Zac Goldsmith: Tory minister named in Boris Johnson partygate interference report quits over after refusing to apologise
A Tory minister named in a Privileges Committee report for interfering in Boris Johnson’s partygate probe has resigned from government after refusing to apologise for his actions, according to the prime minister.
Lord Goldsmith, a former MP, quit his environmental role, claiming Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was “simply uninterested” in the issue.
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But the day before, the Tory peer – a close ally of Mr Johnson, who appointed him to the Lords – was chastised by the Privileges Committee for tweeting about its finding that the former prime minister had lied to parliament about lockdown breaking parties in Downing Street.
In a letter released by Downing Street, it was revealed that Mr Sunak asked him to apologise to the committee, but he refused.
Mr Sunak wrote to the peer: “You were asked to apologise for your comments about the Privileges Committee as we felt they were incompatible with your position as a minister of the crown. You have decided to take a different course.”
The prime minister later said that he was “proud of the record of this government and indeed of Zac in government making sure that we tackle climate change and protect our natural environment”.
In a post on social media, Lord Goldsmith characterised their inquiry as a “kangaroo court” and “witch hunt” – but Mr Sunak’s spokesman insisted the PM still had confidence in the minister.
Just 24 hours after the comments were highlighted, Lord Goldsmith resigned his post with a stinging resignation letter, taking aim at the current incumbent at Number 10.
The Tory peer said it had been an “exhilarating experience” in the job, praising the progress the UK had made in leading on climate change internationally – particularly when Mr Johnson was in office.
But Lord Goldsmith said he had been “horrified” by the government’s “abandonment” of policies around animal welfare, and that its efforts on environmental issues at home had “simply ground to a standstill”.
“More worrying, the UK has visibly stepped off the world stage and withdrawn our leadership on climate and nature,” he wrote in his resignation letter.
“Too often we are simply absent from key international fora. Only last week you [Mr Sunak] seemingly chose to attend the party of a media baron rather than attend a critically important environment summit in Paris that ordinarily the UK would have co-led.”
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What’s in the Privileges Committee special report?
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Lord Goldsmith said the government had “effectively abandoned” its “solemn” commitment to spend £11.6bn of its aid budget on climate and environment causes – calling it “the single most important signal” to countries suffering and in persuading other G7 countries to act – and had “not come clean on the broken promise” as the final year of spending will be after the next general election.
‘Government apathy on climate’
“Prime minister, having been able to get so much done previously, I have struggled even to hold the line in recent months,” he wrote.
“The problem is not that the government is hostile to the environment, it is that you, our prime minister, are simply uninterested. That signal, or lack of it, has trickled down through Whitehall and caused a kind of paralysis.
“I will never understand how, with all the knowledge we now have about our fundamental reliance on the natural world and the speed with which we are destroying it, anyone can be uninterested.
“But even if this existential challenge leaves you personally unmoved, there is a world of people who do care very much. And you will need their votes.”
The peer said it had been “a privilege” to hold his post, “but this government’s apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we have faced makes continuing in my current role untenable”, so he was resigning “with great reluctance… in order to focus my energy where it can be more useful”.
‘UK continues to play an important role’
In its response, the prime minister said: “We can be proud of the UK’s record as a world-leader on net zero. We are going far beyond other countries and delivering tangible progress whilst bringing down energy bills. This government is also committed to leaving the environment in a better state than we found it, as set out in our environmental improvement plan.
“The UK continues to play an important role globally in tackling climate change and preserving the environment. I attended COP27 in Egypt in November last year and reconfirmed our £11.6 billion climate finance pledge.”
He added: “Even in the last few weeks we have taken this international leadership into the recent G7 Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima and the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris last week, where the minister of state for development represented the UK.”
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries – who was also named in Thursday’s report for her “vociferous attacks” on the Privileges Committee – responded to the resignation on Twitter, saying Lord Goldsmith’s “record of achievement”, “depth of knowledge” and “passion” were “second to none”.
She added: “We’ve just lost the most able minister for the environment any government would be lucky and proud to have. This loss is beyond party politics. It’s huge.”
