Inside Politics: Boris Johnson drowning in ‘sewage’ of sleaze, says Labour

I’m interested in one thing and only thing only – and that’s tying up tantalising plotlines. “Every investigation has led to this,” goes the new promo forLine of Duty’s season finale. The clip hints that ‘H’ will be unveiled at long last. Westminster is currently drowning tantalising plotlines. It’s not clear where all the investigations are leading – or how the various strands of our “sleaze” thriller will be tied up – but it’s clear Boris Johnson is in serious trouble. Both the BBC and ITV are claiming sources heard the PM’s say the now-notorious “let the bodies pile high” remark. Mother of God. What next?

Inside the bubble

Senior political commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for today:

Boris Johnson will convene his cabinet by video this morning. This will be followed by Treasury questions in the Commons – Rishi Sunak’s first chance to answer questions about being lobbied by David Cameron. Elsewhere, work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey will publish the numbers on the Kickstart job placement scheme for 16-24s, which have been disappointing so far.

Daily briefing

JAWS OF DEATH: New claims for Boris Johnson to deny. The PM allegedly told aides he would rather let Covid “rip” than impose a second lockdown, according to The Times. Johnson is said to have described lockdowns as “mad” in September – comparing himself to the mayor from Jaws who kept the beaches open despite the risk of shark attacks. Asked on Tuesday if he had said the reported “let the bodies could pile high” remark after an October meeting, Johnson said “no”. But sources familiar with the talks told the BBC he did indeed say it. And ITV’s Robert Peston said two “ear witnesses” told him they heard the PM “shout it in his study”. Peston said one of his sources would go on the record if the PM continued to deny it. In a carefully-worded answer in the Commons, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove told MPs he had “never heard language of that kind” (Gove’s people are insisting it was a straightforward denial, and not a non-denial denial, if you see what I mean). Labour claimed the PM was now swamped by sleaze claims. “We are now seeing the pipes burst with the sewage of allegations,” said Rachel Reeves.

MYSTERY OF THE CHATTY RAT: Looks like the investigation aimed at finding the “chatty rat” who leaked lockdown plans will remain one of the great unsolved mysteries. The hunt is unlikely to pinpoint a culprit, cabinet secretary Simon Case admitted (he’s no Ted Hastings, that’s for sure). If it’s so difficult to identify a leaker, it begs the question: why on earth did No 10 start a briefing war with Dominic Cummings about leaks? Case gave little away at his select committee session, telling MPs he had not been “involved directly” in the refurbishment of Johnson’s flat. Case did reveal that dozens of top civil servants hold second job (“fewer than one hundred”) – but he insisted they had all been cleared of any “conflict of interest”. It comes as the Tories fell five points in the latest Ipsos MORI survey. Which suggests the sleaze stuff finally has some “cut through” with the public – though the poll was carried out before No 10 dragged Cummings into the mess. Sir David Lidington, de facto deputy PM under Theresa May, warned “internecine warfare” never ends well.

DON’T GET NO RESPECT: The big news from Europe: the EU is taking legal action against the British-Swedish pharma giant AstraZeneca over vaccines. The European Commission has claimed the company is set to provide 70 million doses during the latest quarter – far short of the 180 million promised. “The terms of the contract, or some terms of the contract, have not been respected,” a commission spokesman said. AstraZeneca said the legal action was “without merit”, and vowed to refute the claims in court. No 10 was reluctant to get drawn in, but did say AstraZeneca had been a “hugely strong partner for the UK”. Meanwhile, tourism minister Nigel Huddleston claimed the UK was now working with the EU on vaccine passports for travel. He suggested it was a “myth of Brexit” that co-operation with Brussels had ceased. However, the European Commission made clear no formal discussions had been held. “We would also be open towards the UK side on this issue,” said a spokesman. 

THIS DEAL’S ON FIRE: Boris Johnson has been urged to “step up” and start rebuilding trust in Northern Ireland to help prevent more violence. Four former NI secretaries and a former chief constable are among the high-profile signatories of a letter to the PM, warning him about the danger of a “political vacuum” emerging if he ignored the situation. Former NI secretary Shaun Woodward said Johnson was “playing with fire” by “by ignoring the demand to be involved”. It comes as more grim figures showed the impact of the Brexit deal. Sales of British milk and cream to the EU plummeted by 96 per cent last month. Overall, UK food and drink exports to the EU fell by 40 per cent in February, according to the Food and Drink Federation. The body said trade barriers erected in the Brexit process have cost exporters more than £1.1bn since the start of the year.

THE BIG FREEZE: Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has announced that sanctions will be imposed against 22 foreign individuals involved in corruption cases – the very first such measures under the new “Magnitsky” regime. Fourteen Russians will be hit by the travel bans and asset freezes, while the eight others are from Latin America, South Africa and South Sudan. It comes as Raab condemned the “totally inhumane” sentencing of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to a further year in prison in Iran after she was found guilty of propaganda activities. Boris Johnson also spoke out – pledging that his government would “redouble” its efforts to free her. “I don’t think it is right at all that Nazanin should be sentenced to any more time in jail,” said the PM. “We are working with our American friends on this issue as well.” The British-Iranian citizen’s husband Richard Ratcliffe said the decision was “clearly a negotiating tactic” by the Iranian regime, still mired in discussions over its nuclear activities.

ETON CHUMOCRACY: Yet more questions for David Cameron to answer. The former PM introduced one of his old Eton chums to a top adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) over a potential Covid contract last April, according to a new report. Cameron introduced Hugh Warrender to “fixer” Andrew Feldman, working as a senior adviser at the DHSC, according to The Guardian. Warrender is said to have been representing a supplier of testing kits from South Korea keen to sell to the government. The DHSC said Feldman was not involved in procurement decisions. Meanwhile, Whitehall’s ethics chief has agreed that financier Lex Greensill’s appointment to a role inside the Cameron government was “a screaming, glaring conflict of interest”. Darren Tierney – the Cabinet Office’s director general of propriety and ethics – told MPs it was still “unclear” how Greensill had managed to get himself appointed. It is odd ... Lex didn’t even go to Eton.

On the record

“The prime minister is now corrupting the standards of public life expected in high office … The fish rots from the head down.”

Labour’s Rachel Reeves is sickened by the stench of sleaze.

From the Twitterati

“Jaw-droppingly empty testimony to MPs by cabinet secretary Simon Case. He says 1) so much time has elapsed that chances of identifying Chatty Rat close to nil; 2) he simply does not know if party or private donors helped settle Downing St refurb costs.”

Robert Peston says Simon Case isn’t exactly ‘on the case’…

“This ridiculous Simon Case stonewalling act going down very badly with Tory MPs as well. One asks: “Who is this bloke and what has he been doing for the last six months? Judging by how little he knows … he can’t have been working as cabinet secretary.”

…and Politico’s Alex Wickham says Tory MPs are grumpy.

Essential reading

Sean O’Grady, The Independent: ‘Let the bodies pile high’ – crass, but is it outrageous?

Layla Moran, The Independent: Where is Dominic Raab’s red line when it comes to Nazanin’s case?

Stephen Bush, New Statesman: The Cummings-Johnson feud could be disastrous for all Tory factions

Rachel Sylvester, Prospect: Dominic Cummings has nothing to lose from a briefing war

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