Summary

  • MPs have voted in favour of new rules to curb what extra work they are allowed to do, amid the row about second jobs

  • Johnson announced plans on Tuesday to stop MPs working as political consultants

  • The Commons rejected a Labour motion on how to bring in the new rules, instead backing the government's plan

  • Earlier, Boris Johnson was quizzed about second jobs at PMQs and by senior MPs on the Liaison Committee

  • The PM admitted the government made a mistake by conflating the Owen Paterson row with his plan to overhaul the disciplinary process

  • Labour's Keir Starmer accused the PM of being a "coward" for not apologising for his role in the Paterson row

  1. Government set up to deliver climate change commitments - PMpublished at 16:12 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    COP26Image source, Reuters

    Next up at the Liaison Committee is Conservative Philip Dunne, who asks the prime minister what changes he needs to make to the structure of government to deliver on climate change commitments.

    Boris Johnson says the government is well set up to deliver on its target for reaching net zero carbon emissions.

    He praises COP26 secretary Alok Sharma for his work on the summit, as well as his plans going forward to help make sure countries around the world deliver on their commitments.

    Read more: What was agreed at COP26?

  2. Labour enormously self-righteous - Rees Moggpublished at 16:08 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Meanwhile, back at the debate in the Commons, Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg says MPs should have "a wider focus than the Westminster bubble" and that Parliament benefits from those with a broad range of experiences serving in it.

    He accuses Labour of "enormous self-righteousness" in its stance on second jobs for MPs.

    But any employment other than work carried out as an MP should remain "within reasonable limits", Rees-Mogg adds.

    However, such a level "can't easily be put down in a time-and-motion study", he says.

    You can read more about Labour's plan here.

  3. UK spending astonishing sum on climate aid - PMpublished at 16:06 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Boris JohnsonImage source, Parliamentlive.tv

    Darren Jones asks about "climate aid" - the money that rich countries give to poorer ones to help them make their economies more environmentally friendly.

    The Labour MP says the commitments the UK recently made at COP were not accounted for in the UK's spending plans for the next year unveiled at last month's Budget.

    Boris Johnson disputes this. He adds that the government is spending £12.5bn on climate aid, which he calls an "astonishing sum of money".

  4. Labour MP opens section on COP26 climate summitpublished at 16:04 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Labour MP Darren Jones, who chairs the energy committee, is up next and begins the next section of the hearing, covering the COP26 climate summit that finished last week.

    He asks whether the UK will make its climate commitments "firm red lines" in future trade deals, following a controversy about the proposed agreement with Australia.

    The prime minister dodges the question, saying simply that the UK will uphold its commitments.

    He adds that the Australia deal will contain a chapter on climate change.

    You can read more about the deal here.

  5. We are working flat out to bust backlog in courts, says Johnsonpublished at 16:01 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    JohnsonImage source, ParliamentLive.TV

    Committee member Bob Neill asks if the PM will invest in improved technology so police don't need to hold on to rape victims' phones for too long.

    Johnson acknowledges that demands on the police and CPS caused by the "huge quantity of data" in rape cases have been "severe" and agrees that better tech is needed.

    Neill also asks if the PM will put more money into the court service so "we have good quality lawyers who can handle cases in sensitive fashion".

    Johnson says the government is funding 32 more temporary Nightingale, external courtrooms and has removed limits on the number of days courts can sit.

    "We are working flat out to bust the backlog," the prime minister adds.

  6. Police and CPS shouldn't pass the buck on rape cases, PM addspublished at 15:59 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Conservative Bob Neill - chair of the justice committee - returns to the issue of rape convictions. There is a low rate of rape convictions in England and Wales, which you can read more about here.

    He asks what is being done to improve investigations of rape cases.

    Johnson says the government is investing £80m into prosecutors, specifically to "give them more heft" and get cases done faster.

    He adds that police and CPS need to work "hand in glove" rather than "passing the buck between each other".

