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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.

Labour accuses PM of losing control – politics latest

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


Rob Powell Political reporter

Rob Powell

Political correspondent

@robpowellnews

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.”

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Lack of heavy rescue equipment into Gaza leaves hundreds to die slow deaths under rubble

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Lack of heavy rescue equipment into Gaza leaves hundreds to die slow deaths under rubble

It was in the evening that the bombing started to intensify.

Salah Jundia, his father and brothers huddled together in their home in Shujaiyya, just east of Gaza City, trying to work out what to do.

It was too risky for them to leave at night. There were a lot of them too. Extended family living across four storeys. They decided they would wait until after dawn prayers.

The explosion tore through the building just before 5am, collapsing one storey on to the next.

The remains of where the family lived - where loved ones were trapped beneath the rubble
Image:
The aftermath of Israel’s bombing campaign in Shujaiyya, just east of Gaza City

Salah Jundia
Image:
Salah Jundia

Jundia says he survived because pieces of bedroom furniture fell on top of him.

Then he looked for his father and brothers.

“I found one of them calling for help. I removed the rubble covering him with my hands. Then I saw another brother covered in rubble but he was dead,” he told Sky News.

Jundia added: “My father was also dead. My other brother was also dead. We got them out and that is when I saw that the whole building had collapsed.”

Over the next few hours, they scrambled to rescue who they could.

An aunt and uncle and one of their children, Shaimaa. Uncle Imad and his son Mohammad. The bodies of Montasir and Mustaf.

One of the child victims of the attack on the home in Gaza City
Image:
One of the child victims of the attack on the home near the Gaza City

One of the child victims of the attack
Image:
Another one of child victims of the attack

Jundia says he could hear cries for help, but they were coming from deep in the rubble and were impossible to reach.

The rescue teams on site – civil defence they are called – did not have the kit to clear through three floors of 500 square metres, 30cm slabs of concrete.

Palestinians drilling to try and reach the people trapped below the rubble
Image:
Rescuers drilling to try and reach the people trapped below the rubble

Efforts to free those trapped beneath the rubble in Gaza City
Image:
Efforts to free those trapped beneath the rubble near the Gaza City

In the afternoon, Jundia says Israel’s Defence Forces (IDF) told rescue teams to leave as they would be resuming their bombardment.

Jundia buried the bodies he had managed to pull out but he knew 15 of his family members, 12 of them children, were still somewhere inside the rubble, still crying for help.

He made a desperate video appeal, begging the Red Cross and Arab countries to pressure Israel to grant access to the site. It was picked up on a few social media accounts.

Israel won’t allow heavy equipment into Gaza. No diggers or bulldozers, nor the fuel or generators to run them.

They say it will fall into Hamas’s hands.

It was a major sticking point during the ceasefire and it is a major issue now as the bombardment continues, given the fact that hundreds if not thousands of civilians might survive if there were the equipment to extract them.

Members of Salah Jundia's family left alive after the attack
Image:
Members of Salah Jundia’s family left alive after the attack

Salah Jundia and his family
Image:
Salah Jundia and his surviving family

Civil defence trying to get to the Jundia family home over the next few days were halted because the IDF were in the vicinity. A family friend tried himself and was killed.

The footage that our camera teams have shot in Shujaiyya over the past two weeks shows how civil defence teams struggle to save those who are trapped and injured with the most rudimentary of equipment – plastering trowels, sledgehammers, ropes and small drills.

“The tight siege stops civil defence equipment from getting in,” says one.

They added: “So we are taking much longer to respond to these events. Time is a factor in getting these people out. So we call immediately for the necessary equipment to be allowed in for the civil defence to use.”

The IDF say they are investigating the circumstances around the Jundia family as a result of our enquiries.

In relation to the access of heavy equipment into Gaza, they say they work closely with international aid organisations to enable the delivery of humanitarian activities in accordance with international law.

The last contact Jundia had from beneath the rubble was a phone call from his uncle Ziad, three days after the strike.

“The line was open for 25 seconds then it went dead. We don’t know what happened. We tried to call, but there was no answer,” he says.

He and his family were displaced several times before they returned home to Shujaiyya – to Rafah in the south, then Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah.

Along the way, Jundia lost one brother and a nephew to Israeli bombs.

Read more:
Israeli air strike hits Gaza hospital
Red dye dumped into US embassy in Israel protest
Israel shot at ambulances over ‘perceived threat’

“We were happy and all the family came back. We went back to our house. It was damaged, but we improvised and we lived in it. We have nothing to do with the resistance. We are not interested in wars. But we have been gravely harmed,” he says.

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China’s economy surges, but tariffs effect is yet to be seen

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China's economy surges, but tariffs effect is yet to be seen

China’s economy performed better than expected in the first quarter of the year – but it reflects a moment in time before the explosive trade war with the US, which has seen the world’s two biggest economies effectively decouple.

Economists had predicted that gross domestic product would grow by about 5.1% in January to March, compared with a year earlier. In the end, it grew 5.4%.

But these impressive figures obscure the very serious challenges China’s economy is facing in the wake of Donald Tump’s trade war – and it is almost certain growth will not remain this strong as the year goes on.

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Bobble-headed Trump explains China-US tariffs

The worst of Trump’s tariffs came into force in April, meaning they were not reflected in these figures.

