Boris johnson

6 LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday denied misleading Parliament about lockdown-breaching parties, as senior government ministers said he would have to resign if he was proven to have lied. Former Johnson aide Dominic Cummings has said he is willing to swear under oath that the prime minister was warned in advance that a May 2020 garden party for Downing Street staff would break coronavirus restrictions. Johnson denies he was warned. He told Parliament last week that he had attended the party, but considered it a work gathering that fell within the rules. “Nobody told me that what we were doing was … against the rules,” Johnson told broadcasters on Tuesday. “When I went out into that garden I thought that I was attending a work event.” The garden party is one of a string of alleged rule-flouting government parties being investigated by senior civil servant Sue Gray. Gray is due to report by the … [Read more...] about Under-fire Boris Johnson denies lying over lockdown parties

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has denied claims from his former chief advisor that he lied to the House of Commons about being aware that a Downing Street party during lockdown was not work-related. On Monday evening, Dominic Cummings, the former chief advisor to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, claimed that the PM knew beforehand that a gathering Johnson attended in Downing Street on May 2020 was not work-related. Mr Johnson stringently denied Cumming’s claims on Tuesday, denying the notion that he knew about the nature of the gathering beforehand. “I’m saying categorically that nobody told me, nobody said this was something that was against the rules, doing something that wasn’t a work event because frankly, I can’t imagine why it would have gone ahead or it would have been allowed to go ahead if it was against the rules,” Johnson told Sky News. The prime minister previously apologised to the British parliament for attending the event in question. He also told MPs that he … [Read more...] about Boris: ‘Nobody Told Me’ Boozy Lockdown Party Wasn’t Work-Related

Presented by Facebook Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. It is Tuesday! We get you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver are the co-creators. Readers can find us on Twitter @asimendinger and @alweaver22. Please recommend the Morning Report to friends and let us know what you think. CLICK HERE to subscribe! Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported each day this week: Monday, 850,605; Tuesday, 851,730. U.S. fatalities from COVID-19 have risen more than 5 percent in one month, based on available data. As public health experts prepare for 1 million COVID-19 deaths, journalists and Boston University collaborated for a USA Today series that disclosed some counties in the South and the West that underreported the number of people dying from the coronavirus. The time to vote — or at least stage a real debate — is nigh for … [Read more...] about The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – Voting rights week for Democrats (again)

Get the jab or leave the service. That is the career advice sailors in the Royal Navy were given by the UK government on Monday. A letter sent to sailors who have not received the coronavirus vaccination details the reasons for the order, according to the Daily Mail . The missive says in part: Records show that you have not yet received a complete course of vaccination against Covid-19. As an employer the Royal Navy has a responsibility to take such action as is necessary to ensure that it maximises operational effectiveness and meets its health and safety obligations. […] If after consideration you decided not to accept the offer of Covid-19 vaccination the Royal Navy reserves the right to review your employability and you may be subject to administrative discharge from the service. There is no record of whether the British Army and the RAF have also taken such measures. A spokesman for the Royal Navy told the Mail : “Service personnel are encouraged to take up … [Read more...] about UK Tells Royal Navy Sailors: Get Jabbed or Get Out

LONDON — A British man who held four people hostage at a synagogue in Texas on Saturday was known to U.K. intelligence, a British security source told NBC News. Malik Faisal Akram , 44, was probed over suspected terrorist links but the case was closed by the time he traveled to the United States because it didn’t meet the threshold for further investigation, the security source said. Akram was named by the FBI as the gunman in the 11-hour standoff at the Congregation Beth Israel that culminated in the hostages escaping unharmed before he was killed by federal agents. Akram, who is from Lancashire in northeast England, was the subject of a short, low-level investigation by the U.K.'s MI5 domestic intelligence agency in the second half of 2020, the security source said. It lasted over a month and was based on information that he may have been involved in Islamist terrorism, the source added. When there was no indication of a terrorist threat, the source said, Akram … [Read more...] about Texas synagogue hostage-taker was known to U.K. intelligence before he flew to U.S.

Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs has ordered an investigation into a lockdown breaking shindig that occurred in his government department in 2020. Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, has ordered a report into a champagne party that occurred in his own department in June of 2020. Department officials have been accused of showing “ utter contempt ” for the Irish public after a picture emerged showing a number of senior figures drinking champagne together during one of Ireland’s periods of strict lockdown. The image from the gathering — which took place after Ireland managed to obtain a temporary seat on the U.N. Security Council — also appears to show at least a partial lack of mask-wearing and social distancing at the event. According to a report by the Irish Independent , a spokesman said that the minister made the request for a report on January 13, instructing that it should be ready by the end of the month. However, the Irish Deputy Prime … [Read more...] about Minister Orders Investigation into Own Department’s Lockdown Shindig