Markus Andrews

Laura Kuenssberg is in talks to step down as BBC political editor after six years and switch to presenting the Today programme, it has been reported.She could potentially be replaced by Jon Sopel, currently the corporation’s North America editor, who is returning to the UK next month and taking time off before returning to work next year.The BBC said Mr Sopel’s role was being advertised internally and would not confirm that Ms Kuenssberg was switching roles.The corporation’s first female political editor has been subject to vitriolic attacks on social media, with critics accusing her of bias, particularly those on the left who claim she is sympathetic to the Conservatives.Her move would be part of a widescale reshuffle of senior reporters, a source told The Guardian.A BBC spokesperson told The Independent: “The North America editor role is currently being advertised internally and the role will go through the normal recruitment process; it’s a bit soon to start speculating about the outcome of this, let alone other jobs which aren’t actually vacant.”Mr Sopel, who was linked to the political editor job six years ago, is tipped to be replaced in Washington DC by Sarah Smith, the BBC’s Scotland editor and occasional Today presenter.Ms Kuenssberg’s deal has yet to be signed off and there is no confirmed timeframe, The Guardian reported.A note seen by The Independent, from head of news Jonathan Munro to staff earlier this week, announcing Mr Sopel’s move, read: “He will wrap up in Washington at the end of November, then take a career break to catch up with family now dotted around the globe, before returning to a role in the BBC next year.“Jon has been at the forefront of our coverage during his posting, which incorporated three presidents, two elections and two impeachments.”The note quoted Mr Sopel as saying: “I’m now going to return to London and take a few months off before working on a plan for what comes next.”Next year, when the BBC celebrates its centenary, marks the beginning of the mid-term review of the corporation’s royal charter, following anger last year when aides to the prime minister allegedly said the government was planning to scrap the licence fee and replace it with a Netflix-style subscription model.BBC political editors are often moved to senior presenting jobs well ahead of general elections, enabling their successors to settle into the role. Nick Robinson, Ms Kuenssberg’s predecessor, is now one of Today’s five regular presenters. More

Labour’s Covid policy was plunged into confusion when it appeared to back an immediate move to tougher ‘plan B’ restrictions – before Sir Keir Starmer said it was the “wrong” question.Jonathan Ashworth, the party’s shadow health secretary, suggested the party’s stance had shifted when he told an interviewer: “We are in favour of plan B.”Mr Ashworth said that Labour had “never had a problem” with vaccine passports to enter crowded venues – a key plank of plan B – and had always backed the reintroduction of compulsory mask-wearing in those settings.But minutes later, his leader sent out a very different message as he attacked Boris Johnson for letting the vaccination programme “crumble”, as the number being jabbed was revealed to have slumped.Calling the controversy over plan B “the wrong focus”, Sir Keir said: “The question we need to ask is why is plan A failing? And it’s failing because the government has allowed that wall of the vaccine to crumble.”The muddle emerged as Mr Johnson again rejected pleas from NHS leaders to move immediately to tougher Covid restrictions in order to avoid a winter NHS disaster, insisting: “We’re sticking with our plan.”The prime minister acknowledged that case rates were “high” and rising, as the number of new daily infections topped 50,000 for the first time since the end of lockdown in July.But he insisted they were “within the parameters of what the predictions were” from government advisers when the staged lifting of lockdown was completed in the summer.Labour’s most senior elected leader, Wales’s first minister Mark Drakeford, has echoed NHS leaders and the British Medical Association in backing tougher curbs.And the general secretary of Unite, Sharon Graham, has made the same call for the government not to “repeat the complacency of last autumn”, when restrictions were delayed.One Conservative MP, NHS doctor Dan Poulter, broke ranks to back curbs now, including homeworking where possible and encouraging social distancing.“It is not a lot to ask for people to wear face masks on public transport, to wear face masks in crowded public spaces,” Dr Poulter told the PoliticsHome website.The Royal College of Emergency Medicine went further, as it highlighted the fact that patients are waiting in ambulances outside hospitals, and called for the return of social distancing rules.No move to plan B is imminent, No 10 sources insist, as the government pins its hopes on next week’s school half-term holiday dampening down infection numbers.The rising case rates are primarily among children, the first time a single age group has accounted for such a large proportion of the total. More

