Markus Andrews

Boris Johnson has offered additional support to France to “demolish” people-smuggling gangs in the wake of the English Channel disaster believed to have claimed the lives of more than 30 migrants.Speaking after chairing a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee, the prime minister said that the French authorities had previously rejected the offer of practical help from the UK – believed to include options such as police officers to patrol beaches and surveillance planes to spot launches of small boats attempting the perilous crossing.He said his government would “leave no stone unturned to demolish the business proposition of the human traffickers and gangsters” who were “getting away with murder” by putting migrants to sea in vessels which are unsuitable for the voyage over one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.Speaking in Downing Street shortly after the tragedy, Mr Johnson said the French government had not always approached the problem of the migrants crossing “in a way we think the situation deserves”, despite accepting some £54m from the UK to help them deal with the issue.“We’ve had difficulties persuading some of our partners, particularly the French, to do things in a way that we think the situation deserves,” he said.“I understand the difficulties that all countries face, but what we want now is to do more together – and that’s the offer we are making.”In a message to Paris, Mr Johnson said: “I say to our partners across the Channel, now is the time for us all to step up, to work together, to do everything we can to break these gangs who are literally getting away with murder.”The PM admitted efforts so far to stem the flow of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats “haven’t been enough”.And he said: “What this shows is that the gangs who are sending people to sea in these dangerous crafts will literally stop at nothing.“But what I’m afraid it also shows is that the operation that is being conducted by our friends on the beaches, supported as you know with £54 million from the UK to help patrol the beaches, the technical support we’ve been giving, they haven’t been enough.“Our offer is to increase our support but also to work together with our partners on the beaches concerned, on the launching grounds for these boats.“That’s something I hope will be acceptable now in view of what has happened.“Because there is no doubt at all that the gangs concerned, unless they are shown that their business model won’t work, that they can’t simply get people over the Channel from France to the UK, they will continue to deceive people, to put people’s lives at risk and to get away with murder.”Mr Johnson said the deaths in the Channel were “appalling” and “underscored how dangerous it is” to cross from France.He told reporters at No 10: “I just want to say that I’m shocked and appalled and deeply saddened by the loss of life at sea in the Channel.“I think the details are still coming in but more than 20 people have lost their lives.“My thoughts and sympathies are first of all with the victims and their families. It’s an appalling thing that they have suffered.“But I also want to say that this disaster underscores how dangerous it is to cross the Channel in this way.”Asked whether he had confidence in the job Home Secretary Priti Patel is doing, Mr Johnson replied: “Yes, of course.” More

The under-fire Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox has been accused of “taking the mick” after appearing on a livestream for duties involving private legal work while parliament was sitting.The former Tory minister, who was accused of breaking Commons rules earlier this month, was taking part in day 55 of the British Virgin Islands Commission of Inquiry – shortly after the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions.It comes during intense scrutiny on MPs’ second jobs and consultancy work after the government’s botched attempt to create a Conservative-dominated committee to review the work of the Commons standards watchdog.Sir Geoffrey – a prominent barrister – has been advising officials from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) government on an independent inquiry into alleged corruption.The Conservative MP’s office told The Independent that Sir Geoffrey, who had his background blurred during the virtual call on Wednesday, did not attend the hearing from his parliamentary office.But Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “Geoffrey Cox is taking the mick and the prime minister is letting him get away with it.”She added: “This is a test of leadership for Boris Johnson and whether he is serious about tackling corruption and stopping his MPs from having dodgy second jobs instead of representing their constituents.“You can be an MP representing your constituents or you can represent a tax haven against our own government. You cannot be both and Boris Johnson needs to decide which Geoffrey Cox will be.”Earlier this month, Labour accused the former attorney general of an “egregious, brazen breach of the rules” after footage emerged purporting to show him taking part in a corruption hearing for the BVI government remotely from his Westminster office.The party referred the incident to the parliamentary commissioner for standards for breaching MPs’ code, which states members “shall ensure that their use of public resources is always in support of their parliamentary duties”.In a defiant statement at the time, Sir Geoffrey said he would fully cooperate with any investigation, but insisted he did not believe he had breached MPs’ rules, adding that he gave his constituency work “primary importance”.He has also defended his outside interests by arguing that “it is up to the electors of Torridge and West Devon whether or not they vote for someone who is a senior and distinguished professional in his field and who still practices that profession”.Sir Geoffrey’s total earnings from legal work has reached almost £955,000 in 2021 – on top of his £80,000 MP’s salary.After weeks of sleaze allegations directed at the Conservative Party, Sir Keir Starmer called for a ban on MPs’ second jobs while Boris Johnson has backed a ban on MPs working as paid consultants or lobbyists, insisting that anyone “prioritising outside interests” and neglecting their constituents should face investigation. More

