Markus Andrews

A Downing Street gathering held during the first lockdown last May has been branded “disgusting” by families who lost loved ones to Covid.Boris Johnson joined staff at a reception described by a source as “a party” on 15 May and told one attendee they deserved a drink for “beating back” the virus, The Independent has been told.It is understood that about 20 civil servants and advisers gathered inside No 10 and its garden, when gatherings indoors were strictly forbidden and people from different households were restricted to one-on-one meetings outdoors.Hannah Brady, a spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said she remembered 15 May last year “very well” because she was visiting the hospital where her father was ill with Covid. He died the following day.The campaigner said the latest claim of a party inside No 10 “makes me sick to my stomach”, adding: “It’s disgusting.”Ms Brady said: “What makes it hurt even more is that when I met the prime minister some months later, I showed him a photo of dad in the hospital. The prime minister looked me in the eye and told me he’d ‘done everything he could’ to protect my dad.”She added: “When me and other Covid-bereaved families called for a rapid review inquiry over Summer 2020 … we were told again and again that staff were too busy tackling the virus. Now we know what that looked like.”The latest revelations – uncovered in a joint investigation by The Independent and The Guardian – are likely to pile pressure on Downing Street, already under fire over a series of gatherings in the run-up to Christmas last year.The May 2020 event took place after then health secretary Matt Hancock had delivered a press conference, revealing that 384 Covid deaths had been recorded in the previous 24 hours and highlighting a gentle easing of lockdown curbs.The prime minister was present for around 15 minutes early on at the gathering, according to one witness. The event was characterised as a party by one source in attendance. Staff are understood to have drunk alcohol and eaten pizza, with some staying late into the night.Asked about Mr Johnson’s “beating back” comment, and his presence at the gathering, a No 10 spokesperson said: “In the summer months Downing Street staff regularly use the garden for some meetings.“On 15 May 2020 the prime minister held a series of meetings throughout the afternoon, including briefly with the then health and care secretary and his team in the garden following a press conference.”The spokesperson added: “The prime minister went to his residence shortly after 7pm. A small number of staff required to be in work remained in the Downing Street garden for part of the afternoon and evening.”Labour accused Mr Johnson of overseeing a culture of rule-breaking at No 10.“It seems that from the very beginning of this awful pandemic the prime minister was setting a culture of disregarding the laws he was applying to the rest of us,” said Fleur Anderson, the shadow paymaster general. The Labour frontbencher added: “People have made immense sacrifice during this crisis. It is starting to look like the prime minister has only dithered, partied and eroded public trust.”The SNP responded to the latest revelation by calling for Mr Johnson to resign – saying he had lost all authority to deliver Covid guidance.The party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: “It’s beyond any doubt that the reported Downing Street parties were not out of the ordinary or spontaneous, but that there were repeated offences. A culture of rule-breaking dominates this corrupt Tory government.”Mr Blackford added: “The SNP has been clear that this prime minister has lost all authority and he has a duty to at long last do the right thing and resign.”Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “There needs to be an official and independent inquest into how many times Downing Street officials – and the prime minister himself – may have broken lockdown rules. The public will not stomach a political stitch up. Those who think they are above the law must be held to account.”It comes as the Metropolitan Police revealed it is contacting two people who attended a Christmas party at the Conservative Party headquarters over alleged breaches of Covid laws.The force said it was aware of the gathering on 14 December last year. “Officers will be making contact with two people who attended in relation to alleged breaches of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations,” a spokesperson said.Meanwhile, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has written to Lord Bew – chair of the House of Lords Appointment Commission Lord – asking him to confirm that Tory politician Shaun Bailey will not be given a peerage.Mr Bailey was photographed with his staff at a party at Tory HQ in the run-up to last Christmas. The London Assembly member has apologised for attending the festive bash, admitting it was “a serious error of judgment”. More

Police are contacting two people who attended a Christmas party at the Conservative Party headquarters over alleged breaches of coronavirus laws.The Metropolitan Police confirmed it was aware of the gathering at the building in Matthew Parker Street, Westminster, on 14 December last year.“Officers will be making contact with two people who attended in relation to alleged breaches of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations,” a spokesperson said. Police did not identify the two people being spoken to.Former London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey apologised “unreservedly” for attending the party after being shown in a photograph published by the Daily Mirror. It showed him posing alongside more than 20 other people wearing party hats or holding drinks, next to a buffet.A spokesperson for the Conservative Party previously said: “Senior CCHQ (Conservative Campaign Headquarters) staff became aware of an unauthorised social gathering in the basement of Matthew Parker Street organised by the Bailey campaign on the evening of 14 December.