Trevor Phillips has accused Rishi Sunak of using “extreme” language on immigration after the prime minister claimed the UK risks being “overwhelmed” by foreigners.
The prime minister said that could “destroy” British democracy unless the government takes tough action to crack down on the issue.
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He made his comments at a conservative political festival in Rome, where he also heaped praise on the Italy’s right-wing prime minister, Georgia Meloni.
On his Sky News programme this morning, Phillips asked deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden: “Does Rishi Sunak, son of east African Asians, really believe that immigrants are going to – as he put it yesterday – overwhelm us and destroy our democracy?”
Dowden said: “We do have to reassure people that we have got control of our borders, and we cannot have this unsustainable situation where we’re enriching people smugglers, the worst people on the Earth, through allowing this trade in human beings across the Channel.”
But Phillips hit back: “You know I’m not a nit-picker for language, but really ’immigrants are going to overwhelm us and destroy out democracy’?
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″This is quite extreme language, isn’t it? If you hear that from your own prime minister and you are of an immigrant background, it’s not nice.”
Trevor Phillips attacked the PM on his Sky News programme this morning.
John Walton – PA Images via Getty Images
The clash came after Sunak won backing from MPs for his emergency legislation which is designed to finally allow the government to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The prime minister is under huge pressure from the right of his party to bring down the numbers coming to the UK from abroad.
Figures revealed last month that net migration – the difference between those leaving and entering the country – hit 750,000 last year.
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That is despite the last Tory election manifesto promising to bring immigration down below 226,000.
Michelle Mone has admitted she stands to personally benefit from a £60 million profit a consortium led by her husband made from providing personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic.
The lingerie tycoon and Conservative peer had repeatedly denied to the press about her involvement in the controversy.
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In an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg today, Mone said she had “lied” to journalists protect her family.
Mone’s husband, Doug Barrowman, said his consortium, PPE Medpro, had agreed PPE contracts worth £202 million with the government following the Covid outbreak.
He said that had generated a £60 million profit, which is now held in a family trust.
The government is now suing PPE Medpro for breach of contract.
Asked why she had denied any involvement in the controversy, Mone said: “I wasn’t trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, and I regret and I am sorry for not saying straight out ‘yes I am involved’ because [the Department of Health], the NHS, the Cabinet Office, they all knew of my involvement, but I didn’t want the press intrusion for my family.
“My family have been through hell with the media over my career and I didn’t want another big hoo-ha in the media.”
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But Kuenssberg told her: “This wasn’t just a slip-up. You didn’t tell the truth for months on end.”
Mone replied: “I think if we were to say of anything we’ve done – we’ve done a lot of good – but if we were to saying anything that we have done that we are sorry for, and that’s we should have told the press straight up straight away, nothing to hide, and again I’m sorry for that. But I wasn’t trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes.”
Mone – who took a leave of absence from the House of Lords a year ago – insisted that the £60 million PPE profit is “not my money”, but her husband said: “If I die, one day in the future, she is going to directly benefit.”
Mone said: “If one day, if God forbid my husband passes away before me, then I am a beneficiary as well as his children and my children, so yes of course.”
She also claimed she and her husband have been used as “scapegoats” by the government.
“We’ve done one thing, which was to lie to the press to say we weren’t involved. No one deserves this.”
She added: “The only error that I have made is say to the press that I wasn’t involved.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the couple confirmed that they are under investigation bythe National Crime Agency (NCA) over allegations of conspiracy to defraud, fraud by false representation, and bribery.
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Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine demanded that Rishi Sunak strip Mone of the Tory whip in the House of Lords.
She said: “It is jaw-dropping that Michelle Mone has admitted lying to the country over this shameful PPE scandal and is now trying to play the victim card.
“She repeatedly denied she would make money from this contract, now it emerges she’s set to profit to the tune of millions.
“Rishi Sunak was too weak to withdraw the Conservative whip from Baroness Mone when this scandal emerged last year. He must finally do the right thing now.
“The Prime Minister should kick Michelle Mone out of the Conservative Party and withdraw the whip if she has the gall to return to the Lords.”
