Boris Johnson faces a day of intense scrutiny as parliament’s senior MPs grill the prime minister over his government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The PM faces 90 minutes of questioning from the liaison super-committee, whose members chair the House of Commons’ other scrutiny committees. We’ve profiled the MPs calling the shots — and run through what they might ask the PM.
The session kicks off at 3.30 p.m.
Who’s asking the questions?
Johnson will face 15 MPs from across parties this afternoon. They are:
Bernard Jenkin, Conservative: New-ish liaison committee chairman, on to his third face-off with Johnson since being parachuted in by Downing Street last May. True Brexit believer who helped set up Vote Leave. Occasionally critical of the government’s COVID strategy, but never rebellious. Also an occasional nudist.
Hilary Benn, Labour: Brexit committee chairman. Has a famous dad. Inherited some of his oratory skills, if not all of the socialism. Most recent frontbench role was as shadow foreign secretary, but opted for the quieter life of scrutinizing Brexit after Jeremy Corbyn sacked him for organizing an ill-fated coup. Later heavily involved in the Commons drama of 2019. Teetotal and a vegetarian.
Clive Betts, Labour: Housing, communities and local government committee chairman. High on experience; low on flair. Like Jenkin, currently serving his seventh party leader (Keir Starmer). Survived his fair share of scandals in his 28 years in politics. Owns a massive grand piano with a model of parliament on it. Former parliamentary football team skipper. Will look to mark his 71st birthday by skewering the PM. Happy birthday, Clive.
Bill Cash, Conservative: European scrutiny committee chairman. Arch Euroskeptic; accomplished his life’s work on January 31, 2020. Oldest sitting MP at 80 years old. Been in the Commons for 35 of those. Apparently a distant cousin of Johnny Cash. Probably won’t be looking to make any rings of fire appear today — Cash has broadly supported the government’s coronavirus strategy.
Yvette Cooper, Labour: Home affairs committee chairwoman. Former leadership contender turned interrogator extraordinaire. Famously saw off Amber Rudd as home secretary after a brutal appearance before her committee in 2018. Nearly did for junior Minister Caroline Nokes as well in one of the all-time great select committee ding-dongs. Married to a reality TV star. Playbook can’t wait to hear what she thinks about cycle tours of Stratford.
Philip Dunne, Conservative: Environmental audit committee chairman. Surviving Cameron Tory. Not so popular with Downing Street after managing Jeremy Hunt’s leadership campaign. Oxford Bullingdon boy background. Channeled that a year ago when he had to apologise for saying his Sikh opponent was “talking through his turban” during an election hustings. Another Tory who’s stayed loyal to No. 10 through the pandemic.
Rob Halfon, Conservative: Education committee chairman. An occasional thorn in the government’s side in 2020, using his profile as committee chair to pressure Gavin Williamson on schools. One of five Tory MPs to rebel on free school meals. One to watch on the Rashford latest.
Simon Hoare, Conservative: Northern Ireland committee chairman. Serial rebel. Former lobbyist and councillor before entering the Commons in 2015. Born in Wales but represents North Dorset. Close ally of former Chancellor Sajid Javid. Spent a fair bit of 2020 opposing the government on the internal market, agriculture and trade bills. Voted Remain back in the day.
Jeremy Hunt, Conservative: Health committee chairman. Former health secretary turned arch health critic. Has been more supportive of the government on COVID in recent weeks after giving No. 10 plenty of headaches last year. Still well-connected with SAGE and the government’s experts. Said to fancy a return to Cabinet, but surely that won’t impact his interrogating skills.
Darren Jones, Labour: BEIS committee chairman. Previously worked on Andy Burnham’s leadership push, Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid and the 2016 Remain campaign. Was a little more successful in the 2017 general election. Lover of technology policy and saxophones. Less fond of meat, as vice chair of the Vegan APPG. Was the first-ever Darren in the Commons.
Catherine McKinnell, Labour: Petitions committee chairwoman. Solicitor by trade. Rose to the heights of shadow attorney general under Corbyn in September 2015 but resigned four months later. Hasn’t returned to the frontbench since. Nominated fellow inquisitor Yvette Cooper for the Labour leadership in 2015 and Jess Phillips in 2020. Once had a spat with Gary Barlow.
Caroline Nokes, Conservative: Woman and equalities committee chairwoman. A former minister who had the whip removed during the 2019 Brexit wars. Has grown increasingly critical of the government’s gender equality record. Landed one of the biggest blows on that very subject during the PM’s first liaison committee appearance. Former chief executive of the National Pony Society.
Stephen Timms, Labour: Work and pensions committee chairman. Popular former minister, though hasn’t been on the Labour frontbench in years. Famously tall. In fact, was once described as a giraffe by Quentin Letts.
Tom Tugendhat, Conservative: Foreign affairs committee chairman. At times outspoken, particularly on foreign policy. Has rebelled recently on a couple of occasions. Also heads up the China Research Group as one of the Commons’ biggest China hawks. Almost always found in the Playbook media round. Was a Territorial Army officer pre-politics. Once picked by writer Andrew Gimson as a potential future leader.
Pete Wishart, SNP: Scottish affairs committee chairman. The only non-Labour or Tory representative at today’s committee. Still more famous for his music career (Runrig, parliamentary rock group MP4) than his political one. Voted 2015 parliamentary tweeter of the year. Has been deploying those talents to start spats with members of his own party in recent days. Unlikely to hold back this afternoon, as ever.
What might they ask?
Johnson will likely be pressed on what the government will do next if compliance with the U.K’s current COVID lockdown restrictions does not improve. The Mail’s Jason Groves says “new curbs could be days away,” with an insider claiming: “We should have better data by the weekend and at that point we will have to decide whether we need to go further.” Groves says new measures under consideration include ending outdoor exercise meetings between two people, closing more businesses, increasing mask-wearing and shutting nurseries.
Plenty of intrigue too over the FT’s splash reporting Johnson had clashed with NHS England boss Simon Stevens over the pace of the vaccine rollout. No. 10 flat-out denied the report to London Playbook last night, describing suggestions of a row between Johnson and Stevens as “completely untrue.” But the FT insists “multiple sources say frustration was running high last week,” with the PM apparently “threatening to give the military a bigger role in the programme unless the rollout was accelerated.”
STARTERS FOR NO. 10: You’d imagine Johnson might also be asked: Why did it take 13 days to act on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies’ December 22 call for a lockdown? … Would a clearer stay-at-home message throughout December have saved lives? … If the situation is worse now than in March last year, why are the rules currently in place less strict? … Does SAGE want more workplaces closed? … Nurseries shut? … Could we soon see harsher punishments for rule breakers? … Should others follow retailer John Lewis in scrapping click-and-collect? … What is SAGE saying about the dangers posed by the South African variant? … How many people need to be vaccinated before it’s safe to open up? … Does he think it’ll be March 23 before the strictest restrictions can be lifted? … Why are private companies providing free school meals mugging off schoolchildren, not to mention the taxpayer? … What does he think about Donald Trump’s behavior last week? … How far is “local?”