Boris Johnson news – live: Labour questions PM’s failure to name security minister as ‘spy’ arrested in Berlin

Sir Nicholas Kay, a former UK ambassador to Afghanistan, has said “this is the time for muscular, unceasing diplomacy” amid Taliban advances in the region.

Sir Nicholas, who previously served as Nato senior civilian representative to Afghanistan, described the “complete withdrawal” from the conflict-hit country as “premature”.

Three more provincial capitals in Afghanistan have fallen to the Taliban, officials said, putting nine out of the country’s 34 regions in the hands of the insurgents amid the US withdrawal, according to AP reports.

Sir Nicholas told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme earlier: “I think it’s premature, the complete withdrawal, myself having sat very closely working with Nato, the task of training, advising and assisting was not complete and it required more time.”

He added: “This was a defence, training and advice and assistance mission and they’re struggling now, we can see that. It is important that the support continues. Nato is still there, civilian presence, providing training advice and channelling funding to the Afghan forces, that’s vital.”

Afghan president Ashraf Ghani’s senior adviser Waheed Omar said: “It’s hard times for us, but we know that we will prevail … We will not only hold them (Taliban) back, our people will defeat them.”

Boris Johnson has insisted Britain is not abandoning its commitment to Afghanistan as he signalled in July the end of the UK’s 20-year military mission in the country.

Additional reporting by PA

Alok Sharma has said the UK is already experiencing the impact of climate changeas a group of Tory MPs shared their concerns about the cost of pursuing green policies.

The president of the Cop26 summit said he was shocked by recent photographs of the wildfires in Greece – but pointed to last month’s flash flooding in London as an example of extreme weather events in Britain, reports Adam Forrest.

“Unfortunately it’s not just Greece, we’re seeing around the world. And even in our country, right? In July when I was hosting a meeting of climate ministers here in London, London experienced in 24 hours one month of rainfall,” Mr Sharma told BBC’s Newscast podcast.

Two-thirds of people in Britain support increasing National Insurance (NI) contributions to pay for social care reform, a poll has found.

Ipsos Mori’s latest Political Monitor poll also revealed 49 per cent of Britons want the government to increase spending on public services, even if that means higher taxes or more borrowing.

The idea of increasing NI to pay for a reformed care system was floated earlier this year by the government, though details were not advanced before MPs left Westminster for recess.

According to the research, support for increased public spending – either through higher taxes or borrowing – has “slipped” from 66 per cent at the end of 2018 to 56 per cent just before the 2019 election. It now stands at just under half (49 per cent) in favour of increased public spending.

The poll also reveals that 64 per cent would support a 1 per cent increase in NI contributions to help pay for social care reform, while 65 per cent would support the same rise to reduce the backlog in the NHS caused by the pandemic.

However, young people are less supportive, with 56 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds in favour against 73 per cent of those aged 55 or over.

Ben Page, chief executive of Ipsos Mori, said on Twitter: “It used to be pensioners who were most squeezed and against rises – its now the young for same reason.”

Our chief political commentator John Rentoul unpicks this morning’s somewhat confusing news about testing cosmetics on animals.

“What is a right-thinking Independent reader supposed to make of this morning’s headline about animal testing? We report that the testing of cosmetics ingredients on animals, banned in Britain since 1998, could make a return after a Home Office decision to follow EU rules.

How can that be right? Even if you don’t agree with Brexit, shouldn’t our departure from the EU mean that we no longer have to follow EU rules if they involve cruelty to animals?

As you might imagine, the story is complicated. It turns out that the EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics, and on the sale of any cosmetics containing ingredients recently tested on animals, was not as absolute as it seemed. It conflicted with a different EU law about the safety of chemicals generally. That conflict was last year resolved by an EU decision requiring two chemicals used only in cosmetics to be tested on animals.”

Read the full piece here:

Overhauling the grading system for A-Levels amid concerns about grade inflation would be “unnecessarily disruptive”, “unfair” and “unrealistic”, school leaders’ unions have warned the government.

Ministers are thought to be considering replacing the traditional A to E grades with a numerical system in an effort to shore up the credibility of A-levels after record numbers were awarded the top marks.

But some believe there are bigger issues to deal with after around 70.1 per cent of all A-Level entries from private schools were awarded an A grade or higher this year, prompting concerns that Covid-19 has widened the gap between private and state schools.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “It seems unnecessarily disruptive to undertake an overhaul of the grading system itself to replace it with numbered grades or some other big change.

