From led by Donkeys

Hello friends,

While most of us obeyed the rules and made sacrifices last winter, Boris Johnson’s Downing Street was holding raucous law-breaking parties. It’s an open and shut case, but the Metropolitan Police is refusing to investigate. The Met says there is an “absence of evidence.” That’s an absurd claim to make, so we took the evidence direct to Scotland Yard on a giant TV screen – with a voiceover that a lot of people found familiar.

There’s a blizzard of speculation about whether it’s the Superintendent Ted Hastings from Line of Duty. For operational reasons we can neither confirm nor deny it.

But that didn’t stop the Daily Star putting our protest on the front page this morning:

While GMB ran the film at 7am on national television:

The film has been shared over 150,000 times and viewed more than 8 million times across social media. Last night the Met put out a defensive statement which we think shows they’re under real pressure to reverse their absurd position.

As ‘Ted’ says, “Our leaders partied while families were separated and our citizens died in their thousands. Who exactly does the Metropolitan Police work for ma’am? Our citizens, or Boris Johnson?”

If you’ve not seen it yet, you can watch it on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Thanks to everyone who has signed up to become a Led By Donkeys supporter. You make this important work possible.

Cheers,

Ben, James, Olly & Will x

Following the revolt by Simon Jupp and his like, how can Boris Johnson now introduce more restrictions, should that prove necessary?

Without commanding the confidence of a majority of Tory backbenchers, he would have to rely on the support of the Opposition. What would that do to his self-image?

Owl can’t see him acting decisively. We will all suffer the consequences.

Covid: More measures needed to limit hospitalisations – Sage scientists

By Jim Reed www.bbc.co.uk

More stringent restrictions need to be brought in “very soon” in England if ministers want to stop hospital admissions reaching 3,000 a day, the government’s scientific advisers say.

The BBC has seen leaked minutes of a meeting of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies held on Thursday.

The document says there are “many uncertainties” about the future path of hospitalisations linked to Omicron.

It comes as the UK’s four nations are to hold a Cobra meeting this weekend.

Timing of measures ‘crucial’

According to those leaked minutes, the Sage advisers say that without intervention measures beyond the Plan B rules currently in place, modelling indicates that hospital admissions could peak at “at least” 3,000 a day in England.

The number of people requiring treatment in hospital has been rising, with admissions being between 800 and 900 every day in the past week.

The current Plan B rules for England include Covid passes for certain events, face masks in more places and people being urged to work from home if they can.

The other nations of the UK had already brought in similar rules – and Scotland has gone further by asking people to limit social contact to three households at a time in the run-up to Christmas. Wales has also ordered nightclubs to close from 27 December.

The Sage minutes say: “If the aim is to reduce the levels of infection in the population and prevent hospitalisations reaching these levels, more stringent measures would need to be implemented very soon.”

The record of the meeting goes on to say that measures equivalent to those in place after Step Two or Step One of the roadmap in England, if enacted early enough, “could substantially reduce the peak in hospital admissions and infections compared with Plan B alone”.

Step One and Two of the roadmap for easing lockdown – which was in place in England in the Spring – banned indoor social contact and indoor hospitality. Step Three allowed six people, or two households, to meet indoors and indoor hospitality could reopen.

“The timing of such measures is crucial,” say the Sage minutes. “Delaying until 2022 would greatly reduce the effectiveness of such interventions and make it less likely that these would prevent considerable pressure on health and care settings.”

Sage meetings are designed to advise officials and ministers about the possible path of the pandemic in certain circumstances rather than offer up concrete predictions.

The Department of Health has been contacted for comment.

It comes as Omicron continues to spread across the UK – and is thought to now be the dominant variant in England and Scotland, replacing Delta.

On Friday the UK saw another record number of daily Covid cases for the third day in a row, with more than 93,000 infections announced.

But there was also a record 861,306 booster and third dose jabs announced – the highest daily total so far.

It means half of all UK adults had now received a booster jab, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

He later tweeted that a meeting of the government’s emergency committee Cobra will be held over the weekend with representatives from the devolved administrations.

Elsewhere, new research on Friday showed that a Covid booster shot would offer around 85% protection against severe illness from Omicron.

