Babak Belurs

Kamis, 20 Januari 2022

Boris Johnson lockdown parties: David Davis telling PM to resign is 'damaging', Sajid Javid admits - Sky News

David Davis telling Boris Johnson to resign over the Downing Street lockdown parties is "damaging" for the government, Sajid Javid has said.

Mr Davis, a Tory grandee and former minister, stood up in the House of Commons on Wednesday and told the prime minister: "In the name of God, go."

He is the most senior Conservative to call for Mr Johnson to resign, saying the PM had failed to take responsibility for his actions over lockdown parties in Downing Street.

Live updates as Boris Johnson faces letters of no co nfidence

Health Secretary Mr Javid told Kay Burley on Sky News: "I've known David Davis for many years, got huge respect for him, we don't always agree on everything and that is one thing I don't agree with him on.

"It is damaging, of course it is. If you said to me would I rather he didn't get him and say something like that then, of course, I wouldn't want to see that but that's the decision he made.

"The prime minister has come to the House of Commons last week, he has set out and apologised, set out what has happened but most importantly I think he has asked for this investigation to be done, for the time and space to be given for it to be completed and the facts to be established.

"And once they are, the PM will come very quickly back to parliament and submit himself so David Davis, or anyone else, can ask them whatever question they want."

Just moments before Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, where Mr Davis called for the PM's resignation, Bury South MP Christian Wakeford defected from the Conservatives to Labour.

Mr Javid said he "was sad to see Christian go" and admitted it is "never good for any political party to see one of your own leave and defect".

He added: "I feel sorry for the people of bury South, they voted Tory.

"I think a by-election would be welcome, I think Christian would be happy with a by-election.

"Given the people of Bury South rightly voted Conservative in 2019, they wanted to get Brexit done, they wanted to see a strong economy and now they've got an MP that has changed his affiliation without their permission, why not give them a say?"

The Labour Party has said it does not want a by-election, with Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves telling Sky News we should wait until the next general election.

Mr Wakeford's defection came soon after about 12 Conservative MPs, also from the 2019 intake, handed in letters of no confidence in the prime minister.

The PM's premiership looked very rocky on Wednesday morning but many Conservative MPs used PMQs to stand up and express their support for Mr Johnson.

However, this has not halted talk of him being ousted and a leadership race taking place soon.

Mr Javid is high on the list of potentials to replace Mr Johnson and would not rule out running.

"There's a good lineup of talent I would say in the party there and so there is no leadership election, we have got a PM he is getting on with the job and that is what matters," he told Sky News.

"There is no leadership election."

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2022-01-20 08:26:15Z
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Texas synagogue siege: British gunman told brother 'I'm coming home in a body bag' in chilling final phone call - Sky News

The chilling final audio call of the British gunman who took four people hostage in a Texas synagogue has revealed the terrorist told his brother: "I'm coming home in a body bag."

Malik Faisal Akram, 44, was shot dead by an FBI SWAT team 10 hours into the stand-off, and all four hostages were released unharmed.

In the expletive-laden phone call, released by the Jewish Chronicle, he made a number of threats and antisemitic remarks and claimed to have "promised" his younger brother "on his deathbed" he would "go down a martyr".

One of his younger brothers reportedly died three months ago from COVID.

Movements of British hostage-taker in days leading up to death revealed

His other brother, Gulbar Akram spoke to him from a police station in Blackburn and attempted to persuade him to surrender, but Malik Akram told him: "Don't cry at my funeral. Because guess what, I've come to die G, ok?"

Gulbar later told Sky News Akram was on the phone with his two teenage children when he was killed.

Akram ranted about American conflicts overseas and said: "I'm setting a precedent."

His actions, he said, would "[open] the doors for every youngster in England to enter America and f*** with them".

When Gulbar urged himself to end the siege and hand himself in to the police, Akram said he had been "praying to Allah for two years for this".

"I'd rather live one day as a lion than 100 years as a jackal," he added.

"I'm going to go toe-to-toe with [police] and they can shoot me dead... I'm coming home in a body bag."

British man who took four hostage in Colleyville 'had been investigated by MI5'

He repeatedly asked for the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist imprisoned for having ties to Al Qaeda.

But when Gulbar told him they would not release Siddiqui, he replied: "Who gives a f***, listen to me. Allah is with me.

"I'm not worried in the slightest, I don't even flinch, man."

Aafia Siddiqui - who is the Pakistani prisoner at the centre of the incident?

Akram's family has said he was "suffering from mental health issues".

"There was nothing we could have said to him or done that would have convinced him to surrender," his brother Gulbar said in a statement.

