Markus Andrews

Jacob Rees-Mogg has defended fans who booed England football players for taking the knee, as he suggested there was no evidence they were racist.The cabinet minister claimed they were rather reacting to the “underlying political message” of the Black Lives Matter movement, which he insisted was “not sympathetic to the United Kingdom as a nation”.His remarks came after Priti Patel, the home secretary, branded the act of footballers taking the knee as “gesture politics”, but did not condemn fans who booed the players, suggesting it was a “choice for them” during an interview.However, following Ms Patel’s comments on Monday, No 10 insisted that Boris Johnson wanted to “see fans cheering, not booing” the team as a minority of fans booed the players’ anti-racism act of taking the knee ahead of the team’s opening Euro 2020 match against Croatia at Wembley Stadium.“I think it’s become problematic,” Mr Rees Mogg said. “The symbol of taking the knee has become associated with the BLM [Black Lives Matter] movement and that is where the controversy becomes very apparent and very stark.”Speaking on his weekly podcast hosted by Conservative Home, the leader of the Commons claimed: “The BLM movement is a Marxist movement that wants to do things like defund the police, and is not sympathetic to our current civil structures.“On the other hand I think footballers are showing they are opposed to racism and this has been a long running battle in football with things like Kick It Out that have been remarkably successful but where there is still, inevitably, more to be done.“I think the difficulty is over the symbolism that has become attached to taking the knee, which is in fact an American issue which relates to people kneeling down during the national anthem which is sung before all sorts of games in the US, in a way that it just isn’t in the UK.”Pressed on what he thought fans were booing when players took the knee, Mr Rees Mogg said: “I think they are booing the BLM movement — I think that’s quite clearly a reaction to what is now known about BLM and the underlying political message which is one that is not sympathetic to the United Kingdom as a nation”.Quizzed on whether he thought they were racists, he replied: “No, I don’t think there’s any evidence they are racists. I think calling them racists is unfairly attributing views to people who have been part of a movement – football – that has taken huge strides to reduce racism.”“I think the objection to it [taking the knee] is the politicalisation through the BLM movement rather than huge hinterland of racism in football.”Also speaking on Wednesday, however, Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, suggested on Times Radio that people should have the opportunity to show their “strength of feeling against prejudice” by taking the knee.When asked if Boris Johnson backs players taking the knee last week, a No 10 spokesperson replied: “Yes. The prime minister respects the right of all people to peacefully protest and make their feelings known about injustices. The PM wants to see everybody getting behind their team to cheer them on, not boo.”England manager Gareth Southgate said recently that players had to “recognise the impact they can have on society” and “give them the confidence to stand up for their teammates and the things that matter to them as people”.“I have never believed that we should just stick to football,” he explained in a lengthy article for the Players’ Tribune website setting out his views. Mr Southgate spoke of a “responsibility to the wider community to use my voice”, adding: “So do the players.”In a statement over the weekend the Football Association backed Southgate, saying: “There can be no doubt as to why the players are taking the knee and what it represents in a footballing context. We encourage those that oppose this action to reflect on the message you are sending to the players you are supporting.” More

A trade deal between the UK and Australia will deliver minimal benefit to the UK economy while posing significant risks to UK farmers, industry leaders and trade experts have warned.The government announced an agreement in principal on a pact with Australia on Tuesday. Boris Johnson said that the UK’s first major post-Brexit trade agreement would create “fantastic opportunities” for the UK. However, many of the details have yet to be finalised and farmers fear that the terms mean they will be undercut by cheap imports.Animal welfare campaigners also said the deal would allow low-welfare products such as beef treated with hormones into the UK.The deal will also allow greater freedom for UK nationals aged under 35 to travel freely in Australia.Impact on the economyDavid Henig, UK director of European Centre For International Political Economy, said the deal might not even deliver the 0.02 per cent boost to GDP that the government has estimated and that the true impact could be closer to zero.The government’s forecast is based on “heroic assumptions” which previous trade deals have not come close to achieving, he tweeted, adding that the details announced on Tuesday contain nothing we didn’t already know.”There had to be an announcement as the Australian PM was here. But it doesn’t feel like negotiations are in fact complete.”He also suggested that the UK may have played its hand poorly in negotiations: “Australia got their top asks from the UK – agriculture. The UK didn’t have a top ask of Australia, hence why none is being flagged. If we find one in the future, too late, we already gave them what they wanted.”Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, tweeted that “trade deals don’t do very much for aggregate GDP either positively or negatively” because the main benefits come from reducing tariffs, which are already quite low.’Significant harms’Angus Brendan MacNeil, chair of the Commons International Trade Committee, expressed concerns that the government had ceded too much ground to Australia.“In its rush to reach an initial agreement, I fear the government could sign up to something which brings significant harms as well as benefits. “The views of the entire farming sector especially are no secret now, including those in the devolved nations, who are particularly concerned about being undercut by cheaper meat and dairy produce from ‘down under’.”The government says British farmers will be protected by a cap on tariff-free imports for 15 years, using measures including tariff rate quotas.National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batters called for more information about any provisions on animal welfare and the environment “to ensure our high standards of production are not undermined by the terms of this deal”.She added: “The ultimate test of this trade deal will be whether it contributes to moving farming across the world onto a more sustainable footing, or whether it instead undermines UK farming and merely exports the environmental and animal welfare impact of the food we eat.”Joe Spencer, partner at accountancy firm MHA MacIntyre Hudson described the deal as “unfavourable”.“UK farmers are increasingly being asked to offer protection for the environment, while the government is withdrawing support to them at the same time,” Mr Spencer said.”Unfavourable trade deals – such as this latest one in negotiation with Australia – will only add more pressure to the sector which is working hard to move in one direction while, one might suggest, having the rug pulled out from under it at the same time.“Farmers are right to be wary. Trade deals of the sort the government has negotiated with Australia offer few advantages to the sector and maybe only small benefits to consumers (in terms of lower prices). The sector (and the general public) will be paying close attention to the way these trade deals ensure food safety and livestock welfare standards.”Consumer pricesDowning Street claims the removal of tariffs under the deal says will mean cheaper Australian wine, swimwear and confectionery, “boosting choice for British consumers and saving households up to £34m a year”.Scotch whiskyThe Scotch whisky industry has been touted as one that would see benefits from the trade deal because it will now have tariff-free access into the Australian market.Kate Betts, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association welcomed the removal of a 5 per cent tariff.”This will help Scotch Whisky distillers continue to expand exports to Australia, which have almost doubled over the last decade, making Australia our eighth largest market by value,” Ms Bettes said. “It’s also important to us that trade with Australia is now tariff-free for Scotch Whisky – our preference is always for tariff-free trade, which enables Scotch Whisky to compete on a level playing field and on the strength of our reputation for quality.”The association is calling for “greater legal protection and tax fairness” for Scotch whisky, which it said would deliver a boost for the industry.Wine and spiritsThe Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) said removing import tariffs will save UK wine businesses £16m and support thousands of jobs.The UK exported £27m worth of British gin to Australia last year, which was one of the few markets to continue growing during a year in which exports were heavily hit by the pandemic.UK distillers are expecting to see those exports continue to grow, with an agreement likely to remove the 5 per cent tariff Australia levies on the spirit, WSTA said.Parliamentary scrutinyMPs from all major parties demanded an opportunity to properly scrutinise the deal. In a letter coordinated by campaign group Best for Britain, the MPs warn that “no one wants to see our farming communities in Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland undermined for the sake of a politically expedient trade deal”.The letter calls for Parliament to be given the ability scrutinise the finalised text of the agreement before it is signed and ratified, warning that “the deal must command the support of all four nations of the UK.” It also demands that detailed impact assessments are carried out looking at how the deal will affect regions and nations of the UK and sectors such as farming. More

