Summary
That’s all for today – here is a round-up of today’s news as Sir Keir Starmer’s appointment of Sue Gray as his chief of staff continues to attract criticism from Conservative MPs.
The Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin has said it is unprecedented for a serving permanent secretary to resign to take up a job with the leader of the opposition. The Cabinet Office is investigating, he says.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, told the House of Commons that he believe it “smashes to pieces” the idea of an independent civil service.
Starmer refused to say exactly when he first contacted Sue Gray about her becoming his chief of staff – but said that the approach was “recent”, and after his previous chief of staff left last October.
Hospital consultants in England will be balloted on strike action over pay, the British Medical Association, the doctors’ union, has announced. The BMA will ballot consultants on a potential strike in the spring, PA Media reports.
Rachel Johnson, sister of former prime minister Boris, says that she believes their father, Stanley, deserves an honour – amid rumours that he will get a knighthood in her brother’s resignation honours list.
At the No 10 lobby briefing Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson described reports that Stanley Johnson is due to get a knighthood in Boris’ honours list as “speculative”, not denying them, and refuses to accept that the honours system isn’t fit for purpose.
Sunak’s spokesperson has declined to say when he expects to honour his pledge to “stop the boats” in response to asylum seekers arriving on the shores of southern England from France in small crafts.
Bertie Ahern, the former taoiseach (Irish PM), has said it is “reasonable” for the DUP to take a few weeks to decide whether or not it will support the deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol.
Thanks for following along. I leave you with tonight’s story that Conservative MPs are launching a bid attempting to stop Sue Gray’s appointment as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.
Staff at the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the regulator for hospitals, care homes, GPs and dentists across England, have voted to take strike action over pay, says their union Unison today.
More than 700 workers took part in a ballot by Unison, including those in the organisation’s health and social care teams and call centres, along with clerical staff and data analysts.
The regulator holds responsibility over health and social care bodies across England including GP practices, dental surgeries, hospitals and care homes.
Unison national officer Matthew Egan said: “CQC staff have had to put up with their pay rising at a much lower rate than inflation for more than a decade.”
Last December CQC staff were given a pay increase of between 2.75% and 3.5%. The employees also received a one-off payment of either £100 or £150, depending on their grade.
Updated
Education minister Claire Coutinho has said the government knows that parents have “lost trust” in the special education needs system for children.
In a statement on the government’s improvement plan for special educational needs she told the Commons it was important children could access the support they need to “make the most of their lives”.
She told MPs: “For those with special educational needs and disabilities there are many schools and councils doing a brilliant job … however, too often our children and young people do not get the support they need and their parents have lost trust in the system.
“Our mission is threefold. First we want every child and young person to enjoy their childhood and feel well-prepared for their next step.
“Second, we know that the system has lost the confidence of parents and carers. We need to regain that trust by improving the support that is ordinarily available.
“Finally, we’ve increased the high needs budget by over 50% in the past four years – we now need to make sure that funding is being well spent.”
Coutinho said the government will introduce standards and practice guides, those who require specialist provision will “get prompt access to the support they need within a less adversarial system”, and 33 new special free schools will be built.
The shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, criticised the proposals for not being urgent enough. She said that “much of the substance in this plan will not even come into effect until 2025 or even 2026. At best six years after the review was announced.
“New national standards, new special school places, new standardised digital education health and care plans – none of this coming online until a further 300,000 children with Send have left secondary school.”
Updated
Stanley Johnson deserves an honour, regardless of my brother being PM, says Rachel Johnson,
Rachel Johnson, the journalist and sister of Boris, has said their father Stanley deserves an honour. In an interview for the News Agents podcast, asked about reports that Stanley is being lined up for a knighthood in her brother’s resignation honours list, she replied:
If my brother hadn’t been prime minister, I think my father could have been in line for some sort of recognition in his own right. He’s done much more for the Tory party and the environment than dozens of people who have been given gongs at this point.
People can draw their own conclusions, please don’t ask me to, as it were, sit in judgment on it. Because it literally is too close. You’re talking about my brother and my father. That is a decision that my brother has made with regards my father or not.
Should Boris Johnson be able to give his dad a knighthood?@RachelSJohnson on reports her father, Stanley, is being primed to get an honours nod.
— The News Agents (@TheNewsAgents) March 6, 2023
Listen on @GlobalPlayerhttps://t.co/SdyBDl7qyY pic.twitter.com/KsiLMYzFOh
That is all from me for tonight. My colleague Harry Taylor is taking over now.
Updated
Urgent question on Sue Gray leaving civil service to work for Starmer - snap verdict
It is not much fun being a Conservative MP at the moment – the party is still 20 points behind in the polls, according to the latest figures – but for about 70 minutes it must have felt like bliss for them in the House of Commons. They have had good days before under Rishi Sunak. But to actually have the upper hand over Labour on an issue of probity – that may not have happened for some years.
Jeremy Quin, the Cabinet Office minister, used his opening statement to set out the obligations on civil servants like Sue Gray, and it seems clear that the rule about getting clearance from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) before announcing a job like this has not been met. (See 3.39pm.) Gray was also meant to get clearance before having contact with a senior figure from the opposition. She is the one who seems to have broken the rules, not Keir Starmer, but Labour was clearly on the defensive, and mostly it turned into a “clobber Starmer” session.
