The super, never and only (while useful) fans of Boris Johnsonpublished at 08:56 British Summer Time 18 June 2023

08:56 BST 18 June 2023

Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

Judged a liar. Chucked out of the building. Condemned by colleagues.

You would think you'd want to crawl under the duvet and stay there for a good while after a massive public disgrace. Perhaps not Boris Johnson.

"He loves oxygen and he doesn't care about Parliament. Everyone is talking about him and he'll be delighted," suggests a former ally who knows him well.

And his remaining die-hard backers claim the verdict of the privileges committee, which investigated whether he deliberately misled Parliament over lockdown parties at No 10, is a vindictive strike against a politician loved by party members and much of the public.

Is that true?

He did have an unusual ability to connect with voters. But he long ago fell out of favour with the public.

And what about inside the Conservative Party, that is again indulging in what seems like its favourite hobby, arguing with itself?

One experienced party member describes the different tribes as Boris Johnson's "super fans, never fans, and only fans while he was an asset".

It is impossible to be scientific about the size of each group, but in each of my conversations it is clear the super fans are very definitely a minority.

But whatever their position on the former PM, Conservatives have to deal with the legacy of Boris Johnson.

Read more from Laura.

Next week could once again prove thorny for the government in terms of the economy.

Wedensday will see the next round of inflation data, which shows the rate at which prices are rising, from the Office of National Statistics. Last month’s figures showed inflation had fallen from 10.1% in the year to March, down to 8.7% in the year to April.

But this was not as much expected, and now it’s considered almost certain that the Bank of England will raise interest rates again on Thursday.

This has already been reflected in the mortgage market - with deals being withdrawn or replaced by ones with higher rates.

Earlier this week, the chancellor said the UK has "no alternative" but to hike interest rates in a bid to tackle rising prices.

Image source, Daily Mirror

In more Partygate dramas for PM Rishi Sunak, a video has emerged overnight showing some Conservative Party workers drinking and dancing at a Christmas party during the pandemic.

In the video, published by the Mirror, external, one person is heard saying it is OK to film "as long as we don't stream that we're, like, bending the rules".

The paper says the video sheds new light on a gathering that police had previously looked into - they investigated the event last year and no fines were issued.

The video, taken at the Conservative party's headquarters in Westminster, dates from December 2020 when London was in Tier 2 restrictions - meaning people were banned from socialising indoors, except with members of their household or a support bubble.

Read more, here.

Image source, UK Parliament

A late-breaking story last night - a resignation triggering another by-election - is bound to come up on this morning's show.

David Warburton, who was suspended from the Tory party in April last year following allegations of sexual misconduct, resigned with immediate effect on Saturday evening.

He's the fourth MP in eight days to announce their resignation.

His immediate departure means there will be a by-election arranged in his seat, which he has represented as an independent since losing the Tory whip.

He won with a majority of 19,213 in that last election.

Read more on this story here.

Once again this morning's headlines are dominated by Partygate revelations.

The front page of the Sunday Mirror features a still image , externaltaken from what it calls the "bombshell" video apparently showing Conservative staff partying during lockdown. It says the footage "throws new light on the affair" and raises the prospect of a second police investigation into what it describes as "lockdown-busting parties that shamed the government". In its leader column, the paper says Scotland Yard "must act".

The Mail on Sunday says there is also pressure on the police to investigate , externalSir Bernard Jenkin, a Tory MP who was on the Privileges Committee investigating Boris Johnson, because of allegations he attended a separate event during lockdown. It says Sir Bernard's claims that it was work-related have been "torpedoed" by a WhatsApp message sent by his wife, which it says invited people to "birthday drinks". An ally of Johnson tells the paper that this "invalidates the findings" of the Partygate investigation, claiming it has been "corrupted".

The ongoing friction within the Conservative Party is highlighted on the front page of the Observer, external. It claims Rishi Sunak views Johnson as "irrelevant", with one senior source describing him as "just an ex-MP". The paper says the prime minister hopes to contrast what it calls Johnson's "rule-breaking and chaos" with "the more studious and thorough style" of Sunak.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Telegraph claims to have seen , externalwhat it calls the "damning findings" of the inquiry into the former civil servant Sue Gray, who compiled the report on Partygate. It says she has been found to have breached Whitehall impartiality rules for holding talks with Labour before she was offered the job of chief of staff to Sir Keir Starmer. According to the paper, Gray could have been suspended or sacked, had she not quit. She denies she has done anything wrong.

Read more in our papers' review.

Image source, PA Media

As we just mentioned a moment ago, it is fair to say Michael Gove has had a fraught relationship with Boris Johnson over the years.

