“Putin is planning to do to other parts of Ukraine, indeed all of Ukraine, what he has done to Crimea,” Johnson warned…reports Asian Lite News
Russian President Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to repeat the annexation of Crimea in other parts of Ukraine, outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson told world leaders.
Johnson said allies should continue to support Ukraine until Russian forces withdrew from the “entirety” of its territory.
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 and Johnson warned that Putin would seek to repeat the process in other parts of Ukraine following the invasion by Moscow’s forces six months ago.
In a remote address to the international Crimea Platform conference hosted by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, Johnson said the peninsula had been turned into an “armed camp” by Russia since 2014 and was used as one of the launch pads for the invasion in February.
“Putin is planning to do to other parts of Ukraine, indeed all of Ukraine, what he has done to Crimea,” Johnson warned.
“He is preparing more annexations and more sham referendums.”
Johnson said Russia’s annexation of Crimea “or any other Ukrainian territory” must never be recognised.
What happens in Ukraine matters to us all.
That is why I am in Kyiv today.
That is why the UK will continue to stand with our Ukrainian friends.
“In the face of Putin’s assault we must continue to give our Ukrainian friends all the military, humanitarian, economic and diplomatic support that they need until Russia ends this hideous war and withdraws its forces from the entirety of Ukraine,” he said.
Johnson has formed a close bond with Zelensky and is keen to reassure the Ukrainian administration that the UK’s support will continue when he leaves Downing Street in September.
His address to the Crimea Platform conference came on the eve of Ukraine’s independence day.
The importance of the day has led to concerns that Russia might step up military action, with the US issuing a security alert about the prospect of strikes against Ukraine’s “civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days”.
The Joint Consultative Committee was formed followed by an MoU between India and the UK for promoting cooperation in the sphere of law and justice…reports Asian Lite News
India and the United Kingdom on Tuesday agreed to exchange the best practices and experiences in the functioning of commercial courts, alternate dispute mechanisms like arbitration and mediation, use of technology in case management, justice dispensation and enforcement of contracts and in area of simple legislative drafting.
Both countries also agreed to conduct training and capacity enhancement programmes.
“During the recent meeting of India-UK Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), a broad agreement was reached to facilitate exchange of experiences and best practices in the area of working of commercial courts, alternate dispute resolution mechanisms like arbitration and mediation,” India’s ministry of law and justice said.
The Joint Consultative Committee was formed followed by an MoU between India and the UK for promoting cooperation in the sphere of law and justice.
JCC held its third in-person meeting on August 18.
The Legal Service Committee (LSC) consisting of officers of India and the UK, representatives of the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the Law Society of England and Wales, discussed on framing regulations for the entry of UK law firms and lawyers under the MoU.
“The LSC deliberations were also attended by the British High Commissioner to India, HE Alex Ellis. The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere wherein both the sides appreciated each other’s concern for the challenges in the opening of the legal services sector,” the ministry said.
Johnson and his wife Carrie are spending a week in Greece. The Greeks have reported seeing him shopping in a supermarket in Nea Makri, a town to east of Athens…reports Asian Lite News
Number 10 Downing Street on Monday said that caretaker Prime Minister will be available from his vacation should any “urgent issues” arise.
Johnson went on a holiday voyage earlier this month despite warnings from lawmakers that the UK’s economy was spiralling into a looming recession due to the uncontrollable inflation and rising cost of living.
The outgoing prime minister, however, went for another break as the race to choose his replacement intensified back home. Johnson and his wife Carrie are spending a week in Greece. The Greeks have reported seeing him shopping in a supermarket in Nea Makri, a town to the east of Athens.
Johnson’s official spokesman on Monday said that the caretaker premier is on leave, and is expected to return this Saturday. He added that Johnson has paid for his own holiday, and should any issues emerge that need his presence or attention, he will be kept informed.
In his absence, two large removal lorries turned up in Downing Street on Monday, fuelling expectations that he is likely to spend little further time in No 10. The prime minister is entitled to take furniture and fittings that he paid for in his refurbishment of his No 11 flat, theoretically including the Lulu Lytle gold wallpaper that was initially funded by a Tory donor.
Brandon Lewis, a senior Conservative MP, defended the prime minister’s decision to take a second holiday, after his first break in Slovenia.
