[Oboogie]

This is a malicious conspiracy by the biased BBC, he was only browsing for tractors.

[Nigredo]

[davidjay]

Hmmm...

[Bones McCoy]

[Cyclist]

Oh dear

Insiders who attended events at Downing Street during lockdown have told the BBC how staff crowded together, sat on each other's laps and how party debris was left out overnight.

For the first time, insiders who were at some of the events have told BBC Panorama in detail what they saw.

They describe arriving for work the morning after a get-together to find bottles lying around parts of the building, bins overflowing with rubbish and empties left on the table.

They also tell of events with dozens of staff crowded together, and parties going so late that, on occasion, some ended up staying in Downing Street all night.

And they say staff mocked others who tried to stop what was going on.

The BBC asked Downing Street for a response. They declined to comment but said they would give a full response to the publication of the Sue Gray report.

The accounts come a day before the senior civil servant Ms Gray is expected to deliver her report on lockdown parties in No 10.

Last week, the Metropolitan Police concluded its own investigation into rule-breaking, after issuing 126 fines - including one for the prime minister for attending a birthday party in June 2020.

However, both the police and the prime minister are facing fresh questions after ITV News obtained pictures believed to show the prime minister at a leaving party for his communications chief Lee Cain on 13 November 2020.

Speaking anonymously, three insiders have opened up about a world behind No 10's famous front door where the lockdown rules the country was living by were routinely ignored, socialising was regular, with, they felt, the prime minister's implicit permission.

One staffer describes director of communications Lee Cain's leaving do, the event on 13 November 2020, where the prime minister has been pictured raising a glass, but for which he has not been fined.

Others have been judged to have broken the law for being there and received penalties.

Mr Johnson attended and made a speech to thank Mr Cain, but as the party developed "there were about 30 people, if not more, in a room. Everyone was stood shoulder to shoulder, some people on each other's laps…one or two people."

At the party on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral on 16 April 2021, they portray a "lively event... a general party with people dancing around". The gathering becoming so loud that security guards in the building told them to leave the building and go into the No 10 grounds.

"So everyone grabbed all the drinks, the food, everything, and went into the garden," one source says.

"We all sat around the tables drinking. People stayed the night there."

They now concede what went on was "unforgivable"...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61566410

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Quite fucking brilliant.

[Oboogie]

Laura Kuenssberg's Panorama tonight sounds like it's unmissable. She has interviewed multiple disgruntled Downing Street insiders. Here she is on the World At One telling us about it (first item).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017kj0

[Crabcakes]

Johnson confirmed to bemeeting the 1922 committee tomorrow. Post Panorama, post PMQs and probably post Sue Grey publication.

I think big dog is about to be put down.

[satnav]

I notice that the Daily Mail has been trying to big up the police investigation suggesting that the best detectives were put on the case and that they had all the information they needed but this was clearly not the case. Most of the investigation was conducted via questionnaires so it would hardly have required the best detectives on the job. Whilst they did have Sue Gray's evidence to help with their inquiry the police would have needed to re-interview many of he witnesses if they wanted to ensure they had sufficient evidence to issue a fine.

In reality the Met police appear to have done the bare minimum in terms of investigating the allegations. I saw Grant Shapps on the news this morning saying that he was happy to accept the results of the police inquiry. Presumably he wants the police inquiry to be seen as having more authority than Sue Gray's report.

[davidjay]

Johnson confirmed to bemeeting the 1922 committee tomorrow. Post Panorama, post PMQs and probably post Sue Grey publication.

I think big dog is about to be put down.

It would be nice to think do, but I doubt it. He doesn't care about the electorate, Parliament, the judiciary or the queen. He's not going to care about the men in grey suits.

[Crabcakes]

It would be nice to think do, but I doubt it. He doesn't care about the electorate, Parliament, the judiciary or the queen. He's not going to care about the men in grey suits.

The beauty of it is that whether he cares or not doesn’t matter in this case - if they decide he should go and brief as such, the letters will follow. But it’s a win win either way - if he stays he continues to drag the Tories down ever further, making more and more enemies as he goes. If he goes, his potential replacements are all useless lightweights.

I think he genuinely thought there would be no consequences for shafting his junior staff and that they really did love him and would never turn on him. But right now the only unwavering devotee seems to be Dacre, who’s second tenure seems to rapidly be turning the Mail into a sub-Express nonsense machine.

[Boiler]

Johnson confirmed to bemeeting the 1922 committee tomorrow. Post Panorama, post PMQs and probably post Sue Grey publication.

I think big dog is about to be put down.

Nah, more table banging. You'll see.

