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Boris Johnson has tried to defend his infamous Brexit campaign bus that claimed Britain paid £350m a week to the EU.
Speaking at his book launch event for his new memoir, Unleashed, the former prime minister was questioned about “the big bullsh***ing bus”, to which he responded: “That’s what other people call it.”
He added: “The £350m bus the whole point of that was it was 100% accurate, that was the gross figure. As far as it was inaccurate, it was an understatement of the gross figure.
“I think that’s a significant sum and people were right to ask what they were getting for it and that was only a tiny fraction of the argument.”
His comments come as both Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch face a rebuff from a centrist faction of the Conservative party.
The Tory Reform Group (TRG), representing One Nation Conservatives, has declined to endorse either leadership candidates criticising their campaign rhetorics.
In a statement, the group said it had “engaged extensively” with all leadership hopefuls but was left unimpressed by the two finalists, accusing them of adopting a narrative that diverges from the principles that define the Tories.
Key Points
- Jenrick and Badenoch face rebuff from centrist Conservatives
- Robert Jenrick aims dig at Kemi Badenoch in pitch speech
- Jenrick dismisses claims Tory MPs accidentally backed him for final two
- Tory leadership candidate vows to revive Rwanda deportation plan in speech
- Fears that capital gains tax could rise to 39 per cent
UK’s highest ranking Catholic urges flock to oppose assisted dying Bill
The UK’s highest ranking Catholic has urged his flock to write to their MPs to oppose proposed changes in assisted dying law.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater will formally introduce a private member’s bill on the issue on October 16, with a debate and initial vote possible within weeks.
In a letter to be read out in the churches of his diocese, Cardinal Vincent Nichols warned Catholics to “be careful what you wish for”, adding that in countries where assisted dying has been legalised, the circumstances in which it is permitted have been “widened and widened”.
He said changing the law could result in those who are near to death feeling pressured to end their lives to relieve family members of a “perceived burden of care”, to avoid pain or “for the sake of inheritance”.
“The radical change in the law now being proposed risks bringing about for all medical professionals a slow change from a duty to care to a duty to kill,” he added.
The Archbishop of Westminster continued: “The suffering of a human being is not meaningless. It does not destroy that dignity.
“It is an intrinsic part of our human journey, a journey embraced by the eternal word of God, Christ Jesus himself.
“He brings our humanity to its full glory precisely through the gateway of suffering and death.”
Athena Stavrou10 October 2024 23:54 1728599160Sue Gray to miss key meeting in new role to take ‘short break’
Sir Keir Starmer’s embattled former chief of staff Sue Gray is set to miss a meeting seen as key to her new role to take a break before returning to work, it is understood.
The Prime Minister will on Friday convene metro mayors and representatives of devolved administrations for the first gathering of his Council of the Nations and Regions in Scotland.
However, Ms Gray, whose new position as “envoy to the nations and regions” was confirmed on Sunday after weeks of turmoil behind the scenes in Number 10, will be a notable absence as she takes a brief hiatus before changing jobs.
Questions about the details of her role as envoy have mounted this week, with further information expected to be set out by the Cabinet Office shortly.
Cabinet ministers have insisted there is a strong team inside Downing Street despite Ms Gray being replaced by former campaign manager Morgan McSweeney after weeks of leaks and hostile briefings against her.
Ms Gray, a former senior civil servant with decades of Whitehall experience, cited “intense commentary about my position” that risked becoming a “distraction” when she stood down.
Johnson doubles down on Partygate apology regrets
My colleague Holly Evans is in Cheltenham at Boris Johnson’s book launch event:
Again questioned if he built an environment of “deniability”, with Ms Samuel referencing Owen Patterson, the Partygate scandal and Chris Pincher scandals, he said: “I think I did mishandle all those three things and I’ve tried to explain in the book.
Talking about Partygate, he said: What I honestly think was that my own personal behaviour I really don’t think I did anything wrong, I don’t think I broke any rules, I can give you a long list of why I think it was absurd that I was fined for standing in my office on my birthday.”
He doubled down on his previous comments that he should not have issued a “grovelling” apology, adding: “what that meant was that the public had accepted in advance of all the allegations that had been made despite many of them not being true.”
Athena Stavrou10 October 2024 22:58 1728595860Johnson turns attention to US election
My colleague Holly Evans is in Cheltenham at Boris Johnson’s book launch event:
Turning to the upcoming US election, Johnson played coy in naming who he would be supporting, but suggested it would be Republican candidate Donald Trump.
After speaking about support for Ukraine, he said: “We need a strong America, I know people have strong opinions on the US presidential election.
“The point I need to make is and what an audience needs to understand is that if Trump wins, and I deeply disapporve of what happened on 6 January, my direct experience of how he operated when I was foreign secretary and prime minister, we have reason to hope that he will be tougher than what his Democratic predesscors have been.
“He may talk to Putin but he’s not going to be wanting the first few months of his presidency about making the Soviet Union great again, he wants to make America again.”
