Key events
Covid inquiry extends deadline for submission of Johnson evidence
The Covid-19 inquiry has extended the deadline for evidence to be submitted, amid an ongoing tug-of-war over whether Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and notebooks will be handed over to it.
The previous deadline had been 4pm today, but after a request to delay it for a week until 5 June, the chair of the inquiry has granted a “short extension” until 4pm on Thursday.
The Cabinet Office has so far refused to hand over the documents. The notice released on Tuesday said that the Cabinet Office has claimed it does not have the documents.
Reports have suggested that the government does not believe the inquiry has the rights over the documents.
The inquiry has said that its demand for the documents has been widened to include a “witness statement from a senior civil servant, verified by a statement of truth” over whether the cabinet office holds the information or more details about them.
A thinktank funded by former prime minister Gordon Brown has said that London and the Westminster political system are putting Scottish people off the union.
In a poll for Our Scottish Future, only 17% of people said they felt they had a shared bond with Londoners, compared to 65% who did not.
The percentage was still in a minority, 33%, for feeling a bond with English people generally. The survey of 1,000 people found that there were closer associations with northern England and Wales.
On the same token 68% of Scots felt people in London “generally have different values”.
A rally will take place in Edinburgh on Thursday to call for more power to be given to the regions. Scottish leaders will be joined by Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester and Tracy Brabin, the mayor of West Yorkshire.
In a report for the Telegraph, Brown said: “Our poll shows that Scotland’s problem is with Whitehall, Westminster and a London-centric system. Many parts of the rest of the UK also feel detached from a centralised state.”
As Labour has announced its latest plans to help improve the number of homes being built, property developer donors may withhold money from the Conservative party over a perceived anti-developer stance.
The Times reports that about a fifth of donations to the Tories over a 10-year period, totalling £60m, came from housing developers and builders.
However, Tory sources told the newspaper that such donations have dried up as ministers were accused of bowing to “selfish” MPs who are considered anti-development.
The party scrapped its housebuilding targets in December in response to a backbench rebellion.
The report gives a number of quotes from housebuilders from interviews in recent months, including the Redrow owner Steve Morgan.
He donated £1.25m to the Tories when Boris Johnson was in Downing Street.
In an interview in March with the industry publication Building, Morgan said: “It’s almost like the government wants to destroy the industry.”
Good morning.
Like the aftermath of a bad-tempered bank holiday barbecue, the start of this four-day week begins with a stand-off with neither side backing down.
The deadline for unredacted messages between Boris Johnson and the government to be sent to the Covid inquiry closes at 4pm.
So far the Cabinet Office and Johnson have refused to hand them over, which could trigger a potential legal challenge from the inquiry.
Lawyers for the Cabinet Office have reportedly said that the inquiry does not have the power to request access to all documents.
It could delay the start of the inquiry, which is due to hear evidence from David Cameron and his former chancellor George Osborne in a fortnight about pre-pandemic preparedness.
Of course this comes a week after Johnson was referred to the police over his diaries which allegedly gave details of hosting family and friends at Chequers during Covid.
Meanwhile photographs have emerged of Johnson at a village fete in his former Oxfordshire constituency of Henley from 10 days ago, fuelling suggestions he may try to run in his old seat. Current MP John Howell has denied any deal has been done.
Away from Johnson, Rishi Sunak is visiting Kent where he will discourage the use of vapes by children and teenagers as he will appear alongside Chris Whitty. A plan could see a loophole closed that allows firms to give out free samples of vapes to under-18s.
Labour, meanwhile, has announced it will allow councils to buy land cheaply for development in an attempt to solve the housing shortage and get more built. In good but unsurprising news for Keir Starmer’s party, research released yesterday in the Sunday Times showed nearly two-thirds of millennials believe the Tories deserve to lose the next election.
I’ll be taking you through the rest of the day. Comments are open below the line.
