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Boris Johnson accused of using police as 'props' during rambling Brexit speech – live news Jacob Rees-Mogg apologises to senior doctor he compared to disgraced anti-vaxxer – as it happened
(3 days later)
We’re going to wrap up the blog for now. Our main story is here. Thanks for reading.
Jo Johnson quits as MP and minister, citing 'national interest'
Boris Johnson was dealt a huge blow after his brother Jo Johnson announced he was quitting the cabinet, citing an “unresolvable tension” between his family loyalty and the national interest.
The announcement seemed to rattle the Boris Johnson seriously as he gave a speech at a police training academy in West Yorkshire. His answer to questions on his brother’s resignation were meandering and after thanking his sibling for his work as the universities minister and calling him a “fantastic guy”, he admitted Brexit “divides families”.
Johnson pledged he would rather “die in a ditch” than bow to the demands of the no-deal bill passed by the House of Commons and request a Brexit extension.
MPs will be asked on Monday to vote for early election said Jacob Rees-Mogg. However, Jeremy Corbyn looks poised to reject Boris Johnson’s demand for a 15 October election for a second time on Monday. Despite being taunted by Johnson as a “chlorinated chicken” who is afraid of facing the public, Corbyn is holding out for an election on Labour’s own terms – most likely at a later date.
Jacob Rees-Mogg has apologised after comparing a consultant who helped draw up no-deal medical plans to the disgraced anti-vaxxer Andrew Wakefield. Rees-Mogg had told MPs that, in warning about the possible effects of a no-deal Brexit on medical supplies, Nicholl was being as irresponsible as Wakefield, who was struck off the medical register in 2010 after suggesting a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Rees-Mogg apologised after intense pressure from the medical profession, as well as Westminster colleagues.
Michael Gove is to meet Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Simon Coveney, at the weekend for talks on Brexit as tensions mount over Brexit and the Irish border. The meeting, in Cambridge, will take place just before Boris Johnson’s visit to Dublin on Monday when he will meet the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, for the first time since becoming prime minister.
The pound has slipped back a little in early overnight trading. It is buying $1.2322 at the moment after hitting a five-week high of $1.2353 after the chances of a no-deal Brexit receded slightly this week. Against the euro it is €1.1166.
But Neil Wilson, chief analyst at Markets.com in London, cautioned that the Brexit “pantomime” still had some way to run.
“The political situation remains very fluid and uncertain, making this trade very hard to call,” he said. “The only certainty is that the pound is exposed to a significant amount of headline risk and volatility as markets react to the news flow. That said, the trend right now is positive.”
Then of course there was the Evening Standard, which underwent some revisions between editions.
Thank goodness someone realized they could do better pic.twitter.com/3nYz11gpv2
Good evening, this is Kate Lyons taking the blog back from Kevin Rawlinson. I will bring you any late-night developments before we shut the blog down for the day.
And let’s kick things off with a selection of some of the papers.
MIRROR: Even Boris’ own family don’t trust him #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/agB9XW2eJc
EXPRESS: I’d rather be dead in a ditch than delay Brexit. #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/zBeK4Y0QN0
GUARDIAN: I quit; JobJohnson puts country before family #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/htUAahwmSo
FT: ⁦@BorisJohnson⁩ suffers fresh setback as brother quits government #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/XfooDPmwva
Shortly after Rees-Mogg apologised, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, intervened to “stick up for doctors”:
One of my jobs as Health Secretary is to stick up for doctors. It's vital clinicians can provide expert advice. I defend to the hilt the right of clinicians and civil servants to provide advice without fear or favour. I’m glad Jacob has apologisedhttps://t.co/f47dVYJGLi
A little background on this issue: Rees-Mogg clashed with Nicholl over no-deal Brexit contingency plans the latter helped to draw up. The consultant neurologist spoke out as a whistleblower over the government’s apparent inability to stockpile certain drugs. His comments on a radio phone-in prompted criticism from the ardent Brexiter.
