Nadine Dorries sends resignation letter to PM – and launches scathing attack on him
Former Conservative minister Nadine Dorries has announced she is resigning, after months of criticism over her absence from the House of Commons.
In her resignation letter, the Tory MP accused Rishi Sunak of “demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy” against her.
The letter to the prime minister said: “It has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life to have served the good people of Mid Bedfordshire as their MP for 18 years and I count myself blessed to have worked in Westminster for almost a quarter of a century.
“Despite what some in the media and you yourself have implied, my team of caseworkers and I have continued to work for my constituents faithfully and diligently to this day.”
The letter went on to say Mr Sunak had abandoned “the fundamental principles of Conservatism” and “history will not judge you kindly”.
Ms Dorries, a key ally of Boris Johnson, said she was resigning with “immediate effect” on 9 June after she failed to get a peerage in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours list.
But having not formally vacated her seat, a by-election has not been able to take place.
Ms Dorries said she was delaying her exit to investigate why she was refused a seat in the House of Lords, but many of her local Conservatives, constituents and fellow MPs accused her of “abandonning” the people of Mid Bedfordshire.
Both Flitwick and Shefford Town Council formally called for her to resign.
Following the letter, a Conservative Party spokesman said the party has already “selected a candidate and are ready for the by-election campaign”.
Dorries ‘not pulling her punches’ when it comes to Sunak
She doesn’t pull her punches when it comes to Rishi Sunak.
And quite clearly the issue with the PM is absolutely at the heart of why she said back in June she was going to resign.
Nadine Dorries is the MP for Mid Bedfordshire. She really rose to prominence during Boris Johnson’s premiership, she served in his cabinet, but she was a real Boris Johnson loyalist to the end.
After Boris Johnson had left office, she was said to have been lined up by him, as one of his close allies, for a peerage.
In the end that peerage was blocked. Now we don’t know exactly what happened behind the scenes.
But at the time she accused current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of blocking her from entering the House of Lords. And she’s been very angry about that ever since.
She did when she stood down say that she was resigning with immediate effect. But she has made Rishi Sunak’s life much more difficult by carrying on for quite a long time after she said that and raising many questions about why she’s still sitting as a Conservative MP and taking the salary of an MP without formally submitting her resignation.
There has been a lot of pressure mounting on Nadine Dorries over the past few weeks, especially from her constituents, many of whom say they haven’t seen her for a long time.
Well that has changed today. We’ve been waiting for it for a long time, but Nadine Dorries has formally resigned today.
In it, Ms Dorries also accused Mr Sunak of leading attacks on her resulting in “the police having to visit my home and contact me on a number of occasions due to threats to my person”.
“The clearly orchestrated and almost daily personal attacks demonstrates the pitifully low level your government has descended to,” she wrote.
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Attacking the prime minster’s record, she added: “Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie parliament where nothing meaningful has happened.
“You have no mandate from the people and the government is adrift. You have squandered the goodwill of the nation, for what?
“Your actions have left some 200 or more of my MP colleagues to face an electoral tsunami and the loss of their livelihoods, because in your impatience to become prime minister you put your personal ambition above the stability of the country and our economy.
“Bewildered, we look in vain for the grand political vision for the people of this great country to hold on to, that would make all this disruption and subsequent inertia worthwhile, and we find absolutely nothing.”
Fresh appeals have been made for information on what would have been the 20th birthday of Ellis Cox, who was shot dead in Liverpool last June.
A number of people have been arrested in connection with the murder at Liver Industrial Estate, but no one has been charged yet.
The 19-year-old’s family and police have paid tribute to him and called for those with information to come forward.
He was shot in the back after a confrontation between his friends and another group of up to three males on Sunday 23 June.
Ellis Cox who was shot dead in June 2024. Pic: Merseyside Police
His mother Carolyn paid tribute in an appeal to coincide with what would have been his 20th birthday.
“He was so kind… so laid back, so calm, so mature for his age. And he was just funny. Very funny.
“He was my baby… no mum should have to bury a child. He was my life. And I don’t know what to do without him.”
Mum Carolyn Cox (left) and aunt Julie O’Toole (right) are looking for answers
Ellis’ mum described him as ‘kind” and “funny. Pic: Merseyside Police
Meanwhile, his aunt Julie O’Toole said he was “the sort of person I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to say anything negative about. He was loyal, fiercely loyal… everything was about his family”.
To pay tribute to Ellis, Liverpool City Council will be lighting up the Cunard Building and Liverpool Town Hall in orange on Saturday.
DCI Steve McGrath does not believe Ellis was involved in criminality
Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, the senior investigating officer, spoke about the information gathered so far, six months on from Mr Cox’s murder.
“I’m satisfied that the group that he was with was probably the target… and I would say that’s got something in relation to do with localised drug dealing in that area. But Ellis had no involvement in that whatsoever,” he said.