“Even when you are not in the office in Downing Street you are working,” Brandon Lewis, who was Northern Ireland secretary before resigning last month.
However, Johnson’s official spokesman clarified that he would not be doing routine work as he was “on leave” and would only be contacted if there were “urgent decisions” to be taken.
Caretaker Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi had allegedly gone ‘missing’ as mounting pressure befell candidates that are supposed to replace Johnson to rescue the British economy barrelling into a recession as predicted by the Bank of England. MPs urged the candidates to “fill the vacuum” left by the “lame duck Prime Minister” who has been vacationing as Britons struggled to survive the dire cost of living and housing costs crisis.
The top cabinet minister told British press reporters that he had “no clue” where Boris Johnson was. He was previously seen by the MPs at his own wedding party that he threw even when he had officially wedded his wife Carrie Johnson on 29 May last year, 2021.
Johnson’s official spokesman on Monday publicly clarified that he would not be available to do any routine work since he is “on leave.” Although he added that the ousted PM can be contacted if there were “urgent decisions” to be made on his behalf.
Confirming Johnson was on holiday this week, his spokesman told reporters he would “obviously be kept informed on any urgent issues and make decisions particularly those (related to) national security for example”.
He noted deputy prime minister Dominic Raab could deputise for Johnson in any meetings, “but as far as I’m aware there are no such meetings currently scheduled”.
While Johnson’s caretaker role during the period when his successor is being chosen limits his scope for making new policy, he has been accused of heading a zombie government, and of spending his final few weeks in office relaxing.
When not overseas, Johnson has spent time at Chequers, the prime ministerial country retreat, and he and Carrie hosted a belated party for their wedding at the Cotswolds home of the JCB owner Anthony Bamford, a major Conservative donor.
Johnson will soon have a lot more free time after he hands power over to either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak as the next Conservative leader in three weeks.
He was forced to announce his departure from office earlier this summer following dozens of resignations from his government over a slew of scandals.
Truss is currently the favourite to win a summer-long leadership contest set to be decided by approximately 200,000 Conservative party members.
The result will be announced on September 5, with the victor to replace Johnson the following day.
Unveiling Labour’s plan on Monday to help households this winter by stopping any increase in the energy price cap, to be financed in part by a wider windfall tax, Keir Starmer called Johnson a “lame duck”, saying that the hopefuls to succeed him, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, were merely “squabbling” rather than presenting a plan of action.
A Labour spokesperson said: “On the evidence of the last few months it seems to make little difference if the prime minister is in the office or on holiday as he has continually failed to meet the challenge of the Tory cost of living crisis. It’s all just one big party for Boris Johnson while the country struggles to pay their bills.”
The probe is being led by a cross-party committee with a Conservative majority that chose veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman to lead it…reports Asian Lite News
Conservative allies of outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson have accused a committee of MPs investigating whether he misled Parliament of conducting a “vengeful and vindictive” “witch hunt”.
Although he is due to leave Downing Street in less than a month, the Commons Privileges Committee is going ahead with its inquiry into whether the Prime Minister committed a contempt of Parliament by misleading MPs with his Partygate denials.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, one of Johnson’s staunchest supporters, on Sunday tweeted: “If this witch hunt continues, it will be the most egregious abuse of power witnessed in Westminster.
“It will cast serious doubt not only on the reputation of individual MPs sitting on the committee, but on the processes of Parliament and democracy itself.”
Lord Goldsmith, who was given a life peerage and a ministerial job by Johnson in the wake of voters dumping him as the MP for Richmond Park in 2019, tweeted: “The Partygate probe is clearly rigged. It is a jury comprised of highly partisan, vengeful & vindictive MPs, nearly all of whom are already on the record viciously attacking the person they are judging. It is an obscene abuse of power.”
In response to Dorries’s comment, Labour MP Chris Bryant said: “Let’s talk about abuse of power such as illegally suspending parliament or doling out peerages to donors or tearing up the rules to protect Owen Paterson.
“The real abuse of power would be suspending an inquiry to protect your mate.”
Bryant refused himself from chairing the inquiry after publicly criticising Johnson.
