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Cressida Dick Forced Out As Metropolitan Police Chief

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Metropolitan Police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick has been forced out as head of the force after a series of controversies.

The under-fire police chief said earlier in the day she had “absolutely no intention of going”, but later admitted the mayor of London Sadiq Khan “no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue”.

In a statement, she made clear her resignation followed a meeting with the mayor which “left me no choice but to step aside”.

Dick’s leadership has been dogged by a series of scandals, including the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens and racist, misogynist and homophobic messages exchanged by officers shared by officers at Charing Cross police station.

In a statement, Khan, said: “Last week, I made clear to the Metropolitan Police commissioner the scale of the change I believe is urgently required to rebuild the trust and confidence of Londoners in the Met and to root out the racism, sexism, homophobia, bullying, discrimination and misogyny that still exists.

“I am not satisfied with the commissioner’s response.

“On being informed of this, Dame Cressida Dick has said she will be standing aside. It’s clear that the only way to start to deliver the scale of the change required is to have new leadership right at the top of the Metropolitan Police.

“I would like to thank Dame Cressida Dick for her 40 years of dedicated public service, with the vast majority spent at the Met where she was the first woman to become Commissioner. In particular, I commend her for the recent work in helping us to bring down violent crime in London – although of course there is more to do.

“I want to put on the record again that there are thousands of incredibly brave and decent police officers at the Met who go above and beyond every day to help keep us safe, and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

“I will now work closely with the home secretary on the appointment of a new commissioner so that we can move quickly to restore trust in the capital’s police service while keeping London safe.”

In a statement, Dick said: “It is with huge sadness that following contact with the Mayor of London today, it is clear that the Mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue.

“He has left me no choice but to step aside as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.”

Hours earlier, when asked by the BBC if she should step down she said: “I have absolutely no intention of going and I believe that I am and have been, actually for the last five years, leading a real transformation in the Met.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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Nadine Dorries Says She Would Only Stop Supporting Boris Johnson If He ‘Kicked A Dog’

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Nadine Dorries has spelled out how far her loyalty to Boris Johnson goes as she defended the prime minister over leaked photos of a Christmas party during lockdown.

The culture secretary has developed a reputation for robustly supporting the under-fire PM against any critics since she became a cabinet minister in September.

Last week, a still from PMQs of Dorries staring at Johnson – smiling – quickly became a meme.

Now, in an interview with US broadcaster CNN, Dorries made clear there would be little Johnson could do to shake her off.

When asked if there was any situation which would cause her to withdraw her support of him, Dorries replied: “Well, of course there are. If he went up and, you know, kicked a dog, I’d probably withdraw my support for him, but no, based on his professional delivery for the UK, no, absolutely not.”

Of the leaked photos of him taking part in a quiz with champagne and tinsel during lockdown, she added: “What I would say on the food, it was an open packet of crisps, it was Christmas, it was a Zoom quiz with the wider staff. So, I mean, basically that’s all I’ve got to say on it. I’m not sure who didn’t do a Zoom quiz during lockdown with an open pocket of crisps.”

It’s the latest bizarre contortion from a Tory MP in an effort to defend their leader.

Junior minister Conor Burns claimed Johnson was effectively “ambushed by cake”, and therefore his alleged rule-breaking birthday party was not his fault.

And backbencher Adam Rosindell compared partygate to robbing a bank in an odd exchange on Sky News.

Rosindell described so-called “cakegate” as a “frenzy”, and said: “He’s made a mistake, no question about that, we all do.”

He continued: “I think we’ve all done it, let’s not be so judgemental that the prime minister of the United Kingdom has not committed some horrendous, terrible crime the deserves the entire government to be derailed.”

Sky News’ Kay Burley replied: “And you’re confident that it’s OK for the prime minister who makes the rules to break the rules and thus break the law – that’s OK?”

“No it’s not – you know I’m sure there are ministers who get parking tickets and speeding fines too,” Rosindell said.

“Anyway, lots of people break the law in small ways, sometimes unintentionally.

