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.
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
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.”
The man convicted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher has been charged with sexual assault against an ex-girlfriend.
Rudy Guede, 38, was the only person who was definitively convicted of the murder of 21-year-old Ms Kercher in Perugia, Italy, back in 2007.
He will be standing trial again in November after an ex-girlfriend filed a police report in the summer of 2023 accusing Guede of mistreatment, personal injury and sexual violence.
Guede, from the Ivory Coast, was released from prison for the murder of Leeds University student Ms Kercher in 2021, after having served about 13 years of a 16-year sentence.
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Since last year – when this investigation was still ongoing – Guede has been under a “special surveillance” regime, Sky News understands, meaning he was banned from having any contact with the woman behind the sexual assault allegations, including via social media, and had to inform police any time he left his city of residence, Viterbo, as ruled by a Rome court.
Guede has been serving a restraining order and fitted with an electronic ankle tag.
The Kercher murder case, in the university city of Perugia, was the subject of international attention.
Ms Kercher, a 21-year-old British exchange student, was found murdered in the flat she shared with her American roommate, Amanda Knox.
The Briton’s throat had been cut and she had been stabbed 47 times.
(L-R) Raffaele Sollecito, Meredith Kercher and Amanda Knox. File pic: AP
Ms Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were placed under suspicion.
Both were initially convicted of murder, but Italy’s highest court overturned their convictions, acquitting them in 2015.
World
IDF blames ‘technical error’ after Gaza officials say children collecting water killed in strike
The Israeli military says it missed its intended target after Gaza officials said 10 Palestinians – including six children – were killed in a strike at a water collection point.
Another 17 people were wounded in the strike on a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al Awda Hospital.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant but a “technical error with the munition” had caused the missile to fall “dozens of metres from the target”.
The IDF said the incident is under review, adding that it “works to mitigate harm to uninvolved civilians as much as possible” and “regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians”.
A wounded child is treated after the strike on the water collection point. Pic: Reuters
Officials at Al Awda Hospital said it received 10 bodies after the Israeli strike on the water collection point and six children were among the dead.
Ramadan Nassar, who lives in the area, said around 20 children and 14 adults were lined up Sunday morning to fill up water.
When the strike occurred, everyone ran and some, including those who were severely injured, fell to the ground, he said.
Blood stains are seen on containers at the water collection point. Pic: Reuters
In total, 19 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, local health officials said.
Two women and three children were among nine killed after an Israeli strike on a home in the central town of Zawaida, officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said.
Israel has claimed it hit more than 150 targets in the besieged enclave in the past day.
The latest strikes come after the Israel military opened fire near an aid centre in Rafah on Saturday. The Red Cross said 31 people were killed.
The IDF has said it fired “warning shots” near the aid distribution site but it was “not aware of injured individuals” as a result.
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Palestinians shot while seeking aid, says paramedic
The war in Gaza started in response to Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw about 250 taken hostage.
More than 58,000 Palestinians have since been killed, with more than half being women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
Read more:
Palestinians shot while seeking aid, says paramedic
Dozens of MPs call for UK to recognise Palestine as state
US President Donald Trump has said he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war.
But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there were no signs of a breakthrough, as a new sticking point emerged over the deployment of Israeli troops during the truce.
Hamas still holds 50 hostages, with fewer than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
World
‘At least 59 killed’ in Gaza after Israeli military opens fire near aid centre and carries out strikes
At least 59 Palestinians have reportedly been killed after the Israeli military opened fire near an aid centre in Gaza and carried out strikes across the territory.
The Red Cross, which operates a field hospital in Rafah, said 25 people were “declared dead upon arrival” and “six more died after admittance” following gunfire near an aid distribution centre in the southern Gazan city.
The humanitarian organisation added that it also received 132 patients “suffering from weapon-related injuries” after the incident.
The Red Cross said: “The overwhelming majority of these patients sustained gunshot wounds, and all responsive individuals reported they were attempting to access food distribution sites.”
The organisation said the number of deaths marks the hospital’s “largest influx of fatalities” since it began operations in May last year.
The IDF has said it fired “warning shots” near the aid distribution site but it was “not aware of injured individuals” as a result.
It said in a statement: “Earlier today, several suspects were identified approaching IDF troops operating in the Rafah area, posing a threat to the troops, hundreds of metres from the aid distribution site.
“IDF troops operated in order to prevent the suspects from approaching them and fired warning shots.”
Palestinians mourn a loved one following the incident near the aid centre. Pic: Reuters
Mother’s despair over shooting
Somia Alshaar told Sky News her 17-year-old son Nasir was shot dead while visiting the aid centre after she told him not to go.
She said: “He went to get us tahini so we could eat.
“He went to get flour. He told me ‘mama, we don’t have tahini. Today I’ll bring you flour. Even if it kills me, I will get you flour’.
“He left the house and didn’t return. They told me at the hospital: your son…’Oh God, oh Lord’.”
Asked where her son was shot, she replied: “In the chest. Yes, in the chest.”
Somia Alshaar, pictured with her daughter, says her son was shot dead. Pic: Reuters
‘A policy of mass murder’
Hassan Omran, a paramedic with Gaza’s ministry of health, told Sky News after the incident that humanitarian aid centres in Gaza are now “centres of mass death”.
Speaking in Khan Younis, he said: “Today, there were more than 150 injuries and more than 20 martyrs at the aid distribution centres… the Israeli occupation deliberately kills and commits genocide. The Israeli occupation is carrying out a policy of mass murder.
“They call people to come get their daily food, and then, when citizens arrive at these centres, they are killed in cold blood.
“All the victims have gunshot wounds to the head and chest, meaning the enemy is committing these crimes deliberately.”
Israel has rejected genocide accusations and denies targeting civilians.
Two boys mourn their brother at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Pic: Reuters
‘Lies being peddled’
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial US and Israeli-backed group which operates the distribution centre near Rafah, said: “Hamas is claiming there was violence at our aid distribution sites today. False.
“Once again, there were no incidents at or in the immediate vicinity of our sites.
“But that’s not stopping some from spreading the lies being peddled by ‘officials’ at the Hamas-controlled Nasser Hospital.”
The Red Cross said its field hospital in Rafah has recorded more than 250 fatalities and treated more than 3,400 “weapon-wounded patients” since new food distribution sites were set up in Gaza on 27 May.
Read more:
‘At least 798 killed’ at Gaza aid points
’10 children killed’ waiting for Gaza health clinic to open
Israel says permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’
Palestinians inspect the wreckage after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah. Pic: AP
It comes after four children and two women were among at least 13 people who died in Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli strikes pounded the area starting late on Friday, officials in Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the territory said.
Fifteen others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not responded to a request for comment on the reported deaths.
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Israeli has been carrying out attacks in Gaza since Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages on 7 October 2023.
Hamas still holds 50 hostages, with fewer than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
US President Donald Trump has said he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war.
But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there were no signs of a breakthrough.
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The latest fatalities in Gaza comes as a 20-year-old Palestinian-American man was beaten to death by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, the Palestinian Health ministry said.
Sayafollah Musallet, also known as Saif, was killed during a confrontation between Palestinians and settlers in Sinjil, north of Ramallah, the ministry said.
A second man, Hussein Al-Shalabi, 23, died after being shot in the chest.
Mr Musallet’s family, from Tampa Florida, has called on the US State Department to lead an “immediate investigation”.
A State Department spokesperson said it was aware of the incident but it had no further comment “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones” of the reported victim.
The Israeli military said the confrontation broke out after Palestinians threw rocks at Israelis, lightly injuring them.
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