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Boris Johnson’s government has been warned that UK drug exports to the EU would slump by more than a fifth if the Brexit transition period ends without a deal. Experts have also warned that a no-deal scenario may have a more severe impact on food supplies than the coronavirus.
It comes as home secretary Priti Patel is set to update MPs on the Reading stabbing attack after visiting the scene of the suspected terror incident. She said the attack was believed to have been “the actions of one lone individual”.
Elsewhere, No 10 said Mr Johnson still has “full confidence” in his communities secretary Robert Jenrick after Tory donor Richard Desmond revealed he showed Mr Jenrick a promo video of his property development before the minister approved the application.
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Ms Patel has paid tribute to Thames Valley Police, adding that she met the officers from who first responded to the attack this morning.
“These officers, a few of whom were student officers, ran towards danger to help those in need without a second thought,” she said.
“A young, unarmed police officer took down the suspect without hesitation while another performed emergency first aid to those who were injured.
“These officers are heroes. They showed courage, bravery and selflessness way beyond their years. They are the very best of us.”
Ms Patel added: “I would also like to pay tribute to the response of every emergency service that attended the scene as well as members of the public who stepped in to prevent further loss of life.”
Home secretary Priti Patel has sent her “heartfelt condolences” to those affected by the Reading terror attack in a statement to MPs on the incident.
“Police have confirmed that the threat is contained but that sadly three innocent members of the public were killed, murdered by a sudden and savage knife attacker as they enjoyed a summer evening with friends,” Ms Patel said.
“Another three victims were injured and received hospital treatment.”
She added: “My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of everyone who was hurt or killed as a result of this sickening attack.
“The Victim of Terrorism Unit at the Home Office and family liaison officers are supporting them and I know honourable members across the House will join me in sending our heartfelt condolences.”
Williamson pays tribute to teacher killed in Reading attack
Gavin Williamson has paid tribute to a teacher who was stabbed to death in the Reading terror attack over the weekend.
James Furlong, who was the first named victim from the attack, was the head of history, government and politics at The Holt School in Wokingham.
“Before I begin, may I take the opportunity to share my deepest condolences with the family of James Furlong and the other victims of the terrorist attack in Reading,” Mr Williamson told MPs.
“We’ve heard so many young people talk about the amazing impact James had on their lives and the real appreciation they felt and the loss that they now feel.
He added: “It was an appalling attack and the home secretary will update the House later today.”
Mr Williamson later added that he was considering pushing back the 2021 exam season to give more time for teaching.
Alec Shelbrooke, a Conservative MP, asked the education secretary if he had given consideration to the idea of moving the exam season from May to July to provide time for completing the curriculum.
“[Mr Shelbrooke] raises an important point about how do we add more teaching time in and that is why we’ll be consulting with Ofqual about how we can move those exams back giving children extra time in order to be able to learn and really flourish and do incredibly well,” Mr Williamson replied.
Plans for returning ‘every child’ to school to be unveiled next week, education secretary says
Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, has said the government will unveil plans next week for returning “every single child” to school.
Ministers have faced criticism after plans to bring pupils back over the summer were abruptly scrapped this month.
Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said the confusion over the full return of schools could have been avoided if the government had chosen to “listen to the sector”.
She added: “So would he confirm today that he will now formally convene a taskforce of trade unions, education childcare leaders and staff, local authorities, parents’ organisations and health experts to address these issues urgently?”
Mr Williamson replied: “We’ve given schools extra flexibility to get more children in and we’ve made it clear that next week we’ll be outlining plans for a full return of every single child in every year group back into school.”
Sunday opening hours extension to be ditched
Plans to extend Sunday opening hours to help stores recover from the coronavirus lockdown look set to be ditched amid threats of revolt by Tory backbenchers.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman told reporters that Sunday trading laws were “under review”. But with a new Covid bill set to be introduced to parliament before the end of this week, there is not enough time for the result of any review to be incorporated into a new law.
As many as 50 Conservative MPs were thought to be ready to vote against extended opening on Sundays – enough to defeat Mr Johnson in the House of Commons.
UK coronavirus death toll rises by 15
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said 42,647 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Sunday, up by 15 from 42,632 the day before.
This is the lowest daily reported rise in deaths since March 15 – but there is often a lag in the reporting of deaths over weekends.
PM set to decide on two-metre rule and 4 July re-openings
We know Boris Johnson is expected to make a statement to parliament on Tuesday on proposals to cut the two-metre rule, and relaxing lockdown restrictions on 4 July.
If senior ministers agree to go ahead with the changes at a meeting later on Monday, they are expected to be approved by cabinet on Tuesday before a statement to the Commons by Mr Johnson giving the green light to 4 July re-openings.
It looks like tomorrow’s big announcement will cover the domestic tourism industry – overnight stays in hotels, B&Bs and campsites – as well as pubs, bars and restaurants.
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has more:
Health minister accused of insulting student nurses
Labour have accused a health minister of insulting student nurses after she wrote that ordinarily they were “not deemed to be providing a service” in hospitals.
Helen Whately, the care minister, made the comments in a letter to a fellow Conservative MP.
The Royal College of Nursing’s students committee have now requested a meeting with the minister and described her remarks as “factually inaccurate”.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the comments were “an insult to hard-working student nurses, many of whom gave up paid work to be on the frontline answering the call of duty”.
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin has more on the row.
Coming out of lockdown more difficult than going in, says Ken Clarke
Tory former chancellor Ken Clarke has backed a VAT cut and warned about the economic difficulties still ahead.
