Boris Johnson news – live: Labour denies Sue Gray appointment a ‘distraction’ from Partygate inquiry

Hiring Sue Gray to work as Keir Starmer’s next chief of staff is not a “distraction” said Labour’s chairwoman, Anneliese Dodds, responding to criticism of the appointment.

In an interview with Sky News Ms Dodds hit back at criticism that by hiring Sue Gray Labour was needlessly causing controversy and undermining confidence in civil service neutrality.

Ms Dodds said: “Sue Gray is a person of enormous integrity. Someone who served in the civil service under ministers of a number of parties actually, someone who’s always served with that integrity.”

She added: “I’m really delighted she’s joining the Labour team at that point where we’re readying ourselves for government if the British public backs us at the next general election.

“What’s important to us as Labour, as ever, is that we see the same rules and approaches being applied to this, as she would see with any other appointment. That’s why the civil service procedures on confidentiality will be followed.”

However, the appointment has provoked widespread outrage in the Convservative Party with some MPs saying it raises question about the impartiality of her report on Partygate that contributed to Boris Johnson’s resignation.

Key Points

• ‘Great gaping hole’ in PM’s account, aide admits

• Key lines from report

• Sue Gray report unreliable, claims Johnson ally Nadine Dorries

Blog closed

22:07 , Joe Middleton

The politics blog is now closed, but we will be back on Sunday morning with all the latest news from Westminster and beyond.

AI systems, like ChatGPT, could play role in Whitehall, says science secretary

21:44 , Joe Middleton

Artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT could play a role in Whitehall, the new science secretary has suggested.

Michelle Donelan, recently appointed Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, told the Sunday Telegraph that ChatGPT represented a “massive opportunity” more broadly.

Ms Donelan, who took over the new role following Rishi Sunak’s departmental reshuffle last month, said the civil service should rely on its own experts but did not rule out a role for artificial intelligence in the future.

ChatGPT, which has made headlines in recent weeks, is a form of generative AI which came to prominence after a version of it was released to the public last year.

It can respond to questions in a human-like manner and understand the context of follow-up queries much like in human conversations, as well as being able to compose longform pieces of writing if asked.

“I think these types of technology are going to create a whole new section of jobs and in areas that we haven’t even thought of, and where this leads us is limitless. We need to tap into that,” Ms Donelan said.

“Of course we need regulation in place, we need safeguards. But we should never be afraid of these technologies. We should be embracing them and utilising them so that they can lead to job creation here in the UK.”

Asked about the use in the civil service, she said: “We need to think about what is the use for ChatGPT, just like any other organisation would as well.

“I think these are things we need to look at - I think that when we look at all forms of technology, what we should be thinking about is not how does this replace somebody’s job or how does this replace the functions of an individual.”

Matt Hancock aide lashes out at Dominic Cummings in leaked WhatsApp messages

20:47 , Joe Middleton

The leaked WhatsApp messages published by the Daily Telegraph show Mr Hancock’s former aide, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, lashing out at Mr Cummings, on the same day he had used a parliamentary committee hearing to describe the Department of Health and Social Care as reduced to a “smoking ruin” by the pandemic.

Mr Hancock messaged: “How would you deal with this Cummings crap?”

His former adviser responded: “I was about to message. What a f-ing piece of s-. You went out and backed him over Barnard castle, and he responds by briefing against you relentlessly, in private and now in public. He’s a psychotherapist.”

He swiftly corrects himself: “Psychopath.”

Partygate probe’s reliance on Sue Gray ‘surreal’ amid Labour move, Boris Johnson says

18:57 , Joe Middleton

Appointments board reviewing whether Sue Gray joining Labour will undermine confidence in the civil service

17:48 , Joe Middleton

Sue Gray could face a longer wait than usual before she is allowed to take up a job as Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff.

The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), the body in charge of vetting the jobs taken by ex-civil servants and politicians, is considering whether Ms Gray taking the job would damage perceptions of civil service impartiality, according to reporting by The Times.

Acoba could suggest she take up to two years gardening leave before starting the job.

Ms Gray's decision to work for Labour has unleashed a firestorm of controversy about whether this undermines the credibility of her report on Partygate, which contributed to the fall of Boris Johnson.

Ministers also worry that they will find it harder to trust civil servants after Ms Gray's decision.

Some have also suggested Ms Gray had broken rules by having unauthorised meetings with Labour about the job.

Sir Simon Case is thought to have not known about Ms Gray’s decision until Sky News broke the story on Wednesday. However, Ms Gray reportedly had unsuccessfully sought a meeting with Mr Case last week.

