Markus Andrews

Sajid Javid has urged his Tory colleagues to wear masks in the crowded Commons chamber, saying public figures should “set an example” as Covid cases surge.The health secretary was questioned at a Downing Street press conference over Conservative MPs seen without face coverings in parliament.It was suggested that this could leave members of the government open to allegations they were not practicing what they preach.Mr Javid responded: “I think that’s a very fair point,” adding that ministers and health leaders “have all got our role to play in this”.”We also have a role to play to set an example as private individuals as well, I think that’s a very fair point and I’m sure a lot of people will have heard you,” he added. More

Boris Johnson’s national security adviser has suggested lives were “potentially put at risk” after UK left behind sensitive documents at its former embassy in Kabul in the midst of the western evacuation from Afghanistan.Sir Stephen Lovegrove told MPs and peers the incident was “extremely regrettable” after reports in the summer that embassy staff had left contact details of Afghans, who had worked with British forces, scattered on the ground.It occurred as the government frantically attempted to evacuate British nationals and Afghans who had worked alongside them, including translators, amid fears of reprisals as the Taliban insurgency seized power in the region.Papers identifying seven Afghans were found by reporters, according to The Times newspaper, which handed over the details to the Foreign Office team involved in the airlift from Kabul international airport in August.“There is yet an unfinished Foreign Office inquiry into that so I don’t want to pre-judge that,” Sir Stephen told the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy when asked about sensitive documents being left behind.However, he added: “To put it very mildly it is extremely regrettable and potentially put lives at risk and should not have happened. I can’t be clearer than that.”The Foreign Office has previously suggested that during the evacuation “every effort was made to destroy sensitive material and our staff worked tirelessly to secure the safety of those who worked for us”. The Whitehall department had also reported the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).Elsewhere, Sir Stephen also told members of the committee that he did not believe the UK should “tear up” the way intelligence assessments are conducted — despite the failure to foresee the rapid fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban.He said: “The assessment of what happened in Afghanistan — with the single but absolutely crucial exception of the rapidity of the collapse — was correct.“So we do need to look at why we got the rapidity of the collapse question wrong, we are doing that… but I don’t think candidly that we need to tear up the way we do assessment and the way we do intelligence. A great deal of what we thought came to pass — the speed of which it came to pass was what we got wrong.”The prime minister’s national security adviser also insisted that while the speed of the fall of the Kabul was included in intelligence assessments, it was at a “very low” level of confidence.Sir Stephen said the central scenario was that the UK would maintain a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan and its government would remain operative until “at a minimum the end of this calendar year”.“Clearly at that level the assessment was wrong but nobody ever said the assessment was definitely going to be right, it just happened to be a lower level probability we thought at the time – and everybody else thought at the time, including the Taliban”. More

The absence of the leaders of China, Russia and Brazil – and probably India and Japan – is a blow to Cop26, the Cabinet minister in charge of the summit has admitted.After Vladimir Putin’s announcement that he is staying away from Glasgow, Alok Sharma told MPs: “Clearly, having world leaders attend is good for the process it’s good for Cop.”It was revealed that absent leaders will be unable to join by Zoom, in a possible blow to Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida, who has spoken of attempting to take part online.“It’s a physical meeting and the participants will be there physically,” a Cop26 official told a committee by MPs – with just 11 days until the summit gets underway.The questions came as Mr Sharma was accused of failing to set out coherent benchmarks for success, to allow a judgement of whether it had been “a good Cop or a bad Cop”.The event’s president-designate said the aim was to “keep 1.5 degrees within reach” – the maximum global temperature rise thought possible while avoiding catastrophic climate change.But 11 of the world’s 20 biggest economies have yet to announce their contributions to that task – and there is no agreement on the mechanism to monitor compliance, even if targets are set.Asked if foot-dragging countries had been told to put commitments to net zero carbon emissions in law, Mr Sharma said they were only required to make the vow.Leading diplomats have emphasised the importance of face-to-face contact between the leaders of countries – the only people with the power to make critical climate commitments.But Xi Jinping, the premier of China – the world’s largest carbon emitter and currently planning more coal-fired power stations – will almost certainly be missing, although he has not confirmed that.Mr Putin will also be absent, as will the presidents of Brazil (Jair Bolsonaro), South Africa (Cyril Ramaphosa) and Iran (Ebraham Raisi), while Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has yet to commit.Labour has warned of the damage to the chances of agreement. Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said: “Without the biggest emitters like Russia and China, progress towards climate safety cannot be achieved.”In his evidence, Mr Sharma said 200 world leaders will be in Glasgow and that Russia will send a delegation for the whole two weeks of negotiations.But he acknowledged the wait goes on for “some of the largest emitters” to put forward 2030 carbon reduction plans, adding: “The ball is in their court and that’s the big ask we have for them.”Mr Sharma also defended the government’s net zero strategy – widely criticised as inadequate – telling the MPs: “The UK is seen as a leader when it comes to climate action.”And he downplayed the idea of Glasgow being a make-or-break moment, saying: “There will be future Cops when we can hopefully make further progress.” More