The only "witch-hunt" in action here is an attempt to destroy an independent committee of MPs before its investigation has even properly begun. pic.twitter.com/FsxAb6Bpgt
The probe is being led by a cross-party committee with a Conservative majority that chose veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman to lead it.
Dorries and Lord Goldsmith shared a Mail on Sunday article that claimed the committee’s original investigation was to establish whether Johnson had intended to mislead MPs, but that it was broadened to find out whether he did so intentionally or unintentionally, after he said he had inadvertently done so.
However, a spokesman for the Privileges Committee said: “There has been no change to the rules or to terms of reference. The initial report published by the committee is about process.
“The background paper on contempt was prepared by a senior clerk of the House of Commons. All clerks are strictly politically impartial.
“The report also publishes the advice from distinguished former Court of Appeal judge Sir Ernest Ryder. The committee has published this material as part of its commitment to transparency.”
They added that the inquiry will set out to answer whether the House was misled; if so, whether that was a contempt; and if so, how serious that contempt was.
The issue of whether MPs were deliberately misled could arise under the latter two steps of the investigation.
The Covid law-breaking parties in Downing Street were among the scandals that forced Johnson’s resignation as the Conservative Party leader, and his successor will become the next Prime Minister in September.
But the committee’s investigation threatens to further tarnish his legacy and could impact his future as the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
If he is found to have lied to Parliament, Johnson could face a suspension from the Commons for 10 or more sitting days and a recall petition, which, if signed by 10 per cent of his constituents, would trigger a by-election.
The MPs on the committee intend to call Johnson to give oral evidence in public in the autumn, under oath.
The Prime Minister has also been ordered to hand over a cache of documents to them.
Advisors to Truss believed the cut could be introduced within days of an emergency budget that her government would deliver in September, if she wins the ruling Conservative Party’s leadership race that is due to end on Sept. 5, it said…reports Asian Lite News
Liz Truss, the front-runner to become Britain’s next prime minister, plans to rush through tax cuts earlier than planned in an attempt to boost the country’s flagging economy, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
Truss was considering accelerating by six months her plan to reverse this year’s increase in social security contributions which had been pencilled in for April 2023, the newspaper said.
Advisors to Truss believed the cut could be introduced within days of an emergency budget that her government would deliver in September, if she wins the ruling Conservative Party’s leadership race that is due to end on Sept. 5, it said.
Truss’s rival, former finance minister Rishi Sunak, says cutting taxes now would add more fuel to Britain’s soaring inflation rate which is set to surpass 13% in October, according to the Bank of England’s latest forecasts.
The BoE has also said Britain is due to enter a 15-month recession starting later this year, something Truss says adds urgency to her plan to cut taxes.
Truss, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, said she wanted to “immediately tackle the cost of living crisis by cutting taxes, reversing the rise on National Insurance and suspending the green levy on energy bills.”
Sunak proposes a different approach by giving support directly to lower-income households that are most exposed to the surge in power bills which will rise sharply again in October.
💬 We cannot afford to stick with business-as-usual when our economy is on the verge of recession.
I am trusted to forge a bold new direction and do whatever it takes to pave the way towards a brighter, more prosperous future.
On Saturday, he reiterated that he wanted to “go further” than the support he provided as finance minister before he resigned in protest at the leadership of Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July.
“It’s simply wrong to rule out further direct support at this time as Liz Truss has done and what’s more her tax proposals are not going to help very significantly, people like pensioners or those on low incomes,” he said.
A recent poll by YouGov showed Truss held a 24-point lead over Sunak among Conservative Party members who will choose the party’s next leader and Britain’s next prime minister.
In her Sunday Telegraph article, Truss kept up her criticisms of the BoE, saying it had exacerbated the jump in inflation and she would “work night and day” to fix the problem.
“That is why I want to look around the world at what the best performing central banks are doing to control inflation and how we can ensure our Bank is delivering what we need it to deliver,” she said.
BoE Governor Andrew Bailey has denied the BoE is to blame for the inflation surge, saying it began to raise interest rates earlier than other central banks and most of the recent acceleration of prices stems from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sunak under fire
Rishi Sunak, trailing in the two-horse race to replace British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, faced criticism on Friday for saying he had previously instigated policy changes to divert funding away from deprived urban areas.