Cummings’ time in Downing Street was a ‘nightmare’, Sunak tells Hancock

16:48 , Joe Middleton

Dominic Cummings’ time in Downing Street was a “nightmare”, Rishi Sunak appeared to tell Matt Hancock, according to the latest set of leaked WhatsApp messages.

The remarks, made on the day that the former No 10 aide used an appearance in front of MPs to claim that thousands of people died needlessly during the pandemic, show the then-Chancellor and Mr Hancock complaining about Mr Cummings.

Mr Hancock messaged Mr Sunak: “Of all the bonkersness about Dom’s circus, the one I enjoy most is that he’s doing this to secure his place at the heart of the future Sunak administration.”

Mr Sunak, who in 2021 was seen as ambitious for the top job, said: “Ha! Ironic given I haven’t spoken to him since he left!”

“It’s just awful & a stark reminder of how hard governing was,” Mr Hancock replies.

Mr Sunak agrees: “It was such a difficult time for all of us. A nightmare I hope we never ever have to repeat.”

Hancock hoped pandemic could “propel” his career into “the next league"

16:00 , Joseph Rachman

The latest tranche of leaked WhatsApp messages show that Matt Hancock was hopeful that the pandemic might raise his political profile and improve his political standing.

In one message Hancock shared some thoughts apparently sent to him by a “wise friend”. “A well- handled crisis of this scale could propel you into the next league, and break you through in terms of public perception.”

Hancock also showed a close interest in managing social media exchanging more than 22,000 messages about editing or approving posts, according to reporting by The Telegraph.

This included a debate about whether releasing a topless image of him surfing would be good for his image or not. He suggested they consult Gina Coladangelo, his aide who he had an affair with.

Taxpayers should not pay Boris Johnson’s legal fees says Labour

15:27 , Joseph Rachman

The Labour Party chairwoman, Anneliese Dodds, said that voters should not foot the bill for Boris Johnson’s legal fees coming out of enquiries into Partygate.

Friday’s dramatic report on whether Mr Johnson lied to parliament over lockdown breaking parties at No 10 has put the spotlight back on the issue. Previous reports suggest the government could end up paying £220,000 as the inquiry covers Mr Johnson’s time in office, leaving him entited to having his legal fees covered.

In an interview with Sky News Ms Dodds said: “Ultimately, Rishi Sunak should not be supporting Boris Johnson in that way and I think that there should be political repercussions for Boris Johnson if he’s found to have misled parliament.”

“The ability to impose that kind of sanction on Boris Johnson is in the hands of Rishi Sunak of course as the leader of the Conservative party. I just hope he has the backbone to ensure that action is taken.”

Lockdown rule breaches “obvious” to Boris Johnson says enquiry

14:45 , Joseph Rachman

“The evidence strongly suggests that breaches of guidance would have been obvious to Mr Johnson at the time he was at the gatherings,” according to a report on whether Boris Johnson misled parliament.

According to the report Mr Johnson even remarked a mid-pandemic leaving party in No 10 was “probably the most unsocially distanced gathering in the UK right now.”

Evidence rule breaches ‘obvious’ to Johnson, partygate ‘lies’ inquiry says

Boris pushes back against probe after Sue Gray leaves for Labour

14:09 , Joseph Rachman

Boris Johnson suggested on Friday that the Priviliges Committee probe into whether he lied to Parliament may be compromised since it will be using evidence gathered by Sue Gray, the former civil servant who is now set to become Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.

In a statement, Mr Johnson said: “It is surreal to discover that the committee proposes to rely on evidence culled and orchestrated by Sue Gray, who has just been appointed chief of staff to the leader of the Labour Party.

“This is particularly concerning given that the committee says it is proposing to rely on ‘the findings in the second permanent secretary’s report’ as ‘relevant facts which the committee will take into account’.

“I leave it to others to decide how much confidence may now be placed in her inquiry and in the reports that she produced.”

However, a spokesperson for the committee rejected this criticism saying the findings in its report were “not based on the Sue Gray report” but on witness accounts and evidence supplied by the government including witnesses, WhatsApps, emails and images from a Downing Street photographer.

Analysis: What does Boris Johnson have to fear from the Partygate inquiry?

13:39 , Joseph Rachman

What does Friday’s explosive Priviliges Committee report mean for Boris Johnson?

Now that the Committee’s report has been released Mr Johnson faces questioning and even sanctions.

Punishments the committee can reccomend include oral or written apologies, suspension from the House of Commons for a specified period, or even expulsion. Voters in his constituency might even be given an opportunity to and force Mr Johnson to face a by-election to keep his seat.

The Independent’s Sean O’Grady analyses Mr Johnson’s murky political future.

