London Playbook: See you in court — Vape no more — Land grab – POLITICO

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Good Tuesday morning. This is Rosa Prince. Eleni Courea is your Playbook author into Wednesday.

DRIVING THE DAY

OK, SO WE’RE DOING THIS: The Covid Inquiry’s deadline for its request for unredacted messages sent between Boris Johnson and the most senior members of government during the pandemic passes at 4 p.m. today — and word on the street is the Cabinet Office ain’t backing down. Pretty much all the papers today say BoJo and co. won’t hand over the trove of WhatsApps and diaries.

See you in court: That means the Cabinet Office is preparing to launch a legal challenge to the Section 21 Order issued by inquiry chair Heather Hallett last week demanding the documents; she has said that failing to surrender them would constitute a criminal offense.

Still considering: On the record, a Cabinet Office spokesperson dismissed as “speculation” suggestions a decision had been made by last night, saying officials were “still considering” the options. But everyone Playbook spoke to stressed the government stood by the response sent by its lawyers to the inquiry last week, which said much of the requested material was “unambiguously irrelevant,” and “inherently sensitive and personal.” The Times said the government was “resolute” and “unlikely” to back down.

Going to the wire: The Mail’s Harriet Line says officials do not believe Hallett has the powers to demand the docs, when doing so would set a harmful precedent and could identify junior colleagues. However, she quotes an “insider” saying Cabinet Office lawyers are continuing to seek a “middle ground,” adding that it’s not a case of “everything or nothing.”

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Damned if they do: Boris Johnson isn’t the only person affected by all this — despite his impressive ability to consume all the air in a room. The Telegraph says serving ministers are among those who have expressed disquiet about the possibility of private messages being released, setting a precedent that would have an impact far beyond the historic episodes of the pandemic.

Disappearing function on: If you were a minister, would you send an indiscreet message on WhatsApp today, knowing it could be poured over by some future inquiry?

Damned if they don’t: Then again, do ministers really want the hassle of a court fight, particularly in defense of a PM-but-two? As Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Daisy Cooper pointed out, defying the chair of the inquiry they set up themselves is a bad look. She added: “It looks like Rishi Sunak is too worried about upsetting Boris Johnson and his allies to do the right thing.”

Delays on the line: Legal action could also have the effect of delaying the inquiry, which is due to hold its first hearings in two weeks’ time.

CARDS ON THE TABLE: Separately, the Times’ George Grylls spoke to Cabinet Office “sources,” who urged Johnson to release his diaries himself, rather than continue to blame former colleagues for passing them on to police after his government-appointed lawyers raised concerns about further lockdown breaches. A spokesman for Johnson basically told the Cabinet Office to jog on.

HOT DATE: Downing Street confirmed that Sunak and Johnson have yet to meet for their clear-the-air chinwag, but a Tory insider told Playbook it was definitely going ahead this week.

BANK HOLIDAY FUN: Instead, the Telegraph says Johnson, his pregnant wife Carrie, son Wilf and daughter Romy headed off on a chicken run; sorry, attended a lovely summer fete in his former constituency of Henley, where the sitting MP just happens to be standing down. The Telegraph has all the deets.

Will you look at that: Applications to replace John Hayes in Henley opened last night, along with those for 23 other winnable seats. Michael Crick has the full list.

TOP OF THE POPS: The results of ConHome’s latest monthly ministerial (un)popularity contest make for fascinating reading. Penny Mordaunt’s coronation sword-wielding propels her up the league table from fourth to second, while Kemi Badenoch’s European Retained Law Bill woes see her make the reverse journey. Ben Wallace tops the tree, as per, while Rishi Sunak takes a tumble. But it’s the fact that a record six Cabinet ministers, including Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Grant Shapps, receive a negative rating that is perhaps the most eye-catching line.