The Liberal Democrats said Mr Sunak “should have had the guts” to sack Lord Goldsmith after the report condemned his actions, saying the PM was “clearly too weak to control his own party”.
One of its MPs, Sarah Olney – who unseated Lord Goldsmith at the last election – added: “This Conservative chaos is never ending. Every day brings more resignations and scandal in this depressing Westminster soap opera.
“Zac Goldsmith’s resignation has at least confirmed what we have known all along – that Rishi Sunak’s government doesn’t give a damn about the environment and animal rights.
“They have scrapped plans to stop puppy smuggling, watered down climate change action and let water companies pump sewage in our rivers. What a sorry state of affairs this is.”
UK
Lucy Letby: Defence calls for miscarriage of justice investigation as medics give alternative causes of death
A panel of international medical experts has given alternative causes of death in several cases against child serial killer Lucy Letby.
It comes as her defence lawyers announced they have asked for her case to be investigated as a miscarriage of justice.
Letby, 35, the UK’s most prolific child killer of modern times, is serving fifteen whole life terms in prison after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others between June 2015 and June 2016.
Various methods were used to attack the babies while Letby worked as a nurse on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
One method was air being injected into the bloodstream which caused an air embolism, blocking the bloody supply and leading to sudden and unexpected collapses.
On Tuesday, retired neonatologist Dr Shoo Lee, who co-authored an academic paper on air embolisms (bubbles) in babies in 1989 which featured prominently during her trial, chaired a panel of 14 experts to compile an “impartial evidence-based report”.
Dr Lee said he believed his findings on skin mottling were misinterpreted by the prosecution. He said in a new paper he published in December 2024 that there were no cases of skin discolouration when air was injected into the veins.
At her trial in 2023, prosecutors pointed to skin discolouration in several of the victims as evidence that air had been injected into their veins by Letby.
“The notion that these cases are air embolism because they collapsed and because there were skin rashes has no basis in evidence. Let’s be clear about that,” Dr Lee said.
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Professor Neena Modi, Letby’s barrister Mark McDonald, David Davis MP and Dr Shoo Lee. Pic: PA
The panel laid out alternative causes of death in many of the cases, including natural causes and poor medical care at Countess of Chester Hospital.
“We did not find any murders,” Dr Lee said. “In all cases, death or injury were due to natural causes or just bad medical care.”
Asked about the Countess of Chester Hospital, Dr Lee, a retired medic from Canada, said: “I would say if this was a hospital in Canada, it would be shut down. It would not be happening.”
A spokesperson at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “Due to the Thirlwall Inquiry and the ongoing police investigations, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) will now review all the evidence after an application from the defence to determine if the case should be referred back to the courts.
A CCRC spokesperson said: “We are aware that there has been a great deal of speculation and commentary surrounding Lucy Letby’s case, much of it from parties with only a partial view of the evidence.
“We ask that everyone remembers the families affected by events at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.
“We have received a preliminary application in relation to Ms Letby’s case, and work has begun to assess the application.”
Opening the press conference, MP Sir David Davis described Letby’s convictions as “one of the major injustices of modern times”.
Last year Letby lost two bids to challenge her convictions at the Court of Appeal – in May for seven murders and seven attempted murders, and in October for the attempted murder of a baby girl, which she was convicted of by a different jury at a retrial.
In December, the former nurse’s barrister, Mark McDonald, said he would seek permission from the Court of Appeal to re-open her case on the grounds Dr Dewi Evans, the lead prosecution medical expert at her trial, was “not reliable”.
Dr Evans, a retired consultant paediatrician, said concerns regarding his evidence were “unsubstantiated, unfounded, inaccurate”.
In September a public inquiry into how Letby was able to commit her crimes began hearing evidence. Closing legal submissions are expected in March and the findings are expected to be published this autumn.
Detectives from Cheshire Constabulary are also continuing their review of the care of some 4,000 babies admitted to the Countess of Chester Hospital from January 2012 to the end of June 2016, while Letby worked as a neonatal nurse, there. It also includes two work placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital in 2012 and 2015.