What does Boris Johnson have to fear from the Partygate inquiry?

A ”great gaping hole”: the key takeaways from explosive new Partygate report

12:49 , Joseph Rachman

An explosive report on Boris Johnson’s behaviour during Partygate was released Friday, by The Commons Select Committee of Privilege.

The comittee, tasked by MPs with investigating whether or not the former prime minister lied to parliament, released 24-page document which will be used to question Mr Johnson when he appears before MPs later this month.

Key points include:

Mr Johnson’s communications chief admitted there was a "great gaping hole" in the prime minister's account of Partygate

Mr Johnson could see a notorious gathering point for Downing Street parties during lockdown from the bottom of the stairs leading up to his flat.

Mr Johnson would also sometimes join the No 10 press office drinks on Friday evenings during Covid.

Mr Johnson was also present at seven gatherings at No 10, including one in the garden and another to celebrate his birthday.

Mr Johnson may have misled the House when he said no rules or guidance had been broken and when he failed to tell MPs about his own knowledge of the gatherings.

Mr Johnson also apparently failed to correct statements he repeatedly made to the Commons.

Kate Devlin reports.

Key takeaways from explosive new Partygate report

“Eat out to help the virus get about”, Matt Hancock criticised Sunak’s signature scheme

12:15 , Joseph Rachman

Former health secretary Matt Hancock was critical of Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out Scheme, expressing concern that it was helping spread coronavirus.

Mr Hancock’s worries have been revealed by the most recent batch of leaked WhatsApp messages from the former health secretary, published by the Daily Telegraph.

Mr Hancock even dubbed the scheme “eat out to help the virus get about”.

He also suggested Mr Sunak’s policy choices were partly shaped by his political ambitions and attempts to build support in the party. “What’s Rishi’s dilemma? Whether to stop the virus, or tilt at the party & show ankle to the hard right?” he wrote in messages to the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, who is supposed to be politically neutral.

The messages also show Mr Hancock lobbying Mr Case to support him in challenging the chancellor and other ministers who favoured looser lockdown policies.

One such row was with Sir Alok Sharma, then-business secretary, over guidance to cafes and restaurants about keeping a register of customers’ details for NHS Test and Trace. Mr Hancock wanted guidance to read that eating establishments “should” do this while Sir Alok preferred “can”.

Dominic McGrath Reports.

Hancock hit out at Sunak amid fears his Eat Out to Help Out scheme spread Covid

‘How bad are the pictures?’ leaked WhatsApp messages show Matt Hancock’s battle to save his job

11:42 , Joseph Rachman

Matt Hancock’s leaked WhatsApp messages show the former health secretary’s scramble to save his job after his lockdown breaking affair with his aide was revealed.

The exchanges are among the latest set of WhatsApp conversations to emerge from the leak of more than 100,000 messages by journalist Isabel Oakeshott to The Telegraph.

Mr Hancock was alerted that his affair with his aide Gina Coladangelo would be made public the night before the publication.

Leaked WhatsApp messages show Mr Hancock speaking with his special advisor, Dominic Poole, trying to work out what was known and how to respond.

Mr Hancock asked Mr Poole: “How bad are the pics?”

Told it was a “snog and heavy petting”, he replied: “How the f*** did anyone photograph that?”

The messages also show the reaction of Mr Hancock and Ms Coladangelo to a video obtained by The Sun.

In response to the video showing the two kissing, Ms Coladangelo said: “OMFG.”

Mr Hancock said: “Crikey. Not sure there’s much news value in that and I can’t say it’s very enjoyable viewing.”

Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports.

WhatsApp leak reveals Hancock’s 41-hour battle to save job over affair

Isabel Oakeshott hangs up on fiery interviews about The Lockdown Files

11:11 , Joseph Rachman

The journalist who published thousands of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages hung up on a radio interview after getting into a heated row about leaking the story to The Telegraph.

Isabel Oakeshott, TalkTV’s international editor, has made headlines in recent days over her decision to leak thousands of messages sent by Mr Hancock when he was health secretary during the pandemic and when his lockdown-breaking affair was revealed.

Interviewed on Times Radio by Cathy Newman on Friday, Ms Oakeshott objected heatedly to question about why she had shared the story with The Telegraph rather than her TalkTV colleagues or other organisations owned by News Corp.

Growing angry about a mention of her salary Ms Oakeshott tried to turn the tables by asking about her interviewers salary.

“I haven’t hit the headlines. You’ve hit the headlines, Isabel,” Ms Newman said.

“Well maybe if you broke some stories you would,” Ms Oakeshott shot back.

Shortly after Ms Oakeshott hung up without answering a single question.

