Boris Johnson was accused of another lie today as damning emails emerged suggesting he did help an animal charity with an airlift out of K...
Boris Johnson was accused of another lie today as damning emails emerged suggesting he did help an animal charity with an airlift out of Kabul - as he waits for the results of the Partygate report.
The PM has previously denied intervening to allow Paul 'Pen' Farthing - who has friends in common with Carrie Johnson - and members of his Nowzad charity to flee Kabul at the expense of locals as the extremists closed in last summer.
But Foreign Office emails published today - including from the private office of Mrs Johnson's close ally Lord Goldsmith - show officials discussing 'the PM's decision' to help Mr Farthing get onto some of the last planes out of the besieged city's airport.
The heavily redacted correspondence suggests Mr Farthing and his team be classified as animal vets in order to justify their rescue.
'Having regard to the Prime Minister's Nowzad decision, the Foreign Secretary might consider the [details redacted] vets and their dependents should be included. They might be able to get to the airport with their dependents in time.'
Downing Street has previously said neither of the Johnsons had any involvement, and insisted today: 'It remains the case that the PM didn't instruct officials to take any particular course of action.'
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace also said that 'at no point' was he 'directed' by Mr Johnson to prioritise evacuating the Nowzad contingent.
But Labour branded Mr Johnson a 'pathological liar'.
And the whistleblower revelation will inflict more damage on Mr Johnson, who this lunchtime insisted he will not quit over Partygate and desperately suggested he is the victim of a Remainer conspiracy at a bruising PMQs.
Mr Johnson batted away calls from the Labour Leader to resign for misleading the House - as he indicated he still has not taken delivery of Sue Gray's findings on the swathe of allegedly lockdown-busting gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall.
The premier confirmed that he is subject to ministerial convention that he would need to resign for 'knowingly misleading' Parliament.
But asked by Sir Keir if he will fall on his sword, Mr Johnson said bluntly 'no'.
He also jibed that there are 'more important' issues going on in the world, including the standoff with Russia over Ukraine.
In a swipe at Tory critics, he said that 'for all sorts of reasons many people may want me out of the way' - but appealed to his supporters by pointing out he 'delivered on Brexit'.
Tension is building at Westminster as the hours tick by without Ms Gray handing over her report. MPs will demand several hours to digest the contents, the Commons is due to rise by 7.30pm, and there are fears that it will be inappropriate to hold a highly-charge debate on Holocaust Memorial Day tomorrow.
The level of criticism in the Partygate report - and whether it is directed at Mr Johnson personally - will be critical to his chances of survival, after Tories held off mounting a coup to see the results.
Allies have been desperately mobilising to shore up the premier, with Jacob Rees-Mogg warning that ousting him would almost certainly trigger a snap general election. Another loyalist, Andrew Rosindell, attempted to play down the seriousness of the alleged offences. 'He has not robbed a bank,' the backbenchers griped.
But even if Mr Johnson can stave off the immediate threat the police have already announced they have been supplied with enough material to launch a criminal probe, which could see him become the first sitting PM ever interviewed under caution.
No premier has been convicted of a crime, and the stakes have been raised dramatically now Mr Johnson and staff are facing questioning from police rather than civil servants.
In a stormy PMQs session, Sir Keir said: 'On December 1, the Prime Minister told this House in relation to parties during lockdown: 'All guidance was followed completely in Number 10', from that despatch box.
'On December 8 the Prime Minister told this House: 'I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged there was no party'. So since he acknowledges the ministerial code applies to him, will he now resign?'
Mr Johnson replied: 'No, Mr Speaker. Since he asked about Covid restrictions, let me just remind the House, and indeed remind the country, that he has been relentlessly opportunistic throughout.
'He has flip-flopped from one side to the other, he would have kept us in lockdown in the summer, he would have taken us back into lockdown at Christmas.
'It is precisely because we didn't listen to Captain Hindsight that we have the fastest-growing economy in the G7 and we have got all the big calls right.'
There had been hopes Mr Johnson could publish Ms Gray's conclusions in time for PMQs, but that schedule has slipped - although he could yet return to the Commons again this afternoon for what will inevitably be a marathon grilling from MPs.
The stage is set for an explosive row about how much of the report is released, after an extraordinary day of chaos yesterday with frantic behind-the-scenes manoeuvring.
The Cabinet Office initially suggested yesterday that Ms Gray would hold off publishing until the Met had completed their probe.
But that stance was abandoned after Scotland Yard made clear they had no objection to the findings being issued in full.
In a round of interviews this morning, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss indicated that some of the report might be held back for 'security' reasons.
Asked if the report will be published in full, Ms Truss told Sky News: 'We have been absolutely clear that we will publish the findings of the report.
'We don't know the content of the report, so there could be, for example, security issues that mean parts of it are problematic to publish. But we will absolutely publish the findings of the report.'
Confronted with his previous promises on full publication, Mr Johnson told MPs: 'Of course when I receive it of course I will do exactly what I said.'