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has ordered a review into whether MPs can bring their babies into the chamber, after Labour’s Stella Creasy was told by Commons authorities it was against the rules to bring her three-month-old son to a debate.After the correspondence provoked outrage, the Commons speaker told MPs he was initially unaware of the exchange, but stressed it was “extremely important” that parents of young children could fully participate in parliamentary work.Updating MPs, Sir Lindsay said he had requested that the procedure committee, chaired by former Tory minister Karen Bradley, review the matter and bring forward recommendations for the Commons to vote on.Ms Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, who has previously taken her infant child into the Commons without complaint, was reprimanded after leading a debate on “buy now, pay later” consumer credit schemes on Tuesday with her three-month-old son in a sling.“We’ve been made aware that you were accompanied by your baby in Westminster Hall earlier today,” the email from the private secretary to the chair of the Ways and Means Committee read.The correspondence – posted by Ms Creasy on social media – said that bringing her baby into parliament was not in line with recently published rules on “behaviour and courtesies” contained in the handbook for MPs. “I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this also applies to debates in Westminster Hall,” it added.Ms Creasy, who has campaigned for mothers to enter politics, posted alongside the email last night: “Mothers in the mother of all parliament[s] are not to be seen or heard it seems…. #21stCenturyCalling”.The rule book, issued by the speaker and deputy speakers in relation to the House of Commons and Westminster Hall, was updated in September.It says: “You should not take your seat in the chamber when accompanied by your child, nor stand at either end of the chamber, between divisions.” The same wording was used in the previous version of the rule book.Labour MP Alex Davies-Jones tweeted that the rule seemed “a complete contradiction” given that, when she was breastfeeding her child, the commons speaker had assured her that she could feed her child in the chamber or Westminster Hall if she needed to.In an update to MPs on Wednesday, Sir Lindsay said: “This advice given yesterday to the honourable member from Walthamstow on the authority of the chairman of ways and means, which I was not aware of until last night, correctly reflects the current rules. However, rules have to be seen in context and they change with the times.“This house has to be able to function professionally and without disturbances, however, sometimes there may be occasions when the chair can exercise discretion assuming the business is not to be disturbed. I accept there are differing views on this matter.”He added: “There are also likely to be some consequential matters, therefore I have asked the chair of the Procedure Committee if she and her committee would look into this matter and bring forward recommendations which would ultimately be for the house to take a view on.”Ms Creasy, who also has a young daughter, has battled for MPs to have adequate maternity cover through her campaign This Mum Votes. In September, Ms Creasy questioned commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg on whether he would consider reviewing rules which meant that MPs on parental leave must give up the proxy vote they are permitted if they want to speak occasionally in the chamber.Mr Rees-Mogg said in response that he thought the rules were “perfectly reasonable and entirely in line with the law”.MPs are entitled to paid maternity leave for six months, along with a proxy vote, but they must be physically present at Westminster in order to represent their constituents’ views during Commons debates.Former Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson was thought to be the first MP to cradle her baby during a debate in the Commons in 2018. In the same year, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern became the first world leader to take her baby to the floor of the UN general assembly in New York. More

