Octopus Overlords

He said the PM had failed to take responsibility for his actions over lockdown parties in Downing Street.

Mr Davis's remarks came after backbench Tory MP Christian Wakeford defected to Labour, minutes before Prime Minister's Questions began.

The PM batted away repeated calls to quit during the stormy Commons session.

Mr Davis's criticisms and Mr Wakeford's defection come as Mr Johnson fights to save his premiership after admitting attending a drinks event in Downing Street during the first lockdown.

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There are claims that the threshold of 54 letters needed to trigger a no-confidence vote and leadership election could soon be reached, but no official word has been given.

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The prime minister is urging fellow Conservatives not to pass judgement on him until a report on parties at No 10, by senior civil servant Sue Gray, comes out next week.

Archinerd wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:02 pm Have a little sympathy, he said he didn't know it was a party.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:35 pm Only if we can triangle-trade Rafael Edward Cruz back to Canadia.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:40 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:35 pm Only if we can triangle-trade Rafael Edward Cruz back to Canadia.

FFS, what did The Glorious People's Dominion of Canuckistan ever do to you? Just leave Cruz where he is and give Texas back to Mexico. The cartels will sort him out in short order.

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 5:04 pm Honestly, this inspires me!

To rewatch Yes, Minister.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 10:24 pm I haven't been following Partygate too closely, but the one pissed me off personally was the party that was held the night before Prince Philip's funeral. Boris's people were having a celebration, violating the pandemic rules, then the next day the Queen was sitting alone at her husband's funeral, setting an example and obeying the rules in letter and in spirit.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:40 pm FFS, what did The Glorious People's Dominion of Canuckistan ever do to you? Just leave Cruz where he is and give Texas back to Mexico. The cartels will sort him out in short order.

gbasden wrote:

Max Peck wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:40 pm FFS, what did The Glorious People's Dominion of Canuckistan ever do to you? Just leave Cruz where he is and give Texas back to Mexico. The cartels will sort him out in short order.

I would pay real money to see Cruz abducted and dropped into an involuntary Naked and Afraid episode in some inhospitable corner of the globe.

gbasden wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 1:55 am

Max Peck wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:40 pm FFS, what did The Glorious People's Dominion of Canuckistan ever do to you? Just leave Cruz where he is and give Texas back to Mexico. The cartels will sort him out in short order.

I would pay real money to see Cruz abducted and dropped into an involuntary Naked and Afraid episode in some inhospitable corner of the globe.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 11:13 am

gbasden wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 1:55 am

Max Peck wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:40 pm FFS, what did The Glorious People's Dominion of Canuckistan ever do to you? Just leave Cruz where he is and give Texas back to Mexico. The cartels will sort him out in short order.

I would pay real money to see Cruz abducted and dropped into an involuntary Naked and Afraid episode in some inhospitable corner of the globe.

So what you're saying is you would pay money to see Ted Cruz naked?

The Met said on Friday it had asked for "minimal reference" in the report to events they are investigating to avoid prejudicing its inquiries.

Many in the Cabinet Office, where Ms Gray is based, were taken by surprise by the Met's statement, sources say.

The report was due to be sent to Downing Street this week.

Boris Johnson's premiership is potentially at stake, as Conservative MPs wait to see the outcome of Ms Gray's inquiry before deciding whether to call for a vote of no confidence in him.

In a statement on Friday morning, the Met said: "For the events the Met is investigating, we asked for minimal reference to be made in the Cabinet Office report.

"The Met did not ask for any limitations on other events in the report, or for the report to be delayed, but we have had ongoing contact with the Cabinet Office, including on the content of the report, to avoid any prejudice to our investigation."

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Mr Johnson has insisted Ms Gray's report would be published "in full" - although he did not say when it was expected to be published.

On Friday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that "any issues of prejudice have got to be worked through".

But, speaking to broadcasters, he added: "What I want to see is Sue Gray's report in full and the investigation finished as quickly as possible".

He said the "whole of government" had become "paralysed because the police are looking at what the prime minister was getting up to in Downing Street".

