Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[garbon]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/jan/21/boris-johnson-tells-schools-england-end-mask-wearing-policy

Boris Johnson tells schools in England to end mask-wearing policy

Boris Johnson has told schools in England to end the wearing of face masks by pupils, overriding headteachers' concerns and plans by the education secretary to liaise with public health officials over masks during local outbreaks.

Johnson's demand to "follow the latest guidance", made through his No 10 spokesperson, came after headteachers at secondary schools across England said they would encourage their students to keep wearing masks despite the government withdrawing advice for them to be worn in classrooms.

The prime minister's spokesperson said: "Children have been one of the hardest hit as a result of the disruption throughout the pandemic and we recognise the impact it has had on their education. The prime minister believes it is vital that children are receiving face-to-face education and can enjoy a normal experience in the classroom and the prime minister also thinks that the schools should follow the latest guidance.

"We've been clear that we removed the requirement for face masks to be worn in classrooms and we will remove advice for face masks to be worn in communal areas from 27 January."

Johnson's intervention is likely to further confuse the issue, with school leaders pointing out that official guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) specifies that masks can still be required in schools. The DfE's advice to parents, updated on Thursday, states: "Your nursery, school or college might advise you that face coverings should temporarily be worn in communal areas or classrooms (by pupils, staff and visitors, unless exempt)."

Meanwhile, the education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, told Conservative MPs that he had agreed with directors of public health to consult with him over reintroducing face masks in schools in the event of "extraordinary" local outbreaks, "so that we can assess evidence and data to ensure any extra measures are proportionate".

Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said "simplistic" statements from the government could jeopardise efforts to tackle outbreaks in schools.

...

[Sheilbh]

The new part of the story around how the whips operate is growing. Nusrat Ghani has said that she was fired as a minister for being a Muslim (or at least that's what the whips told her). She is now one of the vice-chairs of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers. The Education Secretary (who is Muslim) has called for an investigation and said there's no place for Islamophobia; the Chief Whip has said this is about him and he denies it and thinks it's defamatory.

Separately the Labour defector has said it was Gaving Williamson (former Chief Whip and then Education Secretary) who threatened the funding for a new school in his constituency if he didn't vote with the government. Separately apparently the current Chief Whips for "problem" MPs are widely known - Anthony Mangnall who's led rebellions on cuts to foreign aid is "Anthony Wanknall" and Tom Tugendhat who's chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and a China hawk is "Tom Tugentwat". Not the best efforts

This just adds to the sense that I don't see how Johnson can go on. The party stuff rolls on - so Martin Reynolds (who is a civil servant) has evidence that Johnson was aware the party on the 20th was a party, which he's pinned his defence on. Separately Sue Gray has expanded her report (again ) to include parties in the Downing Street flat. Number 10 have apparently swung from confidence that they were going to get exonerated (enough) to despair about what it's going to say. And the Telegraph has more details of the party including details of photos "seen by the Telegraph" which I still suspect willl leak at some point.

But to help support Johnson's position there's been a strong whipping operation from the official whips but also unofficially with MPs who are just long-standing allies to Johnson trying to work out what backbenchers need to back Johnson. Since Wakeford and Wragg  the story has moved to not just Johnson's conduct but his entire government's operations. And according to Chris Bryant the (Labour) Chair of the Commons Standards Committee, he's been talking with over a dozen Tory MPs about the conduct of the whips.

From the outside it looks like party discipline has absolutely collapsed as, to an extent, has the government (one calling for an inquiry and zero tolerance, the other saying he's being defamed etc). I don't see a way for Johnson, even if he could survive, to glue that back together. There's loads of examples of party fights and party factionalism - I can't think of one where there's been MPs publicly going on the attack against the whips like this. I've definitely shifted my view from it might be better for the Tories to keep Johnson around until after the local elections, to the damage he's doing to the party now far, far outweighing any benefit:

Nusrat Ghani: I was sacked as a minister 'because I was a Muslim'
Tory MP claims whips said her faith was making colleagues feel uncomfortable
Caroline Wheeler, Rosamund Urwin and Gabriel Pogrund
Saturday January 22 2022, 6.40pm, The Sunday Times

A Muslim Conservative MP has accused a party whip of telling her she was fired from her ministerial job because of her faith.

