Boris Johnson news – live: ‘Incompetent’ PM in blunder over own Covid rules as Gavin Williamson told to ‘get a grip'

UK to impose sanctions on Belarus president

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and other senior figures, including his son Victor, have been made subject to sanctions by the UK government.

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab announced the move, which is part of a co-ordinated approach with Canada, following human rights abuses in the wake of August’s “rigged” election.

The sanctions include a travel ban and asset freeze on eight individuals from the Belarusian regime, including Mr Lukashenko, his son and Igor Sergeenko, head of the presidential administration.

“Today the UK and Canada have sent a clear message by imposing sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko’s violent and fraudulent regime,” Mr Raab said. “We don’t accept the results of this rigged election.

“We will hold those responsible for the thuggery deployed against the Belarusian people to account and we will stand up for our values of democracy and human rights.”

SNP MP brings bill to decriminalise drug possession and allow safer consumption facilities

Tommy Sheppard has brought a bill before the Commons seeking to decriminalise possession of small amounts of drugs and to allow for interventions such as safer drug consumption facilities.

The Misuse of Drugs Act is “not fit for purpose” and “worse than that, it is a hindrance to taking action and compounds the very problems that we perceive”, Mr Sheppard told MPs as he introduced the Ten Minute Rule Bill.

The 1971 act does so by criminalising the production, supply and consumption of drugs, placing any concept of regulation and control in the hands of organised crime, he said.

Furthermore, Mr Sheppard said, by stigmatising and criminalising the end user, it makes it very difficult for anyone caught up in this problem to seek help, and compromises the ability of health service workers to intervene by placing them at the risk of prosecution.

The bill will have its second reading on 13 November, although faces the chance of being superseded by legislation with a higher parliamentary priority, such as private member’s bills.

PM urges Tory rebels to back his coronavirus laws for ‘long-term liberation’

Boris Johnson has appealed to Tory MPs plotting a rebellion on his coronavirus laws to follow the guidance to achieve “long-term liberation”.

Responding to comparisons with George Orwell’s 1984, he said: “Nobody wants to do these kinds of things. Nobody in their right mind wants to stop people singing and dancing in pubs or enjoying themselves in the normal way.

“I appreciate the [Orwell] characterisation but if we all work together and get this thing down, get this virus down, then we can keep going with our strategy, keep education open, keep the economy moving and work for the day, as I say, when I believe that those medical scientific improvements will truly deliver the long-term liberation we need.”

Boris Johnson fails to support students requesting tuition fee refunds

Boris Johnson has failed to offer support for students being forced to self-isolate and whose courses are disrupted by the pandemic, insisting it is up to universities whether they offer tuition refunds, our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn reports.

The prime minister’s decision not to intervene comes as thousands of students receive no face-to-face teaching while some are urged to quarantine in universities’ halls of residence following outbreaks of Covid-19 on campuses across the UK.

Earlier this week, former Conservative minister George Freeman suggested that universities should “looks seriously” at offering their students “reduced fees if they’re not getting the full experience”.

Robert Halfon, the Tory chair of the Education Select Committee, also insisted the Office for Students and universities will have to look at “discounts” for those forced to self-isolate.

Pressed on the issue of refunds during a speech on Tuesday, Mr Johnson made clear he would not step in, saying: “That’s really a matter for them and their places of education. I hope that they can continue to get value from the courses they are being given.”

Gavin Williamson urged not to lock down students in halls

Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh warned universities should not become places of “enforced lockdowns”, asking Gavin Williamson to “confirm that a proportionate response means that … students have a right to their course and to face-to-face education and all of us must take personal responsibility including older people like myself”.

“We cannot destroy the life chances of the young,” he said. “If you’re doing history, you cannot be condemned to permanent online teaching, you might as well sit at home. Why have you paid all this money?”

“And will he confirm that of course students if they get ill must self-isolate, but we cannot have these scenes of whole halls of residence being locked down? This is not the sort of university that we all want, a place of light and learning, not enforced lockdowns.”

The education secretary replied: “We’d expect students to follow the same rules as we ask everyone within society to follow. Those who have tested positive for Covid and those who’ve been in close contact, we’d understandably ask them to self-isolate.

“Universities are working very closely with local public health teams to ensure that that happens, but we always want to ensure there’s a sensible and proportionate response to ensure that students are able to go about their business, continue on their learning, both online but also importantly face-to-face.”

Minister claims UK at ‘breaking point’ as he rebuffs pleas to accept more refugee children

A minister has claimed the UK cannot accept any more children seeking asylum and trapped in squalid EU camps because it is at “breaking point”, our deputy political editor Rob Merrick reports.

Chris Philp adopted the language of Nigel Farage’s notorious Brexit poster to defend the government’s refusal to ease restrictions – despite the devastating fire at a migrant camp in Greece.

Giving evidence to a parliamentary committee, the immigration minister was told the UK must “play our part in this humanitarian crisis”, with the camps “desperate and dangerous”.

But Mr Philp claimed the UK was already allowing in “more unaccompanied asylum seeking children than any other European country”.

“Not only are we already playing our part, we are playing our part to breaking point,” he said. “Literally, when another unaccompanied asylum-seeking child arrives, we really genuinely struggle to find a place for them because the numbers are now so huge. “Whether that’s someone that comes across on a small boat, or indeed someone who comes across from one of the camps elsewhere in Europe.”

Mr Philp also claimed the system coping with the surge in small boats making Channel crossings was “close to collapse”, forcing him to plea with local councils to accept the people arriving.

‘I think you’ve got a wasp down your trousers’: Tory MP rounds on BBC chairman in fiery clash over impartiality

A Tory MP has accused the chairman of the BBC of being “asleep at the wheel” in a row over impartiality during a select committee session, Kate Ng reports.

Philip Davies, MP for Shipley, clashed Sir David Clementi, the outgoing chairman of the BBC, when he asked why Mr Clementi had “allowed” Gary Lineker to “flaunt his left-wing political views” on Twitter.

The BBC chairman shot back that he did not interfere with individual editorial decisions and defended the BBC’s trust scores and viewership figures, to which the MP responded: “I think you’ve got a wasp down your trousers, calm yourself.”

The fiery exchange took place as Mr Clementi faced the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee alongside the BBC’s new director-general, Tim Davie.

‘I misspoke’: PM offers rare apology over restrictions blunder

The prime minister has offered a rare apology on Twitter after getting the details wrong on new restrictions on social gatherings in northeast England.

Gavin Williamson told to ‘get a grip’ of university return

While thousands of pupils are currently trapped in their university accommodation amid coroanvirus outbreaks, Labour’s shadow education Kate Green warned the situation will worsen unless Gavin Williamson is able to “get a grip”.

“We can’t forget that at the heart of this crisis are thousands of young people, many away from home for the first time, many now isolated with a group of people who are practically strangers. We can only imagine how hard it is for them,” Ms Green told the Commons.

“The Secretary of State said he’s asked universities to provide additional help, but beyond asking, what will his department be doing to help them?”

Ms Green added: “If he doesn’t get a grip, the situation we’ve seen in recent days could repeat itself across the country. Students will be unable to continue their studies, families will be concerned for their well-beings and universities will face serious financial difficulties.

“And the Secretary of State will once again have let young people down as a result of his incompetence.”

Angela Rayner labels Boris Johnson ‘grossly incompetent’ after he appears confused over North East restrictions

“For the prime minister to not understand his own rules is grossly incompetent,” said Labour’s deputy leader.

“These new restrictions are due to come into force across huge parts of the country tonight. The government needs to get a grip.”