Markus Andrews

The government has claimed a Brexit victory after one mobile phone network firm declined to impose new roaming charges on travel to the EU.The charges were abolished by the EU in 2017, but Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal failed to maintain the perk of membership. Some Brexiteers said there was no prospect of the charges returning, but most networks have re-imposed them.The exceptions are O2 and Virgin Media, which are both owned by the same company and say they do not intend to reimpose the charges. Other networks had said the same but have since reversed course.The government, which has struggled to present many concrete benefits from its Brexit policy, seized on the news as a victory.Boris Johnson said on Monday: “I welcome the decision by Virgin Media and O2 to keep roaming free, meaning UK citizens can still use their mobile data, calls and texts across Europe with no extra charges.”Culture secretary Nadine Dorries, an ardent Brexiteer, offered her “respect” to the two companies.She added: “We proposed to the European Commission that maintaining surcharge free mobile roaming be part of Brexit negotiations. They rejected that.”But Steve Peers, a professor of of European Law at the University of Essex, said the claim was an “overstatement”. Citing UK government draft negotiating documents from February 2020, he pointed out that “the UK proposed merely to discuss roaming charges three years later” after the deal came into force. More

Michael Gove misses BBC interview slot after getting stuck in liftBoris Johnson will not face further inquiry into over controversial flat refurbishment, Downing Street said.In a letter, Kathryn Stone, who oversees the code of conduct and rules for MPs, told the prime minister she will not launch a fresh inquiry into the refurbishment, which cost approximately £112,000, paid in part by donations from Lord Brownlow.It is believed that she agrees with No 10’s view that the declaration of the funding arrangements for the refurbishment fall under the ministerial code – and not Mr Johnson’s declarations to parliament.Meanwhile, the PM has also refused to say whether he attended an alleged drinking session in Downing Street’s garden during the first Covid lockdown.According to The Sunday Times, the prime minister and his wife Carrie were among those who attended a ‘bring your own bottle’ bash on 20 May 2020.Asked on Monday if he and Carrie attended, Mr Johnson said: “All that, as you know, is the subject of a proper investigation by Sue Gray.”Show latest update