Nusrat Ghani, 49, was sacked as a transport minister in a mini reshuffle early in 2020. She claimed she was told by a whip that her "Muslimness was raised as an issue" at a meeting in Downing Street and that her "Muslim woman minister status was making colleagues feel uncomfortable".

She said: "It was like being punched in the stomach. I felt humiliated and powerless." Ghani, vice-chairwoman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, claimed that she had kept quiet after being warned that if she continued to raise the matter she would be "ostracised by colleagues" and her "career and reputation would be destroyed".

She said she had since considered whether she wanted to continue being an MP, adding: "I will not pretend that this hasn't shaken my faith in the party."

A row is growing over the behaviour of government whips towards their party colleagues. William Wragg, a backbench MP, is meeting police this week to discuss allegations that No 10 tried to blackmail MPs.

Chris Bryant, Labour chairman of the Commons standards committee, said he had spoken to "about a dozen" Tories in recent days who claimed they had been either bribed or threatened by government whips. They are said to have been warned that public money would be withdrawn from their constituencies if they defied the government, or poured in if they voted "the right way".

Christian Wakeford, MP for Bury South, yesterday identified Gavin Williamson, then education secretary, as the person who had threatened to cancel plans for a new school in his area if he voted against the government.

Aaron Bell, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, has submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee.

Ghani said: "When the prime minister told me he wanted me to leave my government post in the February 2020 reshuffle, I was surprised but understood that it was a fact of politics."

She claimed: "At the post-reshuffle meeting with the whips I asked what the thinking was behind the decision to fire me and what the mood music was when my name was mentioned in No 10 concerning the reshuffle. I was told that at the reshuffle meeting in Downing Street 'Muslimness' was raised as an 'issue', that my 'Muslim woman minister' status was making colleagues uncomfortable and that there were concerns 'that I wasn't loyal to the party as I didn't do enough to defend the party against Islamophobia allegations'.

"When I challenged whether this was in any way acceptable and made clear there was little I could do about my identity, I had to listen to a monologue on how hard it was to define when people are being racist and that the party doesn't have a problem and I needed to do more to defend it. It was very clear to me the whips and No 10 were holding me to a higher threshold of loyalty than others because of my background and faith."

The Conservative MP for Wealden, in East Sussex, who in 2015 was the first Muslim woman to be elected a Tory MP, had a second meeting with a whip in March 2020.

She claimed: "In this second meeting I was again told there was no Islamophobia in the party and, as if to add to the issue they had with me, I was told that I was in fact fired for apparently saying to the PM that we had a 'women problem' [attracting female voters]. In the following weeks I was informed that if I persisted in raising this I would be ostracised by colleagues and my career and reputation would be destroyed.

"The feeling of isolation and powerlessness after this episode would not leave me, and I raised it several more times through official party channels and with some colleagues. However, after the threats from whips, I was extremely careful to follow procedure, and when the procedure ran out of road I had no choice but to get on with my career and make a difference for my constituents and for the issues I care about from the back benches."

An inquiry into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party was carried out two years ago by Professor Swaran Singh, a former equality and human rights commissioner. He analysed 1,418 complaints relating to 727 separate incidents as recorded in the Conservatives' complaints database between 2015 and 2020.

The inquiry found no evidence of "institutional Islamophobia", but was critical of senior Tory figures including Johnson and Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park, the former London mayoral candidate who is now a minister in the Foreign Office.

Ghani grew up in a working-class area of Birmingham and said she "was expected to be married quite young and live in social housing". Instead she became an MP and then a minister until the mini reshuffle that followed Sajid Javid's resignation as chancellor.