“Formal disciplinary action was taken against the four CCHQ staff who were seconded to the Bailey campaign.”Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Party politicians on the London Assembly had written to commissioner Dame Cressida Dick demanding an investigation, saying the photo indicated “a clear breach of the regulations”.Scotland Yard said it was still not investigating an alleged Christmas Party at Downing Street on 18 December 2020, or other reported gatherings including a festive quiz on 15 December 202, leaving do and a Department for Education event.A spokesperson said police were in touch with the Cabinet Office over a probe being led by Simon Case into the gatherings, and “if any evidence emerges of behaviour that is potentially a criminal offence it will be passed to the Met for further consideration”.The force said it had received a “significant amount of material in relation to the allegations reported in the media”. Boris Johnson dodges calls to come clean on what he knew about No 10 Christmas parties“All the material has been considered by detectives in detail and it does not provide evidence of a breach of the Health Protection Regulations,” a spokesperson added.“In line with our policy where we do not normally investigate breaches of these regulations when they are reported long after they are said to have taken place, unless there is evidence from the Cabinet Office or other evidence comes to light, the Met will not at this time commence an investigation.”The Health Protection Regulations were used to enforce national lockdowns and other coronavirus restrictions at different stages in the pandemic.At the time of the alleged Downing Street and CCHQ events, London was under “tier 2” restrictions that banned indoor gatherings unless legal exemptions applied.The scandal grew on Thursday after a joint investigation by The Independent and The Guardian revealed that Boris Johnson allegedly joined Downing Street officials for a party during the first Covid-19 lockdown.The gathering took place on 15 May 2020, after the then health secretary Matt Hancock had delivered a televised press conference, noting that 384 coronavirus deaths had been recorded in the previous 24 hours.When questioned about the alleged parties during a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday, the prime minister said: “I follow the rules. Everybody across politics should follow the rules.” More

A plan by Boris Johnson’s government to change the regulation of chemicals after Brexit risks making the UK a “dumping ground” for harmful substances, experts and campaigners have warned.Environmentalists responded with alarm to the government’s policy paper setting out how the UK’s new, post-Brexit chemical safety regime will diverge from the EU’s REACH system.It showed that of ten potentially hazardous chemicals added to Brussels’ list of “substances of very high concern” this year, only four would be added to the UK’s list.Zoe Avison, policy analyst at the Green Alliance campaign group, warned that the government’s proposals “will almost certainly see hazardous substances falling through the cracks”.On Thursday, the Green Alliance wrote to MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and the Environmental Audit Committee urging them to “urgently investigate” the government’s plan.Campaigners told The Independent in March about the risk the UK could be a “dumping ground” for dangerous substances after Mr Johnson ditched Theresa May’s plan for “associate membership” of EU agencies, including the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and its database known as REACH.Thalie Martini, chief executive of Breast Cancer UK, said the published proposals amounted to a “major weakening” of safety regulation – warning that the British public would be less well-protected from chemicals linked to breast cancer than before Brexit.She said that the proposed system “lacks public scrutiny, undermines the consumer’s right to know and could lead to years of regulatory delays that result in the UK becoming a dumping ground for hazardous chemicals”.Experts are worried that the government proposals will see a new UK regulator relying on voluntary data submitted by chemical companies to assess the level of risk, and will be slower to take action against them.Dr Michael Warhurst, executive director of CHEM Trust, said the government was putting in “unnecessary layers of information requirements” from firms – warning that it will lead to “regulatory inaction on a range of harmful substances”.The expert added: “This will open the door to consumers and the environment having greater exposure to harmful chemicals than in the EU, and a second-rate system for regulating chemicals post-Brexit.”A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) denied the new regime could put consumers or the environment at risk.They said: “We are committed to maintaining an effective regulatory system for the management and control of chemicals, which safeguards human health and the environment and can respond to emerging risks.”The spokesperson added: “We have published our interim approach to the Candidate List in UK REACH. This approach aims to ensure we have a single, coherent approach to nominating substances for the Candidate List in UK REACH.”In October, the government bowed to pressure to introduce tougher action against water companies dumping untreated sewage following outrage over plans to weaken legislation aimed at protecting Britain’s rivers and seas. More

