Markus Andrews

The government has refused to suspend a free-trade deal with the Faroe Islands over whale and dolphin massacres, in defiance of calls from conservationists.Hunters caused widespread outrage last week when they wiped out a super-pod of 1,428 dolphins – thought to be the worst bloodbath of the mammals in the islands’ history.Just 10 days later, they responded to the global revulsion by slaughtering 53 pilot whales only a few miles from the first massacre.Wildlife campaigner Dominic Dyer has called for ministers to suspend the £580m post-Brexit agreement that the government agreed with the Faroe Islands in 2019 “until the slaughter ends for good”.More than 21,000 people have signed a petition on the government website backing the plea in three days.The government told The Independent it is “extremely concerned about the sustainability and welfare implications for the animals involved in these hunts” but that it would not review the trade deal.Instead, it says it will “continue to engage in a frank and respectful dialogue” with the government of the Faroes.Zac Goldsmith, the minister for animal welfare, tweeted of the dolphin killings: “This is one of the most sickening spectacles I’ve ever seen. It shames our species.”Known as the “Grindadrap”, the annual hunt involves herding whales and dolphins on to a beach where they are knifed to death as their blood turns the sea red.The practice has been branded “barbaric”, “sick” and “sadistic” but those who defend it say it is a tradition that does not risk driving the animals into extinction.Mr Dyer said: “We are currently granting the Faroe Islands a preferential trade agreement worth over £500m a year – it’s time for sanctions to stop this barbarism.”The deal accounts for more than 25 per cent of the Faroes’ global trade, he said, with exports from the islands – mostly fish sold in British supermarkets – worth £582m a year.UK exports to the islands amount to £34m, said Mr Dyer, whose petition reads: “If the UK is to be considered a world leader in the protection of marine mammals, it must use this leverage now.”When asked by The Independent whether it would agree to suspend or review the deal, the Department for International Trade said it had no plans to do so.A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “The UK is strongly opposed to the hunting of any cetaceans and continues to call on all whaling nations, including the Faroe Islands, at every appropriate opportunity to cease their whaling activities in favour of well-managed, responsible tourism, such as whale-watching.“We recognise there is a long tradition in the Faroe Islands of killing pilot whales and dolphins for meat and other products, and we wish to continue our frank conversations relating to cetacean conservation, to encourage them to stop these hunts.”Government policy is to “maintain diplomatic pressure” on the islands to end the hunts and re-engage with the International Whaling Commission.Boris Johnson’s wife, Carrie, and his father, Stanley, have previously joined campaigns against whaling outside the Japanese embassy in London. More

Boris Johnson asked Brazil for an “emergency” deal to ease shortages of a food product lacking in the UK, the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has claimed.Mr Bolsonaro did not name the particular product – but said he had passed Mr Johnson’s request to his agriculture minister Tereza Cristina.“He wants an emergency agreement with us to import some kind of food that is lacking in England,” the president said on his weekly webcast to supporters.A No 10 spokesperson disputed Mr Bolsonaro’s account – saying it was not the UK delegation’s recollection of the conversation between the leaders, without giving further details.The British Embassy in Brazil also rejected Mr Bolsonaro’s claim, saying the president’s remarks did not reflect the leaders’ meeting in New York at the UN general assembly earlier this week.Mr Bolsonaro also said Mr Johnson also asked him to help increase Brazilian imports of whisky from the UK – but he added in his social media talk that this was up to private business in Brazil and not his government.Shortages of fast-food chicken saw some Nando’s outlets close last month, with food sector chiefs pointing to the shortfall in production workers who returned home after Brexit and a drastic lack of lorry drivers able to come to the UK.Food sector bosses have warned of shortages of poultry and meat still ahead due to a sudden shortage of carbon dioxide used by the industry.Mr Johnson and other government ministers have repeatedly brushed aside suggestions there could be shortages of traditional Christmas fare such as roast turkey – though suppliers have warned some families may have to do without this year.The British Poultry Council (BPC) has warned the industry was heading into a “downward spiral towards supply chains seriously struggling”.Ranjit Singh Boparan, the owner of Bernard Matthews and 2 Sisters Food Group, said earlier this week that the shortage of both CO2 and workers will affect the supply of turkeys for Christmas.The Brazilian president’s office has not yet responded to requests for clarification on the particular food product he believed had been requested.Brazil is the world’s third largest producer of poultry, including chicken and turkey, according to the Poultry World website.Additional reporting by Reuters More

Labour frontbencher Lisa Nandy has ruled out running for the party’s leadership again, blaming the toxic sexism she experienced during last year’s contest.The shadow foreign secretary said the “sexist stuff” she and others went through in 2020 had put her off another bid to become leader in future.“I don’t have any intention of ever putting myself through that again,” Ms Nandy told The House magazine. “It does genuinely make me want to get under the desk thinking about it. I hated the way that we were pitted against one another.”Running for the leadership is “different for women, it’s completely different”, Ms Nandy said in an interview ahead of the party conference in Brighton.She added: “You saw it with Becky [Rebecca Long Bailey] and some of the sexist stuff that she had to deal with during the campaign. I got a fair bit of it, Jess [Phillips] got a fair bit of it. It’s very personally exposing.”Ms Nandy came in third place in the long battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, winning 16.3 per cent of the vote, behind winner Sir Keir Starmer and runner-up Rebecca Long-Bailey.The MP said she found the focus on personalities and the process of being pitted against her female colleagues unpleasant, saying she had no wish to be put through “the shredder” a second time.“It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done in my life,” she said. “We’ve become very American in that sense. Rather than a battle of ideas, it becomes a contest of personalities. That in itself is quite a difficult process to go through.”Although Sir Keir came in for heavy criticism after the crushing Hartlepool by-election defeat to the Tories in May, Ms Nandy said would be “foolish” to think she could have prevented the loss if she had been leader.“We’re close in a way that we weren’t before the leadership contest,” she said of Sir Keir. “What I can tell you is that the mood of the party seems far more focused on winning elections than it has been for some time.”Ms Nandy added: “I feel like the party members want to keep that energy and dynamism that we managed to harness under Corbyn’s leadership – but I think most members like me would like to drop the introspection, the division, and start to look outwards to the country again.”Asked if Labour could get its first-ever female leader during this decade, Ms Nandy replied: “I’m desperate to have a woman lead the Labour Party.“But what I’m more desperate for is to have a Labour prime minister in Downing Street, and every bit of our energy and attention at the moment is on trying to make sure that we win the next general election and that Keir becomes prime minister.”The full interview runs in The House magazine out on 25 September, when the Labour Party conference also kicks off in Brighton. More

It can be argued that it is only now, as we edge further away from the height of the Covid pandemic, that the real effects of Brexit are starting to become more visible.The fact the deal was rushed through before 2020 came to an end, leaving only one day for parliamentary scrutiny, meant that the details of the final deal probably had less public scrutiny than it might have done at any other time.During the past few weeks there have been a number of reasons why Brexit has been continuing to make headlines. Not only are there continued issues surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is yet to be resolved, there are now worrying examples of how the UK’s supply chain is being impacted by the fact we left the European Union.To discuss this, The Independent is hosting a virtual event on 6 October, hosted by our chief political commentator John Rentoul, during which an expert panel will explore the pros and cons that the reality of Brexit presents and what the future holds for a UK divorced from the EU.John will be joined by: Emily Carver, the Institute of Economic Affairs’ Head of Media, and who as previously policy adviser to a Conservative MP. Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the School of Politics & Economics of King’s College, LondonAnna Issac, The Independent’s economics editor More

