Markus Andrews

A post from the Twitter account of an SNP MSP which suggested Jacob Rees-Mogg will “undoubtedly rot in hell” has been reported to the Standards Commission for Scotland.James Dornan reportedly replied to the Tory leader of the Commons’ post about the UK government’s Nationality and Borders Bill – the latest attempt to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.Mr Rees-Mogg quote-tweeted a video from his account, adding: “The bands of blighters bringing illegal entrants to Blighty will be broken up by this brilliant borders bill.”The reply from Mr Dornan’s account to Mr Rees-Mogg, who is practising Catholic, read: “Hope you remember this the next time you go to confession.”It added: “You and your cronies are already responsible for the deaths of thousands and you’re now happy to see the most desperate people in the world suffer and drown … If your god exists you will undoubtedly rot in hell.”Mr Dornan’s account has since been protected, meaning only the people he is following can see any posts made.Scottish Conservative chief whip Stephen Kerr MSP criticised his Holyrood colleague and called for an immediate apology.Mr Kerr said: “These comments from James Dornan were poisonous and beyond the pale. He is well known for his outbursts on Twitter but this vitriol simply has no place in respectful political debate.“Fresh from his fake claims about Lothian Buses discriminating against Catholics, this gaffe-prone MSP has once again shown his nasty side and shamefully brought religion into his anger at a fellow elected representative.”Mr Kerr added: “It is clear that he wasn’t interested in adhering to the MSPs’ Code of Conduct when posting this reply, which is why this post has now been reported to the Standards Commissioner.“James Dornan must urgently apologise for this wholly unacceptable and abusive behaviour immediately.”Last month Mr Dornan apologised after falsely suggesting that an Edinburgh bus company Lothian Buses discriminated against Catholics.An SNP spokesman said: “The Scottish Tories’ desperation to pass judgment on a tweet while utterly failing to condemn the immigration regime of their bosses in the Westminster government speaks volumes.”“While some people appear determined to be offended regardless of what SNP politicians say, there are fewer things more offensive than a policy which threatens to jail desperate refugees for the crime of trying to save their own lives – and the lives of their infant children – and it is essential such callous policies are called out.”The Standards Commission for Scotland has been contacted for comment. More

The government is considering an opt-out for NHS staff from having to self-isolate if they are “pinged” by the Covid app, Downing Street has said.Health service chiefs have said they expect “real pressure” on staffing levels as increasing numbers of people are identified by the app as possible contacts of coronavirus sufferers.NHS Providers, the membership organisation for NHS hospitals, said “something is going to have to give”, as app contact alerts soared to a record 350,000 in England alone in the last week of June.Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive at NHS Providers, told The Independent: “We think NHS staff should be able to carry on working even if they are pinged by the app – so long as they are double vaccinated.“The government should bring that in as soon as possible. I can’t see any reason to delay. NHS trusts are struggling with the number of staff having to isolate – anecdotally we’re seeing significant numbers off.”Ms Cordery said some staff have even deleted the app to avoid being forced into quarantine. “We’ve picked up on the fact some staff are deleting the app, but it’s not happening on a big, widespread scale at this point.”Medical staff are already exempted from self-isolating if they are “pinged” after coming into contact with a Covid patient while wearing appropriate protective gear at work.But asked if this exemption could be extended for NHS staff to cover all contacts either in or outside the workplace, a Downing Street spokesman said: “That is something we are looking at ahead of Step 4.”There are fears of staff shortages not only in healthcare but also transport, retail and hospitality as infections rise to an expected daily level of 100,000, potentially meaning that millions of people have to remain at home for 10 days of isolation.UK Health Security Agency boss Jenny Harries revealed on Thursday that the smartphone software could be made less sensitive in order to reduce the volume of self-isolation instructions.Boris Johnson is expected to announce on Monday that the fourth and final step in removal of coronavirus restrictions will take place in England on 19 July.But the end of self-isolation for children and double-vaccinated adults identified as contacts will not come into effect until 16 August.Mr Johnson did not dispute calculations that this could result in as many as 3.5 million Britons a week being contacted by the smartphone app and told to isolate.While it is a legal requirement to self-isolate if contact direct by the NHS Test and Trace service, requests from the app are not mandatory.But the No 10 spokesperson said the prime minister was urging people to continue to comply with the app’s instructions. “The PM has been clear that he continues to use it and a large number of the population continue to use the app,” said the spokesperson.“It has been an important tool in getting people to isolate and break the chain of transmission since we launched it earlier in the pandemic.”Asked whether the government had undertaken modelling of the potential impact on society of millions of self-isolation instructions, the spokesperson said: “We continue to look at the best scientific evidence and data. We of course are aware of the impact that self-isolation has had on people and businesses.”Despite Mr Johnson’s “now or never” message on Monday, when he said that any further delay to step 4 might mean lockdown restrictions being extended into 2022, Downing Street insisted that the prime minister will be guided by the science when giving the final green light to so-called “Freedom Day”.The PM will continue to receive the latest data over the weekend, which will be assessed against the government’s four tests before cabinet decides whether to approve the 19 July reopening on Monday, said the spokesperson. More

