Selasa, 20 Juni 2023

Boris Johnson: MPs back Partygate report as just seven vote against - BBC

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MPs have backed a report that found Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs over lockdown parties at Downing Street.

The Commons voted overwhelmingly in support of the report, by 354 to seven.

The cross-party committee's report had found Mr Johnson committed repeated offences when he said Covid rules had been followed at No 10 at all times.

Several allies of Mr Johnson questioned the impartiality of the committee and said they would vote against.

Former Prime Minister Theresa May, Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt and Education Secretary Gillian Keegan were among the senior Conservatives who supported the report's findings.

Conservative MPs who voted against included Sir Bill Cash, Nick Fletcher, Adam Holloway, Karl McCartney, Joy Morrissey and Heather Wheeler - while 118 Tories voted in favour.

No vote was recorded for 225 MPs, because they either abstained or did not turn up to vote.

Mr Johnson had asked his supporters not to vote against the report, with sources close to the former prime minister arguing it had no practical effect now he has resigned.

But his critics suggested the move was designed to avoid revealing the low level of support for him among Tory MPs.

Some abstained, while others did not turn up to vote at all.

Johnson allies who spoke in the debate but did not vote include Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg and Lia Nici.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not attend the debate and has refused to say how he would have voted, suggesting he did not want to influence others.

Senior Conservative Tobias Ellwood, who voted to back the report, said it was a "highly symbolic" day as Parliament sought to "bring to a conclusion a very difficult chapter in British politics".

He said that because Mr Johnson had already "walked", many MPs, including him, had not initially appreciated the wider public's high expectations for Parliament to not just rubber stamp this report but thoroughly debate its findings, given it related to rules set by the government.

"This was the collective conscience of Parliament, if you like, being judged by the British people," he said.

The Liberal Democrats accused Mr Sunak of "a cowardly cop-out".

The party's deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: "His failure to vote says all you need to know about this prime minister's lack of leadership."

A Labour Party spokesperson said Mr Sunak was "too weak to lead a party too divided to govern".

The vote means Mr Johnson loses his right to a parliamentary pass, which gives access to certain parts of Parliament, as this was one of the report's recommendations.

The Privileges Committee of MPs, which has a Conservative majority, was asked to investigate whether Mr Johnson had misled MPs over what he knew about parties held in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns - dubbed the Partygate scandal.

Its report concluded that Mr Johnson made multiple deliberately misleading statements to Parliament about events at No 10.

Ahead of the report's publication, Mr Johnson announced he was quitting as an MP, branding the committee a "kangaroo court".

The report found Mr Johnson had committed further "contempts" of Parliament by attacking the committee, increasing the severity of the recommended sanction.

The committee subsequently recommended a 90-day suspension for Mr Johnson - a long ban by recent standards - as well as denying him the parliamentary pass, which he would normally be entitled to as a former MP.

If he had still been an MP, the suspension could have triggered a by-election in his constituency.

Speaking during a Commons debate ahead of the vote, Mrs May said backing the report would be "a small but important step in restoring people's trust" in Parliament.

It was "important to show the public that there is not one rule for them and another for us", she said.

Mrs May urged her fellow MPs to vote in support of the report "to uphold standards in public life, to show that we all recognise the responsibility we have to the people we serve, and to help to restore faith in our parliamentary democracy".

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During the debate, supporters of Mr Johnson spoke out against the report's findings.

Ms Nici, who was Mr Johnson's parliamentary private secretary, told MPs she could not see any evidence he had knowingly misled Parliament.

She questioned the impartiality of the committee and suggested the process was "political opportunism" for people who did not like Mr Johnson.

Former minister Sir Jacob, who was knighted by Mr Johnson in his resignation honours, described the proposed 90-day suspension as "a vindictive sanction".

In response to accusations some Johnson allies had attempted to discredit the committee's work, Mr Rees-Mogg said it was "absolutely legitimate to criticise the conduct of a committee" and its members.

However, the committee's chairwoman, Labour MP Harriet Harman, said its members had to "withstand a campaign of threats, intimidation, and harassment designed to challenge the legitimacy of the inquiry".

She defended her impartiality, after Sir Jacob referenced her previous tweets criticising Mr Johnson, saying she had offered to step aside as chairwoman after the tweets emerged but she said she was assured by the government she should continue in her role.

