Exclusive: Gove is fighting to salvage his leasehold reforms after No10/Treasury axed one of his key proposals

Gove wanted to reduce all ground rents to a peppercorn rent, which he hoped would lead to a phase-out of the system

That plan is now dead

1/8

thetimes.co.uk/article/no-10-… Gove had already been forced by No10 to lower his ambitions from a total abolition of the leasehold system

In November he introduced a leasehold reform bill, making it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to buy their freeholds, including 990 year leases

2/8

EXCLUSIVE 🚨 w/ @Gabriel_Pogrund & @cazjwheeler

Boris Johnson’s meetings with BBC chair Richard Sharp, his cousin Sam Blyth, & Lord Brownlow are among those referred to police

Also on list: a visit by two of Carrie Johnson’s friends to Chequers

1/4

thetimes.co.uk/article/johnso… Sharp & Blyth visited Chequers for dinner w/ Johnson on 2 May 2021.

They did so at a time when household mixing indoors was banned & social distancing rules were in place.

Sharp has said he was driven there by Blyth.

Sharp and Johnson say dinner was outdoors & lawful

2/4

EXCLUSIVE 🚨: Suella Braverman asked Home Office civil servants to help her avoid a speeding fine and points on her licence by arranging a private one-to-one driving awareness course

Serious Qs over whether she may have breached ministerial code

1/4

thetimes.co.uk/article/suella… The arrangement, which the Home Secretary sought after being caught speeding last summer, would have meant she would not have to attend an in-person course with other motorists, or an online one where her name and face would be visible to other participants

2/4

Few more observations on Sharp story & Johnson £800k loan:

- We were told that it was used by Johnson to finance lifestyle/help repay loans relating to wallpaper-gate. Not denied by team Johnson

- Blyth’s involvement clearly risked a conflict (British council)

And yet… Four months on from us laying out the Blyth-Sharp-Johnson stories, not a single probe has been carried out into the fact that the advice Johnson was given on the loan by Simon Case was rendered effectively void by Blyth’s candidacy to become chief exec of the British Council

With pressure growing on Richard Sharp over his role in talks over Boris Johnson's loan facility, it is worth reminding people that there are two parts to this story

The other part of this is Sam Blyth (Johnson's guarantor) and his bid to become CEO of the British Council

1/8 Our first story on the Johnson loan was about how Johnson had received very strict advice around Blyth acting as his guarantor.

It made clear that Blyth could not have any conflicts of interest or business interests in the UK

These were crucial conditions (see below)

2/8

NEW: DCMS committee, which approved
Sharp's appointment as BBC chair, now says he made "serious error of judgement" by not disclosing go-between role in Boris Johnson's loan

Says he's "undermined confidence" in appointments system

w/ @Gabriel_Pogrund

thetimes.co.uk/article/chairm… The report was produced following Sharp's appearance before the committee last week

He was asked to appear following The Sunday Times investigation into Johnson's credit facility, his distant cousin Sam Blyth, and Sharp's involvement in talks while applying to become chair

EXCLUSIVE w/@Gabriel_Pogrund

Boris Johnson was told to stop seeking Richard Sharp's "advice about your personal financial matters" days before announcing him as BBC chairman

The Sunday Times today reveals bombshell letter given to him by Simon Case 1/8
thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-… The letter dated December 22 2020 states: “Given the imminent announcement of Richard Sharp as the new BBC chair, it is important that you no longer ask his advice about your personal financial matters." 2/8

EXCLUSIVE w/@Gabriel_Pogrund 🚨

The BBC chairman helped arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000 for Boris Johnson weeks before the then PM selected him for role

Johnson was told to end Richard Sharp’s involvement by Cab Office

(1/7) thetimes.co.uk/article/the-bb… Sharp has given £400k to the Conservatives, once managed Rishi Sunak at Goldman Sachs and is friend of Johnson

But his proximity to Johnson - and involvement in financing his lifestyle in Downing St - has never been revealed (2/7)

EXCLUSIVE w/@Gabriel_Pogrund 🚨

Boris Johnson funded his lifestyle in No10 through a credit facility of up to £800,000 underwritten by a multi-millionaire and distant relative

Sam Blyth also gave Johnsons free use of his Caribbean villa 1/4

thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-… In Dec 2020, Johnson asked Simon Case for advice about arrangement

That month, Blyth was discussing becoming CEO of the British Council, a large public body. He was ultimately unsuccessful

Civil service advice on the guarantee was contingent on no/perceived conflict

2/4

Exclusive: The Home Office papers that show Suella Braverman was warned over and over about the legal risk of prolonged detention of migrants at Manston

The Sunday Times today takes you through five submissions from mid-September to late October

thetimes.co.uk/article/suella… These submissions are official papers containing legal advice, operational advice, media advice and comments from senior Home Office officials

they were provided to Home Sec, other ministers and snr officials

Sir Roger Gale, the local MP at Manston, says that originally he thought the Home Office had found it difficult to find new hotels to transfer migrants.

