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Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, has presented a plan to the Treasury for assistance for industries worst-affected by soaring energy prices.The cabinet minister made a formal request to Rishi Sunak’s department for support to energy intensive industries on Monday amid growing calls for emergency assistance and warnings over job losses.A government source told The Independent that BEIS (Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy) had submitted proposals to Rishi Sunak’s department – but details were not immediately clear.A plan being considered involves issuing state-backed loans to companies to stop them from shutting down their operations over a winter in which energy prices are expected to remain high – according to The Times.An announcement is likely this week and the total package is expected to cost hundreds of millions of pounds, the newspaper adds.Mr Kwarteng, who held talks with the industry last week, is also understood to be continuing with one-to-one discussions with business leaders this week.It follows an extraordinary row between the two departments over the weekend, with Mr Kwarteng accused of “making things up” during broadcast interviews, after suggesting the Treasury had been involved with talks over support.But on Monday, No 10 rowed in behind the business secretary, insisting cross-government work — involving the Treasury — was ongoing.“This is a significant challenge, and there’s work across government to mitigate it,” the prime minister’s official spokesperson said.They declined to elaborate on whether “mitigations” would include financial support, saying: “I’m not going to jump ahead of any future conversations.“It’s right that we continue to listen carefully to what industry are saying and have talks across government about whether any action is needed to mitigate the challenges.”Conservative frontbencher Lord Agnew also said on Monday that soaring energy costs were nothing to do with supply shortages, but were due to a “geopolitical move” by Russia to put pressure on Europe. The Treasury minister’s appeared to go further than the government has gone before in pointing the finger directly at Moscow for the current crisis.“The current squeeze on gas prices is nothing to do with the quantity of gas available,” he told peers in the House of Lords. It is a geopolitical move by Russia to put pressure on Europe and we are caught up in that. Public ownership of our own utilities would make no difference.”Earlier, in a letter to Mr Sunak, his opposite number Labour’s Rachel Reeves, urged the Treasury to support energy intensive industries, and accused the chancellor of being “missing in action” over the crisis.“A temporary increase in energy prices must not mean great industries like steel, ceramics, glass, paper and chemicals disappear, just because they happen to be intensive users of energy,” the shadow chancellor said.Urging the government to “get an immediate grip” on the situation, she added: “Turning our backs on them would mean losing almost half a million jobs. It would mean ripping out the foundations underpinning the wider UK economy, holding back jobs and growth for years to come.“It would be terrible value for money, as we would have to turn to expensive imports to meet our needs for the goods these sectors produce.“At this crucial time, government ministers should be working together to fight for British jobs and industries, rather than fighting each other.” More

The UK could be forced to rely on other nations for key nuclear and defence components unless ministers offer heavy industry an energy bailout, The Independent has learnt. Without fresh funds factories could be forced to halt production of critical inputs such as high-tech ceramic coatings, steel components and bespoke glassware, according to government and industry sources. Such products are used in a range of high security environments, including nuclear reactors, laboratories, ships and submarines. Britain would be forced to seek many of these inputs from overseas if these domestic companies fail, according to industry and government sources. This could breach some departmental procurement rules and the government’s aims laid out in its Integrated Review. The review pledged to “strengthen the resilience of our critical supply chains” so that the UK can engage with China “with confidence”. The government is looking to push China out of key nuclear power projects over security concerns. Last month fresh details of plans emerged to force Chinese energy giant, CGN to give up its 20 per cent stake in the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk. Concerns over whether a failure to secure financial aid will push sensitive suppliers to the wall will add to pressure on the Treasury, after Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, presented a plan to the department for assistance for industries worst-affected by soaring energy prices. The cabinet minister made a formal request to Rishi Sunak’s department for support to energy intensive industries on Monday amid growing calls for emergency assistance and warnings over job losses. It followed a string of bilateral meetings with representatives of ceramics, steel, glass and chemicals industries throughout Monday. The renewed drive to engage with