“A reform of this nature needs both a clear rationale and a lead-in period rather than landing it suddenly on students and teachers who are expecting A-levels to be graded in the fashion with which they are familiar. It would be very unfair and confusing to move the goalposts at this stage.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, added that suggestions of a move to a numerical system are “unrealistic”.

“There is an opportunity here for government and Ofqual to review the current system’s reliance on terminal exams and grading by comparable outcomes. This requires meaningful consultation to ensure the fairest system for students,” he said.

Meanwhile, a Department for Education spokeswoman told the PA news agency that Ofqual is scheduled to confirm the approach to grading for 2022 in the autumn term.

Remember Julian Assange? Representatives of the US government told the High Court today he would be able to “resist suicide” if he was extradited to an American prison.

The US are attempting to challenge a judge’s decision made last year that ruled the WikiLeaks founder should not be extradited over health fears.

As part of the challenge, officials are applying to get the medical evidence of Neuropsychiatry expert Michael Kopelman dismissed or given a low weighting. Professor Kopelman, of Kings College London, concluded last year that Assange had autism, recurring depression and was at high risk of suicide if extradited, reports Holly Bancroft.

The arrest of a British man in Berlin on suspicion of spying for Russia raises “questions” about the prime minister’s failure to appoint a new security minister, Labour has said.

The post has been vacant for more than a month after James Brokenshire stepped down to focus on his cancer recovery.

Tory MP Mr Brokenshire announced his resignation on 7 July, telling Boris Johnson that his recovery from lung cancer treatment was “taking longer than anticipated” following a resurgence of the illness he was first diagnosed with two years ago.

Shadow security minister Conor McGinn said it “beggars belief” that the role has yet to be filled five weeks on.

It comes after German prosecutors said an employee at the British embassy in Berlin was arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia. The man, a 57-year-old British national named only as David S, was detained on Tuesday following a joint investigation by the British and German authorities. He is due to appear before a judge on Wednesday.

“Britain’s national security is under threat 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but the UK has not had a security minister in position for over a month,” Mr McGinn said earlier. “Following today’s events, it raises questions about who in government is overseeing the most serious task of keeping the British public safe and secure.”

He continued: “It beggars belief that the prime minister has failed to appoint a replacement for James Brokenshire. He’s either forgotten or doesn’t think it’s important. This is just the latest security lapse from a prime minister and government that can’t be trusted with national security.”

Additional reporting by PA

Ministers believe that disagreements over spending lie at the heart of the growing tension between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak that has been attracting media attention in recent days, according to our commentator Andrew Grice.

Andrew says that Whitehall insiders believe there is a fight going on over the government’s spending review set for this autumn as the UK emerges from the worst of the Covid crisis.

He writes:

“They think the crucial battle will be: can the government afford one more emergency spending boost for post-Covid catch-up (on schools, the NHS, the courts, transport) as Johnson desires, or should it start to restore order to the public finances and the Tories’ reputation for fiscal responsibility, as Sunak wants?

“The PM wants one for the road, while the chancellor wants to call time and thinks the government is in the last chance saloon, especially as rising interest rates will push up the cost of servicing the debt.”

You can find his full piece below:

A firm that employed David Cameron as an adviser won a multi-million pound contract after the former Tory prime minister reportedly urged Matt Hancock to attend a genomics conference.

Mr Cameron apparently wrote to the then-health secretary in April 2019 “strongly” endorsing an invitation to a conference sent by the US company, according to The Times.

Our political correspondent, Ashley Cowburn, has the full story below:

Labour’s deputy leader has accused the Conservatives of handing public money to mates “without a second thought” following reports that David Cameron won a contract worth £123m for Illumina after lobbying former health secretary Matt Hancock.

“There is rampant cronyism, sleaze and dodgy lobbying that is polluting our democracy under Boris Johnson and the Conservatives. They hand public money to their mates without a second thought,” Angela Rayner said on Wednesday.

“With NHS staff suggesting that it hasn’t been possible to make full use of the capacity the contract provided, the government must answer questions about why it awarded such a huge sum of money without competition in the first place.

“Labour will overhaul the current broken system and replace it with an Integrity and Ethics Commission that will stamp out sleaze.”