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Live Reporting

Edited by Claudia Allen

All times stated are UK

  1. That’s it from us

    We’re ending our live coverage of Prime Minister’s Questions.

    Updates were brought to you by Joshua Nevett, Richard Morris, Alex Therrien, James Clarke, Claudia Allen and others in our teams in Westminster and elsewhere.

    You can read more about Boris Johnson’s performance at PMQs following this week's confidence vote in his leadership in our full news story here.

    Thank you for following and we hope you found it informative.

  2. Before we close, a recap of PMQs

    Now MPs have moved on to a debate about a levelling-up bill, we’ll be closing our live coverage of Prime Minister’s Questions shortly.

    Before we do, let’s reflect on what happened in the House of Commons earlier when Boris Johnson appeared before MPs.

    Warm reception: The prime minister faced his own MPs for the first time since 148 of them voted to remove him as leader in a confidence ballot on Monday. He received loud cheers - and a few groans - as he entered the chamber.

    Enemies expected: When asked why the country should trust him by a Labour MP, Johnson said he’d "picked up political opponents all over" because, he said, of the "remarkable things" his government had done.

    Found wanting: Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer mentioned the strife within the Conservative Party, but focused his questions on the government’s record on the NHS. He said NHS waiting lists had gone up on Johnson’s watch and said his government had been found "wanting and inadequate".

    Not working: Johnson said Starmer’s line of attack "is not working". He defended the government's handling of the NHS, while criticising Labour's record when in government.

    Wise quack: The SNP's leader in Westminster, Ian Blackford MP, called Johnson a "lame duck prime minister" and repeated his call for him to resign.

    Culture change: Following PMQs, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said a "culture change from the top" in the NHS was necessary, as he gave a statement on a review of health and social care leadership.

  3. Reality Check

    Are taxes being cut?

    Boris Johnson told MPs: "We're cutting taxes... for everyone who pays National Insurance contributions by an average of £330 just next month."

    The £330 cut is a result of the point at which people start to pay national insurance rising from earnings of £9,570 to £12,570 a year.

    But the reductions, which come into force in July, will be smaller than the increases in taxes the chancellor announced in the previous year.

    And we know from the government’s independent forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility that the overall tax burden is going to rise from 33% of GDP (a measure of the size of the economy) in 2019-20 to 36.3% of GDP in 2026-27, which is the highest since the late 1940s.

    You can read more about it here.

    Chart showing tax burden
  4. Jeremy Hunt appears in Commons

    Jeremy Hunt

    As Sajid Javid took questions from MPs, one of his predecessors as health secretary - and a prominent critic of Prime Minister Boris Johnson - made an appearance.

    Jeremy Hunt - a previous Tory leadership candidate, and runner-up to Johnson in the 2019 contest - urged his party's MPs to vote against the PM in Monday's confidence ballot.

    The former health secretary said he would be "voting for change" but hasn’t spoken publicly since Johnson won the vote.

    In the Commons today, Hunt didn’t mention the leadership challenge and instead focused on the matter in hand.

    He asked Javid if he would look at the role of national targets in the NHS, and reduce them.

    Javid said Hunt “speaks from experience", and assured him he would take his suggestion into account.

  5. NHS needs leadership culture change, Javid says

    Sajid Javid

    Health Secretary Sajid Javid has vowed "culture change from the top of the system to the frontline" following a review into health and social care leadership.

    The review found "institutional inadequacy" in how managers are trained and evidence of bullying.

    In his statement to MPs, Javid says the government will do everything in its power to “act firmly where standards do fall short”.

    Javid says the review “sets out a once-in-a-generation shake-up of management, leadership and training”.

    "We cannot seize this opportunity and deliver the change that is so urgently needed without the best possible health and care leadership in place because great leaders create successful teams and successful teams get better results,” he says.

    In response, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting says the recommendations made by the review are “sensible” and he's pleased Javid has committed to implementing them.

    He says senior leadership in the NHS “doesn’t represent the diversity of the population it serves”.

  6. Not every Tory MP entirely in tune with PM

    Esther McVey
    Image caption: Esther McVey looked quite unimpressed with her leader's response to her question

    Back to PMQs now for a minute, where, while there may have been no mentions from the Tory benches of the prime minister's vote of no confidence, that doesn't mean there was 100% support for Boris Johnson from his own side.

    Conservative MP for Tatton, Esther McVey, a former minister who stood for the leadership in 2019 and lost her place in the cabinet in Johnson's first reshuffle after his general election win, asked the PM a question about the plans for the new HS2 rail line.