  7. Government will not rest until women feel safe - PMpublished at 15:55 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    JohnsonImage source, ParliamentLive.TV

    Returning to the issue of violence against women and girls, Conservative Bernard Jenkin asks what the prime minister will do to "demonstrate that the government is behind" victims.

    The PM says its an "absolute priority" for the government to tackle violence against women, but acknowledges that progress was not as swift as he would like.

    He says they "will not rest until women have confidence in the system, confidence in the streets and confidence they will get justice when attacked".

  8. MP asks for progress on electronic visas for EU musicianspublished at 15:52 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Julian Knight turns to the issue of electronic visas for touring artists and musicians from the European Union.

    He says his committee has been holding meetings with Spanish officials on this issue but "nothing has happened since March".

    Boris Johnson says there has been "some progress" on the issue.

    He points out that it has been difficult for artists generally during the Covid pandemic.

  9. Tory MP asks about measures to ban 'cyber flashing'published at 15:49 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Julian KnightImage source, ParliamentLive.TV

    Conservative Julian Knight, from the culture and media committee, is up next.

    He starts with a broad question - whether things that are crimes offline should also be crimes on the internet too, quoting "cyber flashing" as an example.

    The prime minister says yes, adding: "I don't care whether flashing is cyber or not".

    He says the government will look at whether more can be done on this in the draft Online Safety Bill, which is due to start its way through Parliament soon.

  10. People are 'coarsened' by violent pornography, says PMpublished at 15:46 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Boris Johnson in front of the committeeImage source, ParliamentLive.TV

    Back with the Liaison Committee, Nokes asks the PM what he is doing to tackle violent pornography.

    Johnson replies that evidence around the Wayne Couzens case and some terror offenders shows "people are coarsened and degraded by this stuff".

    He adds there are technological difficulties but that online giants should make sure such content is not on their platforms.

    Will there be legislation, Nokes asks.

    Johnson replies that it is "time the online giants realised they cannot think of themselves as neutral, they are publishers".

  11. Need for reform of MPs' system is clear - Labourpublished at 15:43 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Meanwhile in the main House of Commons chamber, MPs are debating Labour's motion calling for a "strengthening" of standards in public life.

    Shadow leader of the House, Thangam Debbonaire, says the past couple of weeks have shown "the very worst" behaviour by Conservative MPs, and that Labour is "trying to change the system for the better" in its "very clear motion".

    Asked about her party leader Sir Keir Starmer's outside earnings as a barrister since becoming an MP, Debbonaire says he no longer does such work and has shown an "admirable" attitude.

    But several Conservative MPs accuse Labour of allowing unions - large financial backers of the party - to have a undue influence on its policies.

    A vote on Labour's motion will be held later today.

  12. Should sexual harassment be a specific crime?published at 15:41 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Caroline NokesImage source, ParliamentLive.TV

    Next up is Conservative MP Caroline Nokes.

    She asks the prime minister whether sexual harassment should be made a specific crime.

    Boris Johnson replies that "rather than widening the range of conduct we ask the police to enforce, what I want to see is proper enforcement of the existing law".

    Should we not intervene before harassers become serious sexual offenders, asks Nokes.

    The PM says we need to prosecute people more successfully under the current laws.

    Earlier this week, Nokes accused the PM's father of touching her inappropriately. Stanley Johnson told Sky he had "no recollection" of Nokes.

  13. PM accused of 'prevaricating' over Paterson casepublished at 15:39 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Returning briefly to the lobbying row, Yvette Cooper says there is a problem with the PM's "prevaricating" over the Paterson row, asking whether he has a responsibility to establish much higher standards of behaviour given his role.

    Boris Johnson says it was a "total mistake" not to see the breach of the rules which made a "discussion of anything else impossible".

    Cooper also suggests pictures of Johnson not wearing a mask in hospital that emerged this week were part of a failure to set an example, which the PM strenuously denies.