She said: "I will not pretend that this hasn't shaken my faith in the party and I have at times seriously considered whether to continue as an MP. However, I will not let them win and force me out of politics. I have also been concerned at the consequences of this coming out for my security and that of my family, but I always knew there would be a time when I had to explain what happened to me.

"I also have an obligation to my party not to bury this incident. As one colleague reflected, 'If you are too Muslim, then we are all stuffed.' My party is bigger and better than this, and this whole sorry episode has only been bearable due to the steadfast support of colleagues."

She added: "I have had to deal with threats based on my faith and race since being an MP, and last month a man was arrested."

A former MP said: "Nusrat has spoken with me about these experiences on numerous occasions over the past 18 months. Despite the unimaginable toll these events have taken, I have been struck by Nusrat's courage and fortitude to try to challenge the system from within. And how despite it all she's managed to do so much from the back benches, so much so, she's personally been sanctioned by China."

A Brexiteer, Ghani voted for the second Covid-19 lockdown but is a steering committee member of the Covid Recovery Group, a group of Tory MPs who opposed the December 2020 lockdown.

The mother of one, who has been married for two decades, has been outspoken on violent extremism, challenging the Taliban and Isis, and on human rights abuses in China. She was one of five MPs sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party for speaking out about the treatment of Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim minority in the country.

In April last year she tabled a motion before the House of Commons declaring that parliament recognised China was perpetrating genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uighurs, which was passed unanimously.

A spokesperson for the whips' office said: "These claims are categorically untrue. Ministerial roles are appointed on merit and rewards for hard work. The party does not tolerate any form of racism or discrimination."

After the Sunday Times reported Ghani's claims, Mark Spencer, the chief whip, identified himself on Twitter as the person against whom they were made. He said the allegations were completely false and he had "never used those words attributed" to him.

[The Larch]

I was reading stuff on Twitter and, upon some comment about Boris, somebody posted an article from 2004 about him, from when he was sacked from the Shadow Cabinet by Tory leadership. Reading it with hindsight is quite a thing.

Boris Johnson sacked by Tories over private life

Tory MP Boris Johnson was sacked from his party's front bench last night over lurid claims about his love life.

His fate was sealed by the mother of his alleged mistress, Petronella Wyatt, who said her daughter had become pregnant by him and had an abortion last month.

Johnson, who is married with four children, had categorically dismissed the allegations only last week as an 'inverted pyramid of piffle'- and, crucially, he had assured Tory leader Michael Howard they were untrue.

Last night Howard said his colourful arts spokesman and party vice-chairman had been 'relieved of his responsibilities'. He is said to have been unable to forgive Johnson for having apparently misled both newspapers to whom he had earlier denied the allegations and Howard, who publicly backed him.

'This is nothing to do with personal morality. Last weekend when all this came up Michael stood by him and said shadow ministers can live their lives as they want, it was not a matter for him,' said one. But 'it is a matter for him when shadow ministers don't tell the truth'.

Howard offered him the chance to resign, but Johnson insisted on being fired.

The episode brings an end to an unlikely but uniquely engaging political career. Johnson, 40, who is also editor of the Spectator magazine, became one of the few modern Tories able to capture the public imagination, even provoking speculation he could be a future leader.

He had already survived the now infamous Spectator editorial accusing Liverpool of wallowing in its grief over the death of hostage Kenneth Bigley, after visiting the city to apologise.

But the saga of his alleged relationship with Spectator columnist Wyatt was the last straw. Reports first emerged last weekend that Johnson, married to barrister Marina Wheeler, had had an affair and that his mistress subsequently had an abortion.

While he denied it, when Petronella's mother Lady Wyatt was asked if the two were having an affair, she said tellingly: 'Not any more.'

Today's Mail on Sunday claims Wyatt had two abortions, the last one paid for by Johnson, and that he had offered to leave his wife. Asked about the abortion claims, Lady Wyatt reportedly said it had been 'just one'. She confirmed the relationship to the News of the World, saying her daughter had realised it was 'going nowhere'.