The UK’s new trade deal with Australia will bring “fantastic opportunities” for Britain, Boris Johnson has said.The prime minister hailed the agreement, which the government expects to grow the economy by just 0.02 per cent over 15 years, as a “new dawn” for Britain.A statement released by Downing Street on Tuesday morning said Mr Johnson agreed the main elements of the deal at a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Downing Street on Monday night.Under the deal, tariffs trade will be removed, but there will be a cap on tariff-free imports for 15 years.The free trade agreement also makes it easier for people from the UK under the age of 35 to live and work in Australia, though the details are yet to be released.But British farmers have warned that imported Australian food produced at industrial scales and to different standards will drive them out of business. The government says that the UK-Australia trade relationship was worth £13.9 billion last year.“Today marks a new dawn in the UK’s relationship with Australia, underpinned by our shared history and common values,” Mr Johnson said in a statement.“Our new free-trade agreement opens fantastic opportunities for British businesses and consumers, as well as young people wanting the chance to work and live on the other side of the world.“This is global Britain at its best – looking outwards and striking deals that deepen our alliances and help ensure every part of the country builds back better from the pandemic.”Trade secretary Liz Truss said the deal was “a fundamentally liberalising agreement that removes tariffs on all British goods, opens new opportunities for our services providers and tech firms, and makes it easier for our people to travel and work together”.On Tuesday morning Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove responded to farmers’ concerns about the deal by arguing that the proportion of meat coming from Australia would be a “pretty small” part of the country’s overall production.”It is the case that there are some practices in Australia that we wouldn’t allow here but it’s also the case that we have restrictions on some of the products that can be brought in because of our particular public health requirements,” he said.”The other thing though is that the majority of Australian produce goes to Asia. That’s their closest market, it’s a growing market as the demand for protein, for beef and lamb, grows in Asia.”The proportion of Australian meat that’s likely to come to the UK is going to be a pretty small part of their overall production.”So, you know, it’s also the case as I understand it, that Liz Truss in the negotiations has secured a commitment from Australia to work with us on high animal welfare standards and I think that’s a good thing.”But Dmitry Grozoubinski, a former Australian trade negotiator, said it was difficult to see what the UK had got out of the agreement and that Australia had got everything it could have asked for.”The one thing Australia wants out of trade deals, the reason we do them, the marching orders we used to get, is access into agricultural markets abroad,” he told LBC.”We make a lot of agriculture, there are a lot of barriers to sending our produce overseas in terms of tariffs, so we get sent in there and told ‘go and get rid as many of those barriers as you can’. “I don’t think we have ever done as well as this: getting rid of all tariffs and quotas forever is virtually an unprecedented result: it’s as good as what you could possibly get from Australia’s perspective in a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom, but not transformational for our economy: you guys are pretty far away.”Asked what wins the UK had got out of the agreement, he said: “We have not heard any of them: if you look at even today minister [Liz] Truss was tweeting about the deal, the way she tends to sell it is ‘you will get cheaper Australian products’. “There’s a question of how much you’ll actually feel that at the supermarket, and that is in trade negotiation terms a concession by the United Kingdom. It’s the UK agreeing to get rid of a tax on Australian imports.” More

The government’s “unforgivable recklessness” with its approach to Britain’s borders during the pandemic is responsible for the surge in the variant first identified in India and the delay in lifting Covid restrictions, Labour has said.Dubbing the Delta variant as “the Johnson variant”, the shadow home secretary said Boris Johnson’s “negligence and incompetence” had left the country facing “weeks more of restrictions — and yet more uncertainty” at a speech on Tuesday.The remarks from Nick Thomas-Symonds came after the prime minister announced his decision to postpone Stage four of the roadmap out of lockdown until 19 July after a recent surge in infections and concern of the transmissibility of the Delta variant.Delivering a withering verdict of the government’s border policy, the Labour frontbencher said ministers made “grave errors” and criticised the “unforgivable recklessness from the Conservatives on our border protections”.Referring the decision to postpone the easing of remaining Covid restrictions, Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “This delay is happening because a new variant first identified overseas was allowed to take hold in this country.“There is one reason and one reason only that this happened: lax border measures by Conservative ministers”.He added: “They have allowed the Delta variant, first identified in India to take hold here. Let’s call it what it is — let’s put the blame where it should lie. In this country — it’s the Johnson variant.“The prime minister’s negligence and incompetence, his refusal to take tough decisions have left Britain facing weeks more of restrictions — and yet more uncertainty.”