Boris Johnson apologises to UK MPs over partygate fine


Soraya Ebrahimi
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Boris Johnson offered a “wholehearted apology” to the House of Commons after being fined over the partygate scandal that has shook confidence in his leadership.

“Let me begin in all humility by saying that on April 12 I received a fixed penalty notice relating to an event in Downing Street on June 19 2020," he said on his 1,000th day in office.

“I paid the fine immediately and I offered the British people a full apology, and I take this opportunity on the first available sitting day to repeat my wholehearted apology to the House.”

Mr Johnson also focused on the crisis in Ukraine where he said the government was sending artillery as the nature of the conflict changed with the launch of a new Russian offensive.

Last week Mr Johnson was fined by the Metropolitan Police for attending a birthday party in his honour in the Cabinet room in June 2020, while coronavirus restrictions were in place.

He was then accused at the weekend of not only attending a leaving party for his former communications chief Lee Cain on November 13, 2020, but instigating the occasion.

No 10 Downing Street declined to comment on the claims.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, on Tuesday approved an application from opposition MPs allowing them to table a motion for debate about whether the prime minister misled Parliament when he claimed Covid rules were followed within Downing Street.

“Scheduling the debate for Thursday will, I hope, give members an opportunity to consider the motion and the response to it," he said. “The motion will appear on Thursday’s order paper to be taken after any urgent questions or statements. Hopefully there won’t be any. I hope this is helpful to the House.”

The Daily Telegraph quoted a Downing Street source as saying he will “offer a full-throated apology and recognise the strength of feeling” among MPs on partygate, but is unlikely to go into too much detail on the matter.

“He will obviously give an update on the fine because there is a clear need to do that, but it is difficult to pre-empt the findings of an ongoing police investigation publicly,” the source said.

The newspaper said he would instead talk about Ukraine and the Rwanda deal, while The Times previously reported he would also touch on the cost-of-living crisis and a trip to India focusing on defence and trade.

Mr Johnson then spoke to a meeting of the entire Conservative parliamentary party on Tuesday evening.

On Monday, a senior Conservative suggested a “war cabinet” could be established in place of a leadership contest to avoid detracting attention from the crisis in Ukraine if Mr Johnson stepped down or was deposed.

Sir Roger Gale said the “interim administration” could be led by the Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, who briefly took the reins in 2020 when Mr Johnson was in hospital with Covid-19.

Mr Gale previously submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister, which remains “on the table” but has since said it is not the right time for a leadership election given the situation in Ukraine.

He said he was now keen to establish if it might be possible to put a contest on hold if Mr Johnson resigned or was forced out of his job.

Meanwhile, former archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams said that without asking for repentance and forgiveness, Mr Johnson’s position was not sustainable.

His comments follow a thinly veiled reference to standards in politics by one of the Church of England’s most senior clergymen, the Archbishop of York.

Using his Easter sermon on Sunday, Stephen Cottrell urged people to ask themselves in which sort of country they wanted to live.

“Do we want to be known for the robustness of our democracy, where those in public life live to the highest standards, and where we can trust those who lead us to behave with integrity and honour?” he said.

Dr Williams on Monday told Times Radio: “Because I don’t believe that we should rule out the possibility of, to put it in religious terms, repentance and forgiveness, then it’s perfectly possible for somebody to say, ‘Yes, I got that badly wrong. I accept the consequence. I accept that this has damaged trust. I’m asking for another chance.’

“But otherwise, I don’t see it’s a sustainable position myself.”

Asked if he would recommend that Mr Johnson confess in church over the issue, he said: “Yes, of course. Yes.

"A breach of the law, which has damaging consequences for society, which damages trust, which damages the integrity and credibility not only of an individual but of the government, yes, it seems to be perfectly appropriate for the confessional."

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

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Canada

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Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

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South Korea

What is 'Soft Power'?

Soft power was first mentioned in 1990 by former US Defence Secretary Joseph Nye. 
He believed that there were alternative ways of cultivating support from other countries, instead of achieving goals using military strength. 
Soft power is, at its root, the ability to convince other states to do what you want without force. 
This is traditionally achieved by proving that you share morals and values.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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Price: From Dh801,800
Essentials

The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.

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Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

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The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

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Price: From Dh650,000

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Specs%20
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What's in the deal?

Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024

India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.

India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.

Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments

India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League last 16, first leg

Liverpool v Bayern Munich, midnight, Wednesday, BeIN Sports

Fixtures:

Thursday:
Hatta v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
Al Wasl v Dibba, 7.45pm

Friday:
Al Dhafra v Al Nasr, 5.05pm
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai v Al Wahda, 7.45pm

Saturday:
Ajman v Emirates, 4.55pm
Al Ain v Sharjah, 7.45pm

Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

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Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Calendar 2018/19

July 29: OTA Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan

Sep 22-23: LA Convention Centre in Los Angeles, US

Nov 16-18: Carioca Arena Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Feb 7-9: Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Mar 9-10: Copper Box Arena in London, UK

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Mobile phone packages comparison
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Last 10 NBA champions

2017: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-1
2016: Cleveland bt Golden State 4-3
2015: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-2
2014: San Antonio bt Miami 4-1
2013: Miami bt San Antonio 4-3
2012: Miami bt Oklahoma City 4-1
2011: Dallas bt Miami 4-2
2010: Los Angeles Lakers bt Boston 4-3
2009: Los Angeles Lakers bt Orlando 4-1
2008: Boston bt Los Angeles Lakers 4-2

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

HAJJAN
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Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Updated: April 19, 2022, 5:29 PM`