Boris Johnson news – live: PM warned to ‘get a grip’ of ministers as government accused of cladding ‘betrayal’
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Your support makes all the difference.A senior Tory MP has warned Boris Johnson to "get a grip" of his ministers following, what he referred to as, "unacceptable behaviour" from various secretaries of state.
Vice-chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers Sir Charles Walker, who said he was "very disappointed", named Matt Hancock and Grant Shapps in his interview with BBC Radio 4's World at One programme. In response to the travel threats introduced by the health secretary, Sir Charles scoffed: "Ten years [in prison] for crying out loud".
Meanwhile, the government has received backlash from both Conservative and Labour MPs for its refusal to pay for cladding removal from shorter buildings (below 18m), forcing many leaseholders to take out loans to cover the costs.
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick made the announcement in the Commons today following Mr Johnson's weekly PMQs session, sparking Tory MP Stephen McPartland to call it a "betrayal of millions of leaseholders". Shadow housing secretary Thangam Debbonaire responded by blaming "government choices" for "repeated undelivered promises".
"As a result of government choices, three-and-a-half years on from the Grenfell tragedy in which 72 people lost their lives, hundreds of thousands of people are still trapped in unsafe homes, many more unable to move," she told MPs.
PM told to ‘get a grip’ of ministers after explosive day in Westminster
Boris Johnson has been urged to “get a grip” of his cabinet ministers as a senior Conservative MP accused them of “ripping out” the goalposts on the timetable for easing coronavirus restrictions.
Sir Charles Walker berated both Matt Hancock and Grant Shapps for their "unacceptable behaviour" after the health secretary unveiled new punishments for those who conceal the fact they have been to a high-risk country when re-entering the UK, including a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn has the story:
Senior Tory accuses government of ‘ripping out’ goalposts on Covid restrictions
PM to host Covid press briefing at 5pm
Boris Johnson will be joined by Sir Patrick Vallance at this evening's coronavirus press briefing, No 10 has confirmed.
No 10 justifies taxpayer-funded photoshoot of PM’s dog as ‘government work’
Downing Street continues to defend a series of images of Boris Johnson's dog Dilyn playing in the snow, after it was revealed they were taken by a photographer paid for by the public.
During a daily press briefing on Wednesday, Boris Johnson's official spokesman said the photoshoot was a good use of taxpayers' money because the PM's team of vanity photographers were a "government resource" and are used to "document the work of the government as well as the work inside No 10".
The spokesman went on to insist the photographers were paid by the public to capture "not just the work of the prime minister but the whole of the cabinet," according to reports in the Mirror.
The spokesman did not answer when asked what contribution Dilyn the dog makes to government work.
It comes after it was revealed Mr Johnson now has three vanity photographers on the government payroll, all paid for by the public.
Johnson urges two million missing vulnerable people to take up jab
Boris Johnson has called for the two million people in the top four most 'at risk' groups, and yet to be inoculated, to take up the offer of a Covid vaccine.
He told a Downing Street press conference earlier: "There's no doubt we've made great strides, with just over 13 million people now vaccinated in our United Kingdom, including one in four adults in England, over 90 per cent of everyone over 75 and over 90 per cent of eligible residents of care homes for the elderly.
"But that still leaves nearly two million people, a population roughly twice the size of Birmingham, that we still hope to reach.
"Now is the moment to do it."
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Boris Johnson urges two million missing vulnerable people to take up Covid vaccine
That's it from us on the politics blog for today, thanks for following along. Be sure to check back first thing tomorrow for all the latest updates.
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