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Earlier it was not clear whether there would be a formal vote on the report - compelling MPs to go on the record to either vote for, against or abstain - but Labour forced one.

It was a free vote for Tory MPs, meaning party managers - known as whips - had not instructed them how to vote.

Commons Leader Ms Mordaunt, who opened the debate, said she would vote in support of the report, adding: "The integrity of our institutions matter."

However, she said "all members need to make up their own minds and others should leave them alone to do so".

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2023-06-20 06:49:35Z
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Titanic tourist submarine missing with five onboard has 70 hours of air left - The Independent

Ex-British Navy officer reveals 'concerning timescales' of missing Titanic sub

A huge search and rescue operation is still under way to find the Titanic tourist submarine which has now been missing for more than two days in the Atlantic Ocea with five people on board.

British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, renowned French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Sulaiman Dawood are on board the OceanGate’s Titan submersible. Founder of OceanGate Expeditions Stockton Rush is believed to be the fifth person.

The vessel was equipped with a four-day emergency supply of oxygen before it left its mother ship.

On Monday afternoon, Rear Adm John Mauger of the US Coast Guard todl reporters that there was believed to be between 70 and the full 96 hours left at that point.

The craft submerged Sunday morning, and its support vessel, the Canadian research icebreaker Polar Prince, lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes later, authorities said.

OceanGate Expeditions, a company offering eight-day missions to see the Titanic debris at a cost of $250,000 per person, said it is “exploring and mobilising all options to bring the crew back safely.” The US Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard are involved in rescue efforts.

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Map of the location of the Titanic shipwreck

Graeme Massie20 June 2023 09:01
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WATCH: Locator map shows shipwreck where Titanic OceanGate submarine went missing

Locator map shows shipwreck where Titanic OceanGate submarine went missing
Rachel Sharp20 June 2023 13:15
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Submersible had communication problems in past

As the US Coast Guard works to locate the OceanGate submersible ship CBS reporter David Pogue reminds people that this is not the first time the submersible has faced communication issues.

The submersible is not fully functioning in the same way a submarine is. It requires a surface ship to give it the correct directions.

Last year, Mr Pogue conducted a CBS report on the sub and joined the crew for a dive when it lost communication with the surface ship. This caused the crew aboard the submersible to become lost.

“We were lost for two and a half hours,” one of the crew members told Mr Pogue.

Graeme Massie20 June 2023 13:00
1687261541

Inside the Titanic-spotting submarine missing in the Atlantic:

A rescue operation is underway in the North Atlantic after a submarine touring the wreck of HMS Titanic went missing with five people on board.

OceanGate Expeditions offers missions to tour the debris of the luxury liner which sank in 1912 and was only rediscovered in 1985 – at a cost of $250,000 (£195k) per person. The company confirmed on Monday that its sub was lost at sea and the search for the vessel is underway.

Read the full story about what it’s like inside Titan:

Rachel Sharp20 June 2023 12:45
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WATCH: What happened to the Titan tourist submersible?

Missing Titanic submarine: What happened to the Titan tourist submersible?
Rachel Sharp20 June 2023 12:30
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Expert reveals challenges of underwater search

An expert has revealed the challenges of the underwater search for the submersible which lost contact while visiting the wreck of the Titanic.

Dr Jamie Pringle, Reader in Forensic Geosciences at Keele University, UK, said in a statement to The Independent: “Aquatic search is pretty tricky, as the ocean floor is a lot more rugged than on land, and water isn’t homogenous either – there are different stratified levels of water and currents.

“A typical land search for a missing person or vehicle would move outwards radially from the last known position. This is how this search is also likely being conducted.

<p>OceanGate tourist sub </p>

OceanGate tourist sub

“Techniques vary, but in that water depth, a sonar search system would need to be specialised to a very narrow beam but high enough frequency in order to resolve a small submersible.

“The MH370 downed plane, lost in 2014, had a very large search radius and still hasn’t been solved. This search should be a much smaller search radius, as the submersible was reportedly on a relatively simple down and up dive.”

Rachel Sharp20 June 2023 12:15
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US Coast Guard says area where sub went missing is ‘remote’

During a press conference on Monday afternoon, Rear Admiral John Mauger, commander of the First US Coast Guard District said they were doing all they can to find the submersible but the area it went missing in was going to be challenging.

