UK politics live: Boris Johnson dismissed Barnard Castle row as ‘lefty journalists angry over Brexit’
Boris Johnson reveals blazing row with former adviser Dominic Cummings in new autobiography
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Boris Johnson has revealed how he dismissed warnings over Dominic Cummings and the Barnard Castle row as “lefty journalists angry over Brexit”.
In his new book ‘Unleashed’, the former prime minister explained why he refused to sack his then political adviser despite his infamous trip during the peak of the pandemic.
When a friend advised him to sack his then chief of staff, Johnson wrote he retorted: “The whole thing is a put up job. It’s just a load of lefty journalists who want payback for Brexit.”
He claimed Cummings then showed a lack of gratitude for his efforts to defend him over potentially breaking lockdown rules with the trip to Barnard Castle in 2020, which led him using Partygate as a form of revenge.
Mr Johnson also branded Mr Cummings “weird” and compared him to a “homicidal robot”.
The revelations come as Mr Johnson had his prime-time interview with the BBC cancelled after presenter Laura Kuenssberg accidentally sent the former PM her briefing notes.
Meanwhile, the Labour government has agreed a deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius to secure the future of a secretive military base in the Pacific Ocean.
Labour vows to end ‘Tory chokehold on investment’ with major announcement
Labour seems to have a new weapon under its sleeve to turn opinion polls around.
The government is teasing a “major investment announcement” which Labour promises will “spark the creation of thousands of jobs and igniting growth in industrial heartlands of the UK”.
There are little details of what exactly the policy will be. But energy secretary Ed Milliband will make the big announcement tomorrow alongside the prime minister and chancellor.
Ministers promised that the mysterious changes will end “years of blockage and stagnation by successive Conservative governments, too mired in internal politics to seize the opportunities of the future”.
Starmer not in politics to be popular, says minister
Sir Keir Starmer’s personal ratings dropped while he was busy dealing with the row over ministerial donations.
A poll by Opinium revealed the prime minister’s ratings collapsed 45 points since July to -26 during the Labour conference weekend.
According to the survey, 24 per cent of voters approved of the job he was doing while 50 per cent disapproved.
Despite the damning results in only three months in government, industry minister Sarah Jones believes Sir Keir has nothing to fear.
Ms Jones said: “He is not going to be worrying about popularity. He hasn’t gone into politics to do that. But he is really clear that we need to build trust in politicians and politics.
“We are going to go govern in the way that we say we were, which is to drive up integrity, grow the economy and improve people’s lives, and make sure we listen to the public.”
Labour minister investigating whether she can repay Proms ticket back
Sir Keir Starmer’s move to repay more than £6,000 worth of freebies seems to have shaken a minister’s conscience.
During this morning media round, business minister Sarah Jones said she is investigating whether she can pay back a BBC Proms ticket she received as a gift.
The MP for Croydon West, told Times Radio: “If I looked at me being an MP for seven years, been to three events – one Selhurst Park, one the Capital Radio Summertime Ball which the owners LBC invited me to, and one was to the Proms.
“From a perspective of did I declare everything, was I doing this loads of times, was I kind of out and all the time taking freebies, was I giving anybody anything for these things? It was all completely above board.
“But if I look at it through the lens that the public is now looking at it and the question we’re talking about, for what purpose I’m going to those events, I’m not going to go to another event that I’m invited to.”
Asked if she will pay it back, Ms Jones said: “I’m not sure I could but I will certainly look at that, yeah. The issue of the Proms that I’ve been to, I am just investigating whether I could pay that back.”
WATCH | Which Tory leader came out on top at Conservative Party Conference?
Boris Johnson interview cancelled after Laura Kuenssberg accidentally sends notes
TV host Laura Kuenssberg has revealed she sent Boris Johnson briefing notes forcing the anticipated interview with the former prime minister to be axed.
The BBC’s political editor admitted the personal gaffe was “embarrassing and disappointing” and the error meant it “was not right for the interview to go ahead”.