Most voters do not believe that Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda plan will help him stop the small boats carrying asylum seekers across the Channel, HuffPost UK can reveal.
Polling by the More in Common think-tank shows that barely one in four people (27%) think it will reduce the numbers making the perilous journey.
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By contrast, 47% believe it will make no difference and a further 8% think it will lead to more refugees coming to the UK.
The poll also shows that nearly half of voters – 45% – think ministers should not break international law to make the deportation policy work, compared to 32% who think they should.
Overall, fewer than half – 46% – say they support the policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, compared to 28% who do not.
The findings are a major blow for the prime minister, who has staked his personal authority on getting flights to Rwanda off the ground.
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Luke Tryl, More in Common’s UK director, said: “It continues to be the case that more people support the Rwanda project than not – although crucially not a majority.
“The truth is that for all the political capital that has been spent on the Rwanda project, the public just don’t think that it is going to work and there continues to be limited public support for the UK to break international law in order to try and get flights off the ground.
“It does make you question the wisdom of making this the centrepiece of the Tories plans to tackle illegal immigration – and issue which itself is important to voters.”
Last Tuesday, Sunak won a crunch vote in the Commons on the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which the PM said is vital to finally getting flights to Rwanda off the ground.
It was drawn up after the Supreme Court last month ruled the scheme illegal because of the risk of asylum seekers being sent from the east African country to another nation.
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More in Common polled 2,041 adults between December 12 and 14.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hailed the decision by the European Union for Ukraine to begin accession talks to become a member of the bloc.
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, announced the move on X (formerly Twitter).
Responding on the same platform, the Ukrainian president said: “This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens.”
Rishi Sunak has scrapped the dedicated post of disabilities minister — during UK disability history month.
Downing Street confirmed on Thursday that an “existing” minister will be handed the disabilities brief on top of their current job.
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It was later announced that health minister Mims Davies will take on responsibility for disbaility issues.
She said: “I’ll work as hard as I can to ensure disabled people’s voices are heard loud and clear.”
Until last week the position was its own minister of state level job, having first been created when Labour came to power in 1997.
Davies holds the more junior parliamentary under-secretary post and shadow disabilites minister Vicky Foxcroft said that showed the disabilities brief had been “downgraded”.
The last MP to hold the standalone disabilities role was Tom Pursglove, but he was made minister for legal immigration earlier this week.
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The prime minister also appointed Michael Tomlinson as minister for illegal immigration.
The move comes during UK disability history month, which runs from November 16 until December 16.
Sunak’s official spokesperson denied the change was a “downgrading” of the role.
“It’s not right. We will have a minister for disabled people who will lead on that important work,” the spokesperson said.
“It is actions that matter. What you will continue to see is a government showing strong support for disabled people and for disabled issues.”
But Foxcroft said: “Shocking that Rishi Sunak has chosen not to appoint a new minister for disabled people, health and work.
“After 13 years of Tory austerity, pandemic and cost of living crisis, disabled people feel their voices aren’t being heard and represented in Government. This confirms it.”
James Taylor, director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said: “This is an appalling and retrograde move by the government.
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“What kind of message does this give to Britain’s 16 million disabled people? That – in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis – we are now less important?
“Life costs more if you are disabled. There hasn’t been cost of living payment for disabled people this winter. And negative welfare rhetoric has ramped up this year.
“We must have a Minister for Disabled People in government, to be a champion of disabled people and disability, and make sure policy doesn’t leave disabled people behind and disadvantaged.”
A government spokesperson said: “Minister Davies will build upon this Government’s track record of supporting disabled people, having delivered millions of cost of living payments and helping over one million more disabled people into work five years earlier than planned.
“The minister will help ensure there is always a strong safety net for the most vulnerable in our society, while tearing down barriers so that every disabled person can realise their potential and thrive.”
Mark Drakeford is stepping down as the Welsh Labour leader with immediate effect, he has announced.
In a major shock, the veteran Labour politician said his replacement as the country’s first minister will be elected before Easter.
