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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

Met investigating two Tory Partygate allegations - but no further action over Chequers events – as it happened

Lords ​​Rishi Sunak Govt Rwanda the House of Lords
Metropolitan Police officers outside the Houses of Parliament.
Metropolitan Police officers outside the Houses of Parliament. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Shaun Bailey should not be allowed to take seat in Lords while Partygate investigation ongoing, say Lib Dems

The Liberal Democrats have said Rishi Sunak should stop Shaun Bailey taking his seat in the House of Lords while a party held by his London mayoral campaign team, which he attended for at least some of the evening, is being investigated by the Met. Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader, said:

Once again Conservative politicians are facing allegations they broke the rules we were all asked to follow.

Rishi Sunak needs to confirm he will call for honours to be stripped from anyone found to have broken the law. Anything less would make a complete mockery of his pledge to lead with integrity.

He should also step in to stop Shaun Bailey from taking his seat as a peer while this investigation takes place. There’s no way that Shaun Bailey should be allowed to join the House of Lords while he’s under police investigation.

Humza Yousaf says Mhairi Black's decision to quit Westminster highlights need for 'modernising our political system'

Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister, has paid tribute to Mhairi Black following her announcement that she will stand down as an MP at the next election. (See 3.51pm.)

He has also said her comments about the culture at Westminster highlight the need for “modernising our political system”. He said:

It is difficult to overstate the impact that Mhairi Black has had on Scottish and UK politics since her election in 2015 as the youngest MP ever, and more recently as deputy leader of the SNP at Westminster.

She has been a trailblazer – a passionate supporter of independence, equality, social justice, and simply of trying to make life better for her constituents and the wider Scottish public. She has also served as a role model for young people, especially women, with an interest or a desire to get involved in politics.

I know that Mhairi has been critical of the toxic, hostile environment of Westminster, which serves as an important wake-up call to those who are determined to safeguard our democracy. The case for modernising our political system is stark. We must make sure it works for everyone, so we don’t deter people from standing for election or speaking out for what they believe in.

Updated

In their statement about the new Partygate investigations the Metropolitan police have restated the criteria they say they use to decide whether historic allegations about breaches of Covid rules should be investigated. It says:

The Met has previously published criteria for assessing when to launch investigations into breaches of the Regulations reported retrospectively.

We will do so only when there is evidence of a serious and flagrant breach and where:

It is proportionate and there is evidence that those involved knew or ought to have known what they were doing was an offence.

Not investigating would significantly undermine the legitimacy of the law.

There is little ambiguity around the absence of a reasonable defence.

Updated

Met to investigate two recent Tory Partygate claims - but not those made about Boris Johnson and events at Chequers

The Metropolitan police have just issued a statement about the three sets of alleged lockdown breaches involving Tories that it has been reviewing. In two cases it is opening or re-opening investigations, but in the third set of allegations – involving Boris Johnson and Chequers – it is not taking action.

Here are the main points.

  • Boris Johnson faces no further action over the claims – which he strongly denied – that information from his diaries reviewed in connection with the Covid inquiry showed that lockdown rules had been broken at Chequers and No 10. The Met said in its statement:

The Met and Thames Valley police have assessed material referred by the Cabinet Office regarding potential breaches of the regulations between June 2020 and May 2021 at Downing Street and Chequers. Based on an assessment of that material and an account provided regarding the diary entries, and also having sought some further clarification, the Met and Thames Valley police have each assessed the events in their jurisdiction and concluded that they do not meet the retrospective criteria for opening an investigation.

  • But the Met is reopening its investigation into claims – almost impossible to deny, given the video footage leaked to the Sunday Mirror – that lockdown rules were broken when Tories involved in Shaun Bailey’s campaign for London mayor held a party. The Met said:

Following assessment of new evidence that was not previously provided to officers, the Met is now re-opening an investigation into potential breaches of the Regulations at an event in Matthew Parker Street on 14 December 2020.

Sir Mark Rowley, the Met commissioner, said last month that the video meant the original decision not to take action would be reconsidered. “We can all see the colourful nature of the video and how much it tells a story way beyond the original photo,” he said.

  • And the Met will investigate an event in the Commons office of Dame Eleanor Laing, the deputy speaker, attended by Sir Bernard Jenkin in December 2020. This came to light shortly before the publication of the privileges committee report into Boris Johnson. Jenkin is a member of the committee, and Johnson claimed the report of his attendance at an alleged drinks party when Covid restrictions were in force showed he was a hypocrite. The Met said:

Following assessment of material relating to a gathering in parliament, the Met is opening an investigation into potential breaches of the Regulations at an event on 8 December 2020.

