Boris

Sun
BORIS Johnson is being lined up for a new life after Downing Street — as a special envoy to Ukraine.
Officials want the PM to take on a major role as diplomatic linchpin between Western allies and the war-torn country.
It would allow him to build on his close relationship with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and maintain a powerful position on the world stage.
If Mr Johnson accepts, it would also ensure that he continues to act as a major irritant to Russian despot Vladimir Putin.
The move – which is being considered at the highest levels – has been proposed by former senior government advisers.
A group of ex-senior strategy advisers and military officers believe Mr Johnson would be ideal for the post because of his unique standing and intimate knowledge of all the key parties.
Prof Gwythian Prins, an expert in military strategy and an adviser to the Chief of Defence Staff, says it would provide a “golden footbridge” out of Downing Street for the PM.
A source said: “There is an international need for Boris Johnson’s services.
“These are exceptional circumstances and an exceptional person is required to deal with them.”

Mail
Boris Johnson is reportedly being lined up as a special envoy to Kyiv to maintain the anti-Vladimir Putin alliance.
The Prime Minister has been a strong supporter of the Ukrainian president since war first broke out in the country following the invasion by Russia in February of this year.
Former senior government advisers have allegedly suggested the idea due to his close relationship with Volodymyr Zelensky and his key knowledge of the situation.
A source told The Sun: ‘There is an international need for Boris Johnson’s services.

Mail
Tory donors have privately asked if there is ‘any way’ to keep Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The day after Ministers and MPs’ forced Mr Johnson into announcing his resignation, insiders reported that a kind of ‘buyers’ remorse’ was setting in among senior ranks.
One said the absence of a strong candidate to replace Mr Johnson has led to calls to find a way of keeping him as leader. ‘None of them are much good,’ the source said.
Several donors have asked if there is ‘any way’ it can be arranged for Mr Johnson to simply apologise for his mistakes and move on, but have been told this was not possible, The Mail on Sunday understands.

Express
BORIS JOHNSON has been mulling over his political future at Chequers just days after a Cabinet cabal forced the Prime Minister to give up the “best job in the world”, a report has claimed.
Boris Johnson headed to the Prime Minister’s countryside retreat Chequers to consider whether he will stand at the next general election or call time on his political career before Brits head to the polls. Mr Johnson arrived at the 16th-century Buckinghamshire country house alongside his wife Carrie and the couple’s two children Wilf and Romy. According to the Telegraph, the Prime Minister is now thinking about leaving politics altogether after he was forced to resign from the top job pending a Conservative Party leadership contest.

Tory leadership

Mail
It is already being called the ‘dirtiest Tory leadership race in history’, with wild stories about prostitutes, affairs and money laundering being traded on the ‘dark web’ of Westminster gossip.
A member of one leading candidate’s campaign team is even said to have held a secret meeting with a Labour official to pass on information about their rivals.
The bitterness surrounding Boris Johnson‘s astonishing ejection from office has seeped into the contest to succeed him, with candidates whispering conspiratorially about the source of the fortune of new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and the already contentious wealth of his predecessor, Rishi Sunak.
In characteristic fashion, former Downing Street adviser Dominic Cummings – who waged a long guerrilla campaign against Mr Johnson and is reputed to be hoping for a return to Government if Mr Sunak wins the contest – has published some of the wilder claims on Twitter, writing that it would be ‘very Westminster’ for ‘Boris to get the bullet cos of lies over sex/groping… only to be replaced by someone actually sh***ing their spad!’

Mirror
Rishi Sunak has reportedly asked Sajid Javid to step aside and support his campaign to become PM.
The former Chancellor is leading the polls to replace Boris Johnson, although Mr Javid could ruin his plans as the second most popular candidate.
Although the ex Health Secretary has yet to announce a bid for leadership, he is expected to run and wields considerable support among Tory MPs and party members.
Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace today revealed he will not run for office.
Mr Sunak is currently facing three other Conservative MPs in the contest, although others are expected to throw their hats in the ring today as the race heats up.

Guardian
Senior Tories accused Boris Johnson of trying to torpedo Rishi Sunak’s bid to succeed him as prime minister – and of refusing to leave No 10 with good grace – as the leadership race descended into bitter infighting.
As a trio of cabinet ministers entered the contest last night, senior MPs said the battle now risked inflicting even more damage on the party than the fall of Margaret Thatcher more than three decades ago.
One party grandee accused Johnson of installing unsuitable MPs to middle-ranking and junior government posts when he knew he was on his way out “to cause maximum problems for his successor” who would inevitably have to sack most of them on taking office.

ITV News
Four new contenders have entered into the race to replace Boris Johnson, with former health secretaries Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid announcing their respective bids within hours of chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and transport secretary Grant Shapps coming forward.
Mr Zahawi, the newly elected chancellor, and Mr Shapps both announced their intentions within the space of an hour on Saturday.
It means the number in the running is now up to eight with Kemi Badenoch, Rishi Sunak, Tom Tugendhat, and Suella Braverman also in the race.
Out of the race is Defence Secretary Ben Wallace who has announced he will not be standing.