Later – and while sheltered by Parliamentary privilege – Rees-Mogg told MPs that Nicholl’s actions rendered him as irresponsible as Wakefield, who was struck off the medical register in 2010 after suggesting a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. During a Commons business statement, Rees-Mogg said:
Preparations are in place and they are being done with remarkable efficiency. But yes, a lot of Remainers wish to make our skins crawl.
What he had to say, I will repeat it, is as irresponsible as Dr Wakefield in threatening that people will die because we leave the European Union. What level of irresponsibility was that?
And I’m afraid it seems to me that Dr David Nicholl is as irresponsible as Dr Wakefield.
The leader of the Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, has apologised to Dr David Nicholl for comparing him to Andrew Wakefield, the disgraced anti-vaxxer who was widely blamed for the MMR jab scare. According to the Press Association, Rees-Mogg has said:
I apologise to Dr Nicholl for the comparison with Dr Wakefield. I have the utmost respect for all of the country’s hardworking medical professionals and the work they do in caring for the people of this country.
The government is working closely with the NHS, industry and distributors to help ensure the supply of medicine and medical products remains uninterrupted once we leave the EU on 31 October, whatever the circumstances.
Rees-Mogg had earlier come in for serious criticism from high profile sources, including the chief medical officer for England and the British Medical Association. (See: 7.15pm and 4.35pm)
The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, has warned that there is “no such thing as a clean break” – Brexit deal or no Brexit deal – with difficult and complex negotiations on the future relationship with the EU whatever the outcome of talks. In a speech in Dublin to the British and Irish Chambers of Commerce, he has said:
If there is no deal – and I believe we may have to live with no deal for a period – then, at a certain point, we will have to begin negotiations again. The first and only items on the agenda ... will be citizens’ rights, the financial settlement with the EU and a solution to the Irish border.
Varadkar acknowledged for the first time that some checks on goods and live animals entering the Republic or Ireland would take place “near the border”. And he stressed that the Irish government was “open to alternatives” to the backstop – but that they had to be realistic and legally binding. “We have received no such proposals to date,” he said.
In what appeared to be a pre-emptive strike against expected proposals from Boris Johnson that Ireland align itself to the UK to avoid disruption, he said:
Whatever happens, Ireland will not be dragged out of the single European market.
And Varadkar added and update on discussions with the UK prime minister:
Recently, Prime Minister Johnson and I spoke by phone. We spoke of our shared desire to see the Northern Ireland political institutions reinstated. We shared our perspectives on the withdrawal agreement and agreed that our teams would establish one-to-one contact.
We will meet again in Dublin on Monday. Unfortunately, given political developments in the UK, there is a significant and growing risk of no-deal.
We don’t wish to see a no-deal Brexit and we will continue our efforts to avoid one, but not at any cost. Unlike some, I see no upsides to no-deal. I do fear it. But I am prepared for it.
Here’s some more detail on the criticism of Johnson from the West Yorkshire police and crime commissioner, Labour’s Mark Burns-Williamson:Here’s some more detail on the criticism of Johnson from the West Yorkshire police and crime commissioner, Labour’s Mark Burns-Williamson:
To use police officers as the backdrop to what became a political speech was inappropriate and they shouldn’t have been put in that position.To use police officers as the backdrop to what became a political speech was inappropriate and they shouldn’t have been put in that position.
It clearly turned into a rant about Brexit, the opposition and a potential general election. There’s no way that police officers should’ve formed the backdrop to a speech of that nature.It clearly turned into a rant about Brexit, the opposition and a potential general election. There’s no way that police officers should’ve formed the backdrop to a speech of that nature.
Asked if Johnson should apologise, he said:Asked if Johnson should apologise, he said:
Yes, because he’s used the pretence of an announcement around police recruitment for mainly a political speech.Yes, because he’s used the pretence of an announcement around police recruitment for mainly a political speech.
Burns-Williamson said he had expressed his concerns to the chief constable of West Yorkshire police and asked for an explanation around what happened.Burns-Williamson said he had expressed his concerns to the chief constable of West Yorkshire police and asked for an explanation around what happened.
Among the stranger moments of Johnson’s speech this afternoon was a halting attempt to recite the police caution:Among the stranger moments of Johnson’s speech this afternoon was a halting attempt to recite the police caution:
For the record, it’s:For the record, it’s:
You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.
