- Ghani: Inquiry must cover all that was said
- Labour plotting ‘eye-watering tax increases’
- Gray to examine PM’s official diary as part of probe
- Sunak tried to distance himself from NI hike
- Downing Street in new fishing row
Boris Johnson has ordered a Cabinet Office investigation into Nusrat Ghani’s Islamophobia claims.
Ms Ghani yesterday accused the Prime Minister of failing to take the matter “seriously” when she directly reported it to him shortly after she lost her job as a transport minister in a reshuffle in February 2020.
She claimed that she was told after being sacked in 2020 that her “Muslim woman minister status was making colleagues feel uncomfortable” and “that I wasn’t loyal to the party as I didn’t do enough to defend the party against Islamophobia allegations”.
Mark Spencer outed himself as the whip referenced in the allegations and denied the claim, describing it as “completely false” and defamatory.
Ms Ghani welcomed the investigation in a tweet this morning, writing: “As I said to the Prime Minister last night all I want is for this to be taken seriously and for him to investigate.
“The terms of reference in this inquiry must include all that was said in Downing Street and by the Whip. I look forward to seeing the terms of reference.”
Follow the latest updates below.
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On Off 8:10AM
Sue Gray report: No 10 police give ‘extremely damning’ evidence
Police officers who guard Downing Street have been interviewed by Sue Gray for the “partygate” investigation, Martin Evans and Lucy Fisher report.
Members of the Metropolitan Police’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command who were on duty when a string of lockdown-breaking gatherings are alleged to have taken place have provided detailed testimonies about what they witnessed.
The statements, described by one source as “extremely damning”, are expected to form a key part of Ms Gray’s report, which is due to be published within days.
Running out of time? One source told us they’d be ‘very surprised’ if Boris Johnson was still PM at the end of the week Credit: Ben Cawthra/LNP
The senior civil servant has also spoken to the Prime Minister, civil servants and political advisers, and accessed security pass logs and even Boris Johnson’s official diary.
Asked how significant the material they had disclosed was, one source said: “Put it this way, if Boris Johnson is still Prime Minister by the end of the week, I’d be very surprised.”
Sue Gray latest: Dominic Cummings ‘will give evidence today’
7:58AM
In the name of God… stay?
For all the drama the House of Commons has brought us in recent weeks, the sight of David Davis telling Boris Johnson “in the name of God, go!” in an unexpected intervention at Prime Minister’s Questions was possibly the most jaw-dropping.
But the former Brexit minister appears to have rowed back on his comments this morning, as he indicated on the Today programme he would wait for the Sue Gray report before making up his mind on the future of the Prime Minister.
“I like Boris, I’ve known him for 30 years but the truth is we’re now into an issue of trust,” he said. “I don’t think any of the proposed people [to replace him as Prime Minister] I’ve seen in the papers have a trust issue.
“I think its pretty likely I would want him to go, but I will wait for those few days. “At the moment he has a legacy of having delivered Brexit and having brought us through the pandemic.
“As we carry on as we may do, month in, month out, it will do huge damage to the Conservative Party.”
7:55AM
T-Levels, not ‘Tory leader’
Nadhim Zahawi clarified that the “TL” badge he wore during his Sky interview this morning stands for “T-Levels” after Kay Burley quipped it was short for “Tory leader”.
“I’m going to make them as famous as A-Levels,” he said.
“They’re technical, they’re a fusion between an apprenticeship and an A-Level. And actually they’re a fantastic thing, which you’re going to hear much more about from me.”
7:49AM
Nus Ghani: I welcome PM’s decision to investigate
In a post on social media in the last few minutes, Ms Ghani has said:
As I said to the Prime Minister last night all I want is for this to be taken seriously and for him to investigate.
I welcome his decision to do that now.
The terms of reference in this inquiry must include all that was said in Downing Street and by the Whip.
I look forward to seeing the terms of reference.
7:39AM
Come forward with your evidence against whips, Zahawi urges colleagues
The Education Secretary urged William Wragg and other Tory MPs to come forward with proof of their claims against the party whips.