In Q1, China faced an initial 10% tariff on all its exports to the US – which was then raised to 20% from 10 March.

But Beijing had planned and prepared for taxes at that level, and thus the impact was pretty minimal.

Growth was also propelled by the fact that exporters rushed to deliver orders in bulk before the tariffs came into force.

More on China

In fact, exports surged a remarkable 12% in March compared to a year earlier, a rate that will not be sustained.

Read more from Sky News:
White House looking at new trade deals
The art of doing a deal with Trump
US and UK ‘working hard’ on agreement

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Trump Tariffs: How the 10 days unfolded

Current tariffs on goods sold from China to America stand at 145%. Trade at that price is all but impossible.

Given exports account for a fifth of China’s economy, and consumer confidence domestically is still sluggish, there will be a significant hit to come.

Experts agree China will most likely miss its annual growth target of 5% – the question is by how much.

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Palestinian man forced to abandon loved ones trapped beneath rubble after IDF warning

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Lack of heavy rescue equipment into Gaza leaves hundreds to die slow deaths under rubble

It was in the evening that the bombing started to intensify.

Salah Jundia, his father and brothers huddled together in their home in Shujaiyya, just east of Gaza City, trying to work out what to do.

It was too risky for them to leave at night. There were a lot of them too. Extended family living across four storeys. They decided they would wait until after dawn prayers.

The explosion tore through the building just before 5am, collapsing one storey on to the next.

The remains of where the family lived - where loved ones were trapped beneath the rubble
Image:
The remains of Salah Jundia’s home in Shujaiyya, just east of Gaza City

Salah Jundia
Image:
Salah Jundia

Jundia says he survived because pieces of bedroom furniture fell on top of him.

Then he looked for his father and brothers.

“I found one of them calling for help. I removed the rubble covering him with my hands. Then I saw another brother covered in rubble but he was dead,” he told Sky News.

Jundia added: “My father was also dead. My other brother was also dead. We got them out and that is when I saw that the whole building had collapsed.”

Over the next few hours, they scrambled to rescue who they could.

One of the child victims of the attack on the home in Gaza City
Image:
One of the child victims of the attack on the home near the Gaza City

One of the child victims of the attack
Image:
Another one of child victims of the attack

An aunt and uncle and one of their children, Shaimaa. Uncle Imad and his son Mohammad. The bodies of Montasir and Mustaf.

Jundia says he could hear cries for help, but they were coming from deep in the rubble and were impossible to reach.

The rescue teams on site – civil defence they are called – did not have the kit to clear through three floors of 500 square metres, 30cm slabs of concrete.

Palestinians drilling to try and reach the people trapped below the rubble
Image:
Rescuers drilling to try and reach the people trapped below the rubble

Efforts to free those trapped beneath the rubble in Gaza City
Image:
Efforts to free those trapped beneath the rubble near the Gaza City

In the afternoon, Jundia says Israel’s Defence Forces (IDF) told rescue teams to leave as they would be resuming their bombardment.

Jundia buried the bodies he had managed to pull out but he knew 15 of his family members, 12 of them children, were still somewhere inside the rubble, still crying for help.

He made a desperate video appeal, begging the Red Cross and Arab countries to pressure Israel to grant access to the site. It was picked up on a few social media accounts.

Israel won’t allow heavy equipment into Gaza. No diggers or bulldozers, nor the fuel or generators to run them.

They say it will fall into Hamas’s hands.

It was a major sticking point during the ceasefire and it is a major issue now as the bombardment continues, given the fact that hundreds if not thousands of civilians might survive if there were the equipment to extract them.

Members of Salah Jundia's family left alive after the attack
Image:
Members of Salah Jundia’s family left alive after the attack

Salah Jundia and his family
Image:
Salah Jundia and his surviving family

Civil defence trying to get to the Jundia family home over the next few days were halted because the IDF were in the vicinity. A family friend tried himself and was killed.

The footage that our camera teams have shot in Shujaiyya over the past two weeks shows how civil defence teams struggle to save those who are trapped and injured with the most rudimentary of equipment – plastering trowels, sledgehammers, ropes and small drills.

“The tight siege stops civil defence equipment from getting in,” says one.

They added: “So we are taking much longer to respond to these events. Time is a factor in getting these people out. So we call immediately for the necessary equipment to be allowed in for the civil defence to use.”

The IDF say they are investigating the circumstances around the Jundia family as a result of our enquiries.

In relation to the access of heavy equipment into Gaza, they say they work closely with international aid organisations to enable the delivery of humanitarian activities in accordance with international law.

The last contact Jundia had from beneath the rubble was a phone call from his uncle Ziad, three days after the strike.

“The line was open for 25 seconds then it went dead. We don’t know what happened. We tried to call, but there was no answer,” he says.

He and his family were displaced several times before they returned home to Shujaiyya – to Rafah in the south, then Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah.

Along the way, Jundia lost one brother and a nephew to Israeli bombs.

Read more:
Israeli air strike hits Gaza hospital
Red dye dumped into US embassy in Israel protest
Israel shot at ambulances over ‘perceived threat’

“We were happy and all the family came back. We went back to our house. It was damaged, but we improvised and we lived in it. We have nothing to do with the resistance. We are not interested in wars. But we have been gravely harmed,” he says.

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