Parliament’s expenses watchdog has said it will redact some details of MPs’ claims due to security fears following the killing of Sir David Amess.The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) acknowledged concerns about information being published on MPs’ travel, as well as the hire of venues for constituency surgeries.In a letter sent to all MPs, the body’s chairman Richard Lloyd and chief executive Ian Todd said the IPSA was seeking fresh security advice on what exactly should be disclosed.They said that while a safety review was being carried out the watchdog would temporarily “remove” some details from previously published expenses claims.The watchdog is also postponing the scheduled publication of the latest expenses figures due in November amid heightened security in the aftermath of Sir David’s murder.The Southend West MP was stabbed to death at a constituency surgery event in a church hall in Leigh-on-Sea on Friday. Ali Harbi Ali, 25, is in custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder.The IPSA also said the security review would also examine how Freedom of Information Act (FOI) requests are assessed in light of concerns that responses may reveal addresses and travel plans.In the letter to MPs, the IPSA chiefs said: “We have heard from some Members since last Friday that there are concerns about some of the information we publish, including data on travel and constituency surgery venue hire.”They added: “In light of the terrible events last Friday we are seeking fresh expert advice on what and how we publish your business and staffing costs. This will include consideration of how freedom of information requests will be assessed.“Whilst this review is under way, we are postponing the publication of expenditure information due in November and temporarily removing descriptive detail from previously published claims on our website whilst the review is under way.”Labour MP Rupa Huq said she was considering whether to remove her address from the ballot paper candidates used by some to show voters they live in the area.“We all live amongst our constituents and our address is on the ballot paper and I just don’t know if I’ll do that next time,” she told The Guardian. “You can have it redacted, and I’m thinking I might just do that next time.”Home secretary Priti Patel said on Monday that a speedy review into policing arrangements for MPs would conclude within days and pledged to update the Commons.Ms Patel said she had been working with Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle on the issue of security.She said MPs would be given new advice on how to “conduct their work publicly in a safe and secure way” but said “one-to-one” contact with constituents remained vital.While Ms Patel has suggested the government would consider ways to boost police protection, her cabinet colleague Dominic Raab has said the government and parliamentary authorities were “more likely to look at things like private security guards”. More

Gordon Brown has hit out at governments’ efforts to raise $100 billion to tackle the climate crisis, likening it to being treated as “organising a whip-round at a charity fundraiser” – just weeks before a crucial summit.In an article for The Independent, the former Labour prime minister argued the success of Cop26 depends on the world’s richest countries honouring the “yet unrealised” 12-year-old pledge to transfer the funds to low-income countries.He added that governments must also ratchet up shorter-term carbon reduction targets for 2025 and 2030 – recognising the urgency of the situation – and urged companies to disclose their carbon footprint.Mr Brown’s intervention comes just 11 days before world leaders meet in Glasgow for the UN climate summit, where Boris Johnson hopes to seal a deal to keep global warming below 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.Another of the government’s key targets is to urge developed counties to “make good on their promise to mobilise at least $100bn in climate finance per year” – a goal that was first initiated at a climate summit in 2009.Mr Brown, who was prime minister at the time, said: “We knew that, as Artic and Antarctic ice disappears, floods and fires increase, and threats to biodiversity multiply, the poorest people in the poorest countries will be hit hardest.”But he added: “Instead of countries agreeing an equitable sharing of the burden, we have treated the business of raising $100bn like organising a whip-round at a charity fundraiser.“In no year since 2009 has the fund every yielded more than $40bn of the promised $100bn. It is only when multilateral bank disbursements and private funding – mainly in loans for renewable projects – are added that the annual sum finally reached $80bn in 2019, still well below what was promised.”The former prime minister warned that current commitments, including both the UK and US, “still falls far short of what they should be contributing.”“Until developed countries outline a credible path to making good their promise, vulnerable countries will not trust any pledges made on future emissions reductions and they could decide to bring Cop26 down,” he said. “So it is imperative that in the days between now and the start of Cop26 the $100bn a year is finally achieved.”It comes after controversy surrounding the UK’s commitment, with billions pledged being taken from the overseas aid budget, which has already been dramatically scaled back by the Treasury.On Tuesday, the UK government also published long-delayed documents setting out its strategy to reach the legally binding target of net zero by 2050, but faced criticism from climate campaigners arguing ministers should be going “further and faster”.While proposals to replace polluting gas boilers, support the switch to electric cars and plant millions of trees were welcomed, critics warned the package was over-cautious, with one expert saying it was more in tune with limiting global warming to 2.5-3C, rather than the 1.5C maximum which is the goal of next month’s crucial UN Cop26 summit in Glasgow. More