Paul Givan, Northern Ireland’s first minister, said on Monday 13 December that the omicron variant of the coronavirus represented a “storm coming our way” while his deputy, Michelle O’Neill, warned that the country would “very, very soon” be overwhelmed by infections.“If ever there was a time for a united front on the public health message, it’s today because we’re facing into a very, very difficult period in the weeks ahead where we see this new variant now coming on stream,” Ms O’Neill told Stormont Assembly members during Executive Office questions.“We are going to be overwhelmed with this new variant very, very soon. My priority is to keep businesses open and safe. I want to keep every door opened but to make sure it’s a safe space for people to enter.”At that point, Northern Ireland had 10 confirmed cases but, three days later, it had 151, according to the Public Health Agency, only underlining the severity of the situation and the urgency of their message.Ministers are set to meet on Thursday 16 December to discuss the situation as a Department of Health paper being circulated warned that “significant intervention” could become necessary after Christmas to hold back the tide.“If omicron is associated with disease severity close to that of delta, significant intervention would be required immediately after Christmas at the latest to have a reasonable chance of keeping hospital inpatient numbers at less than 1,000,” the paper read.“It is likely that a peak in case numbers will occur in the middle third of January, with hospital admissions and occupancy peaking in late January/early February.“The extent of the hospital peak will depend on the severity of omicron illness, but without further measures is likely to exceed numbers observed earlier in the epidemic, potentially several fold.”Responding to the latest figure on the variant, chief medical officer Sir Michael McBride said he was “more concerned at this stage than he has been at any stage in the pandemic”, calling on the public to get their vaccine booster jabs and warning that new social restrictions could be forthcoming.Boosters are currently available to all adults aged over 30 in Northern Ireland who have had their second dose at least three months previously and are being made available at walk-in centres across the nation in a bid to stop the spread of the latest Covid strain.Those aged between 18 and 29 will be eligible from Monday 20 December.Other measures in place include the familiar guidance on masks and social distancing plus a Covid passport scheme requiring people to present proof of vaccination, a negative lateral flow test result or evidence of a previous infection in exchange for entry to large-gathering hospitality venues, which became legally enforceable from Monday 13 December after Assembly members voted 59-24 in favour.That came despite heated political opposition to the passes on ideological grounds, similar to that seen in England when backbench Tory rebels joined with Liberal Democrats to revolt against Boris Johnson, and saw demonstrations held outside the chamber by protestors.Their implementation means the passes are now mandatory for access to pubs, restaurants and other licensed premises as well as live sporting events and gigs.Professor Ian Young, the country’s chief scientific officer, entertained the possibility of further restrictions being brought in to tackle omicron when he pledged that “we will respond rapidly” to any case spike and said the public should be reassured that there are contingency plans in place “which can be activated very quickly by the executive”.The state of play at present is thought to be around two weeks behind the outbreaks in England and Scotland, although Dr Tom Black, chairman of the British Medical Association in Northern Ireland, has moved to discourage people from needless socialising as a precautionary preventative measure.“You go out and mix with a crowd next week, one of them will have omicron,” Dr Black told BBC Radio Ulster.“It’s so infectious, you’ll then come home with it. Which is why I won’t be going out socialising this week or next.”Mr Givan had previously said it was acceptable for people to attend festive parties so long as they followed the rules, commenting: “We want to keep things open and to do things safely, so people should continue to make their plans now and in the run-up to Christmas, but to do it safely and to follow the public health advice around that.” More

Rishi Sunak was today facing calls to cut short a visit to California to address pleas for support from the UK’s hospitality industry, hit by a wave of cancelled bookings and stay-away customers in the wake of new warnings to exercise caution over Omicron in the run-up to Christmas.Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves and shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds wrote to Mr Sunak and business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng calling for urgent action to support businesses facing “closure by stealth”.And Liberal Democrats called for the House of Commons’ Christmas break to be delayed by a day to Friday to allow for the agreement of a package of measures to keep pubs, cafes and restaurants alive.Downing Street said that the chancellor had been in constant contact with London during his trip and had been keeping up to date with the fast-moving outbreak of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.And Treasury sources rejected suggestions that he had been enjoying a holiday between meetings in San Francisco, noting that he was accompanied by officials rather than his wife or other family members and did not stay at his holiday home in Santa Monica.No precise details were made available of the chancellor’s schedule during his four-day visit, but a Treasury spokesperson said: “The chancellor is on a long-planned official trip conducting govt business. He is in San Francisco meeting industry leaders from the tech and investment sector to discuss the global economy and the recovery.”He was this afternoon due to conduct a virtual meeting with representatives of the hospitality industry and is expected back in the UK on Friday.Asking an urgent question in the House of Commons on support for business during the current Omicron wave, Labour’s Treasury spokesperson Pat McFadden asked: “Where is the chancellor?