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Representatives of the UK’s music and theatre industry, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, have launched legal action to force the government to publish results of its research into the impact of relaxing Covid restrictions.Representatives of the UK’s music and theatre industry, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, have launched legal action to force the government to publish results of its research into the impact of relaxing Covid restrictions.Composer Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group joined high profile figures from the entertainment world – also including musical theatre impresario Cameron Mackintosh and the music industry body LIVE – to bring proceedings to force ministers to hand over the report on phase 1 of its Events Research Programme.The ERP has carried out trials of Covid mitigations, such as mask-wearing and pre-entry testing, in a variety of sports, entertainment and conference venues in a bid to determine how mass attendance events can safely be resumed.But the government has so far refused to release its findings, amid accusations from some quarters that ministers do not want the publication of evidence which might bolster the case for a swifter reopening of society at a time when the Delta variant is forcing up coronavirus infections.Lord Lloyd-Webber said: “Last week I rejected the government’s invitation for Cinderella to be singled out as a last-minute part of the Events Research Programme.“Today, with a range of voices from across the theatre and live entertainment industries, we are forced to take it further. We simply must now see the data that is being used to strangle our industry so unfairly.“The government’s actions are forcing theatre and music companies off a cliff as the summer wears on, whilst cherry-picking high-profile sporting events to go ahead. The situation is beyond urgent.”Culture minister Nigel Huddleston resisted MPs’ demands for publication of results in a Commons debate on Tuesday, when former minister Mark Harper voiced suspicions that the findings were “fantastically positive” after test events including the FA Cup final at Wembley, the Brit Awards and the World Snooker Championship went ahead without causing outbreaks.Backers of the legal action said that these events, and last weekend’s Download festival for 10,000 people, had been “a huge success… showing that with proper precautions in place, live events at full capacity can go ahead safely.”Event operators have appealed unsuccessfully for government backing for an insurance scheme for the sector or for clear indications of any ongoing mitigations set to be required for the future, making it all but impossible for them to plan ahead.Industry research indicates that the four-week delay to the planned reopening date of 21 June will lead to the cancellation of around 5,000 live music gigs as well as many theatre productions across the country, costing hundreds of millions of pounds in lost income.In the legal action lodged today, the industry bodies assert that the government has flagrantly breached the ‘duty of candour’ which requires it to be transparent when faced with a legal challenge and that none of the reasons given for withholding the Events Research Programme material they seek withstand scrutiny. They have asked for an urgent court hearing as soon as possible.Peter Gabriel, founder of the world music festival Womad, said a decision must be made by the end of this week on whether to cancel the event in Wiltshire.“Millions of pounds of investment and the livelihood of around 5,000 people are at stake,” he said. “Without immediate government intervention, the festival industry is on the brink of collapse. That doesn’t mean cash, it means providing the certainty to enable us to deliver festivals, guidance on safety, and an understanding of how their timing affects us in the real world.”And Les Miserables producer Cameron Mackintosh said: “Having been forced to close our theatres twice last year, the second time after the government encouraged reopening for Christmas, losing further millions as a result, a joint insurance scheme to protect us against another enforced closure is vital.“Along with most of the commercial theatre we have had absolutely no direct financial help either for our productions or the upkeep of our historic theatres.“Opening without any sort of protection is impossible for many producers, live event organisers and theatre buildings across the country. “Having contributed huge amounts of money to the exchequer over the last few decades, the theatre desperately needs to be supported in its hour of need or the government will be responsible for the disintegration of one of this country’s most priceless and irreplaceable assets after centuries of being the envy of the world.” More

