Markus Andrews

David Frost, the Brexit minister, is this week expected to announce the government’s plan to solve the problems caused by the Northern Ireland protocol. EU leaders accuse Lord Frost and Boris Johnson of wanting to depart from the terms of the protocol, part of the international treaty they signed with the UK when we left the EU. Lord Frost, on the other hand, insists that the problem is with the interpretation of the protocol, rather than the protocol itself, and accuses the EU of being inflexible in the way they expect trade arrangements for Northern Ireland to work.The British position is complicated, however, by the opposition to the protocol of the Democratic Unionist Party, the largest party in the Northern Ireland assembly. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the new DUP leader, said on Monday morning it was time for EU leaders to admit that the protocol “has failed” and is creating “very substantial trade problems”. Speaking after a virtual meeting with Maros Sefcovic, the EU co-chair of the joint committee charged with implementing the protocol, Sir Jeffrey told the BBC “both the UK government and the EU must now renegotiate”.On Wednesday Lord Frost is set to unveil the government’s proposed changes to the Northern Ireland protocol. He will explain the plans in a statement to parliament to be delivered alongside the release of a new policy paper.The Reuters news agency reports that the government is planing to threaten to deviate from parts of the Brexit deal unless the European Union shows more flexibility over the Northern Ireland issue.In a bid to help explain exactly where the UK has got to with their negotiations and what is likely to happen next I will be hosting an Ask Me Anything event on 4pm on Tuesday (20 July). This week could see some fundamental changes to the protocol going forward. If you have questions around what this might mean for the UK then please comment below. To find out how to sign up to our full range of free newsletters click hereIf you have a question, submit it now, or when I join you live at 4pm on Tuesday (20 July). All you have to do is register to submit your question in the comments below.If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments box to leave your question. Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they may be hidden until I join the conversation to answer them. Then join us live on this page at 4pm as I tackle as many questions as I can. More

Proof of vaccination will be needed to enter a nightclub – and possibly sports matches and the pub – as Boris Johnson ordered young Britons to get jabbed or miss out on “life’s pleasures”.On what was once dubbed “freedom day”, a jittery prime minister betrayed his nervousness at the inevitable surge in Covid cases by announcing a crackdown within 24 hours of lifting rules.From the end of September, nightclubs will bar entry to unvaccinated customers – in a French-style bid to force the 3 million under-30s who have so far refused to get a jab to do so.The rule will also apply in “other venues where large crowds gather”, Mr Johnson said and – although he did not name them – he did not rule out football matches or even pubs.“I certainly don’t want to see passports for pubs,” the prime minister told a press conference – from isolation at Chequers – before adding: “We reserve the right to do what’s necessary to protect the public.”In a sharp shift towards using so-called “vaccine passports”, Mr Johnson said: “Some of life’s most important pleasures and opportunities are likely to be increasingly dependent on vaccination.”Ministers appear to have been swayed by Emmanuel Macron’s success in persuading about 1 million people to get jabbed after the French president threatened to deny access to restaurants and other places.Meanwhile, Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, said it would be “really quite worrying” if the third wave of Covid was not in retreat by September – when schools go back.He also revealed that about 60 per cent of hospital admissions are currently for double-vaccinated people, adding: “And that’s not surprising, because the vaccines are not 100 per cent effective.”Across the Atlantic, Americans were warned against travelling to the UK, because of the surge of the Delta variant, as it was placed on the highest risk level.Just hours after opening nightclubs – to the dismay of many scientists – Mr Johnson admitted he was concerned about the “continuing risk” they pose, with unjabbed dancers mixing closely.“I don’t want to have to close nightclubs again – as they have elsewhere,” he said, when asked about a rapid U-turn that shut them again in the Netherlands.But he announced: “By the end of September, when all over-18s will have had the chance to be double-jabbed, we are planning to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather.“Proof of a negative test will no longer be sufficient,” the prime minister said, while insisting: “We want people to be able to take back their freedoms as they can today.”The Night Time Industries Association reacted with fury, condemning “an absolute shambles” and “yet another chaotic U-turn”.