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Boris Johnson will not comply with the Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s demand for the cut in UK overseas aid spending to be put to a vote in the House of Commons, Downing Street has said.Mr Johnson escaped a likely defeat at the hands of Tory rebels in the Commons on Monday evening, after an attempt to force a vote was ruled out of order for technical reasons.But in an unusually brutal slapdown for the PM, Sir Lindsay accused Mr Johnson of failing to show the Commons “the due respect which it deserves” and demanded an urgent and legally-binding vote on the cuts from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of gross national income (GNI).Today, the prime minister’s official spokeperson responded: “There are currently no plans to bring forward a vote.”Former PM Theresa May is expected to lead a list of Tory grandees savaging the cut in a three-hour emergency debate in the House of Commons, in a humiliating spectacle for Mr Johnson just days before he chairs the G7 meeting of international leaders in Cornwall.Ms May and others – including former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell and Commons defence committee chair Tobias Ellwood – will argue that the cuts threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in poor countries and damage the UK’s “soft power” overseas.But no vote is expected at the end of today’s debate, as Tory rebels believe that it would be pointless to force a purely symbolic division which would not be binding on the government and is likely to be boycotted by most Conservatives, including Mr Johnson himself.The commitment to meet the United Nations target of spending 0.7 per cent of GNI on overseas development assistance on was enshrined in law by David Cameron and confirmed by Mr Johnson in the Conservative manifesto in 2019.But the PM’s spokesperson said that the law did not require ministers to obtain MPs’ approval for a temporary reduction.“We are clear that the government’s decision to temporarily reduce the aid budget to 0.5 per cent of GNI is compatible with the International Development Act, which explicitly envisages there may be circumstances where the 0.7 target is not met,” said the spokesman.Despite the cut, the UK is expected to spend more than £10bn this year on improving global health, fighting poverty and tackling climate change, he said. More

Matt Hancock will be quizzed over allegations he lied about care home testing at the start of the pandemic on Thursday, despite the failure of Dominic Cummings to submit evidence against him.Boris Johnson’s one-time most trusted adviser missed the deadline to give written support for his accusations to the Commons health and science committees.But Jeremy Hunt, who chairs the health committee, said Mr Hancock would face questions about all the allegations made against him.Earlier this month Mr Cummings told MPs the health secretary had lied repeatedly as the government scrambled to get the coronavirus crisis under control. In particular, he alleged that Mr Hancock had told senior government figures, including the prime minister, that all patients would be tested before they were released from hospitals back to care homes. They were not. At the weekend Mr Hancock attacked what he said were “completely wrong” claims he had lied to the Prime minister about care home testing. Asked if he had been honest, he replied: “Yes in private and in public. These allegations (from Mr Cummings) are completely wrong.” Mr Hunt told Times Radio Mr  Cummings had missed the deadline to submit written evidence against Mr Hancock. Asked if his committee had received anything as of this morning, he said: “No… Dominic Cummings made some very serious allegations against [Matt Hancock] in particular, saying that he lied repeatedly. So we will put those allegations to him [Hancock].”He added: “We haven’t received the written evidence to back those claims up that we were expecting. But we’ll be putting [..] all those allegations to him to give him his rightful chance to respond.” Mr Hancock is expected to undergo hours of questioning by a joint session of the committees on Thursday. Mr Cummings gave evidence for seven hours when he appeared before the same MPs earlier this month.Mr Hunt also suggested that any delay to England’s roadmap to lift lockdown would last only a couple of weeks, because of the vaccination programme.Mr Hunt said he was “feeling quite optimistic that we are going to see the restrictions lifted” as “being double-jabbed” works against the Delta variant of coronavirus first identified in India.”So, if Freedom Day ends up being put back a couple of weeks so we can get more people double-jabbed, I think it will only be a temporary setback,” he said.His comments came hours after a  more gloomy environment secretary George Eustice suggested people take their summer holidays in the UK this year.He told Sky News he would be holidaying in Cornwall this year, adding: “Our advice has been don’t travel unless it’s absolutely necessary.”Obviously we had hoped, with these three categories that we had, we had hoped that situation would be improving in other parts of the world, that we’d be able to progressively add other countries to the green list.”Sadly, that’s not the situation. We do have this new variant of concern first identified in India that is now cropping up in other countries, and we’ve just got to take a very cautious approach.” More

