Markus Andrews

Lord Frost has described England as the “freest country in the world” as he hailed the lack of Covid-19 restrictions, as almost 45,000 positive cases were recorded in the UK on Monday.Speaking at the Guildhall in London, he lauded the lack of coronavirus measures amid the ramping up of restrictions for unvaccinated people elsewhere in Europe.Lord Frost said: “I am very happy that free Britain, or at least merry England, is probably now the freest country in the world as regards covid restrictions. “No mask rules, no vaccine passports. Long may it remain so.”It comes as the UK recorded a further 44,917 coronavirus cases on Monday, marking the fifth consecutive day that total positive tests have been over 40,000.The new figures bring the seven-day total to 292,417 cases, up 8.4 per cent on the week before.The number of deaths within 28 days of a positive test has dropped by 5.2 per cent compared with last week, with the UK recording 1,027 over the week.Meanwhile, the seven-day total for deaths with Covid-19 on the death certificate is 1,194.Another 880 people were admitted to hospital on Monday and 6,097 were admitted over the past week, again marking a small improvement on the previous seven days.It comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it is “very worried” about the spread of coronavirus in Europe.Dr Hans Kluge, regional director of the WHO, warned half a million more people may die due to the virus by March if countries continue “business as usual”. “Covid 19 has become once again the number one cause of mortality in our region,” he told the BBC.His comments coincide with Professor John Edmunds, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and member of Sage, saying Europe’s coronavirus wave should act as “a warning” to the UK as he urged those yet to be fully vaccinated to get the jab. More

France has told the UK it is in its “best interest to settle” the post-Brexit fishing dispute, saying if the two countries are to work together the UK must remain “true” to their word.Talks are ongoing between Britain, France and the European Union to settle the main source of contention, which is the number of licences granted to smaller French vessels to fish in waters around the British coastline.The UK has already granted 961 fishing licenses to French boats, according to French authorities, but France is demanding around 150 more licenses. France’s Europe minister Clement Beaune has also warned that, should the European Union fail to intervene over the issue of fishing rights, France will take their own “measures” against the UK.Speaking at an event on Monday, he said: “We still have all options on the table, including these measures, we will prefer to have it on the EU level but if nothing happens at the EU level we will take French measures. But I don’t want to go into that.“It would be a mistake to think you can have quick wins, or short-term wins, with your neighbours.“If we want to work together … on defence, and security, and foreign policy, and crises like the one we see in Belarus, or maybe in Ukraine, in the Balkans, which is a big concern for the UK as well, you need trust and to be true to your words. If we have doubts, it’ll never work.“So I say to the UK again, this is (in) your best interest to settle this.“We’re not there yet, that’s clear. So it’s not a satisfactory issue, not at all.”It comes after France’s minister of the sea, Annick Girardin, vowed to “continue the fight” in the country’s dispute with Britain after meeting with fishermen in the north of the country on Sunday.“We fight every day for these ships, for these licenses, and we will not give up,” she told reporters, criticising the British interpretation of post-Brexit rules over fishing rights as “inadmissible”. More