“So, ‘Freedom Day’ for night clubs lasted around 17 hours,” said Michael Kill, the organisation’s chief executive.He warned of “difficulties enforcing the system and a reduction in spontaneous consumers, as well as being put at a competitive disadvantage with pubs and bars”.The music trade body Live echoed the fear that clubs must “not be treated any differently to other similar-sized hospitality businesses such as bars and restaurants”.The Liberal Democrats also attacked the move, with the party’s home affairs spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael, saying: “Vaccine passports are Covid ID cards: unworkable, expensive and divisive.”Mr Johnson pointed to figures showing that 83 per cent of 30- to 50-year-olds have been jabbed – but only 65 per cent of 18 to 30-year-olds.In further changes, the prime minister also announced that more key workers will escape the requirement to self-isolate if named as the close contact of a Covid case.Fully vaccinated people working in transport, food and medicine supply, as well as employees of the power grid, and utilities such as water, and immigration control, could be granted exemptions, he suggested.In addition, children aged between 12 and 15 with severe neurodisabilities, Down’s syndrome, immunosuppression, or severe learning disabilities, will be vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.But the health secretary, Sajid Javid, said he had accepted the advice of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which has ruled out the vaccination of healthy children for now.At the press conference, Mr Johnson dismissed criticism of Sunday’s U-turn in which a plan for him and the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to swerve isolation rules was dropped amid public anger.Denying he considered himself above the rules – following the aborted plan for him to use a trial to continue working at Downing Street – he said: “I absolutely didn’t think that.” More

More types of key workers will be granted exemptions from the requirement to self-isolate if they are suspected of having coronavirus, Boris Johnson has said.In a press conference on Monday afternoon the prime minister hinted that fully vaccinated people working in transport, food and medicine supply, the power grid, and other utilities like water would be granted exemptions.People doing jobs involved the “defence of the realm” including immigration control could also no longer have to self-isolate if they have been doubled jabbed.It comes after health service and care home workers were given the green light to skip self-isolation so they could attend work, with concerns about staff shortages. Under the rule change, any frontline health and social care workers can skip self-isolation if they have been fully vaccinated their absence would be detrimental to patient care. Each worker’s attendance would have to pass a risk assessment.The prime minister said the forthcoming list of exemptions for workers in other professions and trades would be “named” and “very small” and that everyone else would have to comply with self-isolation requirements “for now”.The sharp rise in Covid case numbers resulted in more than half a million people being “pinged” by the NHS app after coming into close contact with someone with Covid-19 in the week to 7 July, according to the latest figures.39,950 people a day are testing positive for Covid-19, according to government numbers released on Monday. The figure for the last seven days is 322,170, up 41.2 per cent from the previous seven days. Around one in every 250 people has currently tested positive for the virus. There were 296 deaths in the last seven days, also up 48 per cent on the previous seven days – though this is well below the peak of winter wave in which over 1,000 people died a day for a protracted period. Mr Johnson himself is self-isolating at his country retreat in Buckinghamshire after he was contact traced because of his proximity to Sajid Javid, the health secretary, who tested positive for Covid-19.“I want to assure you that we will protect crucial services including the staffing of our hospitals and our, our care homes and supplies of food, water, electricity and medicines, the running of our trains, the protection of our borders, the defence of our realm: by making sure that a small number – a very small number – of named, fully vaccinated, critical workers are able to leave their isolation solely for the work that I have described,” the prime minister told reporters.“For the vast majority of us, myself included, we do need to stick with the system for now. And course, the only reason that we’re able to open up in this way, at all, is that we vaccinated such a large proportion of the population, and at such speed. It is a phenomenal that every adult in this country has not been offered a first dose.”Some services and businesses have faced shortages of labour as the sky-rocketing number of infections across the country leads to a surge in people being asked to self-isolate.The brewery Greene King says it has closed 33 pubs after huge swathes of staff were ordered to stay at home. Nick Mackenzie, the company’s chief executive, told BBC Radio 4’sToday programme: “This is a problem and I think it could get worse. It is disruptive to the business.” Mr Mackenzie added: “Across the industry we think it is about one in five of our team members who have been affected by this and therefore it is causing a real issue for us setting up business on a daily basis – we’re having to have shortened hours in some circumstances.”Meanwhile Slug and Lettuce owner Stonegate said 1,000 of its employees are not available for work and 15 of its bars are closed. Some railway services across the UK have also been cancelled, including on the London Underground. More

