Inside Politics: Boris Johnson faces grilling over Russia failures

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Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself. Just ask Madonna. The star has revealed how she was whacked with a million-dollar fine by the Russian government for speaking out on LGBT+ rights – but simply refused to pay up. Boris Johnson and his ministers, facing a grilling in the Commons today, will be asked to explain when exactly they were thinking about standing up to Russia. After the bombshell dossier found Moscow-driven interference, disinformation, illicit finance and violence on British soil, opposition MPs want to know if Vladimir Putin will be given a green light to carry on meddling.

Inside the bubble

Our political commentator Andrew Grice on what to look out for today:

A busy final day before the Commons starts summer recess. Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer will lock horns at PMQs, and James Brokenshire has been summoned by the Speaker to answer an urgent question from Labour on the Russia report. Defence secretary Ben Wallace will update on MPs on action against Isis. On the committee corridor, all eyes will be on housing secretary Robert Jenrick, who will be quizzed about his role in the £1bn Westferry housing development.

Daily briefing

SEEK NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL: Labour use its urgent question to highlight “shortcomings” in security policy shown up by the Intelligence and Select Committee (ISC) dossier. MPs on the committee said the government “did not want to know” if there been interference in the Brexit referendum – and had “actively avoided looking for evidence”. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab rejected the ISC’s call for an investigation into potential meddling in the 2016 vote, while No 10 said rejected its call for a crackdown on London being used as a “laundromat” for Russian cash. Will anything be done? The government is considering giving MI5 new powers to make it a “harder environment” for spies to operate in, according to The Times. Is it enough to tame the Russian bear? The Lib Dems’ leader Ed Davey acting leader is determined to keep up the pressure, calling on the PM to reveal the Tory party’s Russian donors.

ARE YOU BUYING IT? US secretary of state Mike Pompeo – not to be outdone by the Russia report – has some intelligence revelations of his own to offer. The Trump official claimed at a private meeting with MPs that the World Health Organisation’s chief had been “bought” by China, according to several reports this morning. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made a “deal” with Beijing to help secure his election, Pompeo alleged – claiming the deal had cost lives in the coronavirus crisis. Elsewhere, The Telegraph reports ministers are now operating under the “working assumption” there will be no trade deal with the EU – leaving us to crash out onto WTO terms at the end of 2020. Pompeo, incidentally, claimed Washington want a UK-US trade deal “just as quickly as possible”.

PEOPLE PERSON: Priti Patel has finally promised a review of the government’s hostile environment policy in light of the Windrush scandal – pledging the Home Office would try a “people first” approach to immigration (don’t laugh). The home secretary told MPs there would be mandatory training for Home Office staff, “reconciliation” events with Windrush victims and greater diversity in shortlists for top jobs at the department. Elsewhere, the digital, culture, media and sport committee said the Russia report showed exactly why the government needed to do more to tackle disinformation and fake news. Launching a report of their own, MPs on the committee said a new regulator was needed now to tackle the “infodemic” created during the coronavirus crisis.

MARGINS OF SAFETY: It’s never too early to get on with winning the next election. The Tories are running a new, under-the-radar online advertising campaign targeting Labour MPs in 19 marginal seats over immigration. The adverts, shown to Facebook users in just these constituencies, highlight Labour’s vote against the government’s immigration bill – which the party opposed over visa restrictions on care workers. Elsewhere, the Tories have been urged to suspend MP Rob Roberts after he was accused of propositioning a female intern and acting inappropriately towards a male parliamentary aide. The MP for Delyn has been referred to parliament’s standards watchdog after the BBC reported that he sent messages to a 21-year-old intern asking her to “fool around”.

BIG HAIRY GOALS: Health secretary Matt Hancock has hinted at a big shake-up at Public Health England once the NHS gets through the winter. Asked whether he is engaged in reforming PHE, the health secretary said “there will be a time for that” in the months ahead. He also criticised the body’s performance during the crisis, saying it had not been “ready” to do things at a “mass national scale”. Hancock also told MPs he set a firm coronavirus testing target to “galvanise the system” – and revealed that Rishi Sunak told him it was a “big, hairy, audacious goal”. Which was a bit odd. Elsewhere, Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, warned that the chances of a “highly effective” vaccine being ready for distribution by Christmas are “very low”.

WELL WISHER: Donald Trump was on his best behaviour at the first of the resumed coronavirus briefings, doing the thing he hates more than anything in the world – reading scripted remarks. He admitted warned that the US outbreak would probably “get worse before it gets better”, and asked Americans to wear face coverings. “Whether you like the mask or not, get a mask.” Things turned a little more interesting when reporters got to ask questions about Ghislaine Maxwell – the British socialite faces charges of facilitating the abuse of minors by Jeffrey Epstein. The president said he had met her “numerous times over the years”, adding: “I wish her well”.

On the record

“No-one in government knew if Russia interfered in or sought to influence the referendum because they did not want to know. The UK government actively avoided looking for evidence.”

SNP MP Stewart Hosie on the failure to investigate potential vote meddling.

From the Twitterati

For Raab to say "we have seen no evidence of Russian interference", in reply to a report accusing the gov't of refusing to look for evidence of Russian interference, is straight-up gas-lighting.

Anti-Brexit campaigner Alex Andreou is outraged at the refusal to investigate…

“[Boris Johnson] refuses a cross-party call to launch an inquiry because he is worried about what it might find.”

…while Lib Dems’ acting leader Ed Davey thinks he know why.

Essential reading

Sean O’Grady, The Independent: Johnson and May’s lack of action on Russian interference is a shameful

Andrew Feinberg, The Independent: The fatal mistake that allowed Trump to have a secret police force

Marina Hyde, The Guardian: The Russia report revealed just how little Britain really wants to know

Rachel Donadio, The Atlantic: The coronavirus exposed the West’s weakest link

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