Boris Johnson’s government is under increasing pressure to reintroduce social restrictions to curb the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the UK and head off a winter healthcare crisis.The Department of Health and Social Care recorded another 43,738 cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday as well as 223 deaths within 28 days of testing positive for the respiratory disease, the highest casualty rate since 9 March before the vaccine bounce began to take effect.That case total was down slightly on the 49,156 reported on Monday but the number of infections has been consistently above 40,000 for the past week, placing the UK on the frontline of the global fightback against the pandemic once again.The government’s “Plan A” – namely, offering vaccine booster jabs to 30m people identified as vulnerable – appears not to be working, with Sir David King, chief scientific to Tony Blair’s government between 2000 and 2007, telling Sky News the rollout had been carried out “extremely slowly” and that the total of 3.1m people it had reached so far was insufficient.Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday morning, Professor Neil Ferguson from Imperial College London also sounded the alarm by warning that immunity in the UK appears to be “waning” because of the country’s early success in rolling out the vaccination scheme, which began in December 2020.“People need to be aware that we currently have higher levels of infection in the community than we’ve almost ever had during the pandemic,” Professor Ferguson said.Also responding to the increasingly alarming state of play was Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS confederation, who called for the urgent imposition of a “Plan B” ordering a revival of measures like mask wearing, working from home and vaccine passports in order to stop the spread.“We are right on the edge – and it is the middle of October,” he said. “It would require an incredible amount of luck for us not to find ourselves in the midst of a profound crisis over the next three months.“The government ought to not just announce that we’re moving to Plan B, but it should be Plan B plus. We should do what’s in Plan B in terms of masks… working from home, but also we should try to achieve the kind of national mobilisation that we achieved in the first and second waves, where the public went out of their way to support and help the health service.”Downing Street has so far said it is keeping a “very close eye” on the situation and acknowledged that there are signs that the number of hospital admissions and deaths are also rising but said it currently has “absolutely no plan” to reintroduce restrictions, the last of which were waived on “Freedom Day” on 19 July.The prime minister has reportedly told his Cabinet that he believes their current coronavirus plan is keeping the virus under control while reiterating that he and his ministers “must put all our energies into our vaccination programmes”.On the prospect of a new national lockdown being implemented, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng dismissed the idea in an interview with Sky News on Wednesday morning, saying: “I would rule that out.”“I think the conversation about restrictions on travel, restrictions on more lockdowns is completely unhelpful,” he added. “We don’t want to go back into lockdown and further restrictions.”A No 10 spokesman reiterated that stance on Wednesday lunchtime, saying: “There isn’t any proposed plan for any further lockdowns. We are sticking to the autumn and winter plan we have set out.”However, it was previously reported in early September that the government did have plans drawn up in case a future “firebreak” lockdown became necessary due to rising cases, with an official stressing at the time that this was merely a contingency plan centred around the reintroduction of restrictions and that any new lockdown would only be imposed as a “last resort”.Health secretary Sajid Javid is due to give a rare press conference to address the nation’s growing concerns on Wednesday evening, itself a sign, whatever he actually has to say, that the government at least recognises the seriousness of public concern surrounding the high infection rate. More