Nadhim Zahawi recalled that his experiences during 11 years as a backbencher did not “at all” resemble the allegations made by Mr Wragg and Christian Wakeford, who last week crossed the floor to join the Labour Party.
“I think they have a responsibility to put their evidence forward. All I can say from my experience is I haven’t experienced any of that. I’ve rebelled before and it hasn’t impacted anything to do with my constituency or due process.”
He denied that as Education Secretary he would have the power to deny an MP the funding for a school in their constituency, as claimed by Mr Wakeford about Gavin Williamson, Mr Zahawi’s predecessor, in the Sunday Times this weekend.
7:34AM
Nadhim Zahawi: I’ve never experienced racism in Tory Party
Nadhim Zahawi has never experienced any form of racism “institutional or otherwise” in four decades as a member of the Conservatives, he said this morning.
He was responding to criticisms by Baroness Warsi, a former party chairman who claimed the Singh report into Islamophobia showed the Conservative Party was “institutionally racist” – despite the findings having said otherwise.
“With all respect to Baroness Warsi or anyone else, I’ve been a member of the party since the late eighties.
There is no place for islamophobia or any form of racism in our @Conservatives party. @Nus_Ghani is a friend, a colleague & a brilliant parliamentarian. This has to be investigated properly & racism routed out. #standwithNus
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) January 22, 2022
“I’ve risen through the party, I’ve been a local councillor for three terms, I’ve been a volunteer in the voluntary party, I’ve been a Member of Parliament. I have not actually experienced any form of racism, institutional or otherwise.
“My view is of course we can always do better which is why we had the inquiry, which is why we are overhauling our process. There is no place, as I said in my tweet over the weekend, for racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism in our politics, in our party.
“In a case where a valued colleague comes forward and says I’ve heard this or there’s issues I want aired and dealt with, it’s only right in the meantime. I work very closely with Mark [Spencer] – he’s categorically denied this and said it’s defamatory. One of our values is fairness and people have a fair hearing and I’m not going to impune the reputation of either colleague.”
7:23AM
Boris Johnson ‘looks at your ability’, says Nadhim Zahawi
Boris Johnson offered Nusrat Ghani an investigation two years ago, Nadhim Zahawi insisted this morning as he defended the Prime Minister’s personal record.
“These are really painful allegations for anyone of Nus’s background to make,” he told Sky. “I think it’s important she gets to put her evidence forward.
“I think the right thing to do is allow the Cabinet Office to investigate.”
Challenged on Boris Johnson’s “bank robbers and letterboxes” comments, Mr Zahawi said: “He’s also the Prime Minister who has promoted Nadhim Zahawi to Secretary of State for Education, Sajid Javid to Health Secretary, Priti Patel, Rishi Sunak, Kwasi Kwarteng…
“I’m not saying anything other than the important thing to remember is that this is a Prime Minister who in my view doesn’t look at your background, your religion or anything else. He looks at your ability and whether you’re capable of doing a job.
“At the same time this is a Prime Minister who actually asked Professor Singh to conduct an inquiry into Islamophobia. The inquiry came back with some recommendations and the party is overhauling itself.”
7:18AM
‘I’m not going to impune either colleague’
Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, has said he would “not impune” either of his Conservative colleagues amid Nusrat Ghani’s claims against Mark Spencer.
“Nus is a valued colleague, I’ve known her for a very long time,” Mr Zahawi told Sky News. “She’s worked incredibly hard both as an MP and a minister.
“She’s made a very serious allegation, the Prime Minister spoke to her last night and said that the Cabinet Office will look at this and look at the detail of this. She put out a statement last night saying actually this could be, to be fair, people who aren’t even members of the Conservative Party.
Mark Spencer, the Chief Whip, issued a categorical denial of Nusrat Ghani’s claims on Saturday Credit: Aaron Chown/PA Wire
“Which is why we have to get to the bottom of this very quickly and of course the Chief Whip has come out and named himself as the individual. I work with both colleagues and I think it’s important that someone like a Cabinet Office senior civil servant should look at this properly because the Chief Whip has categorically denied this.”
