Markus Andrews

The post-Brexit trade deal Boris Johnson wants will cause such damage to the environment and animal welfare it will make UK efforts to avoid harm “pointless”, his food tsar is warning.Henry Dimbleby – who is calling for snack taxes to cut obesity – also echoed fears that the controversial no-restrictions deal struck with Australia will be a model for deals with much bigger food exporters.“If they do this kind of no-tariff, no-quota deal with Brazil or the US, it would not only export huge amounts of environmental and animal welfare harms – making what we’re doing pointless in this country – but it would lay waste to the livelihoods of a large percentage of our farmers too,” he said.Mr Dimbleby pointed out that, while the government had said it would protect post-Brexit standards, it had not said “how it’s going to do that, or what those standards are”.He warned there was “huge jeopardy for our food supply and for our farmers” in adjusting to leaving the EU, which could be exacerbated.The adviser said he hoped it was not the prime minister’s wish to strike trade deals at almost any cost, adding: “Certainly it’s not in the Conservative manifesto.”The warning comes after the Australia deal alarmed farmers because, contrary to pledges of 15 years’ protection, tariffs will be scrapped immediately on imported beef and lamb.There is also anger that MPs will not – as The Independent revealed – be allowed to scrutinise the text until towards the end of the year, when they fear it will be too late.Criticising that secrecy, Mr Dimbleby told BBC Radio 4 the Australia deal “has an animal welfare chapter”, but warned: “We haven’t seen what’s in it.”Announcing the deal last month, the trade secretary Liz Truss repeatedly refused to guarantee that meat treated with antibiotics, or pesticides, will continue to be barred.Australia uses much 16 times more antibiotics for poultry farming than Britain, allowing farmers to crowd animals together to make meat cheaper – but sparking criticism about their conditions.Ms Truss accused MPs raising fears about antibiotics of demanding “regulatory harmonisation” and saying only: “We are not lowering our food import standards as a result of this deal.”Joe Biden’s administration has slammed the brakes on talks on a US trade deal, but Ms Truss is visiting the country for a week, as UK hopes of progress endureIn the Commons, as fears were raised about Brazil allowing the Amazon rainforest to become a “source” of carbon emissions, her deputy Greg Hands said: “We are not currently negotiating a trade agreement with Brazil.”Mr Dimbleby spoke out as Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, suggested the government will reject his proposals for new sugar and salt taxes on junk food. More

Boris Johnson has admitted he has only “the skeleton” of a plan to level up the country as promised, as a major speech was criticised for lacking detail.The prime minister was challenged that he had failed to set out how to tackle “entrenched inequalities” – after acknowledging 11 years of Tory rule had left many areas poorer than East Germany.Mr Johnson used the speech in Coventry to unveil plans for a new wave of “county deals” to give the English shires similar devolved powers as metropolitan mayors, and made small-scale announcements on money for football pitches and the latest 15 towns to be awarded a total of £335m funding to regenerate communities.But critics said the rambling 20-minute address was light on detail on what Downing Street cast as “the central purpose of his premiership”, some two years after he came to power.Former No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings dismissed it as a “crap speech (same he’s given pointlessly umpteen times) supporting crap slogan”. Levelling up was “a vapid SW1 slogan that objectively does not work and shows the opposite of ‘strategy’,” said Mr Johnson’s former right-hand man.And Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “Boris Johnson – the actual Prime Minister – in a speech that was supposed to set out his policies to address regional inequality, asked the public to email him with ideas.”The prime minister rejected the criticism that his speech lacked beef, insisting: “There was at least the skeleton of what to do.”But firm detaills on what ‘levelling up’ will entail are not expected until a White Paper in the autumn, following a consultation by MP Neil O’Brien, appointed as the PM’s adviser on the issue just 10 weeks ago.Mr Johnson insisted that he was ready to co-operate with regional leaders of all political stripes, after his speech appeared to indicate that powers would be devolved only to those who shared his priorities.He told an audience of business leaders at a newly opened battery centre that he would not offer a “one-size-fits-all” model to devolve power across the country because “the loony left remains pretty loony and we need accountability”.Local areas could be offered directly-elected mayors similar to the post he once held in London, or could receive devolved powers in specific areas like bus services, he said.