Ms Truss said the government had to acknowledge 'public anger'. But she said: 'I think the PM should continue in office. I think he is doing a great job... I support him 100 per cent.'
One Tory plotter last night claimed five more MPs are poised to call for the PM's resignation as soon as the report is published.
A no-confidence vote is automatically triggered when 54 MPs send letters to the chair of the powerful 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady - although he never discloses how many he has received before the threshold is reached.
The PM faces the most dangerous spell of his premiership as:
- Mr Johnson faced claims that he kept news of the police probe from senior ministers when Cabinet met on Tuesday morning, leaving them to find out from the media when they turned on their phones as they left No10;
- Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors has been named as the senior officer leading the investigation into parties at Downing Street. She was previously embroiled in a row over the policing of the Sarah Everard vigil;
- Tory MPs have ridiculed Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns after he defended Mr Johnson's presence at a birthday bash in the Cabinet room on June 19, 2020 by insisting he had been 'ambushed with a cake';
- Senior Labour figures celebrated the PM's discomfort, with an ally of leader Keir Starmer saying: 'This is very good for us';
- The PM's official spokesman signalled that Mr Johnson is willing to speak to police investigating the alleged breaches of coronavirus rules over the past two years.
A beleaguered Boris Johnson batted away calls from the Labour Leader to resign for misleading the House - as he indicated he still has not taken delivery of Sue Gray's findings on the swathe of allegedly lockdown-busting gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall
The Prime Minister has previously denied intervening to allow Paul 'Pen' Farthing and members of his Nawzad charity flee Kabul at the expense of locals as the extremists closed in last summer.
But Foreign Office emails published today show officials discussing 'the PM's decision' to help Mr Farthing get onto some of the last planes out of the besieged city's airport.
Asked by Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) if he will fall on his sword, Mr Johnson said bluntly 'no'
The PMQs session comes as tension builds at Westminster with so much on the line, as helicopters circle overhead
Mr Johnson 'authorised' for 'staff and animals' at Nowzad charity 'to be evacuated' from Afghanistan, according written evidence published by the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.
An email from an aide in the office of Lord Goldsmith said: '[animal charity – name redacted] are a [details redacted] animal charity operating in Kabul and seeking to evacuation their [details redacted] members of staff (no animals).
'Equivalent charity Nowzad, run by an ex-Royal Marine, has received a lot of publicity and the PM has just authorised their staff and animals to be evacuated, [animal charity – name redacted] are hoping to be treated in the same capacity (granted LOTR).'
The PM has previously denied that he intervened to help the evacuation of Nowzad officials during the evacuation in summer 2021.
He told reporters in December: 'That's complete nonsense.'
Whistleblower Raphael Marshall wrote in evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee that a senior official was heard saying Boris Johnson had issued the call for evacuation of Nowzad staff.
Mr Marshall wrote: 'On Wednesday 25 August, I heard the senior official ('Crisis Silver') responsible for Afghan Special Cases say that they had just received an instruction from the Prime Minister to 'call-forward' Nowzad's staff to Kabul Airport for evacuation.
'I then heard Silver instruct team members to send the names and passport details of Nowzad's staff to the Home Office for security-checks.
'A colleague said 'we are doing the dogs' or 'we are doing the dog people'. A colleague said that the Prime Minister had issued this instruction in a COBR meeting. It is possible the high-level meeting referred to was in-fact technically a National Security Council meeting.'
Mr Marshall also said that multiple colleagues wrote on the Teams message system that the Prime Minister had given an instruction over Nowzad staff.
'Several colleagues sent messages on the Afghan Special Cases group on Microsoft Teams to the effect that the Prime Minister had instructed us to call-forward Nowzad's staff for evacuation,' he wrote.
Mr Marshall said it was 'not credible' for No10 to claim Trudy Harrison, a former parliamentary private secretary to the Prime Minister, was acting in her capacity as a constituency MP when she wrote a letter to Pen Farthing confirming his staff and animals could be evacuated.
'It is not credible to suggest that the 'call-forward' of Nowzad's staff was initiated by the Prime Minister's then Parliamentary Private Secretary Trudy Harrison MP in her capacity as MP for Copeland,' he said.
'A request for the evacuation of Nowzad's staff from Ms Harrison in her capacity as MP for Copeland would have been disregarded.'
Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said: 'The PM's corrosive and chronic dishonesty is debasing his office.
Here's Johnson denying it, and here's the email showing it happened. The man is a pathological liar.
'Untrustworthy, unlikeable and absolutely unsuitable for the office of Prime Minister.'
The Defence Secretary said 'at no point' was he directed by Mr Johnson to 'evacuate Pen Farthing, his workforce or his pets' from Afghanistan.
In a statement, Mr Wallace said: 'I have seen the reports of emails concerning Pen Farthing and the pet evacuation.
'The evacuation of Kabul under Operation Pitting was run under my authority and delivered by the UK military through the Chief of Joint Operations.
'At no point were he or I directed by the Prime Minister to evacuate Pen Farthing, his workforce or his pets.