industry came after The Independent revealed last week that factories in these sectors could shut down production lines within weeks if there was no government aid to ease pressures from rising energy costs. Energy can account for as much as a third of the outgoings of these firms, leaving them highly vulnerable to the recent spikes in electricity and gas prices. A government source told The Independent that BEIS (Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy) had submitted proposals to Mr Sunak’s department – but details were not immediately clear. They confirmed that both industry and the business department the manufacturers’ role in critical supply chains as part of their discussions with Number 11. A business department spokesperson said: “We are determined to secure a competitive future for our energy intensive industries and the sectors reliant on them, including nuclear and defence, and in recent years have provided them with extensive support, including more than £2bn to help with the costs of energy and to protect jobs“Our exposure to volatile global gas prices underscores the importance of our plan to end Britain’s dependency on fossil fuels and build a strong, home-grown renewables sector so we can protect consumers​, including these industries, into the future from gas prices set by international markets.”Mr Kwarteng’s request follows a public spat between the two departments over the weekend. The business secretary was accused of “making things up” during broadcast interviews, after he suggested that the Treasury was engaged in talks on over support for heavy industry. Number 10 sought to draw a line under the row on Monday, lending its support to the business secretary and insisting that the Treasury was playing a role in the cross-Whitehall talks. “This is a significant challenge, and there’s work across government to mitigate it,” the prime minister’s official spokesperson said. However, they stopped short of confirming and declined to elaborate on whether “mitigations” would include financial support, saying: “I’m not going to jump ahead of any future conversations. It’s right that we continue to listen carefully to what industry are saying and have talks across government about whether any action is needed to mitigate the challenges.” There is recent precedent for government intervention in one of the sectors most-affected by the rise in energy costs. In July, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) bought steel-maker Sheffield Forgemasters. It said the move would protect supplies for the defence and nuclear programmes. Last month the government also provided a temporary bailout to CF Fertilisers, which produces around 60 per cent of the UK’s carbon dioxide used in industries metal production to food storage. The sharp rise in energy prices has prompted a fresh examination of the UK’s reliance on energy imports. While Britain has not generally sourced its natural gas from Russia, other major European economies do. A reluctance on Russia’s part to increase its exports to the continent in the face of supply shortages has increased pressure on the some of the UK’s key suppliers, such as Norway. Conservative frontbencher Lord Agnew also said on Monday that soaring energy costs were nothing to do with a lack of global gas stocks, but rather due to a “geopolitical move” by Russia to put pressure on Europe. The remarks appeared to be the strongest language yet from the government, with the Treasury minister directly pointing the finger at Moscow for the current crisis. “The current squeeze on gas prices is nothing to do with the quantity of gas available,” he told peers in the House of Lords. “It is a geopolitical move by Russia to put pressure on Europe and we are caught up in that. Public ownership of our own utilities would make no difference.” The peer’s comments followed a call from Labour’s shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, for the Treasury to support energy-intensive industries. She also accused the chancellor of being “missing in action” over the crisis. “A temporary increase in energy prices must not mean great industries like steel, ceramics, glass, paper and chemicals disappear, just because they happen to be intensive users of energy,” the shadow chancellor said, urging the government to “get an immediate grip” on the situation. More

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)’s boycott of meetings with the Irish government in protest at trading arrangements agreed in the Brexit deal is “unlawful”, a High Court judge has ruled.DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s announced last month that his party would ignore the crucial north-south meetings as part of their campaign against the Northern Ireland Protocol.But on Monday a Belfast High Court judge ruled that the unionist party’s boycott was in breach of devolution legislation – ordering DUP ministers to “comply” with the law. “The respondents’ decision to withdraw from the North South Ministerial Council was and is unlawful,” Mr Justice Scoffield said. “It frustrates, is contrary to and is in breach of legal duties contained in part five of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.”The DUP responded by claiming the verdict was “proof” the protocol should be ditched – calling on Boris Johnson’s government to “stabilise” the situation