Northern leaders have urged Boris Johnson to re-think his rail cuts for their region and offered to stump up extra cash themselves to fund improvements.Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday the mayors of city regions like Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and Merseyside said the North could make a contribution funded by the increased land values new projects would create.The approach, known as “land value capture” was used to help finance London’s Crossrail line – which raised £4.1 billion through a business rate supplement.The leaders are angry at the government’s decision to scrap plans for a high-speed line between Leeds and Manchester via Bradford, which would boost capacity and cut journey times.The government last week confirmed that it would offer only a cut-price version of the project, with no stop in Bradford, less capacity, and longer journey times – mostly comprised of upgrades to existing lines.”Give us the best version and then that unlocks the most benefits the economy, and we can capture some of that to pay back for the cost of the infrastructure,” Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said.Mr Burnham said it was essential for the new Northern Powerhouse line to run via Bradford to improve east-west journey times and unlock capacity.The Department for Transport developed Northern Powerhouse Rail as a co-client with Transport for the North over the last few years – but at the last minute declined to fund the whole scheme.The government also scrapped the top of the eastern leg of HS2, linking the East Midlands with Leeds via South Yorkshire. Introducing the press conference Councillor Louise Gittins, the chair of Transport for the North, said there was “complete unity in the room” between Northern leaders. South Yorkshire Mayor Dan Jarvis said the Northern leaders were going back to ministers to ask them to think again, and “explore the art of the possible”.”We still want to make the case for the Government to do what they originally committed to do – governments change their minds, U-turns are made, this Government has made quite a few of them,” he said.Tracy Brabin, West Yorkshire Mayor, added: “We are not going to accept what we have been given, this is an opportunity to make it better.”The mayor, whose patch includes Bradford, one of the plan’s biggest losers, also claimed the Government’s current plans did not represent value for money, saying: “If we do it in this way, we will have to do it all over again in a decade.”In the Commons on Wednesday the Government was accused by Labour MP Diana Johnson of “taking back control to prevent levelling up”.Dame Diana said the regeneration of cities such as Hull and Bradford “will be held back for another 20 years at least, with poor connectivity, small speed and inadequate capacity for passengers and freight” under the government’s cut-price rail plan.Transport minister Andrew Stephenson said: “This Government remain committed to HS2 and remain committed to Northern Powerhouse Rail, and this plan that we set out last week explains how we would deliver the benefits to communities across the North sooner than ever expected.” More

Boris Johnson is coming under mounting pressure over a series of gaffes and U-turns, which has led some to speculate that the prime minister may face an imminent leadership contest. One unnamed Tory MP recently said Mr Johnson was “losing the confidence” of his backbenchers and should quit in the new year.Rumours have also swirled about strained relations between Mr Johnson’s No 10 and Rishi Sunak’s No 11 since a “senior Downing Street source” told the BBC “there is a lot of concern inside the building about the PM” and “it’s just not working”.The Daily Telegraph quoted a Tory whip as saying it was an “assumption” that some MPs had sent no-confidence letters to the 1922 Committee.Just 15 per cent of sitting Conservatives would need to submit letters for there to be a vote on his leadership.Asked about the suggestion that letters had been sent to the 1922 Committee, Mr Raab told LBC: “There is the usual Westminster tittle tattle and I’m not aware of that.”The Independent wants to know what you think about a possible bid to oust the prime minister. Should Conservative MPs be calling for a leadership contest? Is now the right time? Tell us in our poll below. More

Keir Starmer questions if Boris Johnson ‘will make it’ to next electionKeir Starmer used Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) to jeer his political opponent, first reminding him of the turbulent few weeks he has had and then asking Boris Johnson if “everything is OK” – echoing the words of a reporter who asked the same thing after the PM’s rambling Peppa Pig speech this week. In a session focused on scrutinising the government’s changes to England’s social care system, the Labour leader consistently asked Mr Johnson whether he believed he had stuck to his “election promise” to ensure people would not have to sell their homes to pay for care. “It’s another broken promise, just like he promised that he wouldn’t put up taxes,” Sir Keir told the Commons.“Who knows if he’ll make it to the next election, but if he does how does he expect anyone to take him and his promises seriously?”It comes after various reports claimed a dozen Tory backbenchers had written letters of no confidence to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 committee, which deputy PM Dominic Raab dismissed as “Westminster tittle tattle”. Some 54 letters –15 per cent of the sitting Tory MPs – would be required to trigger a leadership contest. Follow our live coverage belowShow latest update