Britain’s Brexit chief has refused to publish details of his plans for changes to the Northern Ireland protocol, despite having already shared them with the EU.Lord Frost said the legal text – which opposition parties want to scrutinise – was not a “new stage or evolution in our position” and simply reflected the UK’s position set out earlier in the summer. But despite claiming that the text contained nothing new, and having already shared it with Brussels, the minister said he would not be making it public or allowing parliament to look at it.“It’s a negotiating documents for the purposes of negotiations. It does not change the UK government’s position in any way,” he said. Lord Frost also appeared to suggest the government had not explicitly consulted with ministers in Northern Ireland during the process of drawing up the final legal text.Asked whether he had done so, he said: “We discuss with elected politicians all the time in Northern Ireland, what our position is. We did that as part of preparing the command paper.” The command paper was an earlier document published on 21 July.Baroness Chapman, Labour’s shadow Brexit minister and Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, criticised Lord Frost’s approach.“Instead of making Brexit work, his high handed bluster and lack of plan is holding up progress and prolonging uncertainty,” she said. “This is damaging the UK’s international reputation, risks instability in Northern Ireland and is all completely unnecessary. Perhaps he just likes the drama.”Boris Johnson’s government negotiated the Northern Ireland protocol two years ago, but now wants to renegotiate parts of it.The government blames the Brexit deal, which creates new bureaucracy for businesses, for disruption to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The U-turn comes despite Boris Johnson having previously hailed the deal as a great achievement, and Lord Frost having personally negotiated it. The EU last week published a package of measures to change the protocol to reduce disruption to trade. The measures, which would cut spot checks and reduce the amount of paperwork needed for lorries, were welcomed by the UK but did not however meet a British demand to remove NI from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).The two sides have now sat down to discuss potential changes. More

The ongoing supply crisis has been causing problems in the UK, which has faced lorry driver, petrol and food shortages in recent months. But what is really behind it? And just how bad is it?Economist Julian Jessop, a former chief economist at the Institute of Economic Affairs, tackles your questions:Q: If the unique UK supply chain issues aren’t due to Brexit. Not due to the hostile environment towards “foreigners”. Not due to the ongoing raging epidemic in the UK. Not due to the obnoxious ineptitude of your current regime.Then what can it possibly be?Old DaneA: With the exception of the recent panic at the pumps (which was uniquely British), the UK is not the outlier that many assume. Supply problems and labour shortages are global: the US is being hit just as hard as the UK, partly because both the US and UK have seen a relatively strong recovery this year and are therefore running into capacity constraints sooner. This is not to deny that Brexit is a big issue in some sectors (e.g. shortages of agricultural workers). But they are other non-Brexit UK-specific factors too (e.g. impact of new tax rules for agency drivers).Q: Since using the ‘B word’ is forbidden by the Tories as by Labour there has to be another reason why our shortages lead to empty shelves here at home and not in the EU.So I’m trying some things here, could it be that our rules and legislation are simple to hard on professions? Do HGV drivers really need all that training? How often does an HGV driver for example has drive through narrow streets? Butchery is another example. Are we all not able to cut meat at home why have special rules for those in the business?BradA: Sorry but I don’t accept that food shortages and empty shelves are widespread in the UK. Retailers are reporting only patchy disruption, with alternative almost always available. The recent problems at the pump are an exception, but this was driven by panic buying which turned a minor hiccup into a genuine crisis.Rest of EuropeQ: Would being a member of the single market have avoided the current supply crisis?SturlusonA: Not avoided completely – these are global problems – but perhaps reduced. The end of free movement of labour from the EU after leaving the SM has definitely contributed to the labour shortages in some sectors. Nonetheless, this could still have been handled better with a more flexible post-Brexit visa system (the UK govt is at least now doing something about this).Q: Let me put it this way (I live in Italy): I have not personally seen, read of in the press, seen on TV, heard from friends or acquaintances of any shortages of any kind in shops and supermarkets. Not now, not during lockdown. LhctsA: I live in the UK and have yet to see any food shortages or empty shelves, but doubtless I’m biased! Retailers themselves are only reporting patchy disruption, with alternatives almost always available. Worth noting too that UK food price inflation remains relatively low.Lorry drivers shortagesQ: Surely, restoring the DVLA to a functioning unit is the highest priority and yet a settlement was agreed between unions and management but it was overruled by the minister, Grant Shapps, and then there was silence.Four thousand new licenses are sitting on a DVLA desk(s) and so 4,000 trained HGV drivers actually in the UK cannot ply their new chosen trade.I wonder why the government prefers to import foreign drivers rather than expedite new UK trained HGV drivers? This appears to be perverse behaviour.Mr BishiA: You’re right that allowing in more EU drivers can only be short-term fix, especially as there are shortages of drivers in the EU too. But I personally still think it was right to extend more visas to help deal with a short-term problem. And even more important in sectors like agriculture, where the UK is heavily dependent on EU workers (and this isn’t going to change overnight).Interest ratesQ: When, and how much by, do you think interest rates will rise? And what might happen as a result? ThanksForthavenA: If I were setting rates I would already have raised them! GDP and employment are now back at or close to pre-Covid levels, and inflation is heading further above target, and yet rates are still at an emergency low of just 0.1 per cent. I suspect though that the Bank will only move slowly, perhaps to 0.25 per cent by the end of this year and back to the pre-Covid level of 0.75 per cent later in 2022. These would still be exceptionally low levels and rates would only be going up because both activity and inflation are stronger than expected – context is important. More