Johnson said last night: 'I am very sorry this decision has been taken in response to tabloid stories about my private life. I am very much looking forward to continuing to promote the policies we have developed on the arts, and will do my utmost to serve my constituents in Henley.'

[Sheilbh]

I think there's been leadership chatter about Johnson since he became an MP - he's clearly always had that ambition. And he's been around our politics for years. There's a recent (very good) BBC doc on the Blair and Brown years and they've got footage of Johnson being one of the pundits in the late 90s.

In a way, despite getting the blame for everything, liberal, metropolitan Londoners don't get enough stick for making him mayor (and he was a decent mayor) which is how he got credibility for office as opposed to, with respect, the non-job of junior shadow arts minister.

[Sheilbh]

Latest rumour is that Sue Gray has questioned Met officers (I assume who work at Downing Street) who've been very forthcoming and there's a lot. Which is fine. Except I don't think the way things are supposed to work is that a civil servant questions the police for evidence of wrong-doing

I mean this headline is surely the wrong way round:

[Grey Fox]

The Duke's cottage? It's her cottage, ffs.

[alfred russel]

The Duke's cottage? It's her cottage, ffs.

The duke's cottage, her cottage.... who cares? the real story is the queen is into cottaging.

[Josquius]

I found this interesting. It's something I've somewhat noticed myself lately, though thankfully I am just northern and not in a situation where I actively have to always buy the cheapest thing.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/22/were-pricing-the-poor-out-of-food-in-the-uk-thats-why-im-launching-my-own-price-index

Inflation is at the highest for a while but the reality of price rises for the poor is far worse....

[Sheilbh]

Fun piece by Ryan Heath - now at Politico - on being fired by Sue Gray:

The time Sue Gray fired me
Boris Johnson, be warned: Britain's most famous civil servant is never afraid to do things her way.
By Ryan Heath
January 24, 2022 2:57 pm
Ryan Heath is Senior Editor at POLITICO and author of the Global Insider newsletter.

I liked Sue Gray, and I liked working with her. I think she liked me back. None of that saved me.

The rationale Gray used to remove me from my British civil service job in 2006 should bring a chill to anyone in Boris Johnson's team wondering what their fate will be in the coming days as a major inquiry she's running reports back.

Gray, a senior official with a fearsome reputation, has Westminster on tenterhooks as she investigates claims that lockdown-busting parties took place in Downing Street while the rest of the country was avoiding mixing with others. Johnson's enemies are already circling, and Gray's report could make things much worse.

When I joined the U.K. Cabinet Office in May 2004, working at its 70 Whitehall HQ and breezing past the internal door to 10 Downing Street on the way to the canteen seemed a dream come true.

But it was also a tough environment for a 24-year-old upstart from the colonies, and Gray — though it was always "Sue" — saw that immediately.

As head of the "private offices group" that managed the teams in ministers' offices, and as the arbiter of proprietary and ethical standards, Gray was a regular in the press office where I worked: exchanging banter and gossip, and on the prowl for new recruits — or any signs of trouble brewing.

Gray had a talent for grooming ambitious but obedient young members of staff. She'd be your ally for plum jobs and promotions, and in return you'd share information and do things her way.

Two-parts school principal, one-part the bartender she famously had been in Northern Ireland, Gray was, it seemed, everywhere.

For those of us who took turns serving as "duty press officer," taking point on nights and weekends, Gray was often the person you'd call for advice on unpleasant stories. Ministerial misdeeds, leaks or controversial appointments to the House of Lords all came across our desk when the newspaper front pages landed late at night.

Power base

There's sometimes a hint of sexism in how Gray's many victims complain about her: frustration that she is unapologetic about her judgments, bristling at her defense of civil service authority over temporary political masters.

What rings true when I see others complain is the suggestion Gray sometimes applies a rule or interpretation for one group, and a different standard for others.