The Brexit settlement is unstable – a problem that can be resolved only by taking a step towards a closer relationship between the UK and the EU, said Andrew Adonis at an Independent event last night to mark the fifth anniversary of the referendum. Lord Adonis, the Labour former cabinet minister, and David Gauke, the former Conservative cabinet minister, both argued that a Swiss-style agreement on common UK and EU food safety rules was the way to solve the Northern Ireland border crisis.The panel, chaired by John Rentoul, The Independent’s chief political commentator, Kate Devlin, our Whitehall editor, and Andrew Grice, our political columnist, covered the referendum, its consequences and the future. You can watch the discussion here.Watch the full event in the video belowBrexit: Five years on from the UK’s vote that triggered an EU divorceMr Gauke thought a referendum was inevitable at some time, while Lord Adonis took the view that it was the product of weakness on the part of David Cameron. They agreed that Theresa May took a wrong turning early on in her premiership by defining Brexit as its hardest form, which made it hard to compromise thereafter.They both agreed that Lord Adonis, as chair of the European Movement, should act as a mirror image of Nigel Farage, who led Ukip as a force outside the main parties to put pressure on them to change.And they both offered withering assessments of the two main parties. Mr Gauke said he did not believe that Boris Johnson would soon step down to “make money and have fun”, as Dominic Cummings, his former chief adviser, had suggested. “I think he is in for the long haul,” said Mr Gauke, predicting that the Conservative Party would remain successful as a populist right-wing Eurosceptic party for the foreseeable future.Lord Adonis, meanwhile, predicted that “change is not long in coming” in the Labour Party, expecting that Keir Starmer would not survive as leader. “There is a limit to the amount of failure the Labour Party can take,” he said. For our next virtual event join our renowned travel correspondent Simon Calder as he navigates his way through the ever-changing rules around travel. Race to the sun: where is the finish line? is being held on June 30 at 6.30pm. Our expert panel will be on hand for an hour as they navigate their way through everything from the rules around travel to specific countries to the latest advice and tips on booking a staycation for your summer break. To sign up to this event for free, click here More

Angela Merkel is under fire after calling for all EU countries to force holidaying Britons to go into quarantine, in the latest threat to summer foreign holiday hopes.George Eustice, the environment secretary, claimed the move was not necessary – despite the UK itself currently requiring 10-day isolation on return from all EU destinations.“I don’t think such a move would be justified, but obviously it’s for individual countries to make these judgments,” he told LBC Radio.The row comes after the German Chancellor called for a united EU approach, after rocketing cases of the Delta variant in the UK put it at the top of the table for Covid infections.“In our country, if you come from Great Britain, you have to go into quarantine – that’s not the case in every European country and that’s what I would like to see,” Ms Merkel told the Bundestag.The German leader intervened as the British government prepares to relax its rules for returning holidaymakers, probably in time for the school holidays at the end of July.The Balearic Islands, Malta and some Caribbean islands could be added to the ‘green list’ today – lifting the need for isolation and expensive tests, which are making holidays unviable for many families.And, even more significantly, fully vaccinated Britons – and their children – would be able to travel to amber list countries later this summer without quarantine or testing on return, under government plans.The German call complicates those moves, but Mr Eustice pointed to “the highly advanced stage” of the UK’s vaccination programme, with 80 per cent of adults having had one jab and 60 per cent both doses.Greece and Spain are among Mediterranean sunspots that have broken with Brussels to allow in British travellers without requiring them to isolate.But that openness is threatened by the UK’s failure to keep the Delta – or Indian – variant under control, with 16,135 new confirmed cases on Wednesday, the highest figure since early February.In just a few weeks, the UK has gone from the European country with the lowest Covid rate to having the highest – amid fierce criticism of Boris Johnson for failing to shut off travel from India in time.The Delta variant is now dominant in Portugal, has emerged in clusters in Germany, France and Spain and is expected to account for 90 per cent of all EU cases by the end of August.Germany only accepts Britons for “humanitarian reasons”, such as a family bereavement, and has mandatory 14-day quarantine for any Germans travelling from the UK.Italy followed suit on Monday by imposing a five-day quarantine on British travellers until at least July 30 because of concern over the delta variant.The US currently bans UK tourists and its top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, has signalled the US is unlikely to open a travel corridor with the UK before September. More

