Markus Andrews

The Foreign Office has said it is “no longer tenable” for UK judges to sit on Hong Kong’s top court due to the impact on human rights of the national security law imposed by Beijing.The department added the legislation – imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 – was having a “chilling effect”, with China using the legislation to undermine “fundamental rights and freedoms”.It comes after the UK Supreme Court said its justices cannot continue to serve on the court of final appeal without appearing to endorse a regime “which has departed from the values of political freedom, and freedom of expression”.The decision — to withdraw serving judges from the Hong Kong court — was taken following discussions between the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, the justice secretary Dominic Raab, and the Supreme Court president, Lord Reed.Lord Reed and deputy president Lord Hodge have both now quit as non-permanent judges at the Hong Kong court of final appeal where UK judges have continued to sit since the territory was handed back to China in 1997.In a statement on Wednesday, Ms Truss said: “We have seen a systematic erosion of liberty and democracy in Hong Kong.“Since the national security law was imposed, authorities have cracked down on free speech, the free press and free association.“The situation has reached a tipping point where it is no longer tenable for British judges to sit on Hong Kong’s leading court, and would risk legitimising oppression.“I welcome and wholeheartedly support the decision to withdraw British judges from the court.”Mr Raab, the deputy prime minister, added that since the introduction of Beijing’s national security law in 2020, the government’s assessment of the situation in Hong is “that it has shifted too far from the freedoms we hold dear — making free expression and honest critique of the state a criminal offence”.He added: “This flies in the face of the handover agreement we have had with China since 1997 and, having discussed at length with foreign secretary and the president of the Supreme Court, we regretfully agree that it is no longer appropriate for serving UK judges to continue sitting in Hong Kong courts.” More

A Conservative politician has come out as transgender, making him the UK’s first openly trans member of parliament.Jamie Wallis, MP for Bridgend and Porthcawl, said he had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and wanted to transition.In a statement posted online on Wednesday morning the MP said he was not sure how to proceed, but wanted to make the situation public.”I’m trans. Or to be more accurate, I want to be. I’ve been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and I’ve felt this way since I was a very young child,” Wallis said.”I had no intention of ever sharing this with you. I always imagined I would leave politics well before I ever said this out loud.”Mr Wallis added: “I have never lived my truth and I’m not sure how. Perhaps it starts with telling everyone.”In a follow-up statement the MP said that for now he would continue to use he/him pronouns and “continue to present as I always have”.Wallis added he was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder triggered by a previous attempt to blackmail him about his gender, and an incident of rape, which had left him “not OK”.The MP won praise from across the political spectrum for show “bravery” in talking about his situation.Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “Well done Jamie Wallis for speaking out and your brave statement. We stand with you.” Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy added: “An incredibly brave and dignified statement from Jamie Wallis. This sends a powerful message to the whole of the Commons and the whole of the country.”Liberal Democrat Layla Moran said: “Sending loads of support, Jamie. I hope you’ll be overwhelmed by love for taking the plunge and revealing your truth.” while SNP frontbencher Stewart McDonald said: “The step you have taken in sharing this with us all is one of exceptional courage, and the next steps won’t be alone. All power to you, Jamie.”Boris Johnson – who the night before had cracked a joke about trans people at a dinner of Conservative MPs – said: “Sharing this very intimate story would have taken an immense amount of courage. Thank you Jamie Wallis for your bravery, which will undoubtedly support others.”The Conservative Party I lead will always give you, and everyone else, the love and support you need to be yourself.” More

Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has denied that Boris Johnson deliberately misled parliament over the Partygate scandal – saying he had been telling the truth “to the best of his ability”.The prime minister told the Commons in December that “all guidance was followed completely”, but the Metropolitan Police handed out 20 fines over law-breaking events held during the Covid pandemic.“I don’t think there was an intention to mislead,” Mr Raab told Times Radio on Mr Johnson’s previous remarks.The cabinet minister also told BBC Breakfast: “To jump from that to say he deliberately misled parliament rather than answering to the best of his ability I’m afraid is just not right.”Mr Raab said Mr Johnson had been “updating parliament to the best of his knowledge and understanding” before suggesting he may have said things that “turned out not to be true”.He added: “But I think it’s rather different to say he lied – to suggest he was deliberately misleading parliament.”Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if he accepted Mr Johnson had said things that were not true, Mr Rabb said: “Yes, look it’s clear that … his understanding of events which he spoke to best of his ability.”Challenged on whether Mr Johnson knew he had been at social gathering at the time he made his remarks, given the photo of the PM relaxing with staff in the No 10 garden, Mr Raab told the BBC Breakfast: “You’re conflating all sorts of things.” He added: “The PM has not, to date, been issued with a fixed penalty notice. You’re asserting he was at parties in relation to photos which I don’t think demonstrated that.”Asked about what Mr Johnson’s understanding was of “events he was at”, Mr Raab told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Let’s not conflate things. You’re talking about 20 fixed penalty notices. It’s quite right to say we weren’t aware of those infractions at the time.”Mr Raab refused to say whether Mr Johnson would have to step down if he was issued with a fixed penalty notice. “I am not going to comment on hypothetical questions or speculate on an ongoing police investigation,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.Mr Raab also said the “caricature” of boozy parties at No 10 and Whitehall offices during the Covid period was wrong – though he did accept Covid laws had been broken.No 10 said on Tuesday that Mr Johnson did not formally accepted that the law had been broken despite the 20 fixed-penalty notices issued by Scotland Yard.Asked on Sky News if the issuing of a fixed penalty notice meant the law had been broken, Mr Raab said: “Yes, inevitably fixed penalty notices (are issued to) those that have breached the regulations.” More

Dominic Raab is set to unveil new plans that could see the government overrule some Parole Board decisions to keep in prison the criminals deemed to be the most dangerous to the public.The justice secretary is expected to reveal in the House of Commons on Wednesday his “root-and-branch” review of the parole system. The Parole Board are responsible for deciding when to release offenders who are subject to life sentences, indeterminate sentences for public protection, extended sentences, and certain recall sentences.It is reported that Mr Raab, who is the de facto deputy to Boris Johnson, is aiming to focus on protecting the public – rather than the rights of offenders – by offering more prescriptive guidance on when prisoners should be freed. He is also hoping to reintroduce powers allowing ministers to check releases in cases involving murder, rape, terrorism and causing or allowing the death of a child, with a view to protecting the public. This could see Mr Raab block Parole Board decisions in certain cases. Victim participation in parole hearings is also due to be announced, giving victims the right to attend parole hearings in full for the first time, in a nod to the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto. The Parole Board will now be required to take into account submissions made by victims and they will be allowed to ask questions in the submissions. Mr Raab’s changes to the parole system comes after a public outcry over the decision to release double child killer and rapist Colin Pitchfork from jail as well as London taxi driver and rapist John Worboys. The release of Worboys was later formally overturned after the case was examined by a new panel, while Pitchfork was recalled to prison for a breach of licence conditions in November.Mr Raab said: “As justice secretary, I have the responsibility to keep the public safe but to do this I need to be able to exercise authority when it comes to releasing dangerous criminals. “I’m not satisfied our current approach is as robust as it needs to be which is why I am making changes to restore public confidence in the system.” More