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has warned people against ignoring NHS Covid app orders for them to self-isolate.It comes after the Delta variant of Covid-19 rose by a third in the past week, according to Public Health England data, and the variant currently accounts for approximately 99 per cent of confirmed coronavirus cases across the UK.The number of exposure alerts sent to app users in England increased by more than 60 per cent in a week, according to the latest contact tracing figures.The rise comes before the last of social distancing restrictions are due to be lifted in England. Travel rules are to be eased on 19 July while measures on self-isolation for the fully-vaccinated will remain in place until 16 August.The government is concerned that people will delete the app rather than risk having to cancel a holiday in the event they get told to self-isolate.Mr Shapps said it is important that people continue to use the app and urged them to not ignore the alerts.He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “You shouldn’t ignore this [app] because it is vital information. People should want to know if they have been in contact with somebody with coronavirus. You don’t want to be spreading it around. It can still harm people.”England ending the rule on 19 July that requires people to keep at least 1m apart from each other in public may mean the app’s sensitivity needs to be reduced, Mr Shapps said.The app detects the distance between users and the length of time spent in close proximity – which is currently 2m or less, and more than 15 minutes.Work is being done to “tune” the app to adapt it to an increasingly vaccinated population, Dr Jenny Harries, the head of the UK Health Security Agency, told the Commons Public Accounts Committee on Thursday.Whitehall officials are planning on reducing the senstivity of the app by altering how long and how close someone has to be to another app user to be considered a risk of infection, it has been reported.Mr Shapps said on Friday that the sensitivity of the app is being kept under constant review and that he has spoken to health secretary Sajid Javid about it.A man who works for a plumbing and heating company had told The Independent that a few of his colleagues have deleted the app “because they couldn’t afford to self-isolate”.Professor Henry Potts, a member of the Spi-B group of behavioural experts advising the government, said that ministers need to make it easier for people to self-isolate, adding that there has been a “steady rise” of people deleting the app.He suggested that the government offers more financial and “practical support” to improve rates of self-isolation.Prof Potts told the Today programme: “The problem of people deleting the app or simply turning the app off or ignoring what it says has been a problem for many months.”Chancellor Rishi Sunak has also said that Mr Javid is looking at an “appropriate, balanced and proportionate” approach for isolation when people are contacted by the NHS app.Meanwhile, Mr Sunak also urged workers to return to the office once restrictions are lifted on 19 July in England, amid fears over the economic impact of people working from home. More