The pair worked closely together on the Vote Leave campaign, before Gove derailed Johnson's leadership campaign in 2016 and ran against him.

During that leadership race to succeed David Cameron, Gove said Johnson was not capable of uniting the Conservative Party or leading the country.

When Johnson ultimately became leader three years later, somewhat surprisingly, he appointed Gove to his cabinet where he served as the Levelling Up Secretary.

But, amid a wave of government resignations last July, Johnson spectacularly rang Gove to tell him he was sacked.

As usual, you’ll be able to stream Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg live at 09:00 BST without leaving this page - click the Play button at the top of this page to do so.

The show will also be available on BBC One and iPlayer.

We’ll also be bringing you the key quotes, news lines and video clips on this feed.

On to today's main guest, Michael Gove. He's been an MP for Surrey Heath for almost 20 years. At 55, he's an experienced cabinet minister who has held a number of prominent roles in government, including education secretary and justice secretary.

Last summer he was levelling up secretary under Boris Johnson. But, he was sacked from that role in July 2022, after urging Johnson to resign as prime minister - more on that in a moment.

Gove then backed Rishi Sunak during the summer edition of the Tory Party leadership contest and, at the time, said Liz Truss's tax policies were a "holiday from reality". A few weeks later, after Truss’s resignation and Sunak’s autumn leadership victory, Gove returned to government as Levelling Up Secretary – which is the role he currently holds.

What else has he been in the headlines for? Well, he has admitted using cocaine as a young journalist. There was also the time he was filmed dancing at an Aberdeen nightclub, and last May he was criticised for adopting American and scouse accents , externalin a BBC Breakfast interview on the cost of living. But, he did take being trapped in a BBC lift for half an hour, external in good humour.

Image source, PA Media

Just over a week ago Boris Johnson dropped a political bombshell that only he could – dramatically quitting as an MP and a blistering 1,000-word resignation letter taking aim at many in Parliament and Whitehall.

He – and a small group of his loyal supporters - then clashed with Rishi Sunak over Mr Johnson’s resignation honours list.

All this comes ahead of tomorrow where MPs will get to vote on the Privileges Committee report which condemned Johnson for deliberately misleading Parliament over Covid rule-breaking.

Boris Johnson has asked his supporters not to vote against the report – which included suspending Mr Johnson from Parliament for 90 days.

It may be that abstaining, or not turning up, is preferable to just a small number of votes against.

Before the first of today’s main interviews, we’ll hear from our panel. In our studio today are:

Former conservative cabinet minister Justine Greening. She held several portfolios including Education and Transport during her government career. In 2019 she stepped down as MP for Putney citing “deep, external concerns”, external about the Brexit approach taken by Boris Johnson’s government. But, earlier this week, she expressed her surprise at the severity of the Privileges Committee’s recommendation to suspend the former PM for 90 days.

Samuel Kasumu, who worked in Boris Johnson’s government for two years. He was the former PM’s senior adviser on ethnic minorities, but quit in April 2021 after becoming unhappy with the government’s stance on racial issues. Earlier this year, Kasumu was endorsed by Tory heavyweights Grant Shapps, Priti Patel and Steve Baker to be the Conservative candidate at next May’s elections for Mayor of London. But, he failed to make the shortlist of three which was announced on Tuesday.

British historian and TV presenter Sir Simon Schama. He is perhaps best known for his BBC series A History Of Britain, among numerous other documentaries and books. He was knighted in 2019 after being recognised in the late Queen’s Birthday Honours in recognition of his services to history.

On this week’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg are Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Evgenia Kara-Murza who is the wife of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza - he was jailed earlier this year for charges linked to his criticism of the war in Ukraine.

We also hear from Sir Mark Rylance - one of the greats of stage and screen who returns to the West End in Dr Semmelweis.

More to come from everyone after 9am.

Emma Owen
Live reporter

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of today’s big political interviews as we bring you the latest updates, reaction and analysis from Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

It has been another hectic week of political headlines for the Tories which looks like a party as divided as it's ever been after a war of words broke out between Rishi Sunak and his predecessor Boris Johnson over his honours list.

For a government facing huge economic problems - high inflation, high interest rates and a cost-of-living crisis affecting so many voters - the last thing they need are by-elections to fight. And last night delivered another, when suspended MP for Somerton and Frome, David Warburton, resigned.

Scottish politics has also been in the news - former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was arrested last Sunday and then released without charge as police continue to investigate allegations around the SNP’s finances.

There’s a lot to cover - stick with us.