Athena Stavrou10 October 2024 22:31 1728592448How ‘Robert Generic’ turned into a right-wing Tory leadership hopeful
So cautious and moderate was former immigration minister Robert Jenrick when he entered the Commons that he was nicknamed “Robert Generic”.
Yet now 10 years later, he has reached the final two of the 2024 Conservative Party leadership campaign in a battle against Kemi Badenoch to become the champion of the Tory hard-right - but it all was very different when he was first elected.
You can read the full story below:
How mild-mannered ‘Robert Generic’ turned into a right-wing Tory leadership hopeful
The former immigration minister and conservative-turned-rebel was once seen as a moderate, but has rapidly become a flag-bearer for the Tory right
Athena Stavrou10 October 2024 21:34 1728591260Johnson responds to lab-made Covid theories
My colleague Holly Evans is in Cheltenham at Boris Johnson’s book launch event:
Asked if he believed Covid had been made in a lab, the former prime minister said: “I think yes, I’ve read it all”, adding that he had read FBI reports.
Noting that Wuhan had the only lab in the world that was “fiddling around” with SARS virus, he cast doubt on the initial theory that it had originated in a Chinese wet market.
Giving the audience his theory, he said: “Scientists hated the idea that their investigations had actually caused this disaster
“As a group of caring indiciduals there was a terrible reluctance to admit it.
“I think the scientisits a lot of them were in hoc to China… it was not a convenient thing to say.”
Athena Stavrou10 October 2024 21:14 1728590160Johnson defends immigration record
My colleague Holly Evans is in Cheltenham at Boris Johnson’s book launch event:
Turning to immigration, Johnson was asked whether it was a “betrayal” that people had voted for his Brexit campaign, but saw record levels of immigration in 2022.
He answered: “No because what I promised the British people in 2016 was that we would take back control. In 2020 immigration had fallen off a cliff because of covid, we then had a number of pressures from people we owed duty to such as the Afghans, Ukrainians and those in Hong Kong.
“We also had a huge problem as we came out of covid which was inflation, labour cost inflation, which was driven by the difficulty of getting people back into work, we couldn’t stack the shelves in Waitrose, we couldn’t get the petrol to the petrol stations. I remember the 1970s, inflation and how destructive it can be to the British economy - that was the priority.
“Every single government department and big business was screaming for labour.”
However, when countered that this went against the policies of Brexit, he responded: “I accept we overdid it.”
Boris Johnson discussing ‘bullsh***ing’ Brexit bus at book launch event
My colleague Holly Evans is in Cheltenham at Boris Johnson’s book launch event:
When questioned about “the big bullsh***ing bus”, referring to his Brexit campaign bus, he responded: “that’s what other people call it.”
He said: “The £350m bus the whole point of that was it was 100% accurate, that was the gross figure
“As far as it was inaccurate, it was an understatement of the gross figure
I think that’s a significant sum and people were right to ask what they were getting for it and that was only a tiny fraction of the argument.”
When facing questioning from Times columnist Juliet Samuel, he said: Brexit enabled us, you won’t necessarily hear it on the BBC or on the leading columns of The Times.”
Referencing vaccination figure rates, he said: “Brexit in my view saved lives and people didn’t expect that but it happened to be true.
Asked to provide two concrete dividends from Brexit, he appeared to bluster and came under scrutiny when questioned over his answer “money”.
Boris Johnson discusses Olympic zipline stunt at book launch event
My colleague Holly Evans is in Cheltenham at Boris Johnson’s book launch event:
The former prime minister has taken to the stage, albeit behind schedule, to discuss his biography, Unleashed, as it is released today.
After apologising for being late, Johnson began by thanking the crowd and was met with cheers.
Beginning by discussing his image on the zipline ahead of the Olympics, he recalled thinking it would bring some ‘ratmatazz’ after a ‘grim’ few days to begin the tournament with few GB medals and a lack of crowds.
“I love zipwires I went on one in India,” he said. “I did get stuck 40 feet up in some discomfort and was subject to global ridicule, it did have the effect I intended.”
Lib Dems push for London’s own NFL franchise
Liberal Democrats are urging the government to establish an NFL franchise in London following years of successful NFL games held at Wembley and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Max Wilkinson, the party’s sports spokesperson and MP for Cheltenham, made the case in the Commons highlighting the potential economic boost of “hundreds of millions of pounds” that a dedicate NFL team could bring to the capital.
Mr Wilkinson also called for broader access to sports by advocating for increased free-to-air coverage of international cricket, rugby, golf, and tennis.
He told MPs: “While I enjoyed many days at The Dell [in Southampton] watching Matt Le Tissier and others, the majority of my consumption of sports was on free-to-air television.
“Today, youngsters simply do not have the same opportunity to be inspired.
“I would urge the government to consider extending free-to-air coverage of international cricket, rugby, golf and tennis, and even extending protection to some live Premier League football coverage, too.”
Salma Ouaguira10 October 2024 20:30 Newer1 / 9OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