“The system is definitely working” care minister told Matt Hancock after travelling fifty miles to get a coronavirus test

10:26 , Joseph Rachman

Helen Whately, the social care minister, told Matt Hancock that the testing system was “definitely working” after she managed to get a test fifty miles from her home in September 2020.

The most recent leaks from The Lockdown File, published in The Daily Telegraph, show Ms Whately and Mr Hancock discussing how the former had managed to secure a test for a relative after a long drive.

At the time at home testing kits were not available for the general public, and people requesting tests were sometimes directed to testing centres hundreds of miles away.

After struggling to get a test for a relative with a temperature she messaged Mr Hancock 18 September saying: “Good news from my mystery shopping of our testing system - by repeat visits to testing app as advised have got test for XXXX (who is isolating with XXXX) just 50 miles from home.”

She then updated Mr Hancock the next day by saying: “Negative result arrived for XXXX 24 hours after XXXX test, so my mystery shopping shows the system is definitely working, at least for some.”

Mr Hancock replied: “For MOST!

Anneliese Dodds: ‘The right procedures will be followed’

09:15 , Katy Clifton

Ms Dodds added: “I’m really delighted she’s joining the Labour team at that point where we’re readying ourselves for government if the British public backs us at the next general election.

“What’s important to us as Labour, as ever, is that we see the same rules and approaches being applied to this, as she would see with any other appointment. That’s why the civil service procedures on confidentiality will be followed.

“It’s why the civil service watchdog Acoba will need to look at this, just as it would with any other appointment, and it’s quite right those procedures will be followed. They will be for Sue Gray, just as they would be for any other senior civil servant.”

Labour denies hiring Sue Gray is a distraction from Johnson inquiry

08:38 , Katy Clifton

Labour chairwoman Anneliese Dodds has rejected any suggestion the party’s move to hire partygate investigator and top civil servant Sue Gray is a distraction from the Privileges Committee inquiry into Boris Johnson.

Ms Dodds, who is set to address the Women’s Institute in London later, denied to Sky News the appointment was a “distraction”.

“Quite the opposite,” she said. “Sue Gray is a person of enormous integrity. Someone who served in the civil service under ministers of a number of parties actually, someone who’s always served with that integrity.”

Boris Johnson: ‘I have been vindicated'

07:58 , Katy Clifton

The former prime minister yesterday offered a robust defence to the interim report, as he claimed that the inquiry’s findings showed he was being “vindicated” and he sought to cast doubt on civil service investigator Sue Gray’s own report into events in Downing Street following her move to Sir Keir Starmer’s office.

Boris Johnson said: “I believe that their labours have helped establish the obvious truth: It is clear from this report that I have not committed any contempt of Parliament.

“It is also clear that what I have been saying about this matter from the beginning has been vindicated.

“That is because there is no evidence in the report that I knowingly or recklessly misled Parliament, or that I failed to update Parliament in a timely manner.”

In what is likely to be a highly anticipated appearance, Mr Johnson is expected to give oral evidence as part of the inquiry and which will be broadcast live on television in the week starting March 20.

Read bombshell Partygate inquiry Whatsapp messages in full

07:00 , Adam Withnall

The texts released yesterday show Downing Street officials were worried about the gathering media storm developing over Partygate and admitting that they were “struggling” to formulate credible defensive lines to answer the increasingly persistent questions of Westminster lobby journalists.

In one particularly damning exchange, Boris Johnson’s communications chief concedes that there is a ”great gaping hole in the PM’s account” of the controversy.

You can read the complete messages included in the report below:

Read bombshell Partygate inquiry Whatsapp messages in full

What was in Friday’s interim Partygate report?

06:00 , Adam Withnall

Evidence published on Friday included messages between No 10’s then communications director Jack Doyle and an official discussing the birthday gathering held for Mr Johnson in 2020, for which the ex-PM was fined by police.

Mr Doyle wrote: “I’m struggling to come up with a way this one is in the rules in my head.”

In response to a suggestion that they describe the event as “reasonably necessary for work purposes”, he said: “Not sure that one works does it? Also blows another great gaping hole in the PM’s account doesn’t it?”

One No 10 official in another exchange said a colleague was “worried about leaks of PM having a piss-up and to be fair I don’t think it’s unwarranted”.

Further evidence came in the form of new photos showing Mr Johnson and colleagues drinking alcohol in close confines.

During strict post-Christmas lockdown rules, the then Conservative leader can be seen apparently mid-speech in front of four bottles of sparkling wine, as well as beers.

The committee will cross-examine what Mr Johnson knew at the time of his various denials to the Commons, including saying on December 8, 2021 that no rules had been broken despite Ms Gray and the police concluding otherwise.

