Wednesday briefing: New threat to Johnson over Partygate

Top story: ‘Off to another party are we?’

Good morning, Warren Murray here to help you get up to speed quickly.

Boris Johnson has been left facing a renewed threat to his position over the partygate scandal as the police decision to fine 20 people is seen as clearcut confirmation of lawbreaking at the heart of government – shattering the prime minister’s claim that Covid rules were followed. Downing Street has provoked fury and derision by still refusing to accept that the fixed-penalty notices meant definitively that the rules had been broken. There is still a possibility Johnson will be among those fined – the Met has made clear these were only the first tickets and interviews with key figures are likely in the coming weeks.

Rebel Tory MPs have said they will renew efforts to convince colleagues that the prime minister lied to parliament. Johnson attempted to shore up his leadership on Tuesday night with a dinner for Tory MPs, but a number declined to attend, and those who did were heckled by bereaved families of Covid victims as they arrived. Shouts of “shame on you” and “off to another party are we?” were directed at Michael Gove and Jacob Rees-Mogg as they turned up to the Park Plaza near Westminster Bridge.

Senior Tory MPs such as the former attorney general Jeremy Wright have said it should mean resignation or removal from office if Johnson is found to have knowingly attended rule-breaking parties. Some MPs are reserving their judgment until the full report on the parties by senior civil servant Sue Gray is released, which will not happen until the police investigation is over. Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, renewed calls for Johnson to resign: “The buck stops with the prime minister, who spent months lying to the British public, which is why he has got to go.”

‘Not naive people’ – Volodymyr Zelenskiy has dismissed Russia’s pledge to cut back its invasion effort, saying “Ukrainians are not naive people” and vowing to continue defensive military efforts. “Ukrainians have already learned during these 34 days of invasion and over the past eight years of the war in Donbas that only a concrete result can be trusted.” Russia’s deputy defence minister, Alexander Fomin, said after talks in Istanbul on Tuesday that Moscow wanted to “increase mutual trust” to help secure a peace deal, and therefore it would “radically reduce military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv”. Ukraine’s armed forces responded that the Russian withdrawals were merely “a rotation of individual units” and the Kremlin claims were intended to “mislead the military leadership” of Ukraine. Zelenskiy said the “positive” signals “do not drown out the explosions of Russian shells … Mariupol is blocked. Missile and airstrikes do not stop. This is the reality. These are the facts.” Keep up with developments at our live blog.

Midweek catch-up

> At least five people have been shot and killed in the Jewish ultra-Orthodox Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak, the third such incident in less than a week. The gunman, who was shot dead by police, was said to be from Ya’bad in the northern West Bank.

> There are 1.5bn items of expired personal protective equipment (PPE) in storage in England, the public spending watchdog says, while more than half of 51 “VIP” suppliers put forward by government insiders provided kit unsuitable for frontline healthcare.

> Tory rebels have joined with Labour to force the publication of security advice relating to Evgeny Lebedev’s peerage. The Russian-born businessman, an ex-KGB officer’s son, wrote online that he welcomed the information’s release.

> Public satisfaction with the NHS has sunk to its lowest level since 1997, with just 36% of voters content with the way the health service is run and performing, according to findings by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen).

> And from our Weatherwatch column: we are being asked to download an Android smartphone app from the European Space Agency, which matches weather satellite observations with conditions where we are on the ground, to improve forecasting.

Disposable income squeeze – The UK’s poorest families will see spare cash at their disposal drop by a fifth or £850 this year, according to figures from market analysts Kantar. Grocery price inflation reached 5.2% in March, the highest level since April 2012. Price rises are being fuelled by the rising cost of labour and basic commodities such as wheat and cooking oil – as well as the cost of energy and packaging driven by a combination of Brexit, resurgence in demand post-lockdown and the war in Ukraine. Rising energy bills, food prices and transport costs are set to plunge many into the red with 13% of households saying they are only just about managing to cover minimum payments on credit card bills and a further 6% already unable to, according to other analysis.