Drakeford, who became first minister exactly five years ago, posted on X (formerly Twitter): “When I stood for election as Leader of Welsh Labour, I said I would stand down during the current Senedd term. That time has now come.
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“It has been a great privilege to serve as leader of this party. Together, we have achieved a huge amount over the last five years in some of the toughest times we have known.
“Despite all the chaos in Westminster, the ongoing impact of Brexit, climate change and the pandemic, by working together, we have delivered record results for Welsh Labour in the local government and Senedd elections.
“Our greatest task is still ahead of us – to return a Labour UK Government and start repairing the huge damage which has been inflicted by the Tories over the last 13 years.
“I will work tirelessly to secure that Labour victory and to continue delivering on the promises we made to people all across Wales in 2021 to deliver a stronger, fairer and greener Wales.”
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Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon was among the first to pay tribute to Drakeford.
Writing on X, she said: “He was without doubt one of the most decent, dedicated, principled, and impressive politicians I had the privilege of working with in my time as FM. He will be the hardest of acts to follow.”
Sending my very best wishes to @MarkDrakeford. He was without doubt one of the most decent, dedicated, principled, and impressive politicians I had the privilege of working with in my time as FM. He will be the hardest of acts to follow. https://t.co/YZcYSMjOMg
Rishi Sunak said he wished Drakefors “all the best as he moves on from his many years of public service”.
I wish @MarkDrakeford all the best as he moves on from his many years of public service.
We will continue to work closely with the Welsh Government to build on our joint work to spread opportunity for people across Wales. https://t.co/aPTqPKVFJY
Former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson has poured cold water on speculation that he may join former President Donald Trump on the Republican 2024 ticket.
Trump himself has suggested he may be open to the idea of the conspiracy theorist — who frequently promoted racist and far-right talking points on his prime-time Fox show until he was fired in April — as his running mate if he secures the Republican nomination.
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But when fellow Fox alum Megyn Kelly asked Carlson on her SiriusXM show on Monday if he would serve as Trump’s right-hand-man if requested, Carlson said it would be “so unimaginable.”
“I mean, I haven’t led a life that prepares a person for politics,” Carlson told Kelly. “As I said, I don’t think I have any horrible skeletons or anything. It’s not that. It’s just that that’s not how my brain works. I’ve never done anything like that. I can’t imagine spending time with politicians.”
To Kelly on Monday, though, Carlson ― who on the same day launched his own streaming platform ― had nothing but praise for the four-times-indicted former president.
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“I’m a total sucker for Trump,” he claimed. “Personally, I get along with Trump really well. The closer I am physically to Trump, like if I’m with him in the room, I always love Trump and I think it’s impossible not to, and you know the experience. He’s just charming.”
Carlson called Trump “funny as hell” and “brave in his way” and said he agreed with many of his policies and was “kind of psyched to vote” for him if he becomes the GOP nominee next year.
“But serving in politics with anybody, I mean, that’s just a lot for me to think about because I just don’t think I’m really suited for that. Would anyone want to see a guy like me run for office?” Carlson asked.
“Yes,” replied Kelly. ”I thought about it a million times.”
She predicted, “You’re not gonna end your life without having been probably president, maybe vice president. I just don’t think you will.”
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And while Sunak’s press conference didn’t get the best of reactions from either the public or his political peers, one place he can look to for some words of encouragement (albeit sarcastic ones) is Joe Lycett’s social media account.
Speaking directly to the prime minister, the comedian wrote on X: “Well done hunni, you came across really calm and in control there. Job done.”
In recent history, the former Great British Sewing Bee host has become known for his political commentary, always delivered in his own inimitable style.
This is just the first of two days in which he will be grilled over the government’s handling of the pandemic, and there was plenty of back-and-forth between the former prime minister and the counsel to the inquiry Hugo Keith KC.
So here’s a list of the core exchanges from the first day.
1. He began with an apology – but was interrupted by protests
“Can I just say how glad I am to be at this inquiry and how sorry I am for the pain and the loss and the suffering of the Covid victims,” Johnson said when he started to give evidence.
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Four people started to protest and held up a sign which said “the dead can’t hear your apologies”. They were removed.