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that Europe is “on thin ice” in its battle against the coronavirus, as the highly contagious delta variant threatens to undo progress made in reducing infections.In what may be her last government declaration to the German parliament, Merkel said the further response to the pandemic would be a main topic of discussion among European Union leaders at a meeting in Brussels on Thursday. She noted that the number of COVID-19 cases in the 27-nation bloc continue to decline, while vaccination rates climb.“But even though there is reason to be hopeful, the pandemic isn’t over, in particular in the world’s poor countries,” she said. “But in Germany and Europe we’re also still moving on thin ice.”“We need to remain vigilant,” Merkel added. “In particular the newly arising variants, especially now the delta variant, are a warning for us to continue to be careful.”EU health officials predicted Wednesday that the delta variant will make up 90% of all cases across the bloc by the end of August, showing the need for as many people to be fully vaccinated as possible.In Germany, the delta variant now makes up about 15% of new cases, according to the country’s disease control agency.The country has pressed for EU countries to form a joint position on quarantine for travelers from areas where variants of concern are particularly prevalent. This includes England where the delta variant — first detected in India — already makes up a majority of cases. More

Ministers are pushing ahead with a ban on TV or online adverts for junk food before the 9pm television watershed, according to reports.Small businesses will be exempt from the ban, which is part of Boris Johnson’s efforts to tackle obesity, under plans due to be unveiled by the government on Thursday, the Telegraph reports.Restaurants, cafes and bakeries had raised concerns they would not be able to advertise their products on their own social media accounts if the government went ahead with the plans, which were outlined in the Queen’s Speech.However, it is understood that small businesses with 249 employees or fewer will be exempt from the ban and permitted to advertise foods high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS).Restrictions for online adverts will stop short of a total ban, as it will only apply to paid-for advertising, according to the Telegraph.The Advertising Association said it was “dismayed” by the move, which will mean food and drink companies will not be able to advertise “new product innovations and reformulations”.The restrictions will be enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority, which will order companies breaking the rules to take down adverts and potentially sanction repeat offenders.In its initial consultation for the move, the government cited research published by Cancer Research UK in September 2019 that suggests almost half of all food adverts (47.6 per cent) shown on ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky One were for HFSS products. That rises to almost 60 per cent between 6pm and 9pm – the peak viewing period for children.Analysis by the Obesity Health Alliance (OHA) suggested ending the ads could benefit children by removing the equivalent of 150 million chocolate biscuits or 41 million cheeseburgers a year from their diets.A briefing document published to accompany the Queen’s Speech last month set out the plans, which have previously been criticised as “headline-chasing policy” rather than helping to reduce obesity rates by campaigners.Sue Eustace, public affairs director at the Advertising Association, said: “We all want to see a healthier, more active population, but the government’s own analysis shows these measures won’t work.“Levelling up society will not be achieved by punishing some of the UK’s most successful industries for minimal effect on obesity levels.” More

Related video: Boris Johnson dismisses warning ‘hundreds of thousands’ will die from tropical diseases after aid cutsCabinet minister Brandon Lewis has expressed confidence that the EU will agree to changes to the Brexit deal covering Northern Ireland, ahead of a deadline next week.The Northern Ireland secretary told the Commons Northern Ireland affairs committee fixes to the accord were necessary and that he was “optimistic” they would happen.It comes amid reports that the EU is set to grant the UK an extension to grace periods on imported chilled meats – amounting to a temporary ceasefire in the so-called “sausage trade war”.The UK marks five years since the Brexit referendum on Wednesday amid an ongoing row over trade with Northern Ireland.Boris Johnson acknowledged the fifth anniversary of the vote by claiming it was his “mission” to use the UK’s new position in the world to deliver a better future for the British people.However, there was embarrassment for the PM as millions of Britons were hit with the return of mobile phone roaming charges that are outlawed within the EU — ending one of the most tangible benefits of EU membership in recent years.Show latest update