Jenkin has not commented in detail on the event, but allies have argued that it was a work event and therefore allowed under the rules at the time.

Updated

Sunak rejects claim by some Tories that ministers can't govern because civil service 'blob' is blocking them

And this is what Rishi Sunak said to the liaison committee when William Wragg, the Tory chair of the public administration and constitutional affairs committee, asked him if he recognised “alarming reports of a ‘blob’ wandering down Whitehall thwarting ambitions of ministers”. (See 2.56pm.) Sunak replied:

No. It doesn’t come from me. I’ve always been supported by incredibly hard-working and diligent civil servants who responded to what I needed and worked all hours day and night to deliver what I’ve wanted.

Michael Gove was the first politician in the UK to popularise the term “blob”. When he was education secretary, he used it to describe the educational establishment, which he claimed was opposed to his curriculum reforms and his academy programme.

More recently it has been used by Tories to refer to the establishment in general, often when they are floating the theory that pro-EU civil servants are responsible for Brexit not being a success. Jake Berry, the former Tory chair, delivered a good example last month, posting this message on Twitter.

You voted for Brexit - the establishment blocked it. You voted for

@BorisJohnson

- the establishment has forced him out. Who is in charge here… The Berrvoters or the blob?

Berry used the term again last week after the court of appeal ruled against the Rwanda policy.

When Dominic Raab resigned as deputy prime minister, he also claimed that some civil servants were preventing ministers implementing their policies.

Updated

Sunak clashes with Chris Bryant as standards committee chair accuses PM of not respecting parliament

Here is the PA Media story about the clash at the liaison committee between Rishi Sunak and Chris Bryant over Sunak’s respect for parliament. PA says:

Rishi Sunak was accused of caring more about the laws of cricket than respecting parliament in tetchy exchanges with a senior MP.

The standards committee chair, Chris Bryant, clashed with the prime minister over his attendance in the Commons chamber.

Bryant challenged Sunak over his failure to deliver a major NHS statement in parliament and missing the next two sessions of PMQs.

He also questioned him on his absence from votes on the conduct of Owen Paterson and Boris Johnson.

“We are talking about your respect for parliament,” Bryant said.

In a reference to Downing Street’s comments on the controversial Lord’s Ashes Test, Bryant said: “For two rule-breaking moments you chose not to be in parliament but yesterday you opined on the rules of cricket.”

Sunak said: “I’m very happy to talk about the rules of cricket, as you mentioned,” but Bryant shot back: “But not about rule-breaking in parliament.”

Appearing in front of the liaison committee of senior MPs, Sunak said: “I have always tried to announce what I can in parliament.”

On his decision to miss the vote on whether Johnson lied to MPs in order to attend a Jewish Care dinner event, he said: “I chose to fulfil my obligation to an incredible charity, for whom that is one of their significant fundraising moments of the year.”

And he defended missing the next two PMQs appearances to attend an NHS 75th anniversary service on Wednesday and the Nato summit next week.

Sunak said that even if he was not attending the NHS event, he might be expected to attend a ceremony involving the king in Scotland.

He told Bryant: “Your view is that I should not be attending the NHS celebration, or the king’s coronation celebration in Scotland or indeed the Nato summit?

“That’s a perfectly reasonable point of view, but it’s worth pointing out the leader of the opposition also will be speaking at the NHS church service on Wednesday.”

Sunak told Bryant he had not fully read a privileges committee report on allies of Johnson seeking to undermine the work of the panel during its investigation into the former prime minister.

The Tory peer Lord Goldsmith quit as a minister after Sunak asked him to apologise after being named in the report.

The prime minister said: “I’ve read the findings of the report, I haven’t read the report yet cover to cover.”

In reply, Bryant said that it was only three pages long. [Actually, the whole document runs to 13 pages, but there is a long appendix and the report proper only covers four and a half pages.]

Asked if the Tory MPs named in the report should apologise, Sunak said there was a difference because of Goldsmith’s position as a minister.

Updated

Farage says he does not accept Coutts closed his bank account because it was short of funds

Nigel Farage, the former leader of Ukip and the Brexit party, told Radio 4’s the World at One that he did not accept that his account with Coutts was closed because it did not have enough money in it. (See 12.43pm.) He told the programme:

I’ve got more money sitting in my current account than I should have. Perhaps I’m stupid leaving it there in cash so they can make a lot of money out of it.

I’ve been with them for over a decade and at the moment I have more money sitting on current account than I’ve had for most of that period of time.

Here is our version of the story by Kalyeena Makortoff and Ben Quinn.

At the liaison committee Chris Byrant asked about Rishi Sunak’s record missing PMQs. Last month Damian McBride, a Labour adviser, posted data on Twitter showing Sunak to have the worst attendance record of any modern PM. In early June Sunak had missed 17% of the PMQs he could have attended.

