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Watch live as Boris Johnson faces MPs after Partygate fines apology
Boris Johnson arrived in India this morning for a two-day visit. British and Indian businesses are set to announce investments and export deals worth over ￡1 bn in areas from software engineering to health.
Meanwhile, the PM has refused to withdraw his attack on the Church of England, following the Archbishop of Canterbury's criticism of the government's new immigration policy.
At a private meeting with Tory MPs on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Johnson said the plans to send lone male asylum-seekers to Rwanda was a “good policy” despite some “criticism on the BBC and from senior members of the clergy”.
He added that they both “had been less vociferous in their condemnation on Easter Sunday of Putin than they were on our policy of illegal immigrants”.
John Bingham, head of media at the Church of England, said if the reports from the meeting were true they were “a disgraceful slur”.
Tory MPs will vote on whether Mr Johnson should be referred to the Commons Privileges Committee over allegations he was untruthful when he assured the Commons that coronavirus regulations were followed in Downing Street during the pandemic.
Recommended PM claims partygate scandal matters little to voters Boris Johnson off to India despite MPs voting on Covid law breach investigation Despite his Partygate ‘apology’, the matter is far from over for Boris Johnson
Key Points Motion tabled to delay probe into whether PM misled Parliament British PM Johnson signals visa flexibility with India to win trade deal Boris Johnson doubles down on criticism of archbishop over ‘morally right’ Rwanda plan Boris Johnson to get street named after him in Ukraine, MP says PM offers apology 35 times during his Commons appearance
Show latest update 1650522417 Tory MP urges Boris Johnson to ‘take responsibility’ over Partygate
A Tory MP calling for Boris Johnson to resign has urged him to “take responsibility” over the Partygate scandal.
“I think the prime minister should take responsibility of his actions, and I don’t believe for one minute that he has done that,” Craig Whittaker told BBC Breakfast.
“An apology doesn’t constitute taking responsibility, and that’s why I’ve asked him to resign.”
He added that he suspects there are “probably more” of his Conservative colleagues who believe the prime minister should resign than those who have publicly declared this belief, but who are “keeping the powder dry to wait to see how this all develops through the process”.
Andy Gregory 21 April 2022 07:26
1650520368 Satellite firm OneWeb signs deal with India as Johnson begins visit
Boris Johnson will welcome taxpayer-backed satellite firm OneWeb signing a contract for launches with India to deal with the disruption to the programme caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to India, Downing Street described the agreement with New Space India Limited as a “historic” move that will be a “significant development” for the company’s operations.
Read the full story here:
Satellite firm OneWeb signs deal with India as Johnson begins visit The agreement aims to tackle disruption cause to the launch programme caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Maroosha Muzaffar 21 April 2022 06:52
1650519010 Boris Johnson visits Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat
Boris Johnson arrived in India this morning and visited the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.
Mr Johnson paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and penned this note in the visitor’s book: “immense privilege to come to the Ashram of this extraordinary man.”
He also tried his hand at ‘charkha’, or the spinning wheel.
News agency Press Trust of India reported that Mr Johnson will later visit the Gujarat Biotechnology University, the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, and also a plant of JCB company at Halol near Vadodara city. He is also expected to hold a closed-door meeting with a “leading businessman” from the state.
Maroosha Muzaffar 21 April 2022 06:30
1650516754 Boris Johnson doubles down on criticism of archbishop over ‘morally right’ Rwanda plan
Boris Johnson doubled down on his attack on Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for criticising his plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, insisting that the removals are “the morally right thing to do”.
He said: “I think it is the morally right thing to do, to stop cynical criminal gangs exploiting people. I think it’s a sensible, brave and original policy and Priti (Patel) has come up with something that is extremely difficult to pull off.”
Read Andrew Woodcock’s piece here:
Johnson doubles down on criticism of archbishop over ‘morally right’ Rwanda plan PM ‘surprised’ to hear migration plan criticised by Justin Welby
Maroosha Muzaffar 21 April 2022 05:52
1650516355 British PM Johnson signals visa flexibility with India to win trade deal
Boris Johnson has indicated that the UK might be willing to offer more visas to India in return for the free-trade deal that could boost bilateral trade by billions of pounds.
Speaking with reporters on the plane, he said: “I have always been in favour of talented people coming to this country. We are short to the tune of hundreds of thousands of people in our economy and we need to have a progressive approach and we will.”