That said, there was some absurd overstatement. The country is not facing a “constitutional crisis”, as the Tory MP Peter Bone claimed. (See 4.21pm.) If Gray had just quietly quit her job, waited a few weeks, contacted Acoba and then made the announcement, it would have been much harder for anyone to object. As Alex Cunningham pointed out, there would be precedent for that. (See 4.15pm.) Another Labour MP, Barry Sheerman, said he been told by a Tory MP that the outrage was orchestrated. (See 4.03pm.) That sounded right.
But the failure of Labour to explain when Gray was first approached gave the Tory critique a considerable boost, and it remains unclear why the opposition has not been able to provide a credible answer. One theory was that it actually suited Labour to keep this row going because, when it was a story about Boris Johnson supposedly being “framed” for Partygate, it helped Labour. A UQ on this would have reminded anyone paying attention a) why they disliked the former PM so much and b) that some Tory MPs are unhinged. But it ended up as a UQ about Starmer instead, and it did leave the impression that Labour has something to hide.
Updated
Kieran Mullan (Con) says trust is broken. He suggests it is time to consider legislation to stop this happening again.
Quin says this is not about Sue Gray. She is a civil servant who has worked hard for decades. He says the problem is what Keir Starmer did. This may have been inadvertent, he suggests. But he says Starmer can now clear this up by saying when he approached Gray.
The UQ is now over.
Paul Bristow (Con) says this looks farcical to the public. He calls for a full disclosure of meetings and conversations.
Quin says it is a “tragedy” that the hard work of a civil servant has been called into question. He says Labour could clear this up by publishing details of the contacts.
Brendan Clarke-Smith (Con) quotes from what Vernon Bogdanor, an academic and constitutional expert, said about this in an article for the Telegraph. Bogdanor said:
The issue is important, since, if the approach [by Labour to Sue Gray] was made before publication [of the Partygate report], the hope of future employment might – even if only subconsciously – have influenced its content. So it would not be possible any longer to regard Sue Gray as an impartial investigator.
Quin says Bogdanor raises interesting questions.
(This morning Keir Starmer said the approach to Sue Gray came some time after the Partygate report was published. See 10.39am.)
Marco Longhi (Con) says any reasonable person would question the impartiality of Sue Gray before she announced her departure.
Quin says that is a fair question. Labour should say when they started talking to her, he says. It may have been a short period, or a long period, he says.
Quin says there is a process for civil servants moving into the political world. It is just important the rules are followed, he says.
Craig Mackinlay (Con) asks: “Does this smell right?”
Quin says the government is trying to find out exactly what happened.
Craig Whittaker (Con) says if a process looks and smells like a “rotting, stinking fish”, it probably is one.
UPDATE: Whittaker said:
If the process looks like a rotting stinking fish, if it smells like a rotting stinking fish, and it tastes like a rotting stinking fish, chances are it’s a rotting stinking fish.
Updated
Marcus Fysh (Con) says during the Brexit negotiations he saw Sue Gray discuss with an adviser how to exclude solutions other than high alignment as a solution to the Northern Ireland issue. A month later the original protocol was published.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, interrupts Fysh, saying he is going on too long.
Updated
Lee Anderson (Con) says this episode has cast “a dark stain on democracy”. He says Labour should explain what happened.
Peter Bone (Con) claims the Commons has been plunged into a “constitutional crisis”. Ministers need to be able to speak to civil servants without fearing their information will be misused. He says Keir Starmer is to blame.
Quin agrees with this.
Nigel Evans (Con) says he had a good relationship with Sue Gray when he was a Cabinet Office minister. He says this appointment puts all civil servants in a difficult position, in terms of trust and impartiality.
Quin agrees. He says it is “all the more shocking” that a “fast and loose” approach has been taken to the rules.
Simon Clarke (Con) says Sue Gray has not just policy knowledge, but knowledge about minister’s personal interests. Will the government amend senior civil servants’ contracts to stop this happening again.
Quin says there is work under way at the moment that might address this point.
Updated
Alex Cunningham (Lab) says there is precedent for this. James Sassoon left the Treasury as a senior civil servant and started working for George Osborne when he was shadow chancellor three weeks later. Sassoon subsequently became a Tory peer.
Quin says he cannot remember that. But he says there is no precedent for anyone as senior as Sue Gray moving like this.
Updated
Jonathan Gullis (Con) says Keir Starmer talks about integrity, openness and honesty. So why can’t he tell us “who, where, when and why?”
Quin says those are good questions.
Tom Hunt (Con) says it is “utterly ridiculous” for Labour to say Sue Gray will not be involved in electioneering.
Quin says that is a good point. He says he has taken a number of UQs, and rarely seen the Labour benches as empty as they are now.
Matt Western (Lab) says there are MPs on both sides who started off working in the civil service.
Quin says, with senior civil servants, they should follow the rules when they change job. Labour should help with that process, he says.
Matthew Offord (Con) asks when Sue Gray told her permanent secetary about her contact with Labour over this job.
Quin says inquiries are under way, but he is not aware of anyone being told before Thursday last week.
Updated
Richard Drax (Con) says Sue Gray has had access to highly confidential and very personal information. He suggests it would be wrong for her to use this ahead of an election.
Quin says Gray has had access to sensitive information. That does not mean she would use it. But there is a problem of perception, he suggests.
Sammy Wilson (DUP) asks what sensitive negotiations Sue Gray was involved in while she was negotiating with Labour. He accuses Labour of double standards. They should be able to say when first contact was made.
Quin agrees.
Barry Sheerman (Lab) says a Tory MP told him that Tory MPs were being told to turn up for this UQ. They were on a “five-line whip”, he says. He says it is the government that is faking outrage. And he says he does not believe what the Tories are saying about civil servants being outraged.