Britain’s Brexit chief has said the agreement he negotiated with the EU to resolve the Northern Ireland problem contains a serious “contradiction”. Speaking at a parliamentary committee on Monday afternoon Lord Frost said it was a “matter for debate” what key parts of the agreement actually meant.And he claimed the EU was already “arguably” letting the UK breach parts of the deal. On Wednesday the minister is set to unveil the government’s proposed changes to the Northern Ireland protocol. Lord Frost will explain the plans in a statement to parliament to be delivered alongside the release of a new policy paper.”One of the difficulties with the protocol is that it’s quite a purposive document, and a lot of its provisions have to be read with other provisions to sort of work out precisely what they mean,” Lord Frost told a session of the European Scrutiny Committee on Monday ahead of the announcement.”For example, the contradiction between the provision saying the union customs code must apply, and the provision that says that you must do your best to reduce checks at Northern Ireland ports: quite what the correct interpretation of those two things is is obviously a matter for debate. “So I think the issue is that certainly arguably, the way the EU is allowing us to run some of these arrangements is arguably not consistent or only partly consistent with that sort of balance.”Lord Frost personally led the team that negotiated the agreement with European Commission officials in Brussels.During the 2019 election Boris Johnson claimed the agreement was “oven ready” also describing it as “a very good deal” and a “reasonable, fair outcome”.But since attempting to implement the deal, the British government now says parts of it must be changed to better suit British businesses in Northern Ireland. The protocol has led to shortages of some goods in the territory and the situation is expected to worsen when grace periods end. The EU says it should be implemented as agreed.The Reuters news agency reports that the government is planing to threaten to deviate from parts of the Brexit deal unless the European Union shows more flexibility over the Northern Ireland issue.Asked whether the UK might trigger Article 16 of the agreement, which would effectively terminate parts of it, Lord Frost told the committee that “all options are on the table”.Repeating his concerns about the treaty, he added: “We all know that the protocol isn’t sustainable in the way it’s working at the moment. “I think the only way it can be made sustainable is if we can find a way to either hugely reduce or eliminate the barriers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, goods moving in that direction. We need to, as we go forward, and try and find a way of achieving that, so as to reduce the burdens.”We’ve said this a few times before, and it remains the core of the problem, that the boundary between Great Britain and Northern Ireland is is too dissuasive, too complicated, or too chilling of identity in various ways and that’s that’s what’s got to be solved, I think, in terms of direction of travel. “So we’re keeping obviously all options on the table. That’s, that’s clear. And I think that will remain the case after we have made that statement because we need to remain flexible to events. “I think if we can, it’s obviously more likely to produce a durable outcome if you can proceed by agreement, and it remains to be tested, I think on the basis of the discussions we’ve had so far as to whether it really is possible or not.” More

Full vaccination will be a condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues with large crowds from the autumn, Boris Johnson has said.Despite allowing nightclubs to open up at midnight without any restrictions, the prime minister has subsequently decided that new requirements will come into force by the end of September.“I should serve notice now that by the end of September, when all over-18s will have had their chance to be double-jabbed, we’re planning to make full vaccination a condition of entry into nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather,” Mr Johnson said. “Proof of a negative test will no longer be enough.”The prime minister also used his Monday press conference to suggest that mandatory Covid passports could be brought in sooner – if nightclub owners fail to ask for some form of certification voluntarily.“I don’t want to have to close nightclubs again,” Mr Johnson said. “But it does mean nightclubs need to do the socially-responsible thing and make use of the NHS Covid pass … We do reserve the right to mandate such certification.”The government has faced huge criticism about allowing nightclubs to become a new source of Covid transmission, after thousands of people danced the night away at “Freedom Day” parties.Julian Tang, a clinical virologist at the University of Leicester, warned that nightclubs were the “perfect mixing vessel for the virus to spread and to even generate new variants potent spreading grounds”.The government is currently asking nightclubs to check whether customers have been vaccinated or have a negative test result. But there is no legal requirement for them to do so – and most say they won’t.Sir Patrick Vallance, chief scientific adviser, made clear there were significant concerns about nightclubs creating “super spreader” events, allowing the virus to grow more quickly.