In a statement, Mr Johnson said: “I believe that their labours have helped establish the obvious truth: It is clear from this report that I have not committed any contempt of Parliament.

“It is also clear that what I have been saying about this matter from the beginning has been vindicated.

“That is because there is no evidence in the report that I knowingly or recklessly misled Parliament, or that I failed to update Parliament in a timely manner.”

In what is likely to be a highly anticipated appearance, Mr Johnson is expected to give oral evidence as part of the inquiry and which will be broadcast live on television in the week starting March 20.

Mr Johnson received one of the 126 fines issued by Scotland Yard over lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.

If found to have lied to Parliament and suspended for more than 10 days, he could be forced to face a by-election.

RECAP: Partygate breaches would have been ‘obvious’ to Johnson, report says

05:00 , Adam Withnall

Boris Johnson is facing fresh pressure over partygate after MPs said evidence strongly suggests breaches of coronavirus rules would have been “obvious” to the then-prime minister.

The cross-party Privileges Committee said the Commons may have been misled at least four times, with MPs set to cross-examine Mr Johnson later this month.

The former prime minister offered a robust defence, as he claimed that the inquiry’s preliminary report showed he was being “vindicated” and he sought to cast doubt on civil service investigator Sue Gray’s own report into events in Downing Street following her move to Sir Keir Starmer’s office.

According to the written evidence in the committee’s interim report, Mr Johnson remarked a mid-pandemic leaving party in No 10 was “probably the most unsocially distanced gathering in the UK right now”.

WhatsApp messages given to the inquiry show advisers “struggling” with how parties were within the rules, with one conceding an excuse “blows another great gaping hole in the PM’s account”.

The committee said: “The evidence strongly suggests that breaches of guidance would have been obvious to Mr Johnson at the time he was at the gatherings.

“There is evidence that those who were advising Mr Johnson about what to say to the press and in the House were themselves struggling to contend that some gatherings were within the rules.”

It also defended its probe from Mr Johnson’s comments, saying it is “not based on the Sue Gray report”, which last year detailed lockdown-breaking, booze-fuelled parties in Downing Street during Mr Johnson’s leadership.

Mr Johnson told broadcasters on Friday that people may now look at the Gray inquiry in a “different light”.

“If you told me at the time I commissioned Sue Gray to do the inquiry, if you told me all the stuff that I now know, I think I might have cross-examined her more closely about her independence.”

Sir Keir refused to say when conversations with Ms Gray began about a role in Labour, but the surprise move has been used by allies of Mr Johnson attempt to discredit the Privileges Committee inquiry.

Brexit voter says he was 'sold the wrong thing' and would now vote Remain

04:00 , Joe Middleton

Tory MP Lee Anderson condemned for comments over asylum seeker hotel protests

03:00 , Joe Middleton

Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson has said he understands why people have been protesting outside hotels housing asylum seekers.

A number of demonstrations have taken place in recent weeks, most notably in Merseyside where 15 people were arrested, a police van was set on fire and officers were pelted with objects in violent clashes near the Suites Hotel in Knowsley.

Speaking to the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast with Nick Robinson, Mr Anderson defended protesters turning up at hotels providing refuge for asylum seekers.

Tory MP Lee Anderson condemned for comments over asylum seeker hotel protests

Nigel Farage backs Boris for saying ‘f*** the Americans’: ‘Biden hasn’t exactly been friendly to the UK’

02:00 , Joe Middleton

Former UK Independence Party MEP Nigel Farage on Friday defended former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s vulgar “f*** the Americans” outburst last month, telling The Independent that the remarks were justified because of the Biden administration stance on Northern Ireland.

Mr Farage admitted that such a remark would be typical of Mr Johnson and slammed the current US government for not taking sides in the dispute between the UK and EU.

“He may well have said that, but that’s just Boris being Boris,” he said, adding that the Biden administration — which has held off on negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the UK while the Northern Ireland issue remained unresolved — “hasn’t exactly been friendly to the UK”.

Nigel Farage backs Boris for saying ‘f*** the Americans’

Sue Gray's appointment in Labour Party 'stinks', says Jacob Rees-Mogg

01:00 , Joe Middleton

Read bombshell Partygate inquiry Whatsapp messages in full

Friday 3 March 2023 23:59 , Joe Middleton

A new report into Boris Johnson and the Partygate scandal has been released by MPs investigating whether the former Conservative prime minister lied to Parliament about his attendance at lockdown parties.

The House of Commons Committee on Privileges is looking into what Mr Johnson said about the Downing Street events that broke the restrictions his own government had imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The committee published a 24-page dossier on Friday that will be used to question Mr Johnson when he appears before MPs later this month.