SNP MP Mhairi Black brands Commons 'poisonous' as she says she's standing down at election

The liaison committee hearing is over. I will post a summary shortly.

In the meantime, the SNP MP Mhairi Black has announced that she is standing down at the next election. Black, who is now the party’s deputy leader at Westminster, was the youngest MP in the Commons when she was first elected in 2015, as part of the post independence referendum SNP landslide.

In an interview with Emily Maitlis for the News Agents podcast, asked why she was quitting, Black replied:

Honestly, because I’m tired is a big part of it. And the thing that makes me tired is Westminster.

I think it is one of the most unhealthy workplaces that you could ever be in. It’s a toxic environment.

Just the entire design of the place and how it functions is just the opposite of everything that I find comfortable…

It’s definitely a poisonous place.

Whether that’s because of what folk can get away with in it or the number of personal motivations and folk having ulterior motives for things, and it’s just not a nice place to be in.

In a subsequent statement on Twitter Black said her loved ones had been in a “constant state of anxiety” about her safety as an MP. She also said, “as my parents grow older and I embark on married life”, she had reassessed her priorities.

Mhairi Black in the Commons.
Mhairi Black in the Commons. Photograph: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA

Updated

Steve Brine (Con) goes next.

He starts by congratulating Sunak on the publication of the long-term workforce plan for the NHS.

Q: You are talking about a tie-in period for dentists, that would require dentists to work for the NHS for a period after training.

Sunak says around 95% of people doing medical training stay in NHS practice. So that did not seem necessary.

With dentisty, around only two-thirds of those who train stay with NHS work, he says.

Updated

Sunak says parents should be able to see all sex education material used in schools

Q: What will the government do to expand provision for SEND at local authority level?

Sunak says a plan for this has been produced by the government. And higher need funding is going up, he says.

Q: How do you strike the right balance between reassuring parents they can have access to sex education material, and ensuring teachers have freedom to teach?

Sunak says material should be age appropriate and factual. He was concerned that was not the case.

Parents should be able to see all materials, he says.

Q: Ministers say that. But the courts have said otherwise?

Sunak says the government’s view is that copyright law should not prevent parents being able to see resources.

Robin Walker (Con) goes next.

Q: You say education is close to a silver bullet. So how worried are you about persistent absence figures?

Sunak says this is a challenge. Attendance hubs are being rolled out, to spread best practice.

Q: One idea is a statutory register of children not in school. The children’s commissioner backs it, and the opposition is in favour. Will the government support this?

Sunak says the government will legislate at a suitable opportunity.

Q: The new childcare policy will mean the government going from subsidising 50% of the market to 80% of the market.

Sunak says a member of his family (his wife) has a financial stake in this market.

He defends the new system.

Q: There is some concern that the new payment rates will not get passed on to nurseries.

Sunak says he wants the money to flow as it is intended.

Updated

Sunak criticised at liaison committee for commenting on rules of cricket, but not voting on rule breaking by Tory MPs

Chris Bryant (Lab) goes next.

Q: Why did you announce the NHS workforce plan outside parliament when the ministerial code says important announcements should be made in parliament?

Sunak says he tries to announce these things in parliament. This was not just a government announcement. It was the NHS’s plan. The government was pleased to support it.

“Come off it, prime minister,” says Bryant.

He asks if the PM will apologise to the house.

Sunak declines to offer that.

Q: And you won’t be in the Commons for PMQs tomorrow or next week?

Sunak says he is attending a service in honour of the NHS tomorrow, and a Nato summit next week.

Bryant says he could have changed the time of the NHS service. Sunak does not accept that. The king’s timetable was involved.

Q: When did a PM last miss two PMQs in a row?

Sunak asks if Bryant is saying he should miss the Nato summit.

Bryant says Sunak missed the votes on Owen Paterson, and on Boris Johnson.

Sunak says he was at a charity dinner on the night of the Johnson vote.

Q: Other MPs were there but did vote. Like Wes Streeting?

Sunak says his role at the dinner was different.

Bryant says Sunak is happy to opine on the rules of cricket, but won’t vote on MPs breaking the rules.

Q: Do you think the seven Tories criticised by the privileges committee for undermining the Johnson investigation should apologise?

Sunak says he has not read the report.

Bryant says it is only short. And he says Sunak took a view on Zac Goldsmith, who was named.

That was because he was a minister, says Sunak.

Updated

Q: The UK government represents English interests, while also trying to abritrate between the four nations of the UK. That is not fair, is it?

Sunak does not accept that. He says Scotland has one of the most powerful devolved governments in the world. He says it is right that the UK government looks after UK interests. Sometimes those conflict with Scottish interests, he says.