She wouldn't allow the government to pay for more than one free drink per person at the farewell party of Andrew Turnbull as cabinet secretary, for example. And yet, there she was at the 2005 party to mark the queen's birthday, leading me and other guests through the "link door" between 70 Whitehall and 10 Downing Street for an impromptu tour of government HQ. Was that a fun little adventure? (Yes.) Or an inappropriate use of her security pass? (Also, yes.)

Former Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin was right when he wrote that "unless she agrees, things just don't happen. Cabinet reshuffles, departmental reorganizations, the whole lot — it's all down to Sue Gray."

Through 2004 and 2005, as Tony Blair's government tired in the aftermath of the Iraq invasion and became more politically vulnerable, Gray consolidated her power by establishing the unwritten precedents and parameters of modern government ethics: like a miniature version of Britain's unwritten constitution.

First, the U.K.'s Freedom of Information Act came into force in January 2005, in a bid to provide more transparency over the way government operates.

Yet Gray established a "clearing house" to centrally oversee requests from the public and journalists. Requests often touched on the Cabinet Office, because of the way information flows up to Britain's cabinet. The clearing house gave Gray input and ultimate control over the way many requests were handled.

Secondly, Gray took new opportunities to put political special advisers in their place, by asserting civil service authority. The "SpAds" — with the ear of their minister and accustomed to obeying party headquarters — chafed under Gray's edicts. At least two generations of people who would go on to become MPs, ministers or senior figures at No. 10 have now been shaped by them.

Word of GOD

Finally, and most importantly, the arrival of Gus O'Donnell (nicknamed "GOD") as cabinet secretary (the top U.K. civil servant) in September 2005 offered Gray a chance to stamp her views on the whole civil service.

O'Donnell didn't want the hassle of adjudicating on ministerial indiscretions himself, and he needed a problem solver at what had become an unwieldy Cabinet Office, comprising more than 2,000 civil servants spread across dozens of buildings. In Gray, he gained a bad cop — while she gained a fast-track to permanent secretary status.

By then I was O'Donnell's speechwriter and, for a few months, his lower-level handyman. There were serious speeches to give, but the other work at times resembled a script for BBC sitcom "Yes, Minister."

We were rolling out GOD's vision for the civil service, and traipsing across the country to far-flung agencies for staff "meet and greets." We re-wrote the Civil Service Code, and made the stuffy Cabinet Office look like the modern environment O'Donnell wanted it to be.

Gray and I saw each other regularly: exchanging views, attending the same meetings. But my unusual odd-job role gave me a lot of face time with O'Donnell, and this put me in competition with Gray. In hindsight, I was accumulating demerit points for months.

The first incident was comical: O'Donnell wanted modern art for the office — on a budget. I found a collection of artworks by artists with disabilities, and O'Donnell personally chose a piece and paid for it. To everyone's surprise, a massive canvas arrived: too large for one person to handle. At that scale it ridiculously towered over O'Donnell's antique conference table and everything else in the room. It was unavoidably mediocre, and it was my fault.

But this art purchase was also an effort at inclusion and diversity: sending it back or tossing it out wasn't an option. So the art remained as a daily reminder of what happens when you give a 25-year-old too much of a free hand.

Daily Mail dramas

Then came a reception for a new Muslim civil servants' society. In the wake of the 7/7 bombings in London earlier that year, I'd pushed O'Donnell to conduct this outreach. He even agreed to become the group's patron. A win!

It was unnerving to be told to vet the guest list to ensure no extremists were invited, but it was outright horrifying to learn that one of the guests brought uninvited associates, and sneaked them past security at the Cabinet Office.

The Daily Mail found out and splashed the story across two pages. If Charles Kennedy had not resigned as Liberal Democrat leader the same day, admitting to alcoholism, that could have been my final act.

Next up, the Mail on Sunday found out about a book I was about to launch.

"Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell's speech writer Ryan Heath has penned a book on 'generational conflict' entitled: Please Just F*** Off, It's Our Turn Now. Gus's friend and ally Gordon Brown might be tempted to send a copy to his Downing Street neighbour," the column said.