Plaid Cymru will not back the prime minister’s motion for an early election when the question is asked again on Monday, the party’s Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts has confirmed.Plaid Cymru will not back the prime minister’s motion for an early election when the question is asked again on Monday, the party’s Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts has confirmed.
We face one of the weakest governments in history. Without a majority and hamstrung by a mess of their own making. Boris Johnson is on the ropes and we must not give him the reprieve of a general election on his terms.We face one of the weakest governments in history. Without a majority and hamstrung by a mess of their own making. Boris Johnson is on the ropes and we must not give him the reprieve of a general election on his terms.
Voting for the government motion will undermine the progress we have made blocking a no-deal Brexit.Voting for the government motion will undermine the progress we have made blocking a no-deal Brexit.
If other opposition parties’ priority is stopping this Brexit mess, now is a better time than any to take control and deliver a fresh referendum. We won’t dance to his tune. In this Parliament we can beat both Boris and Brexit.If other opposition parties’ priority is stopping this Brexit mess, now is a better time than any to take control and deliver a fresh referendum. We won’t dance to his tune. In this Parliament we can beat both Boris and Brexit.
More from Sir John Major, who has urged Boris Johnson to ditch his “overmighty advisers” before politics is poisoned; thought to be a reference to Dominic Cummings. Calling for the 21 rebel Tory MPs who voted against the government on Tuesday night to be reinstated, Major told an audience at the CBI annual dinner:More from Sir John Major, who has urged Boris Johnson to ditch his “overmighty advisers” before politics is poisoned; thought to be a reference to Dominic Cummings. Calling for the 21 rebel Tory MPs who voted against the government on Tuesday night to be reinstated, Major told an audience at the CBI annual dinner:
The government must change its tone. Ministers routinely insult half the electorate as “Remoaners”. The surgeon who drew up the Yellowhammer risk register of epilepsy and neurology drugs is told he is a “fear-mongering Remainer”.The government must change its tone. Ministers routinely insult half the electorate as “Remoaners”. The surgeon who drew up the Yellowhammer risk register of epilepsy and neurology drugs is told he is a “fear-mongering Remainer”.
Businessmen are warned that a negative attitude on Brexit will lead to their companies being frozen out of any future government consultation. This is behaviour I never thought to see from any British government, and it must stop.Businessmen are warned that a negative attitude on Brexit will lead to their companies being frozen out of any future government consultation. This is behaviour I never thought to see from any British government, and it must stop.
The abuse comes from Cabinet ministers; and the threats from No 10 special advisers. I repeat: it must stop.The abuse comes from Cabinet ministers; and the threats from No 10 special advisers. I repeat: it must stop.
Ahead lie many challenges. If we are to meet them we need government of the highest quality, not government by bluster and threat in a climate of aggressive bullying.Ahead lie many challenges. If we are to meet them we need government of the highest quality, not government by bluster and threat in a climate of aggressive bullying.
While the former Tory leader made no explicit reference to Cummings, he said politicians had “seen overmighty advisers before”.While the former Tory leader made no explicit reference to Cummings, he said politicians had “seen overmighty advisers before”.
It is a familiar script. It always ends badly. I offer the Prime Minister some friendly advice: get rid of these advisers before they poison the political atmosphere beyond repair. And do it quickly.It is a familiar script. It always ends badly. I offer the Prime Minister some friendly advice: get rid of these advisers before they poison the political atmosphere beyond repair. And do it quickly.
And, referring to Brexit generally, he added:And, referring to Brexit generally, he added:
Anti-Europeans may cheer, but a weaker Europe leaves the UK more at the mercy of decisions taken by a – I hope temporarily – dysfunctional United States, and a long-term autocratic China.Anti-Europeans may cheer, but a weaker Europe leaves the UK more at the mercy of decisions taken by a – I hope temporarily – dysfunctional United States, and a long-term autocratic China.