Pete Wishart (SNP) goes next.

Q: Is this muscular unionism working for you?

Sunak disputes that characterisation. In some areas London and Edinburgh work well together. He defends Westminster’s right to use a section 35 order to block the gender recognition reform bill. It was always envisaged that section 35 orders might be used, he says.

Updated

Sunak signals he won't stop Liz Truss having resignation honours list

Q: Are there any circumstances in which a resignation honours list would not be appropriate?

Sunak says there has been a convention to have them.

Q: Are you still reviewing Liz Truss’s list?

Sunak says that process is still ongoing. He has not seen it yet.

Q: I’m keen for the Conservatives to win the next election, but if we don’t, will you have one?

Sunak says he is not focused on that.

William Wragg (Con) goes next.

Q: There are alarming reports of a blob going down Whitehall thwarting ministers. Do you recognise that?

No, says Sunak.

He says his experience has been that ministers are very dedicated and work hard.

Q: Is this an excuse for weak government and poor policies?

Sunak says his experience suggests that civil services want to implement policies.

Q: Do you tell ministers they just have to work harder?

Sunak says he thinks everyone is working hard to deliver for the country. But the last few years have been difficult.

Q: So reports of relations between the government and civil servants being at an all-time low are exaggerated?

From his experience, yes, says Sunak. He says he is very grateful for the work of civil servants.

Updated

Q: How many people are due to remortgage by the end of 2024?

Sunak says he does not have that figure to hand.

But he talks about a family faced with an increase in monthly payments from about £700 to £1,000. They could extend their mortgage, he says. Or they could go to interest-only for six months.

Q: What about families not covered by the mortgage charter?

Sunak says the vast majority are covered.

And he says that anyone facing repossession can no that cannot happen for 12 months.

Catherine McKinnell (Lab) goes next.

Q: The UK has the highest inflation in the G7, and the lowest growth projections. Do you take responsibility for that?

Sunak says of course he accepts responsibility. But he says the head of the IMF recently said it was not right to focus on one year for growth forecasts. We are not the lowest growing country.

Q: One person in seven is going without food because of lack of money, and one in four in the north-east. What level is acceptable?

Sunak says he does not want anyone to go without food.

He says families are getting about £1,500 in support with energy bills.

And there is extra help for vulnerable families, he says.

On food, the holiday activity and food programme has been extended, he says.

Q: Since 2020 the local housing allowance, which helps the poorest families afford housing, has been frozen. Only one home in 20 in the private rented sector now qualifies. How is that fair?

Sunak says he thinks the local housing was increased.

Q: It has been frozen since 2020.

But there was a significant uplift before then, Sunak says.

Clive Betts (Lab) goes next.

Q: There is a problem with rising housing costs, and a shortage of housing. I assume you are still committed to building 300,000 homes per year. How can that be achieved if the government does not influence local targets?

Sunak says the government is committed to delivering 1m new homes over the parliament. It is making progress towards that. Housebuilding is at its highest level for decades, he says.

On planning, he says it is important for planning targets to have the confidence of local communities.

Q: Planning consultants says planning starts will go down to 150,000 a year under this policy.

Sunak says the approach is working. New starts are higher than they have been for decades.

Neighbourhood plans are being strengthened.

Sunak sidesteps questions about chances of inflation target being missed

Harriett Baldwin (Con) goes next.

Q; What are your chances of halving inflation?

Sunak says he will leave that to the forecasters.

But inflation is “more persistent than people anticipated”, he says.

Q: What percentage chance do you think you have of hitting your target?

Sunak refuses to say.

Q: Do you accept that you are more likely to miss your target than when you set it?

Sunak says he does not consider that. He is focused on doing what he can to bring inflation down.

Q: Do you have confidence in what the Bank of England is doing?

Sunak says of course he supports them. Over the past 20/25 years, their track record has been very strong. He does not think anyone wants to return to a world where the government sets interest rates.

Q: Rwanda says it can only take 500 asylum seekers. Some 8,128 have arrived since the announcement. What will hapen to the other 7,628 if the supreme court approves the policy.

Sunak says the Rwanda policy does not have a cap on numbers.

Dame Diana Johnson (Lab) goes next.

Q: What will you do if your appeal to the supreme court over the Rwanda policy fails?

Sunak says the government thinks the necessary safeguards are in place. It will confidently and vigorously pursue its case.

Q: So you are betting everthing on the appeal succeeding?

Sunak says he would not put it like that.

He says the Albania policy is an example of another aspect of the policy.

Q: On small boats, it is six months today since he made your five pledges. Your plans for Rwanda are on hold. Does that mean the small boats policy is on hold?