    He says there were "barely 30 seconds where I wasn't wearing a mask," adding: "I walked out of a room mistakenly not wearing it, I then put it on as soon as I realised".

    He says he apologises for it and most pictures of the visit showed he was wearing a mask.

  14. Cooper asks: 'Why are we letting 99% of rapists off?'published at 15:37 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Labour's Yvette Cooper now moves on to low rates of successful rape prosecutions.

    "Why are we letting 99% of rapists off," she asks.

    Boris Johnson say he is working "flat out" on prosecutions and says it is the government's number one priority.

    He says the government is putting a lot of money into funding sexual violence advisers to help victims through the difficult parts of trials.

  15. 'Mistake' not to ban second consultancy jobs earlier, admits PMpublished at 15:35 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Johnson in the committee roomImage source, ParliamentLive.TV

    Continuing, Yvette Cooper asks Boris Johnson whether it would have been better if he'd made clear he thought Paterson broke the rules before trying to block his suspension.

    The prime minister admits it "might have helped a bit". He repeats that the government made a "mistake" over how it handled his case.

    He also says it was a "mistake" not to ban MPs from taking jobs as paid consultants after a 2018 report by the Committee on Standards in Public Life recommended it.

    But he insists that in its actions over Owen Paterson, the government was trying to find "cross-party support for improvement to the system".

  16. Paterson's behaviour was extraordinary - Johnsonpublished at 15:31 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    CooperImage source, ParliamentLive.TV

    Labour’s Yvette Cooper, chair of the home affairs committee, is up next.

    She asks the prime minister whether he thinks Tory MP Owen Paterson broke Commons rules on paid lobbying - something he was found to have done earlier this month.

    "Yes I do," he replies.

    Asked if he thinks what Paterson did was acceptable, he replies: "Of course not".

    "I think it is extraordinary that colleagues do sometimes behave in this way," he adds.

  17. I hope for cross-party progress on standards, says PMpublished at 15:28 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    JohnsonImage source, ParliamentLive.TV

    Bernard Jenkin, who chairs the Liaison Committee of senior MPs, asks the prime minister whether the government will "facilitate the implementation" of an ongoing review of MPs' conduct rules by the standards committee.

    The standards committee has been reviewing the rules for several months - and is due to publish a report within the next few weeks.

    "Of course, and I hope there can be cross-party progress on that," Boris Johnson replies.

  18. Paterson fell foul of rules - PMpublished at 15:25 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Moving on, Bryant asks the PM if he thinks Owen Paterson was guilty of breaking MP rules.

    Johnson said it was a "very sad case" but the report found he "fell foul of the rules on advocacy".

    He says he thought it might be useful to explore changing the system with cross-party support.

    Asked how he came up with the idea of trying to overhaul the disciplinary process, the PM says "it was put to me by colleagues".

    Bryant accuses him of "tarring" Parliament but Johnson insists that he has been clear anyone who engages in paid advocacy should be penalised.

    For the full details on what Owen Paterson did, you can read this piece.

  19. PM urged to change rules for showing ministers' interestspublished at 15:22 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Next, Chris Bryant asks if ministers should offer more regular updates about their business interests.

    Currently the government provides a list of ministers' interests twice a year, as opposed to the rolling list provided by MPs.

    Bryant argues that there shouldn't be different rules for MPs and ministers.

    Johnson replies that "the system seems to work pretty well".

  20. Business secretary wasn't asked to apologise - PMpublished at 15:20 Greenwich Mean Time 17 November 2021

    Chris BryantImage source, ParliamentLive.TV

    The second question comes from the chair of the Standards and Privileges Committees, Chris Bryant, who asks about how Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng came to apologise for comments suggesting the parliamentary standards commissioner should resign.

    In reply, the PM declines to say whether or not he asked him to do so, but denies that Kwarteng was asked to do so by Lord Geidt, who is currently advising the government on MPs' standards.

    Bryant pushes back, asking if Johnson asked the business secretary to call for her resignation, which the PM also denies.