“He’s not robbed a bank.”

The Metropolitan Police is currently investigating 12 alleged parties, and may launch a formal probe into another after the new image emerged of Johnson taking part in a Christmas quiz on December 15, 2020.

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Keir Starmer: Stop The War Coalition Are Siding With Russia Over Ukraine

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Keir Starmer has accused the Stop The War coalition of siding with Russia as fears grow that it is about to invade Ukraine.

The Labour leader accused the organisation – which has his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn as its vice-president – of consistently supporting the west’s enemies.

His comments, in an article for The Guardian, came as Corbyn addressed a Stop The War rally in London titled “No war in Ukraine – Stop NATO expansion.”

Starmer wrote: “Nobody wants war. At first glance, some on the left may be sympathetic to those siren voices who condemn NATO. But to condemn NATO is to condemn the guarantee of democracy and security it brings, and which our allies in eastern and central Europe are relying on, as the sabre-rattling from Moscow grows ever louder.

“That’s why the likes of the Stop the War coalition are not benign voices for peace. At best they are naive; at worst they actively give succour to authoritarian leaders who directly threaten democracies.

“There is nothing progressive in showing solidarity with the aggressor when our allies need our solidarity and – crucially – our practical assistance, now more than ever. The kneejerk reflex, “Britain, Canada, the United States, France – wrong; their enemies – right”, is unthinking conservatism at its worst.

“To truly stop war, you need to show you are serious about standing up for peace, that you are serious about keeping your promises to your friends, and that you will always stand up to those who threaten.”

The Labour leader added: “Moscow’s hard-line leadership won’t see a rally on the streets of Britain as a reason to pull its tanks from Ukraine’s borders. All it will see is naivety and weakness – virtue signallers in the west providing a smokescreen so it can go on beating up and jailing those brave individuals who dare to stand up to its despotism on the streets of Russia.”

Starmer said that under his leadership, “Labour’s commitment to Nato is unshakable”.

However, in an interview with the BBC during a visit to NATO HQ in Brussels, he was repeatedly asked why he sat on Corbyn’s frontbench as shadow Brexit secretary when he knew the then leader held strong anti-NATO views.

Starmer said: “Jeremy Corbyn and I disagreed on many things. I was leading for our party on the Brexit negotiations, the difficult votes we had in Parliament, and it was very important that we had that lead at the time, that were very difficult, seems a long time ago.

“Very difficult discussions and decisions at the time, but does it mean I agree with Jeremy Corbyn on everything? Of course it doesn’t. He was leader of the party and I was leading on the Brexit negotiations.”

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Met Police To Begin Contacting More Than 50 Downing Street Party Attendees This Week

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Detectives investigating alleged Downing Street and Whitehall rule-breaking parties are to begin contacting more than 50 attendees this week.

The Metropolitan Police said it would be sending notices asking for “an account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event”, and added the inquiry has been named Operation Hillman.

The announcement on Wednesday came hours after the force said it is reviewing whether a Christmas quiz at No.10 may have breached Covid-19 restrictions after a picture emerged showing Boris Johnson and colleagues near an open bottle of champagne.

Officers will send formal questionnaires to more than 50 people, starting by the end of this week, in relation to eight dates that are being investigated between May 20 2020 and April 16 2021.

“This document, which asks for an account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event, has formal legal status and must be answered truthfully,” the Met said.

“Recipients are informed that responses are required within seven days. In most cases contact is being made via email.”

The statement added: “It should be noted that being contacted does not mean a fixed penalty notice will necessarily be issued to that person.

“Nevertheless, if following an investigation, officers believe it is appropriate because the Covid regulations have been breached without a reasonable excuse, a fixed penalty notice will normally be issued.

“We understand the interest in and impact of this case, and are progressing the investigation at pace. We are committed to completing our investigations proportionately, fairly and impartially.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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Rebekah Vardy’s ‘Nasty’ Text Was Not About Coleen Rooney, Court Told

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Rebekah Vardy was not referring to Coleen Rooney when she called someone a “nasty bitch” in a message to her agent, the High Court has heard.

