Brexit news – live: DUP u-turns on Irish Sea as Boris Johnson ‘driving desire for Scottish independence’

During a visit to a vaccination centre in Wales, Boris Johnson struggled to put on the blue latex gloves he had been given, joking that they were so small that it was “like OJ Simpson”.

The prime minister made the ill-advised joke in reference to the former American football star, who famously tried on a pair of gloves as a defendant in a 1995 murder trial. They were throught to have used in the killing of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

When the gloves did not fit, Mr Simpson’s defence team used it as a key piece of evidence. Although he was acquitted in the 1995 murder case, the sports star was later found liable and was made to pay the deceased’s survivors $33.5 million.

Adam Forrest reports:

The prime minister has said that devolution “can work very well”, three months after he sparked a row by reportedly describing devolution as a “disaster” in Scotland and “Tony Blair’s biggest mistake”.

On a visit to a coronavirus vaccine centre in south Wales on Wednesday, Boris Johnson was asked if he thought devolution had been a bad thing.

He said: “Certainly not overall. Absolutely not. I speak as the proud beneficiary of devolution when I was running London. I was very proud to be doing things that made a real difference for my constituents and my electorate, improving quality of life.”

“I think that devolution can work very well, but it depends very much on what the devolved authorities do,” he added.

Boris Johnson has said his government is “concerned” by reports that the daughter of Dubai’s ruler is being held against her will.

In a series of videos obtained and broadcast by the BBC this week, Princess Latifa said she was being kept “hostage”, following her attempted escape from the UAE three years ago.

Referring to the footage, the prime minister said: “That’s something, obviously, which we are concerned about, but the United Nations Commission on Human Rights is looking at that.

“I think what we’ll do is wait and see how they get on. We’ll keep an eye on,” Mr Johnson added.

Scotland will continue its efforts to rejoin the Erasmus student exchange programme, a leading SNP politician has said.

This comes after a bid by Scotland and Wales to reenter the EU-scheme was blocked by Brussels on Tuesday, with commission president Ursula von der Leyen saying that Holyrood and the Senedd could not overrule a decision made in London.

Mike Russell, Scotland’s constitutional secretary, told Holyrood’s Finance and Constiution Committee on Wednesday that the UK government’s decision to leave Erasmus after Brexit was “utterly unnecessary”.

He added that ministers deliberately obscured their intent before they announced the decision. “The UK government knew perfectly well the view of the devolved governments on this matter and we were not told the truth about it,” he said.

Mr Russell vowed to “continue to argue” the case for Erasmus, adding that it’s replacement, the UK’s Turing scheme, is inferior.

Easing lockdown too quickly would risk a “disaster”, a government scientist has warned.

Dame Angela McLean, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told the Commons Science and Technology Committee on Wednesday that the country “got into real trouble” last year by lifting restriction prematurely.

“I think we can say very, very clearly, don’t unlock too fast because if you unlock a lot while a lot of the most vulnerable are still unvaccinated, genuinely we risk disaster frankly,” she said.

Ashley Cowburn reports:

The National Theatre has announced it is “shelving” plans to tour the EU due to uncertainty over obtaining visas and work permits in mainland Europe.

“We are currently not able to confirm any touring commitments in Europe as a result of Brexit legislation,” the company said on Wednesday.

Under post-Brexit legislation, actors, musicians and crews from inside the UK can no longer work freely across the EU.

Despite government pledges on Tuesday that it would open negotiations with individual bloc members to help British artists tour, culture minister Caroline Dinenage admitted there were “a lot of obstacles to overcome”.

As a result, plans to take productions such as the hugely popular Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time to Europe have been abandoned, a National spokeswoman told the BBC News earlier.

It comes after more than 100 members of the performers’ Equity union, including Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Julie Walters, penned an open letter to the government urging Boris Johnson to negotiate new terms with the EU that would allow “creative practitioners” like themselves “to travel to the EU visa-free for work”.

Despite the PM’s best efforts to quash the movement, it seems Boris Johnson’s government is driving support for Scottish independence (also know as indyref2) because of its “anti-Scottish” outlook, according to the former Labour first minister of Wales.

Carwyn Jones said No 10’s strategy was playing into the hands of the SNP, suggesting it would not be wise to block a second referendum on independence in Scotland.

“Boris Johnson is head of a government that is very English nationalist in its outlook,” MrJones told the Constitutionally Unsound podcast. “How do you say in the long term ‘no, no, no’ when people in Scotland keep voting yes, yes, yes? That’s a fundamental problem that can only end badly.”

Adam Forrest has more:

A cross-party backlash has forced the DUP into backtracking on measures that would ease agri-food trade disruption in Northern Ireland because of Brexit.

Post-Brexit rules mean checks are required on animal-based products entering the UK from the EU. And because NI continues to follow EU customs rules, the regulations also apply to goods moving between Great Britain and NI.

A new ‘Swiss-style’ trading arrangement would see some checks on animal-based products loosened, therefore mitigating trade disruption.

My colleague Matt Mathers reports:

Boris Johnson has hinted that pubs and restaurants will be the last part of the economy to reopen in the gradual lifting of the third national lockdown.

On a visit to a mass vaccination centre in Cwmbran, south Wales, he suggested the return of the hospitality sector would come after other sectors.

However, he refused to give any specific details about when restrictions would be eased.

The outgoing children’s commissioner Anne Longfield will tell the government on Wednesday that it must do more to protect to vulnerable children.

She will highlight the damage done to children if ministers do not extend the £20 increase in universal credit, which is due to end in April.

“If the government is really focused on educational catch-up, it wouldn’t even countenance pushing 800,000 children into the type of devastating poverty which can have a much bigger impact on their life chances than the school they go to or the catch-up tuition they get,” she will say.

My colleague Zoe Tidman reports: