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Supermarket food shortages will be over by Christmas, No 10 says – rejecting industry warnings that shoppers must get used to “permanent” gaps on shelves.Boris Johnson’s spokesman set up the hostage to fortune as he dismissed an extraordinary claim that the days when people could pick up almost any item they want, whenever they want, are over.The gloomy boss of the Food and Drink Federation said there was no prospect of the problems – triggered by a combination of Brexit and Covid – ending quickly.“It’s going to get worse and it’s not going to get better after getting worse any time soon,” Ian Wright told an event organised by the Institute for Government.“The result of the labour shortages is that the just-in-time system that has sustained supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants – so the food has arrived on shelf or in the kitchen, just when you need it – is no longer working.“And I don’t think it will work again, I think we will see we are now in for permanent shortages.”But, quizzed by The Independent, the prime minister’s spokesman rejected the warning, saying: “We don’t recognise those claims.“We have got highly resilient food supply chains which have coped extremely well in the face of challenges and we believe that will remain the case.”Pressed on whether the shortages will ease to allow people to enjoy a “normal Christmas”, the spokesman replied: “I believe so, yes.”No 10’s confidence comes despite the CBI business group warning that the labour shortages blamed for the gaps on shelves and restaurant menus could last up to two years.Despite gathering criticism, the government has rebuffed calls to loosen immigration rules – to attract more HGV drivers, for example – insisting businesses must stop relying on EU workers.However, the fear of creating a bigger crisis is expected to see the government shelve full post-Brexit import controls on imports from the EU, for a second time.Mr Wright said the shop shortages did not mean the country is ever going to run out of food.But he warned: “The UK shopper and consumer could have previously expected just about every product they want to be on the shelf or in the restaurant all the time. That’s over, and I don’t think it’s coming back.”The food and drink industry is short of around half a million workers, he said, meaning it is missing about 1 in 8 the total number of people it needs in its workforce.The dearth was partly the result of EU nationals leaving the UK because of both the pandemic and the UK leaving the European Union.The lack of lorry drivers was partly caused by them moving to online retailers and starting to deliver for Amazon and Tesco – to get better hours and pay. More

Related: Starmer criticises PM over NI take hike Boris Johnson’s official spokesman has rejected industry warnings that shortages of some food products on supermarket shelves due to Britain’s ongoing supply chain crisis could be permanent – insisting that people will be able to enjoy a “normal Christmas”.Ian Wright, chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation, had earlier made the extraordinary claim that the days when UK consumers could pick up almost any product they like are over.”The result of the labour shortages is that the just-in-time system that has sustained supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants – so the food has arrived on shelf or in the kitchen, just when you need it – is no longer working,” he said.“And I don’t think it will work again, I think we will see we are now in for permanent shortages.”Elsewhere, Labour has taken a surprise poll lead after support for the Conservatives slumped to its lowest level since the general election on the back of Boris Johnson’s tax rise.Show latest update

1631285632EU’s former Brexit negotiator demands French ‘sovereignty’ from European courtsThe EU’s former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has stunned ex-colleagues in Brussels by launching a blistering attack on the power of the European courts, my colleague Adam Forrest reports.Mr Barnier – who is running for the French presidency against Emmanuel Macron – said it was time for France to “regain sovereignty” lost to the European judiciary.The politician who negotiated the Brexit deal on behalf of Brussels – spending months hashing out a deal which sought to balance the bloc’s needs with London’s demands regarding the UK’s “sovereignty” – appears to have adopted Eurosceptic rhetoric in his bid to win the presidency for the centre-right Republicans.Andy Gregory10 September 2021 15:531631284434DUP accuses European Commission vice-president of dismissing unionist concernsDUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has accused the European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic of dismissing the “real and genuine concerns” of unionists over the Northern Ireland Protocol.Mr Sefcovic gave a speech on Friday in which he said any attempt to renegotiate the protocol would create instability in Northern Ireland and said the post-Brexit agreement needed to be implemented in full.But Sir Jeffrey – who yesterday threatened to collapse Stormont over the protocol – responded: “I think it’s unfortunate that Mr Sefcovic would be so dismissive of the real and genuine concerns that there are out there and I think that the meeting that we had yesterday with him was much more constructive and what I had to say yesterday reflects the concerns of many people in Northern Ireland.“It is not mere rhetoric, it is articulating the views and concerns of unionists.“In the end, the agreement that we have, the political institutions that we have can only work if both unionists and nationalists support them so the EU needs to move, and quickly, to address the concerns of unionists.”Andy Gregory10 September 2021 15:331631283873Supermarket food shortages will be over by Christmas, Downing Street claimsDowning Street has rejected industry warnings that shoppers must get used to “permanent” gaps on shelves – insisting that supermarket food shortages will be over by Christmas.Quizzed by The Independent, the prime minister’s spokesman rejected the warning from the boss of the Food and Drink Federation, saying: “We don’t recognise those claims.“We have got highly resilient food supply chains which have coped extremely well in the face of challenges and we believe that will remain the case.”Pressed on whether the shortages will ease to allow people to enjoy a “normal Christmas”, the spokesman replied: “I believe so, yes.” Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has the full story here:Andy Gregory10 September 2021 15:241631282549Culture secretary accuses Churchill charity of ‘pandering to noisy woke brigade’The culture secretary has accused charities of pandering to a “noisy woke brigade” amid a row about the legacy of wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill.My colleague Liam James reports: Matt Mathers10 September 2021 15:021631281521UK set to drop from Germany’s top 10 trading partnersThe UK is on course to lose its status as one of Germany’s top 10 trading partners for the first time since 1950, official German statistics suggest.My colleague Leonie Chao-Fong has more details below: Matt Mathers10 September 2021 14:451631280642Delta reality bites as data shows summer economic slowdownThe latest GDP figures are a reminder that the UK isn’t out of the pandemic’s woods just yet, writes Anna Isaac.Read Anna’s full analysis here: Matt Mathers10 September 2021 14:301631279442Ministerial reshuffle as Suella Braverman returns from maternity leaveSuella Braverman has been reappointed attorney general following her time away from government on maternity leave, Downing Street has announced.During her absence, she was designated minister on leave (attorney general) while her deputy solicitor general, Michael Ellis, was made attorney general.No 10 confirmed on Friday that, as part of a mini-reshuffle, Mr Ellis and Ms Frazer would return to their previous roles.Ms Frazer, who had been promoted to solicitor general, will return to the Ministry of Justice, where she was previously prisons minister.Matt Mathers10 September 2021 14:101631278735Met chief Cressida Dick to stay in post until 2024, Priti Patel confirmsDame Cressida Dick will continue to lead the Metropolitan Police Service until 2024, Priti Patel has confirmed. My colleague Lamiat Sabin reports: Matt Mathers10 September 2021 13:581631276887Boris Johnson to mark 9/11 anniversary from ChequersBoris Johnson will mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks from his official country residence at Chequers, Downing Street has said.A spokesman for the prime minister said Mr Johnson would not be attending the memorial in New York – the city of his birth – in person on Saturday, though it is believed an ambassador will attend.Liam James10 September 2021 13:281631275867Peers sponsor bill for ‘proper contracts’ for workersSupermarkets and restaurants have been warned to pay their staff “whatever it takes with proper contracts”, as peers supported a bill which seeks to guarantee in law rights for all workers other than the genuinely self-employed.Under existing arrangements it is feared hundreds of thousands of people, including those in so-called “false” self-employment, are missing out on benefits or protections such as the minimum wage or paid annual leave. Construction workers and delivery drivers are among the affected sectors.Lord Hendy, a Labour peer, who is sponsoring the Bill, told the House of Lords: “It will, if passed, extend employment rights to hundreds of thousands who do not currently enjoy them.“It will protect those who already have such entitlement from the danger of being downgraded to, or being undercut by, workers with less rights.”Liam James10 September 2021 13:11 More

The UK is on course to lose its status as one of Germany’s top 10 trading partners for the first time since 1950, official German statistics suggest.In the first six months of this year, German imports of British goods drop by nearly 11 per cent, according to data from the Federal Statistics Office.Britain left the EU’s single market, which allows frictionless trade and the free movement of people between member states, at the end of 2020. But even before this, Germany had already begun to reduce ties with the UK.Before the 2016 referendum, the UK was Germany’s fourth most important trader. By the end of this year, Britain is projected to be in the 11th spot.A December 2020 survey showed one in five German companies were reorganising supply chains in order to source goods from EU suppliers instead of British ones.“More and more small and medium-sized companies are ceasing to trade (in Britain) because of these (Brexit-related) hurdles,” Michael Schmidt, President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany, told Reuters.The decline in the first half of 2021 was driven by pull-forward effects before new barriers, such as customs controls, kicked in in January.“Many companies anticipated the problems… so they decided to pull forward imports by increasing stocks,” Mr Schmidt said.In particular, the agriculture and pharmaceutical sectors were particularly hit hard. The data shows German imports of British agricultural products fell by more than 80 per cent in the first six months, while imports of pharmaceutical products nearly halved.“Many small companies simply can’t afford the extra burden of keeping up to date and complying with all the kicked-in customs rules such as health certificates for cheese and other fresh products,” Mr Schmidt said.In contrast, German goods exports to Britain rose by 2.6 per cent. Mr Schmidt said the new trade realities had harmed British companies more than German ones.“In Britain, the picture is different. For many small British firms, Brexit meant losing access to their most important export market… It’s like shooting yourself in the foot. And this explains why German imports from Britain are in free-fall now.””The UK’s loss of importance in foreign trade is the logical consequence of Brexit. These are probably lasting effects,” Gabriel Felbermayr, President of the Kiel-based Institute for the World Economy (IfW), told Reuters.Additional reporting by Reuters More

The culture secretary has accused charities of pandering to a “noisy woke brigade” amid a row about the legacy of wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill.Oliver Dowden’s comments came after the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust’s announced it was changing its name to The Churchill Fellowship and removing images of the former prime minister from its website.Boris Johnson, who has written a biography of the wartime leader, has also criticised the decision, saying the charity sought to “airbrush” the achievements of Churchill.The charity, which awards grants for social and community causes, denied it was seeking to disown the achievements of the wartime leader but said many of his views on race were “widely seen as unacceptable today, a view that we share”.But Mr Dowden defended Sir Winston’s legacy, arguing he protected freedom of expression through Britain’s defeat of the Nazis.He told LBC radio: “I read their explanation and they say there are various reasons for this but the bottom line is, you look at the website before and after, and there is a lot less Churchill on it after than there was before.“I do really worry, and you see this in relation to many charities, that they pander to a noisy woke brigade who are trying to challenge all aspects of our history.“They would not have the freedom – no-one would have the freedom – to make these kinds of decisions were it not for Churchill in the first place.“I do really worry when we start to question the sort of values that have made this such a wonderful country.”Churchill’s legacy has come under scrutiny over the past year and a statue outside Parliament was targeted by Black Lives Matter protesters and daubed with the word “racist”.While he has been celebrated for his war efforts, he has also been accused of being racist due to his support for the British Empire and his attitude towards people from India and other races.The charity bearing his name was set up in the final years of his life with his approval and awarded more than 5,800 fellowships in the years following his death in 1965.Last month it said its name was being “simplified” as it was “confusing” and “did not explain what we do”.The charity also removed a lengthy tribute and biography of Churchill, along with pictures of him, from its website. It last year issued a statement on racism noting that “aspects” of his life were today controversial.This week, it said the decision to change its name – originally taken in 2019 – was not an attempt at ”disowning“ Churchill.“The key element we kept was the name ‘Churchill’. You cannot look at our new logo and avoid the importance we attach to that name,” it said.“Today there is international admiration for Sir Winston’s wartime leadership in saving Britain and the world from Nazism. There is also controversy about his views on race.“None of this takes away from Sir Winston’s enormous contribution to the world as we know it today.”The culure secretary’s response follows several attempts to counter what he claims is a “woke” bias prevailing in different aspects of UK life. Earlier this year he told The Times: “Heritage institutions should be free from government meddling but the people who run them need the courage to stand up against the political fads and noisy movements of the moment.” More