An estimated £2.7bn of taxpayers’ money is at risk from government PPE contracts, with millions being spent on items in storage, a new report by the National Audit Office has warned.The public spending watchdog said the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) was still dealing with the result of emergency procurement decisions during the Covid pandemic, with 3.6 billion items deemed unsuitable for use currently in storage. In total 14.2 billion items of PPE remain in storage – at an estimated £7m-a-month cost – with DHSC attempting to reduce excess stock by selling, repurposing, donating, or recycling equipment.Over half (53 per cent) of the 51 VIP lanes suppliers – firms suggested by government officials, ministers’ offices, MPs and health staff – provided some PPE that the government considers not currently suitable for frontline services, the body added.In its report, the NAO stated: “The department is managing 176 contracts where it believes it may not achieve full value for money, with an estimated £2.7bn at risk.“The total value of these contracts is £3.9bn, but the department’s assessment is that not all of this money is at risk as at least some PPE from these contracts may have passed quality checks.”Responding to the “staggering” figures, the chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Meg Hillier, said that DHSC must urgently “get a grip” of PPE stocks and contracts while Angela Rayner described it as the “latest shameful chapter in the government’s cocktail of sleaze and incompetence”.The report by the NAO into the management of PPE contracts found that two years on from the start of the pandemic, the department was still dealing with issues over some of the almost 10,000 contracts drawn up to purchase almost 38 billion items at a cost of £12.6bn. The watchdog recognised that officials had rushed to buy equipment in an “extremely over-heated global market, with desperate customers competing against each other, pushing up prices and buying huge volume of PPE”.In order to secure the “unprecedented amount” of items needed, ministers established two new procurement routes, including the parallel supply chain in late March 2020 and the UK Make route in April 2020 to purchase PPE specifically from UK-based manufacturers. While 9,492 contracts worth £5.2bn were agreed through the existing NHS supply chain, a further £7.9bn was awarded across 394 contracts through the two new routes, the NAO report detailed.Of the 394 contracts, 115 of those went to 51 VIP lane suppliers and 46 of these contracts did not go through full due diligence checks, which were only put in place from May 2020 onwards, but some measures were in place.The report said DHSC paid out £2.5bn to suppliers upfront – before PPE was received – to “prevent contracted PPE being gazumped while in transit”. Five of those upfront payment contracts, worth £19m, are at risk of not being delivered, the report said.Of the PPE which has been received, 17.3 billion items (55 per cent) have been sent to frontline staff, but 14.1 billion items – worth £8.5bn – remain in storage, either in one of 50 warehouses, with suppliers, or in shipping containers.By November 2021 it had cost the government £737m to store PPE. Some £436m of that was penalty charges, because DHSC could not move the items out of shipping containers in time.Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “The Department of Health and Social Care is still dealing with the results of its emergency procurement decisions, some two years after it first needed to rapidly buy PPE in unprecedented circumstances.“The department is continuing to manage 176 contracts where it believes it may not achieve full value for money, with an estimated £2.7bn at risk”.The chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, Ms Hillier added: “The numbers are staggering – over 30 billion items of PPE received so far with 5 billion more on the way and 3.6 billion items that can’t be used by front-line services. Storage alone has cost over £700m, with DHSC continuing to spend £7m a money storing PPE it doesn’t need.“Whatever forbearance the taxpayer may have had at the start of the pandemic, this will quickly wear thin if DHSC can’t now manage the consequences. The department must urgently get a grip of its PPE stocks and focus on protecting value for taxpayers. It has to claw back contract costs where it can, get rid of unusable PPE, and cut down on expensive storage.”A DHSC spokesperson said: “Our priority throughout the pandemic has been saving lives, and we have delivered over 19.1 billion items of PPE to frontline staff to keep them safe.“Having too much PPE was preferable to having too little in the face of an unpredictable and dangerous virus, given this was essential to keep our NHS open and protect as many people as possible.“Where contracts are in dispute, we are seeking to recover costs from suppliers and we expect to recover significant amounts of taxpayers’ money.” More

Tory ministers were heckled by bereaved families of Covid victims shouting “off to another party are we?” as they attended a dinner held by Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a luxury central London hotel.Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove were among those to arrive at the Park Plaza near Westminster Bridge shortly before 8pm on Tuesday. More

The government is exploring a controversial further delay to post-Brexit checks on imports from the EU because of growing alarm that they will exacerbate the cost of living crisis.The controls – already shelved three times – are due to finally come into force in July, but will add an estimated £1bn to the costs of trade, which has already plunged since Brexit.Fears have also been raised that EU suppliers will choose to shun the UK as the mountain of Brexit red tape grows, leading to some foods disappearing from shops and further price hikes.Now The Independent has learnt that some of Boris Johnson’s aides are “sympathetic” to the idea of further delay, with the prime minister expected to be briefed in the coming days.Jacob Rees-Mogg, the “Brexit opportunities” minister, has argued for the checks to be abandoned altogether, and – with no consensus in government – Mr Johnson will be asked to decide.A government source said: “Ministers are looking at this again in the light of cost of living pressures and supply chain pressures. The war in Ukraine has also changed the economic context.”Any further deferral of full checks will spark accusations that the government is running away from the consequences of the hard Brexit it chose and failing to “take back control” of its borders, which it promised to do.Larger traders – who have spent huge sums on preparing for the extra paperwork – are also furious that firms that are not ready are effectively being rewarded for failing to act.Delay also gives EU firms a competitive advantage, critics say, as they can send goods to the UK without the costly bureaucracy confronting UK exporters.This unlevel playing field has been blamed for the 16 per cent plunge in food and drink exports in the first three quarters of 2021 compared with 2019 – a £2.7bn cut – while sales to non-EU markets rose.Despite these criticisms, some in government are arguing that the “underlying risk” from not imposing checks is unchanged, despite the UK having left the EU single market and customs union.Meanwhile, the economic clouds from Brexit are darkening – forcing even the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to admit that it lies behind the UK’s recent dismal trade performance.Imports and exports will fall by 15 per cent, the Office for Budget Responsibility concluded, taking a 4 per cent chunk out of productivity.July is meant to bring the final set of import controls, introducing export health and phytosanitary certificates on consignments of products of animal and plant origin – and the need to pay vets to supply them.There will also be random physical checks on arrival, to be carried out away from ports at lorry parks in Kent, either under construction or planned.HM Revenue and Customs has written to many thousands of EU haulage firms to try to ensure they are ready, providing information booklets on the new rules in multiple languages.The Independent understands Mr Rees-Mogg is leading calls for the checks to be stalled or scrapped altogether, including at a meeting this week of the Global Britain (Operations) Committee.His spokesperson said: “Jacob is arguing that these are self-imposed costs that are out of proportion with the risks on the ground. At a time of high and rising inflation and supply-chain difficulties, we should not introduce burdensome checks that will impose costs on ourselves, on businesses and consumers.”Mr Rees-Mogg is urging fellow ministers to await the conclusions of government plans to create “the most effective border in the world”, for which he now has responsibility.The strategy would use data, technology and trusted relationships to smooth trade flows by 2025, but some improvements are due before then.However, the government is also risking a legal challenge, under World Trade Organisation rules, if it continues to give preferential treatment to EU imports. More