1641825648Ben Houchen: PM’s woes ‘recoverable’Boris Johnson can recover from a number of recent scandals that have seen his and his party’s ratings tumble, Ben Houchen believes.The Tees Valley mayor told Times Radio he thinks the prime minister can claw back ground in red wall seats if he is seen to be delivering on levelling up.”They need something tangible to be able to point to to say that it was right decision to go against the generational kind of Labour vote we have, particularly in the north,” he said, when asked if Labour voters in his region who switched to the Tories in 2019 were likely to back Mr Johnson again at a future general election.”So it’s doable, because all people need to see is a signifier or an indication towards it [levelling up]. It doesn’t need to be complete – they just need to see progress is being made.”Matt Mathers10 January 2022 14:401641824459Full report: Johnson refuses to say if he attended No 10 lockdown party as new claim emergesBoris Johnson has refused to say whether he attended a lockdown breaking party at Downing Street, after new claims emerged.The prime minister on Monday morning dodged questioning about whether he and his wife Carrie attended the gathering in May 2020.The get-together was allegedly organised by Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary Martin Reynolds – who it was reported on Sunday might be lined up to be the “fall guy” for the episode.Our policy correspondent Jon Stone has the full story: Matt Mathers10 January 2022 14:201641822856No 10 urges ‘restraint’ over potential MP pay rise in AprilDowning Street has urged “restraint” over any pay rise proposed for MPs this year.MPs are currently paid £81,932 and usually see their pay rise annually in line with average public sector salary increases.Last year, the rise was suspended due to the economic impact of the pandemic, and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) – which sets the level of pay – stopped what would have been a £3,300 hike after coming under pressure from MPs.This year, if the rise goes ahead, MPs would enjoy a 2. 7 per cent increase of more than £2,000.The PM’s official spokesman said Ipsa was “independent of government and they haven’t set out any proposals yet which I’ve seen”.But he added: “I would say we would expect restraint on matters like this given the current circumstances, but beyond that I think it’s right that we let Ipsa set out their proposals as an independent body.”Labour leader Keir Starmer said he is against any pay rise: “I think that MPs do not need a pay rise and we should all be saying that we don’t need that pay rise and it shouldn’t go ahead.”The mechanism is independent but I think it’s for me, as Leader of the Opposition, to say that I do not think we should have that pay rise.”Matt Mathers10 January 2022 13:541641821442Keir Starmer says action on cladding is ‘welcome’ but ‘very late’Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer has welcomed the latest action on the cladding scandal but said it was “very late”.He also called for legislation in place of “more promises”.He said: “Anything that helps the people who are in this awful position in relation to cladding is welcome.“It’s very late – it’s four years or more since the Grenfell disaster, there have been many, many broken promises along the way.“So anything now that moves this forward is welcome, of course it is.“I would prefer there was a plan rather than just a promise, because the terms of what’s going to happen are still very vague.”Ella Glover10 January 2022 13:301641821101Spokesman ‘doesn’t recognise characterisation’ of Dan Rosenfield Downing Street today faced questions about the alleged behaviour of the prime minister’s chief of staff who was reported by The Sunday Times to have driven various female staff to quit.Dan Rosenfield, who was appointed by Mr Johnson, allegedly ordered the women buy sandwiches for his lunch, to collect his dry-cleaning and to buy presents for him. Asked if the report was true, the spokesman said: “I absolutely don’t recognise that characterisation” – a form of words chosen that stops short of calling the claims untrue.Ella Glover10 January 2022 13:251641820837Students want to be Covid-safe but the government keeps letting them downIt would be inexcusable to allow Covid to run wild on campuses once again. Students, staff and all other members of university communities deserve better, writes Matt Western MPRead Matt’s full piece below: Matt Mathers10 January 2022 13:201641820501Johnson hopes to see evidence for cutting isolation period ‘soon,’ a spokesman saidMr Johnson hopes to see the scientific evidence that would allow the government to cut the Covid isolation period from 7 days to 5 days “soon,” a spokesman said.“If it is possible to go further, we would want to act quickly,” he told journalists.“But it needs to be based on the latest evidence and that work is still ongoing. We certainly have not received any further updated advice.”Ella Glover10 January 2022 13:151641820016What does the PM think of Novak Djokovic?What does the prime minister think of the behaviour of Novak Djokovic, still locked in a battle to enter Australia to defend his tennis title because of his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid?His spokesman said he would not “comment on individuals” – but went on to make No 10’s view of a top sports star holding out against the jab pretty clear, nonetheless.“It is important to note that those individuals that are refusing to get vaccinated are putting themselves at risk. We have the hard data to back that up – and they’re putting others at risk as well,” he said.Ella Glover10 January 2022 13:061641819937If you’re young and in the northeast, wealth inequality bites hardA typical family in the southeast of England is halfway towards achieving millionaire status. In the northeast, by contrast, median household wealth is £168,500, writes Hamish McRae.Read his full piece here: Matt Mathers10 January 2022 13:051641819011PM won’t face further inquiry over luxury flat refurbBoris Johnson has been spared further investigation into his controversial flat refurbishment.The PM spent at least £112,000 on the refurbishment of the private flat above No 1, despite receiving an an annual public grant of only £30,000 to spend on his living quarters. According to Downing Street, Kathryn Stone, who oversees the code of conduct and rules for MPs, told the prime minister she will not launch a fresh inquiry in a letter at the end of last week.It is believed that she agrees with No 10’s view that the declaration of the funding arrangements for the refurbishment fall under the ministerial code – and not Mr Johnson’s declarations to parliament.Ashley Cowburn has the full story:Ella Glover10 January 2022 12:50 More

Boris Johnson has refused to say whether he attended a lockdown breaking party at Downing Street, after new claims emerged.The prime minister on Monday morning dodged questioning about whether he and his wife Carrie attended the gathering in May 2020.The get-together was allegedly organised by Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary Martin Reynolds – who it was reported on Sunday might be lined up to be the “fall guy” for the episode.Labour leader Keir Starmer said Mr Johnson would have “serious questions to answer” if found to have attended the party.The Sunday Times alleged the Prime Minister attended the event in the No 10 garden with Mrs Johnson, citing three sources who referred to an email from Mr Reynolds which say “BYOB”, meaning “bring your own bottle”.Asked if he attended, the Prime Minister told reporters: “All that, as you know, is the subject of a proper investigation by Sue Gray.”Pressed on the subject he added: “All that is a subject for investigation by Sue Gray.” No.10 also denied reports Mr Reynonds would be moved from his current role.A spokesperson gave a similar response when asked about Mr Johnson’s attendance, adding: “There is an independent process going on to look into this, led by Sue Gray, and I can’t comment further while that is taking place.”Opposition chief Sir Keir was asked on Monday morning whether Mr Johnson would have to resign if found to have attended the bash, and added: “We need to let the inquiry take its course, see what the findings are.”The prime minister has insisted he broke no rules so if the finding is that he did then he will obviously have very serious questions to answer.”Let’s let the inquiry play out, let’s see what the findings are and then go from there.”The Labour chief added: “The Prime Minister has lost huge authority with the public because of these allegations of parties in Downing Street.”To stand at a press conference, instructing the country to comply with restrictions – which really impacted families across the country – whilst at the same time there’s emerging evidence of parties in Downing Street does diminish his authority, his moral authority, to ask others to comply with those rules.”That’s why it’s so damaging – it’s not just a matter of history, it’s a matter of the here and now.” More

