PM Johnson Faces Parliamentary Grilling Later Today

Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a testing day in Parliament, with prime minister's questions at 1200BST (1300CET, 0700ET) followed by his appearance in front of the high-ranking Liaison Committee in the afternoon.

• In an unorthodox setup, Johnson will face Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner in PMQs, with Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer self-isolating after a member of his family displayed symptoms of the coronavirus. In comparison to Starmer's lawyerly forensic questioning of the PM (which Johnson often struggles to combat), Rayner is viewed as a more emotive politician. Her background as a working class, single mother, who previously worked as a social care worker could see Johnson's usually exuberant performance from the despatch box come across in a poor light.
• After PMQs, Johnson appears in front of the Commons Liaison Committee at 1530BST (1030ET, 1630CET). The committee is formed by the chairs of the 32 select committees of the House of Commons, although not all 32 will be present at today's meeting.
• The chair today will be Sir Bob Neill (Con, Bromley and Chiselhurst), chair of the Justice Select Committee, who has been the primary Conservative backbench opponent to the gov'ts controversial UK Internal Market Bill that threatens to override the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and break international law.
• PM also likely to face questioning on the gov'ts response to COVID-19, as well as an important defence spending review.