MPs caught in sting operation were acting ‘within the rules’
It was Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove doing the rounds this morning. He was asked first to comment on the recent sting by the group Led By Donkeys, in which multiple members of parliament were seen to be asking for up to £10,000 a day to consult for a company which did not exist. A majority of the public believe MPs should not have second jobs, but Gove stressed that although there is a need for transparency regarding MPs and any external work, it was clear that the job being considered in the sting was not technically against the rules:
Michael Gove believes Boris Johnson
Laura Kuenssberg also spoke to Michael Gove about Boris Johnson, who has been questioned by MPs this week over the Partygate scandal. Kuenssberg showed Michael Gove a clip from Question Time, in which the audience were unanimous in thinking Johnson was not telling the truth. Gove went against the grain however, saying he believed that Johnson didn’t attend the gatherings in a spirit of self-indulgence, and that he didn’t think he was breaking the rules:
Gove – ‘We need to draw a line’
The government has been keen to focus this week on a crackdown on antisocial behaviour. Part of their plans is a ban on laughing gas, despite an independent panel arguing against that course of action. Gove however was adamant that the ban was necessary to protect public spaces:
Lucy Powell – this government has put the BBC under threat
The impartiality of the BBC has been a subject of much debate recently, after Gary Lineker’s political tweets caused him to be temporarily suspended from Match of the Day. Labour’s Lucy Powell told Sophy Ridge that the BBC is facing many challenges, and its future is uncertain, but that having a publicly funded broadcaster in this country was ‘critical’:
Powell – ‘inclusion where inclusion can be achieved’
Lucy Powell also spoke to Laura Kuenssberg about the World Athletics Federation’s recent decision to ban trans women from competing in women’s events. Powell said she believed in the principle of inclusion where it can be achieved, but that she largely agreed with the Federation’s decision, in order to protect ‘fair competition’:
The biggest squeeze on living standards on record
And finally, amid the ongoing cost of living crisis, OBR Chair Richard Hughes gave Kuenssberg a fairly pessimistic forecast for the economy, saying that the public’s ‘real spending power’ wouldn’t return to pre-pandemic levels until the late 20s:
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