Boris Johnson news latest: Ex-PM already planning ‘worst-case’ scenario by-election

Boris Johnson is set to step up campaigning in his constituency as concerns grow he will face a by-election within months if it is found he has deliberately misled Parliament about the Downing Street lockdown parties (Thomas Kingsley writes).

It comes after Tory electoral guru Lord Hayward warned the former Prime Minister would lose his seat in Uxbridge and Ruislip if he were severely fined by the cross-party committee and forced to fight for his seat.

Accordingly The timesMr Johnson plans for the “worst-case scenario” – that the committee imposes a 10-day suspension from the Commons, which could trigger a by-election.

Rishi Sunak has challenged Benjamin Netanyahu over his controversial judicial overhaul but spoke of strengthening ties as the Israeli PM faces a wave of protests.

Screams of “shame” followed Mr Netanyahu to Downing Street, where hundreds of pro-democracy protesters gathered to warn of a slide towards autocracy.

Mass protests have been sparked in Israel by laws protecting Mr Netanyahu from being deemed unfit to govern, which critics say will protect him from his corruption trial.

More than 3,000 officials in four ministries have announced a program of continuous industrial action from April 11.

The action by members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) will hit the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Forest Commission, the Rural Payments Agency and the Marine Management Organization.

It marks a further escalation of the union’s longstanding dispute over wages, pensions, termination terms and job security.

PCS Secretary General Mark Serwotka said: “This action further increases the pressure on ministers to settle our dispute. Our members show no signs of retreating.

Rishi Sunak traveled to Dudley in the West Midlands this afternoon to launch the local Conservative campaign.

Appearing with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, the Prime Minister met local children and was photographed behind the counter at a local fish and chip shop.

The BBC raised concerns with the government about the appointment process for a new chairman ahead of the controversial hiring of Richard Sharp.

Former BBC chairman Sir David Clementi wrote to former Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden in October 2020 to express the concerns of the company’s nominations committee over the recruitment process for his successor.

On Friday, a spokesman for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said: “The Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments is reviewing the competition to ensure the process has been conducted in accordance with the rules and we will wait and see Result.”

Mr Sharp is under pressure to resign amid an ongoing review after it emerged he helped former Prime Minister Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan facility. The BBC declined to comment.

Nicola Sturgeon has fulfilled her last official engagement as Scotland’s First Minister, opening a £33million orthopedic surgery treatment centre.

The National Treatment Center at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, is set to address the backlog of planned care exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Sturgeon opened the facility on Friday, with other centers due to open this year in NHS Highland, NHS Forth Valley and the Golden Jubilee Hospital.

It was her final act as First Minister, with the outcome of the SNP leadership election expected to replace her on Monday afternoon.

After missing her final moments due to Covid restrictions, Mick Yates stood two meters from his brothers as his mother’s coffin was lowered into her grave on June 26, 2020. A week earlier, Boris Johnson had been photographed in a room full of at least 30 people celebrating his birthday during a time of strict lockdown rules.

During the pandemic, countless people found themselves in Mr Yates’ position, unable to be with loved ones when they died and forbidden from hugging family and friends at funerals – if they could attend at all. Meanwhile, the then Prime Minister attended Downing Street gatherings and flouted the very rules he was set to enforce to stem the spread of the virus and ease pressure on the NHS.

Tara Cobham speaks to those who mourned as their Prime Minister celebrated:

The UK must be “a critical friend” and challenge Israel over its controversial judiciary overhaul, Foreign Affairs Committee chair Alicia Kearns has said.

The Conservative MP told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme: “This is the time for Britain to explore what it means to be a critical friend of Israel and ensure we continue to trade and work together on security cooperation because they are an important partner, but also that we listen to our Jewish communities. And this is the biggest and loudest reaction I have ever seen from a Jewish community to Israeli politics.”

She said the UK needs to “look from the outside and assess where we can make a difference to end suffering, promote prosperity and ensure that the rights of individuals are not violated on all sides and that everyone can live without themselves.” to feel danger underneath.”

Ms Kearns added: “Britain has a key role and a key voice to play here. When politicians feel silenced, when there is a lack of debate in the political class, then we are in a very dangerous position.”

Andrew Grice takes stock after a tough week for Boris Johnson:

It’s been a good week for the premier, a bad one for his penultimate predecessor.

A Johnson-led Eurosceptic revolt against Sunak’s deal with the EU has fizzled out and Johnson’s very uncomfortable hearing before the Commons Privileges Committee has landed him in deep trouble over claims he lied to Parliament about Partygate.

Sunak’s strong performance in recent weeks and Johnson’s woes have dashed the prospect of a coup and a remarkable comeback by Johnson ahead of the general election. Crucially, Sunak now has a cushion against expected Conservative losses in May’s local elections in England, which Johnson’s fan club hoped would be his springboard.