Weeks of disorder and damaging headlines have seen the spotlight turn on Boris Johnson’s inner circle this week, with MPs beginning to raise concerns about a lack of experience in his No. 10 team.
A Conservative whip told The Telegraph that “the rumour is persistently around” that some MPs had already submitted letters of no-confidence in their leader to the 1922 Committee. If 15% of Tory MPs hand such letters to the committee, a leadership contest is triggered.
Elsewhere, the government was forced to take action following another high-profile energy company collapse. And Sajid Javid was forced to defend a planned shake-up of parts of the NHS to make England’s public health services more integrated.
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Tragedy also struck in the Channel when at least 27 people including a pregnant woman died trying to cross from France to England in a small boat. But the worst loss of life since records began is unlikely to deter further illegal crossings.
To find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest developments in the pandemic, and other global events, put your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week:
Need a reminder of some of the other headlines over the past seven days?
- Concern continued to mount over a Russian invasion of Ukraine with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warning that such a move would be a “grave mistake”
- AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot claimed the UK-developed jab is the reason the UK has so far avoided the Covid-19 spike that has rocked mainland Europe
- Olaf Scholz announced the formation of a coalition government in Germany, ending Angela Merkel’s 16-year reign as chancellor
- Scientists began monitoring a new Covid variant of concern prompting the government to impose travel restrictions on six African countries
- And Joe Biden released 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to “lower the cost of gas and oil for American families”.
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