The ruling Conservative Party is choosing a new leader after Johnson was forced to quit when dozens of ministers resigned in protest at a series of scandals and missteps. Party members are voting by post to select either Sunak or foreign minister Liz Truss.
Polling shows Sunak, who was finance minister between February 2020 and July 2022, is trailing Truss as the two candidates tour the country in a bid to secure votes.
His comments came in a video published on Friday by the New Statesman magazine, which it said was filmed on July 29 at a meeting of Conservative Party members in Tunbridge Wells, a relatively affluent area in south east England.
Sunak is seen telling an audience: “I managed to start changing the funding formulas to make sure that areas like this are getting the funding that they deserve, because we inherited a bunch of formulas from the Labour Party that shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas … that needed to be undone. I started the work of undoing that.”
The New Statesman did not specify who filmed the short video and Reuters could not independently verify the date or the location when the video was made. The context of his comments was not shown.
Asked about the comments, a source in Sunak’s campaign referred to reforms to ensure rural areas received funding alongside urban centres, pointing to his efforts, announced in March 2020, to redraw rules the finance ministry used to allocate investment.
Levelling up isn’t just about city centres, it’s also about towns and rural areas all over the country that need help too,” the source said, of Johnson’s policy to reduce regional inequalities.
“Travelling around the country, he’s seen non-metropolitan areas that need better bus services, faster broadband, or high quality schools. That’s what he’ll deliver as Prime Minister.”
Truss did not immediately comment on the video.
However, the opposition Labour Party seized on the video as evidence that the Conservatives, who have been in power since 2010, are not committed to spreading wealth across the country.
“Public money should always be distributed fairly and spent in areas where it is most needed,” Labour’s spokeswoman on Levelling up, Lisa Nandy, said in a letter to the government, describing the comments as “deeply concerning” and calling for an investigation.
Nadine Dorries at Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games (Picture Credits: https://twitter.com/NadineDorries)
Truss has been leading in the opinion polls and bookmaker’s odds as the favoured candidate to succeed Boris Johnson…reports Asian Lite News
One of outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s key loyalists and supporter of Foreign Secretary Liz Truss as his successor, who has been very vocal in attacks against Rishi Sunak, was on Sunday facing criticism for retweeting a “dangerous and distasteful” image of the former Chancellor.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries re-posted a tweet on her social media account showing an image of Johnson dressed as Roman leader Julius Caesar and Sunak stabbing him in the back, a reference to his killer Brutus.
Business Minister Greg Hands, who is backing the British Indian ex-minister in the race, told ‘Sky News’ the post was “appalling”.
One of outgoing British PM Boris Johnson's key loyalists and supporter of Foreign Secretary & UK PM candidate Liz Truss as his successor, has drawn criticism for her post against Rishi Sunak pic.twitter.com/psry8F3boK
“I do find it distasteful and I do find it, less than a year after the stabbing of our colleague, in very, very poor taste, even verging on dangerous,” he said.
Referring to the stabbing to death of Tory MP Sir David Amess by a constituent last year, he added: “It is not even a year since the stabbing of Sir David… so I think this is very, very bad taste, dangerous even,” But an unnamed ally of Dorries pointed out that it was “obviously a satirical image of Brutus and Caesar”, photoshopped to provide political commentary.
“Some people of course will want to be wilfully offended,” the ally said.
Dorries has previously attacked Sunak’s expensive dress sense as a sign of not being in touch with the British electorate and accused him of leading a “ruthless coup” against his former boss.
“I am bitterly disappointed that Boris Johnson was removed via a ruthless coup, as he was, led largely by Rishi Sunak,” she has said.
It comes as a report in the ‘Observer’ newspaper claims Sunak’s team is being urged to overhaul his “general election-style” campaign in favour of a grassroots effort, speaking directly to the estimated 180,000 Tory members in a last-ditch attempt to beat Liz Truss to the Conservative leadership.
Truss has been leading in the opinion polls and bookmaker’s odds as the favoured candidate to succeed Boris Johnson.
“The vote is very soft, you don’t have to do much to move it. We’re making this far too complicated. There’s brilliant people in charge, but I’m just worried we’re fighting the wrong campaign,” one Sunak supporting Tory MP told the newspaper.
Another MP said: “The stuff they have their guys producing is social media stuff for a general election. This is about party members. It should just be about getting Rishi and key supporters to as many members as possible. They are trying to get MPs out for them, but it’s mainly producing social media graphics.”