Ms Kuenssberg tweeted on Wednesday: “While prepping to interview Boris Johnson tomorrow, by mistake I sent our briefing notes to him in a message meant for my team.”
The interview has now been scheduled for Sunday, when Mr Johnson will be grilled over his past leadership and his upcoming memoir ‘Unleashed’.
God morning
Welcome back to the Politics Blog.
The party conference season is over and while the Tory membership is busy choosing a new leader, Labour is trying to return to the normal routine of governing.
Sir Keir Starmer has ben splashed with spiralling criticism for accepting thousands of pounds in freebies.
The donations backlash followed him to Brussels, where he said it was “right” for him to repay more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality, including clothes donated by probed Lord Alli.
As the row rumbles on, we will bring you all the live updates and analysis throughout the day.
SKETCH | ‘Let’s be normal’ is now the rallying cry from a desperate Tory party
Finally, it was the climax of the week for the Conservative candidates; the chance to pose on stage with an audience of 1,900 and show their real selves. If only they hadn’t, writes Joe Murphy:
‘Let’s be normal’ is now the rallying cry from a desperate Tory party
Finally, it was the climax of the week for the Conservative candidates; the chance to pose on stage with an audience of 1,900 and show their real selves. If only they hadn’t, writes Joe Murphy
Axing two-child limit ‘most cost-effective move but no silver bullet on poverty’
Scrapping the two-child limit would lift more than half a million out of absolute poverty at an eventual cost to the government of £2.5 billion a year, but would “do nothing” for the poorest households caught by the remaining benefit cap, a think tank has said.
Doing away with the two-child limit would be the single most cost-effective way of reducing child poverty, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), but it said that such a policy change is “not a silver bullet”.
Scrapping both the two-child limit and the benefit cap would lift 620,000 children out of absolute poverty but would cost more than £3 billion annually, the organisation said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been under pressure, since he came to power in July, to remove the two-child policy, and some of Labour’s own MPs were suspended after backing another party’s motion to do so.
The government has cited spending controls as a reason for not being able to immediately ditch the policy, indicating there would be no change to it without economic growth.
The two-child limit was first announced in 2015 by the Conservatives and came into effect in 2017. It restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.
In a new report setting out estimates for the costs and effects of scrapping different policies, rather than recommendations, the IFS said reversing the two-child limit would lift 540,000 children out of absolute poverty.
Watch: Tobias Ellwood rules out Britain attacking Iran after missiles fired
Former defence secretary rules out Britain attacking Iran after missiles fired
Britain will play no part in attacking Iran, a former defence minister has said after Tehran launched around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, 1 October. When asked if he expects the US or UK to be part of any Israeli response, Tobias Ellwood - who lost his seat at the 2024 general election - said he was firm about his belief. “The move to actually attack Iran moves us into a very dangerous place indeed,” he said. British forces “played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East” on Tuesday, defence secretary John Healey said. It came as Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran will “pay a price” after it fired missiles at Israel following an Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Two in five parents ‘educate disabled children at home due to lack of provision’
Nearly two in five parents have been forced to educate their disabled child at home because of a lack of suitable provision or funding, a survey has found.
A third (33 per cent) of parents of disabled children have had to go to tribunal to have their local authority agree to fund their child’s education, according to the poll for disability charity Sense.
Parents have been forced to give up their careers because their children’s needs are not being met, while others have had to spend their children’s savings to fight for support, the charity said.
The survey, of 1,001 parents and guardians of disabled children under the age of 18 in the UK, found 46 per cent struggled to get an education, health and care (EHC) plan in place for their child, and a similar proportion (45 per cent) said they had faced difficulties in getting the plan delivered.
The charity has estimated that around 200,000 disabled children in England are having problems getting the right support through an EHC plan.
An EHC plan is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs support.
These plans identify educational, health and social needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs.
The poll, which was carried out by Censuswide in September, found that 39% of parents said they have had to educate their disabled child at home as there is not the funding or the right education provision available to them.
The charity is calling on the government to set out an improvement plan for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in its upcoming Children’s Wellbeing Bill.
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