A female MP and a Junior Minister complained they have seen a Tory male MP watching inappropriate videos on his cell phone while in the House of Commons.
London: This week was a bad week for Tory sleaze, starting with a mail on Sunday report of a typically anonymous Tory MP insulting opposition Deputy Leader Angela Rayner by suggesting her debating skills did not compete with Boris Johnson’s, and Ms Rayner used her legs to distract the PM on the front bench. The Prime Minister said this report was “the most appalling load of sexist, misogynist tripe” and that he respected Rayner as a parliamentarian despite differences of opinion. The Times reported that an anonymous official said the Sue Gray report into lockdown parties was damning regarding Boris Johnson. A female MP and a Junior Minister complained they have seen a Tory male MP watching porn on his cell phone while in the House of Commons, subsequently several female MP’s revealed accounts of sexual harassment by male colleagues. Suella Braverman, UK’s Attorney General, said it was worrying that watching porn had become “normalised” and a minority of men in politics “behave like animals”. Ben Wallace, Defence Minister, suggested there was a fundamental problem with the drinking culture in parliament. Fifty-six MPs including three members of Cabinet and two shadow ministers are reported to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme for alleged sexual misconduct. All the above suggest a moral vacuum, lack of ethical behaviour and poor managerial oversight in parliament.
Ben Wallace believes Russia is trying to broaden the conflict in Ukraine. James Heappey, Minister for the Armed Forces responsible for military equipment and support to Ukraine, appears to support Ukraine’s legitimacy to attack logistic line targets in Russian territory with Western donated munitions. Heappey said it was nonsense that such action would provoke Russia and the risks of the situation becoming nuclear are “vanishingly small”, on imported armaments he said it does not mean the blame is with the country that manufactured them.
Military supplies to Ukraine are being ramped up. The UK is gifting a small number of Stormer armoured vehicles fitted with launchers for anti-air missiles. Germany is planning to supply 50 anti-aircraft tanks. The Czech Republic has supplied T72 tanks and BMP Fighting Vehicles, Poland has also pledged T72 tanks, the Netherlands will provide Ukraine with “a limited number” of (PzH2000) self-propelled howitzers.
Poland and Bulgaria decided not to pay Gazprom in roubles and the oil price hit $108 a barrel on Friday. In a move contrary to European Union’s unity and sanctions it is reported that energy companies in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Italy are considering a new payment system with Gazprombank, for Russian gas as sought by the Kremlin. Johnson met President Ignazio Cassis of Switzerland in No10 about trade and economic cooperation, they also discussed Ukraine and how the UK and Switzerland could continue to apply financial pressure on the Russian regime.
Russia introduced sanctions on 287 cross-party British MPs and former MPs, who Russia deemed had taken the most active part in sanctioning members of the Duma in March and whipping up Russophobic hysteria.
As UN chief Antonio Guterres called war evil and absurd, Liz Truss, Foreign Secretary, demanded that Russia be pushed out of Ukraine in her return of geopolitics speech. The speech at Mansion House pitched Truss as a Thatcher/Reagan character, a votary of freedom and liberty standing up to bullies and making bad examples of President Putin and President Xi, dispelling the assumption that economic integration drives political change. Truss outlined her vision to double down on Russia and support Ukraine, to dig deeply into UK’s inventories for weapons, tanks, and aeroplanes and ramp up production, to work with US and EU on a Marshall Plan to rebuild Ukraine.
The PM and others are campaigning in local elections and announcing all government spending on Ukraine, the police, doctors and nurses recruitment to restore confidence in Conservative local government. Sir Keir Starmer has adopted a laser focus on the rise in the cost of living as the PM is searching for solutions to the crisis.
The Rwanda deportation threat seems to have stopped illegal migrant crossings, it is reported there have been no migrant crossings over the Channel since 19 April. However, Brits are having trouble getting out of Britain to go on holiday as the Passport Office cannot cope with processing the 5 million new passport applications that were postponed during the pandemic.
The High Court ruled that former Health Minister Matt Hancock’s policy of discharging patients from hospitals into care homes at the start of the pandemic had been unlawful. Hancock maintains the now-disbanded authority of Public Health England were to blame.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak did not break the Ministerial Code over Akshata Murthy’s tax arrangements, the report by the PM’s Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests has found. Lord Geidt advised “that the requirements of the Ministerial Code have been adhered to by the Chancellor, and that he has been assiduous in meeting his obligations and in engaging with this investigation.”