A third ally said: “I do think it’s looking quite difficult for him but I can’t give up hope yet. There are a lot of MPs talking to their associations. There’s still time. It would be preposterous to just go through the motions for the next four weeks.” The postal ballots for the election will start landing at Tory members’ addresses from next Thursday, with the deadline for receiving completed ballots set as the evening of September 2. The result will be declared on September 5.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson - NATO Summit & G7 Leaders Meeting. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a special meeting of the North Atlantic Council and a G7 leaders meeting at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels during the Ukraine situation. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
Some 10,000 people claiming to be Tory members are backing a petition calling for him to be allowed to enter the current leadership election…reports Asian Lite News
Outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is being touted as a potential new boss of Nato after quitting No10 – amid warnings from Tories that he needs to stop encouraging a ‘Trumpish fantasy’ about staying in power, media reports said.
Allies of the Prime Minister have suggested he could replace Jens Stoltenberg as Secretary General of the military alliance when, as expected, the Norwegian steps down in September next year, Daily Mail reported.
The lure of the high-profile post might be attractive to the PM, but he would need to quit as an MP to take it.
It comes as other supporters continue a grassroots campaign to allow him a chance to stay in No 10, Daily Mail reported.
Some 10,000 people claiming to be Tory members are backing a petition calling for him to be allowed to enter the current leadership election.
No 10 has insisted that he intends to leave office in September but Lord Cruddas, the Tory donor behind the campaign, has said the PM is having second thoughts.
Johnson has personally yet to publicly comment on the claim, first made in the Telegraph UK.
Boris Johnson has finally admitted meeting a former KGB agent while Foreign Secretary.
The secret meeting came in the wake of an attack on British soil and after a crucial NATO summit.
But this mealy-mouthed new statement on Lebedev raises more questions than it answers. 1/5 pic.twitter.com/LBVJcvEMDT
Boris Johnson told former treasurer Peter Cruddas that he “does not want to resign” as UK prime minister and wishes he could “wipe away” his departure…reports Asian Lite News
Boris Johnson told former treasurer Peter Cruddas that he “does not want to resign” as UK prime minister and wishes he could “wipe away” his departure, The Telegraph reported on Monday.
Johnson also told Cruddas over lunch on Friday that he “wants to fight the next general election as leader of the Conservative Party,” the report said.
“There was no ambiguity in Boris’s views. He definitely does not want to resign. He wants to carry on and he believes that, with the membership behind him, he can,” the report quoting Cruddas as saying.
Lord Cruddas told the Telegraph: “There was no ambiguity in Boris’s views. He definitely does not want to resign. He wants to carry on and he believes that, with the membership behind him, he can.”
The peer added: “Boris thanked me for my ‘Boris on the ballot’ campaign. He said he was enjoying following it and he wished me well. He said he could understand the membership’s anger at what had happened.
“He said that he wished that he could carry on as Prime Minister. He said he does not want to resign.”
The paper said Johnson, when asked by the peer if he would “wipe away” his resignation immediately with “a magic wand”, reportedly replied: “I would wipe away everything that stops me being PM in a second.”
Lord Cruddas, who said 10,000 party members have backed the campaign, added: “He wants to carry on to finish the job. He wants to fight the next general election as leader of the Conservative Party.”
However, No. 10 said: “The Prime Minister has resigned as party leader and set out his intention to stand down as PM when the new leader is in place.”
In his final appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions, Johnson said “mission largely accomplished, for now” before signing-off by telling MPs: “Hasta la vista, baby.”
The Spanish term “hasta la vista” translates to “see you later”, but “hasta la vista, baby” is the catchphrase of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cyborg character in the 1991 movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Johnson’s comments left the door open for a possible comeback, with the Terminator also known for the catchphrase: “I’ll be back.”
Truss, Sunak spar over tax in TV debate
The two candidates vying to be Britain’s next prime minister sparred Monday over how to help families struggling with the soaring cost of living, meeting in a testy televised debate that highlighted the contrasting economic visions of the Conservative Party rivals.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss promised to cut taxes as soon as she took office, using borrowing to pay for it. Former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak said he would get inflation under control first, arguing that Truss’s plan would increase the public debt and leave people worse off in the long run.