“The location of the search is approximately 900 miles east of Cape Code in a water depth of roughly 13,000 feet. It is a remote area and it is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area but we are deploying all available assets to make sure we can locate the craft and rescue the people on board,” Mr Mauger said.

Due to the type of watercraft the submersible is, the Coast Guard has to search both surface level and underwater as it could be in either place.

Graeme Massie20 June 2023 12:00
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WATCH: Ex-British Navy officer reveals 'concerning timescales' of missing Titanic sub

Ex-British Navy officer reveals 'concerning timescales' of missing Titanic sub
Rachel Sharp20 June 2023 11:45
1687257000

OceanGate adviser slams US government for holding up rescue efforts for missing Titanic sub due to paperwork

An OceanGate Expeditions adviser has slammed the US government for allegedly holding up efforts to rescue the five passengers on board the missing Titanic tourist sub – because of official paperwork.

David Concannon, an attorney and explorer who had a lucky escape when he pulled out of the adventure at the last minute, told NewsNation on Monday night that critical equipment that could help recover the missing Titan Vessel is currently thousands of miles away in the Guernsey Channel Islands.

The equipment is ready and waiting to be sent to the Atlantic Ocean to help find the missing sub, but can’t go anywhere until the US government authorises it.

“(They are) the same group, the experts, that did the advanced survey of the Titanic last year,” he said.

“They are mobilised. They’re sitting on the tarmac, ready to go. We have a ship off Newfoundland that is ready to take them to the site.”

While the five people on board are in a race for their lives, he said that the officials needed to sign off the rescue equipment aren’t showing the same level of urgency.

“This equipment has been on the tarmac for hours. When I communicate with the U.S. government, I get ‘out of office’ replies, not from everyone, but from key people that have a signoff on this,” he said.

<p>Image of the OceanGate submersible </p>

Image of the OceanGate submersible

“That’s unacceptable. I don’t want to discourage the government officials that are helping because they’re doing their jobs, but we need to do it quicker.”

With the clock ticking until the vessel runs out of oxygen, Mr Concannon hammered home that there isn’t the time to waste.

“We need to move. We do not have minutes or hours. We need to move now,” he said.

He added: “We have people whose lives are at stake. You have to move. We have assets that are ready to go and they’re sitting and waiting.”

Rachel Sharp20 June 2023 11:30
1687256100

A look into Titanic tourism

The missing submersible has prompted interest into what people are looking for when they decide to embark on a pricy and potentially dangerous tour to view the wreckage of the Titanic.

A look back at The Independent’s reporting from 2020 into deep-sea tourism around the Titanic.

Graeme Massie20 June 2023 11:15

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2023-06-20 11:45:41Z
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MPs vote to back Partygate report that found Boris Johnson misled parliament - Evening Standard

M

Ps voted by 354 to seven to accept a report finding Boris Johnson deliberately misled the House of Commons over Partygate.

The vote means Mr Johnson, ousted as Prime Minister by his own party less than a year ago, will not be allowed a pass to visit the parliamentary estate and would have been banned for 90 days from sitting as an MP had he not resigned earlier this month.

On Monday evening Labour forced the vote on the Privileges Committee motion, with the Opposition providing tellers for both the ayes and noes.

The MPs who backed him included six Conservatives - Bill Cash, Nick Fletcher, Adam Holloway, Karl McCartney, Joy Morrissey and Heather Wheeler.

Their names were on the division list released immediately after the vote which contained six names in the noes rather than the seven announced in the chamber.

There have been ongoing issues with names being recorded on the division lists, with other votes seeing the Commons authorities issuing updates later on.

The division list showed 118 Conservative MPs voted in favour of the Privileges Committee report while no vote was recorded for 225 MPs.

The ayes list released immediately after the vote contained 352 names rather than the 354 announced in the chamber, but again this could be updated later by the Commons authorities.

Mr Johnson is said to have told his allies, who have criticised both the committee and the report, to abstain from voting entirely.

The Conservative Party allowed a free vote, with no whipping, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak avoided the debate and vote entirely.

That led to accusations he was “running scared” for refusing to say whether he would take part in any potential vote.

No 10 said the Prime Minister’s schedule on Monday “doesn’t include attending Parliament” and that he had commitments he “can’t move”.

But the debate and subsequent vote - which pitched former Prime Ministers against former cabinet ministers - laid bare the split within the Conservatives over Boris Johnson’s legacy.