The government is considering reducing the self-isolation period for fully vaccinated people who test positive for Covid, Boris Johnson has said.Under proposals being considered by the Cabinet those who had been double jabbed would only have to self-isolate for five days. It comes amid highly elevated case levels thanks to the spread of the Omicron variant, and a shortage of lateral flow tests – which are required under the current rules to leave isolation early. The United States cut its isolation period to five days from 10 days last month, with people coming out of isolation asked to take extra precautions such as wearing a mask.At the time the UK government denied it was looking at such an approach – but a shortage of staff being forced to self-isolate with mild cases of Covid is putting significant pressure on services. “There’s a similar argument to be had about the quarantine period – whether to come down from seven days to five days,” the prime minister said on Monday on a visit to vaccination centre in his home constituency of Uxbridge. “The thing to do is to look at the science. We are looking at that and we will act according to the science.”Cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Sunday that cutting the self-isolation period to five days would “certainly help” with staffing shortages. As education secretary Mr Zahawi is grappling with a shortage of teachers and support staff in schools, which are struggling to stay open.Under the current rules in England people have to self-isolate for 10 days, but can cut this to seven days in most cases if they test negative on a lateral flow test.Later, Downing Street said it hopes to see the scientific evidence that would allow the isolation period to be cut from 7 days to 5 days “soon”.“If it is possible to go further, we would want to act quickly,” the prime minister’s spokesman said.“But it needs to be based on the latest evidence and that work is still ongoing. We certainly have not received any further updated advice.” More

Boris Johnson has been told by the parliamentary commissioner for standards he will be spared an investigation into his controversial No 10 flat refurbishment.According to Downing Street, Kathryn Stone, who oversees the code of conduct and rules for MPs, told the prime minister she will not launch a fresh inquiry in a letter at the end of last week.It is believed that she agrees with No 10’s view that the declaration of the funding arrangements for the refurbishment fall under the ministerial code – and not Mr Johnson’s declarations to parliament.“I understand that she has confirmed they won’t be looking into that,” the prime minister’s spokesman told reporters on Monday.It comes just days after Mr Johnson was criticised by his own ethics adviser, Christopher Geidt, for failing to check for missing WhatsApp messages crucial to his investigation — leading to an apology from the prime minister.Last month, Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, urged Ms Stone to investigate the prime minister of the failure to declare donations to pay for the luxury flat refurbishment following evidence from a separate probe by the Electoral Commission.“Revelations in the Electoral Commission’s report call into question the conduct of the prime minister in relation to the ministerial code,” she said in December.“It is clear that the prime minister misled the public, along with the independent adviser, when he told Lord Geidt during his investigation that he was unaware of the Lord Brownlow donations until February 2021.”Ms Stone’s office declined to comment when approached by The Independent.However, Mr Johnson also faced fresh sleaze allegations last week after the WhatsApp messages also appeared to show him expressing support for a project proposed by Lord Brunlow — the Tory donor who funded the luxury flat redecorations before Mr Johnson paid the sums.The prime minister told Lord Brownlow he was “on the great exhibition plan” in a message in which he described his Downing Street rooms as “a bit of a tip”.Two months later, the donor joined a meeting with the culture secretary “to discuss plans for Great Exhibition 2.0” – a showcase of British innovation later renamed “Festival UK” – a government document revealed. More

Michael Gove missed a BBC interview slot on Monday morning after getting stuck in a lift at New Broadcasting House.The cabinet minister had been due to appear on the broadcaster’s Today programme at 8.10am but was noticeably absent in the airwaves.Explaining the situation, Today programme presenter Nick Robinson said: “We were hoping to talk to Michael Gove. You might have been hoping to hear from Michael Gove at this time. He’d very kindly come into the building, so we didn’t have to deal with one of those awkward line failures. “Mr Gove is stuck in the Broadcasting House lift. I wish I could say this is a joke it is not a joke. It is not very funny for Mr Gove and a security men who have been stuck there for some time.”Mr Robinson said Mr Gove was “keeping cheerful” and had “even offered at one stage to talk to us on the phone” from the elevator.He added that he hoped the communities secretary could be released from the lift so that we could “hear from him a little bit later in the programme”. The presenter joked that W1A, a series which parodies the internal workings of the BBC, was clearly “not a satirical programme”.The Cabinet minister eventually appeared on the programme at around 8.30am, with Mr Robinson offering him “apologies on behalf of the BBC”.Mr Gove replied: “After more than half an hour in the lift you successfully ‘levelled me up’, so I’m delighted to be here. I completely understand, these sorts of things happen. If you and I together given ammunition for Armando Ianuuchi for the next episode of W1A, then fine.”When he was informed that a new hashtag #freemichaelgove had been coined on social media, Mr Gove added: “I suspect there are probably rather more people who are hoping I’ll be incarcerated for longer, but still.” More