“Come to us with a plan for strong accountable leadership and we will give you the tools to change your area for the better,” said the PM.Challenged by The Independent over whether this meant only those who shared his political sympathies would get new powers, he replied: “We’ll deal with anybody, of course we will, and quite rightly – we want local leaders to come forward.“What I’m saying is that with these powers must come responsibility and accountability and people taking charge of their local area and not just seeking out opportunities to point out differences between themselves and central government.”Mr Johnson used his speech to reassure Tory MPs and voters that his “levelling up” agenda does not mean starving the south of funding while diverting investment to disadvantaged areas in the Midlands and north of England, amid fears that the recent by-election defeat in Chesham & Amersham showed that traditional Conservative voters feel he is neglecting them.“We don’t want to level down.  We don’t want to decapitate the tall poppies, we don’t think you can make the poor parts of the country richer by making the rich parts poorer,” he said.Mr Johnson said he wanted to drive out the “unspoken assumption by policy makers that investment should always follow success”, which had led to an over-heated economy, over-priced housing and crowded services in London and the southeast.He said that government would play a “catalytic role” in fostering regional development with funding for higher education, transport infrastructure and research.He all but disowned Conservative predecessors David Cameron and George Osborne for imposing an austerity decade of deep cuts on local councils and the communities they represent.Asked how his promises to invest tallied with the Tory record of the past 11 years, he said: “I don’t think you’ll find I was ever one of those politicians who banged on about austerity. I never thought it was a helpful word.”CBI director-general Tony Danker welcomed the commitment to greater regional devolution.“The PM is right to recognise the importance of creating confidence among businesses to invest, and empowering local leaders to deliver,” he said.“For too long, we have been so much more regionally unequal than our economic competitors.”But TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said the Prime Minister must move on from “empty sound bites”.“There has been precious little to show for the government’s vaunted levelling up agenda, and today’s speech will do little to change that,” she said.Steve Turner, assistant general secretary of the Unite union, said: “We won’t be taking sermons on the mysteries of inequality from a prime minister that has sanctioned the snatchback of £20 per week from millions of the lowest-paid workers – who are on Universal Credit because work doesn’t pay in this country – and is poised to deny 2 million poor pensioners the income they need to get by.“This government’s levelling-up promises ring hollow too when it refuses to play an active role in saving and creating decent work in this country.” More

Johnson denies claim he ‘stoked division’ by refusing to condemn fans who booed England taking the kneeThe prime minister today offered only the “skeleton” of plans to level up the nation – in a speech billed as a major bid to define his vision for the UK. During a press conference in Coventry, Boris Johnson was asked where, “after two years into the job”, his clear strategy for levelling up was. “I do think that in all fairness there was at least the skeleton of what to do,” he responded.Mr Johnson added a levelling-up policy paper was expected to be published later this year, but the speech has already being panned as inconclusive. A significant moment did, however, come when the PM answered a question about the National Food Strategy, published this morning, suggesting his government will not enforce the proposed snack tax set out by Henry Dimbleby. “I’m not, I must say, attracted to extra taxes on hardworking people,” the PM said. Meanwhile, two homes have been searched and personal computer equipment seized after CCTV images of Matt Hancock embracing an aide in his Whitehall office were leaked last month. Show latest update

1626360397‘Sausage war’ is taster of trade disputes to come, warns retail repA retail representative has warned MPs that the post-Brexit “sausage war” is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to trade disputes set to unfold. Aodhan Connolly, from the NI Retail Consortium, told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee the chilled meats dispute was “peripheral” and that much bigger problems for traders lie ahead.Business, retail and manufacturing bosses today addressed MPs during a hearing on the impact of the much-contested Northern Ireland Protocol.