The new prime minister must deal with the “toxic” culture in Westminster, campaigners said after fresh allegations emerged of sexual misconduct at the heart of Boris Johnson’s governmen thetimes.co.uk/article/new-se…
A cabinet minister and a senior No 10 aide have been accused of sexual misconduct by two women who worked in the Conservative Party thetimes.co.uk/article/cabine…
One alleged victim, a Tory aide, told Sky News that she had been “sexually assaulted by someone who’s now a cabinet minister”, while the other woman, a former parliamentary staff member, claimed she was groped by a senior No 10 employee before his appointment
The allegations emerged as Johnson prepared to leave Downing Street in disgrace, following a series of scandals, including his handling of separate accusations of inappropriate behaviour by Chris Pincher, the Tories’ former deputy chief whip
Claire Roughton, one of Pincher’s constituents in Tamworth, where he remains an MP, said the latest claims should trigger “a whole look at the utter corruption within politics as a whole” thetimes.co.uk/article/chris-…
Johnson’s administration had been beset by so many scandals “it’s hard to keep up with them”, she said. “We still have Pincher as MP of Tamworth. I don’t have much faith that any [alleged] victims will receive any justice
🗣️ “It seems like they [Conservative politicians] are a law unto themselves, because I am pretty certain you or I would not be allowed to carry on if we had behaved this way”
The Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, a parliamentary watchdog, was set up in 2018 in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement and the “Pestminster” scandal, to investigate claims of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct on the parliamentary estate
The Labour MP Jess Phillips said this was a step in the right direction “but these latest reports show there is still a long way to go”
She said:
🗣️ “Until it seems like [the scheme] has got ultimate teeth and can be trusted and that it won’t be messed with because people are friends with the prime minister, or anyone with power, we’re still sort of just off the first block"
For all the trouble it’s caused, leaving the EU was right, says the founder and chairman of the pub chain thetimes.co.uk/article/wether…
After spending months trotting up and down the country and appearing on any television station that would have him, he rejoiced when Britain voted to leave the European Union.
But the rejoicing didn’t last long, observed @sabahmeddings when interviewing Tim Martin
“Tony Blair hit the nail on the head when he said Boris doesn’t have a plan,” he booms, causing three customers to look up warily from a nearby table at the JD Wetherspoon Metropolitan Bar in London’s Baker Street
In March 2021, after ten years as a political prisoner and a seven-year exile in the west, Mikhail Khodorkovsky (@mbk_center) turned on the radio and learnt that the Kremlin had put a price on his head thetimes.co.uk/article/i-was-…
@mbk_center 🗣“It has been stated that a bounty of $500k will be paid for the capture of the former head of the Yukos oil company, Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky,” the announcer said.
“The reward will be payable to any Russian citizen who brings the former oligarch back to Russia”
@mbk_center “Before my arrest in October 2003, I had been close to the highest levels of power in Russia,” Khodorkovsky writes.
An adviser to the prime minister then a deputy minister himself, he went on to invest in Yukos, which would become Russia’s biggest oil producer
Police forces are braced for a rise in crime, a breakdown in public order and even corruption in their ranks this winter as they draw up emergency proposals to deal with the cost of living crisis thetimes.co.uk/article/police…
Contingency planning among police chiefs is under way to deal with the fallout that could result from millions of households falling into financial difficulties
A leaked national strategy paper, drawn up by them this summer, has revealed they are increasingly concerned that “economic turmoil and financial instability” has “potential to drive increases in particular crime types” thetimes.co.uk/article/what-i…
On the eve of the couple’s arrival in the UK, royal insiders reveal their exasperation at yet more bombshell claims from the duchess thetimes.co.uk/article/harry-…
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sealed the deal with the Queen for liberation from royal life in January 2020, their statement pledged that “everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty”
While the Queen continues to emphasise that the Sussexes remain “much-loved” family members, they are not expected to see her when they return to the UK this week
A Conservative MP branded “dishonest” by a judge has been ordered to pay £800k and evicted from his luxurious country home after a dispute involving his family potato business thetimes.co.uk/article/mp-and…
Andrew Bridgen has spent years suing his family business, AB Produce, which supplies potatoes and other vegetables to catering companies and supermarkets
In March, a High Court judge ruled that he “lied” under oath, behaved in an “abusive”, “arrogant” and “aggressive” way, and was so dishonest that nothing he said about the dispute could be taken at face value thetimes.co.uk/article/dishon…
🔺 EXCLUSIVE: The Ukrainian leader praises Boris Johnson, criticises Macron and Scholz and says western cost of living fears are ‘incomparable’ with the threat from Russia thetimes.co.uk/article/zelens…
A deep bond has been forged between Zelensky and Johnson, who allies claim has not ruled out a return to No 10 after he leaves this week
Britain was one of the first nations to donate weapons to Ukraine as the countdown to the Russian invasion began last winter