No, says Sunak. He says the Albanian policy is an example of why it isn’t.

Johnson complains about Sunak going on about Albania. Sunak says it is a policy that is working.

Q: But the Albanians returned were not ones who arrived on small boats.

That is because we are dealing with the backlog, says Sunak.

Q: When do you think you will fulfil your pledge to stop the small boats?

Sunak says the court will decide its own timetable. That is outside the government’s hands, he says.

He says raids on illegal working have gone up by 50%.

Updated

From my colleague Peter Walker

Q: What will the AI conference in the UK achieve?

Sunak says AI is a global challenge. Countries are trying to put guardrails in place. He says it will be helpful for countries to be able to discuss these issues.

He suggests the conference will not be about creating a global regulatory framework. He implies it is too early for that.

Greg Clark (Con) goes next, on AI.

Q: What do you see as the positive benefits of AI?

Sunak says just recently people have seen the benefits for science, and medicine. Tackling incurable diseases like cancer might be possible.

He says there will be an economic benefit. And in health and education there are opportunties to improve services. For example, AI can improve the accuracy of skin cancer diagnosis.

In education, AI can allow more personalised learning.

Q: In your speech to London Tech Week, you said we must do AI safely. What do you see as the risks?

Sunak says, first, there are socio-economic risks. That is what technology does.

Second, there is a risk of misuse. AI tools can generate misinformation.

Third, there is a “tool use” rise – AI being misapplied.

He says there are also national security risks he cannot really discuss here.

Q: Are you confident the international community is not appeasing proxy Russian aggression in the Balkans?

Sunak says he does not think that is happening.

Q: Are we doing enough to help Ukraine?

Sunak says the UK is providing £2.3bn in military support for Ukraine. That is second only to the Americans. And the UK has been “consistently out in front” in terms of the capability it is providing. For example, the UK is supplying battle tanks.

And the UK is part of an international coalition to provide combat air capability.

Updated

Q: There has been a failure of deterrence in the Western Balkans. Will the UK be rejoining EUFOR?

Sunak says he is particularly concerned about the situation in the north of Kosovo.

The foreign secretary has told the PMs of Kosovo and Serbia that they have a responsibility to reduce tensions.

With regard for EUFOR, the UK sees it as vital for stability in the reason.

Q: Will you put in place a special envoy for the peace process?

Sunak says the UK would be open to it, at a time when it might be helpful.

Updated

The MPs are now covering Ukraine and security matters.

Alicia Kearns (Con) goes first.

Q: The UK now chair of the UN security council. What is it doing about the Jenin crisis?

Sunak says the government is urging restraint. Israel should follow principles of proportionality when it deals with its security concerns.

He says, at the UN, the UK wil continue to get broad support for condemnations of Russia.

Q: In your discussions with Benjamin Netanyahu, did you express your opposition to the expansion of settlements?

Sunak says the government has repeatedly made clear to Israel that it opposes the expansion of illegal settlements.

Q: You have recognised the importance of the reputation of the English legal system. In October, England and Wales will have their first female chief justice. Will you meet her to hear of the impact of delays on courts?

Sunak says he met the last lord chief justice, and he expects to meet the new one.

More funding has gone in to address the court backlog, he says.

Updated

Rishi Sunak is giving evidence now.

Sir Bob Neill (Con) starts. The liaison committee is doing an inquiry into how government operates. He asks about that.

Q: Do you think the government operates in silos?

Sunak says he recognises the accusation.

Q: Turning to justice (Neill chairs the justice committee), how can you ensure that departments work together on issues that make people turn to crime?

Sunak says as chancellor he pushed work in this area.

Q: The Home Office is funding 20,000 police officers. Will the MoJ get extra funds to deal with the criminals these extra officers will catch?

Sunak says he thinks the “downstream” impact of those extra officers was assessed, and funded. He recalls that as part of the settlement at the time.

From the Mirror’s Ben Glaze

Sunak to face questions from Commons liaison committee

Rishi Sunak is giving evidence to the Commons liaison committee at 2pm. This will be is third appearance as PM. The liaison committee comprises the chairs of all Commons select committees.

The session will last about 90 minutes, and here are the topics that are going to be covered, according to the committee, with the names of the MPs doing the questioning (and the committees they chair).

The war in Ukraine and security matters:

Dame Diana Johnson MP, Home Affairs

Alicia Kearns MP, Foreign Affairs

Cost of living:

Harriett Baldwin MP, Treasury

Catherine McKinnell MP, Petitions

Public Services:

Clive Betts MP, Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Steve Brine MP, Health and Social Care

Greg Clark MP, Science, Innovation and Technology

Sir Bob Neill MP, Justice

Robin Walker MP, Education

Constitutional matters:

Sir Chris Bryant MP, Standards

Pete Wishart MP, Scottish Affairs

William Wragg MP, Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs

Net Zero Strategy/COP28:

Philip Dunne MP, Environmental Audit

These are from Sky’s Beth Rigby on the ConservativeHome survey showing how Tory members rate cabinet ministers. (See 1.11pm.)