I was touring bookstores in Hay-on-Wye, blissfully out of mobile range, when the column appeared. The downside: I wasn't there to defend myself as Gray and other senior officials wondered how I could become part of two Daily Mail dramas in consecutive months.

Gray took pride in running a red line through the passages of books by ministers and officials. Surprise books by twentysomething staffers were not her cup of tea.

The final straw was me sending an email to colleagues — from my Cabinet Office email account — inviting them to my book launch.

It's this that should worry Martin Reynolds, Boris Johnson's principal private secretary, as Gray's current probe continues. He reportedly emailed Downing Street staff inviting them to a drinks party during lockdown — one of the most potentially damaging incidents in the whole saga.

Gray decided I'd misused government resources in sending that email. I could have sent it from my Gmail account, but instead I saved time by using the auto-prompt to call up colleague addresses in my work Outlook account. To do it, I used a government computer, placed on a government desk, as I sat on a government chair, illuminated by government lights.

This victimless crime is committed thousands of times by civil servants each day, emailing spouses and parents and friends. But for Gray it was reason enough to kick me out of a job.

And just like that, I was gone.

All for my own good

I was bundled out of the building with an instruction to remove a photo of a Whitehall street sign (often used as a signifier for the civil service) from my personal website — yes, someone had looked through every page of my site in order to rub that salt in my wound.

Gray never delivered the bad news in person, of course. That was left to the Cabinet Office's head of communications.

If I talked to her about it all now, I imagine Gray would first complain that I didn't clear this article with her. Then she'd tell me it was all for my own good, an important lesson learned.

When I did see Gray for the first time in more than a decade — in the British Museum lobby, leaving a 2018 Christmas drinks hosted by the lobbying firm Finsbury — she beamed when she saw me. "It's so good to see you doing so well!" she said.

I can picture her saying the same to Boris Johnson in 2035.

[Sheilbh]

Joint Treasury and Cabinet Officer minister responsible for efficiency and counter-fraud, Lord Agnew, has resigned at the despatch box because he said he is unable to defend the government on this which is pretty dramatic (a former conservative MP has noted that Agnew is good friends with Gove and Truss and of course this doesn't look good for Sunak):

UK minister resigns in protest at handling of fraudulent Covid loans
Responding to question on £4.3bn in Covid payments lost to fraud, Lord Agnew says he is unable to defend government

Lord Agnew: 'Given that I am the minister for counter-fraud, it would be somewhat dishonest to stay on in that role if I am incapable of doing it properly.' Photograph: House of Lords
Peter Walker Political correspondent
@peterwalker99
Mon 24 Jan 2022 16.07 GMT

Last modified on Mon 24 Jan 2022 17.11 GMT

The minister responsible for efficiency has dramatically resigned his post publicly in parliament, saying he was unable to defend the way the government handled fraudulent Covid business loans.

"Given that I am the minister for counter-fraud, it would be somewhat dishonest to stay on in that role if I am incapable of doing it properly," Theodore Agnew, a Cabinet Office minister whose brief also covers the Treasury, told the Lords.

"It is for this reason that I have sadly decided to tender my resignation as a minister across the Treasury and Cabinet Office with immediate effect."

Agnew, a life peer since 2017, was responding to a Labour urgent question about the Treasury's decision last week to write off £4.3bn in Covid payments lost to fraud.

Asked by Labour peer Denis Tunnicliffe if he could provide an accurate figure for how much had been written off, Agnew said he was speaking to defend the government, adding: "But I will only be able to do that in part."

Oversight of Covid loans by the business department and the British Business Bank, which oversaw the scheme, had been "nothing less than woeful", Agnew said.

"They have been assisted by the Treasury, who appear to have no knowledge or little interest in the consequences of fraud to our economy or our society," he said, adding that two counter-fraud staff at the business department would not "engage constructively" with his counter-fraud team in the Cabinet Office.

He said: "Schoolboy errors were made, for example allowing over a thousand companies to receive bounceback loans that were not even trading when Covid struck."

