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Boris will be in India during Partygate vote

The exact wording of the motion, which is yet to be tabled, could ask MPs to decide whether to refer Johnson to the Committee of Privileges…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face a crucial House of Commons vote this week on whether he should be referred for an investigation over his partygate statements to Parliament, it was confirmed on Tuesday.

The vote, which has been granted for Thursday, is expected to coincide with Johnson’s two-day India visit as he is scheduled for events in Ahmedabad on that day.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle granted a request from Opposition MPs for a vote after a debate on the question of whether Johnson misled MPs when he initially said that no rules were broken, as allegations of lockdown-breaching parties within Downing Street soon escalated into a full-blown partygate scandal.

The exact wording of the motion, which is yet to be tabled, could ask MPs to decide whether to refer Johnson to the Committee of Privileges.

Under parliamentary rules, UK government ministers are expected to resign for knowingly misleading MPs and correct the record as soon as possible if they inadvertently tell Parliament something false.

The clash stems from Johnson’s initial statement to the Commons that insisted COVID lockdown rules had been followed at No. 10 Downing Street in the wake of the first partygate allegations.

However, last week, he became the first British Prime Minister to be sanctioned for breaking the law when he, along with his wife Carrie and Indian-origin UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak, was fined for attending a birthday event for him in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street in June 2020.

The trio were issued “fixed penalty notices” by Scotland Yard as part of the police force’s ongoing partygate investigation, which means a fine must be paid within 28 days unless contested in court.

All three immediately paid up their fines and apologised in the wake of the notices.

While Opposition parties have demanded Johnson and Sunak resign over the fines, the duo’s own party colleagues have stood by them with only a handful of them voicing their criticism within the Conservative Party.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C36-i5pWnU

Therefore, a parliamentary vote on the issue is expected to go in Johnson’s favour but will mark yet another dent to his leadership ahead of local council and mayoral elections scheduled for May 5.

Johnson’s first visit to India as UK Prime Minister will begin in Ahmedabad on Thursday with investment announcements in key industries in both the UK and India.

He will then proceed to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, when the focus will be on India-UK strategic defence and diplomatic and economic partnership.

According to officials on both sides, Johnson will also use his India visit to drive progress in the ongoing Free Trade Agreement negotiations launched earlier this year.

ALSO READ-Boris Johnson sorry over Partygate

20 April 2022
BORIS SAYS SORRY, AGAIN

Johnson told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Tuesday that it “did not occur to me” that the birthday gathering, complete with a cake, was a party…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has offered what he said was a “wholehearted” apology for attending an illegal party during lockdown, but insisted he didn’t knowingly break rules or mislead Parliament and brushed off calls to resign.

Johnson told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Tuesday that it “did not occur to me” that the birthday gathering, complete with a cake, was a party.

Opposition politicians, and some among the governing Conservatives, have called with increasing frustration for Johnson to quit since stories began to circulate late last year of parties in the prime minister’s office and other government buildings while the country was under coronavirus restrictions. The scandal came to be known as “Partygate”.

Last week, Johnson was fined £50 for attending his own surprise birthday party in 10 Downing Street in June 2020, making him the first British prime minister ever found to have broken the law while in office.

Speaking as the House of Commons returned from an 11-day Easter break, Johnson acknowledged people’s “hurt and anger”, but added that “it did not occur to me then or subsequently that a gathering in the Cabinet Room, just before a vital meeting on COVID strategy, could amount to a breach of the rules”.

Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer branded the apology “a joke”, and challenged Conservatives to jettison Johnson.

“Even now as the latest mealy-mouthed apology stumbles out of one side of his mouth, a new set of deflections and distortions pour from the other,” Starmer said.

“He knows he’s dishonest and incapable of changing. So he drags everybody else down with him.”

Labour is trying to get legislators to censure Johnson over the “Partygate” scandal.

Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said he would allow Labour to hold a Commons debate and vote on whether Johnson should be investigated for allegedly misleading Parliament.

The large Conservative majority in Parliament means the measure is unlikely to pass.

Johnson insisted Tuesday that he was contrite, but argued it would be wrong to change leaders while Britain faces crises including the war in Ukraine and a cost-of-living squeeze driven by surging energy and goods prices.

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20 April 2022
Boris Johnson sorry over Partygate

UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer termed Johnson’s apology as a Joke and asked to resign as Prime Minister….reports Asian Lite News

UK Prime minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday apologised to the House of Commons after he was fined for breaking law.