No authority at all – It turns out that Jackie Weaver really did have “no authority here, no authority at all” to remove parish councillors from a chaotic online meeting during lockdown. Video from the Handforth council Zoom meeting of December 2020 was shared by millions across the world. An independent investigation found participants’ complaints were correct: the muting of microphones and removal of individual councillors “was without authority”, though Weaver was only trying to do her best.

Weaver, employed by the Cheshire Association of Local Councils, had been brought in to help run the meeting amid accusations of poor councillor behaviour. The fallout from the meeting has included six independent investigation reports and costs of more than £85,000. Reacting to the findings, Weaver told the BBC that she felt the jury was still out on precise meeting procedure: “I welcome the findings of the report but am deeply saddened that it took so long and cost so much to get there.”

Today in Focus podcast: Kadyrov’s war in Ukraine

Ramzan Kadyrov, the feared Chechen leader and staunch Putin ally, has claimed to be in Ukraine commanding a unit alongside Russian forces. Julius Strauss explains what his arrival into the war means for Russia, Ukraine and Chechnya.

Lunchtime read: Sickening reign of a cyberstalker

Matthew Hardy so frightened some of his victims that they slept with weapons. Although he was known to the police – and even prosecuted – it was more than a decade before he was jailed.

Sport

Gareth Southgate vented his disgust at the England fans who booed Harry Maguire before the 3-0 friendly win over Ivory Coast, calling their actions “an absolute joke”. Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Portugal beat stubborn visitors North Macedonia 2-0 to qualify for the World Cup finals in Qatar after a tense European playoff tie. Rubin Colwill sealed a 1-1 draw for Wales in their friendly against Czech Republic, Scotland let slip a 2-0 lead but extended their unbeaten run to eight games in a 2-2 draw with Austria in Vienna, and in Belfast, Northern Ireland were beaten 1-0 by Hungary. The prospect of Tiger Woods making an incredible comeback at the Masters next week has increased after the 15-time major winner arrived on Tuesday at Augusta National for a practice round.

Nick Kyrgios once again lost his cool as he succumbed to defeat in an extraordinary match at the Miami Open, during which he abused the umpire, posed for a selfie and was docked a game. Plans to allow teams to qualify for the Champions League based on historical performance have received the backing of Europe’s top clubs as the best way to ensure the competition remains “premium” and “inclusive”. The former England batter and coach Graham Thorpe has been named as the new head coach of Afghanistan’s men’s team. The Rugby Football Union has ruled that Premiership stars from South Africa and the Pacific Islands will continue to be classified as non-foreign until 2024. And England, who face South Africa for a place in the Women’s Cricket World Cup final, are looking towards momentum and history after a dramatic semi-final victory set them up to be crowned champions in 2017.

Business

Asia shares joined a global rally in trading this morning, after hopes rose for a negotiated end to the Ukraine conflict. Japan’s Nikkei fell, though, after a two-month closing high on Tuesday, amid profit-taking heading into the end of the fiscal year. The FTSE could be off a few points at the open, going by futures trading just now, while the pound is worth $1.310 and €1.179 at time of writing.

The papers

The Guardian’s lead story today is “Law-breaking in No 10: police issue first 20 Partygate fines”. The front-page picture is Prince Andrew alongside the Queen at a thanksgiving service for the Duke of Edinburgh.

There’s much discussion of Andrew being front and centre with his mother. “Royals’ ‘dismay’ at Andrew role in Philip service” says the Daily Mail. The Queen was photographed looking teary-eyed during the service for her late husband, and the Mirror turns that into “The pain … & the stain”, the latter a clear reference to the hovering Duke of York.

A more measured take in the Sun which calls Her Majesty “The Queen of broken hearts” and says it was a “public show of support” for Andrew. The Express has “Royal fallout over Queen’s ultimate act of love”. On to other matters: the i says “PM in denial over No 10 party fines”; the Telegraph has “Russians give up on conquest of Kyiv” and the Times says much the same. The Metro calls this “Russian roulette”, presumably referring to the risk of taking the Kremlin at its word. And lastly the top story in the Financial Times is “Russia and EU in stand-off as Putin digs in on rouble payments for gas”.

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