Wednesday briefing: From party time to crunch time for Johnson

Tory MPs set to see Sue Gray’s report … Plan to divert natural gas to Europe if Russia cuts supply … and Elle Hunt goes in search of ‘true fun’

Top story: Culpable or just ‘ambushed with a cake’?

Hello, I’m Warren Murray. Make up your own mind, but hear me out first.

Boris Johnson is braced for the most perilous 48 hours of his premiership, with Conservative MPs due to see Sue Gray’s report into Downing Street lockdown parties. The Metropolitan police commissioner, Cressida Dick, has meanwhile announced that her officers are investigating the parties and “I don’t anticipate any difficulty in obtaining the evidence that it is … necessary, proportionate and appropriate for us to obtain in order to get to the right conclusions”. Those found to have breached regulations could be fined.

Arch-critics of the prime minister are hopeful that Gray’s findings will be damaging enough to trigger what they believe will be the final trickle of letters needed to get to 54 and force a no confidence vote. A Conservative MP has caused mirth by claiming Johnson was “ambushed with a cake” at his birthday gathering in Downing Street during lockdown. Conor Burns told Channel 4 News on Tuesday evening that the gathering was “not a premeditated, organised party … He was, in a sense, ambushed with a cake.”

* * *

Backup plan if Russia cuts gas – Natural gas supplies from around the world could be diverted to Europe if Vladimir Putin cuts the flow from Russia as part of an invasion of Ukraine. US officials said on Tuesday that they had been negotiating with global suppliers and were confident that Europe would not suffer from a sudden loss of energy for heating in the middle of winter. Joe Biden said on Tuesday if Russia attacked, it would be the “largest invasion since world war two” and would “change the world”. The US president said he would consider imposing personal sanctions on his Russian counterpart.

* * *

Midweek catch-up

> Users of truly self-driving cars should have immunity from a wide range of offences including dangerous driving, speeding and jumping red lights, Britain’s law commissions have jointly recommended.

> Almost 300,000 people in the UK have aortic valve stenosis, a potentially deadly condition where the main outflow valve of the heart stiffens and narrows, according to the first major study of its prevalence.

> Fans are trying to have the Star Trek actor Nichelle Nichols freed from a conservatorship that was put in place in 2018 because she has dementia.

Nichols played Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in the original TV series and movies. Her supporters, including some “Free Britney” activists, claim she does not need a conservatorship, but merely help to manage her affairs.

> A man has been charged with the murder of his 19-year-old daughter after a woman was hit by a car in Norfolk and died of her injuries. Nigel Malt, 44, is due to appear at King’s Lynn magistrates court today accused of the murder of Lauren Malt.

> The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a campaign by Swedish alt-milk brand Oatly for misleading consumers. The ASA said Oatly claimed without proper evidence to have less environmental impact than dairy and meat products.

* * *

More Pegasus revelations – The mobile phones of a senior Human Rights Watch staff member are alleged to have been repeatedly hacked by a client of NSO Group at a time when she was investigating the August 2020 explosion that killed more than 200 people in Beirut. The alleged hacking of Lama Fakih, a US-Lebanese citizen and director of crisis and conflict at HRW, marks the latest example of how NSO’s powerful surveillance tool, Pegasus, has been used to target campaigners and journalists. On Tuesday, NSO’s chairman, Asher Levy, said he was stepping down but denied it had any connection to recent developments.

* * *

‘Ghost flights’ spew carbon – At least 100,000 “ghost flights” could happen across Europe this winter just so airlines can keep their EU take-off and landing rights, according to Greenpeace. It says the deserted, unnecessary or unprofitable flights could also generate up to 2.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. The Lufthansa CEO, Carsten Spohr, said his airline may have to fly 18,000 such flights to meet the rules, and called for exemptions. The European Commission denies causing the problem: “If airline companies decide to keep empty flights, this is a company decision, which is not the result of EU rules.” The Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary, said airlines like Lufthansa should sell unfilled seats at cheap prices and be forced to release unused airport slots.