John Whittingdale (Con) says when he became a minister he was told to avoid not just conflicts of interest, but the appearance of conflicts of interest. Doesn’t this appointment create a problem of perception, he says.
Quin agrees.
Andrew Gwynne (Lab) accuses the Tories of “faux outrage” and wild conspiracies. He quotes Lord Maude, the former Tory minister, saying Sue Gray is impartial, and Labour are lucky to have her.
Quin says he has worked with Gray, and admired her integrity. That does not mean he is not entitled to be disappointed by this. He has concerns about the impact it will have on the perceptions of impartiality.
Simon Hoare (Con) says the government should quickly formalise the recommendations from the committee (ie, make them binding).
Quin says he has a lot of faith in the Acoba process.
Ronnie Cowan (SNP) asks if it isn’t time to give Acoba some teeth. He says Tory ministers have ignored it.
Quin says it is an irony that Labour is calling for those rules to be tightened, when it does not seem to know what they say.
Rees-Mogg claims Gray appointment has smashed 'to pieces idea of independent civil service'
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, asks if this does not “smash to pieces” the idea of an independent civil service. She was soft on devolution, he says. He says this undermines all the work she did, including her inquiry into Boris Johnson (and Partygate), which was now know was done by a friend of the socialists.
UPDATE: Rees-Mogg said:
Does this not smash to pieces the idea of an independent civil service, when we know that one of the most senior civil servants in the country was conniving in secret meetings with the party of opposition?
And does this not undervalue years of advice and reports that [Sue Gray] has given? Her views on devolution, which were known constantly to be soft, her report into [Johnson] which we now know was done by a friend of the socialists.
Does this not undermine all her previous work and the idea of an independent civil service?
Updated
Ben Bradshaw (Lab) says Sue Gray was just as resolute protecting standards when he was a minister as she is now. Isn’t someone of her quality what the country needs?
Quin says an appoinment like this is unprecedented. It is important the rules are followed, he says.
Sir Bill Cash (Con) asks if Sue Gray has entered a contract with Keir Starmer. He says this issue raises matters of confidentiality. And will Gray benefit from Short money (taxpayers’ money given to the opposition).
Quin says he does not know if there is a contract, or how Gray’s appointment would be funded. Only Labour can answer, he says. He says it would be good if Labour cleared this up.
William Wragg (Con), chair of the public administration and constitiutional affairs committee, says the appointment is ill-judged. But he suggests he has confidene in Acoba, which is chaired by Lord Pickles.
He invites Quin to say he is not accusing civil servants of bias.
And he asks if Acoba will get statutory powers.
Quin does so. He says the standard of civil servants is high. Many will be concerned by this appointment, he says.
As for Acoba getting statutory powers, he says the government has received recommendations on this point and will respond in due course.
Updated
'What is Labour trying to hide?' - Cabinet Office minister challenges Starmer to say when he offer Gray job
Quin says Rayner is working on the basis that attack is the best form of defence. This shows why Labour needs better advisers.
He says Labour is refusing to say when Keir Starmer offered the job to Sue Gray. Why is he being evasive?
He says Keir Starmer has a tendency to claim a self-righteous monopoloy over morals.
UPDATE: Quin said:
The party opposite talks about rules. They talk about transparency. They talk about standards in public life. Given all the constant talk, it’s time they walked the walk.
So I ask the right honourable lady to go away and think, why are they refusing to publish where they met with Sue Gray? Why are they being evasive? Why can’t they tell us what they discussed, where they met? How often they met? Their refusal to do so begs the question, exactly what is Labour trying to hide?
There are now serious questions as to whether Labour, by acting fast and loose, undermined the rules and the impartiality of the civil service.
Those opposite must ask themselves why did the leader of the opposition covertly meet with a senior civil servant, and why were those meetings not declared? They believe the Acoba rules should be tightened, but why weren’t the current ones followed?
Updated
Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, is responding for the opposition.
She says it is striking that a senior civil servant has decided to join Labour. She says that is a reflection on this “tired-out, washed-up, sleaze-addicted Tory government”.
And she accuses the Tories of peddling conspiracy theories. What next, she asks – a Westminster Hall debate on the moon landings.
Rayner is referring to the claims that Sue Gray wrote her report to undermine Boris Johnson. But neither Quin nor Buckland referenced these at all.
UPDATE: Rayner said:
I’d also like to thank members opposite for asking why a senior civil servant famed for their integrity and dedication to public service decided to join the party with a real plan for Britain rather than a tired out, washed up, sleaze-addicted government.
This is the exceptional circumstances that the minister spoke about, a party so self-obsessed that they are using parliamentary time to indulge in the conspiracy theories of the former prime minister and his gang.
What will they ask for next? A Westminster Hall debate on the moon landings, the bill of dredging the Loch Ness or a public inquiry into whether the Earth is flat?
Updated
Quin is replying to Buckland.
He says he shares Buckland’s disappointment.
He says Acoba could say the appointment is not appropriate at all. A three-month waiting time is standard, but it could go up to two years, he says.
He says civil servants are under a lifetime obligation to respect confidentiality.
Updated
Sir Robert Buckland, the former justice secretary, says it is important to defend the principle of civil service Acoba.
He asks for confirmation that Acoba could block the job for up to two years.
And he asks if Sue Gray will be blocked from passing information on to Labour.