The government has been warned that Afghan refugees who are eligible for a UK resettlement scheme could “die before it becomes operational” after a three-month delay.Ministers pledged to relocate up to 20,000 people after the Taliban takeover of the country in August, but the scheme has not yet started and is still in the design stage.Campaigners accused the government of “dawdling” after failing to prepare for the consequences of military withdrawal from Afghanistan, while an MP said one of her constituents had already seen two relatives murdered by the Taliban.The delay comes as the government moves to criminalise all asylum seekers arriving in Britain on small boats or by other irregular routes. At least 10 migrants are thought to have drowned in the English Channel in recent weeks.Victoria Atkins, the minister responsible for Afghan resettlement, told the House of Commons: “We are working urgently across government and with partners such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to design the scheme. “We continue to support the thousands of people successfully evacuated from Afghanistan under Operation Pitting, and we will continue to support those who come under the scheme when it opens.”Labour MP Helen Hayes said one of her constituents had a brother living in hiding in Afghanistan with his wife and children. She added: “Since the evacuation ended, they have lost an uncle and a cousin, both murdered by the Taliban, and they have received numerous threatening messages. They live in daily fear for their lives, yet the government will not issue papers to give them the best chance of safe passage to the UK via a third country.”Ms Atkins said the security situation in Afghanistan meant that the UK had no consular presence in the country, but was “working at pace” to set up the resettlement process.“We want to set the scheme up as an example of a safe and legal route under the government’s new plan for immigration,” she added.Labour MP Bambos Charalambous said: “There is a real risk that the people whom the scheme is intended to help will die before it becomes operational.”Ms Atkins said 15,000 people were evacuated under the Operation Pitting emergency operation, and that there were agreements to remove more from Afghanistan with third countries.People crossing Channel are ‘not genuine asylum seekers’ and just want to stay in hotels, Priti Patel saysShe insisted the UK was “meeting its commitment” for translators and other Afghans who were made Taliban targets by their work with the British military. Louise Calvey, the head of services at charity Refugee Action, said: “It’s indefensible that ministers are still dawdling over the details of its Afghan resettlement scheme, three months after the fall of Kabul.“These delays have been caused in part by the government’s previous refusal to commit to a long-term resettlement programme, which left it totally unprepared when it was needed.“But this is no excuse to not help now. Ministers must urgently use the already operational UK resettlement scheme to identify and relocate vulnerable Afghan refugees so they can start to rebuild their lives here in safety.”Lisa Doyle, director of advocacy at the Refugee Council, said she was “dismayed” by the delay, adding: “The situation in Afghanistan remains extremely dangerous with many people at risk of persecution. The government needs to provide urgent clarification on when we can expect the scheme to open.”During the same parliamentary debate, Priti Patel defended a suite of new laws that would criminalise any refugee – including Afghans – who cross the English Channel on small boats or by any other means without “entry clearance”.“The new plan for immigration and the Nationality and Borders Bill are pivotal to the comprehensive reform of the entire system,” the home secretary told parliament. “There is no single solution.” More

Lord Frost has suggested he has oversight of the UK’s trade policy in order ensure that it was “consistent” with the post-Brexit trade deal, while moving the UK away from EU rules.  Speaking at the Guildhall in London on Monday, the Brexit minister told City leaders that his job was not just about settling disputes over the Northern Ireland protocol.  “That is why I have the job I have – it’s about trying to ensure there’s consistency between what’s required by the agreements with the EU, by the FTAs [Free Trade Agreements] with other countries and find the programme of domestic reforms our new freedoms have made possible,” he said.  Lord Frost added that divergence from EU rules was now a “national necessity”. He said: “To some extent unnoticed, we’re making changes to the nuts and bolts of some of the core frameworks underpinning the economy.”While the unelected cabinet minister outlined a wide range of responsibilities covering trade and economic policy, he said that fixing the Northern Ireland Protocol, which he negotiated last winter, was his “top priority”. The deal leaves Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market for goods, and it created with the rest of the UK a trade border down the Irish sea. “When we discuss trade in this country, we cannot forget that our most urgent and pressing problem, an issue of the highest national interest, is to make sure we can trade freely within our own country. I don’t think that’s too much to ask,” Lord Frost said.  His comments come after Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the international trade secretary, said that the UK would “absolutely not” trigger Article 16 and effectively override the protocol before Christmas. Lord Frost also outlined a suite of planned reforms for the economy including data reform, medical licensing, artificial intelligence and more. The minister underlined his position on Covid-19 restrictions, suggesting he was against the imposition of future restrictions, including those in the government’s own ‘Plan B’ for this winter, should the NHS become overwhelmed.  “I am very happy that free Britain, or at least merry England, is probably now the freest country in the world as regards Covid restrictions. No mask rules, no vaccine passports. Long may it remain so,” he said. Yet Lord Frost also said he was worried about “constraints” on what can be said in the public arena. And he underscored the government’s goal “to reduce taxes” despite raising them to the highest level in decades. More