[Andy McDandy]

If the rumours are true and Carrie's jumped ship, the Ukraine sheen is wearing off, and the cabinet are at each other's throats, I can see him going. Once he's negotiated (i.e. asked for) a nice advance from the Torygraph and a contract to do whatever he feels like for ever in return for loads of cash, he'll be out of Downing street. Munching Domino's while wanking to Game of Thrones isn't much fun when there's another alimony suit pending, and this time he really can't disown the kids.

[Crabcakes]

As I say, I don’t think it matters at this point if he stays or goes. The Tories have a choice between a backstabbing shit or one of that backstabbing shit’s utterly useless sycophants. They keep him, they risk yet more coming out and increased loathing and distrust. And he taints them all because they did nothing about him. They boot him out, they have no one competent left because he purged them all to rid himself of any meaningful challengers, and he and the dregs get to tear lumps out of each other and air yet more dirty linen in public in a leadership battle. Any plans for a quick GE must be canned by now as beergate didn’t have the desired effect, so it’s 2 more years of rot or 2 years of absolute mediocrity.

Yes, we have to get through it. But not so long ago we were all worried it would take at least 2 GE cycles for Starmer to repair Labour. Now the question is more like has Johnson done so much damage that Labour could Nick an outright majority.

[satnav]

I think Johnson will cling on mainly because there is currently no viable alternative. Sunak did look like a possible replacement but all the rows over his tax status and his wife's non-dom status have severely damaged his reputation and probably made him think again about whether he wants the top job with all the extra scrutiny that job brings. Liz Truss is also looking pretty ineffective so she is no longer a strong contender. The only person who really seems keen to replace Johnson is Jeremy Hunt. Hunt trailed well behind Johnson in the last leadership contest and the party has probably moved further to the right in the last 3 years so Hunt is hardly likely to appeal to the grassroot members.

[Andy McDandy]

Some scepticism about Labour is due to them being out of power for so long. Nobody (or not many) with ministerial experience, the inevitable inertia any government benefits from and so on. Once they're in and if they can show that they can actually govern and improve ordinary people's lives (rather than play demographics off and encourage them to throw each other in front of the face eating leopard), then a lot of the "party of protest" stuff will wear off.

They also need to look competent, and this is where I think Starmer will have an advantage. Some of you may remember a guy called Bob Ainsworth, defence secretary under Gordon Brown. He had a problem, in that he didn't look the part. He looked, to be blunt, like a supply teacher, or a middle manager. Put him against some Tory who looks as if they've just wandered in from the fields of Waterloo, all genteel and urbane, and you can see why floating voters drift as they do. That was something the Tories had under Cameron. Now they're more like Delta House without the charm.

But for Starmer, he needs to do a few things quickly:

1. Be absolutely honest about the scale of the Brexit fiasco, the mess May and Johnson have caused, and the work it will take to fix it. No spin. Absolute straight facts. His has to be the "calm the FUCK DOWN" government.

2. Maybe not a truth and reconciliation committee, but not far off.

3. Level up properly. Decentralise goverment as much as possible. Introduce remote voting and other reforms to the HoC.

4. Renegotiate in good faith with the EU.

5. Initiate an absolute one strike "out first bounce" policy for party discipline. Apply it to anyone who breaks the law or generally fucks up. Anyone.

That's a start anyway. But it has to be a palate cleansing sorbet of a government. It won't be popular, or easy, but it's fucking essential.

[Nigredo]

I think Johnson will cling on mainly because there is currently no viable alternative. Sunak did look like a possible replacement but all the rows over his tax status and his wife's non-dom status have severely damaged his reputation and probably made him think again about whether he wants the top job with all the extra scrutiny that job brings. Liz Truss is also looking pretty ineffective so she is no longer a strong contender. The only person who really seems keen to replace Johnson is Jeremy Hunt. Hunt trailed well behind Johnson in the last leadership contest and the party has probably moved further to the right in the last 3 years so Hunt is hardly likely to appeal to the grassroot members.

He might have some traction with those who want a grown up in charge but can't quite hold their nose to vote for Starmer.

[satnav]

At least one journalist on the news this evening has claimed that the police didn't think that the evidence would be strong enough to stand up in court if people who received fines decided to challenge the fines in court. Surely this was always going to be the outcome when the Met decided to send out questionnaires rather than interviewing the people accused of breaking the rules..

[Samanfur]

Gray report delivered to Downing Street.

According to the BBC, the Cabinet Secretary says that Simon Case isn't resigning and won't be sacked.

So either Party Marty's for the high jump, or Number Ten'll try and brazen it out

[Crabcakes]

According to the BBC, the Cabinet Secretary says that Simon Case isn't resigning and won't be sacked.

Thing is, if the report is bad enough Johnson feels it needs an immediate scapegoat as a safety valve then expect him to be sacked faster than Dacre spiking a Johnson-critical headline.