09.20
The Church of England accuses Boris Johnson of “shameful slander” against senior clerics
Good morning. Boris Johnson managed to maintain a tone of remorse during his long statement to the Municipalities yesterday at Partygate. But later, speaking in private with Tory MPs, he returned to his usual self, courting popularity by denigrating traditional figures of hatred for Tory rightists.
He attacked the BBC and the Church of England. He seemed particularly angry at their response to the government’s plan to effectively deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda, and, according to the Daily Mirror, said it was “good policy” despite some criticism from the BBC and senior members. the clergy. “
The Mirror quoted a source as saying that Johnson also hinted that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was kind to Russia. According to reports, Johnson said that the clergy “coincidentally were less violent in their condemnation of Putin’s Easter Sunday than in our policy against illegal immigrants,” the newspaper said. In its report on the same comments, the Telegraph said that the soft accusation against Russia was also made against the BBC.
Last night, the archbishop’s chief spin doctor (he has one) responded, describing Johnson’s claim as “shameful slander.” This is from John Bingham, head of news at the Church of England.
Paul Scully, the Minister for Business, hosted the government broadcast this morning, and he did not deny reports that Johnson was attacking both the BBC and the Church of England at last night’s meeting. He says Johnson was concerned about Welby’s criticism of Rwanda’s policies in his Easter sermon.
Scully was less confident, defending the claim that the BBC was soft on Russia. When today’s presenter Justin Webb asked him if Johnson had ever “put his life at stake for the truth, as Jeremy Bowen did, like Liz Dusset, like Clive Miri,” Scully simply said that was not something you could comment on.
The term “dead cat” is one of the most overused and misused clichés in political commentary, but it is probably appropriate today.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.15 am: Ministers of Social Welfare David Rutley and Mims Davis testify to the Committee on Labor and Pensions on the universal cost of credit and childcare.
9.30 am: Nadhim Zahawi, Secretary of Education, testifies before the Municipal Education Commission.
9.45 am: Sir Stephen House, Acting Commissioner of the Sofia Police, testifies before the Municipal Affairs Committee of the Municipality.
10 am: Lord Beau, Chairman of the Nomination Committee of the House of Lords, gives testimony to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Municipality to screen potential colleagues, such as in the case of Evgeny Lebedev.
12 a.m .: Boris Johnson faces Keira Starmer in PMQs.
13.30: Chris Warmold, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and other DHSC staff testify before the Municipal Public Accounts Committee on PPE contracts.
15:00: Damien Hinds, Minister of Security, testifies before the Municipal Justice Committee for fraud in the judiciary.
I’m trying to follow the comments below the line (BTL), but it’s impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, include Andrew somewhere in it and I’m more likely to find it. I try to answer questions and if they are of common interest, I will publish the question and answer over the order (ATL), although I cannot promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.
Updated at 10.14 BST
11 a.m. ago 10.10 Campaigns from the coalition “Together with the refugees” show their flag on a boat against the House of Parliament this morning. Photo: Dominik Lipinski / PA37m before 09.43
This is from SNP MP Joanna Cherry on Boris Johnson’s comments to the BBC and the Anglican Church when he spoke in private with Tory MPs last night. (See 9.20 in the morning.)
What a despicable person @BorisJohnson attacks the Church and the BBC, saying they have been more critical of him than of Putin. This is a dirty lie. The BBC’s report on #Ukraine is exceptional and the church’s job is to call for immorality.
– Joanna Cherry QC (@joannaccherry) April 20, 2022 44 m ago 09.37
Angela Raynor, the Labor’s deputy leader, reiterated Labor’s call for Boris Johnson’s resignation this morning. She told Sky News:
We need a prime minister whom the people trust. There is a red line if the Prime Minister of this country believes that they can violate the Ministerial Code, deceive the British public and get away with it. Then, frankly, all bets on our rules and democratic process are ruled out.