in Northern Ireland by suspending parts of the deal with the EU.The judge delivered the verdict after campaigner Sean Napier brought judicial review proceedings into the DUP move to boycott the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC).Two meetings involved Dublin and Belfast ministers have already had to be cancelled after the DUP leader announced the party’s anti-protocol protest, with a further meeting scheduled for later this week.Mr Justice Scoffield pointed out that the decision not to attend the north-south meetings came under the direction of the DUP leader – adding that the failure of the meetings to take place was “plainly a result of unlawful behaviour”.The judge stated: “It is difficult for the court to reach any other conclusion than that the respondents have consciously determined to act in contravention of the pledge of office and the ministerial code … The court expects the respondents to comply with their legal obligations.”Mr Justice Scoffield said he would not take any further action against DUP ministers – but warned that if there was no change to the situation the case could return to court.“The court obviously possesses further powers. But, in my view, it would be a sorry spectacle for those powers to have to be invoked,” the judge said.Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Fein deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, responded to the verdict by calling on the DUP to quit “play acting” over the protocol.“Ministers need to do their jobs, act within the law, and stop impeding progress,” she tweeted, adding that peace funding set to be agreed by the north-south council “cannot be jeopardised by DUP play acting”.But the DUP responded by claiming that its court defeat had strengthened the case for triggering Article 16 – a radical move already threatened by Mr Johnson’s government that would see parts of protocol unilaterally suspended.“The High Court judgment is further proof that the conditions to trigger Article 16 have been met,” said a DUP spokesman. “If an early resolution between the UK and EU cannot be achieved, we call upon the UK government to invoke the terms of Article 16 to avoid a further deterioration in political and economic stability in Northern Ireland.”It comes amid an escalating row between the UK and Republic of Ireland over soon-to-be-published EU proposals aimed at easing protocol problems.Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said the UK government had “shifted the playing field” and “dismissed” the EU’s ideas before they had even been published.Brexit minister Lord Frost has shared extracts of a speech he is due to make in Lisbon on Tuesday, saying the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has created a “deep imbalance” in the way the protocol operates.In a deepening row with Lord Frost, Mr Coveney said it was a “bit rich” for Britain’s negotiator to accuse him of causing problems on Twitter.“David Frost accuses me of raising issues on social media. It’s a bit rich, quite frankly, because he is briefing British media effectively to say, ‘Well, the EU can make the changes that they need to make, but actually it’s not enough, we want more’.”The Brexit minister replied to Mr Coveney by saying the issue of the ECJ is “not new”, adding: “The problem is that too few people seem to have listened.” Lord Frost added: “I prefer not to do negotiations by Twitter.” More

No 10 has publicly backed Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, after an extraordinary row with the Treasury over support for firms affected by the ongoing energy crisis.It comes after Mr Kwarteng told broadcasters on Sunday that he had been involved in talks with Rishi Sunak’s department and the industry to work out ways to help it through the crisis — prompting a stinging rebuke from the Treasury.One source at the department accused Mr Kwarteng of “making things up in interviews” and that the cabinet minister was “mistaken”.But on Monday, No 10 insisted officials at the Treasury were involved in the cross-government work — appearing to endorse the business secretary’s account.“This is a significant challenge, and there’s work across government to mitigate it,” the prime minister’s official spokesperson said.Quizzed on whether the prime minister, who is currently on holiday, had spoken with either Mr Sunak or Mr Kwarteng about their “extraordinary falling out”, they replied: “It’s not how I would characterise it according to an anonymous quote.”“As you would expect, ministers from BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) are working across government, including with the Treasury on this important issue, the challenges that are currently facing industry in light of global gas prices and that will continue,” they added.The spokesperson said the two cabinet ministers “continue to work very closely together, as the public would expect”.Pressed on whether Mr Kwarteng was “making things up” — as suggested by the Treasury source — they replied: “Again I’m not getting into anonymous source quotes.”The spokesperson also declined to say whether “mitigations” would include financial support, adding: “I’m not going to jump ahead of any future conversations — it’s right that we continue to listen carefully to what industry are saying and have talks across government about whether any action is needed to mitigate the challenges.”Appearing on Sky News on Monday, the Home Office minister Damian Hinds, also publicly backed Mr Kwarteng when asked if he had been “telling porkies” over the weekend.