It also leaves the UK more vulnerable to Putin’s aggressive and assertive Russia. None of that will be welcome, but it is the inevitable legacy of Brexit.It also leaves the UK more vulnerable to Putin’s aggressive and assertive Russia. None of that will be welcome, but it is the inevitable legacy of Brexit.
Our new UK government knows this to be true. Yet they ignore it – and pursue our exit from Europe on an artificial date, without a deal. Some do so for ideological reasons. Others for political and personal advantage. Neither the ideologue nor the self-interested Brexiteer appears to put our national wellbeing first.Our new UK government knows this to be true. Yet they ignore it – and pursue our exit from Europe on an artificial date, without a deal. Some do so for ideological reasons. Others for political and personal advantage. Neither the ideologue nor the self-interested Brexiteer appears to put our national wellbeing first.
Our new Cabinet has no majority and no mandate ... It is not a Cabinet of all available talents. It is a faction of a faction, with no counter-balance of opinion to hold it back. Upon Brexit, the Cabinet non–believers are mere window dressing. They will not be listened to, and will always be out-voted.Our new Cabinet has no majority and no mandate ... It is not a Cabinet of all available talents. It is a faction of a faction, with no counter-balance of opinion to hold it back. Upon Brexit, the Cabinet non–believers are mere window dressing. They will not be listened to, and will always be out-voted.
Earlier, we reported that Jacob Rees-Mogg had been heavily criticised for using parliamentary privilege to attack the reputation of a doctor who has warned about the dangers of a no-deal Brexit (see: 4.35pm).Earlier, we reported that Jacob Rees-Mogg had been heavily criticised for using parliamentary privilege to attack the reputation of a doctor who has warned about the dangers of a no-deal Brexit (see: 4.35pm).
Now, No 10 are distancing themselves from his comments:Now, No 10 are distancing themselves from his comments:
Breaking - No 10 spox on Jacob Rees-Mogg’s comments comparing Dr David Nicholl to disgraced anti-vaxxer Andrew Wakefield.“The Prime Minister does not share this view.”Breaking - No 10 spox on Jacob Rees-Mogg’s comments comparing Dr David Nicholl to disgraced anti-vaxxer Andrew Wakefield.“The Prime Minister does not share this view.”
And the chief medical officer for England, Prof Sally Davies, has written to Rees-Mogg, calling his actions “unacceptable”:And the chief medical officer for England, Prof Sally Davies, has written to Rees-Mogg, calling his actions “unacceptable”:
I have written to @Jacob_Rees_Mogg to express my sincere disappointment and show my support for doctors across the country, particularly @djnicholl. Doctors are amongst the most trusted people in our country; it is worth listening to what they have to say with respect. pic.twitter.com/WPGLcWIgSzI have written to @Jacob_Rees_Mogg to express my sincere disappointment and show my support for doctors across the country, particularly @djnicholl. Doctors are amongst the most trusted people in our country; it is worth listening to what they have to say with respect. pic.twitter.com/WPGLcWIgSz
Judges are expected to announce their decision on Friday on the latest legal challenge to Boris Johnson over his decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks.
Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett and two other judges at the high court in London have been urged to find that Johnson’s 28 August advice to the Queen to prorogue Parliament for an “exceptional” length of time was an “unlawful abuse of power”.
After hearing submissions on Thursday on an urgent judicial review application brought by Gina Miller, Lord Burnett announced that the hearing would be adjourned until 10am on Friday.
In a witness statement released after the hearing, Sir John Major said it was “utterly unacceptable” for the government to “seek to bypass” Parliament because it does not agree with the proposed course of action on a certain policy.
The former prime minister, who joined the Conservative party on his 16th birthday, said:
I served in Parliament for over 20 years both as a backbench MP and as a government minister at cabinet and more junior levels. I was, of course, prime minister for nearly seven years and am very proud to have been in the Commons and a minister.
I have huge admiration for our Parliament and am a keen supporter of its rights and duties. I cannot stand idly by and watch them set aside in this fashion.
I appreciate that this is not the government’s stated intention for proroguing Parliament, but for the reasons set out in this statement, the inescapable inference to be drawn is that the prorogation is to prevent Parliament from exercising its right to disagree with the government and to legislate as it sees fit.
