Tag Archives: Politics

‘Bring Your Own Booze’ Party Organiser Leaves No.10 As Partygate Fallout Continues

Posted on by
Reply

The top civil servant who organised a ‘bring your own booze’ party in Downing Street during lockdown has quit Number 10.

Martin Reynolds, the principal private secretary to Boris Johnson, is one of four senior aides to leave Number 10 on another day of political drama.

He was joined by Downing Street chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, who was also forced out as the PM carries out a major shake-up of the Number 10 operation.

Their departures follow the resignation of Munira Mirza, Johnson’s policy chief, who dramatically resigned in protest at the prime minister wrongly accusing Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile when he was Director of Public Prosecutions.

The other aide to leave today was Jack Doyle, the Number 10 director of communications.

A No.10 spokesperson said: “Dan Rosenfield offered his resignation to the prime minister earlier today, which has been accepted.

“Martin Reynolds also informed the prime minister of his intention to stand down from his role as principal private secretary and the prime minister has agreed to this.

“He has thanked them both for their significant contribution to government and No 10, including work on the pandemic response and economic recovery.

“They will continue in their roles while successors are appointed, and recruitment for both posts is underway.”

It is understood that Reynolds – dubbed “Party Marty” – will return to his previous job at the Foreign Office.

In a farewell speech to staff, Jack Doyle said: “Recent weeks have taken a terrible toll on my family life.”

The departures of Reynolds, Rosenfield and Doyle are part of Johnson’s attempts to re-structure Number 10 in response to the Sue Gray inquiry into the partygate scandal.

Earlier this week, her report blamed “failures of leadership and judgment” for lockdown-busting parties which took place in Downing Street and Whitehall.

The Metropolitan Police are investigating 12 alleged gatherings, including one in the flat Johnson shares with his wife and their two children.

The ongoing row has plunged his premiership into crisis, with a succession of Tory MPs publicly calling on him to resign.

A leaked email last month revealed Reynolds had invited more than 100 Downing Street employees to a get-together on May 20, 2020.

It said: “Hi all, after what has been an incredibly busy period we thought it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden this evening. Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!”

The PM and his wife, Carrie, were both there, but he has insisted he believed it was a “work gathering” and therefore did not break the lockdown rules which were in place at the time.

The event, which was attended by around 30 members of staff, is also being investigated by the police.

In a Commons statement following the publication of the Sue Gray report, the prime minister vowed a major shake-up of Number 10.

He told MPs: We asked people across this country to make the most extraordinary sacrifices – not to meet loved ones, not to visit relatives before they died, and I understand the anger that people feel.

“But it isn’t enough to say sorry. This is a moment when we must look at ourselves in the mirror and we must learn.”

Johnson said a new office of the prime minister will be created with a new permanent secretary to lead No.10 to simplify the chain of command.

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

Share Button

Fresh Blow For Boris Johnson As Policy Chief Quits Over Jimmy Savile Slur

Posted on by
Reply

UPDATE: Two More No. 10 Aides Leave As Nightmare On Downing Street Continues

Boris Johnson was dealt a fresh blow today after his policy chief dramatically quit over the Jimmy Savile smear row.

Munira Mirza resigned just hours after the prime minister finally backed down over his untrue claim that Keir Starmer had failed to prosecute the notorious sex offender when he was Director of Public Prosecutions.

In a devastating resignation letter, revealed by The Spectator, Mirza revealed that she had urged Johnson to apologise for the slur, which he initially made in the Commons on Monday, but that he had refused.

Hours later, Jack Doyle, No. 10’s director of communications, also resigned.

Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak become the first Cabinet minister to directly criticise Johnson over Starmer slur, telling a press conference: “Being honest, I wouldn’t have said it.”

The departures from heap further pressure on the PM, who is facing mounting calls to quit from disgruntled Conservative MPs.

In her letter, Mirza said: “I believe it was wrong for you to imply this week that Keir Starmer was personally responsible for allowing Jimmy Savile to escape justice.

“There was no fair or reasonable basis for that assertion. This was not the usual cut and thrust of politics; it was an inappropriate and partisan reference to a horrendous case of child sex abuse.

