The excitement is at its height in Downing Street, as the scandal of the serial “booze parties” in the premises of the British executive during the health restrictions of 2020 and 2021 does not stop to do damage and threatens Boris directly Johnson. In recent days, the British media have unveiled the plans drawn up urgently by the leader to save his mandate. Comically dubbed Operation Save Big Dog and Operation Red Meat, the last-ditch plans line up populist measures intended to pander to the instincts of Tory MPs, who hold Mr Johnson’s fate in their hands. Half a dozen of them are publicly demanding his resignation and about twenty have already sent letters of no-confidence to the powerful club of elected Tories Committee 1922 – the latter must receive 54 of them for a vote of confidence in the Prime Minister to be triggered. .
Operation ‘Save big dog’ would involve sacrificing a few officials – probably Dan Rosenfield, Downing Street’s personnel director, and Martin Reynolds, Mr Johnson’s private secretary, the very man who issued the invitations for the ” BYOB party” (“Bring your own booze”, “bring your own bottle”) of May 20, 2020, in full confinement. It could be triggered just after the publication of the report by Sue Gray, the senior civil servant tasked (by Mr Johnson) with shedding light on the “booze parties” in Downing Street. Mme Gray could have completed his investigation by the end of this week. The Labor opposition and the media, almost unanimously, already consider “Save big dog” as a gross maneuver by Mr Johnson to blame the breaches of confinement on others rather than on himself.
Ask the Royal Navy to block the arrival of migrants
Operation “Red meat” was not considered much more convincing. Mr. Johnson reportedly intends to abolish the health constraints in force since December 2021 at the end of January – teleworking and the wearing of compulsory masks in transport. This decision makes sense if the rapid ebb of the Omicron wave is confirmed. The proposal to appeal to the Royal Navy to block the arrival of migrants on British shores seems much more risky.
Admittedly, the number of people who have successfully crossed the Channel from France has jumped in 2021 (to around 28,000), posing a considerable political problem for elected Conservatives. Many supported Brexit, hoping it would allow the country to “take back control” of its borders. In the House of Commons on Monday January 17, Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed, without going into details, that the Home Office had “commissioned” the Ministry of Defense as “crucial operational partner” to combat illegal immigration. What task will the military be assigned to? Has France been informed? A Downing Street spokesman declined to “to speculate” Monday but clarified: “We are looking at all possible options to limit migrant arrivals, the Royal Navy being one of them. »
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