Foreign secretary Liz Truss is treating her role as minister of women and equalities as a “side hustle”, a senior Tory MP has said.Caroline Nokes, chair of the women and equalities committee, accused the government of sidelining the push for equal rights by failing to appoint a minister solely focused on the job.A report from Ms Nokes’ committee includes a new YouGov survey which found that 93 per cent of the public could not name Ms Truss as the current women and equalities minister.“It is obvious that the current setup of cabinet leaves no space or time to really address inequality in the UK,” said Ms Nokes.She added: “By effectively treating the role of women and equalities minister as a side hustle, the government is demonstrating its lack of willingness to invest energy in creating change.”Ms Truss replaced Dominic Raab as foreign secretary in Boris Johnson’s recent cabinet reshuffle, leaving her role as international trade secretary. But she retains her secondary role of women and equalities minister.The women and equalities committee’s scathing new report, Levelling Up and Equality: a New Framework for Change, said the government risked “regression on equal rights after decades of progress”.Lessons should also be learned from the unequal effects of the Covid pandemic, according to the report – warning that the government’s focus on “levelling up” poorer parts of the country must not be at the expense of tackling wider inequality.The report said the government equalities office (GEO) had been “largely missing” from the government’s response to the coronavirus crisis.Calling on Boris Johnson to elevate the women and equalities role to a dedicated, cabinet-level position, Ms Nokes said: “It’s 2021, and high time that the role is given the heft and resource needed to address important, long-established equality issues.”She added: “The government must recognise the inequalities laid bare by the pandemic, and see this as a turning point to demonstrate its willingness to tackle them.”A government spokesman said: “This government is committed to levelling up all parts of our country, working to tackle inequality and promoting equal opportunity so everyone can thrive.”Ms Truss and her team are said to be engaged in a spat with the outgoing foreign secretary. Reports claimed Mr Raab is refusing to hand it over access to the Chevening country house in Kent – arguing that his new title of deputy prime minister entitles him to hold on to it.“Liz thinks Dom’s claim is completely spurious, that he’s being ridiculous,” a Truss ally told The Times.Ms Truss was in Mexico on Thursday, pushing for her counterpart’s support for the UK to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). More

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has denied that Brexit is part of the problem behind the shortage of lorry drivers – arguing that Britain’s divorce from the EU had presented solutions to the crisis.The cabinet minister insisted that cynics were “wrong” to blame Brexit for the drastic shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers causing empty supermarket shelves and the closure of petrol stations.“I’ve seen people point to Brexit as if it is the culprit here. In fact, they are wrong,” Mr Shapps told Sky News on Friday, after BP closed dozens of stations hit by fuel shortages.“Not only are there very large and even larger [driver] shortages in other EU countries like Poland and Germany – which clearly can’t be to do with Brexit – but actually because of Brexit I’ve been able to change the law and alter the way our driving tests operate.”The minister added: “Brexit actually has provided part of the solution of giving more slots available for HGV tests and there are a lot more – twice as many – tests available now than before the pandemic. A large proportion of those we’ve only been able to do because we are no longer in the EU.”Logistics groups and food industry bodies have pleaded with the government to create a temporary visa scheme – or add HGV drivers to its skills shortage jobs list – to allow EU workers to help fill the shortfall.But Mr Shapps insisted the coronavirus pandemic was the “principal cause” of the driver shortage and claimed it was a “global” problem.Put to him on Sky News that it was “disingenuous” to suggest Covid was the reason for the lack of drivers, the transport secretary said: “Covid is the main reason. It is a global problem and Europe is hit particularly bad.”Mr Shapps said motorists should “carry on as normal” after the lorry driver shortage hit fuel deliveries at dozens of BP petrol stations and a small number of Esso forecourts.Saying he would “move heaven and earth” to keep goods moving, the transport secretary claimed the shortage of lorry drivers should “smooth out fairly quickly” because of the increase in driving tests.He also suggested foreign workers had helped create “systemic” problems – saying UK wages for hauliers had been held down by “importing cheap European, often eastern European labour, undercutting the domestic market”.He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What we do know is that there are a lot of people who have their HGV licences but many of which will have lapsed to come out of the market, often because there has been cheaper European labour. We want to get those people back in.”Labour chair Anneliese Dodds acknowledged there had been shortages of lorry drivers in other countries – but said the government’s failure to plan had led to the current crisis.“Undoubtedly the Government’s method of implementing Brexit has had an impact overall on the system, but there are other factors that are in play here,” said the Labour MP.Unite the Union accused the transport secretary of talking “complete rubbish” in claiming that Brexit is part of the solution to the current crisis.“Brexit has meant the crisis brewing has been brought forward and it has hit much, much harder. To say that Brexit is part of the solution makes no sense,” union spokesperson Barckley Sumner said.The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has said that simply increasing the amount of lorry driving tests available would not be enough to fix the crisis – calling on the government to change visa rules to allow more overseas drivers to work in the UK.The RHA’s Rod McKenzie said that the industry had lost 20,000 European drivers because to Brexit, on top of historic shortfalls in the workforce.Several of the UK’s largest businesses and industry bodies have also requested that the government relax visa requirements to help ease the labour shortfall. BP is understood to have asked the government for similar support on a temporary basis. More