1637765739Brexit chief Lord Frost said leaving EU single market would cost Britons £1,500 eachBritain’s chief Brexit negotiator warned that leaving the single market and customs union would cost £1,500 per person, it has emerged.Lord Frost is now among the hardest line Brexiteers in the government – this week arguing that the UK needs to ditch a European-style economy entirely.But before the referendum while a lobbyist for the drinks industry Lord Frost struck a different tone – acknowledging Brexit’s massive costs.Here is the story:Sam Hancock24 November 2021 14:551637765723Labour ahead by two points in latest opinion pollSir Keir Starmer’s party is still exploiting recent weeks in Westminster, taking a two-point lead over the Conservatives in the latest opinion poll. The Labour Party was up two points on Wednesday, at 38 per cent, while Boris Johnson’s party were up two as well, but only at 36 per cent.Sir Keir’s performance in the Commons on Tuesday is bound to help in the polls over the next few days, after he was able to poke fun at the PM for his performance of late and repeatedly tried to push his opponent to admit he lied about ending the trend of people selling their homes to pay for expensive care costs. Sam Hancock24 November 2021 14:551637765155Cox accused of skipping Commons to conduct BVI business ‘from Westminster office’ – againGeoffrey Cox has angered MPs once again by appearing to conduct business on behalf of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), instead of being in a sitting Commons chamber.Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner was quick to call out the Tory figure – who recently caused a stir after being accused of conducting business for the BVI in his Westminster office – saying Boris Johnson had to take a stand and decide if Mr Cox is an MP or a representative of “a tax haven against our own government”.“Geoffrey Cox is taking the mick and the prime minister is letting him get away with it,” Ms Rayner tweeted.There is speculation Mr Cox was, again, using his Westminster office to conduct such business – with critics on social media saying his decision to blur out the background (refer to image below) “didn’t help”.It comes after Boris Johnson pushed through measures to stop MP’s holding certain second jobs, and to ensure their main focus is always on representing their constituents. Sam Hancock24 November 2021 14:451637763939Boris Johnson ‘flouted mask rules during theatre trip’Boris Johnson has been accused of again flouting mask rules during a visit to a London theatre.Following anger over the PM’s lack of face covering during a recent visit to a hospital and while taking a train trip, Mr Johnson attended Tuesday night’s performance of Macbeth at the Almeida Theatre in north London and was reportedly spotted without a mask.Downing Street today insisted that Mr Johnson complies with all rules on mask-wearing.Here is the story: Tom Batchelor24 November 2021 14:251637763880PM’s spokesman refuses to answer questions about leadership challengeLast bit from the PM’s spokesman now, who was also asked earlier whether Boris Johnson was concerned about reports that some Tory MPs had submitted letters of no confidence in his leadership.“That wouldn’t be a question for me, and, again, I’m not going to comment on anonymous briefings,” reporters were told. “The prime minister is entirely focused on delivering his ambitious agenda.”Asked if Boris Johnson had spoken to 1922 committee chairman Sir Graham Brady about whether he had received letters, the spokesman said simply: “No.”Sam Hancock24 November 2021 14:241637763576Downing Street says PM did ‘absolutely not’ break manifesto pledge over social care Let’s hear from Boris Johnson’s spokesman now, who in the last hour has been taking his daily questions from journalists based at Westminster. First up, the spokesman set out Boris Johnson’s intention to see “further improvements” on making parliament family friendly, following a debate over Stella Creasy’s actions yesterday.While acknowledging ther matter was “one for the House”, Downing Street said “we want the workplace in any circumstances to be modern and flexible and fit for the 21st century”. Next up, the spokesman was repeatedly asked in the briefing whether the PM’s manifesto promise that people would not have to sell their homes to pay for care had been broken. It comes after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer suggested this was the case during PMQs.“Absolutely not,” the No 10 representative said. “This is a detailed plan that will protect people from unfair costs and, I think, one you are not seeing from the Opposition.”Sam Hancock24 November 2021 14:191637763159PMQs reaction: ‘Exaggerated cheers’ and ‘pleading chief whip’Some reaction from political journalists to PMQs amid rumours Boris Johnson’s position is less than sound:Tom Batchelor24 November 2021 14:121637762319Watch: Starmer accuses the PM of ‘picking the pockets of working people’Keir Starmer accuses the Prime Minister of ‘picking the pockets of working people’Tom Batchelor24 November 2021 13:581637761479Should MPs be allowed to take their children into the Commons? Tell us in our pollAfter a review was announced into whether MPs should be allowed to take their babies into the Commons, where do you stand on the issue? Labour MP Stella Creasy was told not to bring her three-month-old into the chamber, sparking anger from some parliament. The Independent is seeking the views of our readers on this, and you can fill in our poll below:Tom Batchelor24 November 2021 13:441637760579Watch: Tory MPs cheer for Johnson amid rumours of leadership challengeTory MPs cheer for Boris Johnson amid rumours of leadership challengeTom Batchelor24 November 2021 13:29 More

