Afternoon summary
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said he would “choose his words very carefully” when asked if he would defend Suella Braverman calling migrant boats “an invasion”, but refused to criticise the home secretary.
Child asylum seekers who have recently arrived in the UK on small boats say screening officials have put pressure on them to say they are adults, the Guardian has been told.
The Tory MP Sir Roger Gale has said he does not trust Suella Braverman, the home secretary, on the issue of the Manston migration centre, which is in his constituency. (See 10.08am.)
Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, has had the Tory whip suspended after it emerged he was entering the jungle for I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!
A controversial and chaotic vote on fracking last month did involve some MPs shouting and crowding closely together, but there is no evidence to indicate bullying or intimidation, an official report for the Commons speaker has concluded.
There has been a surge of social media attacks on Rishi Sunak drawing on antisemitic conspiracy theories, casting the former banker as part of a “globalist” plot, with a sharp spike after Boris Johnson pulled out of the Conservative party leadership race.
Updated
Johnson says Putin would be 'crazy' to use nuclear weapon because it would be disastrous for Russia economically, diplomatically and domestically
This is what Boris Johnson said about why he thought President Putin would be “crazy” to use a nuclear weapon in the war against Ukraine. Asked if it was possible, he replied:
I don’t think [Putin] will. I think he would be crazy to do so.
I think what would happen is that he would immediately tender Russia’s resignation from the club of civilised nations. It would be a total disaster for his country.
The current economic punishment that the west has been able to dish out would be massively intensified. Russia would be put into a cryogenic economic freeze.
And I think he would lose a lot of the middle ground of global, tacit acquiescence that he’s had. If you look at sub-Saharan Africa, look at Latin America, look at Lula [Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva], who’s just been elected again, look at south Asia, there’s a lot of willingness to give Putin the benefit of the doubt. That will go the minute he does anything like that.
He would also, crucially I think, lose the patronage of the Chinese.
And above all, in his own country, I think he would trigger an absolutely hysterical reaction.