He said the government had not adequately explained why it needed to suspend Parliament for as long as five weeks.
Essentially, the protection of individual rights afforded by Parliament is being compromised.
In order to allegedly protect the democratic outcome of the referendum, the government believes it is justified in suspending the UK’s democratic processes to achieve its desired ends.
This is unacceptable and is the reason I was determined to assist in these proceedings.
Here’s more from Yvette Cooper, who has said she will be taking the matter further:
For Boris Johnson to make so many police stop their training and work to be part of his political stunt is an abuse of power.
Police officers and trainees are overstretched and need to be able to get on with their job, not have to waste time listening to Boris Johnson’s political press conference.
For Boris Johnson to draw so many of them into a long, election-driven event like this is completely inappropriate and it is unfair on the people of West Yorkshire who are entitled to expect that their police are allowed to get on with the job of working and training to keep them safe.
I am writing to the Cabinet Secretary as well as the West Yorkshire Chief Constable, John Robins, to ask how this has happened and what guidelines were followed.
Johnson’s use of police officers as a backdrop to his speech has been criticised by opponents, including the shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott:
Labour's @HackneyAbbott calls the Johnson press conference "a really crude abuse of political power". "It's very wrong that he should use serving police officers as a backdrop for an essentially party political announcement."
Yvette Cooper, the chair of the Commons Home Affairs committee, has said:
This is an abuse of power by Boris Johnson, making so many police stop their training and work to be part of his political stunt. They have a job to do here in West Yorks, and they train and work hard for the whole community - completely unacceptable to use them in this way https://t.co/9J1iImeiSc
And then there’s this from the Labour MP, David Lammy:
Boris Johnson using police as props to give a weird, rambling speech on Brexit. Does he realise this makes him look anything other than strong? I can't remember a Prime Minister who looked this weak so soon after taking office. pic.twitter.com/RLfww3nWzM
And the BBC’s Danny Shaw reports that the local police and crime commissioner, Labour’s Mark Burns-Williamson, is less than happy:
UPDATE: West Yorkshire Police & Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson (Labour) tells me Boris Johnson has "abused" the police force's position & says the officers should not have been used in this way, for a "political speech about Brexit". https://t.co/mytmAvrvIk
The Northern Ireland minister, Nick Hurd, has become the latest Tory MP to announce he will not stand at the next general election as he cited the “ongoing division” over Brexit. The Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner MP said:
Fourteen years ago, my intention was to serve in Parliament for as long as my constituents continued to elect me.
However, much has changed since then. Politics is now dominated by the ongoing division over Brexit. More happily, my private life has been changed profoundly by the birth of my two youngest children.
I now feel that it is time for me to make a change and embrace a new challenge. After a very great deal of thought, I have decided not to stand again as a candidate at the next general election.
I shall of course continue to serve as Member of Parliament for Ruislip Northwood and Pinner until such time as a General Election is called. I would like to thank my constituents for giving me the chance to represent them for the past 14 years. 2/2
And this is what some other journalists and commentators are saying about the Johnson speech.
From the Daily Mail’s Jason Groves
Verdict from lobby colleague: 'That was more Boris Yeltsin than Boris Johnson'
From LBC’s Theo Usherwood
This speech from Boris Johnson is seriously strange. It’s like the energy has been sucked out of him.It’s all gone.
From the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg
A very, very bumpy day for the PM - his brother suggests he’s not acting’s in the national interest, heckled on the high street in Morley and a surreal press conference in Wakefield straight after .. all of it on #bbcnewssix now
From the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar
I know it was a terrible speech & the police thing was not a good look, but think about how this looks from outside the bubble. Boris Johnson is prepared to "die in a ditch" and risk his relationship with his own brother to deliver his Brexit promise. That will resonate.
