Brexit news – live: EU talks resume as Andy Burnham and councils support Marcus Rashford free school meals campaign

Our chief political commentator, John Rentoul, has given his take below on the likelihood of a Brexit deal with the EU and Boris Johnson’s chaotic approach to negotiations:

Birmingham City Council joins support for free school meals

Birmingham City Council has said it will provide 61,000 children in the city with free school meals vouchers over the half-term.

“With the government failing to come up with a plan for those families with children reliant on free school meals, through next week’s half-term, Birmingham City Council will step forward,” Councillor Ian Ward, Labour leader for the authority, said.

“There are some 61,000 children in Birmingham who receive free school meals so we will be ensuring they get provided with a voucher during the half-term next week.”

Meanwhile, Manchester City Council has confirmed it will also provide free lunches for children over the period.

“We stand with Marcus Rashford. No child should go hungry during the holidays,” Councillor Garry Bridges, member for children and schools, said.

“In the absence of government support to ensure this, the city council is stepping in to fund the provision of a free lunch for all qualifying children this half-term.

“We’re working with our schools and have also put extra money into our welfare support to make sure families who need meals for their children can get them.”

The House of Commons is now officially in recess until November:

Starmer defends Labour’s position on controversial ‘spy cops Bill’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has defended his party’s position on a controversial Bill which would allow undercover agents to break the law following criticism from his own MPs.

Sir Keir ordered Labour MPs to abstain on the third reading of the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) Bill, also known as the “spy cops Bill”.

More than 30 MPs, including former leader Jeremy Corbyn and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, defied the whip and voted against the legislation after human rights groups said it would allow undercover officers to commit rape, murder and torture.

During a “Call Keir” event with voters from Glasgow, Sir Keir was challenged on the party’s abstention.

“On the face of this Bill, there is a clear requirement that says nothing can be authorised if it conflicts with or breaches the Human Rights Act,” the Labour leader replied.

“If you can’t authorise something that would breach the Human Rights Act, how on earth can you make the argument that you can break human rights under this Bill?”

He added: “Under the Human Rights Act, torture is completely prohibited, murder is prohibited, rape is prohibited.

“So this argument that you could sign off torture, murder and rape is just wrong.”

Sir Keir went on to claim it was “impossible” to argue that the Bill would allow undercover agents to torture people, adding: “It just doesn’t make any sense at all.”

“I’m a strong believer that if the state has powers – undercover agents, police officers, I don’t really mind – they should be on the face of legislation, not hidden in the shadows,” he said.

“Opposing this Bill means, do you get rid of these powers? No, they just get hidden in the shadows with no tribunal you can go to and no commission.

“All my life I’ve believed that if the state is going to have power it should be on the face of legislation so everybody can see what it is and what the issues are.”

Meanwhile in the House of Commons…

An MP has urged police to reopen an investigation into the so-called “Croydon cat killer” after hundreds of cats were reported to have been mutilated across the south London borough since November 2015.

Elliot Colburn, a Conservative MP, said the accepted theory that urban foxes were behind the cat deaths was “fanciful”, adding that pet owners were “no closer to finding the truth”.

In 2018, the Metropolitan Police closed a three-year investigation after Scotland Yard said there was “no evidence that any of the cats had been killed by a human” and suggested vehicle collisions could be to blame.

“It started in Croydon, which is the borough which I border, however, there was a spate of cat killings which involved beheading the cat which has spread to other parts of south London, including Carshalton and Wallington,” Mr Colburn said.

“Now, there has been an investigation into this and the conclusion was that this was down to urban foxes, which the owners of these cats find a bit fanciful – and I have to say I agree as well.”

He added: “The pattern of behaviour, particularly beheading the cat and leaving it there with no evidence of the cat being eaten, doesn’t suggest to me that this was urban foxes, this suggests to me there is a systematic level of abuse going on here.”

Football writer Tony Evans has taken a closer look at Marcus Rashford’s free school meals campaign for Indy Sport below:

Kensington and Chelsea becomes latest council to back food vouchers for children

Kensington and Chelsea Council has said it will pay for free school meals for eligible pupils in the borough during next week’s half-term, with almost 3,300 children receiving £15 vouchers to cover the cost of food.

“Children who normally receive free school meals will be provided with a voucher for the October half-term,” Councillor Josh Rendall, lead member for family and children’s services, said in a statement.

“This is not a long-term solution, but this is an exceptional year and we know it has been a tough one for many families.

“Since the very start of the pandemic, we have worked tirelessly to support our residents across our borough who have been placed under additional pressure because of Covid.”

‘Why wouldn’t you choose to feed hungry children?’: Southwark Council joins support for free school meals campaign

Southwark Council has said it will spend up to £10,000 issuing food vouchers to every eligible pupil to ensure they are fed over half term.

“We hoped the government would step in and fund this as a vital response to the pandemic of poverty we are facing across Britain at the moment,” Councillor Kieron Williams, leader of Southwark Council, told the PA news agency.

“We were deeply worried about the children that would be left hungry over this week and we felt we had to step in.”

Mr Williams: “Why wouldn’t you choose to feed hungry children? When you look at everything the government has done to respond to this pandemic, this felt like one of the easiest choices they could have made to make sure children who need it most have food over this coming week.

“It would have been the right thing to do.

“I think this is an issue above party politics. It is a straightforward issue of values and what kind of country we want to live in. No one wants our country to be one where children are in so much poverty they can’t eat.”

The row over free school meals is not dying down today…

Comedian’s free school meals fund passes £35,000

A campaign fund set up to give free meals to vulnerable children has passed £35,000.

Katy Brand, the comedian, set up the appeal after MPs voted to reject a Labour motion to provide free meals to poor children over the school holidays.

Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford had pushed for the free meals, following a successful campaign earlier in the year.

Announcing her support for the campaign, Nigella Lawson tweeted: “It shouldn’t have to be this way, but it is more important to feed a hungry child than argue about how it’s done. Or rather, donate if you can and then do what’s necessary to stop those who make children going hungry policy.”

Ms Brand said she was now aiming to raise £50,000 with the campaign, with the proceeds going to the charities FareShare, the Trussell Trust and Magic Breakfast.