‘We’ve got cake, if you’d like to pop in?’: GMB shows empty chair after NO Tory minister turns up to explain latest No10 partygate revelations (but Liz Truss is happy to appear on Sky News)
- ‘We’ve got cake’, joked presenter Adil Ray, in a reference to PM’s birthday party
- Susanna Reid said no minister wanted to appear, meaning ‘the chair is empty’
- Comes on day of reckoning for PM, with Sue Gray report set to be released soon
Good Morning Britain showed an empty chair today after no Tory minister turned up to defend Boris Johnson – even though Liz Truss was happy to appear on Sky News and Today.
‘We’ve got cake’, joked presenter Adil Ray, in a reference to the Prime Minister meeting with staff to celebrate his birthday party in the height of lockdown when indoor gatherings were banned.
His co-host Susanna Reid said they had asked for a minister to appear on the programme but had not been able to get anyone to agree. ‘We’ll keep you updated on that situation – the chair is empty,’ she added.
GMB presenter Adil Ray gestured to an empty chair as he and Susanna Reid explained that no minister had agreed to appear
This was despite Foreign Secretary Liz Truss doing broadcast rounds elsewhere this morning, including on Today and Sky News
Mr Ray weighed in, joking: ‘If any government ministers are around, we do have some cake over here if you’d like to come in. We can ambush you with a slice of cake.
‘Some cheese and wine are around as well, so lots of reasons for you to perhaps pop in if you would like to.’
On her broadcast round elsewhere this morning, Ms Truss indicated that some of the contents of Sue Gray’s report into the Partygate scandal – which is set to be released imminently – might be held back for ‘security’ reasons.
Asked if the report will be published in full, the Foreign Secretary told Sky News: ‘We have been absolutely clear that we will publish the findings of the report.
‘We don’t know the content of the report, so there could be, for example, security issues that mean parts of it are problematic to publish. But we will absolutely publish the findings of the report.’
Ms Truss said the government had to acknowledge ‘public anger’. But she said: ‘I think the PM should continue in office. I think he is doing a great job… I support him 100 per cent.’
‘We’ve got cake’, joked Mr Ray, in a reference to the Prime Minister meeting with staff to celebrate his birthday party in the height of lockdown when indoor gatherings were banned
On her broadcast round elsewhere this morning, Ms Truss indicated that some of the contents of Sue Gray’s report into the Partygate scandal might be held back for ‘security’ reasons
It comes as Mr Johnson faces a day of reckoning, with allies desperately mobilising to shore up his position and Jacob Rees-Mogg warning that MPs getting rid of him would almost certainly trigger a snap general election.
Ms Truss scorned this suggestion this morning, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was ‘complete hypothetical speculation’.
She also said Mr Johnson has her ‘100% support’ as the prime minister faces calls, including from some of his Conservative MPs, to resign over the ‘partygate’ revelations.
‘I believe the PM should continue in office, I think he’s doing a great job,’ she said. ‘He’s apologised and he’s admitted that mistakes were made.’
Asked if she wants to one day lead the Conservative party, she replied: ‘I want the PM to continue in his job, I support him 100 percent.’
Boris Johnson (pictured running this morning) is facing the release of Sue Gray’s report into alleged Downing Street lockdown breaches as soon as today
The Foreign Secretary also discussed the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, vowing that Russia would face ‘severe sanctions’ if it invaded.
She told Sky: ‘We are already supplying support to Ukraine. We’re supplying defensive weapons. We’re providing economic support.
‘We are urging Russia to desist from an incursion and we’re making it very clear that if they were to do that there would be severe economic cost to Russia – severe sanctions.’
On what these sanctions could look like, she said: ‘They would target individuals, they would target financial institutions and they would be co-ordinated with all of our allies across Europe, the United States and others.’
Asked if the Government would support individual sanctions against President Vladimir Putin, Ms Truss said she was not ‘ruling anything out’.
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