Sunak to give evidence to infected blood inquiry amid concerns about delays in compensation payments

Rishi Sunak will give evidence to the infected blood inquiry later this month amid complaints the government is dragging its heels over compensation payments, PA Media reports. PA says:

Sunak has previously said the government will wait for the full report into the infected blood scandal before considering whether to extend the compensation scheme for victims.

Sunak will give evidence to the inquiry on 26 July, with chancellor and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt due to appear on 28 July.

Commons Leader and former paymaster general Penny Mordaunt will appear on 24 July, with current paymaster general Jeremy Quin at the inquiry the following day.

The ministers will give evidence on the government’s response to the use of infected blood and the question of compensation.

The chairman of the inquiry has said that an interim compensation scheme should be widened so more people – including orphaned children and parents who lost children – could be compensated.

Sir Brian Langstaff said in April that he was taking the unusual step of publishing the recommendation ahead of the publication of the full report into the scandal so that victims would not face any more delays.

Under the initial scheme victims themselves or bereaved partners can receive an interim payment of around £100,000.

Tory members increasingly disillusioned with performance of cabinet, survey suggests

Conservative party members are increasingly disillusioned with the performance of the cabinet, a survey suggests.

The ConservativeHome website conducts a regular survey of party members, asking them to say whether or not they are satisfied with individual members of the cabinet, and it says that for the first time nine members have a negative rating. Rishi Sunak is one of them.

Sunak’s net rating is -2.7. This is equal to his previous lowest score in this survey, but much better than Boris Johnson (-33.8) and Theresa May (-51.2) performed at their worst.

Satisfaction ratings for cabinet ministers, from survey of Tory members
Satisfaction ratings for cabinet ministers, from survey of Tory members Photograph: ConHome/Conservative Home

In his analysis of the results, Paul Goodman, the website’s editor, says members are just fed up. He writes:

The disillusion of members doesn’t seem to me to be primarily about the five pledges and whether they will or won’t be realised.

Rather, I suspect it’s driven by the absence of a story about what Sunak believes the main challenges for Britain are and how he intends to overcome them – the context in which the pledges are set.

The prime ministers who make a lasting impact, like Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, had a mission that friend and foe alike understand, even if they don’t like it.

Nigel Farage has posted a video on Twitter responding to the BBC revealing that his Coutts account was closed because he did not have enough money in it. (See 12.43pm.) He says he was never told this himself. And he says he was only offered an alternative account, with NatWest (which owns Coutts), after he went public last week about being denied an account.

In the video Farage also repeats a claim he made yesterday about having been turned down by nine other banks for an account. He insists this is because he is a PEP (politically exposed person).

Updated

Farage's bank account closed because he did not have enough money in it, not because of Brexit, BBC reports

Nigel Farage, the former leader of Ukip and then the Brexit party, had his account with Coutts closed because he did not have enough money in it, the BBC is reporting.

In a tweet last week Farage revealed that his bank – which he did not name at the time – was closing his account, and he claimed this showed “the establishment are trying to force me out of the UK by closing my bank accounts”. He implied that he was being victimised because of his pro-Brexit views.

Farage’s revelation prompted a debate about money laundering regulations that require banks to impose stricter checks on “politically exposed persons” (PEPs). These are aimed at politicians from corrupt regimes who might be trying to launder money through the UK, but some British politicians have said their access to banking has been affected as a result. The Treasury has said it is reviewing these rules, and that people should not be denied bank accounts because of lawful free speech.

But Simon Jack, the BBC’s business editor, says the PEP rules were not relevant to Farage having his Coutts account closed. He also says Farage has been offered the chance to have an account with NatWest.

The Liberal Democrats are “gaining ground every day” over the Conservatives in the Somerton and Frome byelection, according to a party memo leaked to Huffington Post.

David Warburton (see 11.46am) had a majority of 19,213 over the Lib Dems in the seat at the 2019 general election. But it was held by the Lib Dems until 2015, and, with Tory poll ratings floundering, the Lib Dems are very hopeful of winning the byelection on 20 July.

HuffPost says it has seen a leaked memo from Dave McCobb, the party’s UK director of field operations, saying that “a survey of 10,000 voters shows that support for the Tories has fallen from 55.8% in 2019 to 44.5%, while Lib Dem backing has jumped from 26.2% to 36.5%”.