Boris Johnson has blamed a failure of people to come forward for booster jabs for the slow rollout of the programme, calling it “a demand issue”.The NHS and the department of health are both in the firing line for the low number of vaccinations – with Labour claiming two million eligible people have yet to receive an invitation.But the prime minister insisted there is adequate supply, saying: “It’s a demand issue. We really urge people to come and do it.”Speaking in Northern Ireland, Mr Johnson again rejected pleas from NHS leaders to move now to the tougher Covid restrictions in his ‘Plan B’, insisting: “We’re sticking with our plan.”He acknowledged case rates are “high” and are rising, after almost 50,000 new infections are recorded each day across the UK.But he insisted they are “within the parameters of what the predictions were” from government advisers when the lifting of the lockdown was completed in the summer.People aged over 50 and vulnerable group who received their second vaccination six months ago – and whose immunity is waning – are now eligible for a booster dose.But, in stark contrast to the original jabs programme, GP surgeries are not involved and it has been left to the NHS to organise centrally, as it wrestles with a huge and growing patient backlog.In the Commons, Labour warned the booster programme is “stalling” and that, at the current rate, it would not be completed until next March – long after the expected winter peak for infections.On a visit to mark Northern Ireland’s centenary year, Mr Johnson also commented on Ali Harbi Ali appearing in court charged with the terrorism-related murder of former Conservative MP David Amess.“I hope the family of David Amess and all those who love him will get the justice they deserve as fast as possible,” he said.“What we must not do is be intimidated by this appalling murder into changing the way we conduct our parliamentary business or the way we work in our constituencies – which I think is the last thing that David Amess would have wanted.”The prime minister called for the dispute with the EU over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol need to be “flushed out pretty fast”, as talks continue with Brussels.And he defended the move to end all Troubles-era prosecutions in Northern Ireland, after the death of Army veteran Dennis Hutchings while on trial over a 1974 shooting.The Council of Europe has warned of possible breaches of international law, including the European Convention on Human Rights.But Mr Johnson said: “What we want to do is to try to tell the story of what has happened in The Troubles and to try to bring as much reconciliation and understanding as possible.“But to bring an end to the endless cycle by which people are being brought to court with no new evidence for things that have been tried and heard many, many years ago.“That is the thing that I think people want to end, and we want to find a solution that brings people together, allows people to grieve, but also allows people to move on.” More

Boris Johnson and Jacinda Arden announce post-Brexit trade dealShadow trade secretary Emily Thornberry has accused the government of failing to secure trade deals “that deliver for Britain”, telling the Commons ministers are allowing the Asia-Pacific region to “take the UK to the cleaners”.In a question to trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Ms Thornberry said the newly announced UK-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA) failed to deliver benefits at home compared with those secured abroad. “There is a real problem that this is now the third Asia-Pacific agreement in a row – Japan, Australia and now New Zealand – where more than 80 per cent of the projected growth in trade, by [the trade] department, has gone to exporters in those other countries, and less than 20 per cent has gone to exports to the UK,” she said.The Labour MP also suggested the new deal would allow NZ farmers to undercut British farmers by shipping in meat produced to lower welfare standards. Ms Trevelyan replied sternly that the Tories would “never compromise standards for food coming into the UK”, though her assurances have done little to assuage angry UK agricultural workers who say they “aren’t so sure what opportunity” the deal offers them. Follow our live coverage belowShow latest update

