Markus Andrews

Boris Johnson’s spokesperson for the upcoming COP26 summit in Glasgow has said people can “join the Green Party” if they want to help tackle climate change.Allegra Stratton, former Downing Street press secretary, has faced criticism for saying people could make a difference by not rinsing their plates before putting them in the dishwasher.She told The Independent joining the Greens was another one of the ways Britons could help protect the planet from rising carbon emissions.Asked why she thought other parties and organisations like The Green Party or Greenpeace were critical of her advice, she said: “When people say to me, ‘What can they do?’, they can do many things, they can join Greenpeace, they can join the Green Party, they can join the Tory Party.”Ms Stratton added: “So there’s lots of ways they can get involved in politics, but for those people who wouldn’t [do that], how do you start to change your life in manageable, achievable, feasible, small ways?”Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley responded to her comments by saying: “After decades of inaction from both the Conservatives and Labour, we would absolutely agree with the government that joining the Green Party is the best thing people can do to help tackle climate change.”He added: “As we witness the Conservatives waste time talking about loading dishwashers and fantasy projects such as Jet Zero, it is reassuring to see that they do understand it is only the Greens who can bring about the real change that is needed if we are to prevent climate catastrophe.”Molly Scott Cato, former Green MEP and economic spokesperson for the party, added: “When [Ms Stratton] said people could make a difference by joining the Green Party, she wasn’t wrong.”Ms Stratton has faced considerable flak over her recent article in The Telegraph, in which she suggested that “micro-steps” such as not rinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher would help tackle the climate crisis.Defending her article, the COP26 summit spokesperson said: “I was trying to connect with people who – my understanding is – feel that it’s too much and too overwhelming to process.“You will have a net-zero strategy from us before Cop26. You’ll have a series of strategies from us in the next few months. We are doing the heavy lifting. What I’m trying to do is speak to people who may not be doing anything.”She added: “We’re busting a gut to make Cop26, which is the last best chance to tackle runaway climate change, deliver the change that all of us need.”Ms Stratton also suggested that consumers might buy shower gel in bar form, packaged in cardboard, and could consider walking rather than driving to the shops as part of the “micro-steps”.Labour MP Luke Pollard, the shadow environment secretary, claimed the suggestions showed a lack of ambition and said it was time for “proper leadership” from the government.He told The Independent: “The planet is on fire and we are living in a climate and ecological emergency. If the government’s best answer is rinsing dishes, we are in serious trouble.”Doug Parr, policy director at Greenpeace UK, said Ms Stratton’s suggestions of “micro-steps” could be seen as “displacement activities”, instead of outlining the big changes required.He said: “Whilst one should not belittle individual efforts to help tackle the climate crisis, not rinsing plates and freezing bread is about as useful as a chocolate teapot when it comes to the enormity of the challenge that it presents.” More

Boris Johnson’s government has warned that the world would not be vaccinated against Covid until 2024 under current rates, urging other countries to speed up their plans to donate surplus jabs to poorer nations.Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said he hoped other countries would step up their efforts after Britain began distributing the first tranche of the 100 million vaccines it plans to give away by the middle of 2022.“We know on the current trajectory the world will only be adequately vaccinated at 2024, at the end,” Mr Raab said during a visit to the Oxford Biomedica factory on Wednesday.He added: “We want to get that date back to the middle of next year, and that will make a massive difference to those countries affected.”The foreign secretary also claimed the UK has been “leading” the international vaccination effort to “give enough doses to get the world vaccinated”.The first batch of nine million excess coronavirus vaccines from Britain will be shipped off to “vulnerable” nations and Commonwealth allies this week, Mr Raab said.Indonesia will receive 600,000 doses, 300,000 will be sent to Jamaica and 817,000 are to be transported to Kenya, among other countries, the Foreign Office said.“The first nine million doses will be going on Friday to countries from vulnerable countries in the Indo-Pacific, such as Laos, Cambodia, key partners like Indonesia, right the way through the Commonwealth countries from Kenya to Jamaica,” Mr Raab added.