“On chilled meats, if people think that is what a trade war is they are really going to be surprised when there is an actual war. That was not a trade war, that wasn’t even a trade handbags at dawn,” Mr Connolly said. “It is an emotive issue, but in trade terms it is a peripheral issue.”He added: “There are some real concerns and the last couple of weeks we have been having lots of meetings with our grocery members on what is coming down the tracks. We are heading towards a perfect storm in October when we will need export health certificates.”It comes after David Frost, the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, earlier admitted to a Commons committee he had not foreseen the “chilling effect” of the Protocol, which he acknowledged has left smaller businesses unable to continue trading with Northern Ireland. Sam Hancock15 July 2021 15:461626359161PM’s devolution announcement praised by industry leadersIt seems not everyone was disappointed by the PM’s speech earlier. The only new proposal Boris Johnson appeared to make was a suggestion to “rewrite the rule book” to take a “more flexible approach to devolution” in England.Well, Local Government Association (LGA) chairman James Jamieson said now is the “right time to bring forward an ambitious new devolution settlement”.“We support the prime minister’s refreshed commitment to turbo-charge this agenda and we look forward to working with councils and government to make this ambition a reality,” he added after the Coventry event.Meanwhile, Tony Danker, the Confederation of British Industry director-general said he welcomed the commitment to greater regional devolution.“The PM is right to recognise the importance of creating confidence among businesses to invest, and empowering local leaders to deliver,” he said. “For too long, we have been so much more regionally unequal than our economic competitors.”More widely, the speech has been criticised for lacking detail, with members of the Labour Party and TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady saying it was a string of “empty soundbites”.Sam Hancock15 July 2021 15:261626357607PM refuses to disown past comments on race – but apologises againBoris Johnson today declined to disown his former comments about black “piccaninnies” and Muslim women looking like letterboxes, instead repeating a previous apology for the offence they caused.Speaking shortly after launching new measures to ban people from football matches for posting racist comments online, the PM was challenged by The Independent over whether his controversial remarks would continue to be taken as a green light for racism until he makes clear that he regrets having made them – as he was asked to in the House of Commons on Wednesday.“The best thing I can say about that is I’ve obviously apologised in the past for the things that I have said that have caused offence and continue to apologise for them,” he said.Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has all the details:Sam Hancock15 July 2021 15:001626356931Labour criticises PM’s levelling up speech as lacking ‘substance’ Labour’s leader has dismissed Boris Johnson’s “levelling up” speech, saying the government lacked a proper regional strategy.During a visit to Blackpool, Sir Keir Starmer said there was “no substance” to the PM’s lengthy speech which, he claimed, “is absolutely typical of this prime minister”.“He has given a speech on levelling up which has got nothing in it. He promises jam tomorrow – that is what this prime minister does – but there is no delivery. The government has been in power for 11 years. They need to be judged on that record.”Sir Keir continued: “The words ‘levelling up’ are no substitute for a regional strategy that brings money, resource, infrastructure, skills all together around a regional plan. That is what Labour would do. The Prime Minister has got two words and nothing behind them.”It comes as the party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner branded the speech “soundbites” and said the PM was failing to “look after our areas” properly. Ms Rayner is from Stockport and is the MP for Ashton under Lyne.Sam Hancock15 July 2021 14:481626355755Snack tax can ‘get rid of food industry inequality’ – nutritionistA dietary specialist has attempted to sooth people’s concerns over a proposed snack tax, by insisting that the tax is not “an individual one” but one that is “applied to the businesses, restaurants and manufacturers making or providing those foods”.Dr Dr Hilda Mulrooney, of the British Dietetic Association, said Britain’s junk food issue went “far beyond obesity”, and advised the government to consider recommendations put forward in Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy this morning in a bid to “get rid of the inequality” that exists in the food industry.Asked by the BBC if she believed one day a “GP might prescribe vegetables for weight loss”, Dr Mulrooney said: “No, I wouldn’t say that, many of us are in a position to buy [fresh fruit and vegetables] already.“I think this report is about trying to get rid of a lot of the inequality in the system, to ensure that the people who are least well off are not disadvantaged further.”The Kingston University professor added: “There have been many stories today from low-income people who’ve said they can’t afford to buy fresh fruit or vegetables for themselves or their children, and it’s not a question of knowing what the right thing to do is, it’s being to put it into practise.” More