“It is a crystal clear metaphor for how Boris Johnson and his government work: they spend so much time posturing and posing over being tough at the borders, yet when it was a matter of keeping our country safe and the variants out, they failed.”Citing the examples of Australia and New Zealand — both countries have effectively operated a closed border policy since the onset of the pandemic — Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “We are an island country… our border protections should have been one of our natural strengths. Instead, it has been one of our greatest weaknesses.”During his speech, Mr Thomas-Symonds also insisted that ministers must do “everything possible to prevent a further delay” of the relaxation of remaining Covid restrictions — now pencilled in for 19 July.He said this must include scrapping the “amber list” to bring clarity to the trail system and ensure passengers from different categories of countries are not mixing with others in airport terminals and risking transmission of the virus.Responding to journalists’ questions, the shadow home secretary also suggested overseas holidays would be unlikely this summer. “I like everybody else wants to see international travel back as soon as possible, but if you’re asking me the question as of today, do I think that summer holidays are likely then I think the answer to that has to be no,” he said.“But if we are going to grow that green list, which is firmly what I believe we need to do, then we have to have these measures in place. We have to move those countries on the amber list to the red list.” More

Boris Johnson and Australian prime minister Scott Morrison have agreed a free trade agreement – the first deal hammered out by the UK government from scratch since Brexit.Downing Street has boasted that the deal marks a “new dawn” between the two countries, claiming it will open up “fantastic opportunities” for British businesses and consumers.But UK farmers are dreading the consequences. They are worried it will see the domestic market is flooded with cheaper, lower-quality meat which will undercut their own produce and put their livelihoods at risk.What’s in the deal and how much damage could it do?The deal sees the removal of tariffs and quotas on Australian products – including agricultural products. UK farmers fear they can’t compete with Australian beef and lamb producers, who conduct their business on a much larger scale.They fear Australian producers could now start a price war and kill off British producers. While this might be good for consumers, it would be bad for the UK farming industry and all the people it employs.“I cannot the state the damage that I feel it would do,” Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers Union (NFU) has previously warned.Downing Street said there will be a cap on the level of tariff-free imports from Australia for 15 years, while other “safeguards” will be brought in to protect British farmers.No 10 also Britons under the age of 35 will be able to travel and work in Australia more freely – suggesting the farm work requirement on working holiday visas could be scrapped. More

Sinn Fein has called on Boris Johnson’s government to intervene in a major row threatening to wreck power-sharing arrangements in Northern Ireland by passing Irish language legislation at Westminster.An ongoing stand-off at Stormont between Sinn Fein and the DUP over the Irish Language Act could topple the province’s political institutions unless a resolution is found in the coming days.Sinn Fein said the introduction of legislation at Westminster is “the only way to resolve this issue” following a meeting with Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis on Monday night.Party leader Mary Lou McDonald said: “This evening we met with the British government and told them that they need to move the Irish language legislation through Westminster.”But the DUP has warned the UK government not to intervene in devolved issues “at the behest of Sinn Fein” – accusing the party of playing “the politics of ransom”.DUP leader Edwin Poots has said it would be “inappropriate” for Sinn Fein to demand an Irish Language Act – which would give the Irish language equal status to English – in return for a smooth nomination process.Mr Poots wants his party’s Paul Givan to become the new first minister of Northern Ireland – but Sinn Fein must nominate a deputy first minister in the week after the resignation of Arlene Foster, who stepped down on Monday.If either one of the parties fails to nominate within the seven-day time period, then an executive cannot be formed and the UK government assumes responsibility to call a snap election in Northern Ireland.Sinn Fein remains reluctant to nominate a deputy FM because it does “not believe” the DUP will deliver on the Irish Language Act agreed as part the 2020 power-sharing deal.Ms McDonald claimed the British government had offered to legislate for the Irish Language Act several weeks ago. “At that time we said our preference was that Irish language legislation would be delivered through the Assembly,” the Sinn Fein leader said.She also claimed Mr Poots, Ms Foster’s newly-elected replacement as DUP leader, had told Sinn Fein “they will not be delivering” the language legislation during the current Assembly mandate.“It is now incumbent on the British and Irish governments to act. This is the only way forward to finally resolve this issue,” she said. More