“I think what it shows, as well as the domestic rollout and the importance of coming out of the lockdowns in the UK, is that global Britain is also a lifesaving force for good in the world.”Leaders of the major industrialised nations at the G7 summit in Cornwall pledged more than one billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine – 870 million jabs shared directly and the rest through funding to the UN-led Covax initiative – to poorer countries.But Mr Johnson and other G7 leaders were heavily criticised over the pledge – accused by aid groups of failing to meet the scale of the challenge. Former prime minister Gordon Brown called it an “unforgivable moral failure”.More than 100 former world leaders had wanted the G7 to come up with a detailed plan to vaccinate the world by the end of 2022, and pay two-thirds of the £50bn cost of a vaccination programme.As the first surplus doses go out to Kenya, Mr Johnson welcomes Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta to his Chequers retreat on Wednesday afternoon, ahead of the two leaders hosting the global education summit in London tomorrow.Asked what he made of areas within Australia being in lockdown despite having three million stockpiled AstraZeneca jabs, Mr Raab said: “We know that AstraZeneca is safe – it has been WHO approved, it has been approved by the European, the UK agencies.“The vast majority of Covax-distributed vaccines to the poorest and most vulnerable countries around the world today have been AstraZeneca. It is crucially important that people get the jab, whichever country they are.” More

Fully vaccinated travellers coming from the United States and the European Union will be exempt from having to quarantine on arrival in England, ministers have announced.The policy change was agreed at a top-level ministerial Covid meeting on Wednesday afternoon, and will apply from 4am on Monday 2 August 2021.Boris Johnson reportedly pushed for the change because he is concerned that the EU is enabling international travel faster than the UK, and that Britain is “squandering its vaccine bonus”.But Labour accused the government of recklessness and potentially letting new Covid variants into the UK.Under existing rules, people who have been fully vaccinated in the UK do not need to isolate when travelling back from amber list countries – with the exception of France.But this exemption for vaccinated people does not apply to people who have been jabbed abroad under other countries’ programmes. As a result, people arriving in the UK have to quarantine on arrival.This has limited the appeal of international tourism to the UK, but also affected British nationals living abroad who want to visit their families back in their home country.The decision by ministers on Wednesday applies only to England, with the other devolved nations of the UK able to make their own decisions on the matter.In a statement released following the meeting, transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “We’ve taken great strides on our journey to reopen international travel and today is another important step forward. Whether you are a family reuniting for the first time since the start of the pandemic or a business benefiting from increased trade – this is progress we can all enjoy. “We will of course continue to be guided by the latest scientific data but thanks to our world-leading domestic vaccination programme, we’re able to look to the future and start to rebuild key transatlantic routes with the US while further cementing ties with our European neighbours.” Health secretary Sajid Javid added that the government was “taking another step on the road to normality which will reunite friends and families and give UK businesses a boost”.But Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said the plan was “reckless” and that it could end up with new variants arriving in the UK.“At the moment, everybody wants to go on holiday and get back to normal as quickly as possible, but this is reckless,” she told Sky News.“We know that the Delta variant came into this country and delayed the lifting of some of the restrictions and caused infections here. We need to make sure that we’ve got proper data-driven analysis, and that we look at an international passport for vaccines.“And we also know that people who have had the vaccine, of course, can still get the virus, so a testing regime is very important and crucial as well.”The Department for Transport said in a statement that passengers would have to be jabbed with vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or Swiss vaccination programme, or in the USA with vaccines authorised by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).Visitors will still need to take a pre-departure test before arriving in England, as well as a PCR test on or before day two after arrival. On top of the UK travel restrictions, each country has its own set of rules on people arriving from abroad, with some requiring stringent quarantine rules for UK arrivals – often on the basis of Britain being a hotspot for new variants.Mr Shapps said he expected other countries to become more relaxed about allowing people from the UK to visit “in time”.Asked by broadcasters whether he was confident the US and Europe would reciprocate in allowing fully vaccinated travellers to come to England without needing to quarantine, Mr Shapps said: “It will depend. We can only set the rules at our end, and that has always been the case. People should always check the rules on the other side.“I’ve just spoken to my US counterpart today and in the US they still have an executive order which prevents travel from the UK, from Europe, from several other countries to the US.“So we’re saying, ‘You can come here, you can come visit, you can come see friends, you can come as a tourist – if you’ve been double vaccinated and follow the rules – without quarantine.’“We can’t change that on the other side but we do expect that in time they will release that executive order, which was actually signed by the previous president, and bans inward travel.” More