“Why did he decide to proceed with a trip to California on Tuesday when it was already clear that UK businesses were struggling to cope with what the prime minister himself has called a ‘tidal wave’ of Omicron?“Even if he is abroad, California is not exactly a communications desert. They have television there. I’ve heard they even have the internet.“But still it’s radio silence from the chancellor. Tumbleweed rolling through the Treasury.“The Treasury says he’s in communication with his officials, but what about some communication with businesses who are losing bookings by the hour and watching their December profits vanish into thin air?”Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Alexander said: “The chancellor must get on the next plane back from his California jaunt to move heaven and earth to save a hospitality sector on the brink of collapse.”And the SNP’s Treasury spokesperson Alison Thewliss said Mr Sunak’s absence was “nothing short of a dereliction of duty”.“Rather than taking steps to strengthen support and fill the gaps in measures to help businesses and workers at this crucial time, the chancellor is instead literally out of office thousands of miles away,” said Ms Thewliss.“The chancellor must step up and heed calls to bring forward financial support to ensure businesses are not pushed over the brink and workers are not out of their jobs this Christmas.”Meanwhile, the chair of the House of Commons Treasury Committee, Tory MP Mel Stride, wrote to Mr Sunak to demand details of any plans being drawn up to help businesses suffering from reductions in demand. More

Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford has warned his compatriots that more severe coronavirus restrictions could be implemented after Christmas in response to the omicron variant.Wales currently has relatively light Covid-19 guidance in place, asking the public to observe social distancing and meet outdoors when possible, wear masks in public spaces, wash hands with care and be prepared to show an NHS Covid Pass for entry to cinemas, theatres and concert halls.But speaking during a televised address on Monday 13 December, Mr Drakeford said all eligible adults in Wales would be offered a booster jab by the end of the year, which he said was “vital” to seeing off the threat posed by the new strain of the virus, which has infected 62 people in Cymru so far.Interviewed subsequently on ITV Wales, the first minister said: “As we know, the traditional way of doing things in Wales is people go out together and socialise in the run-up to Christmas, and then in the post-Christmas period there’s a standing back from that.“There may be a period in the post-Christmas days when we can do more to stem the flow of the omicron variant. But, in this business, what will happen in three or four weeks’ time is a long way away.”Mr Drakeford is expected to give a further update on the situation on Friday 17 December.His health minister, Baroness Eluned Morgan, had earlier warned that the devolved government was “currently not taking anything off the table” as infections rise.“The last thing we want to do is cancel Christmas. I think it is important we make that absolutely clear,” she told journalists at a briefing.“But we are not currently taking anything off the table either, so the best thing for people to do, in order to see if we can remain in a situation where we are all able to see each other over Christmas is to take precautions now, so that we don’t see the kind of increasing rates that we are all expecting.“A lot of this is in our hands, as individuals and as a community. The more you mix now, the more likely you are to contract Covid, and this particular form of Covid.“Certainly, at the very minimum we will be asking people to take lateral flow tests before they mix at Christmas but that is something they should be undertaking already, particularly if they are meeting older and vulnerable people,” she added.“I think people should plan because we don’t know what the situation will be at Christmas time. Taking the opportunity to do things early would be a sensible option, but we have no idea what Christmas will look like because it’s such an unpredictable situation.”Baroness Morgan’s department is striving to hit a target of 200,000 booster vaccinations a day, with health boards again opening pop-up centres, including walk-in and drive-through clinics with longer opening hours, often partially staffed by volunteers.Dr Gill Richardson of Public Health Wales has meanwhile suggested that the rules surrounding the NHS Covid Pass may have to be reviewed in light of the ramping up of the booster programme.On schools, the national picture is currently being assessed after two local councils, Denbighshire and Anglesey, decided to close theirs early – from 17 December – forcing students to take their learning online for the final days of term. More