Cabinet Office minister casts doubt on whether Sue Gray followed proper process over job with Starmer
The Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin says it is unprecedented for a serving permanent secretary to resign to take up a job with the leader of the opposition. The Cabinet Office is investigating, he says.
He says the civil service code requires civil servants to be impartial, so they can retain the confidence of ministers.
He says, for senior civil servants, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments gives advice on what jobs they can accept. Acoba is meant to provide advice before a job is accepted. He says Acoba has not received a request for advice yet.
He says civil servants must declare outside interests.
And he says they are meant to get permission for contacts with the opposition.
UPDATE: Quin said:
The house will recognise that this is an exceptional situation. It is unprecedented for a serving permanent secretary to resign to seek to take up a senior position working for the leader of the opposition.
As honourable members will expect, the Cabinet Office is looking into the circumstances leading up to Sue Gray’s resignation in order to update the relevant civil service leadership and ministers of the facts.
Subsequent to that I will update the House appropriately …
The business appointment rules form part of civil servants’ contract of employment. The rules state that approval must be obtained prior to a job offer being announced.
The Cabinet Office has not as yet been informed that the relevant notification to Acoba has been made.
Updated
Urgent question on proposed appointment of Sue Gray as chief of staff to Keir Starmer
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, tells MPs before the Sue Gray UQ starts that he will not allow comments about the privileges committee’s inquiry into Boris Johnson.
He says he received several requests for a UQ. Some of them had identical wording.
He urges MPs not to try mass lobbying again. He was more impressed by the individually worded requests for a UQ, he says.
Updated
Jeffrey Donaldson sets up DUP panel to consider party's response to NI protocol deal
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, says he is setting up a party panel to consider views on whether or not it should back the deal on the Northern Ireland protocol.
As PA Media reports, Donaldson told broadcasters an eight-member panel would examine views on the agreement. It will include former DUP leaders Baroness Foster and Peter Robinson, and will report back to the party later this month.
Today I have established a group to commence and undertake a wide consultation process within NI, listening and taking views on the Framework document. This work will be undertaken in parallel with our on-going engagement with the UK Government. https://t.co/HAXHTmbs3Z
— Jeffrey Donaldson MP (@J_Donaldson_MP) March 6, 2023
Updated
Bertie Ahern, the former taoiseach (Irish PM), has said it is “reasonable” for the DUP to take a few weeks to decide whether or not it will support the deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol.
Speaking after a plenary session of the British-Irish parliamentary assembly at Stormont to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement, said:
I think it is reasonable in a document that is so lengthy and so many legal backgrounds that people will have clarifications, particularly both legal clarifications and working mechanisms.
It would seem like a few weeks is a reasonable time.
But Ahern also said that Rishi Sunak should not have to wait “indefinitely” for an answer, and that the Northern Ireland assembly could be restored in time for the 25th anniversary in April “if people wanted to”.
The scientific community’s “universal view” is that the UK rejoining the EU’s Horizon programme should be a top priority, Martin Rees, the astronomer royal, told Radio 4’s the World at One.
Commenting on the confirmation the government is considering not rejoining (see 1.26pm and 1.35pm), Rees, a leading astrophysicist, said:
There’s a universal view that the top priority ought to be to get into Horizon …
It’s a bit disappointing that the prime minister doesn’t seem to have made any unequivocal statements of this priority and … the scientific community is, I think, pretty united, that this should be the top priority and done as early as possible.
Updated
SNP party machine backing Humza Yousaf, Joanna Cherry claims
The SNP’s “party machine” is behind Humza Yousaf in the leadership contest, the MP Joanna Cherry has said.
As PA Media reports, Cherry said Ash Regan, the candidate she is backing, was “making progress” and people should not “write her off”.
Cherry is so far the only parliamentarian to have declared their support for Regan, who is up against Scotland’s health secretary, Yousaf, and the finance secretary, Kate Forbes, in the contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon.
Cherry told BBC Scotland:
I think it’s very wrong to write [Regan] off, she’s making progress and I’ve heard a number of people say they’ve been switched on to her campaign after listening to her properly at the hustings …
It’s no secret that the party machine is behind Humza and not behind Kate and Ash.
When it was put to her that the “party machine” would deny this is the case, Cherry said:
The majority of parliamentarians who have declared are behind Humza.
Asked about Cherry’s comments, Forbes said:
I don’t think there are any conspiracies or otherwise. I think this is a transparent process.
And I think it’s for all candidates to make their case and to receive their backing.
Updated
Science secretary Michelle Donelan says Horizon will have to be 'value for money for taxpayer' for UK to rejoin
Michelle Donelan, the science, innovation and technology secretary, told Radio 4’s World at One that rejoining the EU’s Horizon science research programme was “plan A”. But she said that, during the two years when the UK was kept out of Horizon, the government had to develop a “plan B” for science research.
She said, for the UK to rejoin Horizon, the conditions would have to be “acceptable and favourable”. The UK had lost two years, she said. Rejoining would have to be “value for money for the taxpayer”. She went on:
We could not afford to wait another two years of negotiating this, and leave our researchers in limbo.
Updated
No 10 says UK considering whether or not to rejoin EU's Horizon science research programme
Rishi Sunak and Michelle Donelan, the science, innovation and technology secretary, have today unveiled a plan to make the UK a global science and technology superpower by 2030.
Last week, after the government reached a deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol, it was assumed that the UK would rejoin the EU’s Horizon science research funding programme. Under the Brexit deal, the UK was supposed to remain a Horizon member, but the EU excluded the UK while the protocol issue remained unresolved.
