The UK’s most senior civil servant is expected to indicate he has not cleared Boris Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings over the so-called “chatty rat” leak of plans for a second lockdown.
Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, is expected to say his inquiry into the leak last autumn is still “live” when he appears before the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC).
Mr Cummings has accused Mr Johnson of seeking to block the investigation after learning that a close friend of his fiancee Carrie Symonds had been implicated, a claim the Prime Minister denied.
Cabinet secretary Simon Case is expected to tell MPs his leak inquiry is still ‘live’ (Stefan Rousseau/PA
The UK’s most senior civil servant is expected to indicate he has not cleared Boris Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings over the so-called “chatty rat” leak of plans for a second lockdown.
Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, is expected to say his inquiry into the leak last autumn is still “live” when he appears before the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC).
Mr Cummings has accused Mr Johnson of seeking to block the investigation after learning that a close friend of his fiancee Carrie Symonds had been implicated, a claim the Prime Minister denied.
Cabinet secretary Simon Case is expected to tell MPs his leak inquiry is still ‘live’ (Stefan Rousseau/PA
The UK’s most senior civil servant is expected to indicate he has not cleared Boris Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings over the so-called “chatty rat” leak of plans for a second lockdown.
Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, is expected to say his inquiry into the leak last autumn is still “live” when he appears before the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC).
Mr Cummings has accused Mr Johnson of seeking to block the investigation after learning that a close friend of his fiancee Carrie Symonds had been implicated, a claim the Prime Minister denied.
Cabinet secretary Simon Case is expected to tell MPs his leak inquiry is still ‘live’ (Stefan Rousseau/PA
BBC News
image copyrightGetty Images Tittle tattle - the dictionary defines the phrase as idle chat or gossip . Westminster s lexicon provides a slightly different answer.
The phrase is used time and again by politicians trying to describe and often dismiss a situation that is politically messy and potentially dangerous. And it can also come in handy as a response when they have to answer questions about claims that they can t completely deny.
Profound private tensions between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were often publicly labelled by Labour politicians that way. So was the rift between the Miliband brothers after they both ran for the leadership, with Ed the victor.
A Cabinet minister has denied that Boris Johnson is “sleazy”, following allegations the Prime Minister asked Conservative donors to secretly pay for Downing Street refurbishments.
Labour is expected to pile further pressure on the Government over claims made by Mr Johnson’s former aide, Dominic Cummings, that the Prime Minister wanted donors to “secretly pay for the renovation” of his official flat, in a move called “unethical, foolish, possibly illegal” by the ex-Vote Leave campaigner.
Asked about the allegations, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Mr Johnson had paid “out of his own pocket” for the Downing Street upgrade.
Mr Wallace told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Do I think the Prime Minister is sleazy? No, I don’t.