#cabinet-office

#cabinet-office

After months of investigation, a cross-party committee of MPs has found that Boris Johnson deliberately misled parliament.Here is the report in numbers: 50,000+ words, including its summary, findings in full, two annexes, two appendices and other contents.106 pages of excoriating findings about the former prime minister.

An almighty row over Boris Johnson's resignation honours list has resulted in claims and counterclaims flying between the former prime minister's team and the current No 10 operation.Both sides are pointing the finger of blame at the other for the confusion that has led to two byelections being triggered by those who lost out on being elevated to the Lords.

Rishi Sunak is reportedly set to sign off on Boris Johnson's contentious honours list, which could result in two byelections.The prime minister will accept Johnson's resignation honours list, which is understood to have about 50 names submitted, within weeks, according to the Times.But it could result in a headache for Sunak with the prospect of byelections in the autumn as Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary under Johnson, and Alok Sharma, his Cop26 president, are expected to stand down to take peerages.

Boris Johnson said he has sent all unredacted WhatsApps directly to the Covid-19 inquiry ahead of a legal clash between the probe and the Cabinet Office over access to the messages.The former prime minister told the inquiry's chairwoman Baroness Hallett he would like to do the same with messages that are on an old mobile phone he stopped using due to security concerns.

Rishi Sunak is to speak with his ethics adviser to discuss Suella Braverman's handling of a speeding offence.The home secretary sought advice via officials and an aide about arranging a private speed awareness course while attorney general in 2022.A government source has denied her actions broke the ministerial code.

The Home Secretary is facing calls for an inquiry into reports she asked Home Office civil servants to help secure her special treatment after being caught speeding.Suella Braverman allegedly asked Home Office officials to organise a one-to-one driving awareness course after she was caught speeding last summer.

Boris Johnson's legal defence fees for the Partygate inquiry, covered by the taxpayer, have soared again as the government again extended the contract.The former PM's legal bill has risen from 222,000 to up to 245,000 after the deal with a team led by top barrister Lord Pannick KC was extended for a second time.

The deadline for the Government to hand over Boris Johnson's WhatsApp messages, diaries and personal notebooks to the Covid-19 public inquiry has expired.If the Government has failed to comply with inquiry chairwoman Baroness Hallett's order to disclose the documents, then it could lead to a court battle and possibly a criminal offence.

Rishi Sunak said the Government was still carefully considering next steps with just minutes to go before the deadline to hand over Boris Johnson's WhatsApp messages, diaries and notebooks to the Covid-19 inquiry.The Prime Minister said the Government was confident in its position, but did not set out how it intended to respond to inquiry chairwoman Baroness Hallett's demand for the documents to be submitted.

Partygate investigator Sue Gray could take up a senior Labour role as soon as this autumn, according to reports.Sir Keir Starmer is planning to appoint the ex-mandarin, who led an investigation into lockdown-busting parties held in Downing Street during Boris Johnson's premiership, as his chief of staff.

The former civil servant Sue Gray has been cleared to take up her new role as Keir Starmer's chief of staff in the autumn after a vetting board rejected calls for her to have a much longer period of gardening leave.Gray, who led the investigation into Partygate last year, took ministers by surprise with a plan to quit the civil service and work for Labour.

The chairwoman of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry is expected to respond for the first time to a High Court challenge of her request for Boris Johnson's unredacted WhatsApp messages.Baroness Heather Hallett is due to hold a preliminary inquiry hearing on Tuesday in which she is set to address ministers' decision to bring forward a judicial review.

A High Court challenge by the UK Government to block the UK Covid-19 Inquiry's request for Boris Johnson's unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks could be heard by the end of June, a minister has suggested.Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin said the matter was being expedited and that it would likely be heard on or shortly after June 30.

Rishi Sunak is blocking the release of WhatsApp messages to the Covid inquiry because he fears they could show his plots against Boris Johnson, according to allies of the former prime minister.The claims rejected as total nonsense by the Sunak camp come as Mr Johnson was warned he could lose taxpayer-funded legal support if he tries to undermine the government's position on the inquiry.

Boris Johnson's head of communications joked about ordering a drone strike on Partygate investigator Sue Gray.Guto Harri said he made the comment in a bid to calm down the former prime minister who was hysterical the night before the former senior civil servant published her report into Downing Street gatherings that breached lockdown rules.

On Wednesday morning, Judge Heather Hallett, head of the Covid inquiry, was still dismayed by the ongoing absence of the elusive government WhatsApp messages.Like King Arthur in reverse, the government WhatsApp messages slept silently in a cave for eons, only to disappear in Albion's hour of need.The previous week, the Cabinet Office had declared it deemed the WhatsApp messages too irrelevant to be worth submitting to the scrutiny of the judge.

Rishi Sunak is blocking the release of WhatsApp messages to Covid inquiry because he fears they could show his plots against Boris Johnson, according to allies of the former prime minister.The claims rejected as total nonsense by the Sunak camp comes as Mr Johnson was warned he could lose taxpayer-funded legal support if he tries to undermine the government's position on the inquiry.

Ministers are preparing for a high-profile legal battle with the Covid-19 inquiry as the Government seeks to challenge the request for Boris Johnson's unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks.Bereaved families and opposition parties hit out at the Government after the Cabinet Office took the highly unusual step of seeking a judicial review of inquiry chairwoman Baroness Hallett's order to release the documents, arguing that it should not have to hand over material which is unambiguously irrelevant.