Agnew insisted that his decision had nothing to do with "far more dramatic political events being played out across Westminster" relating to Boris Johnson and an ongoing investigation into No 10 parties.

He said: "This is not an attack on the prime minister and I am sorry for the inconvenience it will cause. I hope that as a virtually unknown minister beyond this place, it might prompt others more important beyond me to get behind this and sort it out."

After finishing his speech, Agnew walked out of the Lords chamber to applause from his fellow peers.

Labour's shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said Agnew's resignation was a "damning indictment of the chancellor and the government's failures on fraud".

She said: "That the government's own anti-fraud minister feels he is unable to defend the government's record on billions of pounds of taxpayer cash gifted to criminals tells you all you need to know about the incompetence of this government."

Speaking after him, the Lib Dem peer Susan Kramer said: "Can I just take this opportunity to say on behalf of these benches how much we appreciate the honour and integrity that has just been displayed by the minister? I don't think anyone could have raised questions more forcefully, more accurately or more completely than he has."

Johnson's spokesman said: "We are grateful to Lord Agnew for the significant contribution he has made to government.

"On the wider issues that he's raised, we introduced our unprecedented Covid support schemes at speed to protect jobs and livelihoods, helping millions of people across the UK, including nearly 12 million on the furlough scheme alone.

"We've always been clear fraud is unacceptable and are taking action against those abusing the system, with 150,000 ineligible claims blocked, £500m recovered last year and the HMRC tax protection taskforce is expected to recover an additional £1bn of taxpayers' money."

From the Guardian liveblog:

Minister resigns, saying income tax could be cut by 1p in pound if government's record on fraud less 'woeful'

In his speech in the Lords which ended with his resignation, Lord Agnew said that he agreed with John Glen, a Treasury minister, who told MPs last week that, in response to a UQ on fraud in Covid grant schemes, that the government had to prioritise distributing money to businesses quickly at the start of the pandemic.

But what followed was "desperately inadequate", Agnew said.

    The oversight by both BEIS [the Department for Business, Enterprise and Industry Strategy] and the British Business Bank of the panel lenders of BBLs has been nothing less than woeful. They have been assisted by the Treasury, who appear to have no knowledge or little interest in the consequences of fraud to our economy or our society.

Agnew said, at the start of the pandemic, BEIS had just two counter-fraud officials on its staff, neither of whom was experienced in this area. They refused to engage with the counter-fraud team at the Cabinet Office reporting to Agnew, Agnew said.

Schoolboy errors were made, for example allowing over a thousand companies to receive bounceback loans that were not even trading when Covid struck ...

    I've been arguing with Treasury and BEIS officials for nearly two years to get them to lift their game. I've been mostly unsuccessful.

Agnew said he was particularly worried about how banks had been able to claim back 100% of some Covid loans that were written off. He said three out of the seven main lenders were responsible for 87% of the loans paid out to firms that were now dissolved. And two of the seven lenders were responsible for 81% of loans to firms set up after the pandemic started, he said.

Agnew said, if only the British Business Bank would "wake up", there was still time to take action on duplicate loans paid out. He went on:

Despite pressing BEIS and BBB for over a year, there is still no single dashboard of management data to scrutinise lender performance. It is inexcusable.

    We've already paid out nearly £1bn to banks claiming the state guarantee. The percentage of these losses estimated to be from fraud rather than credit failure is 26%. I accept this as only an earlier approximation but a very worrying one.

Agnew said he had at least four differences of opinion with Treasury officials on what the government should be doing.

He said there was a failure by Treasury and BEIS officials to understand the "complete disjunction" between the amount of criminal activity in this area, probably hundreds of thousands of cases, and the capacity of the enforcement agencies trying to stop it. For example, Natis, the National Investigation Service, can handle just 200 cases a year, he said.

Agnew ended his speech saying:

My lords, you can see it is my deeply held conviction that the current state of affairs is not acceptable.