Mrs Rooney, 35, accused Mrs Vardy, 39, in an October 2019 Twitter post of leaking stories about her private life after a months-long “sting operation”.

The wife of former England star Wayne Rooney, dubbed “Wagatha Christie”, claimed Mrs Vardy had shared fake stories she posted on her personal Instagram account with The Sun newspaper.

Mrs Vardy, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie, denies the accusations and is suing Mrs Rooney for libel.

At the start of a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, the High Court heard that WhatsApp messages between Mrs Vardy and her agent and friend Caroline Watt had been disclosed to Mrs Rooney’s legal team.

Mrs Rooney’s barrister David Sherborne claimed that “abusive” messages were sent about Mrs Rooney.

However, on Wednesday, Mrs Vardy’s barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC said a text in which she referred to someone as a “nasty bitch” was not about Mrs Rooney.

“This is not a passage about Mrs Rooney, it is a passage about someone else,” he said.

Coleen Rooney
Coleen Rooney

Anthony Devlin via Getty Images

Mr Tomlinson previously told the court that the messages referred to by Mr Sherborne, which were said to “reveal that Mrs Vardy and Ms Watt are responsible for the leaking”, were “selective”, and said parts of the exchanges which were left out had “precisely the opposite effect”.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the barrister quoted messages from Mrs Vardy to Ms Watt in which she said she was “offended” that Mrs Rooney thought she was the person who had leaked the information.

He added: “If one reads these messages in full, what one sees is that Mrs Vardy expresses shock at being accused and she is here communicating with the person that Mr Sherborne says is her co-conspirator.

“These are obviously candid personal messages, and if she was really concerned – ‘Oh, this is terrible, we have been found out’ – then it would have been completely different.”

Mrs Rooney is bringing a claim against Ms Watt for misuse of private information and is asking for it to be joined to the libel case.

Mr Sherborne told the court that if Mrs Vardy wins her claim on the basis that she was not the person who leaked the information, then Mrs Rooney will be left without “vindication” unless she is able to bring the claim against Ms Watt as part of the same case.

He also said that while Mrs Rooney’s lawyers wanted further information from the WhatsApp messages between Mrs Vardy and Ms Watt, Ms Watt’s phone had fallen into the sea after a boat she was on hit a wave, shortly after the last hearing.

“(It was) most unfortunate, because it was only a short time after the court ordered that the phone should be specifically searched,” he said.

Discussing the lost phone on Wednesday, Mr Tomlinson said: “That is what happened. Mrs Vardy was not present when that happened. She (Ms Watt) was on holiday, she lost her phone.”

Mrs Vardy’s lawyers have opposed the application to add the claim against Ms Watt to the libel case.

“If the defendant had genuinely wished to bring a misuse of private information claim against Ms Watt in order to vindicate her rights this claim could have been brought 15 months ago,” Mr Tomlinson said in written arguments.

Ian Helme, for Ms Watt, also opposed the application and previously said she has given “clear and consistent” denials against the claim for misuse of private information.

The trial is due to begin in early May but is likely to be delayed.

The hearing before Mrs Justice Steyn concluded on Wednesday, with judgment expected on Monday morning.

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Police May Now Investigate No.10 Christmas Quiz After Photo Of Boris Johnson Emerges

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Scotland Yard has said it could now investigate a Christmas quiz held in Downing Street during lockdown, after a new photograph of Boris Johnson attending the event emerged.

Meanwhile, detectives probing alleged breaches of Covid-19 regulations in Downing Street and Whitehall are to begin contacting more than 50 attendees this week.

On Wednesday afternoon, The Daily Mirror published the new picture of the gathering on December 15, 2020.

The prime minister can be seen in a room with three people, apparently hosting a virtual quiz with others taking part online.

One person is wearing a Christmas hat, another has purple and pink tinsel draped around their neck.

There is an open bottle of champagne on the table and a half-eaten packet of crisps.