1624431067Hello and welcome to The Independent’s rolling coverage of UK politics and the Brexit referendum anniversary.Tom Batchelor23 June 2021 07:511624431361PM claims Brexit is spurring ‘innovation, jobs and renewal’Boris Johnson has released a statement to mark five years since the bitterly fought Brexit vote, which divided the country and led to years of domestic turmoil before the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020.He has claimed leaving the EU will spur “innovation, jobs and renewal”.The prime minister said in a statement: “This government got Brexit done and we’ve already reclaimed our money, laws, borders and waters.“Now as we recover from this pandemic, we will seize the true potential of our regained sovereignty to unite and level up our whole United Kingdom.“With control over our regulations and subsidies, and with freeports driving new investment, we will spur innovation, jobs and renewal across every part of our country.“The decision to leave the EU may now be part of our history, but our clear mission is to utilise the freedoms it brings to shape a better future for our people.”Tom Batchelor23 June 2021 07:561624431758Brexit ‘opposite’ of what UK needed, says HeseltineLord Heseltine, the former deputy prime minister who is now president of the European Movement, has described Brexit as the “very opposite” of what the country needed following the pandemic.“Five years on, Brexit is far from ‘done’. It has only just begun and the forecast is ominous,” he said.“Storm clouds are gathering on the horizon, chief among them the threat to the Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland.“The fishing industry has now voiced its betrayal and the Australian trade deal will slowly erode the competitiveness of British farmers over the next 15 years.“Meanwhile, the financial services industry quietly moves its activities to Europe in order to escape the continuing Brexit uncertainty.”Tom Batchelor23 June 2021 08:021624432238EU ambassador to UK says full impact of Brexit not yet knownJoao Vale de Almeida, the ambassador of the European Union to the United Kingdom, suggested Brexit could herald major changes both in the ties between London and Brussels, and in the ties between the four nations.He told The Times Brexit was a “living animal” that was “done, in a way, but not done, in another way”.“I think the worst way to respect Brexit is to keep fighting battles of the past, and to keep trying to score points on disputes of the past,” he said.“I don’t know what our relationship will be in 20 years’ time. I don’t know what the EU will be like in 20 years. And maybe I don’t know what your Union here will be like in 20 years’ time. Who knows? So we have to be ready for change.”Tom Batchelor23 June 2021 08:101624432718Brussels can’t move on from Brexit – no matter how hard it triesFive years on from the referendum and “we’re negotiating over sausages while the world burns”, Guy Verhofstadt, who was the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, has told The Independent.The former Belgian prime minister, who is now chairing a conference on the future of Europe, said he despairs at the amount of political bandwidth Brexit still consumes for diplomats, MEPs and officials – and the effect of this on the cross-channel relationship.Here is the story:Tom Batchelor23 June 2021 08:181624433078Labour says Johnson’s ‘dishonesty’ is destabilising Northern Ireland Labour’s Louise Haigh, the shadow Northern Ireland secretary, said Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal was responsible for the current unrest in Northern Ireland.“There is a direct line from the prime minister’s dishonesty over the deal he negotiated, to the instability we see in Northern Ireland today,” she said.“The prime minister pledged never to put barriers down the Irish Sea and then a few months later did exactly that – this dishonesty is still having real consequences.”Tom Batchelor23 June 2021 08:241624433618The real ‘Brexit dividend’? Minus £800m a week – and countingIt was a vote famously won, at least in part, on money. “We send the EU £350m a week,” read the message on the side of Vote Leave’s battlebus. “Let’s fund our NHS instead.” The figure referred to an estimate of the UK’s gross contribution to the European Union – in reality there was much more at play in the economics of EU membership, including money Brussels sent back to Britain and trade benefits.So, five years on from the vote, what has Brexit really meant for the economy? Here is Ben Chu’s analysis:Tom Batchelor23 June 2021 08:331624434218UK still split over Brexit, poll findsA new poll has found that Britain remains split roughly down the middle over Brexit, five years on from the 52-48 vote to Leave on 23 June 2016.The Savanta ComRes survey suggested that the UK would now vote to Remain in the EU by a majority of 51-49 per cent, but would reject the opportunity to rejoin by the same wafer-thin margin.Less than a third of respondents (31 per cent) said that Brexit has been a success, with slightly more (34 per cent) branding it a failure. And there was a clear majority (51 per cent) who believed the experience had left the UK more divided, compared to just 13 per cent who said it was more united.Tom Batchelor23 June 2021 08:431624434758Radiohead, Blur and Chemical Brothers tell Boris Johnson to fix Brexit touring crisisStars from Radiohead, Blur and The Chemical Brothers have joined a new campaign urging Boris Johnson to fix the touring crisis caused by his Brexit deal.They are among more than 200 artists demanding help with the daunting barriers – costly visas and work permits, plus equipment red tape – that have “put one of UK’s finest exports at risk”.The #LetTheMusicMove