UK cost of living ‘a real cause of concern’, minister admits.mp4Boris Johnson has committed to a Commons vote on the Online Safety Bill before Christmas, following a question by Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs in which he asked why Conservatives had not yet brought forward a second reading of the legislation.Committing Labour’s support to the much-discussed Bill, Sir Keir cited examples of violent material not being removed by social media companies, including instances of abuse on the app Telegram posted while MPs gave tributes to murdered MP Sir David Amess on Monday.In an exchange notable for its uncharacteristic calmness, in which Sir Keir repeatedly asked the PM to refrain from attacking Labour “considering the week we’ve had” – as MPs dealt with the death of Sir David – Mr Johnson ultimately said he would ensure the Bill “does complete its stages before this House, before Christmas”.Following the prime minister’s questions session, MPs observed a minute’s silence in the Commons before paying tribute to Tory MP James Brokenshire, who died of lung cancer on 7 October. “Politics and Parliament would be the better if there were more people of his caliber involved,” Mr Johnson said in his opening tribute. Show latest update

1634712244Good morning, and welcome to The Independent’s rolling UK politics coverage. Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates from Wednesday, with Boris Johnson set to face off against Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in prime minister’s questions at 12pm. Sam Hancock20 October 2021 07:441634713057MPs set to reject Lords amendments to Environment BillEnvironment secretary George Eustice has rejected almost all the changes to the Environment Bill voted for by the House of Lords, with reports suggesting he has advised MPs to do the same ahead of a Commons debate on the changes later today.The changes included greater protection for ancient woodland and a legal duty on water companies to reduce sewage damage to rivers.The Greener UK coalition said the government’s decision was “hugely disappointing,” especially ahead of this month’s Cop26 climate summit. But the government said it would be bringing forward its own changes to the bill, to demonstrate “global leadership” before the conference in Glasgow.The government says the bill – which was published in 2019 – is designed to improve air and water quality, tackle plastic pollution, restore wildlife, and protect the climate.The law sets up a new independent watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection, to monitor progress on improving the environment. During the bill’s passage through the House of Lords, peers voted for an amendment which sought to strengthen the watchdog’s powers.They also voted to reverse a government move to exempt defence, national security and fiscal policy from a requirement to consider environmental principles when making policies.On Tuesday morning, though, it was revealed Mr Eustice had formally recommended MPs reject almost all of the proposals.Sam Hancock20 October 2021 07:571634713219Terrorist minimum prison sentence raised amid Amess falloutTerrorists who make plans to kill at least two people will face longer in prison under new sentencing guidelines published today, a new report suggests. Justice secretary Dominic Raab has argued that the new advice for judges to hand down sentences of a minimum of 14 years would send a stronger message to those who plot to “kill and maim in the name of warped and fanatical ideologies”.The Ministry of Justice’s move comes as police continue to question Ali Harbi Ali, 25, over the murder of Tory MP Sir David Amess last week. He is being detained under the Terrorism Act, reports Lamiat Sabin. The Sentencing Council has confirmed it will advise judges that the starting point for sentencing those who plot to kill with terror motives should be a minimum of 14 years, according to The Times.Sam Hancock20 October 2021 08:001634713407House of Commons schedule for WednesdayHere’s a breakdown of all the sessions scheduled to take place in the Commons chamber today. 11.30am Cop26 questions12pm Prime Minister’s Questions12.30pm Urgent questions/statementsTributes to James BrokenshireA 10-minute rule motion on Decarbonisation and Economic StrategyEnvironment Bill – consideration of Lords amendmentsA short debate on NHS dentistry in LincolnshireFor a full Parliamentary schedule, including timings for Westminster Hall and the House of Lords, head here. Sam Hancock20 October 2021 08:031634713722Cost of climate inaction greater than any estimate on net zero transition – Kwarteng Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has been doing No 10’s media rounds this morning.Speaking to Times Radio, he said the cost of inaction on climate change would cost more than any Treasury estimates of moving to net zero.Mr Kwarteng was asked about the costs of the widely-discussed Net Zero Strateg, published by the government on Tuesday, and he said:“I think if we look at the green agenda, the transition broadly, we’ll know that the cost of inaction, actually, could be greater than actually doing things.“As I’ve said, I actually think there’s a huge amount of economic opportunity. Look at the announcements regarding Nissan’s investments in terms of electric vehicles. I speak to Ben Houchen in the northeast, look at the investments there, the freeport.“All of these things suggest to me that, actually, the economic opportunity, in terms of the transition, is huge and that’s what I’m focused on. I think, ultimately, that’s what’s going to drive huge amounts of prosperity, lots of prosperity in the UK.”Sam Hancock20 October 2021 08:081634714155Minister admits inflation ‘something government is concerned about’More from Kwasi Kwarteng now. The business secretary has admitted the government is “concerned” about the rate of inflation currently affecting the UK, despite weeks of reassurances from Boris Johnson that the economy is merely “waking up” from Covid and Brexit. Asked to share figures given to him by the Bank of England, following reports inflation could reach 4 per cent in Britain, Mr Kwarteng laughed and said those “conversations are private”. He said: “I read all sorts of things … those are private conversations. But I see also … I read lots of analysis from city economists and there’s a debate at the moment as to how long this inflation will last. I’m confident that it’ll be contained, but we’ll have to wait and see.”Sam Hancock20 October 2021 08:151634714394Government rules out Covid lockdown despite NHS’ call for ‘Plan B’ restrictionsBoris Johnson’s government is ruling out another Covid lockdown or any “further restrictions” this winter, despite NHS leaders’ call for ministers to enforce “Plan B” curbs.Amid another surge in Covid cases, the NHS Confederation has urged ministers to implement the back-up strategy – including mandatory face coverings and asking people to work from home, writes Adam Forrest. But business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the government was not interested in bringing back curbs. “We don’t want to go into lockdown or further restrictions,” he told Sky News on Wednesday.Sam Hancock20 October 2021 08:191634715062Transitioning to net zero will be ‘very costly’ for consumers, Kwarteng admitsIn a slightly confusing message, Kwasi Kwarteng said the price of consumers transitioning to net zero will be driven down by private investment – before conceding it would still be “very costly”.Speaking to Sky News, the business secretary said it was a “fair question” for people to ask how much measures such as insulating homes and switching to low-emission vehicles would cost.Pointing to guidance in the government’s new Net Zero Strategy, published yesterday, he said the document was “trying to attract huge amounts of private investment into the UK, and what happens with private investment is that the unit costs of the energy actually is driven down, it’s lowered, it’s cheaper”.“If we look back over the last nine years, the cost of those renewables has gone down hugely, something like two-thirds. So, more investment, actually in diverse energy sources, is actually going to reduce costs in the medium and long term,” he added.However, while signalling prices would still be costly for a huge number of households, Mr Kwarteng said: “It’s a fine line you have to tread between making the transition and essentially forcing people and imposing costs on people to make the transition, and what we want to do is to keep people with us on the transition, on the journey.”Sam Hancock20 October 2021 08:311634715635Watch: Business secretary rules out winter Covid lockdownTory minister rules out winter Covid lockdownSam Hancock20 October 2021 08:401634715959Cost of decarbonising homes ‘could exclude low-income families’ – economistEconomist Jonny Marshall has said the “huge costs” attached to upgrading heating systems in Britain could mean low-income families are “left behind once again”. LBC’s Nick Ferrari pointed out these discussions are happening “only two weeks” after Universal Credit was “slashed”.“And now we expect someone [in that position] to pay £5,000 to put in a heat pump?” he put to Mr Marshall, to which the financial expert agreed could cause real concern. Sam Hancock20 October 2021 08:45 More

