Boris Johnson news – live: Chief whip defends lack of action over Tory MP accused of rape as Northern Irish 'political titan' John Hume dies

Classified US-UK trade documents which were leaked ahead of the 2019 general election were stolen from the email account of former trade minister Liam Fox by suspected Russian hackers, according to Reuters sources.

The sources, who had direct knowledge of the matter, said the hackers accessed Mr Fox’s account multiple times between 12 July and 21 October last year.

They declined to name which Russian group or organisation is thought to be behind the hack, but said the attack bore the hallmarks of a state-backed operation.

Mr Fox’s email account was hacked using a so-called “spear phishing” message, which tricks the target into handing over their password and login details, they added.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was not clear if the hackers who stole the documents were the same people who leaked them online.

The documents were later used by Labour during the election campaign to argue that the government was planning to sell-off the NHS to the US – an accusation Boris Johnson has repeatedly denied.

The Kremlin and a spokesperson for Liam Fox did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Additional reporting by Reuters

Sir Philip Barton, the British High Commissioner to India, will lead the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office from September, according to the FT’s Sebastian Payne.

Sir Philip is a career civil servant, who first joined the Foreign Office in 1986 and was a private secretary to John Major and Tony Blair.

Downing Street has insisted Boris Johnson is still committed to addressing the size of the House of Lords despite his appointment of 36 new peers last week.

“It remains the case that the size of the House of Lords needs addressing but given retirements and other departures some new members are needed to ensure the Lords has appropriate expertise and it continues to fulfil its role in scrutinising and revising legislation,” Mr Johnson’s spokesperson said.

They added that it was a “long-standing convention that individuals can be nominated for an honour or peerage in recognition of their public and political service and that prime ministers can draw up dissolution and resignation lists”.

The spokesperson also rejected Lord Speaker Lord Fowler’s claim that some of the new peers would be “passengers” in the chamber.

“All of the individuals were nominated in recognition of their contribution to society and their public and political service,” they said.

Last week, Mr Johnson nominated his brother Jo and cricketer Sir Ian Botham, among others, to sit in the Lords.

People must continue following social distancing rules in areas that are not seeing a spike in coronavirus cases, Downing Street has warned.

“At the moment, the restrictions on social contact are limited to specific parts of the country which have seen localised flare-ups but everybody needs to continue the social distancing guidance,” the prime minister’s spokesperson said.

“We need to keep monitoring the situation, make sure everybody has access to testing and ensure that if we do see localised spikes in any part of England then we need to take action to deal with them.”

The UK and Japan could sign a new trade deal “in the coming months”, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “They have been making good progress and we would hope to conclude them in the coming months.”

Schools will reopen “for all pupils in all year groups” in England at the start of the autumn term but local lockdowns could force some closures, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “We are planning for all pupils in all year groups to be in school full-time from the beginning of the autumn term.”

He added that “hypothetically” some schools might not reopen straight away “if there was to be a very specific localised lockdown that requires a single school to close”.

He also insisted testing of care home residents and staff had not stopped but admitted that not all care homes have yet been reached “due to rising demand”.

Labour leader Keir Starmer paid tribute to John Hume, saying he now took “his rightful place in the pantheon of leaders whose legacy is of creating a better world for the next generation”.

Sir Keir tweeted: “It is deeply saddening to hear of the death of John Hume. Life across the island of Ireland is peaceful and more prosperous today because of his courage, vision and determination.

“He guided away from violence and towards justice, tolerance and democracy.”

Boris Johnson has paid lavish tribute to John Hume, praising his “strong sense of social justice” and saying without him “there would have been no Belfast or Good Friday Agreement”.

He was a “political giant”, whose vision “paved the way for the stability, positivity and dynamism of the Northern Ireland of today”, the prime minister said. 

Issuing his tribute in a thread on Twitter, Mr Johnson wrote: “For decades he sought resolution of the Troubles in Northern Ireland through dialogue and agreement.”

He went on: “With his passing we have lost a great man who did so much to help bring an end to the Troubles and build a better future for all.”

A new deal to boost the UK’s vaccine manufacturing capabilities during the coronavirus pandemic has been announced by the government.

Under the 18-month agreement, global pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Wockhardt will carry out the “fill and finish” stage of the manufacturing process.

This involves dispensing the manufactured vaccine substance into vials ready for it to be distributed.