“You tried to clarify your position today but, despite my urging, you did not apologise for the misleading impression you gave.”

She added: “You are a better man than many of your detractors will ever understand which is why it is so desperately sad that you let yourself down by making a scurrilous accusation against the Leader of the Opposition.”

Mirza’s resignation is particularly damaging as she has been one of Johnson’s closest, and most loyal, aides in Downing Street.

She has worked for him for 14 years and he once described her as one of the five women who have most inspired him.

No.10 said Andrew Griffith, the MP for Arundel and South Downs who already serves as parliamentary private secretary to Johnson, would replace Mirza.

Downing Street said in a statement: “We are very sorry Munira has left No 10 and are grateful for her service and contribution to government.”

Dominic Cummings, a friend of Mirza’s and Johnson’s one-time chief adviser and now sworn enemy, tweeted: “Moral courage from Munira who has done her best to make progress with a professional team throughout the horror since 11/20. It’s also an unmistakeable signal the bunker is collapsing & *this PM is finished*. Flicker of moral courage from Cabinet & Cabinet Office asap please.”

Of Doyle’s resignation, a No 10 spokesman said: “Jack Doyle has left government. He has made a huge contribution and the prime minister is immensely grateful for the work he has done.”

Asked about the row at a Downing Street press conference on his plans to tackle the cost of living crisis, Sunak described Mirza as “a valued colleague” who he had enjoyed working with.

On the PM’s Savile remarks, the Chancellor said: “Being honest, I wouldn’t have said it and I’m glad the prime minister has clarified what he meant.”

To add to the chaos, chief secretary to the Treasury, Simon Clarke, was at odds with his boss Sunak.

“I have the highest regard for the Chancellor…but it is my view that it was a perfectly reasonable remark for the PM to have made,” he reportedly told BBC Newsnight.

Earlier, Johnson climbed down from his initial claim, made on Monday, that Starmer had “spent most of his time [as DPP] prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile”.

In an interview with broadcasters, the PM said he wanted to “clarify” that he was “not talking about the leader of the Opposition’s personal record.”

During PMQs this week, Starmer angrily accused Johnson of peddling the “conspiracy theories of violent fascists”.

Several Tory MPs have cited Johnson’s decision to link Starmer to Savile as a reason for demanding he resign as prime minister.

Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the Commons defence committee, said the “false allegation” should be withdrawn.

And Anthony Mangnall, the MP for Totnes and South Devon, said “standards in public life matter” when he called for a no confidence vote in Johnson.

Amber Rudd, the former Conservative home secretary, told ITV that Johnson’s comments had been “Trumpian”.

In 2013, Starmer, as DPP, said Savile could have been prosecuted in 2009 – two years before he died – had police taken victims more seriously.

His comments followed a review of the Savile case by Alison Levitt QC, the legal adviser to the DPP. Starmer said at the time: “I would like to take the opportunity to apologise for the shortcomings in the part played by the CPS in these cases.

“If this report and my apology are to serve their full purpose, then this must be seen as a watershed moment.”

In 2020, fact checking charity Full Fact also looked into the claim that Starmer had stopped Savile being charged in 2009.

It said Starmer was head of the CPS when the decision not to prosecute Savile was made on the grounds of “insufficient evidence”, adding: “The allegations against Savile were dealt with by local police and a reviewing lawyer for the CPS.

“A later investigation criticised the actions of both the CPS and the police in their handling of the situation.

“It did not suggest that Mr Starmer was personally involved in the decisions made.”

Savile – who is now thought to have been one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders – died in 2011 aged 84 having never been brought to justice for his crimes.

Share Button

7 Tory MPs Who Think They’re Helping Boris Johnson But Are Actually Making It Worse

Posted on by
Reply

Quite a few Tory MPs want Boris Johnson to resign. But the prime minister does still have some allies willing to defend him in public — with varying degrees of success.

Dominic Raab

The deputy prime minister and justice secretary, who got a less important job but a shinier title in the most recent reshuffle, has done his best to downplay the seriousness of the partygate allegations. One gathering in the Downing Street garden could not be a party, he explained, because those photographed eating cheese and drinking wine were “all in suits”.

