Lebedev criticises Labour as MPs debate releasing security advice behind peerage – as it happened

6.02pm BST

Afternoon summary

• Boris Johnson has not formally accepted that the law was broken, No 10 has said, despite police saying 20 fixed-penalty notices would be issued for breaches of Covid rules after allegations of lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street.

• Michael Ellis, the Cabinet Office minister, has accused Labour of “seeking to whip up anti-Russian feeling” by tabling a binding motion calling for the release of internal government documents relating to the decision to give Evgeny Lebedev a peerage. (See 4.13pm.) Labour scheduled a debate on the motion following reports saying that the House of Lords Appointments Commission (Holac) originally refused to back Lord Lebedev’s nomination after the intelligence agencies raised security concerns, but that No 10 asked for a rethink and that led to Lebedev’s peerage being approved. At the start of the debate Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, said concerns had been raised about Lebedev in the past. (See 3.22pm.) Using Twitter, Lebedev said he would be happy to have the security advice published because he had “nothing to hide”. (See 3.02pm.) But he also effectively accused Labour of smearing him. (See 3.10pm.) Some Tory MPs reportedly were unwilling to vote against the Labour motion, and instead of trying to defeat Labour on this, the government instructed its MPs to abstain. That meant, when the debate ended a few minutes ago, the motion was passed unopposed. The government will have to comply, and so by 28 April it will have to publish minutes of meetings where Lebedev’s peerage was discussed, and documents relating to the advice it received on this from Holac.
  

• Labour is to proscribe three leftwing groups including the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, a movement connected to a number of current and former MPs that also has links with pro-European campaigns.

• P&O Ferries has rejected the UK government’s call to move this week’s deadline for the 800 sacked workers to accept redundancy offers, saying that most had already signed contracts and ministers were “ignoring the situation’s fundamental and factual realities”.

That’s all from us for today. The full report on Partygate can be found here:

Updated at 7.04pm BST

5.36pm BST

This afternoon Boris Johnson spoke by phone with President Biden, President Macron, Chancellor Scholz and Prime Minister Draghi - his fellow members of the “Quint”. According to the No 10 readout, Johnson said President Putin was twisting the knife in Ukraine. A No 10 spokesperson said:

The prime minister underscored that we must judge Putin’s regime by their actions not their words. Putin is twisting the knife in the open wound of Ukraine in an attempt to force the country and its allies to capitulate. The prime minister stressed to his fellow leaders that we should be unrelenting in our response.

The leaders discussed the need to work together to reshape the international energy architecture and reduce dependence on Russian hydrocarbons. They agreed there could be no relaxation of western resolve until the horror inflicted on Ukraine has ended.

Boris Johnson at Westminster Abbey today. Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/PA

Updated at 5.58pm BST