The EU’s former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier stunned ex-colleagues in Brussels by launching a blistering attack on the power of the European courts.Mr Barnier – who is running for the French presidency against Emmanuel Macron – said it was time for France to “regain sovereignty” lost to the European judiciary.The politician who negotiated the Brexit deal on behalf of Brussels appears to have adopted Eurosceptic rhetoric in his bid to win the presidency for the centre-right Republicans.“We must regain our legal sovereignty in order to no longer be subjected to the judgements of the European Court of Justice or the European Court of Human Rights,” the former EU Commissioner said on Thursday.Mr Barnier repeated his call for a referendum to impose a five-year moratorium on immigration to France from outside the EU. “We will propose a referendum in September 2022 on the question of immigration,” he told a rally in Nimes.Mr Barnier later issued a tweet attempting to clarify his rally remarks – saying he did not want France to break entirely free of the European courts but to create a “constitutional shield” to give the country more power over immigration issues.“Let us keep calm,” the presidential candidate also tweeted, claiming he wanted to “avoid any unnecessary controversy”.While some found Mr Barnier’s remarks “ironic” – given his stance defence of freedom of movement during the Brexit process – others said he was in danger of “destroying his legacy”.“One wonders how a sentence like that can come from such a committed European,” Clément Beaune, France’s junior minister for EU affairs, told Politico on his latest remarks.Julien Hoez from the European Liberal Forum said: “Michel Barnier is giving a masterclass on how to destroy your career and legacy in the desperate hope of looking electable to an electorate that just straight up dislikes you regardless.”The 70-year-old Republican candidate, who left the EU Commission in March, was one of the most prominent faces of the Brexit negotiations and regularly criticised Brexiteers in the Conservative Party.Responding to his attack on the European courts, Conservative MP Simon Clarke tweeted: “This is ironic in the extreme.”Polls in France have next year’s contest as a race between incumbent Mr Macron and far-right National Rally candidate Marine Le Pen.But Mr Barnier is hoping to make a strong showing in the first round of the contest, which is scheduled for April 2022. More

Downing Street has refused to say whether Boris Johnson supports Black Lives Matter, a day after an aide said the Queen and the royal family backed the movement.The first black lord lieutenant of London revealed the Palace’s support, when he said he had discussed the issue of race in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in the US.But the prime minister’s spokesman repeatedly refused to say whether he shared the Queen’s view, instead referring back to his previous comments on the right to protest.“He has always supported the right of people to protest and make their feelings known about injustices,” he told The Independent.The comments come after the prime minister was criticised for initially refusing to criticise fans who booed England’s football players for taking the knee before matches.Mr Johnson and Priti Patel were accused of having given “license to the racists” who abused the black players who missed crucial penalties in the Euro 2020 final.The home secretary went further last year, saying she opposed the BLM demonstrations that swept the country in the wake of the US murder, saying: “Those protests were dreadful.”On Thursday, Sir Ken Olisa, the lord lieutenant of London, said: “I have discussed with the royal household this whole issue of race, particularly in the last 12 months since the George Floyd incident.“It’s a hot conversation topic. The question is what more can we do to bind society to remove these barriers. They [the royals] care passionately about making this one nation bound by the same values.”Asked, in an interview with Channel 4, whether that meant the Palace supported Black Lives Matter, Sir Ken replied: “The answer is easily yes.”Mr Johnson’s spokesman, asked the same question, replied: “He’s been asked this question himself before, and he’s spoken about the fact that he’s proud that the United Kingdom is a tolerant and diverse country.”Pressed on whether that amounted to support, the spokesman added: “I’m saying what he said himself – he supports the right of people to make their feelings known about injustices.”Mr Floyd who was killed by police in Minnesota in May 2020, sparking a historical wave of anti-racism protests across the globe under the banner of Black Lives MatterThe aide’s comments come after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex accused the royal family of racism in their Oprah Winfrey interview earlier this year.Meghan said an unnamed royal – not the Queen nor the Duke of Edinburgh – raised concerns with Harry about how dark their son Archie’s skin tone might be before he was born.The couple also suggested racism could be a factor behind the decision to deny Archie, the first mixed-race great-grandchild of the Queen, security protection or the title of prince. More