“The fact is government departments, government ministers talk to each other the whole time and of course with an issue like this,” he said said.Labour also accused the government of “squabbling amongst itself” – but the security minister said both the Mr Kwarteng and Mr Sunak were both “focused” on the problems posed by rising global energy prices.One-to-one talks between the government and industry were continuing on Monday, with manufacturing industries such as paper, steel and ceramics calling for an energy price cap to help avoid factory closures.Mr Kwarteng said over the weekend that he is confident the lights will stay on this winter, but also insisted that the government is “not in the business of bailouts.”But Energy UK chief executive Emma Pinchbeck warned that “exposed” businesses such as energy-intensive factories will be the worst hit by the rise in prices. “We are expecting more retailers to go out of business this winter,” Ms Pinchbeck said.UK Steel director general Gareth Stace accused the government of “doing absolutely nothing” to help his industry and warned of “serious and permanent impact on the steel sector … in weeks, not months”.He told LBC: “This is a critical time. The business secretary has also said it’s a critical situation, and therefore why is government just sitting on its hands and doing absolutely nothing at the moment?“The prime minister now needs to bang ministerial heads together, take control and remember that if he does nothing, then his levelling-up ambition will be left in tatters.”Mr Stace said he wants the UK government to follow the lead taken by the Italian government, who have “taken off” some policy costs applied to industry. “When government says, ‘We’re not going to do any bailouts’, that’s not what we’re asking for,” he said.Dave Dalton, chief executive at British Glass – who revealed that industry leaders had used a meeting on Friday with Mr Kwarteng to ask for support – said he was “alarmed” at the apparent lack of interest from the Treasury.He said: “It seemed to prick the ears of the secretary of state to asking a civil servant to work with us quickly and closely to build an ask to go to Treasury … we had rather hoped over the weekend and today that that dialogue would be extended.”Mr Dalton added: “It’s very alarming to hear the Treasury are making denials over the approach, let alone anything else. We need immediate action.”Unite general secretary Sharon Graham also called on the PM to “get a grip” of the crisis, saying industry chiefs and ministers should work with unions to ensure no jobs are lost.“I call upon the prime minister to get a grip on this crisis and bang heads together,” said the union boss. “The stand-off between ministers and industry is irresponsible and threatens jobs and our recovery.”Ed Miliband, Labour’s shadow business secretary, said the government was “squabbling amongst itself”, adding: “The government has nothing to offer businesses or consumers to help them with the crisis they are facing.” More

Kwasi Kwarteng did not ‘tell porkies’ about industry support, says ministerDowning Street has poured cold water on allegations business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng lied about his and chancellor Rishi Sunak’s departments being in talks over resolving the energy crisis.Following his comments, an unnamed source from the Treasury denied any involvement in discussion with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and accused Mr Kwarteng of making things up in interviews.However, at the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning, the PM’s official spokesman said: “As you would expect, ministers from BEIS are working across government, including with Treasury, on this important issue, the challenges that are currently facing industry in light of global gas prices, and that will continue.”He added that staff at the BEIS and Treasury “continue to work very closely together, as the public would expect”.It comes after industries affected by soaring energy costs made a fresh appeal to ministers for “immediate action” in a bid to prevent more businesses shutting down. Sectors such as ceramics, paper and steel manufacturing have called for a price cap, with talks that began on Friday between the government and industry figures set to continue this afternoon. Follow our live coverage belowShow latest update