New figures have shown that UK food and drink exports to the EU plunged by almost a quarter in the nine months after Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal took effect, compared to pre-pandemic levels, with a loss of £2.4bn in sales.Exports to big European markets were hit hard, with sales to Spain down by more than half (50.6 per cent) on 2019 levels, Germany by 44.5 per cent and Italy by 43.3 per cent, according to the Food and Drink Federation. Sales to the industry’s largest overseas market, the Republic of Ireland, were down by more than a quarter.And industry leaders warned that the downturn could be “here to stay”, in a blow not only to Mr Johnson’s “global Britain” aspirations but also his plans to “level up” disadvantaged parts of the country.The FDF said that the slump in sales could be blamed both on new barriers to trade created by Brexit and Mr Johnson’s Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with Brussels and on the global Covid-19 pandemic.But figures showed that UK sales of food and drink products to non-EU markets rose by 11 per cent in the first three quarters of 2021, suggesting that Brexit is to blame for the lion’s share of lost trade with Europe.The trade organisation appealed for ministers to work constructively with Brussels to improve the operation of the TCA, which provides for tariff-free imports and exports of goods but introduces many non-tariff bureaucratic barriers to trade, compared with the arrangements the UK used to enjoy as an EU member.FDF head of international trade Dominic Goudie said: “It is extremely disappointing to see how badly our trade with the EU has been affected, with our smallest exporters hardest hit. It is essential that the government works constructively with the EU to improve the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to ensure that it works for small businesses, otherwise this downturn will be here to stay.“The UK government’s recent announcement of plans to take forward the FDF’s proposals to set up a new Food and Drink Export Council and put in place new in-market support are welcome. It is vital that the UK government and devolved nations continue to work with industry to put in place a new model of partnership to support food and drink exporters.“Food and drink, from farm-to-fork is uniquely placed to deliver on the government’s levelling-up agenda, delivering jobs and growth in every part of the UK. “However, our supply chains continue to struggle, particularly through a lack of available workers. Businesses want to help the government realise its ‘global Britain’ ambitions, but they need government to clear the obstacles and help them take advantage of new opportunities.”According to the FDF figures, exports to China were up by 22.1 per cent, to Taiwan by 21.8 per cent, to the UAE by 18.3 per cent, Japan 10.6 per cent and Singapore 5.4 per cent. However these more far-flung markets make up a smaller share of UK exports than those in neighbouring European nations.Global exports of whisky and salmon have started to recover from pandemic-hit 2020, with sales of both products up 21 per cent compared to last year, while soft drinks were up 11 per cent.But all other major products, including beef ( down 18.4 per cent), cheese (down 13.2 per cent) and pork (down 5.7 per cent) continued to decline.Meanwhile, imports from the EU have also been badly impacted by Brexit, down nearly 11 per cent in the nine months to September compared to pre-Covid levels – equivalent to more than £2.5bn in cash terms.Imports from the Netherlands were down by 19 per cent, from Ireland by 20.1 per cent and from Germany by 33.1 per cent.The delayed implementation of Brexit import controls on products from the EU will have a further impact on the cost and availability of supplies of food and drink from the EU in 2022, including on essential ingredients and raw materials required by UK manufacturers. More

Boris Johnson is facing fresh accusations of lying to parliament, after wrongly denying that the Foreign Office is planning to slash staff numbers by 10 per cent.Senior Tory MP Tom Tugendhat protested at the move in the Commons – warning it undermined aspirations for a ‘Global Britain’ – but the prime minister insisted he was wrong.“The information that has recently trickled into his ears is fake news,” Mr Johnson told the chair of the foreign affairs committee, after the foreign secretary Liz Truss whispered something to him.But an email to Foreign Office staff, passed to the i newspaper, quickly revealed the cut is coming, stating: “We are planning on the basis of just under a 10 per cent reduction in our overall workforce size by March 2025.”David Lammy, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, said: “It would appear, not for the first time, the only person spreading fake news is Boris Johnson.“The government is shrinking our diplomatic presence, and the PM can’t even own up to it. He’s unfit to lead. When you mislead parliament you are misleading the country as well.Dave Penman, the head of the FDA union for civil servants, said staff would be “surprised” to hear the prime minister deny information that was “fresh in their inbox yesterday”.“The strategic workforce plan envisages a just under 10 per cent headcount reduction by 2025, mainly achieved through voluntary redundancy,” he warned.“The criticism often heard is that FCDO [Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office] is a crisis organisation, yet if the government continues to starve it of resources, that is what it will become.”Chris Bryant, a former Labour minister, went further, saying it appeared Mr Johnson had “lied to parliament when he said it was ‘fake news’”, as “advised” by Ms Truss.The controversy comes after repeated protests that the prime minister has misled parliament over many issues, including over Covid contracts, the vaccine rollout and rising child poverty.It also raises questions for the foreign secretary – the grassroots favourite to take over as leader – as she appeared to tell Mr Johnson the information, from her own department, was wrong.In the Commons, Ms Truss’s deputy, James Cleverly, told MPs “there will not be a 10 per cent staff cut” – but declined to say what reduction will be imposed.Questioned on the email, he said: “Internal work has taken place that has not been signed off by ministers,” adding: “Ministers will make the final decisions on workforce changes in the spring.”The Independent understands that no final decision has been taken on staff cuts, as the department wrestles with a 5 per cent overall budget cut. More