<p>Theresa May (Toby Melville/PA)</p>

Theresa May (Toby Melville/PA)

/ PA Archive

One of his predecessors Theresa May urged MPs to back the report and said supporting the Privileges Committee’s conclusions would be “a small but important step in restoring people’s trust” in Parliament.

In a veiled swipe at Mr Sunak’s absence from the chamber, Mrs May urged her party to “show that we are prepared to act when one of our own, however senior, is found wanting”.

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt said she would vote to support the report in her role “as the member for Portsmouth North”.

She said: “But all members need to make up their own minds and others should leave them alone to do so.”

<p>Labour grandee Harriet Harman (House of Commons/UK Parliament)</p>

Labour grandee Harriet Harman (House of Commons/UK Parliament)

/ PA Wire

Mr Johnson and his supporters had sought to discredit the committee’s inquiry, including by accusing its chairwoman, veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman, of holding “prejudicial views”.

But during the debate, Ms Harman said the Government gave her assurances that she would not be seen as biased in her judgment of Mr Johnson.

After Tory former minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg highlighted her tweets criticising the ex-prime minister, Ms Harman said she told the Government she was “more than happy to step aside”.

“I was assured that I should continue the work that the House had mandated with the appointment that the House had put me into and so I did just that,” she added.

Rees-Mogg said it was legitimate to challenge the findings of the Privileges Committee, and dismissed removing Boris Johnson’s parliamentary pass as “ridiculous”.

Addressing the 90-day suspension from the Commons, said: “A vindictive sanction, it seems to me, which they can’t implement because Mr Johnson has left Parliament. So they go from the vindictive to the ridiculous with not allowing him a parliamentary pass.”

It came as the Metropolitan Police confirmed they were reviewing new material in relation to a Christmas party held at Conservative Campaign Headquarters during the height of the pandemic in December 2020.

Tory activists were invited to what was described as a “jingle and mingle” party, according to the BBC, despite members of the public being banned from seeing each other under Covid regulations in place at the time.

A video of the event published by the Sunday Mirror, which appeared to show Tory staff dancing and joking about coronavirus restrictions, is among the new evidence Scotland Yard is considering.

Both former London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey and Tory aide Ben Mallet, who were handed a peerage and an OBE respectively in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours, attended the gathering.

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2023-06-20 04:39:34Z
2159766152

Hamish Harding: British explorer aboard missing Titanic submarine - The Telegraph

A British billionaire adventurer is among five people on board a submersible that went missing on a dive to the wreck of the Titanic.

Hamish Harding, who runs an aviation company, was on the 21ft vessel when it set off on Sunday morning for what should have been an eight-hour trip to the bottom of the Atlantic.

Former French navy commander Paul-Henry Nargeolet and OceanGate founder Stockton Rush are also feared to be on board, according to several reports.

A rescue mission involving the US Coast Guard and an aircraft that can detect underwater vessels was under way on Monday as rescuers raced to reach the group before their oxygen supplies were exhausted.

The submersible has 96 hours of oxygen, and rescuers warned that it could take up to two days to reach the ocean floor if the craft had sunk there.

The OceanGate Expeditions tour group, which takes explorers to the depths of the Atlantic for $250,000 per person, is believed to have lost contact when the vessel was directly above the Titanic wreck. 

Paul-Henry Nargeolet is feared to be on board the missing vessel, reports suggest Credit: North Sky Photography
Stockton Rush is also feared to be among those missing, according to reports

Seattle-based OceanGate, which owns the missing submersible, said it was “exploring and mobilising all options to bring the crew back safely”.

Boston Coast Guard said its crew was “searching for an overdue Canadian research submarine approximately 900 miles off Cape Cod”.

The submersible, which launched from Polar Prince, a Canadian research vessel, “submerged Sunday morning, and the crew of the Polar Prince lost contact with them approximately one hour and 45 minutes into the vessel’s dive”, the Coast Guard said.

The Titan’s command ship, the Polar Prince Credit: Oceangate

Rear Admiral John Mauger, overseeing the search and rescue operation for the US Coast Guard, said on Monday: “Going into this evening we will continue to fly aircraft and move additional vessels.”

He told Fox News that the agency did not have the right equipment in the search area to do a “comprehensive sonar survey of the bottom”.