Asked if he believed Mr Spencer’s denial, Mr Zahawi said: “I’m not going to impune either colleague. We’re one team, we work well together as a team and that’s what the nation expects.”
7:13AM
Good morning
Boris Johnson has ordered a Cabinet Office investigation into Nusrat Ghani’s Islamophobia claims, it has emerged in the last few minutes.
Here’s the front page of your Daily Telegraph today:
The front page of tomorrow’s Daily Telegraph:
‘No10 police questioned by Gray over ‘parties”#TomorrowsPapersToday
Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/JIMevXrNiU pic.twitter.com/dMjt698Kyz
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) January 23, 2022 8:10AM
Sue Gray report: No 10 police give ‘extremely damning’ evidence
Police officers who guard Downing Street have been interviewed by Sue Gray for the “partygate” investigation, Martin Evans and Lucy Fisher report.
Members of the Metropolitan Police’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command who were on duty when a string of lockdown-breaking gatherings are alleged to have taken place have provided detailed testimonies about what they witnessed.
The statements, described by one source as “extremely damning”, are expected to form a key part of Ms Gray’s report, which is due to be published within days.
Running out of time? One source told us they’d be ‘very surprised’ if Boris Johnson was still PM at the end of the week Credit: Ben Cawthra/LNP
The senior civil servant has also spoken to the Prime Minister, civil servants and political advisers, and accessed security pass logs and even Boris Johnson’s official diary.
Asked how significant the material they had disclosed was, one source said: “Put it this way, if Boris Johnson is still Prime Minister by the end of the week, I’d be very surprised.”
Sue Gray latest: Dominic Cummings ‘will give evidence today’
7:58AM
In the name of God… stay?
For all the drama the House of Commons has brought us in recent weeks, the sight of David Davis telling Boris Johnson “in the name of God, go!” in an unexpected intervention at Prime Minister’s Questions was possibly the most jaw-dropping.
But the former Brexit minister appears to have rowed back on his comments this morning, as he indicated on the Today programme he would wait for the Sue Gray report before making up his mind on the future of the Prime Minister.
“I like Boris, I’ve known him for 30 years but the truth is we’re now into an issue of trust,” he said. “I don’t think any of the proposed people [to replace him as Prime Minister] I’ve seen in the papers have a trust issue.
“I think its pretty likely I would want him to go, but I will wait for those few days. “At the moment he has a legacy of having delivered Brexit and having brought us through the pandemic.
“As we carry on as we may do, month in, month out, it will do huge damage to the Conservative Party.”
7:55AM
T-Levels, not ‘Tory leader’
Nadhim Zahawi clarified that the “TL” badge he wore during his Sky interview this morning stands for “T-Levels” after Kay Burley quipped it was short for “Tory leader”.
“I’m going to make them as famous as A-Levels,” he said.
“They’re technical, they’re a fusion between an apprenticeship and an A-Level. And actually they’re a fantastic thing, which you’re going to hear much more about from me.”
7:49AM
Nus Ghani: I welcome PM’s decision to investigate
In a post on social media in the last few minutes, Ms Ghani has said:
As I said to the Prime Minister last night all I want is for this to be taken seriously and for him to investigate.
I welcome his decision to do that now.
The terms of reference in this inquiry must include all that was said in Downing Street and by the Whip.
I look forward to seeing the terms of reference.
7:39AM
Come forward with your evidence against whips, Zahawi urges colleagues
The Education Secretary urged William Wragg and other Tory MPs to come forward with proof of their claims against the party whips.
Nadhim Zahawi recalled that his experiences during 11 years as a backbencher did not “at all” resemble the allegations made by Mr Wragg and Christian Wakeford, who last week crossed the floor to join the Labour Party.
“I think they have a responsibility to put their evidence forward. All I can say from my experience is I haven’t experienced any of that. I’ve rebelled before and it hasn’t impacted anything to do with my constituency or due process.”
He denied that as Education Secretary he would have the power to deny an MP the funding for a school in their constituency, as claimed by Mr Wakeford about Gavin Williamson, Mr Zahawi’s predecessor, in the Sunday Times this weekend.