Japan’s outspoken vaccinations minister, Taro Kono announced Friday that he is running to become head of the governing party, who usually is chosen prime minister, and pledged to be reform-minded and gets things done.Kono, 58, a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., who is fluent in English has many fans among younger people, with whom he communicates via social media. Such things are still a rarity in Japanese politics. “I will embrace your views and worries, share information with you, convey a solid message and work with you to overcome this crisis that we face,” Kono said at a packed news conference in Tokyo referring to the pandemic. Kono’s declaration comes a week after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s sudden announcement that he will not seek another term as head of the governing Liberal Democratic Party in a Sept. 29 vote. The winner is virtually certain to be elected prime minister by parliament because the party and its coalition partner hold a majority of seats.Two other lawmakers have already declared their candidacies: centrist former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and former Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi, who shares former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s right-wing ideology and revisionist views on wartime history. She is seeking to become Japan’s first female leader. Kono emphasized his achievements as vaccine minister, portraying himself as someone who gets things done, by tearing down bureaucratic barriers if necessary.Kono, who is also regulatory reform minister, was picked by Suga to lead the country’s vaccination campaign in January before its rollout in mid-February, months behind other countries.Within weeks, Kono was tasked with the ambitious goal of fully vaccinating all of the nation’s elderly by the end of July, which he achieved by boosting the administration of doses to 1 million per day — another goal set by Suga. Japan is now on par with the United States in terms of percentage of people who have received at least one shot, and will be in the “top class” among the Group of Seven industrialized nations by the end of September or early October, he said. Kono, considered a liberal on social issues such as gender equality and diversity but hawkish on national security, is seen as standing somewhere in the middle between Takaichi and Kishida, though he has shifted somewhat to the conservative side, apparently to broaden his support among conservatives.Some governing party lawmakers are cautious about Kono’s past support for a phasing out of nuclear energy. Suga, who became prime minister a year ago, has faced nosediving popularity over his government’s handling of the coronavirus, which many saw as slow and limited, and for insisting on hosting the Olympics despite widespread opposition due to health concerns. Having a fresh leader is important for the Liberal Democrats as they seek to increase their popularity ahead of an upcoming general election that must be held by late November.Kono was the most popular choice for prime minister in at least three recent public opinion polls, with former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba second and Kishida third. Takaichi, who is less well known, was lower in the rankings. Public popularity does not directly affect the selection of prime minister, who is elected by parliament from candidates presented by various parties.___Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi More

Ripping up post-Brexit trade rules would punish Northern Ireland, an EU leader has warned its people, as he again ruled out a renegotiation.Warning the UK demand would bring “instability, uncertainty and unpredictability”, the Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic also said it would be bad for the economy of the province.“Doing this would effectively mean cutting Northern Ireland off the EU’s single market and related opportunities,” Mr Sefcovic told an audience in Belfast.“Instead, let’s see what can be done to further ease the supply of goods. And let’s see how to involve the people of Northern Ireland in our discussions on the implementation of the Protocol.”The speech underlines how the UK and EU remain on a collision course, despite Brussels agreeing, this week, to shelve some checks and red tape for trade across the Irish Sea.There is an indefinite delay to a ban on the sale of chilled meats and checks on goods of animal origin entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain, which would have imposed significant new paperwork.But the UK has gone much further, by demanding a rewriting of the Protocol that Boris Johnson signed in 2019, including to end oversight of the agreement by EU courts.And Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party has threatened to collapse power-sharing arrangements at Stormont “within weeks”, if Brussels refuses.Mr Sefcovic said: “A renegotiation of the Protocol – as the UK Government is suggesting – would mean instability, uncertainty and unpredictability in Northern Ireland.“Bear in mind it has already taken us five years to get to this point.”The Commission vice-president also pledged to do “whatever it takes” to ensure that the supply of medicines to Northern Ireland is not disrupted because of the Protocol.But he warned: “I also need to be honest: while we will continue looking for solutions to minimise the effects of Brexit on your everyday lives, we will never be able to remove them entirely – such are the consequences of Brexit and of the choices of the UK Government.”Mr Sefcovic added: “The Protocol is not the problem. On the contrary, it is the only solution we have. Failing to apply it will not make problems disappear, but simply take away the tools to solve them.“I am, of course, acutely aware of how some in Northern Ireland feel about the Protocol, in particular in the Unionist community.“We are seeking solutions that work for all, including those opposed to the Protocol. Because, no matter what your outlook is, we are all in this for the long run.“I know it is possible for us to work together, if rhetoric on both sides is dialled down.” More