He told the BBC: “I think coming out of the lockdown, sorting out the mess, including the recession after the coronavirus, is going to be even more difficult than going into it in the first place.”
Asked if a short-term cut in VAT was needed, Clarke said: “I think that’s arguable. I would accept that. I think that might well be a sensible thing to do.
“But, again, as with furloughing, with a strict time limit. Because one of the things we are going to have to do is raise some taxation to pay for the much more interventionist things … the government is going to have to do.”
Labour ex-chancellor Alistair Darling said he would support a VAT cut, stating: “Yes, I did that 10 years ago and it was part of a package of measures.”
PM told to come clean of food and medicine shortage risks from no-deal
Boris Johnson is being urged to come clean on the risks of food, fuel and medicine shortages and the greater threat from terrorism, if no post-Brexit deal is struck with the EU.
Those dangers – plus import delays hitting social care providers and even emergency supplies being needed to “purify the water supply” – were all listed in a “no deal readiness report” last autumn.
It has not been updated, despite the lack of progress in trade talks.
Now the Lib Dems and the pro-EU European Movement are demanding the prime minister reveal which risks remain – and whether the pandemic has inflated them further.
“As the prime minister continues to oppose extending the transition period, he must at least be honest about what this means for our country,” said Ed Davey, the acting Lib Dem leader.
No 10 attempts to distance PM from Jenrick row
Boris Johnson still has “full confidence” in communities secretary Robert Jenrick, Downing Street said as the row over the Westferry Printworks development continued.
Tory donor Richard Desmond revealed on Sunday that he showed Jenrick a promotional video of the proposed development in east London before the minister controversially approved the planning application.
Downing Street distanced itself from the row, with the PM’s official spokesman telling reporters: “No one in No 10 has discussed this with Mr Desmond or the applicant.
“No 10 has no involvement with the secretary of state’s appeal decision.”
Asked whether No 10 knew Jenrick had watched the promotional video during a fundraising dinner, the spokesman said: “What the communities secretary has said is that he is confident that all the rules were followed in taking the decision and he has rejected the suggestion that there was any actual bias in the decision.”
Drug exports would slump by more than a fifth under no-deal
Pharmaceutical exports to the EU would slump by more than a fifth if the UK exits the Brexit transition period without a deal, peers have been told.
Dr Louise Gill, head of policy at GlaxoSmithKline, told the Lords EU goods sub-committee that if such a scenario played out at the end of the year preliminary data showed a decline in sales to the EU of 22.5 per cent.
She said a simple free trade agreement (FTA) would be almost as bad, with a drop in exports of 22 per cent.
However, Dr Gill said that if an FTA was coupled with a mutual recognition agreement – meaning both parties would allow goods manufacturing inspections and acceptance of batch testing performed either in the UK or the EU – exports would decline by 12.6 per cent.
This would reduce the loss in exports to around two billion euro (£1.8bn) per year, Dr Gill said.
Dr Gill said the industry wanted a smooth transfer of products between the UK and the EU. She said that the option of non-tariff barriers would require duplicate testing and extra processes.
She said: “We want to ensure the ease of movement of goods across borders and ensure we have swift access of our products to both patients and consumers, and this is our priority.”
Four in 10 young people say pandemic has affected mental health
Around four in 10 young people who say coronavirus has affected their wellbeing believe the lockdown has made their mental health worse, according to new analysis from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Some 42 per cent of people aged 16-29 said their mental health had deteriorated, compared with 25 per cent of those aged 30-59 and 15 per cent of those people aged 60 and over.
Some 75 per cent of young people felt their future life plans would be affected.
Richard Crellin, policy manager at The Children’s Society said: “These findings lay bare the devastating impact that being unable to attend school and college is having on young adults.”
No-deal Brexit could hit food supplies more than pandemic
A no-deal Brexit may have a far more severe impact on food supplies than the coronavirus crisis, according to academics.
Experts from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) have warned possible price hikes could make it harder for some people to consume the recommended five portions a day of fruit and vegetables.
They looked at what could happen if the UK fails to secure a Brexit deal before the transition period expires at the end of December.
Cesar Revoredo-Giha and Montserrat Costa-Font, from SRUC’s food marketing research team, said: “Whilst Covid-19 has already had an impact on prices and imports, a no-deal Brexit may have far more severe effects on the food chain.”
They warned the effect of a no-deal Brexit may disrupt the fruit and vegetable supply in multiple ways”.
The SRUC experts added such “disruptions” to the supply of fruit and veg could “exert important effects on their price and, potentially, consumption in the UK”.
‘Khan admitting he struggled during lockdown is a sign of strength, not weakness’
Before launching an attack on Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, no really, and promoting/cheering on her fave right-wing shock jocks, Susan Hall, the leader of the Conservative Group on the Greater London Assembly, decided she was going to start the week classy by weaponising mental health, writes James Moore. Specifically the London mayor’s.
‘Babies are dying as women in prison are refused care’
Eight months ago, a baby girl was born and died in a cell at Bronzefield prison. Unforgivably, her mother was unattended when she gave birth. The resulting trauma will last that woman’s entire lifetime, writes Louise Tickle.
Now another baby has been born pre-term and dead at Styal prison, after a woman complained for days of severe pain and was reportedly refused medical care until it was beyond question she was about to deliver. Instead, she was told to take paracetamol. This woman was not known to be pregnant, but the question remains: why was someone in agony, frightened and begging for a doctor not taken straight to the prison infirmary to be checked over?
Priti Patel on ‘tragic’ Reading terror attack which left three dead
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