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Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the situation was getting "murkier by the minute", and the rapid conclusion and full publication of inquiries was "now essential for public trust".

"Sue Gray and the Met are in difficult positions, but the sequence of events and the situation arrived at now creates the suspicion - however unfairly - that the process of inquiry is aiding Johnson at the expense of public accountability," she added.

Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, a campaign group, said that Ms Gray's inquiry "has turned into a circus".

Fran Hall, a spokesperson for the group, added that the Met's initial decision not to investigate, followed by its latest statement, had "broken the trust of the public".

Four top aides to Boris Johnson resigned Thursday, marking the latest setback for the British prime minister whose government has been embroiled in scandal in recent days.

Johnson's head of policy, Munira Mirza, chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, principal private secretary Martin Reynolds, and communications director Jack Doyle all left their posts Thursday, just days after a damning investigation revealed that multiple parties took place at Downing Street while the rest of the United Kingdom was living under strict Covid-19 lockdown rules.

malchior wrote: ↑Mon Feb 07, 2022 11:40 am The guy is as narcissistic and fundamentally dangerous as Trump.

Michael Gove has said no-one raised security issues with him about Lord Lebedev after reports security services had long-held concerns about him.

The Sunday Times claimed the head of MI6 was worried about the Russian-born businessman, and concerns were raised with Boris Johnson in 2020.

But the PM has denied he intervened to ensure Lord Lebedev's peerage.

Housing Secretary Mr Gove told the BBC the process for appointing peers was "rigorous".

He said he had dinner with Lord Lebedev at Boris Johnson's house before the Brexit referendum, but did not know of any possible security concerns.

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the PM had "serious questions to answer" about the appointment, and has asked the House of Lords Appointment Commission to release the vetting advice they gave to Mr Johnson.

And speaking at his party's spring conference, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for a full public inquiry into the PM's decision to give Lord Lebedev a peerage.

He told party members: "The cosy relationship between Putin's oligarchs and the Conservative political elite has been the dirty secret of the British establishment for far too long."

An article in the Sunday Times last week claimed security services withdrew their assessment that giving the honour to Lord Lebedev posed a security risk after the PM got involved.

The newspaper said that in March 2020, the commission that vets peerage appointments advised the prime minister against granting the newspaper owner a seat in the House of Lords, due to security concerns.

But Mr Johnson, who ultimately decides who gets a peerage, is said to have responded to the advice by claiming it was "anti-Russianism".

The PM denied the report, saying it would "obviously be extraordinary" if he had intervened, "but that's not the case".

But Labour leader Sir Keir has written to the chair of House of Lords Appointment Commission, Lord Bew, asking for vetting information to be made public, and for him to "commit to a review of the propriety of Lord Lebedev's place in the House of Lords".

Speaking to Sky News' Sophy Ridge, he said: "I think the prime minister has got serious questions to answer. What did he know? And did he override security advice?

"Let's have a process to look into what actually happened, what did the prime minister know and what did he do in response to that. I think that is the least we are entitled to in relation to this appointment."

"I don't think at any time he thought he was breaking the law... he thought just like many teachers and nurses who after a very long shift would go back to the staff room and have a quiet drink"

Tory MP Michael Fabricant urges Boris Johnson to apologise

Max Peck wrote: ↑Wed Apr 13, 2022 10:12 am Michael Fabricant

But then Mr Fabricant – a former government Whip and, until Wednesday, the Tories’ Deputy Chairman – is not your average politician.

The adjective ‘flamboyant’ really doesn’t do him justice.
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But when we meet the day after, Mr Fabricant proffers an extraordinary back story to his departure. It variously involves (in order) llamas, incest, bestiality and, although he doesn’t name him, almost certainly David Cameron’s controversial Australian election boss Lynton Crosby. It’s quite a long story. But it is worth recounting in full.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Wed Apr 13, 2022 10:12 am Setting aside the bizarrely framed defense of Johnson, what is the deal with Tories and such impressively bad hair cuts? Is it some sort of gesture of fealty to sport a style so hideous that it makes Boris look debonair in comparison?