The government should focus help for soaring energy bills on “those in the most difficult circumstances”, Michael Gove has said.The communities secretary appeared to downplay the prospect of a general VAT cut on bills on Monday and instead suggested support should be more narrowly targeted.Labour has said the sales tax should be cut on energy bills to reduce the amount households pay.Gas prices have been surging because of a combination for factors, including a rebound in supply after the pandemic and disruption to supply. As a result heating bills are expected to be significantly higher this winter and into the new year.Asked about the prospect of cutting VAT, Mr Gove said it was important to “look at a range of options” and claimed support was already in place.But he added: “I think we should always seek to cut taxes where we can but also it’s important when we are providing support for people that we also target it most on those who need it most.”Asked if therefore cutting VAT on energy bills was something he would approve, Mr Gove told Sky News: “Well, you know, in my view, the more we can cut taxes the better, but at this point, I think that the prudent and the responsible thing to do is to recognise that we need to take a balanced approach and a balanced approach means that when we can support, we provide support most for those in the most difficult circumstances.”Chancellor Rishi Sunak has imposed strict spending limits on himself and has therefore moved to raise taxes and restrict spending on some services.But Labour says a £6.6 windfall tax on North Sea oil and natural gas producers could fund the VAT cut.The tax cut would reduce bill by £200, while the plan would also include further targeted support for low earners and pensioners of £400. Boris Johnson and other Brexiteers previously support a VAT cut on energy bills during the EU referendum campaign, arguing that leaving the EU’s VAT regime would allow the government to make the change.Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told Ski News on Sunday: “The Prime Minister was the biggest advocate for cutting VAT on gas and electricity bills during the European referendum. But now when cutting those bills would make more difference than ever, the Prime Minister says no.” More

A lorry-drivers’ union has accused the government of playing “Russian roulette” with road safety after it emerged that no records are being kept of foreign trucks invited in to beat the HGV shortage.Unite said ministers “panicked” last October in the face of empty supermarket shelves resulting from the shortage of drivers caused by the combined impact of Covid, Brexit and under-recruitment of homegrown staff.A relaxation of “cabotage” rules allowed non-UK drivers to work unlimited hours and make unrestricted numbers of deliveries within a 14-day period.But the Department for Transport (DFT) has now admitted that it is not monitoring how many foreign lorries are entering the UK or whether they are leaving within the two-week deadline.In response to a freedom of information request from Unite for details of the number of companies taking advantage of the cabotage policy, which countries the trucks come from, and how many over-stay, the DFT said only: “There is no mechanism or register available from which cabotage data could be derived as it will be commercial data held by operators based outside the UK.”The only information available on cabotage rates was compiled by the EU’s Eurostat statistical office – despite the UK having left the EU nearly two years ago – and the most up-to-date figures date back to 2019, the union was told.Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the government’s approach had created “an accident waiting to happen”, as foreign drivers are required to work exhausting long hours and sleep in their cabs for extended periods.“This is sheer incompetence by the government, which is playing Russian roulette with British road users,” said Ms Graham. “It introduced this knee-jerk reaction to the lorry driver crisis last year. Now they tell us they don’t know how many foreign lorry drivers have come, how many hours they work when they are here and if they go home after the 14-day working period.“It’s literally an accident waiting to happen, based on the illegal super-exploitation of these drivers.“Unite is dedicated to protecting the jobs, pay and conditions of its members. If it receives any evidence that a failure to abide by the UK’s employment laws, road safety rules or driving regulations is impacting on the jobs and conditions of our lorry-driver members, then we will take action to stop that.”Unite said that the failure to keep records of foreign trucks meant that abuses of the scheme can only be detected by on-the-spot inspections.But earlier freedom of information requests last month revealed a 39 per cent decline in the number of these checks on lorries since 2016/17.The union’s road haulage officer Adrian Jones said that, on average, a truck will drive the equivalent of three and a half times round the world before facing an inspection.“Not only is the government clueless about how many foreign lorries are currently on UK roads, but the only on-the-spot inspections to ensure these vehicles are roadworthy and driving regulations are being observed are as rare as hens’ teeth,” said Mr Jones.“Rather than allowing foreign lorries unlimited access to the UK to tackle driver shortages, the government should be tackling the root causes of the driver crisis – low pay, long hours and the lack of decent parking and welfare facilities for drivers.”A DFT spokesperson said: “The temporary, additional cabotage rules are one of 32 measures taken which are working to alleviate the effects of the global lorry driver shortage in the UK.“The department is monitoring the overall uptake of the additional cabotage rules and early indications are that they have been successful in assisting the resilience of supply chains, including providing key connections to ports.” More