He said: “Right now, we’re really just focused on trying to locate the vessel again by saturating the air with aerial assets, by tasking surface assets in the area, and then using the underwater sonar.

“It is a remote area, and it is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area.” He added that the Coast Guard was “doing everything we can do”.

Rear Admiral Mauger said that rescue services were notified on Sunday afternoon that the submersible was “overdue” and that it had five people on board. The vessel was designed to surface automatically if it ran into problems and, as of Monday afternoon, should have 72 hours of oxygen left. 

The last reported communication from the Titan submersible was about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive on Sunday, the US Coast Guard said. There was one pilot and four passengers on board, the agency said.

tmg.video.placeholder.alt no0RVoIbvK4

Rear Admiral Mauger said the Coast Guard is not releasing their names as they were still in the process of notifying families.

However, he said the search area was large and complicated by weather conditions.

“We anticipate that there’s somewhere between 70 to the full 96 hours at this point,” he said on Monday night.

“We’re using that time making the best use of every moment of that time,” he added.

The US military has dispatched two C-130 iceberg patrol aircraft to search the sea surface, with an additional on the way from New York. 

Canadian counterparts have dispatched a C-130 and an Orion P-8 that can drop sonar buoys to detect underwater noises, said Rear Admiral Mauger. Officials have also been reaching out to commercial vessels for help.

The search is taking place approximately 900 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in a water depth of almost two-and-a-half miles.

Experts said there were a number of challenges for the rescue effort to overcome. Chris Parry, a retired Navy rear admiral from the UK, told Sky News: “The actual nature of the seabed is very undulating. Titanic herself lies in a trench. There’s lots of debris around. 

“So trying to differentiate with sonar in particular and trying to target the area you want to search in with another submersible is going to be very difficult indeed.”

The missing submersible, named Titan, usually carries a pilot, three paying guests, and what OceanGate calls a “content expert”.

In a tweet on Monday, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent David Pogue wrote: “You may remember that the @OceanGateExped sub to the Titanic got lost for a few hours LAST summer, too, when I was aboard.”

In his broadcast from the time, he said: “There is no GPS under water so the surface ship is supposed to guide the sub to the shipwreck by sending text messages.

“But on this dive communication somehow broke down, the sub never found the wreck.”

Family ‘devastated’

Kathleen Cosnett, Mr Harding’s cousin, told The Telegraph she was “devastated” and “stunned” to learn that he was on the missing submersible. 

She described him as a “daring” and “inquisitive… adventurist”. Brian Szasz, his stepson, said he was sending his “thoughts and prayers”.

In a statement, OceanGate said its focus was on those aboard and their families.

“We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible,” it said.

Mark Butler, managing director of Action Aviation, a company for which Mr Harding serves as chairman, told AP: “There is still plenty of time to facilitate a rescue mission, there is equipment on board for survival in this event. We’re all hoping and praying he comes back safe and sound.”

Mr Harding wrote on social media that the research vessel left St John’s, in Newfoundland, Canada, on Friday and the team planned to start the dive at 4am local time on Sunday as a “weather window” had opened up.

The father-of-two, who lives in the UAE, said he was “proud” to be joining OceanGate as a “mission specialist”, adding that the group included “a couple of legendary explorers”.

Action Aviation also tweeted on Sunday, saying: “The sub had a successful launch and Hamish is currently diving.”

A keen explorer, Mr Harding took part in Jeff Bezos’s fifth human spaceflight on Blue Origin last year.

Hamish Harding (second from right) took part in Blue Origin’s fifth human space flight last year Credit: Felix Kunze

Colonel Terry Virts, a retired Nasa astronaut with whom Mr Harding broke the Guinness world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the Earth via the North and South Poles by an aircraft, told The Telegraph that several vessels were on their way to attempt to rescue the submarine.

Col Virts said: “Exploration is what Hamish loves to do – he’s an explorer in his heart, and we’re all hopeful that he and the others can be rescued.”

Paul Henri Nargeole, the diver and French navy veteran known as “Mr Titanic”, is also feared to be aboard the Titan.

Each 10-day OceanGate Titanic expedition, which includes eight days at sea, sets off from St John’s. Every year it recruits six “mission specialists” to view the wreck, which lies about 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

Those selected must be at least 18 and “be comfortable in dynamic environments where plans and timetables may change”. They must also have basic strength, balance, mobility and flexibility such as being able to climb a six-foot step ladder.