Independent
Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt have become the latest Tory MPs to enter the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, with both of the former health secretaries pledging to cut taxes.
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and transport secretary Grant Shapps also announced bids on Saturday, with foreign secretary Liz Truss expected to formally announce her leadership campaign on Monday on a ticket of “classic Conservative principles”.
Launching his campaign, chancellor Mr Zahawi pledged to lower taxes for individuals, families and business and boost defence spending, while transport secretary Mr Shapps promised to end a period of “tactical government by an often distracted centre”, in an interview with The Times.

Times
Tory grandees have warned that the Conservative Party is ripping itself apart and have called for an end to the toxic briefing against Rishi Sunak, the frontrunner for the leadership.
Two former party leaders and a former chancellor demanded a ceasefire after Boris Johnson’s allies in No 10 accused Sunak of “treachery” for triggering the prime minister’s exit.
Tax, over which Sunak and Johnson have long been in dispute, is becoming the most divisive issue in the contest. Sunak had refused to cancel his planned corporation tax increase, which is due to come in from next April.

Telegraph
Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt have put tax cuts at the heart of the battle for Downing Street, as both MPs declared their candidacies in The Telegraph with pledges to slash corporation tax.
In separate interviews with this newspaper, the Tory leadership contenders both said they would cancel Rishi Sunak’s planned rise in corporation tax and instead reduce the 25 per cent rate to 15 per cent.
In a bombshell announcement, Mr Javid also stated that he would scrap the controversial National Insurance rise, which was introduced during his time as health secretary to fund the NHS and social care.
In an apparent attack on Rishi Sunak, his rival for the leadership, Mr Javid said: “I’m not sure I would have done it if I had been chancellor, but I was focused on my job and I’m not trying to do other people’s jobs for them.”

Express
SAJID JAVID and Jeremy Hunt have pledged to slash corporation tax as they launch their bids in the Tory battle for Downing Street, a news report has claimed.
Both former Health Secretaries have declared their plans to run for Conservative Party leader in the Sunday Telegraph. The pair are calling for tax cuts – with Mr Javid looking to scrap an increase in National Insurance and Mr Hunt pledging to help businesses.
They join Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps in the leadership race.
Mr Javid stated that he would scrap the controversial National Insurance rise, which was introduced during his time as Health Secretary to fund the NHS and social care.

Energy

Times
Energy bills are on course to exceed £3,300 this winter, deepening the cost of living crisis for millions of people.
The price cap limiting standard tariffs for 23 million households has already risen to a record £1,971 a year but is likely to increase by another 64 per cent to hit £3,244.54 a year when it is updated in October, analysts at Cornwall Insight said. The cap could then rise again when updated in January and could hit £3,363.70 a year unless wholesale gas and electricity prices fall back, the analysts warned.
The forecasts from the energy consultancy are significantly higher than it was predicting only two weeks ago, reflecting surging wholesale prices after Russia reduced gas supplies to Europe.

Mail
Household bills are set for a bigger than expected winter shock this year, analysts warned, as consumer champion Martin Lewis said ‘millions’ will fall into poverty.
Energy consultancy Cornwall Insight said the price cap for the average household could go up in January by £360 more than previously thought.
Its experts said bills could rise from today’s record £1,971 to £3,245 in October and then further to £3,364 at the start of next year.
Money Saving Expert founder Lewis said that ‘far more’ help is needed for British families in what’s set to be a ‘catastrophic’ winter.
He told The Times: ‘It will push millions into poverty.’
The Cornwall Insight estimate marks a steep rise from the firm’s previous predictions, as international gas prices remain stubbornly high.
In its previous forecast, on June 22, the energy consultancy predicted bills rising to £2,981 in October, and £3,003 in January.

Guardian
Energy bills could reach more than £3,300 a year this winter in the latest blow to households struggling to cope with the soaring cost of living crisis.
The research firm Cornwall Insight published new, higher forecasts that show the energy price cap is on track to rise to £3,244 a year in October, when it is next adjusted, as wholesale prices continue to soar. The default tariff cap is expected to be raised again in January, to £3,363 a year, up significantly from the £3,003 Cornwall Insight forecast just two weeks ago.
The cap, which is set quarterly by the energy industry regulator, Ofgem, is currently at a record £1,971 a year.
“Energy consumers are facing the prospect of a very expensive winter,” Craig Lowery, a principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, said. “As the energy market continues to grapple with global political and economic uncertainty, the corresponding high wholesale prices, and the UK’s continued reliance on energy imports has once again seen predictions for the domestic consumer default tariff cap to rise to what are even more unaffordable levels.”

Covid

Mail
A Communist-supporting SAGE advisor has claimed that ‘lameduck’ Tories will ‘sit on their hands’ and ‘let Covid rip’ as virus cases are set to hit 350,000 every day next week.
Susan Michie, the Professor of Health Psychology at University College London, warned new variants that are ‘even more infectious’ will lead to unnecessary deaths and hospitalisations.
More than 2.7million Britons were infected with Covid last week and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) weekly infection survey found up to one in 16 people in the worst-hit parts of the UK were carrying the virus in the week ending June 29 as cases rose nationally by about a fifth.
Professor Michie told The Mirror: ‘We don’t have a public health policy for Covid right now and if we don’t act, we’ll get variants that are even more infectious and these will lead to increased hospitalisations and deaths.
‘The number of people with long Covid will increase significantly beyond the current two million and the country will be continuously disrupted with some sectors in danger of grinding to a standstill in the Autumn.

