Rishi Sunak will reshuffle his cabinet this morning with Nadhim Zahawi set to be replaced as Conservative Party chair after he was sacked over his tax affairs, Sky News understands.
Allies of Boris Johnson have been touting him as a potential successor, but others have been calling for someone who can create a “positive headline” to help turn around the party’s fortunes in the polls.
The party chair is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ).
Here, Sky News looks at the potential runners and riders.
Boris Johnson
There has been speculation of a Johnson comebackafter Jacob Rees-Mogg said he has “all the right attributes” to be party chairman.
The senior Tory MP and close ally of the former PM told GB News on Sunday: “He is charismatic, he rallies the troops. He’s a sort of fully-loaded Conservative. So I think that type of personality would be a very good one for a party chairman.”
However, others have warned such a move would be divisive, while Mr Rees-Mogg on Tuesday conceded the former prime minister’s return to the front bench is unlikely.
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Mr Rees-Mogg supported Boris Johnson right to the end of his tenure as prime minister
“I think he would be a brilliant chairman, but he’s not going to be chairman”, he told Sky News.
“The person who is going to be chairman needs to be someone who is close to the prime minister and also very charismatic.”
Paul Scully
The Tory vice chair under Theresa May and deputy chair under Boris Johnson, minister for London Paul Scully is seen as someone with the right skills and experience to replace Mr Zahawi.
Ex-cabinet minister Theresa Villiers is among those endorsing him, telling Sky News: “Paul is a top campaigner. He has done brilliant work in this constituency and did very well when he was Deputy Chair at CCHQ.
“He knows how important it is to engage with minority ethnic groups and he also understands London which is a key electoral battleground.”
Justin Tomlinson
Image: Justin Tomlinson is the Conservative MP for North Swindon, and has been an MP continuously since 6 May 2010.
Pic:Uk Parliament
A relative outsider is the Conservative MP for North Swindon, Justin Tomlinson.
He was deputy chair during the successful Bexley by-election in December 2021 – the last by-election the Conservatives won.
Mr Tomlinson quit his position in July 2022 to help Kemi Badenoch launch her failed leadership bid, but prior to being an MP he ran a business supplying Conservative associations with their campaigning materials and is known to be something of a “campaigning geek” among colleagues.
One MP told Sky News: “With a general election looming, we need someone with a strong track record of campaigning and fundraising. Justin Tomlinson is probably the strongest campaigner we have.”
Another did not go as far as naming him but said he would do a “brilliant job” if picked as chairman.
Gillian Keegan
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‘No way to stop teacher strike’, says Education Secretary Gillian Keegan.
The current education secretary has also been tipped for the role.
In an article looking at Mr Zahawi’s potential successors, Paul Goodman, the editor of Conservative Home website, said: “Downing Street will want an appointment that creates a positive headline. It may take the view that the appointment of a woman will suit.”
The women in cabinet are Suella Braverman, Penny Mordaunt, Therese Coffey, Gillian Keegan, Kemi Badenoch, and Michelle Donelan.
Mr Goodman said: “The first is too senior, the second too ambitious, the third associated with Liz Truss and the fourth difficult though not impossible to move, given her pivotal role at education. Such an appointment would undoubtedly create a splash.”
Penny Mordaunt
Image: Penny Mourdant dropped out of the race to allow Rishi Sunak to become PM last year Pic:AP
Commons leader Penny Mordaunt is reportedly keen on replacing Mr Zahawi at CCHQ and is said to have pitched her credentials alongside Business Secretary Grant Shapps during last week’s cabinet away day.
Gavin Barwell, a Conservative peer and former chief of staff to Mrs May, said that while Mr Shapps has done the job before, Ms Mordaunt “is probably the best choice”.
He said in the run-up to the election the party chair needs to be an important figure who can communicate with media and has experience campaigning in marginal seats.
He told Times Radio: “When you look back at Rishi Sunak’s cabinet when he put it together, I felt Penny didn’t really get a role big enough to suit her talents, so this would give her a front and centre role in the run-up to the election.”
Priti Patel
Image: Priti Patel is currently on the backbenches
A popular figure on the right of the party and well-liked among the Tory grassroots, Priti Patel is among the high-profile names tipped to replace Mr Zahawi.
While she has previously turned down the role, sources close to the former home secretary have not ruled out her return to the cabinet, according to the Telegraph.
Lee Anderson
Image: Lee Anderson was part of the Red Wall intake in the 2019 election
Red Wall MP Lee Anderson has also been named as someone who could replace Mr Zahawi.
Marco Longhi, the Conservative MP for Dudley North, put a poll on Twitter asking who agrees with him that Mr Anderson “would make a great chairman of the Conservative Party”.
While more than 72% of those who responded voted no, Mr Longhi suggested the hard left had got hold of the poll and the results show “how worried they would be”.
However, it is unlikely Mr Anderson would be given the role.
Image: William Hague has distanced himself from becoming party chair
After Mr Zahawi’s sacking, rumours swirled that former Tory leader William Hague could make a return to frontline politics by filling the vacancy.
But Lord Hague, who is a close ally of Mr Sunak, quickly shut down that speculation.
“Since I’ve seen reports of people placing bets on me being the new party chairman, please be aware that I will absolutely not be returning to politics in any shape or form, including that one,” he said.
Two people are dead and nearly 560 people were arrested after disorder broke out in France following Paris Saint-Germain’s victory in the Champions League final, the French interior ministry has said.
The ministry added 192 people were injured and there were 692 fires, including 264 involving vehicles.
