Some 485 former teachers have signed up to a government scheme to tackle school staff shortages (stock image)Image caption: Some 485 former teachers have signed up to a government scheme to tackle school staff shortages (stock image)
Turning briefly to the ongoing impact of Covid now, the government has refreshed its
calls for ex-teachers to return to classrooms in England to help alleviate a high level of absences.
Initial data from around 10% of
approved supply agencies shows 485 former teachers have signed up with agencies
since 20 December, according to Department for Education analysis. The total number of
ex-teachers who have signed up is unknown and it's also unclear how many of the
485 have actually started back in the classroom.
The figures come after data
released yesterday showed
one in 12 teachers were off work as the Omicron variant continued to spread
around the UK.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi thanked those who had
signed up but added: "I call on
all other former teachers who are able to do the same to come forward
now."
School leaders' union NAHT say the numbers of returning teachers does "not come
close" to solving the issue of absences.
One story dominates the front pages...
While we wait to hear what the prime minister has to say in the Commons later today, here's a look at some of this morning's newspaper headlines.
The papers are, perhaps unsurprisingly, dominated by the fall-out from revelations about the garden drinks party at Downing Street during the first lockdown.
Witnesses have said the PM and his wife attended.
The TimesCopyright: The Times
The Times reports that Johnson has been urged by ministers and Tory MPs to apologise for the party at which he is said to have "glad-handed" guests. The paper says it has been told that one member of government at the party joked about being caught breaking the rules, asking how it would look if a drone photographed the event.Image caption: The Times reports that Johnson has been urged by ministers and Tory MPs to apologise for the party at which he is said to have "glad-handed" guests. The paper says it has been told that one member of government at the party joked about being caught breaking the rules, asking how it would look if a drone photographed the event.
The GuardianCopyright: The Guardian
The Guardian says Johnson is facing intense pressure from senior Conservatives to publicly confirm whether or not he attended the gathering on 20 May 2020. The paper says a string of Conservative MPs have openly expressed anger and humiliation about the "bring your own booze" gathering.Image caption: The Guardian says Johnson is facing intense pressure from senior Conservatives to publicly confirm whether or not he attended the gathering on 20 May 2020. The paper says a string of Conservative MPs have openly expressed anger and humiliation about the "bring your own booze" gathering.
The SunCopyright: The Sun
The Sun says Johnson went into "hiding" on Tuesday following the revelations. The paper says senior Conservatives and party donors have questioned his future as leader after he did not deny attending the gathering, organised by his top civil servant.Image caption: The Sun says Johnson went into "hiding" on Tuesday following the revelations. The paper says senior Conservatives and party donors have questioned his future as leader after he did not deny attending the gathering, organised by his top civil servant.
Daily ExpressCopyright: Daily Express
But the Daily Express offers some words of encouragement to the prime minister. It acknowledges that
he is under intense pressure but it says support for him remains strong within the Conservative Party.Image caption: But the Daily Express offers some words of encouragement to the prime minister. It acknowledges that
he is under intense pressure but it says support for him remains strong within the Conservative Party.
Analysis
Tory MPs send angry message to Boris Johnson
Nick Eardley
Political correspondent
The latest revelations - that dozens of Downing Street staff were invited to a BYOB (bring your own booze) event in the No 10 garden during the first lockdown - have left many Tory MPs furious.
One of those prepared to put that fury on the record was Nigel Mills, who told the BBC: "The idea that during the worst lockdown - when you could only see one other person - that the people organising the rules were having a party is just unacceptable. It's indefensible."
That is a clear message to Boris Johnson: if he was there, and knew that an event had be planned, he'd have to go.
There are other Conservative MPs who agree - but aren't prepared to say so on the record at the moment.
Some critics say they now think it's a matter of when - and not if - the prime minister will have to stand down.
But not everyone believes things are terminal for the prime minister.
Djokovic admits visa mistake in ongoing deportation row
For those interested in the ongoing saga of tennis star Novak Djokovic's visa to play in the Austrialian Open, there's a new twist in the tale.
The world number one has admitted "human error" from his agent led to mistakes on his immigration forms, as well admitting to a personal "error of judgement" in meeting a French journalist in December, despite testing positive for Covid. Djokovic says he did not want to let the journalist down.