Previous mission specialists chosen to go on the trip include an actor, a chef, a banker and a videographer. The OceanGate website said the purpose of the expeditions was to “conduct a scientific and technological survey of the wreck”.

On Friday, OceanGate shared a picture of two groups of around two-dozen people smiling and wearing matching navy jackets.

The caption read: “It’s been an incredibly busy two weeks! Thank you to all of our dive teams who’ve joined us – here’s a look at our Mission 3 and Mission 4 crew.”

Chef Chelsea Kellogg went on the trip last year, when she shared a picture of herself on Instagram with the wreck visible in the background.

The caption read: “My lifelong dream of seeing the Titanic has come true... Thanks to the hard work of the Oceangate Expeditions team and Horizon Arctic crew we made it to the bow section of the wreck and we were able to explore and see some of the iconic parts of the ship.”

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2023-06-20 05:44:00Z
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Senin, 19 Juni 2023

Mortgage deal: Average two-year fix now above 6% - BBC

Woman concerned about bills sat at tableGetty Images

A typical two-year fixed mortgage deal now has an interest rate of more than 6% for the first time since December.

Mortgage lenders have been putting up rates and pulling deals at a rapid rate in recent weeks, driving up costs for homeowners seeking new deals.

Recent high inflation and strong pay growth figures mean interest rates are now expected to rise by more than expected, pushing up borrowing costs.

Interest rates have risen 12 times since 2021 to try to slow price rises.

On Monday, the average rate for a two-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 6.01% according to the financial information service Moneyfacts.

The interest rates on mortgages soared to 6.65% after last autumn's mini-budget before calming slightly. But rates have climbed sharply again recently.

A typical five-year fixed rate is now at 5.67% compared with last year's peak of 6.51%.

Expectations that interest rates will stay higher for longer have been reflected in the funding cost of mortgages, hitting new borrowers, and those trying to remortgage. Lenders have been pulling deals and putting up rates at short-notice, while some have been inundated with demand and so forced to pull or raise rates again.

More than 400,000 people will see their existing fixed deals end between July and September, a comparatively high number. Many face the prospect of having to budget for monthly repayments that are hundreds of pounds more expensive than they have become accustomed to.

Mortgage rate graphic

The base rate, set by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee and currently at 4.5%, will be reviewed on Thursday and is widely expected to increase for the 13th time in a row.

But at the weekend, a former deputy governor of the Bank, Sir Howard Davies, argued that it should "wait and see" to see the full effect of the rate rises made so far.

"We have a mortgage market where most people are on a fixed rate - when you put up interest rates you only have an impact on the small number of people paying the variable rate and on the people whose fixed rate happens to come up for renewal," he said.

"So it's arguable the interest rate rises we've already seen have not yet fed fully through into the impact onto consumer spending."

Inflation - the rate at which prices rise - is remaining stubbornly high in the UK. The annual inflation rate was 8.7% in April, still well above the Bank's 2% target.

By raising interest rates, the Bank expects people to have less money to spend and buy fewer things, which should help stop prices rising as quickly.

However, it also makes it harder for firms to borrow money and expand.

The latest official inflation data will be published on Wednesday.

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Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

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2023-06-19 08:46:26Z
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Boris Johnson: Rishi Sunak refuses to say if he will vote on Partygate report - BBC

Boris Johnson waving during a jogReuters

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has declined to say if he will vote on a report that found Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs over lockdown parties in No 10.

A year-long inquiry from the Commons Privileges Committee said the former prime minister committed repeated offences with his Partygate denials.

It recommends he should have been suspended from the Commons for 90 days if he had remained an MP.

MPs will debate the report's findings later on Monday.

After the debate, there could be a recorded vote or MPs could simply nod the report through. If there is a vote, it is expected to pass easily.

It would be a free vote for Tory MPs, meaning party managers - known as whips - will not instruct them what to do at the vote, which is expected to take place on Monday evening after a debate.

Talking to reporters on Sunday evening, Mr Sunak was repeatedly asked how he would vote but did not answer the question directly.

He said the issue was "a matter for the House [of Commons], not for the government".

"That's an important distinction and that's why I wouldn't want to influence anyone in advance of that vote."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urged Mr Sunak to "show leadership" and vote on the issue.

