The European Union is “not too impressed” with Liz Truss’s threat to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol if talks fail.
The EU’s ambassador to the UK, Joao Vale de Almeida, responded to the foreign secretary’s comments by saying: “We’ve heard this before from the government, so we’re not surprised. We are not too impressed.
“We still believe it’s not very helpful that we keep agitating the issue of Article 16.”
He said the EU wanted to “reconnect” with the British government.
Article 16 would allow either the EU or the UK to take unilateral “safeguard” measures if they feel that the deal is leading to serious practical issues or is causing the diversion of trade.
The measures are allowed if the deal is causing “economic, societal or environmental difficulties”.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Liz Truss said: “My priority is to protect peace and stability in Northern Ireland. I want a negotiated solution but if we have to use legitimate provisions including Article 16, I am willing to do that.”
Plans for up to a quarter of teachers to be off work due to Omicron, education secretary says
Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi has said that preparations are being made for up to a quarter of teachers to be off work in the coming weeks with Covid.
Some schools are already reporting as many as 40 percent staff shortages, he said.
Read more about what Zahawi said here:
Priti Patel plans to impose legal duty for security on venues following Manchester Arena bombing
Venues would have a legal duty to provide security under new plans draw up by home secretary Priti Patel.
The proposals come in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing that killed 22 people and are due for publication on Monday.
Figen Murray, mother of 29-year-old victim Martyn Hett, has campaigned for the introduction of a Martyn’s law which would make it a legal requirement for venues and local authorities to have action plans in place in case of terrorist attacks.
Priti Patel said the new legislation would not place an “excessive burden on small business”. She said: “Following the tragic attack at the Manchester Arena, we have worked closely with Figen Murray, victims’ groups and partners to develop proposals to improve protective security around the country.
“I am grateful for their tireless commitment and those who responded to the consultation, the majority of whom agreed tougher measures are needed to protect the public from harm.
“We will never allow terrorists to restrict our freedoms and way of life, which is why we are committed to bringing forward legislation this year that will strike the right balance between public safety, whilst not placing excessive burden on small businesses.”
DUP welcomes Truss’ comments ahead of meeting with EU
Leader of the DUP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has issued his support for Liz Truss’s piece in the Sunday Telegraph in which she sets out her intention for UK-EU Brexit talks and threatens to trigger Article 1 of the Northern Ireland Protocol if needed.
Sir Donaldson retweeted the piece with the comments: “A welcome statement of intent by Liz Truss ahead of talks next week. She is right that unionists do not consent to the protocol and we need to government to follow through on their commitment to safeguard the Union & protect Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market.”
He then shared a tweet with a quote from the the piece, where Liz Truss says: “But let me be clear, I will not sign up to anything which sees the people of Northern Ireland unable to benefit from the same decisions on taxation & spending as the rest of the UK, or which still sees good moving within our country being subject to checks”.
Johnson to reportedly escape new standards investigation over flat renovation – Telegraph
A fresh inquiry will not be opened into Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat renovation, The Sunday Telegraph has reported.
Number Ten was allegedly told last week that Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, will not open a new inquiry into the redecoration.
The reported decision comes after two separate probes from the Electoral Commission and Lord Geidt into how the project was funded.
Nadhim Zahawi: People should listen to Rafael Nadal not Djokovic
Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi has called tennis star Rafael Nadal a “hero” in the “Djokovic saga” and has called on people to get vaccinated.
He said: “I would encourage everybody to get their jab, because it will protect them, and their family and their community.”
Listen to his comments here:
Mayor of Bristol: ‘Symbolic act’ of toppling statues should not be a replacement for ‘real change’
The Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, has said that the acquittals of four protesters who toppled Edward Colston’s statue were “less significant” for the city than for the defendants.
“In the lives of the four individuals it is incredibly significant because their futures faced a bit of a fork in the road in some ways,” he told Trevor Philips on Sunday.
“For the work on race inequality in Bristol much more widely, it is less significant because when we’re tackling race inequality, we are looking at those underlying drivers of political and economic inequality.
“The verdict itself doesn’t actually touch on those very real and immediate issues.”
Mr Rees said that “symbolic acts”, such as the toppling of Colston, should not be a replacement for “real substantial systemic change”.
He said: “Symbolic acts, while they are important, if they begin to take the place of acts of political and economic policy and real substance become a problem.
“If we look around in five years, realise that nothing’s really changed people point to all these things that have happened and we say, ‘Oh those were just acts, those are just performances’.
“We have to be very careful in the way we handle these issues.”
Press Association contributed to this report.
Unsafe cladding: Gove to announce clamp down on developers
Housing secretary Michael Gove is set to announce action on developers who have built unsafe homes with flammable cladding, it has been reported.
In a statement to the commons on Monday, Gove is expected to say that “those who knowingly put lives at risk should be held to account for their crimes.
“And those who are seeking to profit from the crisis by making it worse should be stopped from doing so.”
He comments have been reported in The Sunday Times and include a warning to developers that “we are coming for you”.
Gove will also say: “I am putting them on notice. If you missold dangerous products like cladding or insulation, if you cut corners to save cash as you developed or refurbished homes, we are coming for you.”
Windfall tax on North Sea companies ‘doesn’t add up’, Nadhim Zahawi says
Education minister Nadhim Zahawi has said that Labour’s new plan for a windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas companies “doesn’t add up” as the businesses are “already struggling”.
He said the policy proposals weren’t “going to cut it”. He argued the Conservative’s rise in the national living wage will help people deal with the rising energy costs.
Listen to Zahawi being questioned on LBC news:
The sooner EU and UK move past Brexit spats the better equipped they will be to tackle Russia threat – EU ambassador to the UK
EU ambassador to the UK, Joao Vale de Almeida, has said that the soon the EU and the UK move past Brexit-related issues “the better equipped we will be” to address “very serious issues”.
Referring to the build of Russian troops on Ukraine’s border and Russia’s military support of Kazakhstan, he said: “This is one area where the EU and UK can do a lot together”.
“My sense in looking at the wider picture is that the sooner we move on from issues that are still openly related to Brexit, in particular the Northern Ireland situation, the sooner we move on from that, the better equipped we will be, the EU and UK, to work together in addressing very serious issues.”
Press Association contributed to this report.
What is Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol?
Article 16 is part of the Northern Ireland protocol, a Brexit deal made between the UK and the EU in October 2019.
The protocol leaves Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market for goods meaning that items can flow freely between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
However this differentiates Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK and creates an effective “sea border” between the two.
Article 16 is effectively an escape clause that would allow unilateral “safeguard” measures to be taken by either the EU or the UK if they conclude that the deal is leading to serious practical issues or is causing the diversion of trade.
These measures are allowed if the deal is causing “economic, societal or environmental difficulties”.
Article 16 is not designed to jettison the deal entirely and, after safeguarding measures are implemented, negotiations over the deal would continue.
Measures would be jointly reviewed every three months so that updated actions could be taken.
However disagreements could escalate if no resolution on the “difficulties” is found.