1633963802Ministers urged to consider windfall tax as energy prices soarLabour MP Darren Jones, chairman of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee, today urged the government to put in place a windfall tax on companies that are making big profits from the surge in gas prices.He told the BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “One thing I want Rishi Sunak and the Treasury to be doing is looking at a windfall tax on the generators of gas, who are making enormous profits at the moment because of the global fluctuations in the price of gas.“Everyone is looking around for money to help consumers and businesses in these difficult times, and that has to come from somewhere.“Kwasi Kwarteng said to me for my select [committee] a few weeks ago, they were looking at the concept of a windfall tax but it looks to me like the Treasury haven’t been bothered to do the maths and don’t want to get involved in this problem.”When asked whether the windfall tax would be applied internationally, the MP for Bristol North West said: “Quite frankly that’s the job for the Treasury to do.”Earlier, commenting on the “spat” between the BEIS and Treasury, Mr Jones tweeted:Sam Hancock11 October 2021 15:501633963232What is the UN climate conference and why does it matter?COP26, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, will finally commence in Glasgow, Scotland, at the end of October, a year on from its postponement because of the coronavirus pandemic.Hosted by the UK under the presidency of former business secretary Alok Sharma and in partnership with Italy, the summit at the city’s SEC Centre will bring together the biggest gathering of world leaders ever assembled on British soil over the course of its 12-day run from Sunday 31 October to Friday 12 November.The 197 signatories, or “parties”, to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will all be represented in Glasgow, along with tens of thousands of negotiators, government officials, businesses and activists, all hoping to make their voices heard and see a comprehensive plan drawn up to realise the goals of the 2016 Paris Agreement and avert the global climate catastrophe our planet faces.So, what will be discussed at the meeting and what is it so important? Joe Sommerland take a closer look.Sam Hancock11 October 2021 15:401633962423No 10 rubbishes allegations made in ‘anonymous source quotes’Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn reports the following:Asked whether the PM had spoken to Sunak/Kwarteng about their extraordinary falling out, a No 10 spokesperson said: “It’s not how I would characterise according to an anonymous source quote.“As you would expect, ministers from BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) are working across government, including with the Treasury on this important issue, the challenges that are currently facing industry in light of global gas prices and that will continue.”Insisting Treasury officials were involved in the cross-government work, they added: “This is a significant challenge, and there’s work across government to mitigate it.”Pressed on whether Kwarteng was “making things up”, the spokesperson said: “Again I’m not getting into anonymous source quotes.”Quizzed on whether “further mitigations” would include financial support, they went on: “I’m not going to jump ahead of any future conversations — it’s right that we continue to listen carefully to what industry are saying and have talks across government about whether any action is needed to mitigate the challenges.”Sam Hancock11 October 2021 15:271633961192Industries ‘heartened’ BEIS in talks with sectors about energy crisisSome more expert commentary on the energy crisis now. Andrew Large, director general of the Confederation of Paper Industries, said:“We’re heartened that there’s an understanding within BEIS about the need for urgent action. “Constructive discussions are continuing at pace over a package of measures to offer immediate support during the current crisis, but also to address longer term issues around uncompetitive UK energy prices. “We will comment more fully once the result of these discussions are known.”Sam Hancock11 October 2021 15:061633960539PM ‘working from holiday’ – one week after telling workers to return to officesThe Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar reports the following, amid backlash to comments Boris Johnson made last week about the need for workers to return to their offices full-time. Sam Hancock11 October 2021 14:551633960069Watch: Thousands march in Poland to support EU membershipThousands march in Poland to support EU membershipSam Hancock11 October 2021 14:471633959003Donaldson defends NI position on European Court of JusticeFollowing my post earlier (2.03pm), DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said it’s not acceptable for Northern Ireland to fall within the jurisdiction of a court over which it has no control.It comes as he was continuously pressed for his party’s position on the government’s demand for the EU to remove the arbitration role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) from the Northern Ireland Protocol.Fielding media questions at Stormont, Sir Jeffrey was asked why the ECJ was not referred to explicitly in his party’s seven tests for judging efforts to resolve issues with the protocol.Sir Jeffrey said ECJ jurisdiction fell within the fourth test set out by the party: ‘Give people in Northern Ireland a say in making the laws that govern them’. He added:“Actually that is part of my test – that I want to know how the people of Northern Ireland are going to be dealt with in all of this.“It is not acceptable for Northern Ireland to have to accept laws and the jurisdiction of a court over which we have no control and in which we have no say. That is not the way forward.“We are very clear that the governance arrangements, how any future measures and arrangements that are agreed with the EU are taken forward, how they are governed is very important, because there is the potential for future divergence between the UK and the EU, and we don’t want Northern Ireland once again caught in the middle of all of that.” More

