The EU has told the UK it will act “firmly and resolutely” if London reneges on its commitments in the Northern Ireland protocol.
This comes amid reports that the “grace period” for chilled meats in Northern Irish shops could be extended past June.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic criticised the UK over the “numerous and fundamental gaps” in its implementation of the protocol.
He called on the British government to respect “its international law obligations”, saying Brussels would “not be shy” to respond to any unilateral action from London.
Ahead of a meeting between the UK and the EU on Wednesday, businesses have called for an end to trade frictions between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
The Northern Ireland Business Brexit Working Group, a group of leading companies, said hurdles to trade needed to removed and stressed that “stability, certainty, simplicity and affordability” must be delivered.
Aid cut panders to ‘Red Wall’, says Mitchell
The cut to foreign aid is aimed at pleasing voters in the so-called Red Wall seats of the midlands and north of England, Andrew Mitchell said.
The former international development secretary is speaking against the government’s plan to cut overseas aid from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of spending after an attempt to force the government to meet the committment was blocked.
The government’s pursual of the cut is “about the Red Wall seats”, Mr Mitchell told the Commons.
“The government thinks that it’s popular in the Red Wall seats to stop British aid, money going overseas. It’s also a very patronising attitude to people who live in the Red Wall seats.”
Ministers are the rebels over aid cuts, says Andrew Mitchell
Andrew Mitchell MP, the former international development secretary who led the group of Tory rebels opposing the government’s cut to foreign aid, said ministers were set to pursue an “unethical and unlawful betrayal”.
Speaking in the Commons after Downing Street signalled the prime minister would not allow a binding vote on the decision to cut Britain’s overseas spending, Mr Mitchell said: “I see, that I and [other MPs] are described as rebels – it is the government that is rebelling against a clear and indisputable commitment.”
He went on: “For two decades the UK has been a development leader, not just because it’s morally right and accords with our values but because it’s in our own national interest. By making the countries we seek to help safer and more prosperous, we make life for ourselves here in Britain safer and more prosperous.
“The way the government is behaving strikes at the heart of our Parliament. It is precisely because the government fears they would lose that they are not calling [a vote]. That is not democracy.
“I want to argue to the House this afternoon that what the government is doing is unethical, possibly illegal, and certainly breaks our promise. It’s not proper and it’s fundamentally un-British and we shouldn’t behave in this way.”
Downing Street: ‘No case for stopping chilled meat sales’
Downing Street has accused the EU of adopting a “purist” approach to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement amid disputes over the sale of chilled meats from Britain in Northern Ireland.
“There is no case whatsoever for preventing chilled meats from being sold in Northern Ireland,” a spokesperson for No 10 said.
“Any ban would be contrary to the aims of the Protocol and the interests of the people of Northern Ireland. We think an urgent solution needs to be found.
“The Protocol was a compromise. We didn’t expect the EU to take a purist approach when implementing it. We are working very hard to try to resolve these issues consensually.
“The prime minister has always made clear we will consider all our options in meeting our responsibility to sustain peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.
“We hope that the EU will show the common sense and pragmatism needed to make progress.”
British Council will get funding boost, says minister
The British Council, which aims to promote UK culture abroad, will receive a funding boost, a Foreign Office minister said amid concerns over possible outpost closures.
After shadow Foreign Office minister Stephen Kinnock claimed there was an “ambivalence” from the government towards the council, Mr Adams replied: “We will be providing £149 million grant-in-aid this year, £189 million grant-in-aid next year – that’s an increase of 26 per cent.
“We provided the British Council with a £145 million Covid loan, we’re providing a £100 million loan to help them restructure, in March 2020 we provided £26 million – £609 million of British taxpayers’ money since the pandemic hit doesn’t sound like ambivalence to me.”
Mr Adams added the government values the “influence” of the council, which aims to promote British culture, education and the English language.
Ministers ‘failing the armed forces’ through mismanagement of new tanks scheme
John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, accused the government of failing the armed forces and taxpayers through “chronic mismanagement” of the Ajax programme.
After asking the defence minister about the tanks, Mr Healey told the Commons: “£3.5 billion paid out, four years late and just 14 vehicles delivered, light tanks that can’t fire while moving and vehicle crews made so sick that the testing has been paused.
“This is a project that has been flagged red by the government’s own major projects authority, the defence select committee calls it another example of chronic mismanagement by the MoD and its shaky procurement apparatus, yet the Defence Secretary is failing to get to grip with the failures in the system and failing our frontline troops as a result.
“He’s breaking a promise he made to them in this House when he said when it comes to equipment, the first thing to ensure is that we give our men and women the best to keep them alive and safe on the battlefield.”
“Ministers are failing British forces and failing British taxpayers,” he added.
Government ‘very concerned’ by trouble with new tanks, says defence minister
The government was “very concerned” by problems with noise and vibrations reported in new tanks destined for the British Army, defence minister Jeremy Quin said.
Asked about the Ajax programme, which has seen the government spend £3.5bn on the new tanks, the defence minister said: “We remain in the demonstration phase and, as with all such phases, issues have emerged with the vehicle that we need to resolve.
“We were very concerned by reports of noise issues in the vehicle, all personnel who may have been exposed to excessive noise have been tested.”
He added that training was paused but had now resumed with “mitigations in place”.
Controversial scheme to collect and share patient data delayed
The government has delayed plans to collect and share patients’ NHS data to reassure the public about the scheme.
Health minister Lord Bethell told peers: “Data saves lives. We have seen that in the pandemic and it’s one of the lessons of the vaccine rollout.”
He added that time was neede “to make sure that it is as effective as possible so the implementation date will now be September 1”.
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Paul Givan to be Northern Ireland’s next first minister
Paul Givan will be the new first minister of Northern Ireland, DUP leader Edwin Poots has announced.
The Lagan Valley MP will suceed Arlene Foster, who is resigning at the end of this month following a no-confidence vote by her party.
Mr Givan, MLA for Lagan Valley, will be the first person to hold the role who is not also a party leader.
Tory MP fined after puppy causes deer stampede
A Tory MP has been fined for not controlling his dog, which caused a stampede of deer in London’s Richmond Park.
Deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram fined Kruger £120 and told him he must pay £575 costs and a £34 surcharge – totalling £719. “You should have known better,” the judge told the MP.
“Your dog was not under control, he was able to frighten the deer and here you are in court today. The deer were clearly startled and frightened. It could have caused injury, fortunately it didn’t,” he added.
Labour brands care minister ‘incredibly complacent’
The government has yet to name the date on which it will announce social care reforms.
As a result, Labour has hit out at care minister Helen Whately, after ministers failed to say when this would take place.
Care minister Helen Whately said that “complex problems” needed to be sorted before a plan could be introduced, claiming issues in the sector stemmed back to Tony Blair’s years in office.
In response, the Labour MP Diana Johnson said: “Can I just say to the minister that I think most members of the House of Commons will find her attitude incredibly complacent on one of the key issues that face most families in this country.”
Her words come almost two years after the prime minister promised to fix social care.