45 minutes ago 09.35
In another interview this morning, Paul Scully, the Minister of Business, agreed that Boris Johnson should “restore confidence” after Partygate. He told BBC Breakfast.
Obviously, we have not dealt with the current situation [at] At Christmas, when Partygate was starting to become something, we weren’t doing very well at the time in terms of communication.
However, the prime minister caught on, apologized, accepted the fine, accepted the police statement and wanted to move forward.
Now this is difficult because he needs to rebuild trust with people who are angry, who are disappointed, but that is the challenge we have.
Updated at 09.50 BST
49 minutes ago 09.32
In defense of Boris Johnson, sources said he accused “senior members of the clergy” of misinterpreting [Rwanda] policy, ”PA Media reported. PA says:
The prime minister was then said to have added that clerics were “less noisy” in their condemnation of Vladimir Putin’s Easter than in migration policy.
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, did not mention Putin by name in his Easter sermon, but called for a “ceasefire, withdrawal and a negotiating commitment.”
And he has repeatedly criticized the invasion and discussed the plight of the Ukrainian people living and fleeing the war.
1 hour ago 20.09
The Church of England accuses Boris Johnson of “shameful slander” against senior clerics
Good morning. Boris Johnson managed to maintain a tone of remorse during his long statement to the Municipalities yesterday at Partygate. But later, speaking in private with Tory MPs, he returned to his usual self, courting popularity by denigrating traditional figures of hatred for Tory rightists.
He attacked the BBC and the Church of England. He seemed particularly angry at their response to the government’s plan to effectively deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda, and, according to the Daily Mirror, said it was “good policy” despite some criticism from the BBC and senior members. the clergy. “
The Mirror quoted a source as saying that Johnson also hinted that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was kind to Russia. According to reports, Johnson said that the clergy “coincidentally were less violent in their condemnation of Putin’s Easter Sunday than in our policy against illegal immigrants,” the newspaper said. In its report on the same comments, the Telegraph said that the soft accusation against Russia was also made against the BBC.
Last night, the archbishop’s chief spin doctor (he has one) responded, describing Johnson’s claim as “shameful slander.” This is from John Bingham, head of news at the Church of England.
Paul Scully, the Minister for Business, hosted the government broadcast this morning, and he did not deny reports that Johnson was attacking both the BBC and the Church of England at last night’s meeting. He says Johnson was concerned about Welby’s criticism of Rwanda’s policies in his Easter sermon.
Scully was less confident, defending the claim that the BBC was soft on Russia. When today’s presenter Justin Webb asked him if Johnson had ever “put his life at stake for the truth, as Jeremy Bowen did, like Liz Dusset, like Clive Miri,” Scully simply said that was not something you could comment on.
The term “dead cat” is one of the most overused and misused clichés in political commentary, but it is probably appropriate today.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.15 am: Ministers of Social Welfare David Rutley and Mims Davis testify to the Committee on Labor and Pensions on the universal cost of credit and childcare.
9.30 am: Nadhim Zahawi, Secretary of Education, testifies before the Municipal Education Commission.
9.45 am: Sir Stephen House, Acting Commissioner of the Sofia Police, testifies before the Municipal Affairs Committee of the Municipality.
10 am: Lord Beau, Chairman of the Nomination Committee of the House of Lords, gives testimony to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Municipality to screen potential colleagues, such as in the case of Evgeny Lebedev.
12 a.m .: Boris Johnson faces Keira Starmer in PMQs.
13.30: Chris Warmold, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and other DHSC staff testify before the Municipal Public Accounts Committee on PPE contracts.
15:00: Damien Hinds, Minister of Security, testifies before the Municipal Justice Committee for fraud in the judiciary.
I’m trying to follow the comments below the line (BTL), but it’s impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, include Andrew somewhere in it and I’m more likely to find it. I try to answer questions and if they are of common interest, I will publish the question and answer over the order (ATL), although I cannot promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.
Updated at 10.14 BST
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