During his address, Boris Johnson reiterated that he did not think that he was breaking law when he attended the birthday party in Downing street in 2020, BBC reported.

According BBC reports, opposition has asked Johnson to quit over his controversial actions.

UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer termed Johnson’s apology as a Joke and asked to resign as Prime Minister.

MPs will hold a vote on Thursday whether he misled the Parliament as the misleading Parliament is a resigning offence in UK, the BBC reported.

But the motion is unlikely to succeed because the majority is standing by the PM, and they are instructed to counter the Labour move.

ALSO READ: The day of reckoning for Boris

20 April 2022
Mallya, Nirav extradition may be discussed

The Indian side has communicated concerns on the anti-India activities of certain extremists and radical elements in the UK. This is likely to figure in the upcoming talks as well…reports Asian Lite News

India is likely to raise the pending extradition of economic offenders, including Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, during Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit this week.

The extradition of Mallya and Modi had figured in a virtual summit between India and the UK last year, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that economic offenders should be sent back to the country at the earliest for trial.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street)

Indian Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, too, had raised the issue at the India-UK Home Affairs Dialogue with his UK Counterpart in February this year.

The Indian side has communicated concerns on the anti-India activities of certain extremists and radical elements in the UK. This is likely to figure in the upcoming talks as well.

In the February meeting, the UK was urged to maintain vigil over activities of such elements and take appropriate proactive action.

It was agreed to maintain enhanced security cooperation between India and the UK. Johnson took to Twitter to announce his official visit, saying, “This week I’ll be travelling to India, to deepen the long-term partnership between our countries. As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together. This week I’ll be travelling to India, to deepen the long-term partnership between our countries. As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together.

He went on to add that “India, as a major economic power and the world’s largest democracy, is a highly valued strategic partner for the UK in these uncertain times”. Boris’ visit follows the successful completion of four out of 26 chapters in the ongoing India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

Modi and Johnson are expected to take stock of the negotiations and mandate a timeline for the possible completion of the process, initially set for the end of this year. According to officials close to the discussions, there has also been significant progress in the remaining 22 chapters of the FTA at the end of the first two rounds of official negotiations, with the third round of talks scheduled later this month.

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19 April 2022
Two captured UK citizens ask Boris for help

The two men asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson to exchange them for pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk…reports Asian Lite News

Two British fighters captured in Ukraine by Russian forces appeared on Russian state TV on Monday and asked to be exchanged for a Ukrainian ally of President Vladimir Putin who is being held by the Ukrainian authorities.

It was unclear how freely the two men – Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin – were able to talk. Both spoke separately after being prompted by an unidentified man. The footage was broadcast on the Rossiya 24 state TV channel.

The two men asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson to exchange them for pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk.

Medvedchuk was shown asking to be swapped too in a video released around the same time on Monday by Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service via social media. read more

Medvedchuk, in his appeal to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy, asked to be exchanged for the “defenders of Mariupol and its citizens who are there today and have no opportunity for a safe exit through a humanitarian corridor.”

Medvedchuk is the leader of Ukraine’s Opposition Platform – For Life party and an ally of Putin who spent years advocating closer ties between Russia and Ukraine.

Both Pinner and Aslin fought on the Ukrainian side in Mariupol, which is now almost entirely under Russian control apart from the sprawling Azovstal steelworks where some Ukrainian fighters remained holed up.

The unidentified man shown on Russian state TV was seen showing the two Britons a video on his mobile phone of Medvedchuk’s wife, Oksana, making an appeal over the weekend for her husband to be swapped for the two British nationals.

ALSO READ-Experts slam Boris for putting Britain in crisis

19 April 2022
Experts slam Boris for putting Britain in crisis

Boris Johnson became “the great debaser in modern times of decency in public and political life” after he was fined by police for attending a social gathering, said a member of the upper house of parliament..reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has thrust Britain into a constitutional crisis by breaking the law he set for pandemic restrictions, effectively “shredding the ministerial code”, the country’s leading constitutional expert said on Sunday.

Peter Hennessy, a historian and member of the upper house of parliament, said Johnson had become “the great debaser in modern times of decency in public and political life” after he was fined by police for attending a social gathering in Downing Street while lockdown restrictions were in place.

The ministerial code sets out the standards of conduct expected of ministers and how they discharge their duties, according to the government website.

Johnson has been accused of misleading parliament over the matter by opposition lawmakers after he told parliament last year that all rules were followed in Downing Street during the pandemic. He will appear in the House of Commons on Tuesday to explain why he was fined by police.

