Boris Johnson forced to apologise for not wearing mask after furious Labour MP's blast
BORIS JOHNSON has been forced to apologise for not wearing a mask in public, after furious criticism from Labour MP Yvette Cooper.
He said: "there was barely 30 seconds where I wasn't wearing a mask, I put it on as soon as I realised my mistake."
New opinion polls put Labour ahead of the Conservatives, indicating the sleaze row has sent Boris Johnson’s party ratings to plummet. Other factors such as COVID-19 response, Cop26 and the Autumn Budget may have also contributed to the sliding support. Procedure Committee Chair Karen Bradley and Standards Committee Chair Chris Bryant have pressed Boris Johnson on all of these matters at the Liaison Committee this afternoon.
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KEY EVENTS
Boris Johnson says there is 'simple' reason tax burden set to rise to highest level since warh
Boris Johnson told the liaison committee of senior Labour backbench MPs that there is a 'very simple reason' that the tax burden on the public is set to rise to its highest level since the second world war.
he said: "The country has been through the biggest fall in output, not just since the Second World War, but before the Second World War, the biggest that I can see for a very, very long time.
"And we had to look after people throughout the pandemic."
"And I think everybody understood the fiscal impact of that."
Boris Johnson accuses SNP of being against 'ever trade deal that was ever done'
The Prime Minister accused the SNP of being against "every trade deal that was ever done".
Chair of the International Trade Select Committee Angus MacNeil interrogated the Prime Minister during a liaison committee on Wednesday, on the UK's trade deals with New Zealand and Australia post-Brexit.
Mr MacNeil asked Mr Johnson for specific numbers on how much the UK would recoup from these deals following forecasts Brexit will cost the UK GDP around 4.9 percent.
This caused Mr Johnson to go on the offensive and he was heard shouting: "Are you against it? SNP is every free trade deal that is ever done!
“Never let it be forgotten that they were against joining the EU!”
Johnson admits that Margaret Thatcher's policies were 'cruel'
The Prime Minister admitted in front of a liaison committee of senior backbench MPs that Margaret Thatcher's policies had been 'cruel' to million of Britons.
Mr Johnson accused Mrs Thatcher and her successor John Major of failing large parts of the population and stated that for decades the country has underperformed in productivity and growth.
He said: "I'd rather there was a situation now where there's a big demand for labour and an economy recovering strongly, and people wanting employees.
"Rather than a situation that you and I remember well from decades ago both in the 80s and in the 90s of millions and millions of people unfairly, unnecessarily having their talents wasted because of unemployment.
"That's far crueller.
"I hope what we can see is investments leading to higher wages."
Phillip Dunne has quizzed the PM on the practicalities of methane reduction
Philip Dunne has quizzed the Prime Minister on the practicalities of helping farmers to reduce methane production by 30 per cent.
Mr Johnson said that he has been told that there has been substantial progress made in new technology and that this can be done without jeopardising the quality of British meat.
Boris Johnson says he believes the government is well structured to be able to put COP26 into action
Boris Johnson has said that his government is well structured to be able to put net-zero into action.
He said the government is driving the green industrial revolution.
He said that COP president Alok Sharma will make sure the outcomes are delivered.
Mr Johnson said there have been record sums of investment in green technology.
Mr Johnson has been grilled on the outcomes of COP26
Mr Johnson has stated that the UK will be sticking to its climate Climate change commitments.
However, Darren Jones criticised the government for not blocking a new coal mine from being built.
Mr Jones said that this undermines what the government is trying to achieve
In response to this Mr Johnson said that the UK is an "incredible exemplar of a country" because we used to be 50 per cent dependent on coal and we are now only one per cent dependant.
not blocking a new coal mine in the UK, undermines what we were trying t o deliver, actions undermined our ambitions
incredible exemplar of a country used to be 50% dependent on coal now 1%
Mr Johnson says the government are doing more to keep women safe
Boris Johnson has stated the government is doing more to protect women following the murder of Sarah Everard.
He said they are recruiting more female police officers, installing more street lights and changing the culture of the system.
He said: "we will not rest until women have confidence in the system, confidence in the streets."
Boris says he is making tackling rape his top priority
Mr Johnson says he believes the indecent behaviour of Wayne Couzens should have been picked up on.
He says he wants to see much more prosecution for rapists.
However, he would not say that he believes misogyny should be a hate crime.
He says it is more important to focus on prosecuting people for things that are already illegal.
When asked by Caroline Nokes if classes on 'consent' should be taught in schools he said it was something he would certainly look into.
Boris Johnson is forced to apologise for not wearing a mask
Mr Johnson has been forced to apologise for not wearing a mask after he was criticised by Labour MP Yvette Cooper.
In his apology, he stated that he was only not wearing the mask for "about 30 seconds" and that he put it back on again after he realised his mistake.
Mr Johnson says he believes Owen Paterson broke the rules
Boris Johnson has said he believes what Owen Paterson did was wrong.
He said he thinks it is extraordinary that colleagues sometimes behave in the way that Mr Paterson did and that it is right that they are held to account.
Chris Bryant has stated that the country is corrupt
Chris Bryant blasted Mr Johnson for stating that the country is not corrupt when what Owen Paterson did is corrupt.
Mr Johnson repeated that it was a mistake to shield Mr Paterson from lobbying claims.
Chris Bryant accuses system of registering ministerial interests as being unfair
Boris Johnson was left stuttering after Chris Bryant argued that the way that ministers have to register their ministerial interests is unfair.
Mr Johnson said that he believes the system that has been handed down to him is fair.
Mr Johnson says Owen Paterson had 'fallen foul of the rules'
Mr Johnson said the case of Owen Paterson was sad and that he had fallen foul of the rules.
He said he thinks the case was particularly difficult due to Paterson's family bereavement.
Boris Johnson says there should be gradations in the ministerial code
Mr Johnson has stated that he believes that there should be gradations in the ministerial code and a number of different sanctions.
He believes that a small breach of the code should not necessarily lead to resignation.
Boris Johnson says he thinks the ministerial code is very important
Mr Johnson says he is bound by the ministerial code and that he has brought in an independent advisor to help him implement the code.
Topics which will be covered at the Select Committee
From the committee's website, here is a list of the topics coming up at the Select Committee, and the MPs questioning MPs under each heading.
Propriety and ethics in GovernmentChris Bryant, William Wragg
Violence against women and girlsYvette Cooper, Caroline Nokes, Julian Knight, Sir Bob Neill
COP26 summitDarren Jones, Sarah Champion, Neil Parish, Philip Dunne
Budget and the Spending ReviewJeremy Hunt, Mel Stride, Stephen Timms, Angus MacNeil, Tobias Ellwood
Labour should 'get a grip, and some perspective' when it comes to recent polling
Speaking about the latest opinion poll results, Tom Harris – a Labour transport minister under Gordon Brown – warned that the Conservative Party has "plenty of time to regroup before an election."
Mr Harris, who publicly admitted to voting Tory at the last two elections, wrote in The Times: "Labour MPs need to get two things: a grip, and some perspective. Instead of focusing on a few recent snapshot polls, they would do well to consider that when ministers came under fire and were second guessed for virtually every decision they took to deal with Covid, as they presided over an unprecedented and unexpected economic slump, as hundreds of thousands of people died in hospital and at home, the Conservatives maintained their lead as voters’ preferred party of government.”
Good afternoon
Good morning from London. I’m Rachel Hagan, I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments on Boris Johnson for the next few hours. Please feel free to get in touch with me as I work if you have a story or tips to share! Your thoughts are always welcome.
Email: rachel.hagan@reachplc.com
Twitter: @rachelhagan_