Sue Gray report delay concerns Tory rebels – follow live updates
‘I really don’t know’: MP Thérèse Coffey unaware of when Sue Gray report will be published
Boris Johnson is allegedly wavering on whether to go ahead with a planned rise in national insurance, amid pressure to appease Tory backbenchers over the partygate scandal.
The 2.5 per cent hike, which will be split equally between employers and employees, is unpopular with many Conservative MPs, who believe it will make the cost-of-living crisis worse. But the treasury has suggested it is necessary to balance the books.
With the prime minister eager not to displease his backbenchers amid the fallout from partygate, sources suggest he could halt the measure, which is due to come into effect in April.
“He’s wobbling, I think he would do anything to survive,” one government source told The Times.
Meanwhile, rebel Tory MPs have expressed concerns that a delay in publishing Sue Gray’s partygate report could allow the prime minister to spin the findings in his favour.
One told The Independent that “there’ll be an effort to control the narrative and suggest he’s in the clear.”
This comes as No 10 announced yesterday that it still has not been sent the hotly anticipated report.
Sue Gray report latest
The Met Police has asked the Cabinet Office to only include “minimal reference” in its partygate report to the the events the force is investigating.
In a statement, it added that it did not ask for other limitations but only sought to avoid prejudice to its own investigation.
The findings of the Sue Gray inquiry have yet to be published.
Here’s the BBC’s Nick Eardley with more:
Rory Sullivan28 January 2022 08:01
PM did not authorise animal evacuation from Kabul, insists minister
A minister has insisted that the prime minister did not authorise the evacuation of animals from Afghanistan in the summer after the Taliban seized power.
This comes after a Foreign Office email appeared to suggest that Boris Johnson had granted approval.
Digital minister Chris Philip claimed the email was “mistaken”.
“I think he wasn’t involved in making individual decisions,” Mr Philip told Sky News.
“And we should also be clear, by the way, that the plane in which those people and animals came out on was not a plane that was commissioned or chartered by the UK government – it was done privately by donors.
“But I think the prime minister has made his position on this very clear – it wasn’t something he was personally involved in.”
The rescue of Pen Farthing’s animals was controversial because they were airlifted to safety while many Afghans who had helped Britain were unable to flee the country.
Rory Sullivan28 January 2022 07:54
Johnson ‘wobbling’ over national insurance rise amid partygate scandal
As we mentioned earlier, there is speculation that the prime minister may delay a planned rise in national insurance to consolidate his position.
As the partygate scandal shows no sign of abating, he is under increasing pressure from his backbenchers to scrap the hike, which they think will make the cost-of-living crisis worse.
On the issue, one government source told The Times:…
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