Brexiteer’s £1m donation to Boris Johnson more evidence of comeback hopes
Just 48 hours after Boris Johnson rallied his supporters at an event that looked like the start of a comeback tour, we learn that a multi-millionaire pro-Brexit donor has handed the former PM £1m to fund his office.
If ever there was evidence to support the claims that Mr Johnson and his adoring fans are plotting a comeback to – as they see it – to save the Conservative Party from a crushing election defeat under Rishi Sunak, this is it.
The latest updates to the Register of MPs’ financial interests, slipped out several hours after Parliament adjourned for the weekend, reveal that The Office of Boris Johnson Ltd trousered the cash from Christopher Harborne on 21 November and he registered it on 16 December.
On top of that massive donation – which is hardly to support Mr Johnson plodding away on the Tory backbenches asking worthy questions to ministers about his local hospital and police station in Uxbridge – he’s revealed another £300,000 in income from speeches.
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Mr Harborne, a technology investor, is a former Tory donor who in 2019 was the bankroller of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party. Electoral Commission figures revealed that he gave Mr Farage’s party £3m during the summer of 2019 and another £3m during the December general election campaign.
He’s also said to have donated £13.7m to the Reform Party, the successor to the Brexit Party. Previously, he donated much smaller sums, averaging around £15,000 a year, to the Conservatives since 2001.
His £1m donation to Mr Johnson’s office now confirms he’s still passionate about Brexit and that he fears the Tories under Mr Sunak are backsliding on the issue and believes a Johnson comeback is the only way to deliver Brexit.
Earlier this week, in what was described as a rapturous speech to supporters at the Carlton Club, Mr Johnson declared: “Only one party really believes in Brexit. And when people realise this, I think the political dynamic is going to change.”
MPs donations
And in what was seen as a challenge to Mr Sunak to deliver tax cuts, he urged the Tories: “Keep making the case for levelling up, for opportunities and for a dynamic low-tax global Britain. That’s how we will win again!”
Officially, the occasion at the Carlton Club was to mark the unveiling of a portrait of Mr Johnson, an accolade awarded to all former prime ministers. But it was widely seen as the start of a campaign to mount a comeback bid by the former PM.
That view will now be massively reinforced by this huge donation and by the disclosure that Mr Johnson is earning fees of up to £250,000 for speaking engagements, as he did for one in Singapore in December, the latest records reveal.
Why then, many will ask, if he’s earning so much money, are he and his family continuing to live rent free in a home in swanky Knightsbridge worth £20m provided by Tory donors Lord and Lady Bamford?
According to his declaration in the register of MPs’ interests, that’s worth an estimated value of £10,000 a month. Yet it has been revealed that a similar property nearby is being offered at £30,000 a month.
Let’s also consider the latest declarations of David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham, barrister and Sir Keir Starmer’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, no less. He’s revealed income from speeches since 16 November of £32,300 and nearly £5,000 for six radio shows on LBC.
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Keir Starmer defends David Lammy
Now, some of these speeches were at perfectly respectable and worthy events involving Black History Month, but others were for law firms and one was for Premier Foods, manufacturers of famous brands including Mr Kipling cakes, Ambrosia custard and Bisto gravy.
No jokes about a gravy train, please! But surely so much outside work is incompatible with being a senior member of Labour’s shadow cabinet? On Sophy Ridge on Sunday last weekend, Sir Keir backed a ban on MPs’ second jobs.
He defended Mr Lammy, however. “I think David does a lot of media work, and I think media work and writing books is all part of the political process,” he said.
Some will argue, though, that with war in Ukraine, China a growing threat and Iran so volatile, to name but a few international flashpoints, the very senior post of Shadow Foreign Secretary should be a full-time job.
Finally, a study of donations wouldn’t be complete without looking at fun-loving Matt Hancock. He’s revealed that his two free tickets for a night partying at Capital Radio’s Jingle Bell Ball in December with girlfriend Gina Colandangelo and a host of celebs were worth a total of £500.
For Boris Johnson, meanwhile, it’s also been a week when Cabinet minister Grant Shapps attempted to erase him from a photo.
But this new £1m donation makes it pretty obvious he isn’t going to disappear.
World
European leaders to meet in Ukraine for ‘coalition of the willing’ talks – and issue call to Russia
Sir Keir Starmer will join other European leaders in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on the “coalition of the willing”.
The prime minister is attending the event alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It will be the first time the leaders of the four countries will travel to Ukraine at the same time – on board a train to Kyiv – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kiev. Pic: Reuters
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for the coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement voicing support for Ukraine and calling on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
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The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
World
Ten explosions near international airport in India-administered part of Kashmir, officials say
Ten explosions have been heard near Srinagar International Airport in India-administered parts of Kashmir, officials have told Reuters news agency.
The blasts followed blackouts caused by multiple projectiles, which were seen in the sky above the city of Jammu earlier on Friday.
Explosions were also heard in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, in the neighbouring Punjab state, according to Reuters.
An Indian military official told the agency that “drones have been sighted” and “they are being engaged”.
It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict.
On Wednesday morning, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed region.
The retaliation came weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in an India-administered part of Kashmir last month.
The government in India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.
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Explained: India-Pakistan conflict
Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides – which have not been independently verified.
India also suspended its top cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, as a result of rising tensions, while the Pakistan Super League moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a conference on Friday that the US is in constant contact with both India and Pakistan.
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Conclaves are famously unpredictable affairs – and once again the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the new pope caught many by surprise.
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV won the consensus of the 133 cardinal electors after only four ballots – a fast process for a diverse college of cardinals.
Though his name had circulated among some Vatican watchers, other cardinals had emerged as clear front-runners, including Pietro Parolin – the Vatican’s number two who would have been the first Italian in almost 50 years to become pontiff – or Luis Tagle, a Filipino cardinal looking to become the first Asian pope.
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What are the conclave’s secrecy measures?
Instead, it was the first North American to win the highly secretive process.
So, what went on behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel?
Until Thursday lunchtime, Cardinal Parolin was ahead, gathering between 45 and 55 votes, sources say.
A substantial number, but well short of the 89 votes he needed for a two-thirds majority.
At this point, Cardinal Prevost had between 34 and 44 votes.
But as the Italian struggled to grow his support during the first three rounds of voting, he stepped down from the race, endorsing Prevost instead, Sky News understands.
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Who is Pope Leo?
An internal battle between Luis Tagle and Pablo Virgilio David – both cardinals hailing from Asia – cancelled out both of their chances.
And a contender from Africa – the most conservative sector of the church – was never likely for a conclave where the overwhelming majority of cardinals had been appointed by Francis, a progressive pontiff, sources say.
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Moment new pope emerges on balcony
An American pope has long been seen as highly improbable, given the geopolitical power of the US.
But Cardinal Prevost was able to draw from across the groups making up the electors: moderate US cardinals, South American cardinals and many European cardinals all coalesced around him.
Italian newspaper La Repubblica said Prevost “certainly attracted cross-party preferences, both ideologically and geographically”.
“In the conclave he was the least American of Americans: Born in Chicago, he lived 20 years in Peru,” the newspaper said.
It added: “As a man used to teamwork, Prevost appeared to many as the right man to make the papacy evolve into a more collegial form.”
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