A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the city of Dax during a PSG street party after Saturday night’s final in Munich, the national police service said.
The second person killed was a man who was hit by a car while riding a scooter during PSG celebrations, the interior minister’s office said.
Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez has said the man was in his 20s and although the incident is still being investigated, it appears his death was linked to the disorder.
Meanwhile, French authorities have reported that a police officer is in a coma following the clashes.
Image: A burning bike on the Champs Elysees during the disorder. Pic: Reuters
The officer had been hit by a firecracker that emerged from a crowd of supporters in Coutances in the Manche department of northwestern France, according to reports in the country.
Initial investigations reportedly suggest the incident was accidental and the police officer was not deliberately targeted.
The perpetrator has not been identified.
Image: A man walks past teargas during incidents after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan. Pic: AP
Image: A burning bike on the Champs Elysees during the disorder. Pic: Reuters
The interior ministry earlier said 22 security forces workers were injured during the chaos – including 18 who were injured in Paris, along with seven firefighters.
In a news conference today, Mr Nuñez said only nine of the force’s officers had been injured in the French capital.
He added that fireworks were directed at police and firefighters were attacked while responding to car fires.
There were 559 arrests across the country during the disorder, including 491 in Paris. Of those detained across the country, 320 were taken into police custody – with 254 in the French capital.
Mr Nuñez said although most people wanted to celebrate PSG’s win, some only wanted to get involved in fights with police.
He also said the force is only at “half-time” in its response because the PSG team will be celebrating their Champions League victory on the Champs Élysées later today.
Image: Police in Paris during the disorder. Pic: Reuters
Image: Police in Paris during the disorder. Pic: Reuters
Mr Nuñez said that the police presence and military presence in Paris will be increased on the ground for the parade.
It comes after flares and fireworks were set off in the French capital after PSG beat Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich – the biggest ever victory in a Champions League final.
Around 5,400 police were deployed across Parisafter the game, with officers using tear gas and pepper spray on the Champs Élysées.
Image: Pic: AP
Image: Pic: AP
At the top of the Champs Élysées, a water cannon was used to protect the Place de l’Etoile, near the landmark Arc de Triomphe.
Police said a large crowd not watching the match tried to push through a barrier to make contact with officers.
Some 131 arrests were made, including 30 who broke into a shoe shop on the Champs Élysées.
Police have said a total of four shops, including a car dealership and a barbers, were targeted during the disorder in Paris.
Two cars were set alight close to Parc des Princes, police said.
PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé appealed for calm in a post-match interview with Canal+, saying: “Let’s celebrate this but not tear everything up in Paris.”
Image: Pics: AP
After the final played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, thousands of supporters also tried to rush the field.
Police lined up in front of the PSG end of the stadium at the final whistle, but struggled to contain the fans for several minutes when they came down from the stands following the trophy presentation.
Image: Pics: AP
Désiré Doué, the 19-year-old who scored two goals and assisted one in the final, said after the game: “I don’t have words. But what I can say is, ‘Thank you Paris,’ we did it.”
Despite being a supporter of PSG’s rivals Olympique de Marseille, French President Emmanuel Macron also said on social media: “A glorious day for PSG!
“Bravo, we are all proud. Paris, the capital of Europe this evening.”
Mr Macron’s office said the president would receive the players at the Elysee Palace on Sunday.
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At least 26 people have been killed near an aid distribution centre in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry.
Earlier, a nearby hospital run by the Red Cross reported that at least 21 people had been killed. The hospital, which has been receiving bodies and the wounded, also said another 175 people had been injured.
Witnesses said the deaths came after Israeli forces opened fire at a roundabout near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hub, a new aid organisation backed by Israel and the US.
However, Palestinian and Hamas-linked media have attributed the deaths it has reported on to an Israeli airstrike.
It is not yet clear if eyewitnesses and Hamas-affiliated media are giving different accounts of the same incident.
Sky News has contacted the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for comment.
Witnesses tell of shooting
The area where the reported shooting took place is controlled by Israeli forces.
Ibrahim Abu Saoud, an eyewitness, said Israeli forces opened fire at people moving toward the aid distribution centre.
“There were many martyrs, including women,” the 40-year-old man said. “We were about 300 metres away from the military.”
Abu Saoud said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene. “We weren’t able to help him,” he said.
Mohammed Abu Teaima, 33, said he saw Israeli forces open fire and kill his cousin and another woman as they were heading to the hub.
He said his cousin was shot in his chest and died at the scene. Many others were wounded, including his brother-in-law, he said.
“They opened heavy fire directly toward us,” he said as he was waiting outside the Red Cross field hospital for word on his wounded relative.
Image: Palestinians arrived to collect aid from a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hub in Rafah last week. File pic: Reuters
Controversial new aid system
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) operates as part of a controversial aid system which Israel and the US says is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance.
Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the UN denies it has occurred.
The foundation’s distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites.
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles because it allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the territory.
Before Sunday, at least six people had been killed and more than 50 wounded, according to local health officials.
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From 31 May: Moment Israeli warplane strikes Gaza
GHF says aid distributed ‘without incident’
The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites did not fire on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions.
The foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the hospital’s claims.
In an earlier statement, it said it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early on Sunday “without incident”. It dismissed what it referred to as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos”.
Meanwhile, the UN’s aid system has struggled to bring in aid after Israel slightly eased its total blockade of the territory last month.
Those groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza’s roughly two million Palestinians.
Experts have warned that the Palestinian territory is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in.
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From 29 May: Meet Gaza’s paramedics
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251.
They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants.
The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the territory, displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid.