Brexit news – live: Minister stumbles in Commons over NI protocol as EU ‘poised to start legal action’

The Northern Ireland Secretary has failed to explain the legal basis for shelving post-Brexit Irish Sea checks, as a furious EU prepares to launch its court action.

Brandon Lewis was challenged to set out under which part of the Northern Ireland Protocol the incendiary unilateral action falls – amid claims it will breach international law.

Deputy politics editor Rob Merrick has the full story:

UK councils are being urged to lobby their Polish counterparts to stop the spread of “LGBT-free zones” which have sprung up across the country, as part of a new campaign led by the Liberal Democrats.

Half a dozen local authorities in the UK have official or informal twinning arrangements with towns in Poland that are considered by equality campaigners to be under significant pressure to implement resolutions targeting LGBT+ people.

Tom Batchelor has the full story:

In non-Brexit news, SNP MP Patrick Grady has stepped down from his role as the party’s chief whip at Westminster following sexual harassment allegations.

Patrick Grady was named on Tuesday as the MP at the centre of the claims, with his party confirming an investigation is now underway.

Adam Forrest has the full report:

Boris Johnson has refuted an EU claim that the UK imposed an export ban on Covid-19 vaccines.

Addressing MPs at prime minister’s questions, Mr Johnson said the UK had not “blocked the export of a single Covid-19 vaccine”.

He added: “We oppose vaccine nationalism in all its forms”.

Sir Keir Starmer has ripped into Boris Johnson for breaking “promise after promise” on NHS pay.

At PMQs he said: “My mum was a nurse, my sister was a nurse, my wife works in the NHS, I know what it means to work for the NHS.

“When I clap for carers I meant it, he clapped for carers then he shut the door in their face at the first opportunity.”

Mr Johnson retorted that his government have “massively increased” funding for the NHS.

SNP MSP Michael Matheson has branded Boris Johnson’s plans for a tunnel or bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland a “vanity project.”

The Scottish transport secretary claimed the recently announced UK government review into the proposed crossing is “a systematic attack on the Scottish Parliament’s powers” and “a power-grab that fundamentally undermines devolution”.

He added: “It’s not a priority for Scotland, nor for Northern Ireland. I’ve just discussed the matter with Nichola Mallon, who is the minister for infrastructure in Northern Ireland last night, and she reiterated the point it is not a priority for Northern Ireland.”

Tom Ambrose has all the details

An EU spokesman said the bloc “does not comment on other people’s comments” when quizzed on whether it supported remarks by Charles Michel claiming the UK has an “outright ban” on Covid-19 vaccine exports.

Eric Mamer said Boris Johnson had assured commission president Ursula von der Leyen that the UK did not have a ban on vaccine exports during a phone call “some time ago”.

When asked whether the commission supported the comments of European Council president Mr Michel, the spokesman said: “We have a policy of not commenting on other people’s comments.”

He added: “Clearly the situation when it comes to the export of vaccines depends very much on the countries concerned.

“As far as the European Union is concerned, you know what our policy is and we will limit ourselves to that.”

Special cricket pitch soil that has been used for generations may have to be dug up and replaced due to the Northern Ireland Protocol, a groundsman has said.

The special clay-containing material known as loam can be obtained from counties in England to give the ball its predictable bounce on the pitch.

But post-Brexit trading rules have restricted trade in soil between NI and the rest of the UK.

Adam Forrest has more details:

Uncertainty surrounding Brexit resulted in an exodus of Japanese firms leaving the UK for the Continent, according to a report.

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) data analysed by Rudlin Consulting showed that between 2014 and 2019 the number of Japanese firms based in Britain dropped from 1,084 to 951.

The bulk of those exits came in the aftermath of the 2016 EU referendum, according to Rudlin, which said the number of Japanese firms setting up shop in Amsterdam over the same period increased by 67 per cent.

There were also increases in Germany, France and Italy, according to the report.

A senior EU diplomat has been summoned to the Foreign Office in London in the increasingly bitter row over Covid vaccine supply.

It follows an accusation by European Council president Charles Michel that the UK government had imposed an “outright ban” on the export of jabs produced in Britain.

Adam Forrest will be bringing you more details on this story as it develops:

Prime minister Boris Johnson has commissioned a study to examine the feasibility of a bridge or a tunnel between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

The idea was floated by the DUP in its 2015 general election manifesto and has been given a new lease of life by Mr Johnson in recent months amid concerns that Brexit has cut Northern Ireland adrift from Great Britain.

Mr Johnson has asked transport expert Sir Peter Hendy to assess the possibility of connections across the Irish Sea. A previous plan proposed a tunnel between Stranraer in Scotland and Larne, near Belfast.

Barriers to trade caused by Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal are set to cost UK e-commerce importers more than £5 billion a year, a new report has warned.

The introduction of new Brexit red tape and VAT charges from 1 January has already caused “major problems” to 35 per cent of retailers and traders importing from the EU, with large numbers of parcels blocked or returned and deliveries cancelled, said the report by international delivery company ParcelHero.

And the crisis also affects parcels travelling between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland, with 38 per cent of companies that send goods on the route reporting reduced deliveries in the run-up to the scheduled 31 March expiry of a waiver agreed with Brussels on customs declarations on parcels, the report found.

Politics editor Andrew Woodcock has more on this story:

The replacement for the Erasmus study exchange scheme will not fund tuition or travel costs, it has emerged – and the living allowance has been slashed.

The reality of the new project has triggered fresh accusations that ministers are crushing the hopes of huge numbers of students who want to live, study and travel abroad.

Boris Johnson promised last year that there was “no threat” to the hugely-popular Erasmus programme, but his Brexit trade deal then pulled the plug.

Deputy politics editor Rob Merrick with the full report:

Irish minister for foreign affairs Simon Coveney and EU Commission vice president Maroš Šefčovič will today brief members of the US Congress on the latest Brexit developments.

The pair will speak to the ‘Friends of Ireland’ caucaus – an influential bipartisan group on Capitol Hill – to discuss their concerns over the UK’s decision last week to unilateraly change how the Northern Ireland protocol is being implemented.

The Friends of Ireland caucaus is chaired by the Massachusetts Democrat Richard Neal. He also chairs Congress’s Ways and Means Committee, which oversees US trade deals.

European Council chief Charles Michel has accused the UK of imposing an “outright ban” on Covid-19 exports.

Writing in his weekly briefing note, Mr Michel – who represents the bloc’s 27 members states – said he was “shocked when I hear the accusations of ‘vaccine nationalism’ against the EU.”

Responding, he said: “The UK and the US have imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines or vaccine components produced on their territory.

“But the European Union, the region with the largest vaccine production capacity in the world, has simply put in place a system for controlling the export of doses produced in the EU.”

The EU is expected to launch legal proceedings against the UK this week over its unilateral decision to extend post-Brexit grace periods for Northern Ireland businesses.

Commission chief Maroš Šefčovič set out a number of legal options to member states at a closed-door meeting on Tuesday night.

According to Irish broadcaster RTE, the Commission will issue a letter of formal notice to the UK in the coming days.

Dominic Raab has written to the European Council president after he claimed the UK imposed an “outright ban” on coronavirus vaccine exports.

Charles Michel accused Britain and the US of imposing bans on the movement of jabs as he used a newsletter to hit back at criticisms of the bloc’s vaccine rollout.

Emma Bowden and Sam Blewett have more on this story below:

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s rolling Brexit coverage