But at the No 10 lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson could not confirm that the UK would be going back into Horizon. Asked what was happening, he just said the government was “taking stock”.
Asked why the UK might not rejoin a programme it did not want to leave, the spokesperson replied:
It’s something we’ve been pressing the EU for for the last two years. We’ve made ambitious alternative domestic arrangements, ready to support the UK’s R&D sector, where we have a commitment of £20bn a year.
We have announced a further extension to 30 June of financial guarantees to the UK’s Horizon Europe applicants so that people can continue to get the same level of support whilst we consider the best approach.
Updated
No 10 refuses to accept claim honours system unfit for purpose
At the No 10 lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson described reports that Stanley Johnson is due to get a knighthood in Boris Johnson’s honours list as “speculative”.
In Whitehall-speak, the word “speculative” often means “true – only we can’t say so yet”.
The SNP says the prospect of Stanley getting a knighthood showed that the entire honours system was “unfit for purpose”. (See 11.44am.) Asked if the honours system was fit for purpose, the PM’s spokesperson said:
There are longstanding rules that guard the honours process. There is no plan to change those that I’m aware of. It is a fact that that outgoing prime ministers are able to nominate people in this way.
Asked if Rishi Sunak had plans to intervene with the names on Johnson’s list, the spokesperson said that he would not be commenting on the process, that the detail was “still being worked through” and that names would be published in the normal way. He could not say when the list would be published.
Cabinet Office minister to answer urgent question about Sue Gray and civil service impartiality
A Cabinet Office minister will answer an urgent question on “impartiality in the civil service in the light of the proposed appointment [of Sue Gray by Keir Starmer]” at 3.30pm, the speaker’s office has announced.
The UQ has been tabled by Sir Robert Buckland, the former justice secretary. Earlier my colleague Pippa Crerar said Johnson loyalists were tabling UQs on this. (See 11.17am.) But Buckland is not part of the Johnson clique, and any concerns he raises may carry more clout than a UQ tabled by someone like Nadine Dorries. That may be why Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, chose Buckland’s UQ. Or maybe there has been some coordination, with the Tories seeking to make this more of a Labour issue than a Johnson issue.
After the UQ there will be two Commons statements: from Suella Braverman, the home secretary, on the Manchester Arena inquiry findings; and from Claire Coutinho, the minister for children, families and wellbing, on special educational needs and the alternative provision improvement plan.
Updated
No 10 declines to say when Sunak hopes to meet his 'stop the boats' target
At the Downing Street lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson declined to say when Rishi Sunak expected to honour his pledge to “stop the boats”. Asked for a timescale, the PM’s spokesperson said:
Obviously we want to do this as quickly as possible. As we’ve always said, we recognise there will likely be challenges in many forms to this sort of legislation.
In January Sunak promised “to pass new laws to stop small boats”. Asked if that meant all small boat crossings would have to stop for the pledge to be met, the spokesperson said the public would judge whether or not the commitment had been achieved.
Asked about the claim from the Immigration Service Union that announcing an intention to stop people arriving on small boats from ever being able to claim asylum in the UK could fuel a surge in crossings, from people anxious to arrive before the legislation takes effect (see 9am), the spokesperson replied: “Of course we always need to be alive to that sort of issue.” But he said that, because crossings were increasing, there was “no time to waste”.
Updated
No 10 says Sunak's small boats policy will not require UK to leave European convention on human rights
In a column in the Daily Telegraph, Nick Timothy, Theresa May’s co-chief of staff for her first year in Downing Street, welcomes what Rishi Sunak is planning in relation to asylum laws, but questions whether it will be enough to stop the small boat crossings. He says:
Ministers know there is no prospect in this parliament of leaving the European convention of human rights and with it the Strasbourg court that does much to render immigration law unenforceable. So their plan is to do everything they can – pushing international law obligations to the limits – to remove the migrants who come here illegally.
It seems likely almost all claims will be made “non-suspensive”, so unless migrants can show they will face a real risk of serious and irreversible harm their claim will be heard in Rwanda, and not used to hold up deportation. It is also likely that claims must be made in one go and straight away to prevent cases dragging on for many months. If measures such as these work, rapid deportation will allow ministers to bar those who enter the country illegally from claiming asylum at all – and cap the number of people claiming asylum here.
Timothy says, if these plans are not compatible with the ECHR, the UK should leave.
Ministers have worked hard to design a scheme that is robust enough and able to withstand legal challenge. We must hope they have squared that circle, but if the Convention foils them, Britain will be able to avoid the question no longer. Then, the case for withdrawal from the court will become unanswerable.
Simon Clarke, who was levelling up secretary when Liz Truss was PM, says he agrees.
Spot on from @NJ_Timothy. If the new immigration bill either falls short/is derailed by legal challenges, we need to leave the ECHR. It was never intended to enable illegal migrant crossings numbering in the tens of thousands and it is sophistry to pretend otherwise. https://t.co/QxVMGNliEc
— Simon Clarke MP (@SimonClarkeMP) March 6, 2023
At the Downing Street lobby briefing, when asked if Rishi Sunak was ruling out leaving the ECHR as part of his small boats initiative, the PM’s spokesperson replied:
We have said previously – and it still remains the case – that we believe we can bring in tough new legislation that remains within ECHR.
Updated
With any other prime minister, it would not count as news to say that not every member of their family is going to end up getting an honour. But Boris Johnson is a special case, and my colleague Peter Walker reports that Carrie, his wife, and Rachel, his sister, won’t be on the resignation honours list.