Johnson also said he took “personal responsibility for all decisions made”.
The Inquiry chair, Lady Hallett, also kicked off proceedings by warning Johnson about the leaks to the media, saying: “Failing to respect confidentiality undermines the inquiry’s ability to do its job fairly, effectively and independently.”
2. Johnson couldn’t explain what happened to WhatsApps from his old phone
Amid a furore that the inquiry did not have all the necessary evidence because one of the ex-PM’s phones could not be accessed, Johnson said he was not responsible for any of the apparent technical issues.
“I haven’t removed WhatsApps from my phone. I want to make that clear. I have given everything you need,” he said.
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3 ‘Not sure’ if government decisions led to more Covid deaths
In his witness statement, the ex-PM wrote: “We – I – unquestionably made mistakes, and for those I unreservedly apologise.”
However, when pressed by Keith, Johnson did not say what mistakes he was referring to – he just admitted that, with hindsight, it was clear they needed to do things differently.
Asked if he thought government-decision making led “materially to more excess deaths than might otherwise have been the case”, he said: “I’m not sure.”
He did admit concerns about mixed messages from the devolved governments, though. He later said “the collaboration was excellent” but communication could end up being “confusing”.
4. Johnson challenged the claim the UK had the second highest number of deaths in Europe
Johnson claimed the UK was “16th out of 33 countries for excess deaths” in Europe.
However, the QC said the UK had one of the worst records for excess deaths among western European countries.
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Johnson also blamed other factors, like the “extremely elderly population”, and the population density of the UK.
5. Cabinet ‘more reluctant’ to impose lockdown
The ex-PM said his colleagues were “more reluctant” than he was to impose lockdown-type measures.
He said: “I think it would be fair to say that the cabinet was on the whole more reluctant to impose NPIs (non-pharmaceutical interventions) than I was.”
6. Johnson admitted he read Sage meetings minutes ‘once or twice’
The PM was criticised at the start of pandemic for missing Sage – Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies – at the beginning of 2020.
He said in retrospect it may have been “valuable to try to hear the Sage conversation”, but he was reliant on the chief medical officer for England, professor Chris Whitty and the former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance who are “outstanding experts in their field”.
7. He did not want to sack Hancock
He defended the former health secretary Matt Hancock, who has been heavily criticised for his handling of the pandemic throughout the course of the inquiry.
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His former chief adviser Dominic Cummings told the inquiry he had encouraging Johnson to sack Hancock, the ex-PM said: “If you’re a prime minister, you are constantly being lobbied by somebody to sack somebody else.”
He added that Cummings “had a low opinion of the health secretary”, but Johnson said: “I thought he was wrong.”
Johnson also said he does not accept Hancock was excluded from some key meetings, but said he needed to discuss some costly elements of the lockdowns with the Treasury.
Later, he expressed frustration – and rolled his eyes – at the idea in Cummings’ witness statement that he kept Hancock in cabinet as a sacrifice for the inquiry.
“I don’t remember that at all, it’s nonsense,” Johnson said, saying he thought Hancock was a good public communicator “whatever his defects”.
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Boris Johnson, centre, Chief Medical Officer for England Chris Whitty, left, and then Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance
via Associated Press
8. Johnson disputed claims about toxic culture
Former senior civil servant Helen MacNamara told the inquiry Johnson oversaw a “toxic culture” in No.10, while top civil servant Simon Case that the top team were “basically feral”.
But the ex-PM told the inquiry that actually it was just “a lot of highly talented, highly motivated people who are stricken with anxiety” who under pressure “will be inclined to be critical of others”.
But he said it would have been worse if everyone was “so deferential” they never expressed their opinion.
9. ‘Too many meetings were too male-dominated’
MacNamara claimed there was an “obvious, sexist treatment” of women in No.10.
Johnson said: “I think that the gender balance of my team should have been better.
“I think sometimes during the pandemic, too many meetings were too male-dominated if I’m absolutely honest with you.”
