Related video: EU-UK Brexit dispute: Lord Frost not yet ready to trigger Article 16
A “tough guy” approach when it comes to Northern Ireland will lead to “disaster”, Ireland’s minister for European affairs has said as he warned that the territory is in “serious danger of complete instability”.
Thomas Byrne was speaking as EU and UK Brexit negotiators meet for talks on breaking the deadlock over the contentious protocol. He raised concerns as the UK continued to threaten to trigger Article 16 of the protocol, a move that would suspend parts of the deal that has prevented a hard border on the island of Ireland.
EU chief negotiator Maros Sefcovic is expected to urge his UK counterpart Lord David Frost to drop an “unattainable” demand to remove the role of the European court in disputes over Northern Ireland. The latest round of talks beginning in London between the two sides are aimed at rehashing post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland.
Opinion | The Tories are known for ruthlessly ditching leaders – Boris Johnson will be looking over his shoulder
“Boris doesn’t really believe anything except people like him should be left alone to do what they want,” one former Boris Johnson aide told me, writes Andrew Grice. Indeed, Johnson has reportedly earned more than £4m from his outside interests in the past 14 years.
Perhaps this helps to explain his woeful mishandling of the Owen Patersonaffair and his reluctance to tighten the MPs’ code of conduct.
On Monday, the Commons will formally overturn the ill-fated decision to change the system of investigating complaints against MPs to try to save Paterson’s skin. Johnson should use this opportunity to apologise for the fiasco and to support moves to restrict MPs’ second jobs – including a ban on acting as parliamentary consultants.
Read his full piece here:
Record 1,185 people reach UK across Channel
A record 1,185 people reached the UK on Thursday after risking death aboard small boats in the English Channel, a new record for a single day.
Lifeboat crews, Border Force and French authorities spent hours intercepting boats in the Dover Strait throughout the day.
However despite their efforts three people are feared lost at sea after two kayaks were found adrift off the coast of Calais.
Thursday’s total, confirmed by the Home Office on Friday, is the highest for daily arrivals during the current crisis, surpassing the previous high of 853 set earlier this month.
UK could become ‘corrupt’ if wrong decisions are taken, says Lord Evans
Lord Evans has said the UK is not a corrupt country but warned it could move in that direction if the wrong decisions were taken.
Asked about the issue of moral standards in public office a week after Boris Johnson insisted the UK was not corrupt, the chair of the committee on standards in public life said: “I don’t think we are a corrupt country in the way that some countries are, I think we have a pretty good international reputation for our lack of corruption.
“But what I think is important is to recognise that that is not a happy chance of history or something distinctive about the British personality, that is a result of political decisions that have been taken…
“We could becomes a corrupt country if we don’t ensure we maintain standards and I think we need to ensure in each generation that we take the decisions that need to be taken.
“The risk is that we think it couldn’t possibly happen in this country, but the fact is that it could do.”
He went on to warn against taking decisions that lead us in the “wrong direction”.
Lobbying data ‘hit and miss’, says standards in public life committee chair
Lord Evans has said data around lobbying in parliament is “hit and miss”, saying there is “something to be done to improve this”.
The chair of the committee on standards in public life told Professor Meg Russell, director of the Constitution Unit, that the government “needs to look at the way it ensures it complies with the undertakings that it has made”.
He also said the current system of ethics regulation is “not sufficiently resilient”.
Lord Evans discusses report on improving standards of conduct in public life
Lord Jonathan Evans, chair of the committee on standards in public life, is taking part in a webinar with UCL’s Constitution Unit.
He and his committee is calling for “stronger rules, more independent regulation, and a stronger compliance culture in government”.
We will post updates as he speaks throughout the afternoon.
Brexit ‘risks curbing ability to tackle climate crisis’
Brexit could “compromise” the UK’s ability to tackle the climate crisis at the pace required by limiting access to workers, Scotland’s Net Zero Secretary has warned.
Michael Matheson told a British and Irish Council event at Cop26 that the renewable-energy sector was concerned about the impact leaving the European Union was having on access to the labour market.
Mr Matheson, the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport, said being able to attract skilled workers was required as part of the climate change response, giving the example of the environmental and renewable energy technology sectors.
He said: “We need to start to recognise that limited access to the right labour markets could compromise our ability to move at the pace at which we need to tackle climate change.”
Keir Starmer denies Jeremy Corbyn blocked his plan for second job with law firm
Keir Starmer has denied that Jeremy Corbyn blocked him from taking up a second job, after the spotlight fell on his outside earnings as an MP.
Alex Nunns, Mr Corbyn’s former speechwriter and biographer, claims it was the former leader – still suspended from the parliamentary party – who ruled out Starmer taking the highly paid consultancy work for law firm Mishcon de Reya.
But the claim was described as “entirely untrue” by Sir Keir’s spokesperson. Rob Merrick reports:
Discomfort for No 10 amid more sleaze claims
Friday’s papers and news websites are brimming with yet more allegations of sleaze, and it looks as though the weekend will be uncomfortable for Downing Street. Matt Mathers has this briefing:
Boris Johnson told ‘three times’ to wear mask during hospital visit – report
Boris Johnson was told three times to wear a mask during a hospital visit after reportedly failing to use a face covering, according to a report.
The prime minister was visiting Hexham General Hospital when the alleged incident took place, the Mirror reported.
Susie Flintham of Covid-19 Families for Justice told the paper: “The PM was putting lives at risk completely unnecessarily by visiting a hospital and refusing to put his mask on, despite being repeatedly asked to.
“For him to make a point of posing for a photo without a mask is a slap in the face to bereaved families.”
The hospital said Mr Johnson “did wear a mask for the majority of the visit”.
Tory MP warns of ‘large-scale Russian movement off eastern Ukraine’
A senior Conservative MP has said he fears Ukraine will be “the testing mark” for the West’s strategy towards Russia, following reports America has warned allies that Russia could be preparing to invade.
The Daily Telegraph reported that US officials have privately briefed EU counterparts on the potential for a military operation as Russian troops are building up near the border.
The paper said the US has said its commitment to Ukraine’s security is “ironclad”, and that the Kremlin has denied it is an aggressor and has accused the US and Nato of provocation.
Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the Defence Select Committee, said he “absolutely” hears the warnings that Russia could be seeking to invade.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the US is “absolutely right to flag up this large-scale Russian movement off eastern Ukraine”.
He said Russia “has form” in taking such actions when the world is “distracted by other events”.
