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Downing Street

Downing Street

Priti Patel may only get ‘written warning’ at end of bullying investigation

Labour has demanded that a report into allegations of bullying from Priti Patel should be published in full amid reports Boris Johnson will ‘fudge’ the outcome by issuing a written warning. The Financial Times said that the probe would be concluded “imminently” but that Johnson would only issue Patel with a written warning, rather than dismissing […]

Downing Street

Boris Johnson ignores coronavirus laws for virtual PMQs

Despite the government demanding those in self-isolation remain at home, Downing Street has admitted Boris Johnson was neither in his office nor his home to film a virtual session of Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). The prime minister was told by Test and Trace to isolate on Sunday evening and, despite testing negative for Covid-19, will […]

Downing Street

New Number 10 press secretary ends Boris Johnson’s war with media

Number 10’s new press secretary has ended Boris Johnson’s war with the media, days after the dramatic departure of advisers Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings walked out of Downing Street. Allegra Stratton told a Westminster briefing that Boris Johnson believed the press had played a “powerful role” during the coronavirus pandemic. Cain, a former Mirror […]

Downing Street

Government slammed for ‘fast track VIP lane’ giving ‘special treatment’ over PPE contracts

A senior MP has slammed the“fast track VIP lane” which allowed people in the Westminster bubble to recommend companies to receive “special treatment” by government if they were supplying masks, gloves, aprons and other PPE during the pandemic. Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the Commons spending watchdog the Public Accounts Committee, said she was “appalled” by the […]

Downing Street

Civil servants’ union warns there are ‘serious doubts’ over Downing Street’s Covid safety rules

The country’s biggest civil servants’ union said there were “serious doubts” about No 10’s coronavirus safety measures after it emerged Boris Johnson and 10 MPs were forced to self-isolate after a meeting. Johnson and six other MPs were forced to quarantine on Monday after being told they had come into contact with an infected Tory backbencher. Nottinghamshire MP Lee Anderson developed Covid-19 […]

Downing Street

Boris Johnson delaying Priti Patel bullying report, former civil servant suggests

The former head of the civil service has suggested an investigation commissioned eight months ago into allegations of bullying by home secretary Priti Patel is yet to conclude because the prime minister is yet to “make a decision” on it. Lord Sedwill told MPs that a review into what happened in the Home Office was […]

Downing Street

We don’t need a ‘reset’ at Number 10 we need to ‘rewind’

Rather than a reset can’t we just rewind by four years back to June 2016? With the departures of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain there has been much discussion of this being an opportunity for the PM to ‘reset’. Personally I would prefer a ‘rewind’, specifically to that point in June 2016, before we broke […]