Boris Johnson has said it is “highly probable” that the worst of the pandemic is over, but urged people to act cautiously when restrictions are lifted in England on Monday.It comes as the prime minister faces growing criticism over “confused” guidance given to shoppers, businesses and commuters in England over the wearing of masks from 19 July.In a speech in Coventry, Mr Johnson said: “I wish I could say that this pandemic that we have been going through is over and I wish I could say that from Monday we could simply throw caution to the winds and behave exactly as we did before we’d ever heard of Covid.”He added: “But what I can say is that if we are careful and if we continue to respect this disease and its continuing menace then it is highly probable … the worst of the pandemic is behind us.”New guidance says the government still “expects” shoppers to wear masks when curbs in England end on July 19, despite no longer being required by law – a policy criticised as a “real mess” by unions and firms.Regional mayors have urged ministers to keep masks compulsory across all public transport services in England to avoid a “ridiculous mismatch” of rules from the beginning of next week.Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford also attacked the UK government’s policy, claiming England was now an “outlier” on mask-wearing.“I think it will be difficult for people in England to know exactly what is required of them,” Mr Drakeford said.He claimed that it would be “clearer and simpler” if England fell into line with Wales and Scotland in keeping the legal requirement.Mr Johnson has insisted the government had got the balance right when it came to opening up in England and the end of legal restrictions.But the tone of UK government ministers on masks has changed in recent days. Cabinet members who had shared how keen they were to stop wearing masks are now emphasising that it is “sensible” to keep wearing them in enclosed spaces.“There are difficult days and weeks ahead as we deal with the current wave of the Delta variant and there will be sadly more hospitalisation and more deaths – but with every day that goes by we build higher the wall of vaccine acquired immunity,” the prime minister said on Thursday.Dr Roger Barker, policy director at the Institute of Directors, said businesses were “understandably confused” over “a series of mixed messages and patchwork requirements” in the latest guidance.Communities secretary Robert Jenrick earlier denied that the rules have become a “total shambles” ahead of lockdown lifting – claiming England was moving to an era where “we all exercise our own personal judgment”.He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “Businesses and those people who are operating public transport networks, for example, will also make judgments about what is right for their settings. I think that is a sensible way forward.” More

Boris Johnson today declined to disown his former comments about black “piccaninnies” and Muslim women looking like letterboxes, instead repeating a previous apology for the offence they caused.The prime minister was speaking shortly after launching new measures to ban people from football matches for posting racist comments online in the wake of England’s defeat in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday.He was challenged by The Independent over whether his controversial remarks would continue to be taken as a green light for racism until he makes clear that he regrets having made them – as he was asked to in the House of Commons on Wednesday.But instead of disowning the comments, made in newspaper columns during his time as a journalist, the prime minister again said he apologised for the offence they caused.“The best thing I can say about that is I’ve obviously apologised in the past for the things that I have said that have caused offence and continue to apologise for them,” he said.“I think what people really want to see from a government are practical steps to stamp out racism and make sure we live in a happy, tolerant, generous and loving society.“That’s what I want to see.”Speaking after a speech in Coventry, Mr Johnson claimed he had “always said” it was “wrong” to boo England’s football players for taking the knee against racism before matches.And he said he disagreed with suggestions that he and his ministers had been responsible for stoking division over taking the knee.In fact, it was only after several days of declining to condemn those who barracked the anti-racism protest that Downing Street said on 11 June that the PM thought people should “cheer them on, not boo”.“I think that racism has absolutely no place in our society and I think the England team represented the very best of us and our country, and I think the overwhelming support, the outpouring of love for the England team, after the match on Sunday showed this country at its best and at its most united,” said Mr Johnson.“I think what we all want to do is take practical steps to prevent racism in all its forms.”Pressed on the failure to condemn “from the start” the booing of the players, Mr Johnson replied: “I always said that it was wrong to boo the England players, and that is my firm belief.”Mr Johnson pointed to the government’s Online Harms Bill which will allow social media companies which allow race hate to be peddled on their platforms to be fined up to 10 per cent of their global revenues. More