He has also apologised after he became the first British leader found to have broken the law while in office. Police are investigating further gatherings and he could receive further fines.

“I think we’re in the most severe constitutional crisis involving a prime minister that I can remember,” Hennessy told BBC Radio, asking why anyone in public life would adhere to the rules when the prime minister did not.

“The prime minister sealed his place in British history as the first lawbreaker to have occupied the premiership,” he said, adding that he was no longer worthy of serving the queen or her country.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a minister in Johnson’s cabinet, said he respected Hennessy but did not think the constitutional expert had fully understood the constitutional significance of the ministerial code.

Johnson, he said, had told parliament in good faith that he had not broken any rules, because he did not believe he had.

“It is very hard to see that he could meet the high bar of deliberately misleading parliament,” Rees-Mogg told the BBC. “So I think Lord Hennessy, who is one of the most distinguished living constitutionalists, is on this occasion wrong.”

ALSO READ-Boris to discuss ties amid ‘threats from autocratic States’ with Modi

18 April 2022
Boris to discuss ties amid ‘threats from autocratic States’ with Modi

“My visit to India will deliver on the things that really matter to the people of both our nations — from job creation and economic growth, to energy security and defence.”..reports Asian Lite News

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit India next week, in the backdrop of Russian invasion of Ukraine that has led to some divergences in Delhi’s and London’s positions on the crisis.

Johnson, who arrives in Ahmedabad on April 21, is expected to announce major investment in key industries in both the UK and India, boosting jobs and growth at home, as well as new collaboration on cutting-edge science, health and technology.

In New Delhi, he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 22 for bilateral talks “in the face of global economic challenges and threats from autocratic states”, a British High Commission statement said.

The High Commission said that Johnson will visit India this week to “deepen our long-term partnership for peace and prosperity with a fellow leading democracy, in the face of global economic challenges and threats from autocratic states”.

In Ahmedabad, Johnson will have a meeting with leading businesses and discuss the UK and India’s “thriving commercial, trade and people links”, the statement said. This will be the first time a UK Prime Minister visits Gujarat, India’s fifth largest state and ancestral home of around half of the British-Indian population in the UK, it said.

Johnson, who will meet Modi the following day, will hold “in-depth talks on the UK and India’s strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership, aimed at bolstering our close partnership and stepping up security co-operation in the Indo-Pacific”, the British High Commission said.

The statement said he will use the visit to drive progress in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations launched earlier this year — a deal with India is predicted to boost “our total trade by up to £28 billion annually by 2035 and increase wages across the UK by up to £3 billion”.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Johnson said: “As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together. India, as a major economic power and the world’s largest democracy, is a highly valued strategic partner for the UK in these uncertain times.

“My visit to India will deliver on the things that really matter to the people of both our nations — from job creation and economic growth, to energy security and defence.”

Last year, Modi and Johnson had agreed on a UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, announcing more than £530m in investment into the UK and committing to a deeper bilateral relationship across trade, health, climate, defence and security, and connecting our people. India was identified as a priority relationship for the UK in the 2021 Integrated Review and was invited by the UK as a guest to last year’s G7 in Carbis Bay.

The UK is leveraging post-Brexit trade opportunities with India’s growing economy to drive down prices in key commodities for consumers, open opportunities for UK businesses in areas such as green tech and services, and create high-wage, high-skill jobs, the High Commission’s statement said.

Investment from Indian companies already supports 95,000 jobs across the UK, which is expected to be boosted by upcoming announcements and a future free trade deal.

Parliament returns from its Easter vacation on Tuesday and Johnson has said he would “set the record straight” about gatherings in his office. He had previously told lawmakers there were no parties and guidance was always followed.

But the visit will be overshadowed in part by disagreement over the Ukraine conflict.

Western allies have called for India, which imports arms from Russia, to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin in stronger terms, and U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this week told Modi that buying more oil from Russia was not in India’s interest.

British trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan also said last month Britain was very disappointed with India’s stance. However, Johnson’s office made no direct reference to the conflict, although a source said it was expected Ukraine would be discussed “among other geopolitical issues”.

Johnson said India, as a major economic power, was a highly valued strategic partner.

FTA TALKS (Picture: Anne-Marie Trevelyan/Twitter)

“As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together,” he said in a statement. Last year, he was forced to cancel a planned trip to India because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Last May, the two countries announced a partnership involving more than 530 million pounds of Indian investment into Britain, and Downing Street said Johnson was expected to announce further major investment and new collaboration on cutting-edge science, health and technology.