He's made the comments in an Instagram post, saying he wanted to clarify "ongoing misinformation" about his movements.
EPACopyright: EPA
Djokovic, who is unvaccinated, initially had his visa revoked on 6 January shortly after arriving in Australia amid questions over the vaccine exemption that would have permitted him to enter.
But the Australian government has not ruled out further action - and the possibility remains that the country's immigration minister could cancel his visa for a second time just days before the tournament begins.
Police should investigate No 10 party - Rayner
More now from Labour's deputy leader, who says if a party took place at Downing Street in May 2020 this was a "very clear breach of the rules".
Asked whether she would accept the defence that the party took place at a workplace among a group of people who were working together daily anyway, Angela Rayner tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don’t accept that sending out invitations - to bring
your own booze, the weather’s lovely, come out into the garden - to 100 staff, is
work to be honest. I think it’s very clear that breaks the Covid rules."
"Many key workers,
our NHS staff, were working very heavy shifts, 12-hour shifts, with full PPE [personal protective equipment] on," she says. "They didn’t break out into the garden with cheese and wine and bring your
own booze scenarios."
Asked whether the police should investigate, Rayner says: "If
the law has been broken then nobody is above the law, including the prime
minister."
She adds that if the party took place, it was "against the rules and the law".
"I think the Metropolitan Police could and should investigate now but
I think the prime minister ultimately could answer this very quickly and
shouldn’t hide behind any investigation."
Starmer to attend PMQs after testing negative
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will be feeling relieved. The former director of public prosecutions will be able to ask questions of the PM today after testing negative for Covid this morning.
The leader of the opposition tested positive last week and had been self-isolating, but has now tested negative twice and can leave quarantine.
The UK was living under lockdown when the Downing Street drinks party took place on 20 May 2020.
By law, People could not leave their homes without a reasonable excuse, which included work (where you couldn't work from home), exercise and getting things like food and medicine.
The law also prohibited gatherings in a public place of more than two people, unless they were all members of the same household or the gathering was "essential for work purposes".
Government guidance also stated that people should only meet one other person from outside their own household in an outdoor public place - and that they should stay 2m apart.
"We should get rid of him…. We should own the situation. We are the Tory party. We are not delivering good governance."
That stinging verdict from a Conservative MP does not, at least not yet, seem to represent the consensus among the party's ranks on what to do about the current situation in Downing Street.
But the goodwill-to-all-men moment the Christmas holidays promised is very much over.
The subject of conversation among Tories on Tuesday was not the government's planned menu of policy fare for the week, but whether or not the moment had arrived when Boris Johnson, election-winner, had become Boris Johnson, discredited liability.
Whether or not, in the words of that senior MP, the party should "get rid of him".
The party has not reached that conclusion. The government has an enormous majority. Administrations go through rocky times.
But the latest, and continuing, stream of revelations, has made the question of the prime minister's survival the central one again.
No government ministers put up for morning interviews
Normally around this time we would expect to hear from a government minister on BBC Breakfast and the Today programme - but no one has been made available.
Instead, Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner will be taking the main 08:10 slot on Today.
We will be hearing from the prime minister himself later at Prime Minister's Questions - his first appearance since fresh revelations about the May 2020 gathering.
It had been suggested he might make a statement in the Commons on the issue ahead of PMQs but this has been denied by a government source - although they didn't rule out him making some remarks at the start of the session.
PM does not necessarily need to resign - Tory MP
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Tory MP Huw Merriman says he does not believe the prime minister needs to resign if he attended the party - but calls for him to clarify what took place.
"We don't know what's happened and I feel rotten
speculating before we know the facts - but as far as I'm concerned we judge
people in the round," he tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"That includes the action that was taken during the
pandemic, the support, the vaccination programme, [and] holding the nerve on
Plan B."
The
MP for Bexhill and Battle says: "I'm
the type that doesn't go around calling for people to resign until evidence is
known, and that includes opposition MPs."
However, he adds "more clarity" is needed on whether Boris Johnson attended the event and what took place.
She says she is waiting to hear
if Starmer has tested negative this morning.