Brussels has insisted its calculations for the Brexit divorce bill are “final” and must be paid after the UK dismissed them as an inexact “estimate”.EU accounts show the bloc expects the UK to pay €47.5bn (£40.8bn) over the coming years – as much as £5 billion more than the UK’s own estimates during negotiations.Boris Johnson’s spokesperson on Friday afternoon said the UK did not recognise the EU’s figures after the bloc said €6.8bn (£5.84bn) would be due by the end of the year.Speaking at a press conference in Brussels a European Commission spokesperson told reporters: “The report is final and the calculations were made in line with the withdrawal agreement.”When it comes to 2021, [there is an] obligation for the United Kingdom to pay €6.8bn (£5.84bn), and of course, this will have to be done in two parts for this year. “We have already informed the UK government about the payments that they have to do with regard to the first part of this year and they’ve already in fact paid part of the amount concerned. “Therefore, we have absolutely no indications at this point in time that the bill, or the amount that we’ve calculated will be contested.”Asked what the process would be if the British government formally disputed the calculations, the EU spokesperson noted that a specialised financial committee existed in the withdrawal agreement, but added: “We don’t expect an issue to arise.”We’re in contact with UK Government, the UK has started paying, I don’t think we now need to go down the hypothetical route of what might or might not happen in the future.”They added: “These are legal obligations, just like any other part of the withdrawal agreement.”But back in Westminster a Downing Street spokesperson asked about the EU calculations told reporters: “We don’t recognise that figure. It’s an estimate produced by the EU for its own internal accounting purposes.“For example, it doesn’t reflect all of the money owed back to the UK, which reduces the amount we pay.“Our estimate remains in the central range of between £35 and £39 billion. And we will publish full details in parliament shortly.”A UK government spokesperson had previously dismissed the calculations as inexact and “just an accounting estimate”.The divorce bill is highly politically sensitive in the UK because some Brexiteers do not like the idea of sending money to the EU.Mr Johnson himself previously said the EU could “go whistle” if they wanted a financial settlement, but abruptly changed his stance after it became clear a deal could not be done without one.The bulk of the bill is to pay for projects signed up to the UK government, which ultimately accepted the principle that Britain should honour commitments it had made. It also covers the UK’s share of EU debts over the last half a century of membership and includes costs such as pensions for EU officials.Asked why UK and EU calculations appeared to differ, the European Commission spokesperson said: “It’s really not for us to do an analysis of potential differences in figures between our official calculations and what some UK officials or experts might have calculated on their side. We issue the calculation and the relevant invoices related to that that is our role.”The tension over the figure comes amid a backdrop of the UK wanting to override or change parts of the Brexit agreement it signed to better suit its interests. More

The president of the European Commission will be cheering for Italy beat England in Sunday’s Euro 2020 football final, her spokesperson has said.After asking about Ursula von der Leyen’s preference to win Euro 2020 reporters were told: “Her heart is with the Squadra Azzurra so she will be supporting Italy on Sunday.”Ms von der Leyen, who is German, saw her national team knocked out by England in the round of sixteen. The European Commission generally stays neutral in sporting competitions between member states – but Brexit has made the EU president’s allegiance in the final all but inevitable. During the 2018 World Cup Brussels declared victory ahead of the semi-finals as the four teams remaining – Belgium, Croatia, England and France – were at the time all EU member states.A spokesperson for the Commission at the time declared that “football is staying home in the European Union”, a reference to the popular song Three Lions.La Squadra Azzurra means “the blue team” and is a reference to Italy’s blue football shirts.Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup but have made a stunning comeback during 2021’s delayed Euro 2020 championship.The blues will face Gareth Southgate’s England in the final on Sunday, with an 8pm kick-off at Wembley, UK time. More

Rishi Sunak has urged workers to return to the office when coronavirus restrictions lift.But unions warned the government was risking the safety of workers returning after the expected lifting of the order to work from home on 19 July.The chancellor said he was looking forward to the return and insisted there was a benefit to workers from being with their colleagues, particularly for the young.He said that Zoom and Teams were “not great” for workers starting out and that in-person interactions were “really valuable”.”I think for young people, especially, that ability to be in your office, be in your workplace and learn from others more directly, is something that’s really important and I look forward to us slowly getting back to that,” he told the Daily Telegraph.He said that apprentices at a car mechanic training centre he met in Wolverhampton were “super-excited to be back in their workplace”.”They were over the moon, because they’ve spent six months trying to learn on Zoom and Teams and everything else, and it hasn’t been great,” he said.”They were saying actually being in, and most importantly, getting the support from their mentors, has been really valuable to them.”The longstanding work-from-home order has fuelled concerns about the economic impact of people staying at home, with town centre businesses such as cafes suffering from the lack of trade.With the final step of the government’s lifting of lockdown restirictions in sight, firms will have freedom to ask workers back, and set their own office safety measures.Mr Sunak said it was not for ministers to tell firms what they should or should not do, adding: “Ultimately I trust people and businesses to make decisions for themselves.”The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said ministers were refusing to consult with employers and unions on plans which will affect millions of workers.The TUC wrote to ministers on Thursday to raise concerns over worker safety, saying that the government had undermined public confidence by announcing the end of face mask obligations without consultation.Frances O’Grady, TUC general secretary, said: “We all want working life to get back to business as usual.”But as restrictions are lifted and increasing numbers return to their workplaces, it is crucial that we get workplace safety right, and give workers and members of the public confidence.”She said the TUC has “real fears that clear, detailed guidance for employers will be replaced by vague exhortations to employers to do the right thing, resulting in confusion”.Ms O’Grady warned that without detailed plans the country could be “hobbled by rising infections and enforced self-isolation” keeping workers out of action. More