10. Johnson said his senior aides chose to ‘step aside’
Johnson said his cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill and chief adviser Dominic Cummings both decided to step aside, rather than a sign he lost confidence in them.
When pressed over his relationships with them, he refused to be drawn and just said they chose to leave, saying it was “very difficult, very challenging period”.
11. Johnson responded to claims he was slow to respond to Covid
The ex-PM said the possibility of such a virus was not something that had really “broken upon the political world”, and he was not asked about it at PMQs – but noted he did become anxious about it by the end of February.
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He added: “It was not escalated to me as an issue of national concern until much later.”
Acknowledging some predictions he saw about the potential Covid deaths in early 2020, he said: “I don’t think we attached enough credence to those forecasts.”
He claimed it was a “cloud on the horizon no bigger than a man’s hand”.
He said he could not remember expressing scepticism about the possible number of deaths.
12. Blamed a lack of communication from scientific teams
“The scientific community within Whitehall at that stage was not telling us that this was something that was going to require urgent and immediate action,” Johnson claimed.
He said he knew Covid had a 2% fatality rate, but claimed “fallacious, inductive logic” meant they did not take warnings seriously.
13. Johnson admitted that deaths in Italy ‘rattled me’
The ex-PM noted Italy had an elderly population, much like the UK, and so its 8% fatality rate “really rattled me”.
He said: “We should have twigged, we should collectively have twigged, much sooner. I should have twigged [by late February].”
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14. Johnson seemed emotional when remembering decisions around lockdown
Weighing up lockdown and behavioural fatigue, Johnson said he was anxious about locking down too early without a vaccination programme.
“We have to be realistic about 2020 – the whole year – that whole tragic, tragic year,” Johnson said, before taking a moment to compose himself.
He then pointed out “we did lock down – and then it bounced back.”
15. Johnson defended his work ethic
He claimed he does not accept suggestions he was doing nothing in the months before lockdown, saying he was working and having calls with Presidents Xi and Trump.
The QC replied that he was actually not suggesting Johnson was on holiday, he was just reiterating Cummings’ allegations.
16. Johnson said he did not consider ignoring any advice about lockdown
He said the view that interventions should to be imposed too early was “the prevailing view for a long time” and shared by lots of people – and so he would not have gone into lockdown earlier.
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Suggesting it was hard to know how to respond, he said: “When you hear about an Asian pandemic that is about to sweep the world, you think you’ve heard it before and that was the problem.”
He did not consider overruling the chief medical officer – and Keith then asked if he understood Sage could not tell him what to do.
Over accusations that he showed a lack of leadership by changing direction, he said: “Of course we were changing but so did the collective understanding of the science.”
17. He expressed regret about shaking hands
Johnson told the media he went to a hospital and shook hands with several Covid patients at the very early stages of the pandemic.
“I do think I shouldn’t have done that in retrospect,” Johnson replied.
“I should have been more precautionary, but I wanted to be encouraging to people.”
The clip in question from March 2020 below:
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18. Johnson acknowledged sports events should have been cancelled
“With hindsight, as a symbol of the government’s earnestness rather than being guided by the science, we should perhaps have done this,” he said.
But he added, “At every stage I was weighing massive costs,” and “what the government was going to do was “very destructive for a lot of people least able to bear the costs”.
19. He addressed thinking behind herd immunity
Johnson said trying to flatten the curve of infections, – which he claimed led some people to assume the government were “trying to allow this thing to pass through the population unchecked”.
However he said this would have been a “by-product” of tackling the virus.
20. Johnson was ‘bewildered’ by possible impact of intervention
Presented with a graph showing the possible impact of interventions on the NHS, he said: “I was bewildered, to be honest.”
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With or without restrictions, he said: “In either case, we are facing an absolutely intolerable situation.”
21. One heated moment over his lockdown
Johnson rejected claims he could not make up his mind about the lockdown – which came into effect on March 23, 2020 – but said the chancellor told him it would pose a risk to bond markets so he had to make a careful decision.
“It would have been totally negligent not to have had such a conversation,” Johnson said: “I’d made up my mind – we [were] getting on and doing it, we [were] not being diverted.”
