Rishi Sunak did not ‘intervene’ in Johnson’s honours list, cabinet minister Grant Shapps insists
Cabinet minister Grant Shapps has insisted Rishi Sunak did not intervene in Boris Johnson’s honours list as he claimed the world had “moved on” following his dramatic exit.
Mr Shapps, the energy secretary, said there were now “different challenges to face” and that Downing Street was “under new management”.
“We’ve got new management in Number 10, getting on with the job and getting on with the priorities of this country,” he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme.
Mr Shapps spoke following Mr Johnson’s shock decision to resign as the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip on Friday, triggering a by-election in his constituency – a key target for Labour.
The former prime minister announced his decision after receiving the privileges committee report into whether he lied to MPs over partygate – something he branded a “kangaroo court” and “witch hunt”.
It came just hours after his resignation honours list had been published, with the names key allies Nadine Dorries, Sir Alok Sharma and Nigel Adams absent.
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In a move that will create a headache for Mr Sunak, Ms Dorries, the former culture secretary, and Mr Adams, a former minister, both announced they would stand down from their seats, creating a hattrick of by-elections at a time when the polls are faring badly for the Tories.
Over the weekend there were reports in the Sunday Times that Mr Johnson believed Mr Sunak had broken a promise to wave through the entire list of honours – a charge Downing Street has denied.
But Mr Shapps insisted Mr Sunak made no changes to the list “at all”.
Asked whether he thought Mr Johnson wasn’t fully across the process, he said the former prime minister “occasionally… wouldn’t be all over the details”.
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Cabinet Minister Grant Shapps has insisted Rishi Sunak did not intervene
“Rishi Sunak has not changed, altered, the list in any way,” he said.
“In fact, there is a House of Commons appointments commission – or Holac as it is called – which looks at all nominations.
“There is a very long-tested protocol in place where former prime ministers put people up for the House of Lords…and the prime minister who comes in usually passes it on.
“In this particular case, because Number 10 has actually published the details, you can see that Rishi did not change that list at all.
“The House of Commons commission will have made all of those decisions and the prime minister has not intervened in any way.”
In an excoriating statement announcing his resignation, the former prime minister said a letter from the privileges committee made clear “that they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of parliament”.
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Nadine Dorries spoke to Sky News after her resignation.
Mr Shapps has said he did not agree with Mr Johnson’s assessment that the committee’s partygate probe was a “witch hunt” and an attempt to reverse Brexit.
“I think far from wanting to undo (Brexit), I think we’re in a phase now of using the many benefits of having that extra flexibility,” he said.
“What I do believe is that it is very important to elect committees, let them get on with their work,” he added.
The message from Number 10? Boris Johnson is yesterday’s man
It was delivered in a characteristically affable manner, but Grant Shapps’ analysis of the ongoing relevance of Boris Johnson was quietly cutting and risks inflaming the tension in the Tory Party.
“The world has moved on… [Boris Johnson] is the one who removed himself from the current political scene… he was the right man for his time”, said the energy secretary.
Asked whether he’d welcome a return to parliament from the former PM, he was less than effusive – and even ran the rule over the government he was once part of, saying Mr Johnson was “occasionally” not across the detail.
Mr Shapps also said the party was “under new management” – a line that’s been previously used by Sir Keir Starmer to sever his leadership from that of Jeremy Corbyn’s.
In the current tense political climate, an intervention like that from a cabinet minister sent out by Downing Street on the Sunday morning media round should not be underplayed.
The broader message from Number 10 appears to be that Boris Johnson is yesterday’s man and Tory politics has moved on.
In the short term, there is clearly a risk of antagonising Johnson allies further and causing more instability.
But in the longer term, this speaks to a broader hope in government that this bumpy period could lead to Mr Johnson finally exiting centre stage along with the psychodrama that frequently follows him around.
Mr Johnson’s decision to quit has reopened questions of a fresh civil war in the Conservative Party, with a number of his allies criticising the privileges committee.
Former Tory Party chair Sir Jake Berry suggested Mr Johnson had been “forced out” by the “establishment” and “the blob”.
“You voted for Brexit – the establishment blocked it,” he tweeted. “You voted for Boris Johnson – the establishment has forced him out.
“Who is in charge here… The voters or the blob?”
The resignations of Ms Dorries and Mr Adams prompted fears of a rebellion among Mr Johnson’s allies, with his supporters claiming that two more MPs are on “resignation watch”.
However, claims by Mr Johnson’s camp that up to six more MPs were poised to quit have failed to materialise so far.