Boris Johnson’s government has vowed to clamp down on “fire and rehire” practices in the wake of outrage sparked by the mass sacking of P&O Ferries’ workers.Labour has repeatedly called for a complete ban on the practice, which sees firms dismissing employees and rehiring them on lesser terms.Ministers previously dismissed Sir Keir Starmer’s calls, claiming the P&O scandal – which saw 800 people sacked without notice for cheaper agency staff – was not a “fire and rehire” case.However, business minister Paul Scully said on Tuesday that government would now take action and promised to introduce a new “statutory code of practice” to discourage such tactics.Mr Scully said the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) would bring in a new code on “dismissal and reengagement” aimed at boosting compensation pay-outs.In a written statement, the BEIS minister said the planned changes should allow employment tribunal panels to “award an uplift in compensation to the employee, subject to a maximum of 25 per cent of the overall award”.Mr Scully added: “This increases the size of the sanction for companies who abuse the process and do not treat their employees fairly – and should provide a further deterrent effect.”But the TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said the plans “lack bite”, adding: “While a statutory code is a baby step forward, it won’t deter rogue employers like P&O from trampling over workers’ rights.Ms O’Grady added: “It’s time for ministers to finally deliver on their manifesto promise to beef up protections at work – that means delivering an employment bill to stop bad bosses who think they can fire at will.”Tory MPs abstained on a Labour party motion to bring a complete ban on fire and rehire last week, which passed in the Commons by 211 votes. But without government support, it is unlikely to see a major change in employment law.It comes as P&O Ferries boss Peter Hebblethwaite insisted that he will not reverse the decision to sack nearly 800 seafarers despite being given a final chance by transport secretary Grant Shapps.Mr Shapps said he plans to introduce a package of measures to ensure “seafarers are protected” – telling the P&O Ferries chief executive he had “one further opportunity to reverse this decision” and rehire staff on their previous wages.But Mr Hebblethwaite claimed that re-employing the sacked workers on previous wages would “deliberately cause the company’s collapse, resulting in the irretrievable loss of an additional 2,200 jobs”.Grant Shapps vows to introduce new law to ‘undo’ P&O sackingsMr Shapps has said he intends to “block the outcome that P&O Ferries has pursued” – including “paying workers less than the minimum wage”.The transport secretary is poised to attempt to change the law to shut the ferry operator out of UK ports unless they abandon “sweatshop” pay rates as low as £5.15 an hour.But the RMT union has warned that the plan to stop P&O Ferries undercutting the minimum wage is not enough to “undo” the mass sackings.However, the Department for Transport privately acknowledged that action on wages could not be applied retrospectively.Senior MPs have said P&O Ferries must be stripped of its licence to operate in the UK and its boss struck off as a company director after he admitted his firm broke the law by choosing not to consult over the mass sacking.Conservative Huw Merriman, chair of the transport select committee, and Labour’s Darren Jones, the business committee select chair, have demanded harsher action to prosecute P&O Ferries and “remove its licence to operate in the UK”. More