The memo goes on:

We have halved the gap on the Conservatives and are gaining ground each day. We need a 15% swing to win the seat. We have halved that – we have already gained a 7% swing according to our internal canvas data.

Byelection leaks often conveniently dovetail with parties’ expectation management strategies. It is important for the Liberal Democrats to persuade people that they are well placed to win in Somerton and Frome, without implying it is a foregone conclusion.

The memo quoted by HuffPost acknowledges this. Referring to the importance of getting Labour and Green supporters to vote Lib Dem, it says:

[They] need to be reminded that this large rural constituency has never elected anything but a Lib Dem or a Conservative. Their vote can oust the Conservatives if they back us here.

Updated

Orkney councillors vote to explore alternative forms of governance

Councils in Orkney have voted to explore alternative forms of governance, PA Media reports. At a meeting this morning they opted to back a motion from leader James Stockan which would request council officers compile a report on the future of how the islands are run. Tom Ambrose wrote about the proposal here.

At the meeting this morning Stockan played down suggestions that this might lead to Orkney becoming part of Norway. He said:

This is not about us joining Norway.

There is a far bigger suite of options here – this could even be that we could get our money direct from the Treasury in London and look after our own future.

Watchdog orders new inquiry into misconduct claims against former Tory MP David Warburton, saying first one flawed

A Commons standards watchdog has ordered a fresh investigation into allegations against the former Tory MP David Warburton, saying the original inquiry was flawed.

Warburton recently resigned his seat, triggering a byelection in Somerton and Frome. It will take place on 20 July, on the same day as the byelections in Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson’s old seat) and Selby and Ainsty (Nigel Adams’s old seat).

Warburton, who was under investigation over allegations that he had sexually harassed and bullied a woman, claimed last month when he resigned that the allegations had been malicious and that the inquiry into them had been flawed.

Today in a report, the independent expert panel that considers sexual and bullying misconduct cases involving MPs accepted that a new inquiry was needed.

The IEP said that, following the original complaint in March 2022, an investigator conducted an inquiry and upheld two of the sexual misconduct allegations. The case then went to the parliamentary commissioner for standards, Daniel Greenberg, who overruled the investigator and upheld three of the sexual misconduct allegations.

The case then went to the IEP in April for it to rule on a punishment. But Warburton appealed, and in its report today, the IEP says a reinvestigation is needed.

It says:

[An IEP sub-panel] found that the investigator had failed properly to pursue the suggestion by [Warburton] that the complainant had colluded with witnesses to fabricate the complaint against him. [Warburton] had submitted material that might be capable of supporting his argument, but it had not been properly assessed by the investigator or the commissioner. The commissioner also failed fully to consider whether the complainant’s breach of confidentiality at the beginning of the process, and her denial of it, affected her credibility.

The IEP said it decided to allow Warburton’s appeal three days before he announced his resignation as an MP, on 17 June. But it said that Warburton was not told about the decision until after he had resigned.

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Rishi Sunak has posted a message on Twitter saying that he looks forward to continuing working with Jens Stoltenberg, who has had his term as Nato’s secretary general extended.

According to the Sun’s Harry Cole, at cabinet Sunak praised Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, as the only other credible candidate for the job who was not a former prime minister. Stoltenberg is a former Norwegian PM.

Court hears councils’ legal challenge over London Ulez expansion

A legal challenge to plans to expand London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to the whole of the capital is being heard at the high court today as five Conservative-led councils seek to block the proposals. Gwyn Topham and Sandra Laville have the story.

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Scottish Green party co-leaders boycott ceremony for King Charles, saying monarchy is 'nothing to celebrate'

The co-leaders of the Scottish Greens, Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie, have declined invitations to a special ceremony for King Charles tomorrow, in a move dismissed by critics as “attention-seeking student politics”.

Slater and Harvie, who are both Scottish government ministers and longstanding republicans, will instead attend a rally held by anti-monarchy campaign group Our Republic while the formal ceremonies are taking place.

The ceremony, which will take place in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, will see King Charles presented with “the honours of Scotland”, the Scottish crown jewels, with plans for a royal procession, a 21-gun salute, and a Red Arrows flypast.

Slater said:

In 21st-century Scotland, the monarchy is nothing to celebrate. It is an out-of-date and undemocratic institution. How can we justify a system that allows one family to enjoy so much unearned wealth and privilege at a time when millions of people have so little?

Although the first minister, Humza Yousaf, is expected to attend the ceremony, he has proposed a referendum on the monarchy within five years of Scotland becoming independent.

Harvie said that his opposition to the monarchy was one reason why he supported Scottish independence. “It will give us the opportunity to ask the big questions about how we are ruled and to build a fairer and more equal society,” he said.