He added that police are looking for “really significant pieces of evidence now”, including “trying to recover the firearm that was used in relation to this, looking to recover the bikes that were used by the offenders”.
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Mrs Cox also appealed for people to come forward with information.
“If you know anything, don’t let us get to [his] next birthday and still know nothing.
“We need to get justice for Ellis. And we need to get the people who took him from us off the streets.”
Former Manchester United and Scotland footballer Denis Law has died, at the age of 84.
In a statement, his family said: “It is with a heavy heart that we tell you our father Denis Law has sadly passed away. He fought a tough battle, but finally, he is now at peace.
“We would like to thank everyone who contributed to his wellbeing and care, past and much more recently.
“We know how much people supported and loved him and that love was always appreciated and made the difference.”
Denis Law in 2005. Pic: PA
The Aberdeen-born footballer previously announced in August 2021 that he had been diagnosed with dementia.
A prolific striker, Law scored 237 goals in 404 appearances for Manchester United, for whom he signed for a then-British record transfer fee in 1962.
He is the only man to have two statues dedicated to him at Old Trafford – one on the Stretford End concourse, the other as part of the United Trinity statue overlooking the stadium’s forecourt beside fellow great George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton.
Denis Law, third from left, as a statue featuring him alongside Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best – known as the ‘holy trinity’ – was unveiled in 2008. Pic: AP
The only Scottish player to have won the Ballon d’Or award, in 1964, he was also part of United’s triumphant campaign in the 1968 European Cup – in which they became the first English club to ever win the competition.
In a statement, the club said: “Everyone at Manchester United is mourning the loss of Denis Law, the King of the Stretford End, who has passed away, aged 84.
“He will always be celebrated as one of the club’s greatest and most beloved players.
Denis Law, centre, during Manchester United’s triumphant European Cup campaign in 1968. Pic: AP
“The ultimate goalscorer, his flair, spirit and love for the game made him the hero of a generation. Our deepest condolences go out to Denis’s family and many friends. His memory will live on forever more.”
Wayne Rooney, former United captain and the club’s all-time record goalscorer, described Law as a “legend”.
“Thoughts with all Denis’s family and friends,” he said in an online post.
Another former United captain, Gary Neville, said: “A great footballer and a great man. It’s a privilege and an honour to have spent time in your company. The King of the Stretford End.”
A tribute from the Scotland national team said Law was “a true great”.
“We will not see his likes again,” it said.
Law also played for Huddersfield Town, Manchester City, and Italian club Torino during his club career, and made 55 appearances for Scotland, scoring 30 goals for his country.
Manchester City said in a post on X: “The whole of Manchester, including everyone at City, is mourning with you. Rest in peace, Denis.”
The UK’s benchmark stock index has reached another record high.
The FTSE 100 index of most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange closed at 8,505.69, breaking the record set last May.
It had already broken its intraday high at 8532.58 on Friday afternoon, meaning it reached a high not seen before during trading hours.
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The weakened pound has boosted many of the 100 companies forming the top-flight index.
Why is this happening?
Most are not based in the UK, so a less valuable pound means their sterling-priced shares are cheaper to buy for people using other currencies, typically US dollars.
This makes the shares better value, prompting more to be bought. This greater demand has brought up the prices and the FTSE 100.
The pound has been hovering below $1.22 for much of Friday. It’s steadily fallen from being worth $1.34 in late September.
Also spurring the new record are market expectations for more interest rate cuts in 2025, something which would make borrowing cheaper and likely kickstart spending.
What is the FTSE 100?
The index is made up of many mining and international oil and gas companies, as well as household name UK banks and supermarkets.
Familiar to a UK audience are lenders such as Barclays, Natwest, HSBC and Lloyds and supermarket chains Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s.
Other well-known names include Rolls-Royce, Unilever, easyJet, BT Group and Next.
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FTSE stands for Financial Times Stock Exchange.
If a company’s share price drops significantly it can slip outside of the FTSE 100 and into the larger and more UK-based FTSE 250 index.
The inverse works for the FTSE 250 companies, the 101st to 250th most valuable firms on the London Stock Exchange. If their share price rises significantly they could move into the FTSE 100.
A good close for markets
It’s a good end of the week for markets, entirely reversing the rise in borrowing costs that plagued Chancellor Rachel Reeves for the past ten days.
Fears of long-lasting high borrowing costs drove speculation she would have to cut spending to meet self-imposed fiscal rules to balance the budget and bring down debt by 2030.
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They Treasury tries to calm market nerves late last week
Long-term government borrowing had reached a high not seen since 1998 while the benchmark 10-year cost of government borrowing, as measured by 10-year gilt yields, was at levels last seen around the 2008 financial crisis.
The gilt yield is effectively the interest rate investors demand to lend money to the UK government.
Only the pound has yet to recover the losses incurred during the market turbulence. Without that dropped price, however, the FTSE 100 record may not have happened.
Also acting to reduce sterling value is the chance of more interest rates. Currencies tend to weaken when interest rates are cut.
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