Brexit news – live: Boris Johnson’s deal approved by EU nations, as Gove warns of ‘disruption’

How many Labour MPs will rebel against leader Keir Starmer’s order to back the Brexit deal in the Commons this Wednesday? Reports earlier this month suggested dozens of his MPs could abstain.

Ben Bradshaw, Kevin Brennan, Neil Coyle, Rupa Huq, Geraint Davies and Clive Efford are among backbenchers thought to be considering it. Coyle has tweeted that he is “with Hezza on this” – referring to Lord Heseltine’s call for MPs and peers to abstain.

Daniel Zeichner, a shadow environment minister and Paul Blomfield, a shadow Brexit minister could also choose to ignore the party whip, according to The Times.

Schools must only reopen next month if two-metre distancing between staff and pupils can be guaranteed and with compulsory face coverings, a union says.

And head teachers must be given the option of remaining closed except for vulnerable children and those of key workers in Covid-19 hotspots, the NASUWT has told Gavin Williamson.

Read the full story here by Deputy Political Editor Rob Merrick: 

The Conservative mayor of the West Midlands has called on the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to more than treble the £3,000 monthly grant for businesses forced to shut by the coronavirus to an average £10,000, as the new variant of Covid-19 threatens to extend the period of shutdown deep into 2021.

Read the full report by our Political Editor Andrew Woodcock: 

Boris Johnson has today welcomed Britain’s trade deal with the European Union as a new starting point for relations with the bloc in a call with the President of the European Council Charles Michel.

“Just spoken with @eucopresident Charles Michel. I welcomed the importance of the UK/EU Agreement as a new starting point for our relationship, between sovereign equals,” Mr Johnson said on Twitter.

“We looked forward to the formal ratification of the agreement and to working together on shared priorities, such as tackling climate change.”

It comes after EU nations unanimously approved the Brexit trade deal. However it still requires approval from MEPs in the European Parliament, which is not expected to sit again until February.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier has thanked senior MEPs after discussing next steps in ratifying the Brexit deal – describing their exchanges as “fruitful”.

Although the agreement can be implemented provisionally, the European Parliament is not expected to ratify it until next year, with 8 February thought to be the “working assumption” for the vote.

Fewer than 200 lorry drivers are waiting to travel to France following a week of disruption at the English Channel border, the Department of Transport has said.

The vast majority of the 15,000 vehicles stuck in Kent have been able to make the crossing in the past few days. But Michael Gove earlier warned businesses to get ready for disruptions and “bumpy moments” when the new customs rules take effect from Friday.

An agreement has been reached for a Dumfries and Galloway airfield to be used by hundreds of lorries in case of post-Brexit disruption at the Cairnryan port.

The Scottish government has signed a lease from Friday January 1 as part of Operation Overflow – the contingency plan by Transport Scotland and partners.

Up to 240 goods vehicles can park at the site with welfare facilities if port capacity is too high as freight continues to travel between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

It is hoped the airfield will help manage any queuing traffic in the area, although the Scottish government’s transport secretary Michael Matheson said they do not expect that to happen “at this stage”.

A former head of the UK civil service has branded Boris Johnson “an Amazon driver with a modest package” because his Brexit trade deal is so meagre.

Lord Wilson hit out at the PM for acting like “an angel of the Lord bringing glad tidings about the birth of Christ” when the agreement was finally signed.

In a letter to The Times, Lord Wilson said: “It does not resolve the issue of our place in Europe and the world, which nearly half of the British people would have preferred to continue to be in Europe.” 

The former Cabinet secretary, who worked under Tony Blair, added: “The combined damage of Brexit and the coronavirus will be with us for decades to come.”  

More now on Michel Barnier’s big interview with France’s Le Figaro newspaper. The EU chief negotiator has warned that Brexit will discourage others leaving the bloc – and claimed the UK will find out “pretty soon” what it’s like to exist outside the single market.

“These negotiations have reinforced the conviction of leaders and citizens that it is better to be together rather than on one’s own,” Barnier said. “There are true differences between a member country and a third country. We will see it pretty soon.”

The top official – who revealed he has a book of Brexit coming out in spring – also said the EU must learn to listen more widely. “It’s a lesson to be drawn for the future. The EU, without the United Kingdom, cannot limit itself to a Franco-German dialogue.”

Barnier also told the newspaper the Brexit deal almost collapsed twice in recent week. “We’ve been on the verge of break up several times. In London a month ago, then in Brussels more recently, during a phone call between Ursula von der Leyen and Boris Johnson.”

Ian Blackford, leader of the SNP at Westminster, has rejected the idea that the party is voting for a no-deal Brexit – despite its intention to voting against the trade deal.  

Challenged by Times Radio host Tom Newton Dunn that the SNP was “in effect” voting for no-deal, Blackford said: “We’re voting against the deal that the prime minister is putting in front of us, we’re certainly not supporting no deal. No deal is something that would be a disaster for all of us.”

He added: “The best deal we’ve got is the one that we still have … the single market, the customs union.”