Independent
An immunologist has warned the new strain of Covid could be causing different symptoms – including one that emerges during the night.
Omicron BA.5 is a highly-contagious subvariant causing concern as it contributes to a fresh wave of infections around the globe, including the UK.
Scientists have been finding differences with previous strains, including the ability to reinfect people within weeks of having Covid.
A leading immunologist has now suggested it could be causing a new symptom among patients.
“One extra symptom from BA.5 I saw this morning is night sweats,” Professor Luke O’Neill from Trinity College Dublin told a Irish radio station earlier this week.
“Isn’t that strange?” he added.

BBC

Mail
The BBC has still not paid the £1.5million sum it agreed to hand to the Royals’ chosen charity after Martin Bashir‘s interview with Princess Diana was found to be ‘deceitful’.
An inquiry last year found the disgraced Panorama journalist behaved dishonestly in organising the explosive sit-down with the late Princess of Wales in November 1995.
Corporation officials agreed to pay the ‘substantial’ fee to a fund selected by Prince Harry and William – but will now likely go to causes supported by Diana.
That decision is said to have come after a suggestion by her brother Earl Spencer, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
In the 1995 Panorama interview, filmed at Kensington Palace, Diana admitted to adultery and said there were ‘three of them’ in her marriage – referring to Camilla Parker Bowles.

Telegraph
The BBC has not paid the £1.5 million “guilt” money promised to a charity chosen by the Royal family in the wake of the Martin Bashir scandal, The Telegraph has learned.
Sources insist that the corporation is poised to donate the money to several charities of its own choice, despite dragging its heels for more than a year.
The payments will be made without the involvement of the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex, despite previous suggestions that the brothers would have a say in which charities would benefit.
It is thought likely that the donations will be made to causes supported by Diana, Princess of Wales, potentially including homelessness or cancer charities.
It will include the £1.15 million that the corporation made from selling the global rights to Bashir’s Panorama interview with the late Princess, plus reparations.

Strikes

Sun
MILITANT union boss Mick Lynch has urged members to be ready for more strike action.
Mr Lynch, who triggered misery on the trains as leader of the RMT, said the “big battalions” of the union movement should go into battle again over pay and conditions.
He said: “We must campaign and fight in every area of this country.
“We must make every worker a member of a union, every member of a union an activist, every activist a campaigner. And if necessary, we have to turn every campaign into a coordinated programme of strike action.”
Speaking at the traditional Durham Miners’ Gala, he added: “When we’re together, when we’re united, we are an unstoppable force in this country.
“Campaign everywhere from the tip of Scotland to the South of England.
“Let’s get these campaigns going and win for our people. Rise up. Solidarity.”

Travel insurance

Evening Standard
A cancer charity has exposed the “scandal” of patients being denied valuable respite on holiday as they are unable to secure affordable travel insurance because of their “misunderstood” illness.
Southampton-based Planets cancer charity has described the situation which leaves some patients unable to enjoy a holiday as a needed break from their treatment as a “scandal”.
The organisation points to one patient being quoted £7,000 for insurance for a two-week trip to Canada and another patient received a quote for £1,000 for a stay in Spain.
Both of these patients have neuroendocrine tumours, known as NETs, which are usually found in the pancreas, bowel or lungs but can also develop in other parts of the body and are slow growing, with many living with stable disease.

War

Express
THE RETURN of US nukes to the UK would be “insanely provocative” and put Britons on the front line of a nuclear war, it has been claimed.
US Government budget papers revealed earlier this year that vaults at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk are being upgraded so they can store B61-12 nuclear bombs. The air base received the latest nuclear capable fighter jet, the F-35A, in December with 48 expected to be stationed there.
Hans Kristensen, Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, spotted the US Department of Defense had added the UK to a list of NATO nuclear weapons storage locations.
RAF Lakenheath has been home to US nuclear weapons in the past and has been undergoing upgrade work amounting to £600million, most of which is paid for by US taxpayers.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD), however, has neither confirmed nor denied that US nuclear weapons are in Britain or going to come to UK shores.

Star
Former Japan Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe’s shock assassination has sparked all kinds of wild conspiracy theories involving World War 3 fears.
The 67-year-old who was fatally shot in the back and neck as he gave a speech in the Japanese city of Nara ahead of elections this Sunday (July 10).
Despite the alleged killer telling police he gunned down Mr Abe because he was “dissatisfied” with him, the tin foil hat brigade has leapt to conclusions, claiming a larger force is at play.
Medics tried to resuscitate Mr Abe who bled ‘profusely’ for hours before confirming his death in the hospital he was airlifted to soon after the shooting at around 11:30am local time (3:30am UK time) on Friday.

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