Letby has been interviewed under caution at HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey, in relation to the ongoing investigation into baby deaths and non-fatal collapses.
She maintains her innocence.
At the gates of All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield, the tributes to Harvey Willgoose continue to arrive.
Flowers bearing notes from friends and former teachers, balloons and cards, one woman even arrived with a shirt of his beloved Sheffield United.
The school remains closed but some youngsters were allowed through the locked gates by police to lay flowers at a small garden bed outside the main entrance.
Harvey Willgoose. Pic: Facebook
Those coming to lay flowers all spoke of their shock at Harvey’s death.
Luisa Meco’s daughter knew Harvey from when they were both in nursery school and also attended All Saints.
She said: “It’s just shocking, really sad, heartbreaking.”
Luisa Meco.
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Her thoughts were with Harvey’s family. She said: “Obviously we’re all putting ourselves in their shoes and thinking ‘What on earth?’. It is hard to describe, it is just unreal.”
Luisa was also concerned with how her daughter would feel returning to school when it reopens.
“I will wait and see what she says and if she’s not comfortable, I will just have to keep her off for a couple of days,” she said.
She added: “It’s not something that’s easy to get over, it’s not an easy thing even as an adult to understand, how it could happen at school, so for 14 and 15-year-olds it’s even harder.”
Flowers have also been placed at the Bramall Lane home of Sheffield United.
The club said it was aware discussions were taking place about how best to pay tribute to Harvey.
A line of flowers had also appeared outside Harvey’s family home, on a quiet housing estate five miles from All Saints.
Harvey Willgoose and his sister Sophie.
Pic: Sophie Willgoose
Harvey Willgoose.
Pic: Sophie Willgoose
Not far from the home, a family friend, who saw Harvey on his way to school on the tram on Monday morning, said she was “in shock” at the death of a boy she considered to be “like a brother” to her.
The 17-year-old told Sky News that Harvey was “funny, he’s cheeky, he’s caring, just a lovely boy, he’d never hurt anyone. He’s never been nasty, he’s just not a nasty person at all”.
The girl and Harvey’s family went on numerous holidays together.
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“We’re just so close. I can’t believe he has gone,” she said.
At the gates of All Saints, some families came to look at the tributes and reflect.
Brenda Bartholomew’s granddaughter witnessed the incident on Monday lunchtime.
“This should just not be happening,” she said.
Actor and comedian Brian Murphy has died aged 92.
He was known for his role in the 1970s sitcoms Man About The House and George And Mildred.
News of his passing was shared by his wife Hi-de-Hi! actress Linda Regan.
Posting a picture of her kissing her husband, she said: “My love for you will never die. RIP sweetheart.”
Brian Murphy. Pic:Jonathan Hordle/Shutterstock
He died on Sunday morning at his home in Kent, with his wife of 35 years by his side.
In a statement, she said: “I was lucky to have in my lifetime found my soulmate. Brian who I will love forever!”
Agent and friend Thomas Bowington described Murphy as a “truly joyful and profoundly good-hearted man”.
Murphy first came to prominence playing landlord George Roper in Man About The House, starring alongside the late Yootha Joyce.
The show began in 1973 and was considered controversial for the time because it featured two single women living with a man.
When it ended in 1976, Murphy and Joyce starred in the spin-off, George And Mildred, which ran for five series until 1979.
He also starred as Alvin Smedley in Last Of The Summer Wine.
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Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce at Heathrow Airport leaving for New Zealand for a ten-week tour of the stage version of their show.
Pic: PA
Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce in George And Mildred.
Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Born on the Isle of Wight, Murphy was a member of the Theatre Workshop, founded by Joan Littlewood, and was a jobbing actor before appearing in TV shows including Z-Cars.
In 1993, he starred in the first major stage version of the HG Wells science fiction classic The Invisible Man.
More recently, Murphy appeared in TV shows including the BBC’s Holby City and ITV’s Benidorm.
He is survived by his wife and two sons.
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