Boris Johnson news - live: PM announces new sanctions on Russia after ‘hideous and barbarous’ Ukraine invasion

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Welcome to The Independent’s live blogcovering UK politics for Thursday, 24 February 2022.

Boris Johnson loyalists believe he is lining up a revenge reshuffle in July if he escapes unscathed from the Partygate inquiries and May’s perilous local elections. Emboldened by the delay in publishing the final report into alleged lockdown-breaking gatherings at No 10, supporters of the prime minister believe he will survive a confidence vote by MPs.

There was little to nurture loyalist hopes of a Johnson recovery in an exclusive Savanta Comres survey for The Independent, which showed Conservatives trailing the opposition on 33 per cent compared to Labour’s 40 – a single point up on the low of 32 recorded in the pollster’s political tracker index.

Little more than a third (35 per cent) of Conservative supporters viewed the prime minister as their top choice for leader.

Read the details in this report by Independent’s political editor Andrew Woodcock:

Labour MP Imran Hussain was cut off by Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle as he was criticising prime minister Boris Johnson’s comments about Muslims.

Mr Johnson was “no stranger to derogatory remarks about Muslim women” said Mr Hussian on Wednesday.

Sir Lindsay said: “This is not the appropriate place to be raising that”, and moved onto another MP without asking Mr Johnson to answer the question or allowing Mr Hussain to continue.

Mr Johnson has previously in 2018 described Muslim women as looking like “bank robbers” and “letterboxes”.

In 2019 Tell MAMA, an organisation which documents instances of racism against Muslims, reported a 375 per cent increase in attacks in the week following after Mr Johnson’s comments, some “directly referenced Boris Johnson and/or the language used in his column”.

Keir Starmer is to evoke the memory of Labour’s 1960s prime minister Harold Wilson with a promise to use the “white heat of technology” to deliver an economy that works for all.

In a speech in the four-time election-winner’s home town, Huddersfield, Sir Keir will quote his predecessor’s famous dictum in the latest step of his drive to reposition Labour as the party of business and growth.

In his strongest effort yet to woo the private sector, he will say that no political party can succeed without a strong plan to help businesses thrive.

“Britain cannot rise to the great challenges of the day without the innovation of business,” he will say. “A political party without a clear plan for making sure businesses are successful and growing, which doesn’t want them to do well and make a profit, has no hope of being a successful government.”

Reports Andrew Woodcock:

Rishi Sunak is to risk a fresh rift within the Tory party over tax by sending out a signal that he will take a cautious approach to cuts ahead of the next general election.

In a speech to the Bayes Business School, the chancellor will say that any tax cuts must be “sustainable”. And he will pour scorn on low-tax advocates who argue that reductions in the state take always pay for themselves by fuelling growth.

Read this report from Andrew Woodcock:

A shake-up of university finance will punish poorer students while top-earning graduates pay less, ministers are being warned – as a call to bring back maintenance grants is rejected.

Instead, fees will be frozen, while graduates will feel the pain of a cut in the threshold to start repayments from £27,295 a year to £25,000, to “make the system fairer for the taxpayer”, ministers say.

Reports deputy political editor Rob Merrick:

Boris Johnson told MPs on Wednesday that the first round of sanctions against Russia would hurt, adding: “It is vital that, after this first barrage, we work in lockstep with friends and allies around the world to squeeze him simultaneously in London, Paris and New York.”

So far, western allies are moving at broadly the same speed even if they opt for different measures. Downing Street said: “We are sanctioning financial institutions in the UK that the EU is not.” It insisted that people should look at the “whole package” coordinated by Nato allies.

Intense talks are being held to try to avoid handing Vladimir Putin what he craves and has often exploited in the past– divisions among his enemies. But inevitably there are tensions behind the scenes.

Read the report by Andrew Grice:

Ministers must end the expansion of oil and gas exploration across Britain with a “presumption” against new projects in the North Sea, the government’s own climate advisers have said.

Green groups said the advice should lead to a “paradigm shift” and welcomed it as “a clear blow for the fossil fuel industry”.

Read the details in the report by Jon Stone:

Boris Johnson joined world leaders to condemn Russia’s invasion on Ukraine, saying Vladimir Putin has “chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction”.

“I am appalled by the horrific events in Ukraine and I have spoken to President Zelensky to discuss next steps,” Mr Johnson tweeted.

“President Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine. The UK and our allies will respond decisively.”