Joe Sommerlad has the details.

Read bombshell Partygate inquiry Whatsapp messages in full

VOICES: John Rentoul: Boris Johnson is trying to use Sue Gray as part of a desperate ploy

Friday 3 March 2023 23:00 , Joe Middleton

Rishi Sunak must be in despair at the return of colourful accounts of lockdown parties, writes John Rentoul.

Boris Johnson is trying to use Sue Gray as part of a desperate ploy | John Rentoul

Boris Johnson ‘believed implicitly’ Downing Street parties were ‘within the rules’

Friday 3 March 2023 22:00 , Joe Middleton

What does Boris Johnson have to fear from the Partygate inquiry?

Friday 3 March 2023 21:00 , Joe Middleton

Johnson’s chances of a comeback are in the hands of fellow MPs – and possibly the voters of South Ruislip, says Sean O’Grady

What does Boris Johnson have to fear from the Partygate inquiry?

Johnson communications chief admitted ‘great gaping hole’ in Partygate account

Friday 3 March 2023 19:20 , Joe Middleton

Boris Johnson faces growing pressure over the Partygate scandal after a parliamentary inquiry said it would have been “obvious” that events he attended in No 10 breached Covid restrictions.

The former prime minister may also have misled the Commons about lockdown parties in Downing Street on four occasions, the cross-party committee said.

But an indignant Mr Johnson insisted the investigation had uncovered “absolutely no evidence” he had committed any contempt of Parliament.

Kate Devlin reports.

Aide warned of ‘gaping hole’ in Johnson’s Partygate account

Isabel Oakeshott gives blunt response to presenter asking if she was 'friends' with Hancock

Friday 3 March 2023 18:47 , Joe Middleton

Truss refuses to apologises for economic chaos caused by her mini-budget

Friday 3 March 2023 18:24 , Joe Middleton

Former prime minister Liz Truss has refused to apologise for the economic chaos that came as a result of her mini-budget last autumn.

In a TV interview with ITV News Anglia, Ms Truss said that despite the turmoil caused by her and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s ill-advised economic choices, she wished she had been “given more time” by MPs and the financial markets.

She told the broadcaster: “The issue was caused primarily by problems in the bond market... which I didn’t know about.”

“So I am prepared to take responsibility for things I knew about and can foresee, but not things I don’t know about.”

She added: “In retrospect we could have communicated better but there were serious issues we didn’t know about, in particular how fragile the financial market was.”

SNP MP apologises for ‘grossly offensive’ comment

Friday 3 March 2023 18:10 , Joe Middleton

An SNP MP has apologised after coming under fire for saying politicians who use too much make-up for television appearances “tandoori themselves”.

John Nicolson made the remark in a video recorded while he had his make-up done for a TV show.

Mr Nicolson, the MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, said on Twitter on Friday: “A number of newspapers are running online pieces about a light hearted comment I made the other night before I went on to ‘Debate Night’.

“I’d really no intention of hurting anyone’s feelings. My apologies to those who felt hurt.”

In the video, which was later deleted, the MP said: “If politicians put on make-up themselves, they tend to go, I’m right in saying, they go a bit overly brown, they tandoori themselves. That’s why you need a professional make-up person.”

After the 40-second clip was uploaded online, Ms Gosal wrote to Mr Nicholson to demand that he removed it and apologised.

She said: “I can’t believe John Nicolson thought this ignorant racial slur was remotely appropriate.

“To use the term ‘tandoori’ in relation to brown skin colour is grossly offensive. The subtext is clear: brown people eat curry.

“It’s an offensive stereotype that I’d hoped we’d left behind in the 1970s, yet here we have a supposedly ‘progressive’ politician using it in 2023.”

Boris Johnson pictured amid Partygate furore

Friday 3 March 2023 18:00 , Joe Middleton

Johnson suggests Starmer’s appointment of Gray casts her Partygate inquiry report in ‘different light’

Friday 3 March 2023 17:54 , Joe Middleton

Boris Johnson has suggested the appointment of Sue Gray as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff raised questions as to her motives in conducting her inquiry into lockdown parties in Downing Street.

“I am sure that people may want to draw their own conclusions about the confidence they can place in the motives behind her, and the way she conducted her inquiry and in her report. I think people may look at it in a different light,” Mr Johnson said in a pooled clip for broadcasters.

“If you told me at the time I commissioned Sue Gray to do the inquiry, if you told me all the stuff that I now know, I think I might have cross-examined her more closely about her independence.

“I might have invited her to reflect on whether she was really the right person to do it.”