“Ensuring the UK has the capability to research, develop and manufacture a safe and effective vaccine is critical in our fight against coronavirus,” Alok Sharma, the business secretary, said.

“Today we have secured additional capacity to manufacture millions of doses of multiple Covid-19 candidates, guaranteeing the supply of vaccines we need to protect people across the UK rapidly and in large numbers.”

Wockhardt’s facility in North Wales “could start work on Covid-19 vaccines as early as September 2020”, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to former SDLP leader John Hume following his death this morning.

Sir Keir said the news of the death was “deeply saddening” and praised Mr Hume’s commitment to “justice, tolerance and democracy”.

“Life across the island of Ireland is peaceful and more prosperous today because of his courage, vision and determination,” he said.

“He guided away from violence and towards justice, tolerance and democracy.

“John Hume takes his rightful place in the pantheon of leaders whose legacy is of creating a better world for the next generation.

“My thoughts, and those of all in the labour movement, are with Pat, John, Mo and the Hume family.”

It should be up to the police to investigate the rape allegation against a sitting Tory MP, not government officials, the chief whip has said.

“They are very serious allegations, we do take those allegations very seriously,” Mark Spencer said, according to the BBC’s Nick Eardley.

“I think it’s down to the police to do that thorough investigation, not for the whips office to investigate this alleged crime.

“Once they’ve come to that conclusion we can assess where we’re at and the position that the MP finds themself in.”

Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis has said he is “deeply saddened” to hear of the death of former SDLP leader John Hume and has praised the political leader’s achievements in the Northern Irish peace process.

“People will today, and over the coming weeks and months, rightly grieve for the man we have lost, but we should also reflect on the indelible mark he left not just on Northern Ireland, but on the world,” Mr Lewis said in a statement.

“John Hume was one of the most significant architects of the Northern Ireland peace process, and one of the most important figures in recent UK and Irish political history. 

“He looked beyond the violence that was taking place to seek a pathway to peace. Without his leadership and his courage, Northern Ireland would not be where it is today.”

The minister’s full statement can be found below:

It is not correct to say that the Tory MP accused of rape has not been named due to the alleged victim in the case asking for him not to be identified, according to one of the reporters who broke the story.

“Without commenting on legal and moral arguments either way, it’s not correct that alleged victim asked for him not to be suspended or indeed named,” The Sunday Times’ Gabriel Pogrund said.

“As explained in today’s Times, the latter is down to media law re those under investigation.”

London mayor Sadiq Khan has written to Boris Johnson to express his “great surprise” at reports suggesting there are plans to use the M25 to seal off the capital if there is a spike in coronavirus infections.

Mr Khan said it had been 12 weeks since he was last invited to a Cobra meeting as he warned the government against “riding roughshod over democratically elected representatives”.

The prime minister held a “war game” session on Wednesday to run through possible options in the event of a second wave, including a lockdown-like situation in London, according to The Times.

A letter sent to Mr Johnson from Mr Khan and chair of London Councils, Peter John, said: “It is with great surprise that we read in the Sunday papers that government held a critical exercise last week in which a major resurgence in Covid-19 infections in London was a central scenario.

“According to media reports, the plans included using the M25 as a quarantine ring – effectively sealing off the city.

“Our surprise is that such far-reaching contingency plans have been discussed and tested without the involvement or awareness of London’s government.

“This is clearly totally unacceptable and an affront to London and Londoners.”

The letter also said the government had been slow to take decisions or had taken the wrong decisions “time and again throughout this crisis”, adding: “This must stop.”

“Riding roughshod over democratically elected representatives who understand their communities better than central government will lead to worse outcomes for Londoners, and the country as a whole,” Mr Khan and Mr John said.

Former Ulster Unionist leader Lord Trimble, who was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with John Hume, has paid tribute to the Northern Irish politician today.

“Right from the outset of the Troubles, John was urging people to seek their objectives peacefully and was constantly critical of those who did not realise the importance of peace,” Lord Trimble told BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show.

He added: “I will remember a lot of things about John, things that we did together, positions that we took, not always in agreement with each other, there was disagreement as well.

“He was a major contributor to politics in Northern Ireland and particularly to the process that gave us an agreement that we are still working our way through.

“That’s hugely important and that’s something that he will be remembered for in years to come.”

The Conservative chair of the Defence Select Committee has warned calls to ban the social media app TikTok are “shortsighted”.

Tobias Ellwood has called on the government to encourage tech companies with links to China to follow UK transparency laws amid concerns over national security.