Boris Johnson was blasted by a former standards tsar today over ‘quite inappropriate’ plans to launch a new charity backed by wealthy Tory donors to pay for the six-figure refurbishment of his official flat. Sir Alistair Graham, the former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, tore into a scheme said to be modelled … Read more
Boris Johnson is secretly trying to set up a charity to help pay for a costly makeover of his official flat by his fiancée, it has been claimed. The scheme is based on one used by the White House to raise millions of dollars for interior design, antiques and art. The presidential charity is bankrolled … Read more
Downing Street confirmed today that schools will reopen on Monday, despite fears over a Brazilian strain of coronavirus that has been found in Britain. Six cases of the P.1 variant first detected in the Amazonian city of Manaus have been confirmed in the UK – three in England and three in Scotland. Two were tracked to … Read more
Different dogs were originally bred for different purposes. The Beagle was bred to hunt hares. The Border Collie was bred to herd sheep. The Husky was bred to pull sleds. The Chihuahua was bred to snap at ankles. The Dalmatian was bred to make other dogs look clever. The Rottweiler was bred to make strangers … Read more
No10 has been urged to pick up the pace of its Covid vaccination drive because the number of doses dished out each day has dipped to below 400,000 for the first time since January. Department of Health statistics show 371,052 jabs were administered each day, on average, last week. For comparison, it almost reached 450,000 … Read more
Downing Street today denied that Carrie Symonds is ‘interfering’ in Boris Johnson’s government insisting that she is focused on raising their young son and has already started her new job. The PM’s spokeswoman said the idea that Ms Symonds is meddling was ‘incorrect’ despite mounting criticism over her power within No10. She initially said that … Read more
Number Ten has long been a hotbed of gossip, intrigue and backstabbing as the power-hungry jostle for position at the court of the prime minister. But even by that yardstick, the events of recent days have been something to behold. And the figure accused of being at the heart of the latest series of power … Read more
Bitter Tory in-fighting broke out last night after a Conservative-friendly think-tank demanded an inquiry into the power of Boris Johnson’s fiancee, Carrie Symonds. Ben Harris-Quinney, chairman of the Bow Group – which boasts Tory heavyweights Norman Tebbit and Norman Lamont among its patrons – called for an independent investigation into the influence that Ms Symonds … Read more
Britain could ease lockdown sooner if No10 was really following the data, a top Sage expert claimed today. Professor Mark Woolhouse, an infectious diseases expert from Edinburgh University, told a parliamentary committee today that the data was pointing to an ‘earlier unlocking’. ‘I completely agree that we don’t want to be overly focused on dates, … Read more
Grant Shapps revealed today he has had talks with foreign politicians about an ‘internationally recognised system’ of allowing travellers to prove they have had a Covid jab. The Transport Secretary made the admission despite Downing Street insisting for weeks that it has no plans to introduce ‘vaccine passports’ that would prove the holder’s coronanvirus immunity. … Read more