“Right the way across the world we’ve seen that nightclubs and events where lots of people gather indoors are a potential for super-spreading events,” he told the Downing Street press conference.“It’s been seen in Holland and Israel, where nightclubs opened and you saw a big increase in cases. So I think there’s no question that that is an environment in which spreading is easier.”Sir Patrick added: “I expect with the opening of nightclubs we’ll continue to see an increase in cases and outbreaks related to specific nightclubs.”Vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi also told MPs in the Commons that proof of a negative test will no longer be enough to gain entry to clubs or large events from the autumn. “By the end of September everyone aged 18 and over will have the chance to receive full vaccination,” he said. “So at that point we plan to make full vaccination a condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather.”Tory MP Jeremy Hunt, chair of the health select committee, questioned why the government was waiting until the end of September to implement the plans.“Why are we waiting until then – giving more weight to the concerns of people who want to go to nightclubs than the additional extra cases waiting two months is likely to cause – at a time when that growth in new cases is of such a concern?” Mr Hunt asked in the Commons.Mr Zahawi replied: “We will work with the industry to make sure we get this right now in terms of working with them with the Covid pass, and of course in September, while we collate the evidence.”Nightclubs open their doors for first time since start of CovidMichael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), described the plans as an “absolute shambles”. He responded to the latest announcement by saying: “So, freedom day for nightclubs lasted around 17 hours then.”“Either mandate it or don’t mandate it,” Mr Kill said on certification. “This is putting an inordinate amount of pressure on us.”Labour MP Justin Madders, shadow health minister, said: “You can forgive [nightclub owners] from not knowing where they stand from one week to the next. This is about the fourth U-turn on Covid vaccine passports.”He said the plan to wait until September to implement new rules lacked “logic”, adding: “It just doesn’t make any sense at all.” More

A Tory MP has labelled a £550,900 bonus for the chief executive of Southern Water “ridiculous” after the company was recently fined £90 million for dumping sewage illegally.Ian McAuley’s total renumeration, including salary and other benefits, is closer to £1 million and was revealed in the company’s Annual Report.Ashford MP Damian Green told the BBC he was “very angry” about the sum of money. He added: “Getting a bonus when your company is being fined £90m is ridiculous.”Earlier this month Southern Water pleaded guilty to 6,971 unpermitted sewage discharges – the equivalent to one pipe leaking continuously for seven years.Tonnes of sewage polluted rivers and coastal waters in Kent, Hampshire and Sussex between 2010 and 2015, a court heard.Passing sentence, the Honourable Mr Justice Johnson said, of the formal 51 guilty pleas, that the company’s behaviour had been “shocking”.Bosses deliberately painted a misleading picture of compliance to the Environment Agency, which brought the criminal prosecution, Canterbury Crown Court heard.And some of the dumping hit conservation sites, causing major environmental harm to shellfish waters.The criminal prosecution follows a £126 million penalty on SouthernWater in 2019 as a result of the company’s regulatory failings over the same period.At the time Mr McAulay said the company was “deeply sorry” for the “historical incidents” that led to the sentencing and fine.The company was also ranked as one of the worst water companies for environmental performance in an annual report from the Environmental Agency.The missive from the government agency has found that none of the nine English water and sewerage companies had achieved all the environmental expectations set out for them for 2015 to 2020.But Southern Water and South West Water were the worst for environmental performance, with the Environment Agency warning their performance in looking after the environment has been “unacceptable”.A spokesperson for Southern Water said: “The fine covers 2010 -2015 while Ian McAulay joined in 2017 with a mandate to transform the company. “As the transformation continues and at his own request Ian’s base salary has remained unchanged at £435,000 for the last three years. “He also requested a reduction in bonus range two years ago and this was implemented. “His bonus reflects the progress made in the business as well as reflecting the challenges the business faces and areas where targets were not achieved. “Additional reporting by PA More