* * *

Mekong reveals more species – A monkey with ghostly white circles around its eyes is among 224 species newly listed in the World Wildlife Fund’s latest update on the greater Mekong region. The monkey, a new species of Popa langur found on the extinct Mt Popa volcano in Myanmar, was the only new mammal.

There are also dozens of newly identified reptiles, frogs and newts, fish and 155 plant species, including the only known succulent bamboo species, found in Laos. The Mekong region is a biodiversity hotspot, home to tigers, Asian elephants, saola – an extremely rare animal also called the Asian unicorn or spindlehorn – and thousands of other species.

Today in Focus podcast: Met finally comes to the party

After weeks of damaging allegations of parties and rule-breaking gatherings in Downing Street, the Metropolitan police have now opened an investigation. Could this spell the end for Boris Johnson?

Lunchtime read: If this is fun I’ve had it

The author of a new book says having more fun builds resilience and will help get us through the next stage of the pandemic. Can the advice get Elle Hunt out of her funk?

Sport

England’s preparations for the Six Nations were hit with yet more upheaval on Tuesday when Joe Marler tested positive for Covid-19 and Eddie Jones’s squad was later forced to evacuate the team hotel because of a fire. Fifa should tighten its proposed rules on intermediaries to limit the money made by super-agents, the influential Council of Europe will be told on Wednesday. Supporters and survivors have spoken of the chaotic scenes that left eight dead after a crush outside the Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon, at the host nation’s Africa Cup of Nations tie against Comoros.

Roy Hodgson oversaw training at Watford for the first time on Tuesday and has signed a contract initially until the end of the season as the club look to him to preserve their Premier League status. Ash Barty’s rapid march through the draw continued at the Australian Open as she faced her highest ranked opponent so far, the in-form 21st seed, Jessica Pegula, and treated her with the same disdain as all others who have crossed her path here this year.

Business

Shares have been mixed in Asia during muted trading as investors await indications from a US Federal Reserve meeting on how aggressive it will be in fighting inflation. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.7% in morning trading while South Korea’s Kospi, the Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite rose. Trading is closed in Sydney for Australia Day. The FTSE is about 60 points higher in futures trading ahead of the open. You can have $1.350 or €1.195 for your pound at time of writing.

The papers

It’s another “continuing furore” edition of our front page roundup today. Here is the full version, whittled down follows. The Mirror’s headline is “Number’s up, PM” and it reports that “Sue Gray has pics of Johnson with wine bottles at No 10 parties as police launch criminal probe”. Our Guardian front page describes the “PM’s peril: report looms as police step in over parties”. The focus of the Telegraph’s front page is also the Gray report and the “mounting pressure” for Johnson to publish it in full.

The Daily Express wants us to think the Scotland Yard probe has actually been welcomed by Johnson and says “Yes PM, we all want ‘line drawn under’ partygate’”. The Sun has “Cops probe partygate” and says “Ten Downing Street is now a crime scene”. The i newspaper leads with the Metropolitan police investigation and a photo of an anxious-looking PM. The Daily Mail rather incredibly argues we are “A nation that’s lost all sense of proportion”, suggesting partygate should be brushed aside because there are other bad things going on in the world.

The Times plays it straight: “Johnson faces police interview over parties”. The Independent follows suits with: “Now police investigate Downing Street parties”. The Financial Times has “Johnson gears up for survival fight”, quoting one Tory MP as saying: “He believes he’ll get out of this. His optimism is more than skin deep.”

Sign up

The Guardian Morning Briefing is delivered to thousands of inboxes bright and early every weekday. If you are not already receiving it by email, you can sign up here.

For more news: www.theguardian.com

Get in Touch

If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com

Sign up to Inside Saturday to get an exclusive behind the scenes look at the top features from our new magazine delivered to your inbox every weekend