Ambulance strikes suspended after government agrees to pay talks

Friday 3 March 2023 17:42 , Joe Middleton

Ambulance strikes scheduled for next week have been suspended after the government agreed to discuss pay for this year, the GMB and Unison unions have said.

The union said it has received assurances from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) that there is cash available for potential pay rises covering both this year and next year.

GMB added that ministers have also said they are open to discussions about improvements to ambulance workers’ terms and conditions.

Katy Clifton reports.

Ambulance strikes suspended after government agrees to pay talks

Bombshell inquiry Whatsapp messages in full

Friday 3 March 2023 17:30 , Jane Dalton

Read the complete messages cited in the report, arranged in chronological order, with the precise time each text was sent:

Read bombshell Partygate inquiry Whatsapp messages in full

Messages reveal staff struggled to justify lockdown parties

Friday 3 March 2023 16:59 , Jane Dalton

The newly released internal messages show officials in No 10 struggled to explain how lockdown gatherings in Downing Street complied with Covid restrictions.

The Commons Privileges Committee, which is investigating whether Boris Johnson misled Parliament, has published extracts from a series of WhatsApp exchanges involving then communications director Jack Doyle and other officials.

On April 28 2021 - seven months before the first reports of lockdown parties appeared in the press - one unnamed official sent a message noting another official was “worried about leaks of PM having a p***-up and to be fair I don’t think it’s unwarranted”.

On January 25 2022, Mr Doyle sent a message asking “Have we had any legal advice on the birthday one?” followed by another one saying “Haven’t heard any explanation of how it’s in the rules”.

The query related to a gathering in No 10 in June 2020 where Mr Johnson was presented with a cake to mark his 56th birthday for which he and others were subsequently issued with fixed penalty notices by the Metropolitan Police.

Later that morning an official messaged Mr Doyle, saying: “I’m trying to do some Q&A (a question and answer briefing for officials dealing with the media queries), it’s not going well”.

Mr Doyle replied: “I’m struggling to come up with a way this one is in the rules in my head”, adding: “PM was eating his lunch of course”.

Evidence rule breaches ‘obvious’ to Johnson

Friday 3 March 2023 16:20 , Jane Dalton

Evidence strongly suggests breaches of coronavirus rules would have been “obvious” to Boris Johnson during partygate, the inquiry into whether he lied to MPs with his denials says:

Evidence rule breaches ‘obvious’ to Johnson, partygate ‘lies’ inquiry says

Johnson: Inquiry will vindicate me

Friday 3 March 2023 16:01 , Jane Dalton

Boris Johnson has denied being guilty of lying to MPs and says he believes the inquiry will vindicate him.

He said: “What is so interesting about the report today is that after 10 months of efforts and sifting through all the innumerable WhatsApps and messages, they found absolutely no evidence to suggest otherwise.

“There’s absolutely nothing to show that any adviser of mine or civil servant warned me in advance that events might be against the rules, nothing to say that afterwards they thought it was against the rules, nothing to show that I myself believed or was worried that something was against the rules.

“That for me is a pretty astonishing gap given the huge amount of stuff that they have.

“Frankly not all the testimony they have comes from people who are necessarily on my side.”

The former prime minister added: “I believe that what we were doing was in conformity with the Covid regulations, that is why I said what I said in Parliament, and that’s why I’m certain there’s been no contempt.”

Analysis: What Boris Johnson has to fear

Friday 3 March 2023 16:00 , Jane Dalton

The Privileges Committee has the power to recommend that an MP is found to have committed a contempt, and sanctions can include oral or written apologies; suspension from the House of Commons for a specified period, or even expulsion.

A by-election would be sensational, and his fate lies in the hands of fellow MPs and possibly voters, writes Sean O’Grady:

What does Boris Johnson have to fear from the Partygate inquiry?

Johnson hits out at inquiry over Sue Gray evidence

Friday 3 March 2023 15:25 , Jane Dalton

Boris Johnson said it was “concerning” that the inquiry into whether he lied to MPs will rely on evidence by partygate investigator Sue Gray as she will be working for Labour.

But the Privileges Committee defended its probe, saying it was not based on the Sue Gray report, which last year detailed lockdown-breaking, booze-fuelled parties in Downing Street during Mr Johnson‘s leadership.

The former prime minister and his allies have used Ms Gray’s planned move to Sir Keir Starmer’s office to try to discredit the cross-party panel’s inquiry into whether he lied to the House of Commons over lockdown breaches.

In a statement, Mr Johnson said: “It is surreal to discover that the committee proposes to rely on evidence culled and orchestrated by Sue Gray, who has just been appointed chief of staff to the leader of the Labour Party.

