Boris Johnson

Downing Street has given a lengthy defence against allegations it ignored advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) on a “circuit-breaker” national lockdown. Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said the prime minister had taken a “considered analysis” of the economic impacts and the public health threat of the virus when he decided not to impose a second […]

Wales’ first minister has threatened to close the Welsh border if Boris Johnson does not impose a travel ban on virus hotspots in England. Mark Drakeford told the prime minister he had “one final opportunity” to stop people crossing the border from England. Drakeford has pledged to write to the prime minister urging him to impose […]

A new poll has found that a significant majority of Britons think that leaving the Brexit transition period without a trade deal would be a bad outcome for the country. Last month, Boris Johnson said ending Brexit talks without a deal was a “good outcome” for Britain, even though it would lead to new tariffs on businesses, […]

A majority of Britons do not believe Boris Johnson has a clear plan for tackling the latest coronavirus outbreak, new polling has shown. A survey by YouGov asked just under 3,000 British adults if they felt assured the prime minister had a plan to contain the virus following his statement on new coronavirus measures on […]

Boris Johnson’s plan for tackling coronavirus will be voted on by MPs, despite warnings from his scientific advisers that it does not go far enough. Official papers showed the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) suggested introducing a national lockdown in September lasting between two and three weeks to halt the rapid spread of the […]

News that the pub chain Wetherspoons could be exempt from new lockdown restrictions in Merseyside has caused outrage online. Pubs that serve food will be allowed to remain open in Merseyside while so called “wet pubs” have been forced to close under new coronavirus restrictions, the Guardian‘s Josh Halliday has reported. Under Boris Johnson’s new three-tiered […]

Rob Davidson of Trade Deal Watch looks at Boris Johnson’s Internal Market Bill and says the result of it will determine how history remembers the era of “Johnsonism”. The people of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland are about to pass a terrifying deadline set by our Prime Minister. Boris Johnson proclaimed that we should […]

Wales’ first minister Mark Drakeford has described Boris Johnson’s proposals for travel restrictions for coronavirus hotspots in England as “inadequate”. It came as Wales’s health minister said there is now evidence that travel to and from areas of England with high rates of Covid-19 has contributed to the spread of the virus to other areas of […]

Boris Johnson is to announce a new three-tier system of local lockdown measures for England in an effort to curb rising Covid-19 rates. – What is happening? Different parts of the country will be split up into “medium”, “high” or “very high” local coronavirus alert areas under the new system. It comes after the prime […]

Boris Johnson has been compared to a school teacher losing control of the class by members of his own party in the House of Lords. A ban on singing, mingling and dancing in groups of more than six in pubs and restaurants came under fire in the House of Lords during a debate on the limits […]

Don’t expect to see the back of Boris Johnson any time soon, says one reader. Reports of Johnson’s early political demise may well titillate but I suspect are exaggerated and probably over-hopeful. I would be the first to admit that I read with relish how this most rubbish of prime ministers is on the skids. […]

Tory backbencher and former party leader Iain Duncan Smith has questioned Boris Johnson’s claims that he and the public can “defeat the virus”. The Brexiteer said that he did not believe the prime minister could ever manage to do it, instead arguing that he must help Britons to live with the disease. Speaking to the […]

DENIS MACSHANE on why Boris Johnson will end the Brexit transition period with a deal. 1) UK Brexit negotiator, Lord David Frost has been instructed to say UK will honour its European Convention/Court of Justice Human Rights obligations which Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in particular opposed as since 2010 he has called for UK withdrawal […]

Boris Johnson’s choice to be the next leader of the World Trade Organisation has been eliminated from the race. Disgraced former defence secretary Liam Fox had been backed by the prime minister and international trade secretary Liz Truss. But the WTO said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria and Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea had made it through […]

I’m sure it seemed a good idea at the time… it’s one I had myself from time to time, when running the Number 10 media operation – get the regional telly in; get the PM to do a round of one-on-ones that cover the whole country; lead the news on every regional bulletin; get the […]

The government’s Brexit strategy threatens to drive the UK down a “very slippery slope” towards “dictatorship” or “tyranny”, one former supreme court judge has warned. Ex supreme court president Lord Neuberger condemned Boris Johnson’s internal market bill during a seminar with legal professionals. He told lawyers on Wednesday that “Once you deprive people of the […]

The Scottish parliament has overwhelming voted against Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill and called on the UK government to abandon the “deeply damaging” piece of legislation. SNP, Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat MSPs all united to vote against the bill, with just the Tories backing it. While the vote – by 90 votes to 28 against […]

As tighter lockdown looms, what does Donald Trump’s response to his coronavirus infection tell us about leadership in a crisis like this, his own and that of others stricken by illness at a crucial moment? How does it compare with Boris Johnson’s behaviour after he too succumbed as the pandemic took hold last spring? And […]

The government will walk away from Brexit talks with the EU next week if there is not a visible path to a deal. Boris Johnson had previously set a deadline of 15 October to make progress, with high levels talks expected next week, before a top-level meeting between European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. […]

A Tory minister has defended Boris Johnson’s 10pm curfew amid calls the government release its scientific advice behind the decision. Prisons minister Lucy Frazer said there had been “opportunities” for ministers to hear the scientific advice. Appearing on BBC 2’s Politics Live, Frazer said it was important MPs get to scrutinise the new rules but that the government […]

Boris Johnson has been urged to consider a “circuit breaker” national lockdown sooner rather than later over fears that the current measures to stop coronavirus are not working. Professor Calum Semple, a member of the government’s scientific advisory panel who specialises in disease outbreaks, recommended a “circuit breaker” be considered on a national basis in […]

Boris Johnson has been accused of “hurtling towards a crash crash” after “ignoring the warning signs”, follow scrutiny of his new coronavirus measures during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). Taking to the despatch box, the prime minister argued that the 16,000 positive coronavirus cases that went unreported due to a “technical glitch” did change the “basic distribution” […]

Boris Johnson’s approval rating among Tory voters continues to decline as many continue to disagree with his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Less than half (45%) of 2019 Tory voters think No 10 is doing a good job managing the virus while a further quarter (25%) do not think they are, a survey by pollsters Redfield & […]

The Scottish parliament is expected to vote down Boris Johnson’s Internal Market Bill after the constitution secretary urged MSPs to “stand up and defend devolution” by rejecting the controversial UK legislation.  Mike Russell called on MSPs at Holyrood to vote against the UK government’s Brexit bill amid repeated claims from Scottish government ministers that it […]

Boris Johnson’s father has been caught without a face mask in public for the third time in a week. Stanley Johnson was pictured at an Underground station reading a newspaper with his mask lowered. This is the third time the prime minister’s father was captured flouting regulations around wearing face masks. Last Tuesday, Johnson senior was […]

Boris Johnson has attacked “lefty human rights lawyers” for disrupting the justice system in a move branded “utterly shameful” and “deeply concerning” by legal figures. The prime minister ramped up the rhetoric in the latest battle between the government and the justice system during his speech at the Conservative Party conference, repeating sentiments from home […]

Spectator editor Fraser Nelson debunked claims put forward by Liz Truss that No 10 has enjoyed several “successes” in its response to the coronavirus pandemic. Nelson, who now manages the magazine once edited by Boris Johnson, said polling has shown no citizens were more disappointed in their government’s response to the virus than Britons. The trade secretary and […]

Boris Johnson has claimed that Britain is “more united than for decades”, despite the threat of a split in the United Kingdom, and Brexit divides failing to be healed.   Speaking during his big speech to Tory party conference, he said: “And I believe you will see a Britain that is more united than for decades […]