1634828149PM accused of U-turn on Christmas pledge for Online Safety BillBoris Johnson is facing claims of backtracking on his pledge for new internet safety laws to be pushed through by ministers before Christmas.He had said the Online Safety Bill would be considered at second reading – the first time it is debated and voted upon – in the House of Commons ahead of the holidays.But MPs heard a parliamentary committee examining the proposed legislation is not expected to report back until December, with Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg failing to guarantee second reading would take place pre-Christmas.For Labour, shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire said: “The prime minister appeared to confirm first that the Online Safety Bill would have completed all stages by Christmas, then it was just going to be second reading, and now it seems No 10 have rowed back even further to a vague commitment that the Bill will be presented at some point during this session. That’s not even before Christmas.“Could the Leader of the House please help us out here, what is the timetabling for this Bill because the prime minister doesn’t seem to know.” Mr Rees-Mogg replied: “The Online Safety Bill will complete its draft scrutiny in December.”Labour MP Chi Onwurah then spoke to say: “Can we have a debate on planning and the prime minister so that he will not again announce the date of a critical piece of legislation – the Online Safety Bill – then U-turn on that date within a couple of hours?”The legislation is expected to force the biggest technology firms, such as Facebook and Google, to abide by a duty of care to users, overseen by Ofcom as the new regulator for the sector. Mr Johnson also insisted it will impose “criminal sanctions with tough sentences” on those responsible for allowing “foul content” on their platforms.Sam Hancock21 October 2021 15:551634827789MPs reject demand for air pollution limits after 13-year-old’s deathMPs have rejected tougher air pollution limits which would have brought the UK in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance by 2030 and cut exposure to harmful airborne toxins.The proposal, set out in an amendment to the government’s Environment Bill by peers in the House of Lords, followed the tragic case of nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who last year became the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as their cause of death, reports our environment correspondent Harry Cockburn.It would have set a new legal limit for small particulate matter (PM2.5), which is largely generated by diesel engines and woodburning stoves, but MPs voted 307 to 185 to disagree with the amendment and remove the proposal from the Bill.Instead, the government said a public consultation will take place next year with an aim to introduce new legislation by October to tackle the problem – dashing hopes of having it through in time for Cop26. Sam Hancock21 October 2021 15:491634827129Watch: Arden and Johnson announce post-Brexit trade dealBoris Johnson and Jacinda Arden announce post-Brexit trade dealSam Hancock21 October 2021 15:381634827086Britain ‘close to firebreak lockdown,’ says Tory backbencher Roger GaleSam Hancock21 October 2021 15:381634826491NI Protocol issues must be ‘flushed out pretty fast,’ PM saysSome more commentary from Boris Johnson now, as the PM continued to speak to reporters at a centenary event in Northern Ireland. Asked about ongoing post-Brexit furore, Mr Johnson said problems with the much-discussed Northern Ireland Protocol need to be flushed out “pretty fast”.He told reporters:“We can’t go on forever with this question because it is affecting real people and real lives and real businesses right now because of the way in which the Protocol is being interpreted.“I don’t think that it is coherent with the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement because the way it is being used is creating these unnecessary checks down the Irish Sea.“So we need to flush it out pretty fast and we need to change the causes of the problem and not the symptoms and I think we need to move pretty fast.” More

