Inside Politics: PM ‘misled’ probe into flat refurb as fresh details emerge of No 10 Christmas bash

There was some good news for Boris Johnson yesterday as he and wife Carrie welcomed a “healthy baby girl” into the world. But that’s where the joy ended for the Johnsons. The PM is now fighting three major political fires after an official investigation found that he asked a Tory donor for cash for the lavish refurbishment of his Downing Street flat – despite telling a separate inquiry months later that he knew nothing about the money. Reports this morning say that Lord Geidt, Johnson’s standards adviser who carried out the initial probe, may quit if he does not receive a satisfactory answer as to why he appears to have been misled, piling further pressure on the PM. Meanwhile, it looks like the Christmas party story is going to just keep running and running. Last night fresh details emerged saying Jack Doyle, the PM’s top communications adviser, attended the 18 December bash – and even handed out awards to staff. No 10’s party position appears more untenable by the day. There is also the small matter of a major Tory rebellion on new Covid rules. The PM is taking some time off to spend with his family but will no doubt have a peek at this morning’s headlines, which once again make dire reading. “Another day, another lie”, says the Daily Mirror.

Commons sits from 9.30 to debate a series of private members’ bills

Coming up:

– Covid SPI-M member Rowland Kao on Sky News at 8.05am

– Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on Sky News at 8.20am

CALLS FOR PROBE: Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, is leading demands to reopen investigations into the funding of Johnson’s Downing Street flat refurb. He says the PM is in breach of the ministerial code and the seven principles of public life and is therefore calling for him to resign or be ousted by his party. Sir Alistair’s comments came after an Electoral Commission probe into the redecoration concluded that the Tory Party broke electoral laws over the controversy. It also found that, in November 2020, the PM “messaged Lord Brownlow via WhatsApp” to ask him to “authorise” further redecorations despite telling a probe in February 2021 that “he knew nothing about such payments until immediately prior to media reports in February 2021”. Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, has written to Kathryn Stone, the independent parliamentary standards commissioner, calling for a fresh probe. The Electoral Commission report “demonstrates that the prime minister has failed to declare donations which appears to put him in clear breach of the members’ code of conduct, as well as the Conservative Party having breached its own legal obligations,” she said. Downing Street denied the PM lied to the initial probe.

‘SHAM’: That Doyle, Johnson’s top comms adviser, is alleged to have joined in with the festivities in No 10 on 18 December raises new and serious questions. As his title suggests, he is in charge of communications and will therefore likely have had a major role shaping No 10’s response to the reports, which has so far been that no party took place and that all rules were followed. Simon Case, the cabinet secretary who is in charge of investigating the shindigs, set out the terms of reference for his probe last night and confirmed that he will look into allegations of three separate parties, although there are reports that up to seven took place. Importantly, Case said that “where there are credible allegations relating to other gatherings, these may be investigated,” which could spell trouble for the PM amid allegations, first made by his former aide Dominic Cummings, that a gathering took place inside his flat on 13 November. Labour said that Doyle’s presence, first reported by ITV News, exposed the investigation being carried out by Case as “a sham” and showed that the PM was “unfit to lead”.

REVOLT: Johnson is facing a major rebellion over his Covid plan B measures, with backbench Tories incandescent with rage over vaccine passports, mask mandates and other restrictions. It looks like the PM will be forced to rely on the Labour Party to get the new rules on the statute books, in a move that is likely to further enrage hardliners in his party. When stories about party revolts emerge there are inevitably calculations about how large the rebellion might be.

HOW MANY REBELS?: One report puts the figure at 100 Conservatives considering defying the government. And while that number is at the high end of the spectrum and will likely fall as the whips hit the phones and promise MPs the world over the coming days, it is a good indication of the level of discontent on the Tory backbenches. Rebels were confident of topping the tally of 40 needed to neutralise Johnson’s 79-seat majority, and there were expectations that the revolt could surpass the 49 Tories who opposed the extension of lockdown measures in June with some Tories branding the new restrictions “authoritarian”. Among those considering voting against the package is ex-cabinet minister Liam Fox - a former shadow health secretary - who told The Independent that he would wait to see whether the wording of Tuesday’s motion allows him to oppose vaccine certification for entry to venues while backing the relaxation of isolation rules proposed by Johnson.

LEVELLING UP PLANS LEAKED: The government plans to radically alter local government in England, replacing it with a single-tier mayoral-style system, according to a draft of the government’s levelling up white paper seen by The Independent. The document – marked “Official Sensitive” – states the government is setting out a “new devolution framework for England” based on a model of a directly elected leader “over a well-defined economic geography”.The ambition is to strip back layers of local government and replace them with a single-tier system, as in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, but the government is already braced for a backlash to the plans, according to one senior official. “Levelling up requires coherent local institutions,” the document reads. With local government split across county councils, district councils and unitary authorities there needs to be a more streamlined approach, it suggests.

“The prime minister is in breach of both the ministerial code and the seven principles of public life. He therefore has to resign, or the Tory Party has to sack him.”

Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, on suggestions PM misled an inquiry into the refurbishment on of his Downing Street flat.

“Some Tories reckon up to 100 MPs are considering rebelling on vaccine passports in next weeks crunch votes. Absolute fury with the plan.”

The Sun’s deputy political editor Kate Ferguson hears up to 100 Tory MPs could rebel against vaccine passports.

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