From my colleague Patrick Wintour
Pure Trump. The relevant chief constable/police commissioner will have to explain what possessed them to allow recruits to be used as props in Johnson's campaign to leave the EU. pic.twitter.com/thAUUijWbn
From Politico Europe’s Jack Blanchard
Worth remembering that while SW1 laughs at how weird / terrible that press conference was, most people will still just see the PM stood in front of a load of police officers saying he'd rather "die in a ditch" than delay Brexit
From the Daily Mail’s Peter Oborne
I have just added Boris Johnson's claim at his press conference today that the Tory Party has a zero tolerance policy towards Islamophobia to my bulging dossier of Mr Johnson's lies.
That’s all from me for today.
My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is taking over now.
That was the most extraordinary prime ministerial press conference we’ve seen for years - perhaps not quite as dramatic as Theresa May’s “nothing has changed” meltdown, but certainly more peculiar. Even by Johnson’s standards, it was rambling and shambolic. The only rational explanation I can think for what happened is that it is all part of some ultra-cunning plan to convince Jeremy Corbyn that he can vote for an election because Johnson will be such a hopeless campaigner, but life normally doesn’t work like that. If it looks like a cock-up, it probably is a cock-up.
First, the backdrop was pure Donald Trump. Although ostensibly an event to promote the government’s police recruitment plans, this was obviously a party political event - No 10 described it this morning as day one of the election campaign - and so there was something clearly improper about getting the police to act as extras on set. And if you do want to present yourself as a politician committed to supporting the police, it is best not to force them to stand in the sun for so long (Johnson started about an hour late) that they start dropping like flies.
If you do invite people to listen to a speech and then force them to wait, you should at least prepare something of merit to say. But Johnson wasn’t speaking from a script, and he appeared to have given very little thought to what he wanted to say about policing (beyond a threadbare argument about policing being at the heart of a successful economy). At one point he launched into a very bizarre routine about the police caution; quite what that was all about remains a mystery. Of course, sounding improvised is part of the Johnson schtick - in his Churchill biography he quotes approvingly the FE Smith line that Churchill “spent the best years of his life preparing his impromptu remarks”; Johnson has mastered the same trick himself - but today this did not sound like artful spontaneity. To be honest, it sounded like he had had a glass too many at lunchtime.
On Monday Johnson stood outside Number 10 and said he did not want an election. Today’s message was all about taunting/shaming Corbyn into agreeing one. Even someone as practiced at inconsistency as Johnson would find this hard to pull off, and in the office where I was watching his insincerity seemed obvious - although perhaps outside the “bubble” people may be willing to credit his claim that he doesn’t really want an election at all.
To his credit, Johnson did take a large number of questions. His most interesting line was his assertion that he would rather “die in a ditch” than request an article 50 extension in October, as he might be obliged to by a bill becoming law on Monday. That did not sound literally true either, but at least that was a hyperbole untruth, not a statement of bad faith. Perhaps leave voters, and the wider group of voters who just want the Brexit crisis saga to end, will cheer this message. But whether that compensates for the overall impression of omnishambles is another matter.
Q: Corbyn says he cannot trust you to have an election before the EU summit in October?
Johnson claims this is a new charge.
He says he wants an election on 15 October. “Earlier if he wants ... let’s crack on with it.” He says he does not see how the UK’s negotiating position can be torpedoed.
One of the police officers standing behind Johnson has just stood down. She seems to be feeling faint or ill. Johnson expresses some concern, and then winds up his remarks.
As Johnson is winding up, the officer stands up again.
And that’s it.
I will post a verdict and summary shortly.
Q: Are you planning an all-Ireland regime for agri-foods?
Johnson says there is the germ of a solution to the backstop problem in the late Ian Paisley comment about the Northern Irish being British, but their cattle being Irish.
But he says what is crucial is the idea of democratic control by the people of the UK.
Q: When are you going to have an inquiry into Islamophobia in the Conservative party, as you promised in the BBC TV debate?
Johnson says he will have an inquiry into all kinds of racism in the party. He does not say when it will start.
Q: Do you regret the purge of MPs?
Johnson says the bill passed yesterday will make it harder for him to get a Brexit deal.
Under this plan, Brussels would decide how long the UK stayed in the EU. He says he cannot see how that is democratic.
(Actually, the bill does not say that. The UK would get the final say. More details here.)
Discipline is sometimes tough, he says.