was right.”
“That was to either overrule the Holac (House of Lords Appointments Commission) committee or to make promises to people.
“Now, I wasn’t prepared to do that. I didn’t think it was right and if people don’t like that, then tough.”
‘Life moves on’ after Boris Johnson, Michael Gove has said
Michael Gove has said “life moves on” after Boris Johnson’s resignation as an MP - in the latest attempt by the government to draw a line under the rows engulfing the former prime minister.
The levelling up secretary highlighted what he called Mr Johnson’s “significant contributions” to public life, but emphasised his decision to stand down. “The work of government goes on,” Mr Gove said.
And in a separate interview with the BBC, Mr Gove added: “Boris’s decision to step down means that he’s no longer a member of parliament, and life moves on.
“As for Boris’s future, that will be a matter for him.”
As he quit unexpectedly on Friday, Mr Johnson used his 1,000-word exit statement to leave the door open for a return to Westminster. In a furious outburst, in which he attacked Rishi Sunak, Mr Johnson said he was leaving parliament “for now”.
More than 600 migrants cross Channel in 2023 record - days after Sunak claimed plan was ‘working’
Figures released by the Home Office show that 616 people arrived in 12 boats on Sunday, bringing the total so far this year to around 8,400.
At the same point last year, the total had just passed 10,000, and last Monday the prime minister hailed the reduction as proof that “our approach is working”.
But Border Force sources told The Independent crossings had been suppressed by weeks of rough seas in the Channel, and experts said much of the reduction had resulted from a drop in Albanian migrants rather than an overall change.
Our Home Affairs Editor Lizzie Dearden reports:
Johnson ally accuses Sunak of having ‘secretly blocked’ peerages of Nadine Dorries and others
An ally of Boris Johnson has accused Rishi Sunak of having “secretly blocked” the peerages of former culture secretary Nadine Dorries and others.
Responding to the Prime Minister accusing his predecessor of asking him to do something he “didn’t think was right” over the resignation honours list, the ally said: “Rishi secretly blocked the peerages for Nadine and others.
“He refused to ask for them to undergo basic checks that could have taken only a few weeks or even days.
“That is how he kept them off the list - without telling Boris Johnson.”
Watch: Boris Johnson ‘asked me to do something I wasn’t prepared to do’, says Rishi Sunak
“Boris Johnson asked me to do something that I wasn’t prepared to do, because I didn’t think it was right”, Rishi Sunak said when asked about whether anyone in No 10 had intervened in the former prime minister’s resignation honours list.
The prime minister made the comments as he addressed the opening day of the London Tech Week conference.
“That was to either overrule the Holac (House of Lords Appointments Commission) committee or to make promises to people”, Mr Sunak added.
“Now, I wasn’t prepared to do that. I didn’t think it was right and if people don’t like that, then tough.”
Watch here:
Defiant Sunak hits back at Boris Johnson over honours row
In his first public remarks since his predecessor quit as an MP over the Commons partygate inquiry, the prime minister claimed Mr Johnson asked him to either overrule the committee which vets peerages - known as Holac - or “make promises to people”.
“I was not prepared to do that,” Mr Sunak said defiantly. “If people don’t like that, then tough.”
His comments come amid a row with Mr Johnson and his allies, who blame Downing Street for Conservative MPs failing to appear on his resignation honours list despite them being nominated for the House of Lords.
Holac has confirmed it did not support eight peerage nominees put forward by Mr Johnson. It is understood Mr Sunak would not promise peerages to MPs in the future in order to avoid potentially damaging by-elections for the government.
My colleague Archie Mitchell reports:
‘When I got this job I said I was going to do things differently’ - Sunak
“When I got this job I said I was going to do things differently because I wanted to change politics and that’s what I’m doing”, Rishi Sunak added when asked about whether anyone in No 10 had intervened in the former prime minister’s resignation honours list.
“And I’m also keen to make sure that we change how our country works and that’s what I’m here talking about today: making sure that we can grow our economy, that we can maintain our leadership in the innovative industries of the future.”
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, ex-minister Nigel Adams and Cop26 president Sir Alok Sharma were reportedly put forward by Mr Johnson for peerages.
Ms Dorries and Mr Adams have resigned as MPs since being omitted, giving Mr Sunak the headache of three separate by-elections, with Mr Johnson also quitting over complaints about a Commons partygate inquiry.
Voices: Boris’s resignation honours are the latest in more than 100 years of corruption and cronyism
Somewhat charmingly, the Cabinet Office has a website in which it invites people to “nominate someone amazing for a national honour”. The honours system, the site tells us, “Celebrates the people who go above and beyond to change the world around them for the better”. These are people, the Cabinet Office claims, who have “gained the respect of their peers” and “displayed moral and physical courage”.
You do not have to be immensely cynical to find it hard to reconcile the stated purpose of the honours system with how it works in reality. Take, for example, the honours list of Boris Johnson, who resigned on Friday in a manner that can described as considerably less than “honourable”, let alone “amazing”. Like the former PM himself, whose departure along with two of his allies has already triggered three by-elections and created an enormous headache for his party, it is difficult when looking at his list to find the “respect”, “morality”, and certainly “courage”.
The honours system is as broken as just about every other system in this country, and has been for more than a century, writes Guy Walters:
Keir Starmer tells Rishi Sunak to ‘find a backbone’ and call snap election
Keir Starmer has told Rishi Sunak to “find a backbone” and call a snap general election – after three quick-fire MP resignations left the prime minister facing by-election battles on multiple fronts.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey also echoed Labour’s call – with both opposition parties hoping to capitalise on Tory woes and capture seats at the by-elections.
Mr Adams and Ms Dorries had been tipped for peerages in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours but neither featured in the published list.
Meanwhile Mr Johnson announced his exit on Friday by launching a scathing attack on a Commons Privileges Committee investigation into his conduct during the pandemic.
Jon Stone has the full story:
Watch: UK should be ‘grateful’ for what Boris Johnson did as prime minister, says Michael Gove
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, the cabinet minister suggested the UK should be “grateful” to Mr Johnson.
“All of us will want to be grateful for what he did during the Covid pandemic, when he initiated the vaccine task force... and was responsible for the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe,” Mr Gove said.
“We should be grateful for that, grateful also for the staunch support that he gave to Ukraine.”
Watch here:
UK should be ‘grateful’ for what Boris Johnson did as PM, says Michael Gove
Michael Gove paid tribute to Boris Johnson as he steps down as an MP, praising the former prime minister for his record on Covid and Ukraine. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, the cabinet minister suggested the UK should be “grateful” to Mr Johnson. “All of us will want to be grateful for what he did during the Covid pandemic, when he initiated the vaccine task force... and was responsible for the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe,” Mr Gove said. “We should be grateful for that, grateful also for the staunch support that he gave to Ukraine.”
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2023-06-12 10:46:51Z
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