Kemi v Grant: POLITICO’s Stefan Boscia hears that Shapps and Badenoch are at loggerheads over the former’s drive for a green border tax, called a “carbon border adjustment mechanism” to help cut emissions to net zero. The plan would lead to tariffs on overseas imports from countries including China and India, which Badenoch is said to fear would stifle trade. More here for our Pro subscribers.

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT

VAPE NATION: Ministers will take steps to discourage the use of vaping by children, as alarm grows about the number of teens using e-cigarettes. The plans are aimed at curbing sales, particularly to youngsters, rather than banning vaping altogether, a move that will disappoint campaigners.

PM to the rescue: Rishi Sunak will highlight the proposals with a visit to Kent alongside Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, where they will visit a lab that tests vapes for corrupt chemicals. While there the PM will release a pool clip and record some regional interviews and have a sit down with the Beeb’s Hugh Pym. Health Minister Neil O’Brien will also take part in interviews about the proposals.

Rishi writes: In an op-ed in the Sun, Sunak refers to his own pre-teen children, saying: “My daughters are 10 and 12, and I do not want the way vapes are marketed, promoted and sold to be attractive to them.”

The details: The plan will see the closing of a loophole that allows firms to offer free samples of vapes to children — e-cigs are illegal for under-18s, but giving them out gratis is not a crime. More liaison officers will be put into schools to stop vaping in class, accompanied by £3 million in funding, and levels of fines for shops caught selling illicit vapes will be reviewed, amid concern about their relatively low level. Ministers will also review whether “nicotine-free” vapes should be banned for under-18s. Whitty described the crackdown as a “very welcome step.” The Mail has more.

Vape ban? A full ban on non-prescription vapes, along the lines of new laws introduced in Australia this month, is thought unlikely after the industry argued that vapes are helpful to those seeking to kick a smoking habit.

Leave our kids alone: NHS figures show that in 2021, 9 percent of 11 to 15-year-olds had used e-cigarettes, up from 6 percent in 2018. Campaigners say bright packaging and tempting fruity or bubblegum flavors are clearly aimed at under-18s.

Call for evidence: A government call for evidence into youth vaping remains open until June 6.

Wes Sez: In response to the vaping announcement, Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “The Conservatives voted down Labour’s plan to ban the marketing of vapes to children. This new announcement is a baby step when we need urgent action now.”

WHAT LABOUR WANTS TO TALK ABOUT

BUILDING TODAY: A Labour government would force landowners to sell at lower prices in order to tackle the housing crisis, under plans the FT and Guardian both trail today. The scheme would cancel rules which mean agricultural land subject to compulsory purchase is given a price tag equivalent to its value if it already had planning permission. Under the 1961 Land Compensation Act, land purchased by the state can be valued at several times more than it would otherwise cost.

Quite the markup: As Jim Pickard tweets, current rules inflate the price of land, making it impossible for councils to find enough new places to build to keep up with demand. The proposals, drawn up by Shadow Leveling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy, are the latest attempt by Labour to pitch for the votes of young people and their parents, who despair of ever getting on the property ladder.

Fancy a tilt? A party aid tells the Guardian’s Kiran Stacey: We want local areas to capture a lot more of the value that is created when you build on land nearby. The principal is to tilt the balance of power, which right now is tilted towards landowners and not communities.”

What will Gove say? The government has already launched a consultation into eliminating so-called “hope” payments — which factor in the “hope” the owner has of securing planning permission. So will Leveling Up Secretary Michael Gove oppose Labour’s plans?

NOT HAPPY: The Times’ Geraldine Scott hears the Conservatives could lose millions in donations from house builders angry at the government’s failure to build new homes. A fifth of donations to the Tories in the last 10 years, amounting to £60 million, came from housing developers and builders, and many are furious at what the paper describes as some “selfish” MPs’ “anti-development agenda.”

EQUAL BUT DIFFERENT: To mark the anniversary of the Equal Pay Act yesterday, Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner wrote for the Independent. “We still have a long way to go. New analysis shows that the gender pay gap for women in their 50s will not close until 2050 at current rates. That’s bad for women — and bad for the economy.”