Nadine Dorries

The culture secretary is probably Johnson’s closely ally in cabinet. In a series of spiky tweets she has attacked the rebels as “a handful of egos” and, as things appeared to be calming down, poked fun at Tory MPs from the so-called Red Wall for being part of a “pork pie” plot to oust the PM.

Jacob Rees-Mogg

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="YouTube" data-component-id="8370" data-component-props="{"itemType":"video","index":12,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

","type":"video","meta":{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SWfqXwSonI","type":"video","version":"1.0","title":"Jacob Rees-Mogg: ‘Douglas Ross has always been quite a lightweight figure’","author":"OldQueenTV","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_1mDKnRagiJYrS060VQ9ig","provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7SWfqXwSonI/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"thumbnail_height":720,"cache_age":86400,"options":{"_start":{"label":"Start from","value":"","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s"},"_end":{"label":"End on","value":"","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s"},"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}}},"fullBleed":false,"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"slideshowAd":{"scriptTags":[],"otherHtml":""},"slideshowEndCard":{"scriptTags":[{"attribs":{},"scriptBody":"\r\n (function(){\r\n var c = document.getElementById(‘taboola-endslate-thumbnails’);\r\n c.id += ‘-‘ + Math.round(Math.random()*1e16);\r\n \r\n var taboolaParams = {\r\n loader: \"//cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/aol-huffingtonpost/loader.js\",\r\n mode: \"thumbnails-b\",\r\n container: c.id,\r\n placement: \"Endslate Thumbnails\",\r\n target_type: \"mix\"\r\n };\r\n \r\n if (typeof window.modulousQueue === \"function\") {\r\n \twindow.modulousQueue.add(function(){ doTaboola(taboolaParams); });\r\n } else {\r\n \tdoTaboola(taboolaParams);\r\n }\r\n }());\r\n"}],"otherHtml":"

"},"isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isMt":false,"entryId":"61fac5ffe4b0f8a1b83e3661","entryTagsList":"uk-news,","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"videoPagePlayer":"19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4"},"customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"61fac5ffe4b0f8a1b83e3661","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"cetUnit":"buzz_body"}}”>

[embedded content]

The Commons leader dismissed the leader of the Scottish Tories as a “lightweight” after Douglas Ross called for Johnson to resign. An intervention that will have done wonders for the Union. Rees-Mogg also decided to warn off would-be rebels by wrongly arguing a general election would need to be held if the party chose a new leader.

Conor Burns

The Northern Ireland minister, another close ally of the PM, explained Johnson had not deliberately attended a short party in Downing Street, rather that he had been in fact “ambushed with a cake”. Burns also went onto argue that in fact “there actually wasn’t a cake”.

Every Westminster scandal has a standout moment, and this one made it to the White House, with Joe Biden’s press secretary jokingly denying the president had not himself ever been surprised by cake.

Andrew Rosindell

Sure, the prime minister might have broken the rules, but the MP for Romford argued everyone was getting a bit overexcited. “Lots of people break the law in small ways, sometimes unintentionally,” he told Sky News. “He’s not robbed a bank.”

Mark Jenkinson

Johnson could be in line for a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) should he be found to have broken Covid regulations. But Jenkinson, the MP for Workington, rode to the rescue to argue they were just a “minor” punishment.

Adam Wagner, the human rights barrister who has spent a lot of time explaining the Covid laws, was not so sure. “This is wrong,” he told Jenkinson.

“A fixed penalty notice can only be given if the police *reasonably believe someone has committed a criminal offence* under the coronavirus regulations. They are not minor. On the contrary, the PM and government spent 2 years telling us they were deadly serious.”

Boris Johnson

The prime minister is sometimes arguably his own worst enemy. In an attempt to change the story, Johnson accused Keir Starmer of having “failed” to prosecute Jimmy Savile when he was director of prosecution. The claim, which has been widely discredited, was cited by at least one senior Tory MP as a reason why they had submitted a letter calling for a no confidence vote.

Share Button