If he does, she says Starmer will be there – but otherwise she
is ready to stand in, as she did last week.
PM's excuses don't wash, says Rayner
Rayner says "it doesn't wash" for the prime minister to say we should wait for the results of the ongoing investigation.
"He knows the rules, he implemented the rules as prime minister of this country," she tells BBC Breakfast.
"He can answer that question – was he at that party or
not during lockdown."
"Many people who lost loved ones over that period and were
not able to see them are devastated by this news that No 10 was partying while their
loved ones died alone," she says.
"The prime minister cannot break the law, lie to the British
public and not be held to account for that," she adds.
PM's position untenable if he lied - Labour deputy leader
Video content
Video caption: Downing Street party: PM's position is untenable if he lied - Labour's Angela RaynerDowning Street party: PM's position is untenable if he lied - Labour's Angela Rayner
Labour's deputy leader says if the prime minister has lied his position is "untenable".
Angela Rayner calls on Boris Johnson to confirm today whether he was at the party in May 2020 or not.
"The Ministerial Code is very clear. If he's misled Parliament... then he should go," she tells BBC Breakfast.
She adds that the PM has proven himself "not fit to govern" and criticises Conservative MPs for continuing to "prop him up".
PM incapable of leading and should resign - Lib Dem leader
Video content
Video caption: Downing Street party: Boris Johnson must now resign - Lib Dem leader Ed DaveyDowning Street party: Boris Johnson must now resign - Lib Dem leader Ed Davey
The leader of the Lib Dems has called on Boris Johnson to resign over reports he attended a drinks party at Downing Street during the first lockdown.
Ed Davey tells BBC Breakfast: "Boris
Johnson is now incapable of leading our country through this public health crisis,
I think he’s actually now a threat to the health of the nation because no-one
will do anything he’s said because he’s now shown to have been deceitful."
Citing the prime minister's comments to Parliament before Christmas that he did not know about any parties, Davey said: "He has clearly lied, he has broken the Ministerial Code, he has broken the law, he's misled Parliament - any prime minister in the past would resign for just one of those offences."
"If he has any shred of decency left in him he should resign
today," he adds.
PM to face MPs following drinks party revelations
EPACopyright: EPA
Boris Johnson continues to be under pressure over fresh revelations of a drinks party in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown.
He will face MPs at Prime Minister's Questions at 12:00 GMT - his first public appearance since it emerged 100 staff were invited to the gathering in May 2020.
Mr Johnson has so far declined to say whether he attended the event and has said what happened is a matter for an ongoing inquiry.
However, witnesses have told the BBC the prime minister and his wife Carrie were among about 30 people who were there.
A number of Conservative MPs have said this position is unsustainable if he attended.
It had been suggested the prime minister could make a separate statement in the Commons on the party ahead of Prime Minister's Questions but this has been denied by a senior government source - although they didn't rule out him making some remarks at the start of the session.
Ministers will look at easing Wales' Covid rules when restrictions are reviewed next week if the peak of the current wave has passed, First Minister Mark Drakeford says
The World Health Organization has warned that half of Europe will have caught the Omicron variant within the next six to eight weeks.
Live Reporting
Edited by James Clarke
All times stated are UK
Get involved
More ex-teachers urged to return to schools
Hannah Richardson
BBC News education reporter
Turning briefly to the ongoing impact of Covid now, the government has refreshed its calls for ex-teachers to return to classrooms in England to help alleviate a high level of absences.
Initial data from around 10% of approved supply agencies shows 485 former teachers have signed up with agencies since 20 December, according to Department for Education analysis. The total number of ex-teachers who have signed up is unknown and it's also unclear how many of the 485 have actually started back in the classroom.
The figures come after data released yesterday showed one in 12 teachers were off work as the Omicron variant continued to spread around the UK.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi thanked those who had signed up but added: "I call on all other former teachers who are able to do the same to come forward now."
School leaders' union NAHT say the numbers of returning teachers does "not come close" to solving the issue of absences.
One story dominates the front pages...
While we wait to hear what the prime minister has to say in the Commons later today, here's a look at some of this morning's newspaper headlines.