BAD NEWS FOR THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS: Trade union membership has slumped, particularly among younger workers, new data released by the Department for Business and reported in the Times reveals. Only four percent of 16 to 24-year-olds were in a union last year, down from seven percent in 1995.

Broken Britain: The Mail’s David Churchill reports that industrial action on the railways is set to cost businesses a staggering £1 billion. There are more rail strikes due tomorrow, Friday and Saturday.

TAKING STOCK

SUNAK BACKS STOCK: Rishi Sunak has given his unequivocal backing to Kathleen Stock, the feminist academic currently fighting it out in the trans culture wars after her views on gender led to student protests and she ultimately resigned from her job at Sussex University in 2021. The prime minister called for Stock to be “heard,” amid controversy over her latest speaking engagement, at the Oxford Union this evening. His words splash the Telegraph.

Free debate: In what the Telegraph describes as a “rare intervention” into the campus free speech row, the PM said: “University should be an environment where debate is supported, not stifled. We mustn’t allow a small but vocal few to shut down discussion. Students should be allowed to hear and debate her views.”

Moderately speaking: Earlier, Stock insisted “I’m a moderate,” during an appearance on the Good Morning Britain sofa (whose bosses were presumably thrilled to see someone else at the center of a s***storm).

Nonetheless: Protests are expected in Oxford, where the student union threatened to bar the Union from its freshers’ fair in retaliation for inviting Stock to speak about her view that transgender people cannot expect to enjoy all the rights afforded by biological gender. The Guardian has a writeup.

Gender Wars: Stock also appears in a documentary, Gender Wars, which airs on Channel 4 at 10 p.m. tonight.

ICYMI: The Mail on Sunday reported that Sunak is set to announce Cambridge professor Arif Ahmed as his “free speech tsar” this week, with a mission to investigate possible breaches of new free speech rules, introduced this month, and impose fines on student unions and other bodies found to have stifled debate.

GENDER DELAY: Plans by Equalities Secretary Kemi Badenoch to force teachers to inform parents if children wish to change gender could be delayed until the fall, the Sun’s Natasha Clark reports. The new guidance had been due before the end of the school year.

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TODAY IN WESTMINSTER

PARLIAMENT: In recess until June 5.

CANTERBURY TALES: Former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey said the government should allow time for a debate on a law permitting assisting dying. Carey said it was “profoundly Christian” to prevent suffering. The Telegraph has the full story.

WASTE NOT: The i splashes on calls by the government for householders to put less in their recycling bins to avoid contaminating the recycling chain. Ministers want to crack down on ‘wishcycling,’ where well-meaning people try to recycle items that cannot be processed.

WE DON’T NEED NO EDUCATION: More than 90 English primary schools will close or are at risk of closing because they are more than two-thirds empty, according to Guardian analysis of government data.

SAFETY FIRST: Plans to disband specialist teams that deliver treatment courses for sex offenders present a “real and present danger to public safety,” according to probation union Napo General Secretary Ian Lawrence. The Guardian has more.

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM: The Public and Commercial Services Union accused Whitehall of “racist institutional bias,” claiming white staff were twice as likely to be promoted as non-white colleagues. The Times has a write-up.

MILLENNIAL MOMENT: The Onward think tank holds an online discussion about the role of millennials in politics from 9 a.m., with speakers including Tory MP Bim Afolami and Onward Director Sebastian Payne. The event coincides with Onward’s “Missing Millennials” report, which included polling showing nearly two-thirds of millennials believe the Tories deserve to lose the next election. The Guardian has more details.

Talking of Seb: Michael Crick hears Payne, who’s an ex-FT journalist, is on the shortlist for selection in Selby, where MP Nigel Adams announced he was standing down last month.

Other SW1 events: Chatham House analyzes the future for Hong Kong’s democracy with panelists including activist Nathan Law at 6 p.m. The Young Fabians Academy hosts an online discussion on how to get involved with Labour policy-making with Durham University Professor Thom Brooks from 7 p.m.