The protection is a bit less than vaccines gave against earlier versions of Covid – but it means the top-up dose should still keep many people out of hospital.

Across Europe, health officials are braced for a wave of infections. Additional restrictions were announced in Germany, the Irish Republic and the Netherlands on Friday as governments seek to stem the tide.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex warned that the Omicron variant is “spreading at lightning speed” in Europe and will likely become dominant in France by the start of next year.

On Friday, France imposed strict travel restrictions on those entering from the UK.

Conservative MPs have been taking out their frustration on England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, for what they see as his promotion of “lockdown by stealth”. Chief among them is Joy Morrissey, who said Whitty should “defer” to politicians like her.

Matthew Weaver www.theguardian.com 

In a now deleted tweet, Morrissey, who is on the government payroll as a parliamentary aide, said: “Perhaps the covid unelected public health spokesperson should defer to what our ELECTED members of parliament and the prime minister have decided. I know it’s difficult to remember but this is not how democracy works. This is not a public health socialist state.”

So who should the public trust on the pandemic – the chief medical officer or the MP for Beaconsfield? Their respective CVs may offer a clue.

Prof Chris Whitty CB FRCP FFPH FMedSci

Age: 55.

Occupation: chief medical officer for England and practising NHS consultant physician.

Previous jobs: acting chief scientific adviser; director of research at the Department for International Development; chief scientific adviser to the Department of Health; head of the National Institute for Health Research Education; consultant physician at University College London hospitals; professor of public and international health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Education: doctorate in medical science from Oxford; two diplomas, in tropical medicine and hygiene, and economics; three master’s degrees, in epidemiology, medical law and business administration.

Awards: Companion of the Order of Bath; fellow of the Academy of Medical Science; honorary doctorate for medical work in the community from the University of Plymouth.

What people say about him: Prof David Mabey, an infectious disease specialist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine says: “Chris is a polymath. He is really extraordinary. Since I’ve known him he’s done a diploma in economics, a degree in law and an MBA in his spare time. And in terms of his research, he covers all the disciplines: clinical medicine, epidemiology, health economics, social science. That’s really what makes him unique. He is the best man for the job, we are extremely lucky to have him.”

Joy Morrissey MP

Age: 40.

Occupation: member of parliament for Beaconsfield and parliamentary private secretary to the justice secretary, Dominic Raab.

Previous jobs: Ealing councillor; actor including a role in a “bonkfest” TV movie called Geek Mythology, about a man who acquires a magical statue that makes him irresistible to women.

Education: master’s degree in European social policy from the London School of Economics.

Awards: shortlisted for the Conservative London mayoral candidacy in 2021 but beaten by Shaun Bailey.

What people say about her: The Financial Times said she was a “passionate Brexiteer motivated by social injustice”. Morrissey has said of herself: “I don’t really care that much what people think, particularly if I think I’m right.” Her campaign to offer all homes and businesses a portrait of the Queen was dismissed as “Stalinist”.

From a correspondent

A Tory MP has given us her definition of democracy (since deleted):

From this I have to surmise that elected MPs and the Prime Minister are the most intelligent beings on this planet.  Just by being elected (especially if they are Tory, of course) they are automatically more clever than any and every scientist, doctor, professor, etc.

My first thought?  “Beam me up Scottie” – to any planet other than this one! Although, on reflection, maybe just beam me up to Amersham and Chesham or North Shropshire where some sense of reality may be emerging on THIS planet!

After nearly a week of investigation the Cabinet Secretary discovers that he himself is compromised and “recuses” himself from continuing to “mark his own homework”.

Given this knowledge, Owl wonders why he accepted the task in the first place. 

If all this results in a whitewash, will anyone except Boris believe it? 

“With each revelation, there is more evidence of a culture of turning a blind eye to the rules.” – Angela Rayner

www.itv.com

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case will no longer lead an investigation into several alleged Covid lockdown-breaking Christmas parties held in Whitehall last year, following accusations that his department’s office held its own gathering.

Mr Case had been tasked by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to lead an inquiry into whether a series of gatherings held in Whitehall in November and December last year breached strict restrictions.

And it was confirmed the scope could be widened to other alleged parties if Mr Case thought it necessary.