He said, “I had no other tool – literally nothing else” aside from lockdown, and he “couldn’t take the gamble with public health”.
22. Johnson stood by lockdown
He said: “I believe that it was absolutely necessary” and “helped to suppress the R-rate”.
He also cast doubt on the view that the need for a mandatory stay at home order could have been avoided if the government acted sooner – but accepted Sage lacked enough clarify on data.
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23. Johnson said he should have spent more time with the devolved administrations
Despite saying in his witness statement that he thought it was wrong for the PM to hold meetings with the first ministers, and compared it to being a “mini EU”, Johnson said they need to get a “better way of getting a unified message”.
“Some form of integrated decision-making which does not leak is what you’re after,” he said.
24. Johnson expressed regret for saying long Covid was ‘bollocks’
The ex-PM admitted that he had written in notes about long Covid describing it as “bollocks” and “gulf war syndrome stuff” – an illness which rocked veterans from the 1991 war, but no single cause was ever identified.
He said these phrases may have caused “hunt and offence to huge numbers of people who have that syndrome”, and “I regret it very very much.”
The Covid Inquiry is shown a document referencing a study into Long Covid, which Boris Johnson had scribbled over with the words “Bollocks” and “this is Gulf War Syndrome stuff”. pic.twitter.com/QnD3zKfpk1
25. Johnson defended ‘argumentative’ culture in No.10
Johnson’s administration has been repeatedly slammed for “misogyny”, “leadership issues”
The ex-PM said he wanted a No.10 where ideas can be challenged, and he said: “It was occasionally argumentative, but that was no bad thing.”
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He also said the country required “continuous, urgent action”, and claimed he spoke bluntly sometimes “because I wanted to give people cover to do the same”.
He also said the PM should go into meetings when decisions are being made – but that was not happening.
A UNICEF representative has warned there’s a growing risk that disease could end up killing as many children in Gaza as the last eight weeks of bombardment have.
More than 15,500 people are estimated to have been killed in Gaza since the war began on October 7, according to the Palestinian territory’s health ministry – including approximately 6,000 children.
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Israel declared war on Hamas almost two months ago after the Palestinian militants killed an estimated 1,200 people on Israeli soil and took around 240 others hostage.
Israel then put Gaza under siege, and launched a series of missile attacks and a ground invasion.
And according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), there may soon be another major risk to the displaced Palestinian population – disease.
UNICEF’s James Elder told BBC News on Tuesday that there are some areas which should be safe from bombardments within Gaza.
But, he added: “They are not safe in an international law sense or a moral sense, in terms of safety, but we also mean in terms of food, water, medicine, protection.
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“We’re seeing hundreds of thousands of people on their last legs go to a place without a single toilet.
“To dirt, to desert, to bombed out buildings, without any access to water.
“So now we have death from the skies and disease stalking – there’s a perfect storm now.
“We may well see the similar number of children dying, being killed, from disease – if these attacks don’t stop – as we do from the attacks themselves.”
There has been growing international concern about the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza.
On Monday, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres reiterated his call for a “sustained ceasefire in Gaza, the unconditional and immediate release of all hostages and unimpeded and sustained humanitarian aid flow to meet the needs of the people throughout the Gaza Strip”.
It comes as Israel has started to bomb southern Gaza too, weeks after Palestinians in the north of the territory were encouraged to relocate to the south amid an imminent land invasion.
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According to the UN’s OCHA, as of November 23, more than 1.7 million Palestinians are already internally displaced in Gaza.
And the World Health Organisation’s Richard Peeperkorn warned on Tuesday that the “situation is getting worse by the hour”.
Speaking to reporters via video link from Gaza, he said: “There’s intensified bombing going on all around, including here in the southern areas, Khan Younis and even in Rafah.”
The WHO’s director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday over concerns that medical facilities would be at risk in southern Gaza.
He wrote: “Today, @WHO received notification from the Israel Defence Forces that we should remove our supplies from our medical warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours, as ground operations will put it beyond use.
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“We appeal to #Israel to withdraw the order, and take every possible measure to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and humanitarian facilities.”