Tory MPs will continue to refuse to wear masks in the Commons chamber because they “know each other” a defiant Jacob Rees-Mogg says.Sajid Javid, the health secretary, bowed to pressure for Conservative MPs to change their much-criticised stance – as he warned of tougher Covid restrictions if the public’s behaviour does not change.But, just hours later, Mr Rees-Mogg told MPs: “The advice on crowded spaces is crowded spaces with people that you don’t know – we on this side know each other.”The Commons Leader suggested MPs from other parties did not like “mixing”, adding: “We one this side have a more convivial, fraternal spirit – and are therefore following the guidance of Her Majesty’s Government.”The comments came as Downing Street refused to say whether Boris Johnson would follow his own health secretary’s advice by wearing a face covering.No 10 was blindsided by Mr Javid’s shift, at Wednesday’s press conference – given the health secretary has previously declined to wear a mask himself.Faced with accusations of hypocrisy – after urging the public to wear masks in crowded spaces – Mr Javid conceded: “I think that’s a very fair point.”But, ducking the question of whether Mr Johnson would wear them, his spokesman echoed Mr Rees-Mogg in telling journalists: “It remains the case that it’s a matter of personal judgment for all individuals on wearing a mask.“We have very clear guidance which sets out that people are recommended to wear face coverings in crowded, enclosed spaces where they come into contact with people they do not normally meet.”The spokesman stepped up the government’s war of words with NHS bosses and doctors’ leaders, again denying the pressure on the health services requires a shift to “Plan B’ now.The British Medical Association has joined the NHS Confederation in insisting the restrictions – mask-wearing, vaccination to enter crowded venues and working from home – are needed immediately.There are currently 95,000 hospital beds in the NHS, of which only 7,000 are occupied by Covid patients, while around 6,000 are available, No 10 said.The spokesman also described a report that a Plan C is being prepared – to reintroduce limits on household mixing, if necessary – as “not accurate”.Neither Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, not chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance has “formally” advised a move to Plan B, the spokesman said. More

The government’s new trade deal will allow New Zealand farmers to undercut British farmers by shipping in meat produced to lower welfare standards, Labour has said. Speaking in the Commons on Thursday morning shadow international trade secretary Emily Thornberry argued that “any other government” would have kept quotas in place to stop domestic farmers being undercut.But, she said, the UK’s rush to liberalise would damage its own farming industry. The UK government’s own forecasts predict a trade deal with New Zealand could overall slightly reduce the size of the UK economy, with gains from cheaper imports being offset by damage to domestic farming communities.But the effects are unlikely to be spread evenly, with areas like Northern Ireland, which depends particularly on agriculture, expected to fare the worst from the expected influx of slightly cheaper meat.”According to the Government’s own forecast, this deal will lead to reductions in growth and jobs in the UK farming sector because, as the scoping paper says, and I quote, ‘New Zealand’s producers may be able to supply UK retailers at lower cost relative to domestic producers’,” Ms Thornberry told the Commons.She added: “For all practical purposes, what this deal therefore gives us is unlimited tariff-free trade from New Zealand to go with unlimited tariff-free trade already agreed with Australia.”And not just that, but we are eliminating the tariffs on dozens of products from Australia and New Zealand which fall well short of our domestic welfare standards. Our domestic restrictions on antibiotics whose production is doing huge damage to the environment.”These are bad deals for our farming industry, they will undermine the competitiveness of our farmers and the standards that they are required to maintain. In other words, these deals are exactly what the Trade and Agriculture Commission was established to prevent.”Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan replied: “I will reiterate again, we will keep saying this until the Opposition are willing to be comfortable with it if that’s what is required, that we will never compromise food standards for food coming into the UK.”But other opposition parties also criticised the government’s approach. Scottish National Party trade spokesman Drew Hendry said: “The UK Government’s own assessment shows that a free trade agreement with New Zealand would bring zero benefit, indeed it could lead to contraction in GDP.”Can the Secretary of State tell us how long it would take to make up, say, even 0.5 per cent of the 14 per cent drop in Scottish food and drink exports to the EU through this deal?”He added: “According to the Government’s own figures, this deal will cut employment in our farming communities. For what? About £112 million possibly? That is about half of the Prime Minister’s new yacht. Is that really a good deal?”Ms Trevelyan said: “As I make new trade deals I want to ensure that our farmers are finding new markets for our products, we are seeing, as I mentioned in my statement, a growth in markets across Asia where the call for high quality produce is growing.”Last night New Zealand and the UK announced they had reached an agreement in principle, which Boris Johnson hailed as “a great trade deal for the United Kingdom”. The agreement, if finalised, will eliminate tariffs on 97 per cent of products between both countries.New Zealand is a small, distant economy roughly the size of Portugal, and the overall economic impact of the free trade agreement is expected to be negligible, according to the government’s own calculations. More