Sir Keir Starmer has expressed support for a decision to relax drug laws for those found in possession of Class A substances in Scotland.Scotland’s Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain announced that those caught with Class A substances – such as heroin, ecstasy or cocaine – could be let off with a warning rather than prosecution.The scheme will allow police to use their discretion on cases of individual use only, while those caught supplying drugs to others will still face criminal charges.The Labour leader said Ms Bain’s decision was “probably the right thing to do”, telling ITV: “It’s an independent decision that has been made.”Although Sir Keir described discretion in certain cases as “sensible,” he denied it amounted to decriminalisation – saying there was a world of difference between the reform and “ripping up” drugs laws entirely.Home secretary Priti Patel pounced upon his remarks. “Drugs devastate lives,” she tweeted. “They ruin communities and tear families apart. Under Keir Starmer, Labour is weak on crime and weak on the causes of crime.”Sir Keir’s comments come after Scottish Labour backed Ms Bain’s decision, announced earlier this week. The party’s drugs policy spokesperson Claire Baker MSP said she hoped the move away from criminalisation would lead to more drug users getting support.In the interview with ITV’s Representing Border, Sir Keir said: “There is a world of difference between a decision not to prosecute a particular case and ripping up the drug laws.”He added: “I don’t think many people would argue that that discretion isn’t sensible. The very same in Scotland – there is a world of difference between that exercise and saying ‘do you think drug laws should be scrapped?’ To which my answer is no.”Under current laws in Scotland, officers can already use their discretion to issue warnings to those caught with Class B and C drugs, such as cannabis. Following Ms Bain’s announcement, this has now been extended to Class A substances.Describing the change as a “smart use of the law”, Scotland’s drug minister Angela Constance hailed the move as “very significant” as the country experiments with new ideas in a bid to reduce its drugs death toll – which reached a record 1,339 in 2020.The SNP minister told BBC Radio Scotland the change had been welcomed by all parties at Holyrood “with the exception of the Conservatives”.Scottish Tory justice spokesman Jamie Greene said the change amounted to “effective an effective decriminalisation of drugs”, adding: “People will now be receiving the same punishment for carrying Class A drugs as they would for urinating in public.”He insisted the Scottish government “must rethink this dangerous approach, which dilutes how seriously we treat possession of the most deadly drugs in our society”. More

Boris Johnson has refused to say if he could live on £118 a week, the new level of Universal Credit after it is cut by £20 next month.The prime minister, who is currently paid £161,000 a year and previously earned £275,000 on top of his MP’s salary for writing a weekly Daily Telegraph column, did not answer journalists’ questions about if he could manage on the lower sum.Universal Credit – the main benefit payment for people of working age and claimed by 5.8m people across England, Scotland and Wales – was increased by £20 a week at the start of the Covid pandemic.Despite a furious campaign to keep the uplift and growing concerns among Conservative MPs, the government still plans to abolish the £20 increase on 6 October.Asked if £118 would be enough money for him to survive on, Mr Johnson said: “I have every sympathy for people who are finding it tough, I really, really do – but we have to recognise that in order to maintain the Covid uplift you’ve got to find another five to six billion in tax.“That has got to come out of some people’s pockets.”Retaining the £20 Covid uplift indefinitely would cost the Treasury about £6bn a year, something the Chancellor Rishi Sunak has refused to contemplate long-term.But in the face of stinging criticism, ministers have been mulling a partial climbdown on the benefit cut by allowing those claiming Universal Credit to keep more of their part-time earnings. The taper rate – the amount a claimant loses for every extra pound they earn – would be reduced from 63p to 60p, if the Treasury agrees the move.But Mr Johnson continued to insist his government wanted to see people come off benefits entirely and into full-time work.“Then I would just point out that the best solution is to continue to invest in people’s skills, to make sure that they are getting the type of jobs that reward their hard work – and you’re starting to see that, you’re starting to see wages go up, and that’s what we want to see,” he said.“Wages are now rising faster than they have been for a long time, and the philosophy of this government is to try to deliver a high-wage, high-skill economy in which we invest in people, we invest in capital, we encourage businesses to put their profits back into people, back into the capital of the business, in order to drive productivity gain – and if you look at the UK since 2008, you look at our companies, they’ve been paying very low wages and they’ve been not investing, and productivity has fallen.” More