Nadine Dorries faces questions over claims she sent ‘forceful communications’ to civil servants after peerages snub
Boris Johnson ally Nadine Dorries is facing a potential investigation over alleged “communications” she made to civil servants regarding her thwarted peerage.
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said he had referred the messages Ms Dorries allegedly sent to senior civil servants to Tory chief whip Simon Hart and Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle.
He said he had also sought legal advice over the matter.
It comes as Ms Dorries, who served as culture secretary under Mr Johnson, announced she had written a book on the “political assassination” of Boris Johnson due to be released days before the Tory party conference in October.
Ms Dorries was one of three Johnson allies who believed they were in line to receive a peerage from the outgoing prime minister last month – but when the list was finally published, their names were absent.
Rishi Sunak’s deputy standing in for second week running at PMQs
Following the perceived snub, Ms Dorries announced she would stand down as an MP with “immediate effect”, triggering a by-election in her constituency of Mid Bedfordshire.
However, Ms Dorries later said she would not formally resign until she received answers from Downing Street as to why she did not get her peerage.
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What is a resignation honours list?
In a session of the public administration and constitutional affairs committee, Tory MP and chair William Wragg asked Mr Case about the “lingering member for Mid Bedfordshire”.
“Obviously, the most recent sets of resignation honours and particularly peerages has excited some public comment, and indeed, some current former and indeed lingering members of the House of Commons as well,” he said.
“Are you aware of any forceful communications – it may be described – sent by the lingering member for Mid Bedfordshire to senior civil servants?”
He continued: “Really – I suppose, threatening it could be described – to use the platform of the Commons and indeed her own television programme to get to the bottom of why she hadn’t been given a peerage?”
Mr Case said he was “aware” of such communications and had flagged them to the Commons Speaker and Conservative chief whip.
Asked if he had taken legal advice on whether the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 could “come into play”, Mr Case said he was “seeking further advice on that question”.
Sky News has approached Ms Dorries for comment but has not received a reply.
Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said the latest claims against Ms Dorries were “staggering”.
“It’s crucial a swift investigation takes place into whether Nadine Dorries may have broken the law.
“Not only is Dorries failing to represent the people of Mid Bedfordshire, but now it emerges she has allegedly sent threatening messages to civil servants.
Read more:
Nadine Dorries insists it’s ‘still my intention to resign’ after being accused of ‘dragging out’ process
Simon Case accuses minsters of ‘self-defeating cowardice’ over attacks on civil service ‘blob’
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Dorries speaks to Sky News after resignation
Ms Dorries received £20,500 as a partial advance from HarperCollins for the book, which she said tells the story of “treachery and deceit at the heart of the Westminster machine”.
It is set to hit the stands on 28 September – just three days before Conservatives convene for the annual party conference on 1 October.
She said: “I had wanted to discover the forces behind the downfall of the prime minister. Instead, I found a fault line within the Conservative Party stretching back decades, and a history of deception fuelled by the darkest political arts.
“If you thought that power flowed from the people into parliament, be prepared to think again.”
Last month, Ms Dorries was one of seven MPs who were heavily criticised by the privileges committee for putting “improper pressure” on its investigation into whether Mr Johnson lied to MPs over partygate.
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
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Donald Trump’s inauguration 2.0
Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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