Covid rules in London at the time banned two or more people from different households from mixing indoors.

The police are investigating 12 parties or gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall held during England’s lockdowns.

But the December 15 quiz is not currently one of them.

Following the publication of the photograph, the Met said in a this could change.

“The MPS previously assessed this event and determined that on the basis of the evidence available at that time, it did not meet the threshold for criminal investigation. That assessment is now being reviewed,” the Met said.

Official guidance at the time said: “Although there are exemptions for work purposes, you must not have a work Christmas lunch or party, where that is a primarily social activity and is not otherwise permitted by the rules in your tier.”

Later on Wednesday, the Met said officers will send formal questionnaires to more than 50 people, starting by the end of this week, in relation to eight dates that are being investigated between May 20 2020 and April 16 2021.

The force added the inquiry has been named Operation Hillman.

“This document, which asks for an account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event, has formal legal status and must be answered truthfully,” the Met said.

“Recipients are informed that responses are required within seven days. In most cases contact is being made via email.”

Asked to describe what is happening in the picture published by the Mirror, a spokeswoman for the PM said earlier: “It was a virtual quiz.

“But as Sue Gray said in her report, she was unable to set out full details of those events the Met are not looking into, but as the PM repeated today, as soon as the inquiries are over we will publish in full what Sue Gray reports.”

Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s hostile former chief adviser, tweeted: “there’s waaaaay better pics than that floating around, incl in the flat.”

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Boris Johnson Blamed For Fuelling Mob Ambush Of Keir Starmer

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Boris Johnson’s Jimmy Savile smear of Keir Starmer has been blamed for a mob ambushing the Labour leader near the houses of parliament – prompting a wave of Tory MPs to criticise their leader.

Police had to bundle the opposition leader into a car as the group, some protesting about Covid restrictions and shouting “traitor”, followed him and shadow foreign secretary David Lammy from outside Scotland Yard.

There were angry clashes with police after Starmer was escorted into a police car on the Victoria Embankment shortly after 5pm on Monday. Starmer faced baseless allegations of “protecting paedophiles” and chants about the sex offender from protesters before being bundled into a police car for protection.

After some Conservative MPs said Johnson last week accusing Starmer of having “used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile” while director of public prosecutions for stoking the abuse, the PM condemned the “completely unacceptable” incident. Notably he did not apologise.

Footage posted to social media showed Piers Corbyn, the Covid-19 conspiracy theorist brother of former Labour leader Jeremy, addressing the crowd before the incident and later leading chants of “resist, defy, do not comply”.

Video showed Starmer, surrounded by police, being followed down the street while being targeted with shouts of “why aren’t you opposing?” and “traitor”.

“Why did you go after Julian Assange, why did you go after journalists?,” one man shouted.

It was understood Starmer was not harmed during the incident and was soon back at his desk.

After he was taken to safety, an officer was called a “pathetic little thug” during angry exchanges.

Protesters were seen displaying signs opposing mandatory vaccination and the use of restrictions to prevent Covid-19 deaths.

After footage of the confrontation spread on social media, MPs from across the political spectrum hit out at the prime minister’s slur against Starmer.

The PM on Monday referenced Starmer’s former job as director of public prosecutions, suggesting his opponent was responsible for failing to prosecute serial sex offender Savile – even though fact-checkers have since proven the Labour leader was not.

The prime minister clarified his comments on Thursday and claimed he had not been talking about Starmer’s “personal record”, but notably did not apologise for the slur.

After the attack, Tory MP Julian Smith linked the incident to Johnson’s Savile smear in the Commons last week.

He tweeted: “What happened to Keir Starmer tonight outside parliament is appalling. It is really important for our democracy & for his security that the false Savile slurs made against him are withdrawn in full.”

Another Conservative MP, Robert Largan, added: “I agree with Julian. Words matter. What we say and how we say it echoes out far beyond parliament. It can have serious real world consequences. Elected representatives have a responsibility to lower the temperature of debate, not add fuel to the fire.”