Boris Johnson would “never put the health of the country at risk” for a trade deal photo opportunity with India, Michael Gove has claimed.The Cabinet minister’s defence of the prime minister comes after Labour accused the PM of delaying action to stop travel from the country for fear of disrupting trade talks and ruining a planned photo-op.Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth on Tuesday morning claimed that “rather than red listing this [new Delta] variant, we essentially gave it the red carpet treatment as 20,000 people were allowed to arrive from India over a number of weeks in April, even though the warning signs were there.” “That essentially seeded this Delta variant across the country. Nobody wanted to be in this place and we could have avoided this if it was not for the Delta variant, and I’m afraid this is on Boris Johnson for his puny weak border policy, which was secure as a sieve.”Mr Johnson had a visit to the south Asian country planned and had hoped to ink a major trade deal which he could use as evidence of a benefit of Brexit.But the trade trip was eventually cancelled at the last minute after the new Delta variant spun out of control in India and caused mass deaths.Mr Gove described claim the delay in introducing controls was “specious nonsense” and said the allegations caused him to “shrug one’s shoulders”.”The prime minister would never put the health of the country at risk in that way and people who are pedalling this line are a) trying to make a political point and b) aren’t looking at the facts and the timeline that we’ve been discussing,” he told BBC Breakfast. “So what can one say? People will throw all sorts of rubbish like that around and I think the thing is just to shrug one’s shoulders.”Mr Gove claimed that India was put on the red list “before the Delta variant was a variant under investigation and well before it was a variant of concern”.However, Bangladesh and Pakistan were both put on the red list earlier than India despite having the same variant and a lower caseload.On Monday Labour leader Keir Starmer claimed the government’s “pathetic” border policy was to blame for the delay in lifting restrictions, which was confirmed by the prime minister last night.Other than the delay adding India to the red list between 9 and 23 April, Sir Keir criticised Mr Johnson for not introducing hotel quarantine quickly enough and instead relying on leaky self-isolation. And he slammed the traffic light system and its ambiguous amber rating. A scientific paper by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine submitted to the government’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies has warned that more than 40,000 people could die this summer as the Delta variant of coronavirus sweeps through the UK.Mr Johnson last night confirmed he would “ease off the accelerator” on lifting restrictions “because by being cautious now, we have the chance in the next four weeks to save many thousands of lives by vaccinating millions more people”. More

The “negligence and incompetence” of Boris Johnson and the country’s “lax” border measures have led to the need to delay the lifting of England’s coronavirus restrictions, according to the shadow home secretary.Nick Thomas-Symonds will dub the the Delta variant of coronavirus “the Johnson variant“ in a speech on Tuesday about UK Covid borders policy.He will argue that the Prime Minister’s “refusal to take tough decisions” has left Britain facing more weeks of restrictions.In the speech, Mr Thomas-Symonds will emphasise that Britain’s status as an island country means that, like New Zealand and Australia, “our border protections should have been one of our natural strengths throughout this pandemic”.He will cite figures showing that 20,000 passengers who could have been infected with the Delta variant arrived from India between April 2 and April 23.Labour will force another vote in the House of Commons on the issue, and as part of the vote the party is calling for the amber travel list to be scrapped.Commenting on Mr Johnson’s announcement on Monday evening, Mr Thomas-Symonds is expected to say: “The delay is happening because a new variant first identified overseas was allowed to take hold in this country.“There is one reason and one reason only that this happened: lax border measures by Conservative ministers.“They have allowed the Delta variant, first identified in India, to take hold here.“Let’s call it what it is. Let’s put the blame where it should lie.“In this country – it’s the Johnson variant.“The Prime Minister’s negligence and incompetence, his refusal to take tough decisions have left Britain facing weeks more of restrictions – and yet more uncertainty.“It is a crystal clear metaphor for how Boris Johnson and his government work: they spend so much time posturing and posing over being tough at the borders, yet when it was a matter of keeping our country safe and the variants out, they failed.“People across the country have every right to be angry about being let down so badly.“We are an island country. Like New Zealand and Australia, our border protections should have been one of our natural strengths throughout this pandemic.“Instead, it has been one of our greatest weaknesses.”On the timing of putting India on the red list, he is expected to say: “Pakistan and Bangladesh were added on 9 April.“Yet the Prime Minister waited 14 days to add India.“Those 14 days have resulted in delays to our freedoms, untold damage to our economy and risks to thousands of jobs.“Civil Aviation Authority figures suggest that at least 20,000 passengers who could have been infected with the Delta variant arrived from India between 2 and 23 April – that is a staggering number.“It was unbelievably reckless that on his list of priorities Boris Johnson put having his photograph taken with Prime Minister Modi ahead of protecting the British people.“Nobody is blaming people who travelled when they were permitted to do so; the blame lies with the Prime Minister for his unjustifiable delay.“It was a fortnight of failure and we are all suffering the consequences.” More