Boris Johnson’s government is expected to open England’s borders to allow US and EU travellers who are fully vaccinated against Covid to enter without the need to quarantine, according to reports.The plans, which would be a boost to the aviation and tourism sectors, are expected to be discussed by ministers at a Covid operations committee meeting on Wednesday.The prime minister confirmed his government was considering a travel corridor with the US that allows people to “come freely from the US in a way that they normally do” during a LBC interview.“We’re talking to [the US] the whole time,” he told LBC. “At the moment we’re dealing with a Delta wave, the US is dealing with a Delta wave, but be assured that we are on it the whole time. As soon as we have something to say about travel corridors you’ll be hearing from us.”Talks are also expected between Whitehall officials and the devolved administrations on whether the change would apply to England only, or all four nations of the UK.The changes are expected as soon as next week, while countries outside the EU and US could be allowed inbound quarantine-free travel at a later date, according to The Times.It comes after aviation firms claimed a trial has demonstrated the UK can safely exempt fully vaccinated US and EU visitors from self-isolation.Heathrow Airport, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic said their 10-day pilot scheme proved the vaccination status of travellers can be efficiently and accurately checked away from the border.Around 250 fully vaccinated passengers on selected flights from New York, Los Angeles, Jamaica and Athens earlier this month presented their credentials using paper or digital formats before boarding the plane.Some 99 per cent of their documents were verified as authentic, with just two passengers’ credentials rejected.In one case there was a discrepancy between the name on the vaccine card and the name on the passport, while another involved someone who had been fully vaccinated less than 14 days before travel.Currently, people arriving in the UK from amber list locations, such as the US, Jamaica, Spain, Italy and Greece, must have been had both doses of a coronavirus jab as part of theUK’s vaccination programme to avoid the requirement to self-isolate for 10 days. This excludes those who have been jabbed elsewhere in the world.The Department for Transport (DfT) has committed to holding a formal review of its rules for arriving travellers before Sunday. It is expected to announce when it will begin recognising vaccines administered in other countries.BA chief executive Sean Doyle said the trial provides “the evidence the government needs” to allow fully vaccinated visitors from low-risk countries to enter the UK without the need to self-isolate.He went on: “The UK needs to safely reopen its borders as soon as possible to ensure loved ones can reunite, business can thrive and global Britain is able to take advantage of the UK’s world-leading vaccination programme.”His counterpart at Virgin Atlantic, Shai Weiss, warned that continuing the UK’s “overly cautious approach” towards international travel will harm the economic recovery from the virus crisis and put half a million jobs at risk.He claimed the trial shows airlines would ensure an easing of the amber rules is “implemented smoothly at pace”.Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye said: “The vaccine has been a miracle of science, and these trials have shown that we can allow fully vaccinated passengers from the EU and US to visit the UK without quarantine. There is now no reason to delay with rolling out the solution from July 31.” More

Boris Johnson said he does not “for one minute” think a government review of the Official Secrets Act would stop the press from carrying out investigations or lead to prosecutions of journalists.Fears have been raised that changes to the UK’s Official Secrets Act proposed by his government could see investigative journalists classed as spies and possibly even jailed.But the prime minister insisted the review would not “interrupt the normal process” of the media using confidential sources.Asked on LBC if he had concerns that journalists could face prison terms under the potential reforms, Mr Johnson said: “This is not what we want to do at all.”The prime minister added: “I don’t want to have a world in which people are prosecuted for … doing what they think is their public duty.”A Home Office consultation over changes to the Official Secrets has suggested that journalists in the UK could be treated in the same way as those leaking information and those committing espionage offences.It has also considered whether maximum sentences for violation of the act should be increased from two to 14 years.Mr Johnson suggested any changes to the act would be designed to stop “stuff” that could damage national security. But he denied that the review was aimed at going after confidential sources for public interest investigations.“You know as well as I do that a lot of the best and most important stories, whether they’re Watergate or Thalidomide or whatever come from … come from tainted sources,” he told LBC host Nick Ferrari.