I'm told that contrary to some earlier reports, neither Carrie or Rachel Johnson are in line for a gong in Boris Johnson's resignation honours list. That would leave just his dad, Stanley (reportedly in for a knighthood) and brother, Jo (already made a peer).
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) March 6, 2023
Last month a report in the Mandrake column in the New European claimed that Carrie was on the list. It said:
Why have Boris Johnson’s resignation honours still to be announced? Mandrake hears it’s turned into a long-winded war of attrition involving returns of fire from the House of Lords appointments commission, the Cabinet Office honours committee and Rishi Sunak’s office, among others.
“There is always the odd preposterous name on a resignation honours list, but the problem with Johnson’s is that they are all preposterous, with even his wife and his dad on it,” whispers my informant.
There is precedent for the spouses of ex-prime ministers getting an honour. Denis Thatcher was given a baronetcy a hereditary knighthood after his wife left No 10 (but not in her resignation honours list). That was controversial, because it is the only barontecy awarded in recent years, and it meant Thatcher’s son Mark inherited the title.
Going back further, Disraeli persuaded Queen Victoria to make his wife a vicountess.
And on the subject of strikes, the Fire Bridgades Union will announce at 2pm whether its members have voted to accept a 7% pay rise, backdated to July last year, plus a further 5% from July this year. The FBU’s executive has recommended acceptance.
On the Today programme Matt Wrack, the union’s general secretary, said members were expected to vote in favour. He went on:
It’s a step forward but it would not be the end of our campaigning on pay.
We think there is significant under-investment in the fire service and that needs to be addressed.
BMA says it will ballot hospital consultants in England on strike action over pay
Hospital consultants in England will be balloted on strike action over pay, the British Medical Association, the doctors’ union, has announced.
The BMA will ballot consultants on a potential strike in the spring, PA Media reports. PA says:
It comes after the BMA conducted a poll to assess whether the most senior medics in the NHS would be prepared to take action over pay and ongoing pension issues.
The consultative ballot was sent to almost 35,000 consultants and the BMA received 21,000 responses – some 86% of those who responded said they would be prepared to take part in strike action.
The BMA said that while a consultative ballot does not provide a legal mandate for strike action, the poll represents “the strength of anger among England’s senior doctors” and it will move to a statutory ballot in April.
If consultants vote in favour then strike action could take place in the spring, the BMA said.
Strike action by consultants will mean consultants will run a “bank holiday” service on weekdays ensuring that emergency or urgent care remains in place, the union added.
Dr Vishal Sharma, chair of the BMA consultants committee, said:
In my 25 years in the NHS, I have never seen consultants more demoralised, frustrated and in despair over this government’s refusal to support the NHS workforce and the patients they serve.
The government is refusing to listen to consultants’ concerns, driving many out of the NHS entirely.
If the government truly wants to get the NHS back on track and tackle the record waiting lists, it must support the consultant workforce.
Our position is clear – we will not allow the government to continue to degrade consultants’ pay and pensions.
This is having a hugely detrimental impact on patient care as staffing numbers plummet and things will only worsen unless we take a stand.
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Boris Johnson's entire resignation honours list should be scrapped, SNP says
The SNP says reports that Boris Johnson wants to give his father, Stanley, a knighthood in his resignation honours list shows why the honours system is “unfit for purpose”.
In a statement issued by the party, the SNP MP Tommy Sheppard also said Johnson’s entire resignation honours list should be scrapped. Sheppard said:
Boris Johnson is making a mockery of the honours system, just like he a made a mockery of British politics.
The idea that he could nominate his own father for a knighthood and think he could get away with it sums up the arrogance of the man.
His entire honours list should be scrapped without delay.
This corrupt, crony-ridden Westminster system – including the honours system – is completely outdated and unfit for purpose.
Only with the full powers of independence can we rid ourselves of these charlatans for good, and build a fairer, more prosperous society.
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In a separate interview this morning, Michelle Donelan, the science, innovation and technology secretary, professed to be unconcerned about the report in the Times saying Boris Johnson plans to give his father Stanley a knighthood in his resignation honours list. Asked about the story, she said:
I think at this stage it is just speculation. Obviously it’s the ex-prime minister’s prerogative to be able to make those types of appointments, but we’ll see if this story is true or not.
Asked if she would have an objection to Stanley getting a knighthood, Donelan replied: “I think there are bigger fish to fry, to be honest.”
Most prime ministers use a resignation honours list to reward allies, friends and cronies, but for months there has been speculation that the Johnson list will push the abuse of prime ministerial patronage further than it as gone before, at least since Harold Wilson’s “lavender list”. In her Times story, Lara Spirit says Johnson’s list is thought to have as many as 100 names on it. David Cameron, who was prime minister for twice as long as Johnson, had 62 names on his.
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Michelle Donelan, the science, innovation and technology secretary, was doing a media round this morning. She told Sky News that she did not accept the argument made by Boris Johnson’s supporters that Sue Gray was biased when she conducted her Partygate inquiry. She said:
[Gray] was a leading civil servant who obviously swore and accepted the civil service code in which one of those key requirements is impartiality. I think she was impartial, I have no reason to believe she wasn’t.
Boris Johnson’s allies are trying to get an urgent question granted on Sue Gray, my colleague Pippa Crerar reports.
Hearing that at least half a dozen Boris Johnson loyalists have put in requests for UQs on civil service impartiality/ Acoba rules amid anger among ex-PM's allies over Sue Gray appointment.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) March 6, 2023
If there is a UQ, we may hear more about the theory that she wrote her Partygate report as part of a plot to bring down Johnson. As Toby Helm reported in the Observer yesterday, some of the more mainstream figures in the Conservative party think the Johnsonites are going “full Trump”.