Sir Keir - who is currently in Scotland promoting his party's approach to energy, but plans to travel to Westminster afterwards to take part in the debate - called Mr Johnson's conduct "unacceptable".

"If the prime minister wants to lead, he has to come into Parliament and vote in this debate this afternoon to show where he stands on this issue," he told BBC Breakfast.

Mr Johnson resigned as an MP after receiving the report and therefore will not get to vote; however he has asked his allies not to oppose it.

It is likely that some Conservative MPs could abstain or not turn up to take part.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove, who also served in Mr Johnson's cabinet, has confirmed he intends to abstain - becoming the only member of the Sunak government to say what he intends to do.

Speaking on Sunday, he told the BBC there were areas where Mr Johnson's conduct had fallen short of expectations, but he disagreed with the report's recommendation for a 90-day suspension.

The vote is tricky politically for the prime minister, who is embroiled in a bitter war of words with his former boss over his controversial resignation honours list.

Speaking to the BBC, Sir Keir said he would not issue a resignation list if he became prime minister, saying it was "very hard to justify".

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Upon entering Downing Street, Mr Sunak vowed to put "integrity" at the heart of his government and will be under pressure from opposition MPs to approve the findings from the cross-party committee.

But voting for it would enrage Mr Johnson's supporters, some of whom have attacked the committee over their conclusions.

Mr Johnson himself also lashed out at the committee in an angry statement announcing his resignation as an MP before the report's publication, branding it a "kangaroo court".

Commons votes are initially conducted by voice, with a division - where MPs go through the voting lobbies to record their support - only called if the Speaker thinks the result is not obvious.

Opposition MPs are expected to shout "aye" later to approve the report, but if no MP in the chamber shouts "no" then there won't be a division, meaning the votes of individual MPs will not be recorded.

In their report, the Privileges Committee said Mr Johnson had deliberately misled MPs when he assured them after the Partygate scandal emerged that lockdown rules had always been followed in No 10.

Mr Johnson argued during the inquiry that his assurances were made in good faith, and were based on advice from officials.

But the MPs found he had "personal knowledge" of rule-breaking events, and had failed to "pro-actively" investigate allegations that Covid rules had been broken during the pandemic.

Parliamentary pass

They concluded he had committed multiple "contempts" of Parliament - including by attacking the committee, which they added justified the 90-day ban, which is lengthy by the standards of recent years.

The report also recommends that Mr Johnson should be denied a parliamentary pass, which he would normally be entitled to as an ex-MP.

Several of Mr Johnson's allies have heaped criticism on the committee for its findings.

Nadine Dorries, who was culture secretary in Mr Johnson's cabinet, said the committee had "overreached," warning that any Tory MP voting to endorse it would be "held to account" by party members.

However, it is not clear how many of his allies are ultimately willing to turn up to register their opposition.

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2023-06-19 08:41:50Z
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Tories face outrage over Covid lockdown party video - The Independent

The Conservative Party is facing fresh outrage following the release of video showing people partying at its headquarters during lockdown. The video shows attendees drinking, dancing and appearing to joke about Covid restrictions at a time when indoor socialising was banned.

Two of those at the party, held in the basement of Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) in London in December 2020, were in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list. The Metropolitan Police said on Sunday that the force was “aware of the footage” – published by The Mirror – and are “considering it”.

Ruth Carney, whose father died alone in hospital in May 2020, said it was insulting that Tory staff could be drinking and dancing after she had not been able to be with her father at the end. “Then ... they’re having a party and dancing. I’m fuming, I’m extremely angry, I absolutely cannot believe this – it’s like some kind of joke,” she said of the video.

Ms Carney, a TV and theatre director, waited with him in hospital in April where it took nine hours for him to get a bed, describing scenes there similar to a “warzone”, with NHS staff desperately “scrambling” to save lives. Ms Carney later caught Covid and then a secondary infection, so she was isolating in their garden annexe when she received a call from the hospital, telling her he had died.

“I wasn’t even able to touch or hug my mum when my dad died,” she said. “I had to tell her through a door. It was horrendous.”

The shocking footage comes after The Independent revealed the full extent of boozing, debauchery and blatant Covid rule-breaking inside No 10 under Mr Johnson.

A former Downing Street official who worked throughout the Covid crisis said Mr Johnson was “happy” to have his staff drinking and oversaw a culture of endemic rule-breaking so widespread that it put No 10 at odds with the rest of the country.