Maroosha Muzaffar 21 April 2022 05:45
1650515032 Ukraine peace talks doomed because Putin cannot be trusted, says Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson said that the peace talks to end the war in Ukraine are doomed as the Russian president cannot be trusted.
He accused Vladimir Putin of a complete failure to approach talks in good faith and said that it was clear the Russian president was seeking to grab territory to use as leverage in talks - and could even launch another assault on capital Kyiv for that purpose.
He asked: “How can you negotiate with a crocodile when it’s got your leg in its jaws? That is the difficulty that the Ukrainians face.”
Read the full story here:
Ukraine peace talks doomed because Putin cannot be trusted, says Boris Johnson ‘How can you negotiate with crocodile with your leg in its jaws?’: Russian president not ‘valid interlocutor’, says PM
Maroosha Muzaffar 21 April 2022 05:23
1650513493 Boris Johnson faces calls to apologise for colonial-era massacre
Boris Johnson is facing calls to apologise for a colonial-era massacre in which as many as 1,200 people were killed.
Last month, Gujarat — which is UK PM’s first spot on his two-day itinerary — commemorated 100 years of the Pal-Dadhvav massacre.
More than 2000 people, led by a social reformer Motilal Tejawat, protested against exploitation and forced labour by the British.
Tejawat’s grandson is now demanding that Mr Johnson apologise. “It was the British rule at the time when these killings happened so, if the British PM is coming here, he must apologise,” 77-year-old Mahendra Tejawat told AFP.
During the massacre, British major HG Sutton ordered his troops to open fire. The government remembers the episode as “like a battlefield, the entire area was filled with corpses.” It says two wells were “overflowing with bodies.”
“My grandfather was only running a campaign for the poor, harmless and illiterate tribals,” Mr Tejawat said.
“He [Johnson] must express regret if he feels what happened to the defenceless tribals was wrong.”Mr Johnson has arrived in Gujarat in India.
Maroosha Muzaffar 21 April 2022 04:58
1650488019 Tory MPs reject bid to give parliament say over asylum offshoring amid backlash to Rwanda deal
Conservative MPs have voted down a law aimed at forcing the government to put schemes like the Rwanda deal to parliament – and disclose the costs.
The House of Lords created an amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill meaning that MPs and peers must approve any offshoring agreements before they come into force.
The clause, which was defeated by 303 votes to 234, would also force the government to provide “estimated costs for at least the first two years”.
Here is the story:
Tory MPs reject bid to give parliament say over asylum offshoring Labour calls plan ‘extortionate, unworkable and profoundly un-British’
Tom Batchelor 20 April 2022 21:53
1650486612 Police did not quiz Cummings in order to stay ‘apolitical'
Police did not question Dominic Cummings, the former chief adviser to Boris Johnson, over his violation of coronavirus pandemic lockdown laws because of the need to remain “apolitical”, an officer said.
Jo Farrell, who is Durham Police’s first female chief constable in the force’s 183-year history, told the Mirror why Mr Cummings was not interviewed by police over his 260-mile trip to Durham from London or his day out to Barnard Castle to “test his eyesight”.
Dominic Cummings
(Getty Images)
Ms Farrell told the newspaper: “Because of his character, because of who he was, he divided political lines.
“We police without fear or favour. We are apolitical, so it was my job to make sure that there was a proportionate line. Had we stopped him when he was driving to Barnard Castle, we would have told him to turn around and go back.
“Thousands of people have lost their lives in the pandemic so, yes, we never took any of this lightly. But we could not be influenced by the huge political feeling about him as an individual and his role within the Government.”
Lamiat Sabin 20 April 2022 21:30
1650484812 Motion tabled to delay probe into whether PM misled Parliament
Tory MPs will be facing a three line whip to vote for a government amendment that would “kick tomorrow’s partygate motion into the long grass”, as phrased by ITV’s UK editor Paul Brand.
Boris Johnson’s government has tabled an amendment to Labour’s motion for an investigation into whether the PM misled Parliament over the Downing Street parties held during coronavirus lockdown.
The amendment states that Mr Johnson has “accepted mistakes were made” but that the matter should not be considered until the police inquiry has concluded and the Sue Gray report has been published.
A government spokesperson said: “The government has tabled an amendment to Labour’s motion which says that consideration of this matter should take place after the conclusion of the police investigation, and the publication of the Cabinet Office report, allowing MPs to have all the facts at their disposal.”
Lamiat Sabin 20 April 2022 21:00
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