BEYOND THE M25

CLEVERLY HEADS EAST: James Cleverly is in Estonia to visit British armed forces on NATO’s “eastern flank” and hold talks in Tallinn with members of the new government there. On the agenda today is a visit to a school for Ukrainian refugee children, and he’ll also speak to Estonian tech company chiefs and seek to promote economic ties with the U.K.

Norwegian would: The foreign secretary heads to Norway tomorrow for a gathering of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo; top of the agenda is support for Ukraine and for Swedish accession to the allaince ahead of the meeting of NATO leaders in Vilnius in July. In words briefed ahead of the trip, Cleverly said: “As NATO Allies, we are stronger than ever before — unified against hostility and in defence of democracy and freedom.”

ANDREW’S ANGER: Development Minster Andrew Mitchell condemned Uganda’s new anti-gay legislation, labeling it “appalling” and “deeply discriminatory.” He said the legislation will “increase the risk of violence, discrimination and persecution, will set back the fight against HIV/Aids, and will damage Uganda’s international reputation.” The Independent has the story.

NOT ANOTHER ONE: Spain goes to the polls on July 23 after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election the day after conservatives and the far right made strong gains in regional polls. My POLITICO colleague Aitor Hernández-Morales has more details.

Meanwhile in Athens: Greece’s parliament dissolved less than 24 hours after convening, ahead of an election on June 25. My POLITICO colleague Nektaria Stamouli has the rundown.

KOSOVO CONFLICT: NATO condemned an attack on peacekeepers in Kosovo which left approximately 25 international troops wounded. Kosovo Force members, a NATO-led peacekeeping mission, were injured during clashes with Serb protestors — my POLITICO colleague Lili Bayer has the details.

UKRAINE UPDATE: General Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, warned of a swift response to Russia’s missile strikes in Kyiv. The missiles, which unusually fell during the day, were targeted at the city center and all shot down. The BBC has a write-up.

OVER IN NIGERIA: Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn into office at the 5,000-capacity Eagle Square venue in the capital Abuja. Tinubu spoke of his swearing-in as a “sublime moment.” CNN has more.

JAPAN’S THREAT: Japan’s military is on standby after North Korea notified of plans to launch a satellite in the coming days. ITV News has the details.

CENTRAL BANKING BONANZA: The European Central Bank is turning 25 — and POLITICO is launching our brand new Central Banker Pro vertical. For those nostalgic for the past 25 years, Johanna Treeck looks back at the 25 most exciting moments at the ECB.

And for those who just can’t get enough, we’re holding a Twitter Space to discuss how central banking has taken a political hammering in recent years. We’ll be joined by special guests including former Pimco boss Mohamed A. El-Erian, the Peterson Institute for International Economics’ Nicolas Véron, and global liquidity plumbing expert James Aitken. Our Editor-in-Chief Jamil Anderlini will give you the down-low on what’s to come from our new vertical, before our host, Senior Finance Editor Izabella Kaminska, takes the mic. Join us here at 3 p.m. CET.

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MEDIA ROUND

GB News Breakfast: Former Labour Adviser Scarlett MccGwire (6.30 a.m., 7.30 a.m. and 8.30 a.m.).

Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: Tory Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex Katy Bourne (7.10 a.m.) … Mental Health U.K. Chief Executive Brian Dow (7.15 a.m.).

TalkTV Breakfast: Tory MP Christopher Chope (7.20 a.m.) … U.K. Onshore Oil & Gas Director Charles McAllister (7.30 a.m.) … Defense committee chair Tobias Ellwood (8.30 a.m.) … Former Green Party Leader Natalie Bennett (9.20 a.m.) … The aforementioned Kathleen Stock (9.30 a.m.).