Downing Street today insisted that Boris Johnson complies with all rules on mask-wearing after a report that he was spotted in the theatre with his face uncovered.An audience member at Tuesday night’s performance of Macbeth at the Almeida Theatre in north London told The Guardian that the prime minister did not wear a mask during the show.The theatre asks all visitors to wear masks except when eating or drinking, as part of efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in crowded places, and it is understood that theatre-goers are reminded of this request by email before attending.If confirmed, this would be the third time in recent days when the prime minister has been spotted massless in areas where people are asked them to wear them.Mr Johnson apologised to a parliamentary committee last week for failing to wear a face-covering during part of his visit to Hexham General Hospital in Northumberland, despite having three reminders to do so.He insisted that the lapse lasted only around 30 seconds, adding: “I apologise for it, but most pictures of my visit to the hospital will show that I was duly masked throughout the remainder of the visit, and I was masked on the way into the visit.”The day after his apology, he was pictured on a crowded train in Greater Manchester with his face uncovered.He had earlier faced criticism after being filmed without a face covering sitting next to 95-year-old – and masked – Sir David Attenborough at the COP26 climate summit.Asked about the theatre visit, a Downing Street source said only: “The prime minister follows all Covid rules.”But two witnessed told The Guardian that the PM had been unmasked during the performance of Macbeth, with one saying that he had slipped his mask back on as the lights went up.A message on the theatre’s website reads: “We ask all our visitors to continue to wear a face covering while in the theatre, unless exempt or when eating or drinking.“You may be reminded of this on entry to the building, however this will not be enforced.”There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the theatre. More

Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator warned that leaving the single market and customs union would cost £1,500 per person, it has emerged.Lord Frost is now among the hardest line Brexiteers in the government – this week arguing that the UK needs to ditch a European-style economy entirely.He is pushing hard to drive European judges out of the Brexit deal, and oversaw taking Britain out of the single market and customs union.But before the referendum while a lobbyist for the drinks industry Lord Frost struck a different tone – acknowledging Brexit’s massive costs.He told a Scottish Parliament committee in 2015 that the “single market and single trade policy” were major benefits of EU membership.”When we get to the referendum, I hope it is a real debate about everything that Europe offers. You mentioned quite a few of those things: I would add the single market and single trade policy to that,” he told the devolved legislature at the time.”Although estimates vary about how much wealth the single market generates for the UK, since we joined, it’s probably in the order of five, six seven, eight per cent uplift to GDP. “For somebody on an average salary that’s about £1,500 a year. Most people think that that’s worth having. I think when you put it in those terms, there’s there’s very a clear benefit, that because we don’t see it every day, we’ve kind of forgotten about it. But it is there, and we’d begin to lose it if we weren’t part of it.”Lord Frost’s estimates from before the referendum appear to have stood the test of time: the government’s Office for Budget Responsibility now estimates that Brexit will cost the UK around £1,250 per person in the coming decades.This compares to the tiny economic boost from signing free trade agreements. An analysis conduced by the University of Sussex UK Trade Policy Observatory for The Independent this month found that post-Brexit trade deals will make up at most £7 of that £1,250.But in a speech last month Lord Frost claimed otherwise, arguing that a hard Brexit was in fact “essential”. He told his audience in Lisbon: “History shows us that it is genuine competition – regulatory and commercial – between states which has typically been the most reliable driver of innovation and progress. “That’s why what some people call I quote ‘hard Brexit’ – in its original sense of leaving the EU customs union and single market – was essential. “It was the only form of Brexit that allowed us freedom to experiment and freedom to act. This is already happening. And you can see some themes emerging reflecting our different policy preferences in the UK.”Lord Frost was enobled by Boris Johnson after negotiating the Brexit agreement. He negotiated the deal as the prime minister’s special advisor for Europe, largely taking over from the Department for Exiting the European Union. No.10 has been contacted for comment on this story. More