The Tory revolt over social care has escalated ahead of a crunch Commons vote this evening, with a former party chief whip calling on Boris Johnson to withdraw controversial plans for a cap on lifetime costs.Mark Harper said the scheme, slipped out without fanfare last week, risks disadvantaging poorer pensioners as well as people with chronic health conditions.He said that ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care had failed to explain the thinking behind the decision to change the way the threshold for payments is calculated in a way which protects the wealthy but means the less well-off are more likely to lose their homes.His intervention, just hours before MPs vote on the scheme, will increase pressure on Mr Johnson to amend his proposals.Mr Harper – who stood against Mr Johnson for the Tory leadership in 2019 – is reported to have railed against the plans in an emergency call with care minister Gillian Keegan on Friday afternoon.A number of MPs, including several from the North of England where voters would be particularly disadvantaged by the change to the scheme, are said to have told Ms Keegan that the plan was poorly thought-out and unfair.Now Mr Harper has gone public with his concerns in a series of tweets, in which he said he would vote against the government on Monday evening.“The government amendment on social care…  makes a significant change to how the cost cap works,” said Mr Harper.“It potentially disadvantages the less well-off and those of working age with life-long conditions. I will be voting against “DHSC ministers haven’t properly worked with the sector or MPs to explain their thinking or decisions.“As chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Learning Disability, I want to make sure we focus on working-age adults, not just older people, unlike these proposals.”He added: “DHSC ministers should withdraw the amendment tonight and include their proposal in the White Paper on social care due before the year end.We can then discuss and consider it properly with all the facts at our disposal.“I want our social care reforms to work.”Mr Harper was backed by Newton Abbot MP Anne Marie Morris, who said: “There’s no reason why this change needs to be rushed through now. “Makes far more sense to wait and have a proper debate once everybody has had a chance to see what is in the White Paper.”The government announced in September plans for an £86,000 cap on lifetime care costs to be put in place from October 2023.The scheme, finally fulfilling the promise of care system reform proposals which Mr Johnson made on his first day as prime minister, also envisaged that people with assets of up to £20,000 would not have to contribute anything to their care, while those with assets of up to £100,000 would be eligible to receive some local authority support.But the policy paper released last Wednesday – just five days before this evening’s vote – revealed that any state contribution towards the cost of care will not count towards an individual’s £86,000 cap.The effect of the change is that people with assets totalling less than £106,000 could see as little as 20 per cent of the value of their home protected, while those with £500,000 will be able to keep 80 per cent or more.Government minister Paul Scully admitted today that some people could be forced to sell their homes to pay for care under the new system.“There will be fewer people selling their houses and hopefully none,” business minister Mr Scully told Sky News when asked about the change.Pushed on whether anyone would have to sell their homes to pay for care Mr Scully replied: “I can’t tell you what individuals are going to do.“What I’m saying is the social care solution is all about getting a cap above which you do not need to pay – that gives people certainty.”Former Tory cabinet minister Robert Buckland suggested he would vote against the changes, and urged the government to “look again”.“We’re in danger of putting the cart before the horse,” he warned. “There’s a lot of concern out there about this issue and I know the government is listening to those concerns.”Andrew Percy, the Conservative MP for Brigg and Goole, questioned the impact of the proposals on poorer communities, particularly in the north, telling The Independent: “I’m very concerned about what I’ve seen of the changes so far.“The whole purpose of this should be to protect the assets of those who have the least.“We can’t end up in a situation where those with the least – who’ve worked just as hard as other people – who happen to live in areas with lower house-price growth are thereby paying the same as people who’ve benefitted from house prices just because of where they live.” More