The Government will likely lose its legal challenge against the Covid inquiry, a minister has predicted.Science minister George Freeman, appearing on BBC Question Time, insisted the decision to launch judicial review proceedings was not a cynical waste of time but admitted he thought the prospect of success unlikely.

As with everything else involving Boris Johnson, theatricality looms large in the dispute over whether his WhatsApps, diaries and notebooks should be released without redaction to the official Covid-19 inquiry.The Cabinet Office had until 4pm on Thursday to comply with a demand from the inquiry chair, Lady Hallett, to hand them all over.

Boris Johnson is yet to hand over any WhatsApp messages showing discussions he had during the 2020 Covid lockdowns, the government has said.The UK Covid-19 Inquiry wants to see messages and notebooks kept by the former prime minister to build a picture of how decisions were taken in government.But the former PM has only handed over a message archive dating to May 2021 or later, a witness statement published by the Cabinet Office on Thursday and sent to the inquiry says.

Rishi Sunak's Government could face a legal battle with the Covid-19 public inquiry unless it backs down over a demand to disclose Boris Johnson's private messages and papers.The Cabinet Office has been given until 4pm to hand over diaries, notebooks and a trove of WhatsApp messages or face the threat of a criminal prosecution.

The Government faces a deadline to either release Boris Johnson's unredacted messages and diaries to the Covid-19 inquiry or face a legal dispute, with an extension due to come to an end on Thursday.The Cabinet Office had claimed it did not have access to Mr Johnson's WhatsApp messages and private notebooks ahead of an earlier deadline on Tuesday.

Boris Johnson says he has handed over his unredacted Whatsapps and notebooks and urged Rishi Sunak's government to give them to the Covid inquiry.A spokesman for the former prime minister said that all the material requested by the probe, including the messages, has been handed to the Cabinet Office in full and in unredacted form.

Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson are not scheduled to meet this week despite suggestions they would hold clear-the-air talks to tackle a series of thorny issues.It was understood on Tuesday there had been initial discussions about holding a telephone call but this is now not scheduled to go ahead.The two leading Conservatives would have a lot more to discuss than the row over the disclosure of Mr Johnson's WhatsApp messages and notebooks to the Covid-19 Inquiry.

Ministers have another two days to hand over material from Boris Johnson to the Covid inquiry, which demanded proof that officials did not hold any WhatsApp messages or notebooks from the former prime minister.The inquiry, chaired by Heather Hallett, said the Cabinet Office had until 4pm on Thursday 1 June to hand over the trove of documents and messages.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's latest Covid-19 police probe leads the majority of newspaper front pages on Wednesday.The Daily Mail says Mr Johnson is threatening to sue after extracts of his prime ministerial diaries were given to police.The Daily Express and the Daily Telegraph report on allies of the former prime minister calling the decision to report him to the police over Covid-19 lockdown breaches a stitch up.

There has been considerable media coverage in the UK this week following the government's announcement that it is to reduce the scope of its controversial Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill ( Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament).Had this bill entered into law in its original form it would have resulted in all direct EU legislation such as EU Regulations and Decisions which is currently retained under UK law pursuant to post Brexit transitional arrangements (currently estimated to be around 4,800 laws) automatically cease to have effect on 31 December 2023 unless specifically retained or amended by a minister or devolved authority before then.

Sir Keir Starmer has questions to answer over partygate investigator Sue Gray's refusal to co-operate with a Government probe into her switch to a senior Labour role, a minister has said.Security minister Tom Tugendhat said he was surprised the Labour leader was not asking the person he nominated to co-operate with the civil service body that's investigating the move to become his chief of staff.

The civil servant who oversaw the Partygate inquiry should not be allowed to work for Labour until next year, a former commissioner for Public Appointments has said.The Sue Gray report into gatherings at Downing Street during the Covid pandemic helped seal Boris Johnson's fate and eventually saw him resign as prime minister.

Boris Johnson's role in the appointment of Richard Sharp as BBC chairman should be examined, the former commissioner for public appointments has said.The former prime minister himself was conflicted in the process, according to Sir Peter Riddell, who also said questions remain about the loan made to him.

Bosses of the childcare firm at the centre of a Rishi Sunak conflict of interest row attended a Downing Street reception just hours after he was pressed by MPs over his links with the provider, the Guardian has learned.Koru Kids, which lists the prime minister's wife, Akshata Murty as a shareholder and is expected to benefit from major changes announced in the budget, was understood to be present at a No 11 reception for the education sector on Wednesday evening.

Rishi Sunak has published his long-awaited personal tax returns, showing that he paid more than 1m in UK tax over three years.The returns show the prime minister raked in more than 1.9m last year, including 1.6m in capital gains and more than 300,000 in salary earnings and investment income.He paid more than 1m in UK tax over the past three financial years including just over 432,000 in the past year (2021-22) alone.

Downing Street said the decision to ban TikTok from Government phones was a prudent and proportionate step after China criticised the app abolition.Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden on Thursday announced the ban citing fears over the protection of sensitive UK Government data.It means users of Government-issued devices, bar officials given specific exemptions, will be prohibited from using the popular video-sharing application.