Tempers flared as Sunak said that “it’s not moral to ask our children to pick up the tab for the bills that we’re not prepared to pay.” Truss called that “Project Fear” and said it was sensible to borrow to rebuild from the coronavirus pandemic, a “once in a 100-year event.”
The pair are battling to succeed Boris Johnson, who quit as leader of the governing Conservative Party on July 7 after months of ethics scandals triggered a mass exodus of ministers from his government. The contest has exposed deep divisions within the party as it tries to move on from the tarnished, but election-winning Johnson.
Oddsmakers say Truss is the favorite to win. She outperforms Sunak in polls of Conservative members — though Sunak has the edge among voters as a whole.
The winner will be chosen by about 180,000 Conservative Party members and will automatically become prime minister, governing a country of 67 million. Party members will vote over the summer, with the result announced Sept. 5. Johnson remains caretaker prime minister until his successor is chosen.
Truss, 46, and Sunak, 42, have wooed Conservatives by doubling down on policies thought to appeal to the right-wing Tory grassroots, including a controversial plan to deport some asylum-seekers to Rwanda.
The government says the policy will deter people-traffickers from sending migrants on hazardous journeys across the Channel. Political opponents, human rights organizations and even a few Conservative lawmakers say it is immoral, illegal and a waste of taxpayers’ money.
The first scheduled deportation flight was grounded after legal rulings last month, and the whole policy is now being challenged in the British courts.
Hard-line policies like the Rwanda plan are less popular with voters as a whole than with Conservatives, but the British electorate won’t get a say on the government until the next national election, due by the end of 2024.
The leadership election is taking place during a cost-of-living crisis driven by soaring food and energy prices, partly due to the war in Ukraine. While many countries are experiencing economic turbulence, in Britain it’s compounded by the country’s departure from the European Union, which has complicated travel and business relations with the U.K.’s biggest trading partner.
Both Sunak and Truss are strong supporters of Brexit, which was the signature policy of the Johnson government. Both denied Brexit was responsible for huge queues of vehicles waiting to cross to France at the port of Dover in recent days.
Sunak is running as the candidate of fiscal probity, while Truss has positioned herself as a disruptor who will “challenge orthodoxy” and “get things done.”
The two sparred on topics such as policy toward China, with Truss accusing Sunak of changing his stance on relations with Beijing.
Sunak says that China represents the “biggest-long term threat to Britain” and that if elected he would close the 30 Confucius Institutes in Britain. Funded by the Chinese government, the institutes teach Chinese language and culture, but have been accused of spreading pro-Beijing propaganda.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson resignation. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson is comforted by his wife Carrie and their children after delivering his statement in Downing Street resigning as the leader of the Conservative Party. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
Michael Winterbottom’s drama series “This England” starring Kenneth Branagh as Johnson, will bow on television network Sky in autumn 2022…reports Asian Lite News
As the UK awaits its next Prime Minister, a documentary based on the departing UK PM Boris Johnson is currently in early development at a leading television network. The four-part series with the working title “Boris”, will feature hour-long episodes, reports “Variety”.
Broadcaster Channel 4, in a statement accessed by ‘Variety’, said: “Through a combination of rare archive footage and with access to those with intimate knowledge of Johnson over the years… will hear from both his friends and enemies to reveal his true persona.”
‘Variety’ further stated that the series explore how the seeds of political rivalry began in the corridors of Eton where Johnson beat former Prime Minister David Cameron to the role of school captain, his campaign for becoming student president at Oxford, going on to examining his rise to power, from becoming mayor of London to UK Prime Minister.
As per ‘Variety’, Channel 4 chief content officer Ian Katz said: “However the story of Boris Johnson’s political career ends, he has done more to change Britain and the nature of our politics than any other recent political figure.
This landmark series will try to answer the question of what shaped the boy who wanted to be king of the world and how he grew to believe that he could escape the laws of political gravity.”
The series was commissioned by Channel 4 head of factual entertainment Alf Lawrie and commissioning editor of factual entertainment Tim Hancock and is a 72 Films production. Michael Winterbottom’s drama series “This England” starring Kenneth Branagh as Johnson, will bow on television network Sky in autumn 2022.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson looks at the eVTOL aircraft during a visit to the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
The government won the vote by 349 to 238, with the Conservative Party MPs rallied behind the outgoing Prime Minister…reports Asian Lite News
Lawmakers in the House of Commons, the lower house of the British parliament, backed outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government in a confidence vote.