Boris Johnson has rejected recommendations to introduce new taxes on sugar and salt to help tackle junk food-related issues, saying he is “not attracted” to the idea of a levy.The prime minister’s comments came shortly after the publication of the National Food Strategy, which urged the government to take action to reform diets and encourage people to eat less sugar, salt and meat.Authored by food entrepreneur Henry Dimbleby, the review warned that what the country eats, and how it is produced, is doing “terrible damage” to the environment and health, contributing to 64,000 deaths a year in England.Among its proposals, the report called for a Sugar and Salt Reformulation Tax, including a levy of £3 per kilo of sugar and £6 per kilo of salt sold wholesale for use in processed food, restaurants and catering businesses.After a speech on “levelling up” the country on Thursday, Mr Johnson said the government would study the proposals but forward by Mr Dimbleby – a co-founded of the Leon restaurant chain – in the independent report.However, the prime minister added: We believe in tackling obesity, trying to help people lose weight, with promoting exercise and tackling junk food advertising and so on.“I’m not, I must say, attracted to the idea of extra taxes on our working people, let me just signal that, but I will study his report with interest.”In response to Mr Johnson’s remarks, Mr Dimbleby said it was “great” the prime minister had committed to reading the report, adding: “This is a huge problem, requiring bold solutions. Of course government can’t make up its mind on these things on the spot, no matter how much people try to bump them into that.”Earlier the cabinet minister Robert Jenrick also played down the possibility of the government introducing new taxes on sugar and salt, saying ministers would be cautious about imposing “burdens” on the public.“I think you have to be very careful about going down that road, because I don’t want to make life more difficult for people on low incomes,” he told LBC.The report adds that the new levy would raise between £2.9bn and 3.4bn a year, the report says, some of which could be spent expanding free school meals to another 1.1 million children who need them.Speaking earlier on Thursday, Mr Dimbleby suggested plans for salt and sugar levies are “doable”, but admitted he could not guarantee ministers will implement them.“The government clearly needs to make a change and I think the recommendations I’ve made are doable, powerful and in the short term will create change,” he told BBC’s Breakfast.“I will be out there making the case for them as strongly as I can but in the end it’s the government’s decision.“They are elected, I am not elected, and it’s their decisions on what policies they make, but I will certainly be making the case as strongly as I can.” More

Ministers have suggested that the government will reject proposals to introduce new taxes on sugar and salt to help remedy Britain’s addiction to junk food.The newly published National Food Strategy review said the government must take action to encourage people to eat less sugar, salt and meat in an effort to save lives and protect the NHS.However, communities secretary Robert Jenrick said the government would be cautious about imposing any new “burdens” on the public.Asked about the proposed sugar levy adding an estimated 87p to the price of Frosties, Mr Jenrick told LBC Radio: “I think you have to be very cautious before putting burdens on members of the public – particularly those on lower incomes.”The cabinet minister added: “I think you do have to be very careful about going down that road, because I don’t want to make life more difficult for people on low incomes.”Boris Johnson later said he was not “attracted” to the idea of new levies on sugar and salt. “There are doubtless good ideas in it,” the prime minister said on the report.Speaking in the West Midlands, Mr Johnson added: “I’m not attracted to the idea of extra taxes on hard working people – let me just signal that. But I will study his report with interest.”The government will “carefully” consider the findings of the National Food Strategy report – commissioned by Michael Gove when he was environment secretary – before bringing forward its own proposals later this year, Mr Jenrick said.The communities secretary told Sky News: “This is an independent review. It was commissioned by government a couple of years ago but we haven’t had any control over the findings.“They are interesting findings that the environment secretary [George Eustice] is going to consider and then bring forward our own strategy in the coming months.”Reports suggest ministers are not keen on implementing any new levies, with many Tory MPs against a “nanny state” crackdown on junk food. One unnamed government official told Politico that a sugar or salt tax was not being considered.Authored by restaurateur Henry Dimbleby, the independent report warns that what we eat, and how it is produced, is doing “terrible damage” to both the environment and our health – contributing to 65,000 deaths a year in England.The most significant recommendation would be a “world first” levy of £3 a kilo on sugar and £6 a kilo on salt sold wholesale for use in processed food, restaurants and catering.This would raise between £2.9bn and 3.4bn a year, the report says, some of which could be spent expanding free school meals to another 1.1 million children who need them.Mr Dimbleby said plans for salt and sugar levies are “doable”, but admitted he could not guarantee ministers will implement them.