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17 April 2022
Russia bans entry to Boris

The ministry accused London of “unprecedented hostile actions,” in particular referring to sanctions on Russia’s senior officials…reports Asian Lite News

Moscow on Saturday announced it was banning entry to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several other top UK officials, after London imposed sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine.

“This step was taken as a response to London’s unbridled information and political campaign aimed at isolating Russia internationally, creating conditions for restricting our country and strangling the domestic economy,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry accused London of “unprecedented hostile actions,” in particular referring to sanctions on Russia’s senior officials.

“The British leadership is deliberately aggravating the situation surrounding Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the behalf of NATO,” the ministry said.

Russia’s entry blacklist includes UK Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, former Prime Minister Theresa May and the First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon.

Britain has been part of an international effort to punish Russia with asset freezes, travel bans and economic sanctions, since President Vladimir Putin moved troops into Ukraine on February 24.

ALSO READ-Boris to visit India on April 21

17 April 2022
Boris’ India visit likely to propel free trade talks

The visit next week, which is yet to be formally announced by Downing Street, follows the successful completion of four out of 26 chapters in the ongoing India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to arrive in India next week, soon after the long Easter break in the UK, with a state visit that highlights a successful India-UK partnership on the agenda besides a wide-ranging schedule in New Delhi, according to highly-placed Indian government sources.

The visit next week, which is yet to be formally announced by Downing Street, follows the successful completion of four out of 26 chapters in the ongoing India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Johnson are expected to take stock of the negotiations and mandate a timeline for the possible completion of the process, initially set for the end of this year.

According to officials close to the discussions, there has also been significant progress in the remaining 22 chapters of the FTA at the end of the first two rounds of official negotiations, with the third round of talks scheduled for later this month.

The focal point of Johnson’s India visit is expected to be on April 21 and 22, when bilateral discussions and interactions with Indian business leaders are on the cards.

A joint statement, being worked on by both sides, is likely to cover agreements across a variety of sectors, including defence and security and education.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is likely to feature strongly during the meeting, but officials pointed out that other regional matters such as the situation in Afghanistan and the UK’s Indo-Pacific tilt will be high on the agenda of the bilateral visit.

The officials maintain that discussions with the UK over India’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict have remained cordial, with a respect for New Delhi’s hopes of a peaceful resolution through diplomatic means.

Closer defence ties that overcome some legacy issues around technology transfer and make use of the ‘Make in India’ initiative are seen as an important aspect of future India-UK relations, against the backdrop of India’s historic defence equipment ties with Russia.

Modi and Johnson last met in person on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November last year, when their talks during the World Leaders’ Summit focussed on the India-UK climate partnership as well as a review of the 2030 Roadmap the pair had signed during a virtual summit in May 2021.

The Roadmap, which aims to at least double bilateral trade between India and the UK by 2030, has been dubbed a comprehensive agreement that prioritises areas where the two countries are natural partners.

Johnson’s expected visit next week is seen as long overdue, having been cancelled twice before first when he was invited as a chief guest for Republic Day celebrations due to a COVID-19 spike in the UK in early 2021 and then cancelled again as a result of the pandemic situation in India around this time last year.

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15 April 2022
Boris could get three more fines

The fallout after Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak admitted paying fines this week was continuing with further calls to quit…reports Asian Lite News

Boris Johnson was braced for further fines for breaches of coronavirus laws after a justice minister resigned over the “repeated rule-breaking” in Downing Street.

Conservative peer David Wolfson said he had “no option” other than to quit because the scale and nature of the events determined by police to be breaches so far are “inconsistent with the rule of law”.

Multiple newspapers carried reports suggesting the Prime Minister could receive further fixed penalty notices after he accepted a fine for attending a birthday party held for him in No 10 during Covid restrictions in June 2020.

Downing Street sources said they were awaiting the outcome of the ongoing Scotland Yard inquiry after Johnson conceded more fines could follow, having reportedly attended six of the 12 events under investigation.

The Prime Minister will attempt to move on from the scandal with a major speech on Thursday setting out new plans for the asylum system, including sending individuals more than 4,000 miles to Rwanda for processing.

The fallout after Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak admitted paying fines this week was continuing with further calls to quit.

Conservative MPs Nigel Mills and Craig Whittaker said the Prime Minister’s position was untenable after he was found to have broken the rules he set.

However, Johnson’s position was safe for the time being, with politicians away from Parliament for the Easter recess and numerous Tory critics arguing for immediate focus to be on the invasion of Ukraine.

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14 April 2022