    She said she agreed with comments he had made about cutting the costs of government and suggested he scrap "the inflated white elephant that is HS2, saving the government tens of billions of pounds from a budget that is spiralling out of control".

    Johnson told McVey that HS2 will deliver long-term growth and prosperity for the whole nation, enabling taxes to be cut in the future.

    As he replied to her, McVey sat on the backbenches shaking her head and appeared to say "no" as he finished speaking.

  7. Reality Check

    Is Boris Johnson right on nurse numbers?

    Defending his record on the NHS, the prime minister told MPs: "We have 11,800 more nurses this year than last year".

    He's roughly right. Latest figures show 321,018 full-time equivalent NHS nurses and health visitors in England in February 2022.

    If we compare this to February 2021 – when NHS nurse numbers were 309,630 – there are now 11,388 more nurses.

    In 2019, the Conservatives pledged 50,000 more nurses in England by March 2025.

    By February 2022, there were 24,295 more nurses than in December 2019, leaving a further 25,705 posts to fill in the next three years.

  8. WATCH: SNP MP jokes he has supporters on Tory benches

    Ian Blackford - the leader of the SNP at Westminster - says he thought the Tories were against him, but now he finds 41% of Tory MPs support him.

    In response, Johnson thanks Blackford for "his characteristic warm words":

    Video content

    Video caption: PMQs: Blackford and Johnson on PM's confidence vote
  9. Reality Check

    Is the government building 48 'new' hospitals?

    Challenged at Prime Minister's Questions over the government's record on the NHS by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Boris Johnson told MPs "we're building 48 new hospitals". But is this claim correct?

    The government has three definitions of what constitutes a "new" hospital:

    • A whole new hospital on a new site or current NHS land
    • A major new clinical building on an existing site or a new wing of an existing hospital
    • A major refurbishment and alteration of all but building frame or main structure

    An analysis by the BBC and the Nuffield Trust in December 2021 found that of the 40 hospital projects already announced by the government (with eight more to be announced), 22 are rebuilding projects, 12 will be new wings within existing hospitals, three involve rebuilding non-urgent care hospitals and three are entirely new hospitals.

    Yesterday, when the BBC asked for an update, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said the first of the 40 hospitals "opened for patients last year and a further six are in construction".

    We have asked about the status of the other 33 and are awaiting a response.

    You can see whether or not the government is meeting more of its pledges here.

  10. Health secretary starts statement

    Now PMQs is finished, Health Secretary Sajid Javid is making a statement on a review of health and social care leadership.

    We’ll stay focused on the reaction to Johnson’s performance at PMQs, but bring you a summary of Javid’s comments when he’s finished.

  11. Analysis

    Signs of breathing space for Johnson at PMQs

    David Wallace Lockhart

    BBC political correspondent

    There were plenty of references to Boris Johnson’s internal party problems at Prime Minister's Questions, but they all came from the opposition benches.

    Over recent months the prime minister has faced the occasional attack from his own backbenchers at PMQs.

    So he’ll be glad to get through this afternoon’s session without any barbs about his leadership from his own team.

    There were questions on energy costs, Ukrainian refugees and passport waiting times - a reminder that Johnson doesn’t lack challenges outside of party politics.

    Discontent with his leadership hasn’t gone away.

    But perhaps, for now, he’s got a bit of breathing space after he survived this week’s confidence vote.

  12. What happened at PMQs?

    Prime Minister's Questions has just drawn to a close and Boris Johnson and many other MPs are leaving the chamber.

    What did we learn from today's session?

    The prime minister insisted "absolutely nothing and no-one is going to stop" him delivering his agenda of "delivering for the British people".

    Quote Message: In a long political career so far - barely begun - I've of course picked up political opponents all over and that is because this government has done some very big and very remarkable things which they didn't necessarily approve of. from Boris Johnson
    Boris Johnson

    Sir Keir Starmer joked about the division within the Conservative Party but focused his questions on problems in the NHS including waiting lists claiming things were "getting worse" under Boris Johnson's leadership.

    Quote Message: Pretending no rules were broken didn't work, pretending the economy is booming didn't work, and pretending to build 40 new hospitals won't work either. They want him to change - but he can't. from Sir Keir Starmer
    Sir Keir Starmer

    Boris Johnson defended the government's handling of the NHS, criticising Labour's record when in government. He insisted the government was focused on levelling up, offering tutoring, expanding home ownership, and cutting costs for business.

    Meanwhile the SNP's leader in Westminster Ian Blackford MP reiterated his call for Boris Johnson to resign, calling him a "lame duck prime minister".

    Quote Message: No amount of denial will save the prime minister - for once in his life he needs to wake up - it's over, it's done. from Ian Blackford MP
    Ian Blackford MP
  13. What is the passport backlog?