The party at Tory HQ was organised by the campaign team for Shaun Bailey, who was running for London mayor at the time, and was awarded a peerage in Mr Johnson's resignation honours list last week. He does not feature in the video but has previously apologised for attending. Ben Mallet, a former aide to the ex-prime minister who was awarded an OBE last week, is shown chatting to guests in the latest footage.

Ruth Carney with her father Peter, who died in hospital in May 2020

Ms Carney said that the detail about the honours “is really rubbing salt in the wound”.

She aded: “How dare he be allowed to do that? I’m sure there are people on there who are worthy and should be honoured but do they really want to be honoured on his list? It’s tainted with blood.”

Michael Gove, the housing secretary, apologised for the party on Sunday, callling it “indefensible”. He told the BBC the footage was “terrible” and would leave people feeling “extremely angry”.

However, when asked whether Mr Bailey and Mr Mallet should have their peerage and OBE respectively blocked, he said: “No, I don’t think that.”

Mr Gove said: “The decision to confer honours on people was one that was made by Boris Johnson as an outgoing prime minister.

“Outgoing prime ministers have that right. Whether or not they should is a matter of legitimate public debate, but they do at the moment.”

MPs will vote on Monday whether to accept the findings of a highly critical report that found Boris Johnson repeateadly lied to parliament over Partygate

The footage came amid a growing crisis for Mr Sunak’s government as it faces the ongoing row about Mr Johnson’s honours – as well as four crunch by-elections and as the PM is expected to dodge a Commons vote on Monday on whether to endorse a highly critical report into Mr Johnson that found he lied and deliberately misled parliament over the Partygate scandal.

Mr Gove refused to say whether he believed the prime minister should back the report, saying how they would vote is a matter for “each individual” MP. But former Conservative minister Justine Greening urged MPs to “get behind” the committee’s work and recognise that political leaders cannot be “allowed to get away with” misleading the Commons.

Senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood called on the prime minister to take stock of the tumult around the party and to overhaul his cabinet. “This mini crisis should be turned into a major opportunity,” he told The Independent.

Mr Ellwood said: “The prime minister should begin with an overhaul of his cabinet with bold policy announcements on the economy, Brexit [and] Ukraine.”

He called for Mr Sunak to be “less fearful of right wing backlash” and address issues that would “secure wider national support”. Mr Ellwood also urged the PM to distance the Conservatives “from the populist, divisive approach of the recent past”.

Mr Sunak has also faced calls to scrap the list with such honours “spitting in the faces” of those like the family of Ms Carney who suffered through lockdowns.

Rishi Sunak is struggling to shake the scandals of his predecessor

Labour MP Sir Chris Bryant, chairman of parliament’s committee on standards and privileges, said Mr Johnson’s honours list was “discredited” and should be scrapped.

He told The Independent: “Going ahead with Mr Bailey’s peerage will be like spitting in the face of the many millions who stuck by the rules to their cost. It’s a discredited list from a disgraced politician and Mr Sunak should cancel it.”

Meanwhile Tory MP Sir Robert Buckland said those implicated in the video should consider declining the honours by saying “thank you, but no thank you”. “The option of declining the honour is very much one that would seem to be a sensible course of action to take,” he told Times Radio.

And Labour MP Karl Turner said Mr Johnson is a “proven liar” and called for the prime minister to “grow a backbone” and block his honours list. “There are people on that list receiving honours that were literally boozing it up when the country was locked down unable to visit loved ones as they were laid dying. Sunak is effectively approving the honours of liar Johnson’s list of cronies,” he said.

The video itself, said to have been taken on 14 December, 2020, showed for the first time staff joking about “bending the rules” at their Christmas party. At least 24 guests were reportedly at the gathering.

Last year, the Met Police decided to take no action over the gathering, saying that a much-published photograph showing Mr Bailey and a number of revellers was not enough evidence to “disprove the version of events provided by attendees”.

Mr Bailey quit as chair of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee when the photograph emerged.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Senior CCHQ staff became aware of an unauthorised social gathering in the basement of Matthew Parker Street organised by the Bailey campaign on the evening of 14 December 2020. Formal disciplinary action was taken against the four CCHQ staff who were seconded to the Bailey campaign.”

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2023-06-19 08:20:12Z
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