Disruption to trade and travel caused by Brexit may return as Covid restrictions are lifted on holidaymakers, the port of Dover has warned.The boss Britain’s biggest sea port said there would be “longer transaction times and more processing” thanks to extra bureaucracy imposed because of Britain’s departure from the European Union.It comes after the government announced people who are double-vaccinated by the NHS will not have to quarantine on their return from foreign countries, potentially opening up new foreign destinations.Doug Bannister, the port’s chief executive, said the transition to the new Brexit rules had been relatively smooth so far “because we haven’t seen the demand for tourists coming from our facilities, as we would normally expect to see”.Dover has modelled the impact of a return of passenger cars to the port. Mr Bannister said a fast return to travel could cause issues.”It’s at those points in time when the pressure on the total system increases,” he told the Reuters news agency.Around 2.4 million trucks used the Dover port in 2019, along with 2 million tourist cars and 74,000 coaches.There were long queues at ports in the run-up to Brexit as businesses stockpiled ahead of expected disruption. Delays caused by new customs and border procedures have put some time-sensitive industries, such as seafood, at a disadvantage or out of business entirely – though most are still able to trade.However, trade with the EU still fell by a fifth in the first quarter in 2021. Ministers blamed Covid, but the fall for trade with non-EU countries was just 0.8 per cent over the same period – suggesting a much stronger new barriers for trade with Europe. Boris Johnson confirmed on Monday that people returning from Amber list countries would not have to quarantine from Monday July 26 – though restrictions on red list countries will still remain.The change effectively opens up summer holidays to millions of people, though restrictions imposed on British travellers by individual host countries could still apply. More

The Brexit “divorce bill” negotiated by Boris Johnson is up to £5 billion higher than the UK government expected, according to “definitive” EU calculations.The European Union’s consolidated annual accounts puts the final figure owed by Britain at €47.5bn (£40.8bn) – significantly up on the UK’s own estimates during talks.The bill covers the UK’s share of EU debts over the last half a century of membership and includes costs such as pensions for EU officials and the bills for long-term infrastructure projects.During negotiations the UK government had estimated the cost would be between £35 and £39 billion – as much as £5 billion lower than the more formal figure in the EU accounts. The first tranche of the payments, totalling €6.8bn (£5.84bn), is due by the end of this year. Ireland’s member of the EU court of Auditors, Tony Murphy, told the country’s public broadcaster RTÉ News that the figure was “definitive”. “While the 2020 EU consolidated accounts published by the Commission are as of yet provisional, the court has completed its audit work on these accounts,” Mr Murphy said.“For all intent and purposes the figures published by the Commission are definitive.”The divorce bill is highly politically sensitive in the UK because some Brexiteers do not like the idea of sending money to the EU.Mr Johnson himself said the EU could “go whistle” if they wanted a financial settlement, but abruptly changed his stance after it became clear a deal could not be done without.The bulk of the bill is to pay for projects signed up to the UK government, which ultimately accepted the principle that Britain should honour commitments it had made.In a possible early signed of a brewing row over the payments, thea UK government spokesperson rejected the figure in the EU accounts as inexact and “just an accounting estimate”.Since signing the Brexit deal Boris Johnson’s government has threated to renege on a number of commitments over trade and Northern Ireland. A UK government spokesperson said: “This is just an accounting estimate, and does not reflect the exact amount the UK is expected to pay to the EU this year.“We will publish detail on payments to and from the EU made under the financial settlement in the EU finances statement later this year.” More