Given that I am the minister for counter fraud, it feels somewhat dishonest to stay on in that role if I am incapable of doing it properly, let alone defending our track record.

It is for this reason that I have sadly decided to tender my resignation as a minister across the Treasury and Cabinet Office with immediate affect ...

It is worth saying that none of this relates to far more dramatic political events being played out across Westminster. This is not an attack on the prime minister and I'm sorry for the inconvenience it will cause. Indeed, I think any prime minister should be able to reasonably expect that the levers of government were actually connected to delivering services for our citizens.

I hope that as a virtually unknown minister beyond this place giving up my career might prompt others more important than me to get behind this and sorted out.

It matters for all the obvious reasons, but there is a penny of income tax waiting to be claimed here if we just woke up.

Total fraud loss across government is estimated at £29bn a year. Of course, not all can be stopped. But a combination of arrogance, indolence and ignorance freezes the government machine.

Action taken today will give this government a sporting chance of cutting income tax before a likely May 2024 election.

If my removal helps that to happen, it will have been worth it.

[Sheilbh]

Sue Gray resignedly opens Word again:

Paul Brand
@PaulBrandITV
EXCLUSIVE: Boris Johnson had a birthday party during lockdown in June 2020 despite rules forbidding social gatherings indoors, ITV News has learnt.

Up to 30 staff celebrated in the cabinet room where Carrie Johnson surprised him with a cake, we're told.
ITV News has learnt that Lulu Lytle - who was redecorating the Prime Minister's flat at the time - also came down to the party.

It lasted for 20-30 mins we're told, Later that night ITV News understands family friends also celebrated upstairs in the PM's flat.
The week before the party, the PM told us all: "meeting inside other people's homes - that remains against the law".

The Queen had rearranged her birthday, as had millions more. For some, it would be their last.
No 10 admit the afternoon birthday party. They told us:

"A group of staff working in No 10 that day gathered briefly in the Cabinet Room after a meeting to wish the Prime Minister a happy birthday. He was there for less than ten minutes."
As for family friends going up to the PM's flat, No 10 deny this:

"This is totally untrue. In line with the rules at the time the Prime Minister hosted a small number of family members outside that evening."

We have approached Lulu Lytle for comment.

Also very glad the expensive but hideous wallpaper and the parties storylines have finally crossed.

[mongers]

Sue Gray resignedly opens Word again:

Paul Brand
@PaulBrandITV
EXCLUSIVE: Boris Johnson had a birthday party during lockdown in June 2020 despite rules forbidding social gatherings indoors, ITV News has learnt.

Up to 30 staff celebrated in the cabinet room where Carrie Johnson surprised him with a cake, we're told.
ITV News has learnt that Lulu Lytle - who was redecorating the Prime Minister's flat at the time - also came down to the party.

It lasted for 20-30 mins we're told, Later that night ITV News understands family friends also celebrated upstairs in the PM's flat.
The week before the party, the PM told us all: "meeting inside other people's homes - that remains against the law".

The Queen had rearranged her birthday, as had millions more. For some, it would be their last.
No 10 admit the afternoon birthday party. They told us:

"A group of staff working in No 10 that day gathered briefly in the Cabinet Room after a meeting to wish the Prime Minister a happy birthday. He was there for less than ten minutes."
As for family friends going up to the PM's flat, No 10 deny this:

"This is totally untrue. In line with the rules at the time the Prime Minister hosted a small number of family members outside that evening."

We have approached Lulu Lytle for comment.

Also very glad the expensive but hideous wallpaper and the parties storylines have finally crossed.

Shelf, I get the impression if Johnson and wife had better 'taste' you'd be more supportive of them. 

[Sheilbh]

No Prime Minister I can think of has had good taste

And, look, I love the chintz revival as much as the next thirty something gay man - but this is bad:

And we shouldn't be afraid to say it

[Richard Hakluyt]

A cross between a belle epoque Parisian brothel and a British 1970s high street Indian restaurant 

I can't imagine what Sheilbh is complaining about 

[The Larch]

Chintz?