Sir Keir Starmer says Boris Johnson should be banned from parliament after damning partygate report
Sir Keir Starmer has said Boris Johnson should be banned from parliament over the partygate scandal, as he urged the prime minister not to “hide away” from a debate on the issue later today.
The Labour leader said it’s “important to know” where Rishi Sunak stands after the Commons’ Privileges Committee concluded Mr Johnson lied to MPs about the boozy events held in Downing Street during the COVID lockdown.
Boris Johnson vote – latest: Sunak refuses to say if he’ll attend Johnson debate
Asked if the former prime minister – who quit as an MP in light of the findings – should be banned from parliament, Sir Keir told Sky News: “The privileges committee is absolutely clear in its findings, they should be supported.
“I will support the committee, and I want the prime minister to support the committee, because it’s very important we know where the prime minister stands on this.”
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‘It’s a matter for the House’
In a damning verdict issued last week, the cross-party panel said Mr Johnson should have faced a 90-day suspension for misleading the House over partygate and being complicit in a campaign of intimidation against them – if he were still an MP.
Mr Johnson dramatically quit as an MP earlier this month after receiving the committee’s draft findings.
MPs will debate the report’s recommendations later today, which also include banning Mr Johnson from receiving a former member’s pass granting access to parliament which is usually available to ex-politicians.
It is not clear whether there ultimately will be a vote on the conclusions of the report, which could go through on the nod unless there are objections from Mr Johnson’s supporters.
Speaking at a conference in Dublin, former prime minister Liz Truss said the report’s judgement was “overly harsh”, but many other Tories support it – with senior MP Tobias Ellwood vowing to change his plans so he can vote against Mr Johnson.
In a challenge to Mr Sunak, Sir Keir said: “Is he going to come into parliament and vote today and show leadership, or is he going to sit on his hands and hide away?
“I think that is now becoming the crucial issue that will define how things go today in parliament on this.”
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What does the partygate report say?
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Earlier this morning, Mr Sunak refused to say if he will attend the debate amid speculation he is planning to skip it.
He would not give his view on the proceedings against his predecessor, saying the vote is “a matter for the House rather than for government”.
Johnson honours ‘hard to stomach’
The debate comes amid reignited anger over the Downing Street parties scandal following a newly published video showing Conservative Party workers at a Christmas bash during lockdown in 2020.
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The footage, which is being “considered” by Scotland Yard, has renewed accusations from opposition parties that the prime minister is “weak” for not intervening over Mr Johnson’s resignation honours.
Sir Keir said it was “hard to stomach” that two of the people who attended the gathering – former London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey and Tory aide Ben Mallet – were rewarded in Mr Johnson’s list.
He said he is unaware of any precedent to remove their new titles, and Mr Sunak should have waited until the outcome of the privileges investigation before approving the nominations from the former prime minister.
“The idea now that two of the people dancing and partying in that video, are going to get honours because the prime minister was too weak to do anything about it, I think is yet another thing that’s very, very hard for people to stomach,” Sir Keir said.
The prime minister has argued he was following precedent in waving through Mr Johnson’s honours.
But speaking to Times Radio, the Labour leader said if he wins the next election he would block some of Mr Sunak’s honours nominees if he didn’t think they were right, and that when he leaves Downing Street, he will not put forward his own resignation honours list.
“Tony Blair didn’t have a resignation list. It is very hard to justify,” he said.
World
Suspects arrested over Louvre heist ‘partially admit involvement’ – as officials address inside job theory
The two suspects arrested over the Louvre jewellery heist have “partially” confessed to their involvement in the robbery, according to a prosecutor.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau revealed the development at a news conference on Wednesday.
Four thieves stole nine items – one of which was dropped and recovered at the scene – in a heist pulled off while the world-famous Paris museum was open to visitors on 19 October.
It took the thieves less than eight minutes to steal the jewels. They forced open a window and cut into cases with power tools after gaining access via a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift.
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Suspects in Louvre robbery ‘partially confessed’
Ms Beccuau also said the jewels had not yet been recovered.