    Afzal Khan

    Labour MP Afzal Khan says the PM previously said the backlog for getting a passport is about 4-6 weeks, but the Home Office is quoting 10 weeks for passport renewals.

    He says cancelled holidays may end up costing normal families £1bn in cancelled plans.

    "91% are getting their passports within six weeks," Boris Johnson replies, adding that the fact that people want to go on holiday "shows the robustness of the economy".

  14. Reality Check

    Is the GP target going to be missed?

    Keir Starmer said there were "not enough GPs - [it's] too hard to get an appointment. That's why he promised 6,000 new GPs, but his health secretary admits he won't keep that promise."

    The 2019 Conservative manifesto did indeed promise 6,000 more GPs for England by March 2025.

    There were 35,855 full-time equivalent GPs in post in April 2022. That's up by 1,147 since the end of December 2019.

    Asked about whether the target would be met by the Health and Social Care Committee in November 2021, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: "I definitely want to see that increase, but I am not going to pretend that we are on track when clearly we are not."

    Mr Johnson responded to Keir Starmer that "we now have 4,300 more doctors". That is the figure for the increase in hospital and community doctors in the past year.

    But it is not the figure for GPs, which was the manifesto pledge Mr Starmer was talking about.

    You can read more about government pledges here.

  15. Johnson should stand down as minister for the union, SNP says

    Richard Thomson

    SNP MP Richard Thomson says that in Monday's confidence vote the PM secured the support of just two of Scotland's 59 MPs.

    He says this is the same number as there are pandas in Edinburgh Zoo.

    He says the PM is an intelligent man and must know this position is "untenable".

    Thomson says if Johnson won't do the "decent thing" and resign as prime minister, he should stand down as the minister for the union.

    In response, Johnson says the more the SNP campaign for breaking up the UK, the more damage they do to their own cause.

  16. WATCH: Why should the country trust you prime minister?

    Listen to veteran Labour MP Angela Eagle - who kicked off this week's PMQs with a trenchant question on Boris Johnson's leadership:

    Video content

    Video caption: PMQs: Eagle and Johnson on Tory leadership confidence vote
  17. PM has a 'record of casual lawbreaking'

    Colum Eastwood

    SDLP MP Colum Eastwood says the prime minister has a "record of casual lawbreaking" and he asks for an assurance that the government will "not break international law anytime soon," in adjusting the Northern Ireland Protocol.

    Boris Johnson says the "balance and symmetry of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement" is the highest priority, and the government must see that taking place.

  18. Mixed welcome for PM underlines problems still on horizon

    David Wallace Lockhart

    BBC political correspondent

    Many of Boris Johnson’s own MPs made a lot of noise for him as he arrived, but plenty barely reacted. Perhaps a good indication of how they voted in this week’s confidence vote?

    It didn’t take long for this week’s vote to come up. Labour’s Dame Angela Eagle claimed the PM was “loathed” even in his own party.

    Boris Johnson conceded he had “political opponents”. That led to some jeers from the Labour benches.

    The Labour Leader, Sir Keir Starmer, steered clear of the specifics of internal Tory party strife. He chose to focus his questions on the NHS.

    It was a normal political back-and-forth until Sir Keir Starmer told the story of someone whose mother had died while waiting for an ambulance. A hush fell over the chamber at this point.

    The Prime Minister rounded off his session with the Labour leader by stressing he plans to “unite and level up” the country, and promised to get on with the job.

    He may get a chance to do this now that he’s survived a confidence vote. But he does still have potential problems on the horizon, including two tricky by-elections.

  19. Johnson a lame duck PM - SNP

    Ian Blackford

    SNP leader Ian Blackford says week after week he has called on the PM to resign and has been met by "a wall of noise" from the Tory backbenchers. He says he thought the Tories were against him, but all this time it turns out 41% have been cheering Blackford on, he claims.

    He says 41% of Johnson's MPs have no confidence in him, 66% of MPs in the House don't support him and 97% of Scottish MPs want him "shown the door".

    Blackford says there is now a "lame duck prime minister" and asks how he expects to continue when even unionists in Scotland won't back him.

    Johnson responds in jest by saying the most effective advocate for a United Kingdom is Blackford himself.

    "Long may he rest in place."

  20. Concern over sewage flowing into streams

    With a wry acknowledgement of the abrupt change of topic, and to laughter from the green benches, Conservative Sir Oliver Heald asks about sewage overflows into "precious chalk streams" in North East Hertfordshire.

    Johnson says the government's sewage plan is leading to improvements, and water companies must do more to deliver on their obligations.