Johnson says he wants to see county lines drugs gangs ‘totally wound up’
There were various news lines in that interview, but perhaps the most surprising line came when Johnson announced that he wanted to end country lines drug dealing. No one will question the merits of his ambition, but he is making a promise that will be very hard to deliver.
This is what he said on the topic.
I want to see crime come down. I want to see the county lines drugs gangs wound up, rolled up. They are reducing the quality of life for people across our country, they are killing young kids. I want to see that thing totally wound up.
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Q: Will Ann Secoulas, the US diplomat accused of killing Harry Dunn in a road accident, face justice?
Johnson says the US are unlikely to send her back to the UK. That is not what they do.
Q: Will Huawei be allowed a role in building the 5G infrastructure?
Johnson says Britons deserve the best infrastructure available. But he will not jeopardise security.
Q: When will we see the ISC report on Russia and UK elections?
Johnson says it could be out in weeks. But he has read it, he says. He says he thinks people will be disappointed.
Q: Would you go vegan for January?
Johnson says he has considered it, but does not see how you could give up cheese.
And that’s it. The interview is over.
I will post a summary soon.
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Q: Will you save Flybe?
Johnson says it is not for government to save companies that run into trouble.
But he says he understands the importance of Flybe for regional connectivity.
He says the government is working hard to see what it can do.
But there are limits to what can be done to save companies, he says.
But he stresses the importance of regional connectivity. He wants to level up, he says.
Johnson says he wants to end country lines drug dealing
Q: After the election you said you would work around the clock to retain the trust of people who voted Tory, especially in the north. What are you doing?
Johnson says there will be dramatic change in investment in the NHS.
He says he is hiring 20,000 more police officers.
He says he wants to see country lines drug dealing rolled up, wound up.
- Johnson says he wants to end country lines drug dealing.
Q: When you became PM, you said you had a plan for social care. Where is it?
Johnson says he is working on it.
Q: You said you had a plan. Where is it?
Johnson says he will do it during this parliament.
Q: When will we see your plan?
Johnson says he will bring forward a plan this year, and implement it this parliament.
- Johnson commits to announcing plans to reform social care this year.
Q: When will people see a difference to the NHS?
Johnson says this is his number one priority.
This is a new government, with a different approach.
The NHS is getting its biggest ever cash injection, he says.
He says he will be working on this flat out.
Only recently they announced that parking charges for patients would go, he says.
He says this is a massive project that will require a revolution in how they provide, not just medical care but social care.
Q: There were stories in the papers at the weekend about you being a submarine PM – not hogging the limelight all the time.
Johnson dismisses the stories.
As for changing this year, he wants to lose weight, he says.
He says he gave two press conferences. As for being a submarine, he will be crashing through the ice.
But he does believe in cabinet government, he says.
Q: Do you think Big Ben should bong for Brexit?
Johnson says that would cost £500,000.
But the government is developing a plan to enable people to celebrate Brexit, he says.
He says, because Big Ben is being refurbished, the clapper has been taken away.
Walker turns to Brexit.
Johnson says that is one of his least favourite subjects.
Q: What is the chance of a comprehensive trade deal by the end of this year?
Johnson says it is very likely.
Q: You do not sound very confident.
Johnson says he it is enormously likely, epically likely.
He says he is very, very, very confident about getting a deal.
Q: Is there an issue with media intrusion in this country?
Johnson reverts to his answer about not wanting to interfer in the Harry/Meghan story.
He says the royal family is not helped by politicians wading in.
The royal family is a fantastic institution, he says.
And so is the media, he says.
Boris Johnson interviewed on BBC Breakfast
Andrew Sparrow
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Ben Quinn.
Boris Johnson is being interviewed now on BBC Breakfast by Dan Walker.
After some questions about Iran, Walker asks about Harry and Meghan.
Johnson says he is confident the royal family will be able to sort this out.
But they will be able to sort it out more easily without interference from politicians.
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Good morning. British political life in 2020 continues to pick up a new pace today, starting later this morning with the first sit-down interview by the prime minister since the general election.
Fresh from his appearance in Northern Ireland where he basked in the feel-good moment of generated by deal paving the way for the resumption of power sharing at Storming, Boris Johnson will take questions from the BBC at Downing Street in a short while.
While he sidestepped questions about funding to shore up the historic deal in Belfast, he pledged the government’s support for Northern Ireland’s revived power-sharing executive.
Not all is settled however, as the Sinn Féin Northern Ireland assembly member and Stormont finance minister, Conor Murphy, has warned that the government’s offer for extra money as part of the deal to restore the executive “falls way short” of what was promised
Perhaps even more pressingly, with 17 days to go before Brexit he’s also going to face questions about the type of dealmaking which the UK is prepared to engage in on that front.
In a pointed intervention last night during Gavin Barwell’s maiden speech in the House of Lords, Theresa May’s former chief of staff warned there was no chance of the government agreeing a new trade deal with the EU by the end of the year.
The Labour leadership race also meanwhile rolls on today after candidates made it through to the next round of the contest – Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips and Emily Thornberry.
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