“These jewels are now, of course, unsellable,” said Ms Beccuau. “Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods. It’s still time to give them back.”
‘No evidence’
Ms Beccuau also addressed reports that police believe the robbery could have been an inside job.
She said that there was “no evidence the thieves benefited from inside help”.
Under French rules for organised theft, custody can run up to 96 hours. That limit is due to expire late on Wednesday, and prosecutors must charge the suspects, release them or seek a judge’s extension.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau speaks during a press conference about the investigation into the Louvre robbery. Pic: Reuters
One suspect is a 34-year-old Algerian national who has been living in France since 2010, Ms Beccuau said. He was arrested Saturday night at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to fly to Algeria with no return ticket.
Ms Beccuau said that he was living in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, and was known to police mostly for road traffic offences.
The other suspect, 39, was arrested Saturday night at his home in Aubervilliers.
“There is no evidence to suggest that he was about to leave the country,” said Ms Beccuau.
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Louvre jewels ‘have not returned’
The man was known to police for several thefts, and his DNA was found on one of the glass cases where the jewels were displayed, and on items the thieves left behind, she added.
Earlier, French police acknowledged major gaps in the Louvre’s defences.
Paris police chief Patrice Faure told politicians that ageing security systems had left weak spots.
“A technological step has not been taken,” he said.
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Mr Faure also revealed that the Louvre’s authorisation to operate its security cameras quietly expired in July and had not been renewed.
He said the first alert to police came not from the Louvre’s alarms, but from a cyclist outside who dialled the emergency line after seeing helmeted men with a basket lift.
Members of a forensic team inspect a window believed to have been used by the culprits. Pic: Reuters
Mr Faure also rejected calls for a permanent police post inside the museum, warning it would set an unworkable precedent and do little against fast and mobile thieves.
“I am firmly opposed,” he said. “The issue is not a guard at a door; it is speeding the chain of alert.”
World
Israel carries out fresh strike on Gaza and accuses Hamas of preparing ‘imminent terror attack’
The Israeli military says it has carried out a fresh strike on Gaza, in a move that will further raise concerns about the fragility of its ceasefire with Hamas.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it conducted the strike on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in the area of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.
It said the site was being used to store weapons that it claimed were “intended to be used for the execution of an imminent terror attack against IDF soldiers”.
“IDF soldiers in the southern command remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” a spokesperson said.
People living in Gaza City said they heard an explosion in Gaza and saw a column of smoke.
Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered earlier strikes after claiming troops had come under fire. Pic: Reuters
It comes after hospital officials said at least 104 people, including 46 children, had been killed overnight in Gaza after Israel launched new strikes.
Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after an Israeli official reported that troops had come under fire in southern Gaza.
Israel claimed a soldier was killed on Tuesday afternoon by “enemy fire” in the southern city of Rafah.
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The decision also followed Hamas’s handover on Monday of body parts that Israel said belonged to a hostage whose remains were partly recovered earlier in the conflict.
Hamas has denied any role in the Rafah shooting and reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire.
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The recent ‘ferocious’ attacks are the deadliest strikes since the ceasefire agreement took hold earlier this month.
‘Nothing is going to jeopardise the ceasefire’
US President Donald Trump had said the ceasefire was not at risk, telling reporters: “As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier.”
He added: “So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back. Nothing is going to jeopardise [the ceasefire].
“You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave.”
Following the latest strikes, the Israeli military said it would continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement. It added that it would respond firmly to “any violation”.
Donald Trump said the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was not at risk. Pic: Reuters
‘Very disappointing and frustrating’
Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said on Wednesday that the attack on the Israeli soldier and the following airstrikes had been “very disappointing and frustrating for us”.
Qatar had been leading peace efforts in Gaza, along with the US and Egypt.
At the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, al-Thani said Hamas militants had been clear they were prepared to give up governance of the enclave, which they have run since 2007.
He added that Qatar had been pushing them to acknowledge that they need to disarm.
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