“Or come from a source that has no business in putting that out into the public domain,” he added, before joking: “One man’s treacherous betrayer of confidences and irresponsible leaker is another man’s whistleblower.”Mr Johnson said: “Editors and journalists, on the whole, do behave with great responsibility when it comes to stuff that they think should not be put into the public domain because of the damage it could do to national security or to public health or for any other reason.”He added: “What we want to do is make sure that we don’t do anything to interrupt the operation of good journalism and bringing you new and important facts into the public domain … The search light by the British press will continue to shine on every crevice.”The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has warned that proposed reforms could dilute protections for the media and make it harder to report on national security issues.The Independent’s columnist Patrick Cockburn has argued that if the Home Office proposals are implemented “then Britain will be well on the way to joining those countries where the disclosure of any information damaging to the government is punishable”. More

Boris Johnson has promised his government will stick with planned changes to self-isolation rules to free fully-vaccinated Britons from quarantine from 16 August.People with two jabs will able to escape self-isolation if they come into contact with a positive Covid case from mid-August – with the prime minister claiming the timetable was “nailed on”.Mr Johnson told LBC on Wednesday: “August 16 is nailed on – there has never been any question of a review date for August 16.”Despite the prime minister’s comments, policing minister Kit Malthouse said on Tuesday that ministers would have to wait to “see what’s happening on the numbers” before making a decision on self-isolation rules.And last week business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said no final decision would be taken until a week before the 16 August date – saying he had his “fingers crossed” rules would change to ease the “pingdemic”.The prime minister also warned the public not to get carried away by a week of falling Covid case numbers, after data showed infections in the UK fell for a seventh day in a row.“We’ve seen some encouraging data but it is far, far too early to draw any conclusions,” he told LBC. “The virus is still out there, people have got – it still presents a significant risk.”He added: “I’m very pleased that this is a country that now has the highest proportion of vaccinated adults of any country in the world – that is enabling us to make the economic progress we are.”He also claimed the UK could be in store for a “very strong” economic recovery from coronavirus as long it takes a cautious approach towards returning to pre-pandemic behaviours.“You’re seeing the job numbers increasing and I think the rest of this year there will still be bumps on the road – but I think you’ll see a story of steady economic recovery.”Mr Johnson rejected Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove’s claim that people who refuse to get a vaccine are “selfish”.Asked if they were “selfish’”, the prime minister told LBC: “No. I think that I would put it the other way round and say that if you get one you are doing something massively positive for yourself, for your family.”The prime minister refused to say whether the government would press ahead with plans for mandatory Covid passports, following a backlash from Tory MPs over compulsory certification.The prime minister also attempted to smooth over a row about the possibility of mandatory vaccination for university students, amid accusations he was blaming them for the relatively low vaccine take-up rates among young people.Mr Johnson also said the number of young people coming forward was “quite stupendous”, pointing to figures showing that around 70 per cent now of 18 to 20 year-olds have come forward to get jabs. “All I would say is keep going,” he added. More

Boris Johnson has promised disabled people in the UK a “better and fairer life” as his government unveiled 100 immediate pledges as part of new, national disability strategy.But the strategy drew a muted response from disability charities, who welcomed some measures – but said the plan lacks ambition, clear funding and falls short of providing “transformational change”.Ministers pledged to set up a taskforce examining the increased costs disabled people face and a new public awareness campaign to dispel ingrained stereotypes.The government will also consult on whether to make it mandatory for employers with 250 or more staff to report on disability in their workforce, after a voluntary scheme did not yield enough data.And an online access-to-work “passport” will be piloted later this year among disabled education leavers, veterans and employees moving between roles to help them enter work, change job and progress their careers.“Just as our talented Paralympians are set to take the stage in Tokyo next month, at home we are harnessing that same ambition and spirit, to build a better and fairer life for all disabled people living in the UK,” said Mr Johnson.