The government has been told to stop neglecting London’s trains if the UK wants to boost its status as a global trading hub. London’s transport network needs to be “properly funded” if the City is to boost the government’s global trade agenda, said Catherine McGuinness, chair of the City of London Cooperation. The city, as the country’s most important services’ hub, needs infrastructure that is “not in decline, managed or otherwise” she added, speaking at a trade conference organized by the Centre for Policy Studies at London’s Guildhall on Monday.Her remarks follow an interview with London’s transport commissioner, Andy Byfold, with the Observer on Sunday, in which he warned that unless fresh investment is agreed, the capital is “staring into the abyss”. “The negative route, the danger we face, is a managed decline, Mr Byfold said.Ms McGuinness also noted that much of the government’s rhetoric has focused on the quick wins from liberalising trade in goods by cutting tariffs with free trade deals. City leaders, including Ms McGuinness, called on the government to do more to boost trade in services, which is often poorly served by too great a focus on Free Trade Agreements. This approach, they say, does not reflect the UK’s economic strengths as a services-heavy economy. The sector accounts for around 80 per cent of GDP, and employs more than two million workers. Yet the UK’s most economically significant bilateral trade agreement, the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement, provides relatively weak provisions for services. The impact of Brexit on services’ trade is not yet clear, in part as it is harder to measure than that in goods.Compared to goods’ focused deals, trade in services is often more challenging, Ms McGuinness said, because of regulatory barriers. It therefore demands intense “regulatory dialogue” including side routes like memorandums of understanding and regulatory forums. The remarks have particular significance post-Brexit, as the UK still lacks an effective regulatory forum with one of its biggest markets for financial services exports, the EU. A memorandum of understanding has yet to be formally agreed and signed between the two parties. Proposals made by Brussels also indicate that it plans to crack down on cross-border activity, including banks serving EU clients from London.Meanwhile, the UK should “be worried” about the future of the multilateral trading system, said Peter Mandelson, a former trade commissioner to the EU. “China has been adept at spotting and exploiting gaps” in the WTO rulebook, Mr Mandelson said. But it is not the only country to “play fast and loose” with the WTO’s rules. The system needs repair and improvement, he added.The comments came after the trade secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, told City leaders that the UK must prepare for a shift in “global economic gravity” towards Asia.The trade secretary said: “The seven largest emerging economies are projected to surpass the economic size of the G7 during the 2030s.“Between 2019 and 2050, more than half of global growth is expected tom come from the Indo-Pacific,” she added. The UK has already started the process of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). And talks are also expected to begin “in the months ahead” with the Gulf Cooperation Council which includes Saudi Arabia. Trade talks with India are expected to begin early in 2022. More

The UK will not suspend the Northern Ireland Brexit agreement before Christmas, a Cabinet minister has said.Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the international trade secretary, said the government would “absolutely not” trigger Article 16 before the end of the year.The comments appear to signal a softening of the UK’s strategy in Brexit talks over Northern Ireland.Boris Johnson’s government has been threatening to trigger Article 16 and effectively suspend the agreement if the EU does not make changes to it.Brexit minister Lord Frost had previously said things would be settled by Christmas one way or another – effectively setting a deadline.But Ms Trevelyan told the Telegraph newspaper: “I don’t think anyone’s calling Article 16 before Christmas, absolutely not.”Lord Frost, who has been shuttling back and forth to Brussels for talks with Brussels over the agreement, said last week that Article 16 was still on the table and had been since July.Asked about Ms Trevelyan’s comments Boris Johnson’s spokesperson told a briefing of journalists in Westminster: “Our preference remains to agree a negotiated solution if we can. Of course we will use Article 16, the safety mechanism, if solutions cannot be found.”Asked directly whether the Government was willing to trigger Article 16 before Christmas, the spokesman replied: “I am not going to put a timetable on it. “We continue to believe that the conditions for triggering that safety mechanism of Article 16 have been met.”That remains the Government position. But we will look for a consensual, negotiated solution.”The Cabinet minister’s comments could be interpreted in Brussels as the UK backing down from the brink.Rhetoric emanating from the UK side has somewhat softened in recent weeks, with Boris Johnson’s authority weakened by the ongoing second jobs sleaze scandal. The UK wants the EU to change the agreement to remove barriers to trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The Northern Ireland Protocol was drawn up by Lord Frost and the EU two years ago to solve the problem of what would happen to the Irish border after Brexit. It came into force just at the beginning of this year. More