'As I made clear at the time, we were not going to put pets before people and as the actions showed, Pen Farthing left last and his workforce had to leave after the evacuation was concluded via other means.
'The evacuation was a Ministry of Defence led operation, supported by application processing by the Home Office and FCDO. The idea that an environment minister and his officials had any authority or responsibility in the running of the evacuation is ludicrous.
'I am however aware of false claims made throughout by Nowzad that led to considerable distress and distraction to those trying to save lives in very difficult circumstances.'
On the Partygate front, Ms Gray is reported to have told Number 10 that she expects her findings to be released in full within 'hours' of them being handed to Downing Street.
But the report has yet to be delivered to No10, and time is running short with Parliament due to rise in a few hours.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said talks are ongoing with Downing Street and Jacob Rees-Mogg in a bid to give MPs 'time to digest' Sue Gray's report on party allegations.
Conservative MP Peter Bone raising a point of order, asked for assurances that a statement on the report will be given to the Commons on Friday if it is released on Thursday evening.
Sir Lindsay said he has 'not been given notice of the date or time of any statement', adding in the Commons: 'The Prime Minister has promised to make a statement.
'What I would expect is that members will be able to see the report and I would hope time will be given for members to digest that.'
He added: 'I'm more than happy to adjourn and leave it until later tonight if it arrives now, to give good time, I'm happy to work with the Leader of the House to ensure this House is treated correctly, fairly and in the right manner.'
Asked this afternoon if Holocaust Memorial Day could prevent publication tomorrow, the PM's spokesman said: 'We are aware of the convention, we can discuss that with the speaker but that is not something that would necessarily restrict it. But again we are getting into speculation about particular days and have not received the report so I can't comment on exactly what day it might be.'
The chairman of the Commons Standards Committee has warned that Mr Johnson could attempt 'jiggery-pokery' to dodge scrutiny.
Labour MP Chris Bryant said the PM was likely intending to 'manipulate Parliament' by depriving the leader of the opposition of time to respond properly in the House of Commons.
Sky News claimed last night that Ms Gray had been handed photographs of Boris Johnson next to wine bottles at an alleged lockdown breaking party, and has identified eight parties that breached the rules.
Many Tory MPs are awaiting the findings before deciding whether to submit letters of no confidence in Johnson that could topple him as Prime Minister and trigger a Tory leadership contest.
Conservative MP for Harlow Robert Halfon said he would like to see the PM 'respond and take responsibility' following the news that Boris Johnson faces a police interview over alleged coronavirus rule-breaking parties.
Mr Halfon told Times Radio: 'I don't need Sue Gray or the police to tell me or my constituents of Harlow that what's gone on has been pretty awful. We all feel let down and disappointed.
'We've just been talking about education and what I'd say is, I call it the three Rs, I'd like to see the three Rs from the Prime Minister.
'How he's going to respond to the anguish and upset from the public, how he's going to take responsibility himself and his own staff and how he's going to reset the Government. I'll wait for the parliamentary statement.'
Former minister Matt Warman said the accusations against Mr Johnson were 'unedifying'.
He told Times Radio: 'I definitely think it's unedifying. I definitely think it's a huge distraction from all the really important work that the Government is doing and needs to get on with.
'I suppose that is one of the reasons why the PM commissioned Sue Gray's report in the first place… because he recognises the need to draw a line and to establish some of the facts.'
Asked what he will do next if it is found that Mr Johnson misled Parliament, Mr Warman said that 'prejudging both the inquiry and the Metropolitan Police work is not a helpful starting point'.
'I think what we should be doing is establishing those facts and then looking at them at that point, rather than saying 'Well, here's a series of ever more or less unlikely hypotheticals',' he added.
Potentially more serious for the PM is Scotland Yard's criminal investigation into the parties which was announced yesterday.
Police sources told The Times that it was 'inevitable' that the PM would have to speak to detectives, making him the second sitting Prime Minister to be interviewed after Tony Blair was quizzed over the cash-for-honours scandal 15 years ago.
However Blair was interviewed as a witness - and no sitting Prime Minister has ever been interviewed under caution which requires officers to read them their rights before the questions begin. Reports at the time indicated that Blair would resign if he was interviewed under caution.
The final report, which could name senior political figures and civil servants, was likely to list Ms Gray's conclusions but would not include a 'significant amount of evidence' from interviews, such as photos or messages.
Senior Tories last night called for a 'sense of perspective' over the 'partygate' row as police launched a formal probe.
They urged colleagues and critics of Mr Johnson to let him try to shore up the West's response to Russian aggression in Ukraine and deal with the cost of living crisis.
Former minister Crispin Blunt said: 'We've lost our sense of perspective on this. Everybody needs to take a step back.' The warning followed a dramatic announcement that Scotland Yard will now investigate 'potential breaches of Covid regulations' at numerous alleged events in No 10.
But Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns faced ridicule for defending Mr Johnson's presence at a surprise birthday bash in the Cabinet room on June 19 2020 when social events indoors were banned, saying he had been 'ambushed with a cake'.
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