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2022-01-20 06:56:15Z
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Rabu, 19 Januari 2022

PMQs as it happened: Tory MP defects as ex-minister tells Johnson to go - BBC News

British politics, particularly Prime Minister’s Questions, is often compared to a theatre.

But like many great dramas, it’s often a surprising character who provides the plot twist.

Today’s defection to Labour from the, formerly Tory, MP Christian Wakeford has managed to unite Boris Johnson’s critics and supporters on his backbenches.

One former minister, who has strongly criticised the handling of parties in Downing Street, said Wakeford had provided an “alternative target for rage” and calmed the mood in the Tory party.

Peers of Christian Wakeford, elected alongside him in 2019, have described feeling burned - “betrayed”, “let down” and upset by his actions.

In a party where loyalties were all over the place last night - Tory MPs have united in feeling his behaviour was perhaps ‘disloyalty gone one step too far’.

But this distraction doesn’t mean Boris Johnson is out of the woods. More than a dozen Tory MPs are believed to have submitted letters of no confidence in him. The exact number is still unknown. More Tory MPs are waiting until Sue Gray’s report is published before expressing their anger publicly.

Wakeford’s defection may have stuck a plaster over some of the Tory party fractures — but last night’s briefing war between different groups of the party shows just how fragile the situation still is for Boris Johnson.

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2022-01-19 18:30:00Z
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Christian Wakeford: Bury residents react to Tory MP's defection to Labour - BBC News

Christian Wakeford was elected as the Tory MP for Bury South at the 2019 general election but has now defected to the Labour Party. He was cheered by Labour MPs as he crossed the floor of the Commons chamber to join his new colleagues. But what do the people of Bury make of his decision?

At Rosylee coffee house opposite the MP's office in Radcliffe, where the shutters are up, there was a feisty conversation about his defection.

Debbie Clark, 52, who lives in the Radcliffe area of Bury, voted Conservative for the first time at the last election.

"I am disgusted," she told BBC North West Tonight.

"I voted for the party. He should resign and we should have a by-election."

Her husband Fred, also 52, agrees.

"He should not have the right to go to Labour," he says.

Maxine Ballington, 51, also voted Conservative because the previous MP stood as an independent.

She says she is shocked by Mr Wakeford's defection but agrees with his calls for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign.

"I've lost two people to Covid. People were fined for having house parties. How can he go to a party at Downing Street?"

Nick Hubble, from Prestwich, says he has "respect" for the MP's decision after reading his letter resigning from the Conservative party.

"I thought fair play to him, he had obviously been plagued by his conscience," he adds.

"I understand people have voted for a Tory MP and they now have a Labour MP but it is more complex than that."

Mr Hubble, 49, believes some people "vote for personalities" rather than political parties so his defection "may not be [so] drastic".

The translator says Mr Wakeford has been a "good constituency MP" and "puts his back into it... which should stand him in good stead".

Mr Hubble is part of Walk Ride Prestwich and Whitefield, which is campaigning for better cycling lanes, and hopes the defection will not have an impact on its work.

"He was due to go on a ride with us this week. We hope he can still commit to support [our campaign]," he says.

David Collins runs Marie's Coffee Shop close to Mr Wakeford's constituency office, which is painted Tory-blue.

"I probably wouldn't vote for either of them anyway, Labour or Conservative. They're all as bad as each other," he says.

"They all promise they're going to do things and none of it ever materialises.

"You wouldn't think you were able to jump ship halfway through, would you?"

Meanwhile, Bury North's Conservative MP James Daly said in a statement on his defecting neighbour he was "extremely disappointed having only heard in the press a minute before he walked across the Commons".

"I'm astounded he's abandoned the party that's brought millions to Bury," he added.

"Bury Labour Party has done nothing for local people and I will ensure the town still has a Conservative representative."

He said the new Labour MP "should resign so a by-election can take place".

Labour-controlled Bury Council said it welcomed Mr Wakeford into "the family".

"This defection is a damning indictment of a Tory government and a hapless prime minister that are out of touch with the people of places like Bury," councillor Eamonn O'Brien, leader of Bury Council, added.

The Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham also thanked the MP for "having the courage to call out a government failing to deliver on its promises to level up the north of England".

"People in Bury South deserve better and together we will make sure their voice is heard," he said.

"It is also a clear warning to the government that they walk away from their promises to the north at their own peril."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk

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2022-01-19 16:53:37Z
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Cabinet opposition forced climbdown on ending BBC licence fee - Financial Times

Rishi Sunak, Britain’s chancellor, has led a cabinet pushback against calls from culture secretary Nadine Dorries for an end to the BBC licence fee from 2027.