Deputy speaker of the house of commons, Eleanor Laing, said the attack was “unacceptable. Period.”

She tweeted: “Elected representatives must be able to go about their work without the fear of verbal or physical attacks.”

“It doesn’t matter which political party you support we all must stand up for freedom of speech and the rule of law.”

Another Tory MP, Aaron Bell, said: “Physical intimidation has no part in our democracy, and we all have a responsibility to debate in a measured and accurate way.”

After he was heckled alongside Starmer, Lammy tweeted alongside a video clip of the incident: “No surprise the conspiracy theorist thugs who harassed Keir Starmer and I repeated slurs we heard from Boris Johnson last week at the despatch box.

“Intimidation, harassment and lies have no place in our democracy.

“And they won’t ever stop me doing my job.”

He added: “My thanks to the Met Police who helped get me safely back to parliament.”

Labour MP Chris Bryant tweeted: “This is appalling. People were shouting all sorts at Keir, including ‘Jimmy Savile’. This is what happens when a prime minister descends into the gutter and recycles lies from hard-right conspiracy theorists. Political poison has an effect. Johnson has no moral compass.”

A Labour source told HuffPost UK: “Boris Johnson and his cabinet chose to lie down with the dogs – and now the whole lot of them are covered in fleas.”

Johnson later tweeted: “The behaviour directed at the leader of the opposition tonight is absolutely disgraceful. All forms of harassment of our elected representatives are completely unacceptable.

“I thank the police for responding swiftly.”

Scotland Yard said two arrests were made after the clashes.

A Metropolitan Police statement said: “Shortly after 5.10pm on Monday, February 7, a man who had been surrounded by a group of protesters near to New Scotland Yard, was taken away from the scene by a police car.

“A man and a woman were arrested at the scene for assault of an emergency worker after a traffic cone was thrown at a police officer.

“They have been taken into custody.”

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Steph McGovern ‘Throwing Up’ In Downing Street After Night Partying With Kylie Minogue Is The Story That Has It All

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[embedded content]

Everyone has got their own work hangover stories, but we’ll bet none of them are as good as Steph McGovern’s.

The Packed Lunch presenter has revealed how she once “threw up” in the toilets of 10 Downing Street after a night partying with Kylie Minogue.

Steph recalled how she’d once been sent to No.10 to interview then-prime minister Gordon Brown while she was nursing a hangover from dancing the night away with one of the biggest stars in the world.

The host – who perviously presented the business news on Chris Evans’ drivetime radio show and worked as a producer for political journalist Robert Peston – had been invited to a party in Hyde Park by Chris, which was attended by the pop princess.

But she ended up paying the price the following day when she was sent on a last-minute dispatch to meet the PM.

Steph McGovern
Steph McGovern

Samir Hussein via Getty Images

Speaking on Monday’s edition of Steph’s Packed Lunch, Steph recalled: “Kylie was there, I was literally living my best life. I was drinking, I’d taken the next day off work but obviously as a journalist you can’t take days off if news happens. I got a phone call from Robert Peston. He said, ‘We’ve got an interview with the prime minister in the morning, you need to get it organised but you can’t tell anyone, you need to get a camera man or woman there for me at number 10.’”

Steph continued: “I was hammered. I rang the news desk to organise the cameras. They were like ‘You’re drunk, Steph, you need to go home’.

Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue

Antony Jones via Getty Images

“When I’d finally organised the camera crew, I put the phone down and was like I’m not going home yet, I’m dancing with Kylie Minogue, this is never going to happen again in my life. So I didn’t go home and ended up going to a big party at Chris Evans’ house.

“He has a guy who works for him he calls Mrs Doubtfire and he [Chris] said ‘I’ll get him to give you a lift in the morning’… So I got dropped off at Downing Street in one of Chris Evans’s spy 100 Ferrari cars and I had to and go this interview with the prime minister.”

Steph, laughingly added: “And I threw up in the loo of Number 10… But still, the interview went well!”

Steph’s Packed Lunch airs weekdays at 12.30pm on Channel 4.

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