Boris Johnson referred to the police for suspected further breaches of lockdown regulations.

ronib

Racingsparrow don’t know about unnamed Civil Servants in the Cabinet Office- one is married to Rachael Reeves and the other to a Guardian journalist. No evidence at all that they were in any way involved with any of it.

Rachel Reeves' husband, Nicolas Joicey, is Director General for Finance at the Department for Work and Pensions. How would he have access to Johnson's diaries or be involved in anything to with the fallout?

Freya5

Doodledog

How can it be ok to fine students for playing snowballs and women for walking together with a coffee, but turn a blind eye to the fact that the person forbidding these things is having parties?

The nearer we get to an election, the more damage this sort of thing must do to the Tories, surely?

Or for not fining Keir Starmer and Co. Work my a---.

Can you explain what you mean Freya5, what you wrote doesn’t stand as a comprehensible sentence?

Doodledog

How can it be ok to fine students for playing snowballs and women for walking together with a coffee, but turn a blind eye to the fact that the person forbidding these things is having parties?

The nearer we get to an election, the more damage this sort of thing must do to the Tories, surely?

Or for not fining Keir Starmer and Co. Work my a---.

Greta

I disagree, Oreo. People do still care. For many, especially those who lost family members, what they went through was traumatic and I don't believe they have now just snapped out of it.

I also care deeply about this, Greta, having been unable to either visit when sick or even attend the funeral of a first cousin who died in hospital during the pandemic. Many people I speak to also feel the same... angry and betrayed by a hypocritical and "entitled" so-called elite, who, as our leaders, were supposed to be setting the right example. If yet more breaches are revealed, I think that both Johnson and the Tories will find that people have long memories, and will rightly show their disgust when next they visit the ballot box.

Not Spaghetti well it’s not exactly the fullest of apologies as I discovered that Spads are temporary civil servants and there’s a feeling that they are the ones who are ‘sharing’ information. So sorry to all the permanent ones and anyone who is doing the best they can in difficult times.
However government by sustained leaks leaves itself open to abuse and as the Official Secrets Act covers Spads, it remains unclear as to how the Official Secrets Act is being enforced, if at all.

SPADs are (not 'thought to be') temporary civil servants but they lose their jobs when their Minister or PM leaves office whereas regular civil servants continue to serve. In my experience regular civil servants are rarely disloyal to the government of the day. The Cabinet Office officials are bound by the Civil Service Code and therefore are bound to report suspected offences when they come to notice as in BoJo's case. Right wing Tory attacks on officials as 'the blob' are despicable.

ronib

Forgot to say my friend emphasised that it was NOT civil servants who are feeding the frenzy. It’s the sheer number of Spads who meet up to exchange information.
So apologies to all really conscientious senior civil servants….

Delighted you are wrong.
I have felt for some time that you are gunning for civil servants.
Thank you for apologising.

One of my grandsons was severely affected by not going to school during Covid pandemic. He lost all his confidence about interacting with people . I know he’s not the only child to suffer either!
And they were having parties at chequers !!!! Makes my blood boil

Oreo

Most people don’t care, they worry about paying the bills.

You don’t speak for ‘most ‘ people.

I certainly care that the Prime Minster of the country took us for fools and maybe we would have less to pay in bills if he had concentrated his efforts in ensuring the country was lead by those with dedication, morals and integrity.

Harold Wilson introduced Spads in 1964. John Major increased their number. They’re thought to be temporary civil servants.

Oreo my friend thought the Spads started with John Major. It is beginning to make a bit more sense well for me anyway.

ronib

Forgot to say my friend emphasised that it was NOT civil servants who are feeding the frenzy. It’s the sheer number of Spads who meet up to exchange information.
So apologies to all really conscientious senior civil servants….

Oh yeah, the spads! The Thick Of It in real life I bet😆

Thanks for those two posts, ronib.

Casdon

Primrose53

Oreo

The lockdowns were OTT
Awful times for those who lost family and friends. For those who didn’t tho, times move on and I can’t think of anyone I know who didn’t break lockdown rules even if just slightly, who’ll be bothered about events at Chequers.Some will, of course.

They were but remember, Labour wanted them to continue for much longer!!

Are you mistresses of obfuscation?

What a stupid thing to say
My comment was my opinion on this latest political yawn and
primrose53 was her opinion on the OTT lockdowns.
Not everybody agreed on such severe measures either at the time or now. A teenager had to die in intensive care without the comfort of a parent at the bedside, old people the same without a partner or their son or daughter, old people walled up in care homes, children lonely and bored with no schooling, single people working and living in a bedsit and so on.

So Johnson is now in America trying to persuade the Republican Party to support Ukraine? Is it just me that is embarrassed that both previous leaders of the Conservative Party are gallivanting around the world representing us on the world stage as if neither of them left office in disgrace?

Look on Sky as there is an update. Baroness Hallett is not to be toyed with thank goodness.

Forgot to say my friend emphasised that it was NOT civil servants who are feeding the frenzy. It’s the sheer number of Spads who meet up to exchange information.
So apologies to all really conscientious senior civil servants….

MaizieD I have just finished talking to a friend who knows more about the internal wranglings of the Conservative Party than I do. His take on it is quite simple - it’s the Sunak versus Johnson factions battling it out.
You will be surprised to hear that my friend said of course SB had broken the ministerial code and she should have resigned.
Maybe a spot of gardening for me … politics is pretty vicious it would seem!

Here's some more grist for your conspiracy mill, ronib

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65693716?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_id=3337446E-FA0D-11ED-9226-DDD8D772BE90&at_link_origin=BBCPolitics&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_medium=social&at_campaign_type=owned&at_format=link&at_link_type=web_link

Apologies for the enormous link, it was a redirect from twitter and I can't find the story on the BBC site to get a smaller link (perhaps you can make something of that, too ronib

Boris Johnson has informed the inquiry in a letter that he will be instructing new solicitors for his representation.

Oh, gawd. Will we be paying for them, too?

Interesting development.

COVID inquiry issues legal notice to Cabinet Office over Johnson's WhatsApps

The chair of the COVID inquiry has criticised the Cabinet Office for not releasing the full contents of Boris Johnson’s messages and documents relating to the pandemic.

A Section 21 notice has now been issued by the inquiry to compel the release of the unredacted documents.

Boris Johnson has informed the inquiry in a letter that he will be instructing new solicitors for his representation.

From Sky News.

Casdon SB’s letter sets out in detail a chain of events which in my opinion should have been kept in house and not splashed all over the news for the last 4 days.
I don’t think trial by public opinion is anyway to run a government. This whole episode has more leaks than my colander. Time for professionalism in the whole of government.

MaizieD

ronib

Maizie D have just read SB’s letter available on Guido Fawkes website… the problem of the ‘snitching civil servants’ is yet to be resolved. Exactly how did this complete fiasco blow out of all proportion and how can it be prevented from re-occurring ?

I really CBA with this, ronib.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65696003#:~:text=I%20accept%20that%20I%20was,privacy%20issues%20that%20this%20raised.
ronib you are not referring to her resignation letter but to your own personal obsession with civil servants, yet again. She doesn’t mention anything about them breaking confidentiality in her letter at all.

Well let’s hope that someone else is…Maizie D it’s called living in a democracy….

ronib

Maizie D have just read SB’s letter available on Guido Fawkes website… the problem of the ‘snitching civil servants’ is yet to be resolved. Exactly how did this complete fiasco blow out of all proportion and how can it be prevented from re-occurring ?

I really CBA with this, ronib.