Updated

Food bank use not accurate means of assessing poverty, says minister

Food bank use is not an accurate means of measuring poverty, a minister said today.

Johnny Mercer, the veterans minister, made the comment in an interview with Sky News during which he also disputed claims that food bank use was not a matter of choice.

Mercer was giving interviews this morning to promote a new government-funded phoneline intended to homeless veterans.

Asked about food bank use by members of the armed forces, Mercer told Sky News:

These are personal decisions around how people are budgeting every month.

I don’t want to see anyone using food banks, of course I don’t. But we’re in an extremely difficult time around cost of living.

I’ll always advocate for service personnel to get paid more, I’d be mad not to. But it has to be within the constraints of a budget.

When it was put to him that people do not choose to use food banks, Mercer replied:

Well, in my experience that is not correct.

I think there are some dire cases that we need to do more to wrap our arms around and make sure that there is a safety net for people.

I don’t think food bank use is an accurate portrayal of where levels of poverty, relative or absolute poverty, are in this country.

Mercer also insisted that being in the military “still affords you a good wage and a good quality of life”.

The number for the phoneline for homeless veterans is 0800 952 0774. It is operating as part of Op Fortitude, a programme to give veterans that need it a pathway out of homelessness.

UPDATE: Here is Aubrey Allegretti’s story about what Mercer said.

Updated

Ministers urged to shelve illegal migration bill until supreme court ruling after 11 defeats in Lords

Good morning. Yesterday the illegal migration bill was hacked to pieces in the House of Lords. Peers inflicted 11 defeats on the government. This was not quite a record – in January last year there were 14 defeats one night on the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill – but, if the amendments were allowed to stand, they would in effect emasculate the bill, and prevent it from achieving much of what the government intends it to achieve.

Here is Rajeev Syal’s story about the voting last night.

And this is from the Lib Dem office in the Lords, listing the size of the majorities against the government.

Of course, the Lords does not have the final say. The bill will go back to the Commons where MPs will overturn most or all of the Lords amendments. At that point the “ping pong” process starts, when the bill shuttles between the Lords and the Commons until they agree on a text. Sometimes ministers concede on certain points in the face of pressure from the Lords. But on the bill as a whole, and on the issues that matter most to the government, peers inevitably back down in the end and let the Commons win, because it is the elected chamber.

Will that happen this time? Probably. But this morning Alex Carlile, the former Lib Dem MP who is now a crossbench peer, and who tabled two of the amendments that triggered government defeats last night, claimed that the Lords would put up much more resistance than usual on this bill. In an interview with the Today, when it was put to him that it would be wrong for the Lords to block a bill whose aim (stopping the boats) is one supported by the public at large, Carlile said he did not accept that. He replied:

Well, the government’s interpretation of the people is an odd one because I believe, and many others believe, that the people do not want people who have legitimate claims for asylum refused consideration of that claim just because they came in a lorry or in a small boat.

And we have a number of legal principles, well developed over the years, that ensure that people should not be detained unless there is a real purpose in their detention, and an end in sight for their detention.

Those as just a couple of examples of the sorts of issues that the government will have to resolve, otherwise we will have the longest ping pong ever.

Carlile also said that the purpose of the bill was now “dead” and that the government should shelve it until the supreme court had resolved whether asylum seekers can be sent to Rwanda. If the court were to find against the government, the bill became pointless anyway, he argued.

He told the programme:

The bill should be dead because the purpose of the bill is dead.

We were told that this bill would stop the boats. It hasn’t stopped the boats – June had record numbers.

We were told that it would provide for refugees and asylum seekers to get to a safe country. We were told that same country was Rwanda. Rwanda is not a safe country. The court of appeal has held that Rwanda is not a safe country, because there was a risk of people being, the term is refouled, sent on to the very country which they were escaping from injustice in.

And the role of the House of Lords, above all other purposes of that chamber, is to use its experience and expertise to revise and amend draft legislation so it’s fit for purpose. Well, this whole bill has no purpose left at the moment.

What the government really should have done is park it, leave it until the supreme court has decided whether the court of appeal was right, and then, if appropriate, bring it back to parliament and go through it all over again.

Here is the agenda for the day.

Morning: Rishi Sunak chairs cabinet.

10am: Michael Gove speaks at the Local Government Association conference. Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, is speaking at 2.40pm.

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

2pm: Sunak gives evidence to the Commons liaison committee.

2pm: Mark Drakeford, the Welsh first minister, gives evidence to the Covid inquiry.

After 3.30pm: Peers consider the Commons amendments to the strikes (minimum service levels) bill and to the national security bill.

If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a PC or a laptop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line, privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate), or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.

Updated

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