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth brands health and care bill ‘care con’Boris Johnson faces a potential backbench rebellion on Monday as MPs prepare to vote on changes made to the controversial health and care bill, including leaving poorer pensioners to pick up the rocketing cost of care. Concerns were raised last week when the government quietly slipped out changes to its initial proposals – first published in September – which revealed that the means-tested support provided to some pensioners by local authorities would not count towards the £86,000 lifetime cap. It came after the PM pledged that his social care reforms would mean nobody had to sell their home to pay for care.Pressed on whether this remained the case today, though, business minister Paul Scully said only he hoped nobody would have to resort to selling their house but that the number of people having to would certainly be “fewer” than now.Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth, accusing the Tories of “daylight robbery”, called on cross-party MPs to “reject” the plans and force ministers to “come up with something fairer”.Follow our live coverage belowShow latest update

1637592844Watch: Zahawi says anti-vaxx protests near schools won’t be ‘tolerated’ Education secretary says anti-vaxx protests outside schools will not be ‘tolerated’Sam Hancock22 November 2021 14:541637591850ICYMI: PM’s speech does little to sooth Tories’ leadership concerns – reportThe BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg says Boris Johnson’s disorganised performance at the CBI will have done little to assuage Tory MPs’s worries about the PM not being at the top of his game. Sam Hancock22 November 2021 14:371637590583Opinion: ‘Mark my words, Johnson will be gone by Christmas’Our associate editor Sean O’Grady writes about the PM’s future after weeks of infighting and controversy in the Conservative Party. Every year I write a column saying that Boris Johnson will be gone by Christmas. In 2019, I thought he’d have been forced out of Downing Street because of his mishandling of Brexit. Wrong. In 2020, I thought it would be because of his mishandling of Covid. Wrong. In 2021? I wonder if the coming social care debacle might not prove a bit of a tipping point.The launch of the social care plan was sort of a marketing miracle. What we now know to be a barely practical plan that will make little difference was sold as a revolution. What we now understand will be deeply regressive was painted as a fairer system, a fine example of “levelling up”. It is the opposite.The Johnson promise that no one would have to sell their home to pay for their care was airbrushed from history. They will – especially poorer people who fall victim to dementia rather than meet a swift end from cardiac arrest. The lottery of death remains virtually intact.Read Sean’s thinking in full here:Sam Hancock22 November 2021 14:161637589935Labour announce new council of skills advisorsHammering home Britain’s need for skills, Stamrer says he is announcing a new council of skills advisors, featuring the former home secretary David Blunkett, the tech entrepreneur Praful Nargund and the skills expert Rachel Sandby Thomas.He also restates Labour’s commitment to replace business rates.That’s his speech done. Starmer is now taking questions from the press. Sam Hancock22 November 2021 14:051637589841Government creating ‘false economy,’ Starmer saysSir Keir is accusing the government of creating a “false economy” by putting a cap on investment.Turning to Brexit, he says the challenge now is to make Brexit work – borrowing a line from his party conference speech earlier this year. The government thinks that all it has to do is say the words “Get Brexit Done”, Starmer says, referring to the Tory slogan. But “it has absolutely no plan to make Brexit work,” he quips. Just to be clear, Labour is not planning a re-match, but it is obvious that a poorly thought-through Brexit is holding Britain back.He also accuses Johnson of staging “pantomime disputes” with the EU as he sets out Labour’s plan to make post-Brexit policies work.Sam Hancock22 November 2021 14:041637589150Starmer gives his speech to the CBIKeir Starmer says the Labour party and the CBI have always been bound together. He says the CBI’s own book says it was set up at a time when business had radically different views on how to respond to the Wilson government’s policies.The Labour leader goes on to say that if we are serious about productivity, “we need to invest in skills”.He reminds the CBI that Boris Johnson has not always been “complimentary” about business. He says the only f-words he would use as leader and to do with business are foreign investment, fair trade, fiscal policy, a fiduciary duty. More