Johnson’s government on Monday evening called for the confidence vote itself to see off a rival move by the main opposition Labour Party that could have led to a snap general election, Xinhua news agency reported.
The government won the vote by 349 to 238, with the Conservative Party MPs rallied behind the outgoing Prime Minister.
Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, urged MPs to vote no confidence for Johnson, adding: “Britain deserves a fresh start with Labour, free from those who got us stuck in the first place, free from the chaotic Tory party and free from those who propped up this Prime Minister for months and months.”
“Today, we finally have a chance to cast our verdict on a failed Prime Minister and a Conservative party that is collapsing before our very eyes,” Ian Blackford, leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons, said in the debate in the Commons.
Johnson resigned earlier this July as party leader, the title that also gives him the job of Prime Minister.
In 2019, just months after moving into 10 Downing Street, Johnson called a snap general election, winning the Conservatives an 80-seat majority, one of the biggest successes in the party’s post-war history.
But amid a series of scandals, ranging from so-called parties at 10 Downing Street during Covid-19 lockdown to his handling of a scandal over a close ally involved in alleged sexual misbehaviour, Johnson bowed to pressure to stand down.
Earlier on Monday, the number of candidates in the race to succeed Johnson as party leader and the Prime Minister was reduced to four: Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch.
Rishi Sunak widens lead
Former finance minister Rishi Sunak widened his lead in the latest round of voting Monday by Conservative MPs to decide Britain’s next prime minister, but the race to get in the final two tightened.
Sunak won the support of 115 Tory lawmakers, followed by Penny Mordaunt on 82 votes, Liz Truss on 71, Kemi Badenoch on 58 and Tom Tugendhat on 31, who drops out as the last-placed candidate, the party announced.
MPs will keep voting until only two candidates remain, the winner then being decided by the party members.
Mordaunt had been bookmakers’ favourite before the weekend, but lost votes from the previous round.
Foreign Secretary Truss closed the gap to 11 and can probably expect more support switching to her from Badenoch’s backers, should the insurgent candidate be eliminated in the next round, promising a tense race to make the final cut Wednesday.
Television bosses earlier Monday scrapped a planned debate between the remaining contenders for Tuesday night after Sunak and Truss pulled out, said Sky News, which was due to host it.
“Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the Conservative party, exposing disagreements and splits within the party,” it added in a statement.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on July 7 he was quitting as Conservative leader after a government rebellion in protest at his scandal-hit administration.
He is staying on as prime minister until his successor is announced on September 5.
In the two previous televised debates — on Channel 4 Friday and the ITV network Sunday — the contenders clashed notably on whether to cut taxes to help ease a soaring cost of living crisis.
But Sunday’s clash turned more acrimonious — and personal — with candidates encouraged to directly criticise one another and their proposals.
Sunak called out Truss for voting against Brexit, her previous membership of the Liberal Democrats, and her position on tax.
In turn, Truss questioned Sunak’s stewardship of the economy.
Badenoch attacked Mordaunt for her stance on transgender rights — a rallying call in the “culture wars” exercising the Tory right.
Paul Goodman, from the ConservativeHome website, likened the debates to a “political version of ‘The Hunger Games'” and questioned why they had agreed to it.
“Tory MPs and activists will have watched in horror as several of the candidates flung buckets of manure over each other,” he wrote.
He questioned why they would publicly accept to criticise the record of the government that all but one of them served in, or the policies they supported as ministers.
Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak Spring Statement. Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak on his way to the Cabinet room for the Prime Minister’s weekly Cabinet meeting before delivering his Spring Statement in the House of Commons . Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
The main opposition Labour party has called for Johnson to leave immediately.
During the debate, Johnson defended his government’s record, citing the vaccine rollout and support of Ukraine.
“I believe this is one the most dynamic governments of modern times, not just overcoming adversity on a scale we haven’t seen for centuries but delivering throughout adversity.”
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joked that his one-time sparring partner was taking MPs on a “fantasy tour of this country”.
