A culture minister has said it is not “immediately obvious” that there should be an investigation into an alleged second event at Number 10 hosted by the prime minister’s wife.
Chris Philp was asked on Sky News about reports emerging at the weekend that Carrie Johnson had organised a couple of parties in the Downing Street flat.
On whether he thought the alleged gatherings should be investigated, Philp said:
Well, I think we have had an unbelievably comprehensive set of investigations going on now for a period of nearly six months. We have had obviously the Sue Gray investigation published last week. And she interviewed, goodness knows, dozens or possibly even hundreds of people in the course of her investigation, looked at emails, messages, and everything else.
And we have had the Metropolitan police investigation, which again, has gone over and gone on over a number of months. And they conducted that with full police powers.
So, having had two separate investigations, including by the police over many months, it is not immediately obvious to me that we need any more investigations when this has probably been the most… rightly been, the most thoroughly investigated set of incidents in recent times.
For a recap on the story of the party in question, here’s the full story:
The UK’s foreign policy in Ukraine will not change based on whether Boris Johnson is prime minister, Tobias Ellwood has said.
The Conservative former minister told Sky News:
Don’t assume that, just because Boris Johnson may or may not be replaced, that our foreign policy will change in Ukraine. We have been providing weapons systems and support since 2014.
As I’ve just been illustrating, there is a vacuum of leadership in Europe at the moment. That’s where I would like to see Britain step forward in consolidating a coalition if Nato isn’t going to do it. That’s what I’d like to see Britain do.
So, let’s not use Ukraine as a fig leaf to deny the fact that we have a serious issue in our party that needs to be addressed. There’s now been talk of a reshuffle to remove any further questioning voices, you know, that might criticise what the prime minister does in private.
This is exactly the wrong way we should be going. It is the absence of these inquisitive minds being heard that actually allowed legislation to support Owen Paterson, for example, to go unscrutinised.
On whether he would be waiting for a call if there was a reshuffle, Ellwood said: “I wouldn’t. I’m not sure that I would answer that.”
Nicola Slawson
Boris Johnson is facing continued pressure from within his own party as the fallout from Partygate rumbles on and more MPs call for him to resign as prime minister.
Former Tory minister Tobias Ellwood said the Conservative party stills seemed to be “in denial”.
The prominent critic of the prime minister told Sky News the party was “increasingly in a difficult place”.
He said:
This is going to be a testing summer. Polling is now saying we could lose 90 seats. And we still seem to be in denial. It’s time to shake off this partisan Stockholm syndrome, I believe.
Our party brand is suffering. We will lose the next election on current trajectory as reflected in recent elections by local elections.
And when you get the church elders in the party, such as Lord Hague, now expressing huge concern, you know, we need to listen.”
When asked on Sky News if he has received more public support for his view of the prime minister, Ellwood said he’d been receiving a lot of private support from people who agree with him but were not ready to state it publicly.
He said the concerns within the party were not just about Partygate. He says bringing back imperial measurements is not “one-nation Conservative thinking”, for example, and the way the government seems to keep leaking announcements ahead of time is also sowing discontent.
He said:
There is not only just a concern on the conduct of behaviour in Number 10 because that has breached the trust with the British people, it is now concerns about Number 10 thinking, what our policies are.
What we are now seeing is an approach to shore up and chase a slice off the electorate with policies such as bringing back imperial measurements.
There will be some people in our party which will like this nostalgic policy in the hope that it’s enough to win the next election. But this is not the case. This is not one-nation Conservative thinking that is required to appeal beyond our base.
It’s far from the inspirational, visionary progressive thinking that we require. And it fits into a pattern I am afraid of micro-announcements that are increasingly thrown out there, which actually is sowing further discontent with with more MPs.
Welcome to today’s liveblog. Do get in touch if you have any questions or think I’m missing anything. My email is [email protected] and I’m @Nicola_Slawson on Twitter.
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