However following reports that two parties were held in the Cabinet Office in December 2020, a No 10 spokesperson said: “To ensure the ongoing investigation retains public confidence the Cabinet Secretary has recused himself for the remainder of the process.

“The work will be concluded by Sue Gray, second permanent secretary at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

“She will ascertain the facts and present her findings to the Prime Minister.”

A source confirmed to ITV News that a partially virtual quiz took place in Mr Case’s department’s office on December 17, with six people who were in the office that day, taking part in person in a socially distanced manner. Most attendees dialled in remotely from home.

However, the source said Mr Case did not actively take part but acknowledged staff. The source added he knew the gathering was happening as he had to walk past the group in order to get to his private office.

Anger has been growing against Mr Johnson’s party as allegations of further gatherings emerge

The Cabinet Office later confirmed these reports in a statement on Friday evening, with a spokesperson telling ITV News: “Staff in the Cabinet Secretary’s private office took part in a virtual quiz on December 17 2020.

“A small number of them, who had been working in the office throughout the pandemic and on duty that day, took part from their desks, while the rest of the team were virtual.

“The Cabinet Secretary played no part in the event, but walked through the team’s office on the way to his own office. No outside guests or other staff were invited or present.

“This lasted for an hour and drinks and snacks were bought by those attending. He also spoke briefly to staff in the office before leaving.”

At the time, London was under tough Tier 3 Covid restrictions, under which the law stated: “No person may participate in a gathering in the Tier 3 area which consists of two or more people, and takes place in any indoor space.”

According to Guido Fawkes, a second event in Mr Case’s department saw staff drinking together in the office before heading out elsewhere in December.

Who is the new No 10 Christmas party inquiry lead, Sue Gray?

Ms Gray was director-general of propriety and ethics in the Cabinet Office from 2012 to 2018, and is seen as a Whitehall heavy hitter who would not pull any punches in an inquiry.

Ms Gray oversaw the Plebgate inquiry in 2012 after former chief whip Andrew Mitchell was accused of calling a policeman a “pleb” at the Downing Street gates, and was described as “deputy God” by then Labour MP, Paul Flynn, in a meeting of Parliament’s Public Administration Committee the same year.

Former Tory MP and Cabinet office minister Oliver Letwin is reported to have once said of Ms Gray: “It took me precisely two years before I realised who it is that runs Britain.

“Our great United Kingdom is actually entirely run by a lady called Sue Gray, the head of ethics or something in the Cabinet Office.

“Unless she agrees, things just don’t happen.”

She was once described by BBC Newsnight’s then policy editor as “the most powerful person you’ve never heard of”.

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said Ms Gray has the “incredible responsibility” on her shoulders of restoring public trust.

Ms Rayner said: “I do believe that the investigation that Sue Gray is going to be leading up, there’s the evidence there, they need to carry that investigation out very swiftly to restore the public trust and then hand over that evidence to the police because nobody’s above the law.”

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It had previously been questioned whether Mr Case was the right person to lead an inquiry, after the prime minister would not confirm or deny whether he attended an alleged No 10 party on December 18. The prime minister put Mr Case up for the job and was forced to apologise after ITV News released a video showing some of his senior advisers laughing about the alleged Christmas party in Downing Street.

Mr Johnson later confirmed the investigation would also look into a Downing Street quiz on December 15 – after a picture emerged of the PM allegedly hosting it – along with an alleged festive drinks party that is accused of breaking Covid rules on December 10 at the Department for Education.

The Department for Transport also admitted a “socially distanced gathering in the large open-plan office” was held on December 16.

And Tory London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey apologised “unreservedly” and stood down from his role as chair of the London Assembly’s policing body for attending a gathering at Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), organised by staff on his campaign team on December 14, when London was in Tier 2 and indoor mixing between households was banned.

Labour’s deputy leader said she was “incredibly disappointed” in Mr Case.

Ms Rayner said: “I wrote to him and obviously had asked for this investigation and the fact that he didn’t come right away and say ‘actually, I can’t do that investigation because of the implications of my actions’ I find disappointing.”

She earlier had said: “With each revelation, there is more evidence of a culture of turning a blind eye to the rules.

“Labour made it clear the person leading the investigation should be uncompromised, free to make an independent judgement.”