UK government insiders said that Sunak had told Dorries there had not been proper cabinet discussion on whether the licence fee should ultimately be replaced, a view echoed by colleagues.

Dorries on Monday announced that funding would be squeezed at the BBC. The licence fee, a compulsory tax that provides almost three-quarters of the broadcaster’s funding, will be frozen at £159 per household over the next two years.

But the announcement was trailed in the Mail on Sunday newspaper before cabinet ministers were given a chance to discuss the measure, and Dorries on Sunday tweeted that this licence fee settlement would be “the last”.

Thérèse Coffey, the work and pensions secretary, complained in cabinet on Tuesday that Dorries had attempted to bounce colleagues into supporting her by suggesting in the tweet that the licence fee would soon be abolished.

Meanwhile, Whitehall officials said that Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, backed Dorries but said it was vital that the BBC World Service had generous funding to counter disinformation from countries including Russia and China.

The rushed nature of the BBC announcement reflects a determination by Boris Johnson, prime minister, to set out policies that could rally Tory support behind his embattled leadership, dubbed “Operation Red Meat” in Whitehall.

Downing Street said Johnson was “fully behind Nadine” after she implied the fee that has funded the BBC for a century would be abolished after 2027.

But Number 10 provoked a backlash after ministers were asked to approve the licence fee freeze over the weekend and to give their comments on Monday, only to read about the decision in the Sunday press.

Sunak’s allies said the chancellor backed the licence fee freeze but insisted that Dorries should not repeat her threat to scrap the fee when she appeared in the Commons on Monday. In the event she did not mention the plan, to the relief of BBC bosses.

Dorries’s allies said she had no regrets about “firing the starting gun” on a debate about the future of the licence fee, which she believes cannot survive in a changed media environment.

Number 10 has also set out plans to put the Royal Navy in charge of trying to stop the flow of migrants across the English Channel in small boats, with Priti Patel, home secretary, confirming on Monday that she had been in contact with the Ministry of Defence.

But naval officials said the policy had been “rushed out” and Tory MP Philip Hollobone said: “This isn’t Operation Red Meat, it’s Operation Dog’s Dinner.” He added that “the only way this will work if the Royal Navy intercepts asylum seekers and returns them back to France”.

Tom Sharpe, a retired Royal Navy commander, said: “Only time will tell if the appointment of a naval commander here is a political stunt or not.” He added that Patel would have to empower the navy to bring together dozens of agencies and surveillance companies.

Labour claimed that the decision to deploy the military was “a desperate attempt to distract attention from accusations about the prime minister lying and partying in Downing Street”.

Meanwhile, the ministry of foreign affairs of Ghana angrily denied that it was in talks with the British government about hosting a processing centre for people seeking asylum in the UK.

The statement followed a report in Monday’s Times newspaper that the government was drawing up plans to send migrants to Ghana and Rwanda to process their asylum claims.

In a press release on Tuesday, Ghana’s foreign ministry referred to “a document dubbed Operation Dead Meat”, and said: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration wishes to state categorically that Ghana has not engaged with the UK on any such plan and does not intend to consider any such operation in future.

“Any publication that implies otherwise should be ignored.”

Additional reporting by Robert Wright

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2022-01-19 04:00:59Z
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Selasa, 18 Januari 2022

Downing Street party: Is 'pork pie plot' a serious threat to the PM? - BBC News

As we talked about here on Monday night, Tory MPs can take steps to get rid of their leader without having to tell anyone about it other than Sir Graham Brady, the head honcho of the backbenches.

So it is always impossible to know how many of them at any one time really mean it when they say they are involved in trying to make a change.

But it most definitely is the case that conversations about doing so are on the rise.

A group of around 20 MPs that were first elected in 2019 are said to have met on Tuesday, after two other meetings recently, to talk about what to do.

And it's suggested there's a notion that they will as, a group, submit their letters to Sir Graham after Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday afternoon.

A couple that have spoken privately seem determined to do so.

But it is not clear at this stage how many of them will go through with it when the moment comes.

And we don't know that if they did, how close that tranche would take the number of letters to the threshold of 54, that could trigger a leadership contest.

It is clear though, worryingly for No 10, that their grouping has been in touch with other disaffected MPs.

Links across political generations, and across ideological groups, could form a dangerous circle for Mr Johnson.

Yet a member of the cabinet dismissed this potential move as being run by "idiots", who don't pose a serious threat to the PM, joking that their efforts were a "pork pie plot" because one of the group is Alicia Kearns, the MP for Rutland and Melton (home of the pork pie).

