Boris Johnson

A German MEP has claimed Downing Street is in a state of paralysis caused by Dominic Cummings’ announced departure and was now hindering Brexit trade talks. Manfred Weber, the leader of the largest party in the European parliament, said Downing Street was currently in a”chaotic situation” following the announcement. The prime minister’s adviser acknowledged on […]

A former board member of the pro-Brexit Vote Leave campaign has dismissed suggestions that Boris Johnson has too many Leavers in his government. Despite an attempt by Johnson to pack his cabinet with supporters of Brexit, and the prime minister’s inner circle containing key Vote Leave officials, a senior Tory MP has denied they have […]

A former adviser to Boris Johnson has delivered a withering assessment of Vote Leave’s impact on the prime minister’s ability to govern. Guto Harri, who was Johnson’s communications director when he was mayor of London, said the group of pro-Brexit advisers in Downing Street led by Dominic Cummings had long been undermining the prime minister’s office. Harri told […]

Brexiteers claim that “Remainers” in government are pushing for a one-year extension to the Brexit transition period, as the clock runs down in talks to secure a deal. The European Union has placed a “seven-day deadline” on talks ahead of an EU summit, with both sides reportedly discussing a “grace period” for Northern Ireland businesses as […]

Dominic Cummings was the adviser who refused to play by the rules of conventional politics and became no stranger to the spotlight. At the start of 2020, he wrote on his blog of wanting to become “much less important – and within a year largely redundant”, with reports suggesting his departure from Downing Street will […]

A senior Conservative MP is expecting a return of “respect, integrity and trust” in Downing Street after the resignation of Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings. Sir Bernard Benkin, the chairman of the Commons Liaison Committee, was asked to give his view after reports Cummings would leave the heart of the government at the end […]

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said that Dominic Cummings “will be missed” when he leaves No 10 but “advisers do come and go”. Asked why Boris Johnson’s chief adviser will be departing, Shapps told Sky News: “As he wrote right at the beginning of the year in his own words, he planned to make himself […]

Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser Dominic Cummings is reportedly set to leave his Downing Street position by the end of the year. Cummings told the BBC that “rumours of me threatening to resign are invented” after speculation that he would follow communications director Lee Cain in leaving Number 10. However, he said that his “position […]

Boris Johnson has been urged to get rid of the second “Kray Brother” running Downing Street in a warning about his senior aide Dominic Cummings. The prime minister has been told by senior Tories to “get a grip” after being left weakened by war in No 10 in the middle of the second Covid wave […]

DAVID BLUNKETT and MATTHEW FLINDERS warn that Dominic Cummings’ technocracy model for government lacks emotional and political understanding. They call for Boris Johnson to ditch it. If crises bring with them new opportunities to think afresh, then the combined impact of Brexit and COVID has been to focus attention on the capacity and structure of the […]

Ken Clarke has said Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill shows the prime minister has “absolute contempt” for the way of Westminster business is conducted. The former Tory chancellor was discussing the internal market bill when he said Johnson’s determination to push through the legislation was a Donald Trump tactics and could lead to major repercussions with US president-elect Joe Biden. […]

Durham Police has been accused of giving Boris Johnson’s senior adviser “special treatment” when he was investigated over his trip to the north of England during the first lockdown. It is claimed that Cummings was shown a key statement “as a courtesy” before it was made public. The force had explained why it was being […]

Boris Johnson is set to avoid the latest Downing Street press conference following reports of in-fighting at the heart of his administration. There had been planned to be an update on coronavirus on Thursday afternoon, but it will be left to business secretary Alok Sharma to update the nation. He will be joined by NHS England […]

Downing Street has dismissed claims that the in-fighting at the heart of government shows that Boris Johnson is distracted from tackling coronavirus. Responding to Labour leader Keir Starmer’s criticisms that he is not focusing “on the job in hand”, his official spokesperson said that he was “absolutely focused” on the pandemic.  The spokesman said: “The prime minister is […]

Boris Johnson has lost his chief spin doctor after a power struggle in Downing Street. Here are some of the key questions around the turmoil in Number 10. What has happened? Lee Cain is quitting the Number 10 operation, where he had been Johnson’s director of communications, although he will remain in post until the […]