The papers are, perhaps unsurprisingly, dominated by the fall-out from revelations about the garden drinks party at Downing Street during the first lockdown.
Witnesses have said the PM and his wife attended.
Tory MPs send angry message to Boris Johnson
Nick Eardley
Political correspondent
The latest revelations - that dozens of Downing Street staff were invited to a BYOB (bring your own booze) event in the No 10 garden during the first lockdown - have left many Tory MPs furious.
One of those prepared to put that fury on the record was Nigel Mills, who told the BBC: "The idea that during the worst lockdown - when you could only see one other person - that the people organising the rules were having a party is just unacceptable. It's indefensible."
That is a clear message to Boris Johnson: if he was there, and knew that an event had be planned, he'd have to go.
There are other Conservative MPs who agree - but aren't prepared to say so on the record at the moment.
Some critics say they now think it's a matter of when - and not if - the prime minister will have to stand down.
But not everyone believes things are terminal for the prime minister.
Read more from Nick.
Djokovic admits visa mistake in ongoing deportation row
For those interested in the ongoing saga of tennis star Novak Djokovic's visa to play in the Austrialian Open, there's a new twist in the tale.
The world number one has admitted "human error" from his agent led to mistakes on his immigration forms, as well admitting to a personal "error of judgement" in meeting a French journalist in December, despite testing positive for Covid. Djokovic says he did not want to let the journalist down.
He's made the comments in an Instagram post, saying he wanted to clarify "ongoing misinformation" about his movements.
Djokovic, who is unvaccinated, initially had his visa revoked on 6 January shortly after arriving in Australia amid questions over the vaccine exemption that would have permitted him to enter.
However, on Monday a judge dramatically overturned the decision and ordered the release of the player from detention.
But the Australian government has not ruled out further action - and the possibility remains that the country's immigration minister could cancel his visa for a second time just days before the tournament begins.
Police should investigate No 10 party - Rayner
More now from Labour's deputy leader, who says if a party took place at Downing Street in May 2020 this was a "very clear breach of the rules".
Asked whether she would accept the defence that the party took place at a workplace among a group of people who were working together daily anyway, Angela Rayner tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don’t accept that sending out invitations - to bring your own booze, the weather’s lovely, come out into the garden - to 100 staff, is work to be honest. I think it’s very clear that breaks the Covid rules."
"Many key workers, our NHS staff, were working very heavy shifts, 12-hour shifts, with full PPE [personal protective equipment] on," she says. "They didn’t break out into the garden with cheese and wine and bring your own booze scenarios."
Asked whether the police should investigate, Rayner says: "If the law has been broken then nobody is above the law, including the prime minister."
She adds that if the party took place, it was "against the rules and the law".
"I think the Metropolitan Police could and should investigate now but I think the prime minister ultimately could answer this very quickly and shouldn’t hide behind any investigation."
Starmer to attend PMQs after testing negative
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will be feeling relieved. The former director of public prosecutions will be able to ask questions of the PM today after testing negative for Covid this morning.
The leader of the opposition tested positive last week and had been self-isolating, but has now tested negative twice and can leave quarantine.
What were the rules in May 2020?
The UK was living under lockdown when the Downing Street drinks party took place on 20 May 2020.
By law, People could not leave their homes without a reasonable excuse, which included work (where you couldn't work from home), exercise and getting things like food and medicine.
The law also prohibited gatherings in a public place of more than two people, unless they were all members of the same household or the gathering was "essential for work purposes".
Government guidance also stated that people should only meet one other person from outside their own household in an outdoor public place - and that they should stay 2m apart.
You can read more about the restrictions in place at the time here.
PM's survival becomes central question once again
Laura Kuenssberg
Political editor
"We should get rid of him…. We should own the situation. We are the Tory party. We are not delivering good governance."
That stinging verdict from a Conservative MP does not, at least not yet, seem to represent the consensus among the party's ranks on what to do about the current situation in Downing Street.
But the goodwill-to-all-men moment the Christmas holidays promised is very much over.
The subject of conversation among Tories on Tuesday was not the government's planned menu of policy fare for the week, but whether or not the moment had arrived when Boris Johnson, election-winner, had become Boris Johnson, discredited liability.