Mr Johnson’s former communications director Guto Harri – who was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the honours list – said he did not believe there was an “elaborate plot to sort of destabilise and topple Rishi Sunak”.
He said the former prime minister is seizing an opportunity to remove himself from politics and “lick his wounds, but also seize new opportunities”.
Asked whether he thought Mr Johnson would stage a political comeback, he added: “We can never write him off.”
World
Egypt: Two Britons believed to be among 16 missing as tourist boat sinks after being ‘hit by large wave’
Two Britons are believed to be among more than a dozen people missing after a boat sank in the Red Sea off the Egyptian coast.
The yacht, called Sea Story, had 44 people on board, including 31 tourists of varying nationalities and 13 crew.
Authorities are searching for 16 people, including 12 foreign nationals and four Egyptians, the governor of the Red Sea region said, adding that 28 other people had been rescued.
Preliminary reports suggested a sudden large wave struck the vessel, capsizing it within about five minutes, governor Amr Hanafi said.
“Some passengers were in their cabins, which is why they were unable to escape,” he added in a statement.
Survivors rescued from the Sea Story in Marsa Alam. Pic: STR/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
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Passengers rescued from sunken tourist boat
The people who were rescued only suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scrapes with none needing hospital treatment.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office spokesperson said: “We are providing consular support to a number of British nationals and their families following an incident in Egypt and are in contact with the local authorities.”
The foreign nationals aboard the 34-metre-long vessel, owned by an Egyptian national, included Americans, Belgians, British, Chinese, Finns, Germans, Irish, Poles, Slovakians, Spanish, and Swiss.
Sea Story had no technical problems, obtained all required permits before the trip, and was last checked for naval safety in March, according to officials.
The four-deck, wooden-hulled motor yacht was part of a multi-day diving trip when it went down near the coastal town of Marsa Alam following warnings about rough weather.
Officials said a distress call was received at 5.30am local time on Monday.
The boat had left Port Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday and was scheduled to reach its destination of Hurghada Marina on 29 November.
The Sea Story had 44 people on board. File pic: Dive Pro Liveaboard
Some survivors had been airlifted to safety on a helicopter, officials said.
The firm that operates the yacht, Dive Pro Liveaboard in Hurghada, said it has no information on the matter.
According to its maker’s website, the Sea Story was built in 2022.
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The incident comes after the Egyptian Meteorological Authority issued a warning on Saturday about turbulence and high waves on the Red Sea.
The organisation had advised against maritime activity for Sunday and Monday.
Some tourist companies have stopped or limited operations on the Red Sea due to the potential dangers from conflicts in the region.
A motion has been filed to drop the charges against Donald Trump of plotting to overturn the 2020 US presidential election result.
Mr Trump was first indicted on four felonies in August 2023: Conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
The president-elect pleaded not guilty to all charges and the case was then put on hold for months as Mr Trump’s team argued he could not be prosecuted.
Special Counsel Jack Smith. Pic: Reuters
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On Monday, prosecutors working with special counsel Jack Smith, who had led the investigation, asked a federal judge to dismiss the case over long-standing US justice department policy, dating back to the 1970s, that presidents cannot be prosecuted while in office.
It marks the end of the department’s landmark effort to hold Mr Trump accountable for the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 when thousands of Trump supporters assaulted police, broke through barricades, and swarmed the Capitol in a bid to prevent the US Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Mr Smith’s team had been assessing how to wind down both the election interference case and the separate classified documents case in the wake of Mr Trump’s election victory over vice president Kamala Harris earlier this month, effectively killing any chance of success for the case.
In court papers, prosecutors said “the [US] Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated”.
They said the ban [on prosecuting sitting presidents] “is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the government stands fully behind”.
Mr Trump, who has said he would sack Mr Smith as soon as he takes office in January, and promised to pardon some convicted rioters, has long dismissed both the 2020 election interference case and the separate classified documents case as politically motivated.
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington. Pic: AP
He was accused of illegally keeping classified papers after leaving office in 2021, some of which were allegedly found in his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
The election interference case stalled after the US Supreme Court ruled in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, which Mr Trump’s lawyers exploited to demand the charges against him be dismissed.
Mr Smith’s request to drop the case still needs to be approved by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
No date had been set for a trial.
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At least 1,500 cases have been brought against those accused of trying to overthrow the election result on 6 January 2021, resulting in more than 1,100 convictions, the Associated Press said.
More than 950 defendants have been sentenced and 600 of them jailed for terms ranging from a few days to 22 years.
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