Boris braced for Partygate showdown

The Independent's Morning Headlines email [View online]( March 20, 2023 [Morning Headlines]( 1 / [Two-thirds of voters demand Johnson exit if he lied over Partygate]( [Boris Johnson]( has been urged to “tell the truth” and “be serious for once” at this week’s [Partygate]( grilling, as Tory MPs fear the televised hearing risks reigniting Tory psychodrama after a good few weeks for [Rishi Sunak](. The former Tory PM is fighting to save his career as he hunkers down with his legal team to prepare for Wednesday’s four-hour showdown on whether he lied to parliament about his knowledge of rule-breaking parties during Covid. As Mr Johnson prepared to hand over a 50-page dossier to counter the privileges committee’s initial report which found rule breaches would have been “obvious” to him: - Senior Tory MPs told The Independent it would be unwise for Mr Johnson to try to attack the committee or former civil servant Sue Gray on Wednesday – urging him to “cooperate” and answer honestly - Johnson allies attempted to undermine the inquiry, calling it a “McCarthyite witchhunt” and put pressure on four Tory MPs on the committee to quit - An exclusive new poll for The Independent has found two in three voters think the ex-Tory leader should stand down as an MP if the parliamentary probe finds that he misled parliament   2 / [Revealed: £30m navy patrols in Channel failed to deter small boats]( Exclusive: Ministry of Defence still calculating cost of operation over nine months that saw crossings rocket 3 /[USB agrees £2.7bn rescue deal for rival Credit Suisse]( UK banking system ‘safe and sound’ after Credit Suisse buyout, Bank of England says 4 / [Inquiry after The Independent reveals Britain told Afghans fleeing to UK to get papers stamped by Taliban]( Exclusive: Ministry of Defence apologised ‘unreservedly for this error’ after telling 37 people they must get documents approved by Taliban 5 /[How the Iraq war unfolded – as reported by The Independent]( From WMDs and ‘sexed-up’ dossiers to whitewashing and ‘we got him’, here’s how Bush and Blair’s doomed war played out on our pages   The Big Question What happened to Credit Suisse and why are banks needing bailouts again? Fears of another 2008-style banking crisis resurfaced this week after banking giant [UBS swept in to buy its crisis-hit rival Credit Suisse]( and US authorities stepped in to broker a £24.7bn rescue package for First Republic. Stock markets have been jittery amid worries that isolated failures could widen to affect the global banking system, reviving bad memories of the financial crisis that plunged many Western economies into recession in 2008-09. The news comes after the collapse last week of Silicon Valley Bank, the second-biggest bank failure in US history. Shares in San Francisco-based First Republic plummeted on Thursday as customers began withdrawing their money fearing it could be the next to fail, but stocks recovered as reports of the rescue package surfaced. [For the full story click here >](   Enjoying this newsletter? Unlock unlimited, ad-free reading on the website and in The Independent app when you subscribe – plus, benefit from our [welcome offer when you join today](. Watch/ [Iraq war: The US-led invasion that changed the world](   NUMBER OF THE DAY 37 – The Ministry of Defence has launched an investigation after The Independent revealed that [Afghans]( were told they could come to safety in Britain only after their [documents were approved by the Taliban](.The government confirmed on Sunday that UK officials had told 37 applicants to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Police (Arap) scheme – designed to resettle those who worked directly with the British forces – that they would need to provide papers that had been certified by Afghan government departments that have run by the Taliban since the militant group seized power in August 2021. [Read more here](   QUOTE OF THE DAY “The point I would make is if one of my members had an allegation like this against them, they would be suspended.” – Mark Serwotka, general secretary of PCS civil service union, said Dominic Raab should “step aside” from his cabinet roles – or be suspended – until the investigation into alleged bullying has concluded. [Read more here](     Other stories you might like   [Arsenal handling pressure of title race with the confidence of champions](   [EU judges ‘close to backing down’ on Rwanda deportations](   [Vladimir Putin ‘seen driving’ around Russian-occupied city in Ukraine](       Articles available exclusively to subscribers Robyn Dixon]( - [‘My life was in danger’: Rail enthusiast flees Russia after photographing Putin’s armoured train](   Other newsletters you might like [The Race Report]( The Race Report Fortnightly, 6pm (UK time) Written by Nadine White [Join now]( [The View from Westminster ]( The View from Westminster Every weekday, 6pm (UK time) Written by John Rentoul [Join now](   If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. 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