Whether or not, in the words of that senior MP, the party should "get rid of him".
The party has not reached that conclusion. The government has an enormous majority. Administrations go through rocky times.
But the latest, and continuing, stream of revelations, has made the question of the prime minister's survival the central one again.
Read more from Laura.
No government ministers put up for morning interviews
Normally around this time we would expect to hear from a government minister on BBC Breakfast and the Today programme - but no one has been made available.
Instead, Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner will be taking the main 08:10 slot on Today.
We will be hearing from the prime minister himself later at Prime Minister's Questions - his first appearance since fresh revelations about the May 2020 gathering.
It had been suggested he might make a statement in the Commons on the issue ahead of PMQs but this has been denied by a government source - although they didn't rule out him making some remarks at the start of the session.
PM does not necessarily need to resign - Tory MP
Tory MP Huw Merriman says he does not believe the prime minister needs to resign if he attended the party - but calls for him to clarify what took place.
"We don't know what's happened and I feel rotten speculating before we know the facts - but as far as I'm concerned we judge people in the round," he tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"That includes the action that was taken during the pandemic, the support, the vaccination programme, [and] holding the nerve on Plan B."
The MP for Bexhill and Battle says: "I'm the type that doesn't go around calling for people to resign until evidence is known, and that includes opposition MPs."
However, he adds "more clarity" is needed on whether Boris Johnson attended the event and what took place.
Starmer waiting on negative test result
Rayner is asked whether Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will be appearing at Prime Minister's Questions today, after he tested positive for Covid-19 last week.
She says she is waiting to hear if Starmer has tested negative this morning.
If he does, she says Starmer will be there – but otherwise she is ready to stand in, as she did last week.
PM's excuses don't wash, says Rayner
Rayner says "it doesn't wash" for the prime minister to say we should wait for the results of the ongoing investigation.
"He knows the rules, he implemented the rules as prime minister of this country," she tells BBC Breakfast.
"He can answer that question – was he at that party or not during lockdown."
"Many people who lost loved ones over that period and were not able to see them are devastated by this news that No 10 was partying while their loved ones died alone," she says.
"The prime minister cannot break the law, lie to the British public and not be held to account for that," she adds.
PM's position untenable if he lied - Labour deputy leader
Video content
Labour's deputy leader says if the prime minister has lied his position is "untenable".
Angela Rayner calls on Boris Johnson to confirm today whether he was at the party in May 2020 or not.
"The Ministerial Code is very clear. If he's misled Parliament... then he should go," she tells BBC Breakfast.
She adds that the PM has proven himself "not fit to govern" and criticises Conservative MPs for continuing to "prop him up".
PM incapable of leading and should resign - Lib Dem leader
Video content
The leader of the Lib Dems has called on Boris Johnson to resign over reports he attended a drinks party at Downing Street during the first lockdown.
Ed Davey tells BBC Breakfast: "Boris Johnson is now incapable of leading our country through this public health crisis, I think he’s actually now a threat to the health of the nation because no-one will do anything he’s said because he’s now shown to have been deceitful."
Citing the prime minister's comments to Parliament before Christmas that he did not know about any parties, Davey said: "He has clearly lied, he has broken the Ministerial Code, he has broken the law, he's misled Parliament - any prime minister in the past would resign for just one of those offences."
"If he has any shred of decency left in him he should resign today," he adds.
PM to face MPs following drinks party revelations
Boris Johnson continues to be under pressure over fresh revelations of a drinks party in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown.
He will face MPs at Prime Minister's Questions at 12:00 GMT - his first public appearance since it emerged 100 staff were invited to the gathering in May 2020.
Mr Johnson has so far declined to say whether he attended the event and has said what happened is a matter for an ongoing inquiry.
However, witnesses have told the BBC the prime minister and his wife Carrie were among about 30 people who were there.
A number of Conservative MPs have said this position is unsustainable if he attended.
It had been suggested the prime minister could make a separate statement in the Commons on the party ahead of Prime Minister's Questions but this has been denied by a senior government source - although they didn't rule out him making some remarks at the start of the session.
Read our full story here.
Good morning
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Here are the main stories today: