UK politics live: Boris Johnson claims he considered raid into Holland to recover ‘kidnapped’ Covid vaccines
Boris Johnson promises ‘the unfiltered truth about Brexit, Covid and the Conservative Party’ in his new book, Unleashed
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Boris Johnson has claimed he considered sending the British Army on a daring raid to snatch Covid-19 vaccines from an EU warehouse, although he rejected the idea, saying: “The whole thing was nuts.”
The former prime minister demanded of senior military leaders whether he could launch a mission to a warehouse where the EU had stowed five million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, with global supplies dwindling in the height of lockdown.
Mr Johnson Johnson’s book, Unleashed, is being serialised in the Daily Mail and as well as defending his actions during “Partygate” and writing about his experiences in hospital with Covid, he discusses his wranglings with the EU after his post-Brexit deal was put in place.
He wrote: “I was angry enough to contemplate this clandestine operation, because after two months of futile negotiation I had come to the conclusion that the EU was treating us with malice and with spite; not because we had done anything wrong – we had not, far from it; but because we were vaccinating our population much faster than they were, and the European electorate had long since noticed.”
Tories promoted ‘racism that poisoned the public discourse’, Baroness Warsi says
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has said the Conservatives have promoted “racism that poisoned the public discourse”, a day after she left the party.
ICYMI, former cabinet minister Baroness Warsi resigned the Conservative whip last night, saying the party had moved too far to the right from when she was in government.
Writing on X, she said: “Thank you to colleagues from across Parliament who have reached out with kind messages and solidarity.
Thank you also to the likes of James (Cleverly) and others who are providing me with an opportunity to revisit the last ten years of inaction, acquiescence, tolerance and promotion of racism that poisoned the public discourse leading to violence on our streets.
“Damaged our country and destroyed our party. I kept the receipts and look forward to publishing them,” she added.
What to expect from Tory conference
The 2024 Conservative Party Conference will be a drastically different affair from last year’s gathering in Manchester, when Rishi Sunak’s government was in its dying days.
Back then, ministers announced a slew of eye-catching policies that would reshape the future of the country in a desperate last few roles of the dice - Alex Chalk promising to offshore prisoners, Jeremy Hunt planning to slash the number of civil servants and Rishi Sunak scrapping HS2.
This year, Mr Sunak is a lame duck Tory leader and all eyes will be far from the diminished former prime minister. Instead it will be a four-day battle for the future leadership of the party, with the four remaining contenders thrashing it out to try to win over Tory members.
James Cleverly, Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat will be put to the test in a series of hustings and speeches, as well as taking part in intense lobbying and networking behind the scenes in Birmingham with MPs and the party rank and file.
On offer elsewhere will be former Tory MPs, ousted by the public in July’s general election, setting out where they think the party went wrong and what it needs to do next.
High profile names expected to appear are ex-PM Liz Truss, former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg and incoming Spectator Editor Michael Gove.
The Independent will be bringing the latest updates and analysis from the conference.
What is non-dom tax status and is Labour still going to change it?
My colleague Albert Toth explains:
What is non-dom tax status and is Labour still going to change it?
Labour has said they will scrap the controversial tax loophole for people living in the UK
Government responds to increase in pension credit claims
A Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting pensioners, with millions set to see their state pension rise by £1,700 this parliament through our commitment to the triple lock.
“Given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, it’s right we target support to those who need it most.
“Over a million pensioners will still receive the winter fuel payment, and our drive to boost pension credit take-up has already seen a 152% increase in claims.
“Many others will also benefit from the £150 warm home discount to help with energy bills over winter while our extension of the household support fund will help with the cost of food, heating and bills.”
Independent readers say Keir Starmer needs ‘time and space to clean out the Tories’ from government
Readers say Starmer needs ‘time and space to clean out the Tories’
Independent readers reveal hope for the future – with calls to address areas such as wealth inequality, repair public services and create closer links with the EU
Your Labour Party conference questions answered by John Rentoul as Keir Starmer pledges to ‘face the storm’
Our chief political commentator John Rentoul has been responding to readers questions following a significant week for Labour, as they held their first conference in government in over a decade.
Here are six questions from Independent readers – and his answers from the “Ask Me Anything” event.
Read below:
Your Labour Party conference questions answered by John Rentoul
As the Labour Party conference unveiled more of the party’s platform and policy positions ahead of the upcoming budget, our chief political commentator John Rentoul answers your questions
Who is Russell Findlay? The new leader of the Scottish Conservatives
Russell Findlay has billed himself as someone who is “not a career politician”.
For decades, Mr Findlay was an investigative reporter in Scotland, covering organised crime and justice for the likes of STV and the Scottish Sun.
It was his work investigating some of the country’s biggest criminals that led to him being attacked with acid at his home, narrowly avoiding serious injury.
Mr Findlay went on to become – to the surprise of many colleagues – the head of communications for the Scottish Conservatives in 2020, and later announced his intention to run for Holyrood.
Topping the Tories’ West Scotland list, he was elected in 2021 – after coming third in the Paisley constituency – and quickly rose to become the party’s justice spokesman.
Throughout his four years at Holyrood, the former reporter has become a fierce critic of the Scottish Government, particularly around the controversial gender reforms blocked by the UK government early last year.
He was also seen by some as the continuity candidate in the Tory leadership race, with reports suggesting his predecessor Douglas Ross wanted him to take over the top job last year.
Mr Findlay will now be tasked with bringing together a party which has been struggling in recent months.
Full report: Russell Findlay elected as leader of the Scottish Conservatives following bitter contest
Read the full report from my colleague Alex Croft below:
Russell Findlay elected as leader of the Scottish Conservatives after bitter contest
Russell Findlay called for the Scottish Conservatives to ‘unite’ after the election
Badenoch doubles down on claim she became working class after working in McDonald's
Kemi Badenoch has doubled down on her claim that she "became working class" when she got a job at McDonald's.
The Tory leadership hopeful said she came to the UK “with no money, no friends, no parents”.
She told LBC at that point in her life she was working class as she “had to work to eat”.
“I grew up in a middle class family but coming here I became working class - my dad gave me his last £100, he said ‘you know this is all we have’ because all our money was gone and this is one of the things that people don’t understand,” Ms Badenoch said.
Watch her original comments below:
Pension credit claims hit almost 75,000 since winter fuel payment slimdown
Pension credit claims have hit almost 75,000 amid Government efforts to boost benefits take-up.
Department for Work and Pensions figures released on Friday showed the Government received around 74,400 pension credit claims in the eight weeks since 29 July, when Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced means testing for the winter fuel payment.
This is up from 29,500 claims in the eight weeks before the announcement.
But in the seven days beginning on 16 September, the department received 11,800 claims, down from 13,400 the week before.
The vast majority (92 per cent) of claims made in the week beginning 16 September were made online.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has previously urged pensioners to check if they are eligible for the benefit, which would unlock winter fuel payments of up to £300.
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