7:34AM
Nadhim Zahawi: I’ve never experienced racism in Tory Party
Nadhim Zahawi has never experienced any form of racism “institutional or otherwise” in four decades as a member of the Conservatives, he said this morning.
He was responding to criticisms by Baroness Warsi, a former party chairman who claimed the Singh report into Islamophobia showed the Conservative Party was “institutionally racist” – despite the findings having said otherwise.
“With all respect to Baroness Warsi or anyone else, I’ve been a member of the party since the late eighties.
There is no place for islamophobia or any form of racism in our @Conservatives party. @Nus_Ghani is a friend, a colleague & a brilliant parliamentarian. This has to be investigated properly & racism routed out. #standwithNus
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) January 22, 2022
“I’ve risen through the party, I’ve been a local councillor for three terms, I’ve been a volunteer in the voluntary party, I’ve been a Member of Parliament. I have not actually experienced any form of racism, institutional or otherwise.
“My view is of course we can always do better which is why we had the inquiry, which is why we are overhauling our process. There is no place, as I said in my tweet over the weekend, for racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism in our politics, in our party.
“In a case where a valued colleague comes forward and says I’ve heard this or there’s issues I want aired and dealt with, it’s only right in the meantime. I work very closely with Mark [Spencer] – he’s categorically denied this and said it’s defamatory. One of our values is fairness and people have a fair hearing and I’m not going to impune the reputation of either colleague.”
7:23AM
Boris Johnson ‘looks at your ability’, says Nadhim Zahawi
Boris Johnson offered Nusrat Ghani an investigation two years ago, Nadhim Zahawi insisted this morning as he defended the Prime Minister’s personal record.
“These are really painful allegations for anyone of Nus’s background to make,” he told Sky. “I think it’s important she gets to put her evidence forward.
“I think the right thing to do is allow the Cabinet Office to investigate.”
Challenged on Boris Johnson’s “bank robbers and letterboxes” comments, Mr Zahawi said: “He’s also the Prime Minister who has promoted Nadhim Zahawi to Secretary of State for Education, Sajid Javid to Health Secretary, Priti Patel, Rishi Sunak, Kwasi Kwarteng…
“I’m not saying anything other than the important thing to remember is that this is a Prime Minister who in my view doesn’t look at your background, your religion or anything else. He looks at your ability and whether you’re capable of doing a job.
“At the same time this is a Prime Minister who actually asked Professor Singh to conduct an inquiry into Islamophobia. The inquiry came back with some recommendations and the party is overhauling itself.”
7:18AM
‘I’m not going to impune either colleague’
Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, has said he would “not impune” either of his Conservative colleagues amid Nusrat Ghani’s claims against Mark Spencer.
“Nus is a valued colleague, I’ve known her for a very long time,” Mr Zahawi told Sky News. “She’s worked incredibly hard both as an MP and a minister.
“She’s made a very serious allegation, the Prime Minister spoke to her last night and said that the Cabinet Office will look at this and look at the detail of this. She put out a statement last night saying actually this could be, to be fair, people who aren’t even members of the Conservative Party.
Mark Spencer, the Chief Whip, issued a categorical denial of Nusrat Ghani’s claims on Saturday Credit: Aaron Chown/PA Wire
“Which is why we have to get to the bottom of this very quickly and of course the Chief Whip has come out and named himself as the individual. I work with both colleagues and I think it’s important that someone like a Cabinet Office senior civil servant should look at this properly because the Chief Whip has categorically denied this.”
Asked if he believed Mr Spencer’s denial, Mr Zahawi said: “I’m not going to impune either colleague. We’re one team, we work well together as a team and that’s what the nation expects.”
7:13AM
Good morning
Boris Johnson has ordered a Cabinet Office investigation into Nusrat Ghani’s Islamophobia claims, it has emerged in the last few minutes.
Here’s the front page of your Daily Telegraph today:
The front page of tomorrow’s Daily Telegraph:
‘No10 police questioned by Gray over ‘parties”#TomorrowsPapersToday
Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/JIMevXrNiU pic.twitter.com/dMjt698Kyz
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) January 23, 2022