Summary of Starmer's LBC phone-in
Here are the main lines from Keir Starmer’s LBC phone-in.
Starmer dismissed Rishi Sunak’s plan to end small boat crossings as “unworkable” and suggested it was an election gimmick. Pointing out that what was being proposed sounded very similar to the Nationality and Borders Act passed last year, Starmer said:
We had a plan last year which was put up in lights, ‘it’s going to be an election winner’. These bits of legislation always seem to come when we’ve got a local election coming up.
It was going to break the gangs – it didn’t. Now we’ve got the next bit of legislation with almost the same billing, I don’t think that putting forward unworkable proposals is going to get us very far.
He refused to say exactly when he first contacted Sue Gray about her becoming his chief of staff – but said that the approach was “recent”, and after his previous chief of staff left last October. (See 9.18am and 9.47am.) He also dismissed the idea that her Partygate report was part of a Labour plot (an idea promoted by Boris Johnson’s allies) as “nonsense”. He said:
I had absolutely no contact with Sue Gray during the preparation of her report when she was writing or anything like that, so the whole suggestion is a complete and utter nonsense.
He said the Telegraph revelations from Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages during Covid showed the “chaotic way” the country was being run. Starmer said he had read a lot of the coverage. Asked what he had taken from the stories, he replied:
The chaotic way in which they’re running the government. You’d expect some of these decisions to be in proper meetings, thrashed out, proper decisions recorded, and there’s stuff pinging around on WhatsApp.
The sort of self aggrandisement of Matt Hancock – it’s all about him.
And some of the decisions that were taken appeared to be taken on the basis of quite minor political issues rather than the major issues of the day.
I think most people would look at this and think this was a pretty chaotic way to run the country.
He defended Labour’s decision to restore the whip to Rupa Huq, who had it removed last year for racism. She described Kwasi Kwarteng as “superficially black”. Starmer said that what she said was “completely wrong”, but he said she had apologised, and that he was “confident” that she had learned from this. Removing the whip for good would not be “proportionate”, he suggested. Asked about Neil Coyle, Starmer said Coyle had “some way to go” before he could get the whip back. That was a matter for the chief whip, he said. But Starmer confirmed that Jeremy Corbyn would not have the whip restored before the general election. He said:
I took the decision after his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission that his failure to even really properly acknowledge the findings [of its inquiry into antisemitism in the party when he was leader] and what he said in the response afterwards was totally incompatible with the change that I was bringing about in the Labour party.
Momentum, the Labour group set up to support Corbyn’s agenda when he was party leader, has accused Starmer of double standards.
Lead the Party, inspire millions but not aligned to Starmer - you're blocked.
— Momentum 🌹 (@PeoplesMomentum) March 6, 2023
Sanctioned because of racist comments or sexual harassment, but you're a mate of Keir's? Welcome back.
These outrageous double standards make a mockery of Labour's feminist & anti-racist commitments. pic.twitter.com/op9w8sllYH
Starmer said people would find it “absolutely outrageous” that Boris Johnson was nominating his father Stanley for a knighthood. (See 9.42am.)
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Boris Johnson has been accused of having “discredited the honours system” after it was reported that his long-delayed resignation list includes a knighthood nomination for his father, Stanley Johnson, my colleague Peter Walker reports.
Starmer says approach to Sue Gray about her working as his chief of staff was 'recent'
Nick Ferrari ended by having one last go at the question about when Keir Starmer first approached Sue Gray about taking a job with him. Was it this year or last year?
Starmer says it was “recent”. It was after his last chief of staff left, in October last year. And it was after he had a period “working through in my own mind what I wanted from a chief of staff”.
Starmer says people will find Boris Johnson nominating his father Stanley for knighthood 'absolutely outrageous'
Q: What do you think of Boris Johnson nominating his father for a knighthood in his resignation honours?
Starmer replies:
The idea that Boris Johnson is nominating his dad for a knighthood – you only need to say it to realise just how ridiculous it is. It’s classic of a man like Johnson. I think the public would just think this is absolutely outrageous.
He says Stanley Johnson used to be a constituent of his. He has nothing against him personally, he says. But he suggests the appointment beggars belief.
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Q: How do you think Nicola Sturgeon will be remembered?
Starmer pays tribute to her. But he says she has led Scotland into a cul-de-sac on independence.
A caller who is on benefits asks if a Labour government would make her better off.
Starmer tells her he wants her to be better off, and her living standards higher, after a Labour government.
Q: What do you think about the Wakefield Qur’an incident?
Starmer says he does not know the details. But he says dropping a copy of a holy book should not be a hate crime.
Starmer says revelations from Hancock's WhatsApp messages show 'chaotic way' Covid was handled
Q: Was Isabel Oakeshott right to leak Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages?
Starmer says it is hard to choose between Hancock and Oakeshott.
He says it was “naive” of Hancock to give the messages to Oakeshott.
But he says he has read a lot of the coverage. It shows “the chaotic way” in which they were running the government. Decisions should have been taken in proper meetings, he says. He says the “self-aggrandisement” of Hancock was striking. And some decisions seem to have been taken for political reasons, he says.
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Q: Do you agree with what Sadiq Khan said about people protesting about the expansion of the Ulez zone in London?