“This is particularly concerning given that the committee says it is proposing to rely on ‘the findings in the second permanent secretary’s report’ as ‘relevant facts which the committee will take into account’.

“I leave it to others to decide how much confidence may now be placed in her inquiry and in the reports that she produced.”

However, the committee rejected the claims, saying its inquiry was based on evidence including witnesses, WhatsApps, emails and images from a Downing Street photographer.

Sue Gray report unreliable, claims Dorries

Friday 3 March 2023 15:05 , Jane Dalton

Nadine Dorries has suggested the damning report by top civil servant Sue Gray on No 10 parties was unreliable after Ms Gray accepted a senior job with the Labour party.

“Sue Gray’s evidence cannot be relied upon in any meaningful way until we know how long Sue Gray has had a personal relationship with Keir Starmer and for how long they have been discussing Sue going to work for him as his most trusted and important adviser” the former minister told Radio 4.

She said there was more to be uncovered, as she cast doubt on the “validity” of Ms Gray’s report.

This tells us more about who Sue Gray is:

Sue Gray: Partygate investigator headed for top Labour job

Investigator had deep political motivations, claims Johnson ally Nadine Dorries

Friday 3 March 2023 14:36 , Jane Dalton

Staunch Boris Johnson ally Nadine Dorries has accused Sue Gray – whom Mr Johnson appointed as investigator – of having “deep political motivations” in writing her Partygate report.

“I don’t think her report is worthy of the paper it’s written on because obviously it’s written by someone who’s patently broken the civil service code and had deep political motivations,” the former culture secretary said.

She suggested Ms Gray could have been having conversations with both Keir Starmer and Labour while writing her report.

“It has just blown the whole thing up,” Ms Dorries told Radio 4’s The World at One.

She said there was more to be uncovered, as she cast doubt on the “validity” of Ms Gray’s report.

In her report, the senior civil servant said top officials, including Boris Johnson “must bear responsibility” for a Downing Street culture in which parties were held in defiance of lockdown rules, when staff drank so much they were sick, sang karaoke, became involved in fights and abused security and cleaning staff.

She said the public would be “dismayed” by a series of breaches of Covid regulations in No 10.

Taxpayers face huge bill for Boris Johnson’s Partygate legal fees

Friday 3 March 2023 14:30 , Jane Dalton

This is what Angela Rayner was referring to in saying “Rishi Sunak must stop propping up this disgraced PM and his legal defence fund”.

Taxpayers are footing a bill of at least £222,000 for Mr Johnson’s legal fees in the inquiry.

The Cabinet Office permanent secretary said it was “normal” for the government to pay the legal fees of former ministers when an inquiry related to their ministerial conduct:

Taxpayers face huge bill for Boris Johnson’s Partygate legal fees

Johnson’s career could be over, says Labour

Friday 3 March 2023 14:20 , Jane Dalton

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said the interim report could spell the end of Boris Johnson’s career.

She tweeted: “This partygate report is damning on Boris Johnson‘s conduct, not just in the crime but the cover-up.

“Rishi Sunak must stop propping up this disgraced PM and his legal defence fund - and make clear that if he is found to have repeatedly misled Parliament his career is over.”

Tory fury as Partygate investigator Sue Gray given job with Keir Starmer

Friday 3 March 2023 14:05 , Jane Dalton

The new Partygate report was revealed as Conservatives were reeling from news that Sue Gray, the civil servant who investigated the scandal, is to be appointed chief of staff to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer – a move they said showed her inquiry was “a stitch-up”:

Tory fury as Partygate investigator Sue Gray made Keir Starmer’s chief of staff

Key lines from latest Partygate report

Friday 3 March 2023 13:40 , Jane Dalton

Boris Johnson could also see a notorious gathering point for Downing Street parties during lockdown from the bottom of the stairs leading up to his flat, the new report reveals.

MPs investigating whether the former prime minister lied to parliament have released the document:

Key lines from the latest Partygate report

Top Johnson aide admitted ‘great gaping hole’ in PM’s account

Friday 3 March 2023 13:37 , Jane Dalton

Boris Johnson’s communications chief admitted there was a “great gaping hole” in the prime minister’s account of partygate, messages show.

The aide wrote last January, in relation to a June 2020 gathering: “I’m struggling to come up with a way this one is in the rules in my head”, the new report by the parliamentary inquiry into whether he lied to parliament reveals:

Boris’s own comms chief admitted ‘great gaping hole’ in PM’s Partygate account

Friday 3 March 2023 13:34 , Jane Dalton

Welcome to our live coverage of a new report from an inquiry into whether former prime minister Boris Johnson lied to parliament over the Partygate scandal.