“Our new national disability strategy is a clear plan – from giving disabled people the best start in school to unlocking equal job opportunities, this strategy sets us on a path to improve their everyday lives.”Justin Tomlinson, minister for disabled people, claimed the 114-page document was “transformational” and the strategy would pave the way for the government to be held accountable.But leading charities criticised the lack of “concrete” details and said it was hard to see how life will be improved for the next generation of disabled people.Richard Kramer, chief executive of the disability charity Sense, said there was no “centrepiece announcement” to spark immediate change. “Today’s strategy represents a small step forward, but doesn’t take the strides needed to deliver transformational change for disabled people.”Mark Hodgkinson, chief executive of the disability equality charity Scope, said areas that look promising include the consultation on mandatory disability reporting, and promised improvements to public transport.But he said the government has not set out how it will close the disability employment gap – the difference in the employment rate for disabled and non-disabled people, which stands at 28.6 per cent.He said: “Many of the short-term commitments made are to be welcomed, but the strategy as a whole falls short of the transformational plan that many disabled people expected and deserve.“Unless we get clear detail beyond the next 12 months, it is difficult to see how life will be significantly different for the next generation of disabled people.”Disability Rights UK chief executive Kamran Mallick added: “The strategy has insufficient concrete measures to address the current inequalities that disabled people experience in living standards and life chances.”Britain’s bus firms will be forced to provide audible and visual announcements to help disabled passengers, in a move led by the Department for Transport (DfT).The DfT has pledged to provide grants of £3.5m to helper smaller companies add audio-visual information systems to their fleets. It also announced that research will be carried out into the design of bus stops and bus stations to ensure they are “accessible for all”.The government’s strategy also promises to focuses on housing improvements, such as increasing the number of accessible homes built, with a consultation on requiring landlords to make reasonable adjustments to leasehold and commonhold homes. More

Brussels has paused its legal action against the UK over alleged breaches of the Northern Ireland Protocol agreed last year.In a surprise move on Tuesday, the European Commission said it was doing so in the hope that solutions to outstanding issues with the UK-EU post-Brexit trade agreement – signed in December – could be found.The bloc’s executive had launched the legal action in March, after the UK chose to unilaterally renege on parts of the deal by extending grace periods relaxing controls on British supermarket suppliers and businesses trading in Northern Ireland.Just last week, the Commission’s vice president Maros Sefcovic swiftly rejected the idea of a renegotiation of the Protocol, after new proposals put forward in a “command paper” by the UK’s Brexit minister Lord Frost suggested the agreement on Northern Ireland should be frozen and radically reworked. Warning “we cannot go on as we are”, Lord Frost had called for the preservation of the current grace periods and the suspension of the EU’s legal action while changes were renegotiated.But a European Commission spokeswoman said on Tuesday that a pause in the legal action would be used to consider proposals put forward by the UK last week.“While the EU will not renegotiate the Protocol, we stand ready to address all the issues arising in the practical implementation of the Protocol in a spirit of good faith and cooperation,” they said.“It is essential that we continue constructive discussions in the weeks ahead.“With regards to the request for a standstill, the Commission will carefully assess the new proposals made by the UK, in accordance with the necessary consultation procedures, both internally, and with the European Parliament.“In order to provide the necessary space to reflect on these issues and find durable solutions to the implementation of the Protocol, we have decided, at this stage, not to move to the next stage of the infringement procedure, started in March.”A spokesperson for Boris Johnson’s government acknowledged receiving a “constructive reply” from the Commission in response to its request for a standstill on existing arrangements.“We look forward to engaging in talks with the EU in the weeks ahead to progress the proposals in our command paper,” the spokesperson said.“As we set out in the command paper last week, significant changes are needed to ensure the Protocol is sustainable for future.”The Protocol, part of the Brexit divorce deal agreed by the UK and Brussels, effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market for goods.This means checks on goods being sent from Great Britain into the single market and in some cases could result in prohibitions on certain products that do not comply with EU rules.The Protocol was put in place to ensure there would be no hard border with Ireland, but it has instead effectively placed a trade barrier in the Irish Sea. The UK’s decision to unilaterally extend the initial grace periods agreed with the EU came amid fears that food shortages could intensify when the grace period had been due to end in March.Additional reporting by PA More