This morning he tells BBCR4T he’s been told it was a deliberate policy decision not to book hotels This is what multiple sources told The Sunday Times this weekend.

Suella Braverman’s allies argue she did not ignore the legal advice because she sought out alt forms of non-hotel accommodation

But our sources our adamant that when in breach, every avenue needed to be taken

🚨Exclusive: A leaked strategy paper drawn up by UK police chiefs for the cost of living crisis this winter reveals:

- 'economic turmoil' could drive spike in crime
- 'unpredictable risk' of 'greater civil unrest'
- more corruption in police ranks

thetimes.co.uk/article/police… The document, which has been circulated to senior police leaders, also goes on to discuss pressure on forces and their ability to recruit and retain staff as inflation and economic outlook erodes attractiveness of profession.

It tallies with the feedback from individual forces

EXCLUSIVE: The Sunday Times has seen messages from Carrie Johnson, appearing to show she had a gathering in No11 flat on evening of PM's 56th birthday

They are the first hard evidence of a gathering in flat - and for the first time, no1 is denying

1/

thetimes.co.uk/article/unseen… The existence of the messages has now been flagged to Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, in a letter also seen by the ST.

The letter was sent by a former Downing St aide who received them. The aide has now offered to share them with Case

2/

EXCLUSIVE: PM attended a secret Tory fundraising dinner attended by at least one donor with Russian links on the night Putin invade Ukraine

He told the approx 75 attendees he needed to leave early to deal with the crisis. Gove and Wallace also there

thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-… Number 10 say the event was a longstanding diary engagement, he was there only for beginning, and PM could not have known about invasion.

But Western nations - and Johnson personally - had been warning for days it was imminent.

EXCLUSIVE w/@Gabriel_Pogrund
The head of MI6 had concerns about Boris Johnson’s friend Evgeny Lebedev almost a decade ago

In 2013, Sir John Sawers repeatedly rejected bid by KGB agent’s son to meet at MI6 HQ

No10 doesn't deny PM knew about incident

thetimes.co.uk/article/how-bo… Lebedev instructed the editor of the Independent, a newspaper he owned, to get him access to lunch with MI6 chief

But Sawers refused, saying he would play no role in Lebedev’s campaign to infiltrate the establishment

Lebedev pushed back, but MI6 held firm

EXC: The Telegraph can reveal tonight details of the three additional alleged parties under investigation by the Met

They are leaving events thrown for a snr diplomat in America, a military commander and a snr culture department official

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/… Event no 1 was 18 June 2020: The Telegraph understands official in question is Hannah Young, who left No10 to take up the role of deputy consul general in NY

About 20 people attended. Alcohol, including wine, was drunk. One government source claimed the event was “raucous”

EXCLUSIVE :

Kate Josephs, the former head of the Government unit responsible for drawing covid-19 restrictions, was given a leaving do in the Cabinet Office on December 17 2020 - the day before the Number 10 Xmas Party

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/… The Telegraph has been told that “dozens” of officials from the Cabinet Office’s Covid-19 taskforce attended the event on Dec 17 2020 while the country was still under draconian restrictions.

Same evening that Simon Case’s own staff held a gathering in his private office

Exclusive in today’s Sunday Telegraph:

MPs could be banned from taking consultancy jobs under plans being discussed by the Committee on Standards in the wake of the Owen Paterson scandal.

Expected in upcoming report on MPs code of conduct

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/… The committee is also looking at whether MPs should be forced to have contracts with firms they work for - in order to clarify the exact nature of their role.

It emerged during the Paterson investigation he had no contract

Exc: UK has begun drawing up contingency plans for pulling out of three major EU programmes it remained part of after Brexit.

They are Horizon Europe, Copernicus and Euratom.

UK believes delay to being admitted is being used by EU as leverage.

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/… Government departments have now been instructed to begin drawing up domestic alternatives should ministers decide to pull out.

The details of the work are contained in an official paper discussed this week at the GBO cabinet committee, and later leaked to me.

Exclusive with @christopherhope -

Cabinet ministers drawing up multi-billion £ package for bolstering industries hit hardest by no deal tariffs and trade disruption.

Agrifoods, automotive and chemicals three key targets, as well as support for fish.

telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/12/1… We’re told that Michael Gove, George Eustice, Simon Hart, Brandon Lewis and Alister Jack have been for weeks working on plans.

Sources say worth £8-10bn of support, although plans yet to be subjected to Treasury pen pushers.

Comes as PM steps up no deal prep this week.

New: Parliamentarians who intend to rapidly pass legislation to stop no-deal next week see the Lords as key battleground.

Major concerns that Downing St will enlist Brexiteer peers to filibuster bill and run down the clock until prorogation.

So, some have devised a plan... First, both Houses to sit through Friday-Sunday.

If A50 extension bill reaches Lords, a peer could lay a business motion - the first of its kind - to time limit debate for each stage of bill.

This can already happen in the Commons via ‘guillotine’ motions, but not in Lords.