As Boris Johnson attempts a pivot to Joe Biden his time is running out. It may be time to dig out that line of Kipling in which the imperial poet, almost certainly an instinctive Brexiteer, tells us all to beware “those two imposters”, triumph and disaster. Yes, it looks as if an effective Covid-19 vaccine […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has slammed the infighting in Downing Street after Boris Johnson’s director of communications walked out, with Dominic Cummings considering resigning.  “This is pathetic. I think millions of people will be waking up this morning, scratching their heads, saying what on earth is going on? “We’re in the middle of a […]

Dominic Cummings could resign from Downing Street as Boris Johnson’s senior aide after Lee Cain was forced out as director of communications. Former Vote Leave communications chief Cain had been expected to enter Boris Johnson’s inner circle by becoming his chief of staff, ahead of Allegra Stratton joining the government as press spokesperson. But there […]

Keir Starmer has slammed Boris Johnson over his government’s lack of “basic accountability” over private contracts during the coronavirus pandemic. Labour cited Cabinet Office data as showing the communications company spend between January and September, adding the total does not include the cost of special advisers and civil servants working on press matters. He told MPs: […]

Conservative MPs have claimed a promotion for Boris Johnson’s head of communications would be the “final nail for the prime minister”. The Telegraph reports that former Vote Leave spokesman Lee Cain could be made chief of staff, joining a trio of advisers including Dominic Cummings, Lord Udny-Lister and Simon Case in the prime minister’s inner […]

An adviser to Boris Johnson has called for the report into allegations of bullying by Priti Patel should be made public. Lord Evans of Weardale, the former head of MI5 and now adviser on standards in public life, said not revealing the report risks undermining voters’ trusts and would suggest the issue was “brushed over”. […]

President-elect Joe Biden has started to reach out to world leaders, with Boris Johnson finally speaking with the Democrat. The American politician had been expected to prioritise calls with top European leaders, with French president Emmanuel Macron high on the list. But Downing Street has insisted they were near the top of the calls list, […]

Boris Johnson’s Internal Market Bill – which attempts to override international law – is to be tested in Northern Ireland’s High Court. An anonymous litigant is challenging the prime minister for acting in bad faith over the Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union, and signing it “without ever intending he should be bound by it”. […]

Boris Johnson’s tweet congratulating Joe Biden on his US election victory was originally designed for Donald Trump, it has been revealed. The message sent by Boris Johnson on Saturday evening showed the word “Trump” faintly in the background. This led to online speculation that Number 10 had originally prepared a message to herald a Trump win, […]

Ken Clarke has attacked the government for behaving like a “third-world dictatorship” with the Internal Market Bill, claiming what it was asking politicians to do was “ridiculous and deeply damaging to the reputation of the country”. The former Tory minister said that Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill was “inferior” in comparison to the three attempts Theresa […]

Former Conservative prime minister John Major has savaged the Brexit project warning that Britain is “no longer a great power” and “will never be so again”. In a pre-recorded lecture at Middle Temple the former MP claimed “even more brutal than expected” due to the UK’s negotiating “failures” and warned of its impact on Britain’s standing […]

A former Tory leader has led the calls for the government to “think again” over its controversial Brexit legislation as the peers plan to strip out powers that enable ministers to break international law. Brexiteer Lord Howard of Lympne is one of the rebels planning to remove the contentious parts of the UK Internal Market Bill, […]

Brexiteer Tory MPs are hatching a plan to topple Boris Johnson if he does not resign in the spring before local elections. Opponents of Johnson, including Iain Duncan Smith, John Redwood and Esther McVey, have created a Whatsapp group entitled “Lockdown Loons” and are plotting against the government, the Mirror reports. At least one is […]

Boris Johnson is to hold a press conference at Downing Street this evening, following news on a successful coronavirus vaccine. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer has revealed its coronavirus vaccine is more than 90% effective in preventing the disease. But with Johnson looking to seize upon the news, it is likely that the prime minister will face […]

Joe Biden could force Boris Johnson to sign up to a Brexit deal with the EU in his first contact with the British prime minister. British diplomats have conceded that the PM is likely to be far down the list on people the president-elect telephones after his election win, but when he does the dialogue […]

A source close to the Democrats has dismissed suggestions there will be a ‘special relationship’ between Joe Biden and Boris Johnson following the US election result. “They do not think Boris Johnson is an ally,” the Democratic source told the Sunday Times. “They think Britain is an ally. But there will be no special relationship […]

England footballer Marcus Rashford has hailed the power of “kindness and compassion” after reporting that Boris Johnson had U-turned over providing free meals to disadvantaged children during the Christmas holidays. The prime minister personally phoned the Manchester United star on Saturday to alert him to the decision to lay on £170 million of extra funding for […]