The health secretary, Sajid Javid, is to hold a Covid briefing at Downing Street this afternoon as UK cases surge.The press conference, the first to be held in more than a month, will take place at 5pm on Wednesday in the Downing Street press briefing room.Mr Javid will discuss the use of new antiviral drugs to help treat Covid-19 but is also likely to be asked about the country’s worsening Covid cases figures.On Tuesday, the government said a further 223 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 – bringing the UK total to 138,852.While the numbers are often higher on Tuesdays because of a lag in reporting deaths and cases over the weekend, this is the highest figure for daily reported deaths since 9 March.Meanwhile, the seven-day average for cases is standing at 44,145 cases per day – the highest level for almost three months.Southwest England has recorded its highest rate of new Covid-19 cases since comparable figures began in summer 2020, when mass testing was first introduced across the UK.Want us to report on an issue that matters to you? Contact us by clicking hereMinisters are coming under pressure to bring back some Covid restrictions, with one NHS leader saying without them the country risks “stumbling into a winter crisis“.Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, urged the government to implement the back-up strategy which involves measures including bringing back mandatory face coverings in public places.Downing Street said it was keeping a ”very close eye“ on rising case rates, but added the Prime Minister has ”absolutely no plan to introduce Plan B“, which could also involve introducing vaccine passports for nightclub entry.*The announcement will be broadcast on the BBC News channel and the 10 Downing Street YouTube channel. More