Last week, referring to a protest against the Ulez expansion, Khan said:
Let’s be frank. Some of those outside are part of the far-right. Some are Covid deniers. Some are vaccine-deniers. And some are Tories.
Starmer says he would not “speak in that way”.
But he defends the Ulez expansion, saying it is right to go ahead.
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Starmer defends the decision to restore the Labour whip to Rupa Huq. He says what Huq said about Kwasi Kwarteng was unacceptable, but he says she has learned from her mistake.
He says Neil Coyle has “some way to go” before he can have the whip restored.
But he says Jeremy Corbyn will not be allowed to stand again for the party.
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Starmer repeatedly refuses to say when he first approached Sue Gray about job offer - but says there was 'nothing improper'
Q: By appointing Sue Gray, you have scored an own goal, and given a boost to Boris Johnson. Johnson’s supporters can now dismiss Partygate as a Labour plot.
Starmer says he does not think many people take seriously the idea that Partygate was a Labour plot. “Just look at the photos.” He says this just shows “how desperate he is”.
He says he is really please that “good people” want to be part of the Labour government.
He says he had no contact with Sue Gray when she was writing her report.
He says Johnson supporters are a “dwindling group”.
He repeats the point about having no contact with “Sue” during that entire period.
Q: When did you first approach Sue Gray?
Starmer says he has known Sue Gray since he was DPP. But she is not a friend.
Q: When did you approach her?
Starmer says he has been on the look out for a chief of staff for a while. He says she will set out the details.
Q: When did you approach her? Your previous chief of staff, Sam White, left in October 2022?
Starmer says Gray will lay that out.
Q: Why won’t you say?
Starmer says there is nothing improper about this.
Q: So why won’t you say?
Starmer says he had been looking for some time, and there is “nothing improper”.
Q: Business appointment rules say people should not accept a job until it has been cleared.
Starmer says he has not agreed anything yet. He wants her for the job. But they have not agreed terms.
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Starmer says Sunak's plans to tackle small boats are 'unworkable'
Keir Starmer is starting his LBC phone-in. Nick Ferrari is presenting.
Ferrari starts with small boats.
Starmer says: “The problem has got to be dealt with.”
He says the criminal gangs driving this must be dealt with. Labour would get the National Crime Agency to set up a unit to tackle people smugglers.
And it would speed up the processing of applications.
He says the Nationality and Borders Act was meant to “break the business model”. But the number of small boat crossings has risen, he says.
Q: Is what they are proposing doable?
Starmer says he is not sure it is. What if an Afghan arrives in the country, having fled the Taliban, and they had helped the UK military.
Q: Isn’t there a scheme for these people?
Starmer says that scheme was not working.
He says “this isn’t a workable plan”.
Putting forward “unworkable” plans is not going to help, he says.
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Rishi Sunak's asylum plan could increase small boat crossings, says immigration officials' union
Good morning. Rishi Sunak started the year with two urgent, intractable problems in his in-tray. Last week he unveiled a solution to the Northern Ireland protocol problem, which has attracted more support, and less opposition, than had been expected. Tomorrow he will unveil his legislation to “stop small boats”.
Sunak announced the key elements of his plan in December. There has been more briefing over the weekend, but nothing that substantially alters what we were told three months ago, and nothing that addresses the claims made by many experts in asylum law who argue that trying to stop small boat crossings by legislating to say that people who arrive in the UK illegally will be banned from claiming asylum here just won’t work. The Nationality and Borders Act passed last year already says migrants arriving in the UK illegally are not eligible to claim asylum, but the small boats keep coming.
In our overnight story Rowena Mason and Rajeev Syal sum up the opposition to the plan here.
So what is going on? I can think of at least four options.
1) Sunak is relying on plans that won’t work because he’s daft. But he is not at all daft – quite the opposite – so we can discount that.
2) The critics are just wrong, and government sources are right when they say they have found a lawful way to process swift, mass removals. That seems unlikely, but you never know.
3) Sunak does not care whether the plans work or not, because he just wants to go into an election being able to blame Labour for the fact the government has not been able to deport asylum seekers en masse. There are probably some in the Conservative party who do favour this strategy, but it is risky. Polls suggest voters don’t blame Labour for asylum policy failing, but the government.
4) There is some new fix not yet announced that would make the policy more plausible. One big problem the government has is that it does not have a returns agreement with France, or any other country in the EU, that would allow asylum seekers to be removed more easily. We don’t know if this will be part of the announcement, but Sunak is much better at striking deals with his EU counterparts than his two immediate predecessors, and he has a meeting with the French president at the end of this week.
Shortly we will hear what Keir Starmer has to say about this. This morning Lucy Moreton, from the Immigation Service Union, argued that the plans could increase the number of small boat crossings in the short term. Asked whether the plans would halt the crossings, she told the Today programme:
Not as things stand at the moment. In fact, it’s actually going to be the converse when these things are published and announced in this way.
What it actually does is fuel the service, if you like, that the criminals provide.
She argued that the people smuggling gangs would tell people “quick, cross now before anything changes”.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9am: Keir Starmer holds a ‘Call Keir’ phone-in on LBC.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
12pm: Kate Forbes, the SNP leadership candidate, is on a campaign visit in Kilmarnock. At 2.30pm Hamza Yousaf, another leadership candidate, is campaigning in Lanark.
2.30pm: Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
And at some point today Rishi Sunak is expected to speak to the French president, Emannuel Macron, ahead of the publication of his bill to deal with small boat crossings tomorrow and a meeting between the two leaders scheduled for Friday.
I’ll try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.
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