Ministers have been accused of using Afghanistan crisis to push civil servants back into the office following claims that working from home had obstructed the government’s evacuation efforts.The FDA trade union – which represents senior civil servants – said anonymous accusations that government staff had not worked efficiently enough during the recent crisis were “completely unfounded”.It follows an unnamed minister attacking the “culture of absenteeism” in Whitehall, telling the Mail on Sunday: “People were left to the Taliban who could have been saved.”Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA, told The Independent: “It’s the worst kind of scapegoating of civil servants for political failure.”The union leader added: “To suggest people have died because of civil servants working from home is outrageous. Anonymous ministers know they can throw these accusations and civil servants can’t respond. It’s cowardly.”It comes as reports suggest that government departments could face deadlines and targets to force staff to get back into the office as the Covid crisis begins to ease.Boris Johnson used his Conservative Party conference speech to say Britain “must see people back in the office” and claimed: “A productive workforce needs that spur that only comes with face-to-face meetings and water-cooler gossip.”But Mr Penman said flexible working and the push to get more staff working outside of London was part of the government’s agenda even before the pandemic.“Civil servants are up in arms about this,” he said. “They are wondering what this obsession is about. It doesn’t seem to be about finding efficient ways of working – at the moment it seems to be about making civil servants a convenient scapegoat for failures.”Mr Penman told The Independent that the FDA would reject any attempt to introduce quotas so each government department was forced to have a certain percentage of staff in the office.He added: “If there is a push to introduce quotas it will create completely unnecessary logistical challenges for the government. It would be so counterproductive.”The union leader also pointed out that many parts of Whitehall are already down to very low desk numbers because of cost-cutting before the Covid crisis. “In the Cabinet Office they only have three desks for every ten staff.”Downing Street insisted that there were no plans to set out precise targets for the number of civil servants who should be working from their offices rather than from home.Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said on Monday: “We are seeing a steady return of civil servants to in-office working. That’s what we would expect not just in the civil service, but in the private sector as well, and that will continue.”The PMs spokesman it was for individual departments to monitor how many civil servants should return to the office.The Cabinet Office also responded to the anonymous claims that sensitive documents could only be in government offices during the Afghanistan crisis, and the evacuation effort suffered from the lack of staff in the office.A spokesman said: “We reject these claims. The Cabinet Office and its staff played an instrumental role in the success of Operation Pitting, working around the clock and helping to deliver the biggest and fastest emergency evacuation in recent history.” More

No 10 has declined to say whether Boris Johnson is holidaying at minister Lord Goldsmith’s luxury Spanish villa, as the government faces accusations of putting its “out of office on” during a crisis.It comes after The Mirror reported that the prime minister was enjoying a vacation at the Costa del Sol villa owned by Lord Goldsmith, who was handed a life peerage by the prime minister in 2019 after losing his Commons seat.Asked whether the prime minister had paid for the holiday himself — or whether the trip was a donation — the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “Any declarations will be made in the normal, but I don’t have anything to add on that.”Quizzed on the reports Mr Johnson was staying at the Marbella villa of the environment minister Lord Goldsmith, they added: “I wouldn’t get into anything on location for security reasons.”“Any necessary declarations will be made in the normal way.”Downing Street also insisted that the prime minister continued to “be in charge” of the government — dismissing suggestions that Dominic Raab, the recently-appointed deputy prime minister, was temporarily filling in.On Monday, Mr Johnson had taken calls from both the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and the crown prince of Saudi Arabian, Mohammed bin Salman.“The prime minister continues to be in charge as is always the case,” the prime minister’s spokesperson added. “The deputy prime minister has an important role to play, including stepping up for the prime minister in Parliament, obviously we’re in recess at the moment, but the prime minister has taken calls with leaders and there will be others to follow.”The remarks come after Mr Johnson faced criticism from Labour for flying to Marbella with his family as the government deals with the deepening energy crisis and concerns over the cost of living.