campaign aims to pile on pressure to end the stalemate and secure financial support for a sector reeling from the twin blows of Covid and leaving the EU.Here is the story:Tom Batchelor23 June 2021 08:521624435298EU vaccine chief: Brexit had nothing to do with UK’s speedy rolloutThierry Breton, the EU’s single market commissioner who is also in charge of the bloc’s vaccination programme, has said Brexit had nothing to do with the UK’s vaccine rollout.While acknowledging that Britain had led the way initially on jabs, he told The Guardian “that had nothing to do with Brexit” and said Boris Johnson’s government had since been “unable to boost production, and is dependent on the EU for over half its supply – and all its mRNA shots”.He also said the UK looked “more and more isolated” and that while the aim had been to “take back control”, “what we see is pretty much the opposite”.Tom Batchelor23 June 2021 09:01 More

The Queen referred to the health secretary Matt Hancock as “poor man” during her first in-person audience with Boris Johnson in 15 months.Although discussions between the monarch and the prime minister usually take place behind closed doors, cameras were allowed in on Wednesday to mark the resumption of their weekly face-to-face meetings.The last time the pair spoke together in Buckingham Palace was on 11 March 2020, with weekly phone calls replacing the normal arrangement since the start of lockdown.In her Private Audience Room on Wednesday, the Queen could be heard referring to the health secretary as “poor man”, after telling Mr Johnson that she had spoken to the minister at the Privy Council.“He’s full of…” the Queen said, before the prime minister supplied the word “beans”. She added that it was Mr Hancock’s belief “that things are getting better” with regard to the pandemic.The exchange comes after Mr Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings released messages showing the prime minister had called Mr Hancock “f****** hopeless” at the height of the pandemic.Speaking before a joint Commons committee meeting last month, Mr Cummings attacked the health minister, suggesting he should have been fired on many occasions for coronavirus failings.The political strategist also alleged that he displayed “criminal, disgraceful behaviour” on the Covid-19 testing target, and lied about the testing of patients discharged from hospital to care homes last year.Mr Johnson is the 14th prime minister to benefit from the Queen’s audience since she became monarch in 1952.In a 1992 documentary to coincide with her Ruby Jubilee, the Queen spoke about the tradition of speaking each week to the incumbent prime minister.She said: “They unburden themselves or tell me what is going on or if they have any problems, and sometimes I can help in some way as well.“They know I can be impartial and it is rather nice to feel one is a sponge. Occasionally one can put one’s point of view and perhaps they have not seen it from that angle.”Former prime ministers are said to have enjoyed the experience, with David Cameron remarking that he found the meetings “very valuable”.Additional reporting from PA More

People whose lives were torn apart when the government improperly questioned their right to be in the U.K. are demanding that a program designed to compensate them be taken out of the hands of the agency that violated their rights.About a dozen activists spoke to journalists outside the Home Office ahead of a planned march Wednesday, saying the British government should create a new independent body to administer the program, which has been criticized for moving too slowly to process claims from the mostly Black victims of the scandal.Many legal residents who came to Britain from the Caribbean lost their homes, jobs and right to medical care when they were targeted by Home Office efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. The agency is now responsible for the program set up to compensate the Windrush generation, named after the ship that carried the first post-war migrants from the West Indies.Anthony Brown, an attorney who moved to Britain from Jamaica in the 1960s, also wants the law changed to guarantee the citizenship rights of the Windrush generation — and their children.“We want the Windrush scheme to be declared not fit for purpose, and we want a new scheme to be put in place that is based on registration not naturalization because the naturalization process is irrational to people who are already British,’’ Brown said.The Home Office acknowledges that the compensation program got off to a slow start but says it was overhauled in December to provide more money more quickly.The program has made compensation offers totaling 30 million pounds ($41.7 million), of which 20.4 million pounds has been paid to victims, the Home Office said. That’s up from less than 3 million pounds paid out before the December changes.The opposition Labour Party has also called for the government to give control of the compensation program to a new independent body.“This is to help restore faith in the process and get compensation quickly to people who have been appallingly treated,” Nick Thomas-Symonds Labour’s spokesman on domestic issues, said in a letter released to the media earlier this week. More