Sky News Breakfast: Author Anthony Seldon (7.20 a.m.) … Barrister Adam Wagner (7.40 a.m.) … Labour peer Charlie Falconer (8.05 a.m.) … Former Deputy Chief of the Defense Staff Simon Mayall (8.30 a.m.) … Former GCHQ Director David Omand (9.20 a.m.).

Good Morning Britain: Royal College of Psychiatrists President Adrian James and former Met Police Chief Superintendent Dal Babu (both 7.25 a.m.).

Times Radio Breakfast: Tory Party donor Mohamed Amersi (8.35 a.m.) … Former Tory Leader William Hague and former Scottish Labour Leader Kezia Dugdale (both 9.10 a.m.) … Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko (9.40 a.m.).

TODAY’S FRONT PAGES

POLITICO UK: Specter of China looms over EU-U.S. summit.

Daily Express: Stop banks ‘ripping off’ loyal savers.

Daily Mail: Fury at Starmer’s £1.5 million from Just Stop Oil donor.

Daily Mirror: I lost my little boy … this must stop.

Daily Star: A pint of foam please barman.

Financial Times: Labour plans land valuation reform to ease housing crisis.

i: Households urged to recycle less to cut waste.

Metro: The gloves are off.

The Daily Telegraph: PM backs feminist in Oxford row over free speech.

The Guardian: Labour to let councils buy land cheaply to tackle housing crisis.

The Independent: How we saved this four-year-old girl from killer mould.

The Times: Legal wrangle looms over Johnson’s WhatsApp chats.

LONDON CALLING

WESTMINSTER WEATHER: Sunny intervals with a moderate breeze. Highs of 20C.

BRAVEHEARTS: The U.K. Parliament ran out 8-1 winners in the football at Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh with four goals from researcher Andy Mitchell, two from staffer Matthew Torbitt and one each from Labour’s Justin Madders and Tom Cains. There were also appearances from SNP MP Steven Bonnar, Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray, the SNP’s Owen Thompson and Stuart C McDonald and Tory peer Graham Evans. Proceeds go to Big Hearts, the community charity of Hearts FC. Madders has the pics.

CONGRATS: Rising lobby star Sophia Sleigh of HuffPost is joining the Sun on Sunday as political correspondent. She starts the new gig in mid-July.

BACK IN WHITEHALL: Will Bickford Smith rejoins the DfE as a Schools Policy Adviser to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, having spent the last six months advising the vice-chancellor at the University of Exeter.

MOZZAROLLA: The annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake saw 19-year-old Delaney Irving knocked unconscious while pursuing a double Gloucester cheese wheel. Irving still managed to win her race, finding out she was victorious upon waking up in the medical tent.

LISTEN TO: The origin of COVID-19 is investigated in Radio 4’s Fever: The Hunt for Covid’s Origin at 11 a.m.

RECESS RELAXATION: The art of the fresco is explored in a National Gallery online talk from 4 p.m.

AUDIO TREAT: The late Tony Benn is featured in Great Lives on Radio 4 at 4.30 p.m.

NOW WATCH: The three-day week and energy crisis of the 1970s in explored in Channel 5’s The Blackouts of ’74: When Britain Went Dark at 9 p.m.

HAY FEVER: The Hay Festival has another day of top speakers including BBC Wales’ Huw Thomas … BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet … and academic Sarah Churchwell.

NOW READ: In her latest Substack, playwright Emma Burnell argues Keir Starmer and Clement Attlee have lots in common.

JOB ADS: The Church of England is looking for a social media officer … and the FT is hiring a group product manager.

NO SPOILERS BUT: That Succession finale — oof.

MEA CULPA: Yesterday’s Playbook mistakenly said Alex Chalk was the attorney general when he is of course the justice secretary.

BIRTHDAYS: East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton … North East Bedfordshire MP Richard Fuller … Former Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy … Labour adviser Nick Parrott … Tory peer Michael Spencer …

PLAYBOOK COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT: My editor Joe Stanley-Smith, reporter Noah Keate and producer Dato Parulava.