“In the teeth of a crisis of its own making, the government has put its out of office on,” the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Bridget Phillipson said.She added: “The two key government departments responsible for the current cost of living crisis have spent this morning infighting about whether they were in talks with each other. “What a farce. If government ministers can’t even tell the truth about each other, then what hope do we have for the challenges facing our country? We need urgent answers on who exactly is running the show. “The government needs to get a grip because the British people are paying the price for the prime minister’s incompetence.”Earlier, however, the Home Office minister, Damian Hinds, defended the prime minister’s decision to go on holiday, telling Sky News: “When is the right time? I think it is important that people do have an opportunity to be with their families to have some relaxing, unwinding.“But I wouldn’t want to overstate the amount of unwinding and relaxing you get to do as prime minister because as I say you are constantly in touch, you are constantly being briefed and you remain in charge of the government.”He later added: “What is important for the rest of us actually, for the whole country, is that the prime minister does get to have some family time, does get to have a break.” More

The Republic of Ireland has accused the UK of “shifting the playing field” away from solutions in talks to resolve post-Brexit trading tensions in Northern Ireland.Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said Boris Johnson’s government had “dismissed” the EU’s proposals aimed at easing trading issues before they had even been published.In a deepening row with Mr Johnson’s Brexit minister Lord David Frost, Mr Coveney also said it is a “bit rich” for Britain’s negotiator to accuse him of causing problems on Twitter.“Each time that the EU comes forward with new ideas and new proposals to try and solve problems, they are dismissed before they are released – and that’s happening again this week,” Mr Coveney told RTE on Monday.He added: “David Frost accuses me of raising issues on social media. It’s a bit rich, quite frankly, because he is briefing British media effectively to say, ‘Well, the EU can make the changes that they need to make, but actually it’s not enough, we want more’.”Lord Frost has released extracts of a speech he is due to make in Lisbon on Tuesday, saying the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has created a “deep imbalance” in the way the Northern Ireland protocol operates.The EU Commission, which has already rejected outright UK’s call to end the role of the ECJ – since it was agreed in the deal signed by the UK – will publish proposals later this week aimed at smoothing trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.Mr Coveney said the measures will be “very far reaching” and condemned the UK for trying to put new obstacles in the way of compromise over the Northern Ireland Protocol.“The truth is they know the EU can’t move on this issue (the role of the ECJ), yet they’re still asking for it … At some point the EU will say enough, we cannot compromise more and I think we’re very close to that point now.”The Irish foreign minister added: “This is being seen across the European Union as the same pattern over and over again – the EU tries to solve problems, the UK dismisses the solutions before they’re even published and asks for more.”It follows an angry Twitter spat between Mr Coveney and Lord Frost on Sunday. Ireland’s foreign minister questioned whether UK ministers “actually want an agreed way forward or a further breakdown in relations?”Lord Frost replied to Mr Coveney that the issue of the ECJ “is not new”, adding: “The problem is that too few people seem to have listened.” He added: “I prefer not to do negotiations by Twitter.”The EU Commission’s formal proposals to protocol issues – due to be published on Wednesday – will include an exception for “national identity food products,” allowing sausages and other meat products to enter NI from GB after the end of grace periods, according to Politico.EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said last week that “99.9 per cent” of conversations he had had on a recent trip to Northern Ireland concerned issues related to customs checks, food and plant safety, and the supply of medicines from Britain.The ECJ was mentioned just once and neither by the business community or civic society, the EU chief said.Mr Sefcovic’s view was reiterated by Mr Coveney and politicians from the Sinn Fein and SDLP parties, and the cross-community Alliance Party.Sinn Fein accused the UK government of shifting the goalposts and using “dead cat” tactics by demanding the removal of the ECJ role in the protocol.Declan Kearney, a Sinn Fein minister at Stormont, questioned whether the UK was throwing a “dead cat” on the negotiating table because the EU was about to “call their bluff” by tabling practical proposals.But the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has threatened to pull out of the region’s power-sharing government unless major changes are made to the protocol, and it has expressed concerns over the ECJ – saying it preferred some new form of independent arbitration process.However, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson also welcomed what he described as a “change in tone from the EU” and told the BBC that he would judge the forthcoming proposals in the round. More