Good morning. Boris Johnson managed to maintain a tone of remorse during his long statement to the Municipalities yesterday at Partygate. But later, speaking in private with Tory MPs, he returned to his usual self, courting popularity by denigrating traditional figures of hatred for Tory rightists.
He attacked the BBC and the Church of England. He seemed particularly angry at their response to the government’s plan to effectively deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda, and, according to the Daily Mirror, said it was “good policy” despite some criticism from the BBC and senior members. the clergy. “
The Mirror quoted a source as saying that Johnson also hinted that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was kind to Russia. According to reports, Johnson said that the clergy “coincidentally were less violent in their condemnation of Putin’s Easter Sunday than in our policy against illegal immigrants,” the newspaper said. In its report on the same comments, the Telegraph said that the soft accusation against Russia was also made against the BBC.
The Telegraph (@Telegraph)
🗞️First page of today’s Daily Telegraph:
“The BBC is more critical of № 10 than Putin – Prime Minister”
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April 19, 2022
Last night, the archbishop’s chief spin doctor (he has one) responded, describing Johnson’s claim as “shameful slander.” This is from John Bingham, head of news at the Church of England.
John Bingham (@John_Bingham)
If true, shameful slander. This is what the archbishops said on the morning of the invasion
April 19, 2022
Paul Scully, the Minister for Business, hosted the government broadcast this morning, and he did not deny reports that Johnson was attacking both the BBC and the Church of England at last night’s meeting. He says Johnson was concerned about Welby’s criticism of Rwanda’s policies in his Easter sermon.
Scully was less confident, defending the claim that the BBC was soft on Russia. When today’s presenter Justin Webb asked him if Johnson had ever “put his life at stake for the truth, as Jeremy Bowen did, like Liz Dusset, like Clive Miri,” Scully simply said that was not something you could comment on.
The term “dead cat” is one of the most overused and misused clichés in political commentary, but it is probably appropriate today.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.15 am: Ministers of Social Welfare David Rutley and Mims Davis testify to the Committee on Labor and Pensions on the universal cost of credit and childcare.
9.30 am: Nadhim Zahawi, Secretary of Education, testifies before the Municipal Education Commission.
9.45 am: Sir Stephen House, Acting Commissioner of the Sofia Police, testifies before the Municipal Affairs Committee of the Municipality.
10 am: Lord Beau, Chairman of the Nomination Committee of the House of Lords, gives testimony to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Municipality to screen potential colleagues, such as in the case of Evgeny Lebedev.
12 a.m .: Boris Johnson faces Keira Starmer in PMQs.
13.30: Chris Warmold, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and other DHSC staff testify before the Municipal Public Accounts Committee on PPE contracts.
15:00: Damien Hinds, Minister of Security, testifies before the Municipal Justice Committee for fraud in the judiciary.
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