Secret Ministry of Defence (MoD) papers appearing at a Kent bus stop is down to an individual’s mistake, an investigation has found.The investigation found no evidence of espionage and concluded that there has been no compromise of the papers, which included documents relating to the likely reaction of the Russians to the passage of the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender through waters off the coast of Crimea and to the UK military presence in Afghanistan.The papers were found by a member of the public and handed to the BBC. The broadcasting company said that 50 pages of classified information had been found in a “soggy heap” behind the bus stop.MPs had been told that the leak was the result of a mistake by one individual who reported the loss to the MoD.Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told MPs: “We are confident that we have recovered all the secret papers.”He added: “The investigation has found no evidence of espionage and has concluded there has been no compromise of the papers by our adversaries.”The individual has since been removed from “sensitive work” and has already had their security clearance suspended pending a full review.Mr Wallace said: “The investigation has independently confirmed the circumstances of the loss, including the management of the papers within the department, the location at which the papers were lost and the manner in which that occurred.“These are consistent with the events self-reported by the individual.”He added: “For security reasons, the department will be making no further comment on the nature of the loss or on the identity of the individual.”Additional reporting by Press Association More

Boris Johnson has been accused of sowing “confusion” over his own self-isolation, after No 10 changed its story about when the prime minister headed into quarantine at his country pile in Buckinghamshire.The prime minister is currently isolating at Chequers until 26 July after he was identified as a close contact of health minister Sajid Javid, who was tested positive for Covid on Saturday morning.Mr Johnson was condemned for initially trying to take advantage of a pilot scheme which would allow him to avoid self-isolation – before a U-turn on Sunday saw him submit to the same rules as the rest of the public.Since then, Downing Street has gotten into quite a muddle over Mr Johnson’s movements in the past few days – sparking a series of awkward questions about who knew what when.Labour demanded to know exactly when Mr Johnson headed to Chequers, and whether Mr Johnson knew Mr Javid was feeling ill when the pair met at Downing Street on Friday.So how did the confusion begin? When did Mr Johnson head up to Chequers? And what do we know about the murky pilot scheme which allowed ministers to avoid the usual rules around self-isolation?So when did the PM ditch the pilot scheme to avoid self-isolation?On Sunday morning, around 8am, Downing Street announced that both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak would not be self-isolating due to their previously unannounced participation in a special pilot programme that replaces isolation with Covid testing.It sparked immediate and furious backlash. “Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have been busted yet again for thinking the rules that we are all following don’t apply to them,” said Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.Around 10.45am, just two hours and 38 minutes after No 10 announced the prime minister and chancellor would be exempt from normal self-isolation rules due to the pilot scheme, it wasLaster on Sunday afternoon Mr Johnson claimed from his Chequers retreat that he had only “briefly” considered participating in the pilot. But Labour said that was “completely inconsistent” with the Downing Street press release that said they were participating.When did Boris Johnson leave No 10 for Chequers?On Monday the prime minister’s spokesman initially told a Westminster briefing that Mr Johnson departed No 10 was at “the start of the weekend” – then said he left for the retreat on Friday morning.After it was pointed out to him that Mr Johnson had met Mr Javid at No 10 early on Friday afternoon, the spokesman correcting himself again by stating Mr Johnson left for Chequers at 3pm on Friday.When did Sajid Javid test positive for Covid?Mr Javid had said he took a lateral flow test on Saturday morning and it came back positive.The No 10 spokesman said he did not know “specifically” when Mr Johnson discovered when Mr Javid had tested positive for coronavirus.The official also said he could not confirm what day or time Mr Johnson was contacted by NHS Test and Trace over the weekend and told to self-isolate – only that he was already at Chequers at the time.Did Boris Johnson already know Sajid Javid was feeling ill?Asked whether Mr Johnson knew if his health secretary was feeling ill when he left London for Chequers – after the Friday lunchtime meeting between the pair – the No 10 spokesman did not answer directly.“The correct process has been followed,” the spokesman said. “Once contacted by NHS Test and Trace over the weekend, he has isolated and has not travelled subsequently because he did not want to travel across the country.”But the Labour leader said there were still questions to be answered on the saga, asking: “Did Boris Johnson travel to his country retreat after Sajid Javid first had symptoms?”Sir Keir added: “We know the prime minister likes to look for a loophole. We need to know when the prime minister was contacted and where he was.” More