“The government clearly needs to make a change and I think the recommendations I’ve made are doable, powerful and in the short term will create change,” he told BBC’s Breakfast.“I will be out there making the case for them as strongly as I can but in the end it’s the government’s decision. They are elected, I am not elected, and it’s their decisions on what policies they make, but I will certainly be making the case as strongly as I can.”Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of food waste charity FareShare, backed the report – saying the proposed changes set out were “the most important … in my lifetime”.He told BBC Breakfast: “We cannot afford to keep feeding bad food to people, we cannot afford to have children that go hungry, we cannot afford to destroy the planet in the way we are doing.”Shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard said the report was a massive wake-up call to fix Britain’s broken food system – warning the government not to ignore it.“But this government have proved incapable of ending the growing foodbank scandal and the obesity crisis, while their trade deals betray our British farmers,” he said.“We need a radical obesity strategy, ensuring families are able to access healthy food, supporting local leisure facilities and tackling rising child poverty.” More

Business groups have criticised the government over its raft of new Covid guidance, saying companies and customers have been left with “mixed messages and patchwork requirements” ahead of the planned easing of curbs on 19 July. Under plans to relax restrictions next week, ministers have said wearing a face mask in indoor settings will switch from a legal requirement to a matter of personal choice. From Monday, all legal limits on the numbers meeting indoors and outdoors will be scrapped and all businesses will reopen, including nightclubs – for the first time since March 2020.However the advice has led to confusion with some members of the government continuing to advise the public to use face coverings in certain settings, such as on public transport and in crowded spaces. Leading businesses and transport bodies have said they will continue to mandate masks despite the change in the rules.Transport for London, Heathrow Airport and several major restaurant and pub chains – including the owner of the Gaucho chain and City Pub Group – have said they will continue to ask customers to cover their nose and mouth.Bookshop chain Waterstones has also said it will request shoppers wear masks.However there is uncertainty over how the rules will be implemented in many of the UK’s supermarkets.Sainsbury’s has confirmed that many of the Covid measures customers will stay in place in their shops after 19 July.From Monday, new signs and tannoy messages in Sainsbury’s stores will encourage customers to continue to wear a face covering, and staff will be encouraged to wear a face covering, unless they are behind a screen.Barriers between self-service checkouts and dividing checkout queues will be gradually removed from its stores in England, but they will remain in place between colleagues and customers when they are being served at checkouts.Other supermarkets have said they are awaiting further guidance or are still conducting a review of their mask policy with days to go before the rules change.Roger Barker, policy director at the Institute of Directors, accused the government of announcing a “series of mixed messages and patchwork requirements” which he said had dampened enthusiasm among businesses for the unlocking.The Association of Convenience Stores warned that the “tensions in government messaging will play out not in the corridors of government departments but on trains and buses and in the aisles of shops”.Hannah Essex, co-executive director of the British Chambers of Commerce, complained companies had “just five days to make this judgment call and effectively communicate it to staff and customers”.Asked on Sky News if the government had created confusion for businesses, minister Robert Jenrick said: “I disagree with that. We’ve published guidance and the guidance reflects the huge diversity of businesses.“There might be situations where businesses might choose to pursue these policies based on their best judgement … this is the sort of discretion they want.”“You can already see TfL, that manages the Tube in London, have come to, in my opinion, a perfectly sensible judgement that in the confines of the Tube you should be using a mask.“And there are also some supermarkets coming to that conclusion as well. Waterstones, who I understand will be asking their customers to wear masks … that seems a logical decision.“We trust businesses just as we trust the public to come to sensible, reasonable positions.” More