For her part, colleagues say Ms Kearns has been unfairly targeted and that she's not leading any rebellion.

And a member of the government also sounded a note of caution, saying: "Are we really going to get rid of a prime minister with a huge majority over a drinks party?"

Many Conservative MPs believe that it's better to wait at least to see what Sue Gray's official report into the No 10 shenanigans concludes.

Yet it seems tonight not all Tory members are willing to wait.

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2022-01-18 19:22:48Z
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Downing Street parties: Dominic Cummings will be interviewed as part of Cabinet Office investigation - Sky News

Dominic Cummings will be interviewed as part of an investigation into parties and gatherings at Downing Street during coronavirus restrictions.

Boris Johnson's former chief adviser confirmed to Sky News that he will be involved in the probe, which is looking at events in Number 10 and other government departments.

Tory MP predicts PM will be gone in 'one week' - partygate latest

And a Cabinet Office source told Sky News: "If we reach the end of the investigation and the inquiry hasn't spoken to Dominic Cummings, eyebrows would be raised."

PM maintains he wasn't told about drinks event

The confirmation that Sue Gray will speak to Mr Cummings comes after he alleged that the prime minister knew in advance about a Downing Street drinks party in May 2020 and agreed that it could go ahead.

These claims have been confirmed to Sky News by a second source, but Number 10 continues to deny that Mr Johnson was told ahead of the event.

The PM maintained this stance on Tuesday, saying in an interview that "nobody told me" the garden party was "against the rules".

Mr Johnson's principal private secretary Martin Reynolds emailed officials with an invite to the event, suggesting attendees "bring your own booze!".

At the time, the public were only allowed to meet one other person not from their household in a public space outside, with indoor mixing still banned.

Is the game up? Boris Johnson looks defeated as mood turns sour in Tory party

Was Tuesday's broadcast interview the moment the prime minister admitted - in his body language and demeanour rather than his words - that the game could be up?

Appearing for the first time in public after nearly a week, to face further accusations over Downing Street parties and exactly what he knew about when, he looked defeated.

The list of questions was difficult, and the pressure, dismay and distress were plain to see in Boris Johnson's expressions and his body language - even with a mask on - as he repeatedly dropped his head.

Read Beth's full analysis here

Cummings says PM 'lied to parliament'

In an updated post on his Substack page on Monday, Mr Cummings said he warned Mr Reynolds that his email "broke the rules" and also raised his concerns directly with the PM.

"I said to the PM something like: 'Martin's invited the building to a drinks party, this is what I'm talking about, you've got to grip this madhouse'," he wrote.

"The PM waved it aside."

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He added: "The events of 20 May alone, never mind the string of other events, mean the PM lied to parliament about parties.

"Not only me but other eyewitnesses who discussed this at the time would swear under oath this is what happened."

MP gives PM 'a week' before he's out

The 20 May event is the latest in a string of reported gatherings in Downing Street and other government departments during COVID restrictions in 2020 and 2021 that is being investigated.

Among the latest to make headlines were two parties held in Downing Street on the eve of Prince Phillip's funeral last year.

The disclosures have led to calls from opposition parties - and six Conservative MPs so far - for Mr Johnson to resign.

And the pressure on the PM shows no sign of abating, with one Tory telling Sky News politics producer Mollie Malone that things are "nearly there" in terms of reaching the required 54 letters from MPs to trigger a leadership vote.

They described the past weekend as a "turning point" and said they give the PM "a week" before he is gone.

Another told political correspondent Joe Pike that the PM looked "absolutely beaten" in his latest interview, describing his performance as "awful" and like a "bad amateur dramatics performance".

Meanwhile, deputy political editor Sam Coates has been told that "lots of conversations" are happening between 2019 intake Tory MPs and there is a "resolve" among them that Mr Johnson should go.

"But there's a fear if the vote of no confidence comes before the Sue Gray report is out then Boris Johnson might win, and he could be safe for a year. They think things might not move before then," Coates added.

A government source hit out at these reported manoeuvres, telling Sky News: "Most of them [the 2019 intake] rode in on Boris Johnson's coattails and without him they'll be dumped pretty quickly.

"They don't know what they're doing, they don't realise how lucky they are. They're working against us, doing Labour's job for them".

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2022-01-18 18:15:41Z
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Kamis, 20 Januari 2022

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Rabu, 19 Januari 2022

Selasa, 18 Januari 2022

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Is the game up? Boris Johnson looks defeated as mood turns sour in Tory party