A Tory MP has been fined after his puppy caused a stampede by chasing after a 200-strong herd of deer in London’s Richmond Park.Danny Kruger admitted losing control of his 11-month-old Jack Russell, named Pebble, during a walk with his family in March.MP for Devizes – who was Boris Johnson’s political secretary before he was elected to the Commons in 2019 – pleaded guilty to causing or permitting an animal to chase or worry another animal in a royal park.Deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram fined Kruger £120 and told him he must pay £575 costs and a £34 surcharge – totalling £719. “You should have known better,” the judge told the MP.Judge Ikram added: “Your dog was not under control, he was able to frighten the deer and here you are in court today. The deer were clearly startled and frightened. It could have caused injury, fortunately it didn’t.”Prosecutor Dominic Hockley told the court: “It’s been said it only takes one pebble to start an avalanche. In this case it only took one Pebble to start a stampede.”The court heard that Kruger had been on a long walk with his wife and three children on March 20, when police officer Samantha Riggs spotted his dog running across the road towards a herd of around 200 fallow deer.Mr Hockley said the deer, many of which were pregnant, were left in a “panicked state”. The officer said she called out for the owner – who was “at that point nowhere to be seen” – to bring the dog under control.Volunteer ranger Duncan MacCallum said he also asked Mr Kruger to call his puppy back, “which seemed to spur him into action”, the court heard.In footage filmed by a member of the public, Donald Milton, and the police officer’s body-worn camera, Mr Kruger can be heard repeatedly shouting “Pebble!” before putting his dog on a lead.The MP was said to have been “contrite and apologetic” following the incident, which lasted around 45 seconds, telling police: “I’m sorry, I had no idea, I didn’t see the deer. Anyway, obviously he needs to be on a lead.” More

Today’s daily politics briefingThe EU has told the UK it will act “firmly and resolutely” if London reneges on its commitments in the Northern Ireland protocol.This comes amid reports that the “grace period” for chilled meats in Northern Irish shops could be extended past June.Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic criticised the UK over the “numerous and fundamental gaps” in its implementation of the protocol.He called on the British government to respect “its international law obligations”, saying Brussels would “not be shy” to respond to any unilateral action from London.Ahead of a meeting between the UK and the EU on Wednesday, businesses have called for an end to trade frictions between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.The Northern Ireland Business Brexit Working Group, a group of leading companies, said hurdles to trade needed to removed and stressed that “stability, certainty, simplicity and affordability” must be delivered. Show latest update

1623163532Aid cut panders to ‘Red Wall’, says MitchellThe cut to foreign aid is aimed at pleasing voters in the so-called Red Wall seats of the midlands and north of England, Andrew Mitchell said.The former international development secretary is speaking against the government’s plan to cut overseas aid from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of spending after an attempt to force the government to meet the committment was blocked.The government’s pursual of the cut is “about the Red Wall seats”, Mr Mitchell told the Commons. “The government thinks that it’s popular in the Red Wall seats to stop British aid, money going overseas. It’s also a very patronising attitude to people who live in the Red Wall seats.”Liam James8 June 2021 15:451623163039Ministers are the rebels over aid cuts, says Andrew MitchellAndrew Mitchell MP, the former international development secretary who led the group of Tory rebels opposing the government’s cut to foreign aid, said ministers were set to pursue an “unethical and unlawful betrayal”.Speaking in the Commons after Downing Street signalled the prime minister would not allow a binding vote on the decision to cut Britain’s overseas spending, Mr Mitchell said: “I see, that I and [other MPs] are described as rebels – it is the government that is rebelling against a clear and indisputable commitment.”He went on: “For two decades the UK has been a development leader, not just because it’s morally right and accords with our values but because it’s in our own national interest. By making the countries we seek to help safer and more prosperous, we make life for ourselves here in Britain safer and more prosperous.“The way the government is behaving strikes at the heart of our Parliament. It is precisely because the government fears they would lose that they are not calling [a vote]. That is not democracy.“I want to argue to the House this afternoon that what the government is doing is unethical, possibly illegal, and certainly breaks our promise. It’s not proper and it’s fundamentally un-British and we shouldn’t behave in this way.”Liam James8 June 2021 15:371623162150Downing Street: ‘No case for stopping chilled meat sales’Downing Street has accused the EU of adopting a “purist” approach to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement amid disputes over the sale of chilled meats from Britain in Northern Ireland.“There is no case whatsoever for preventing chilled meats from being sold in Northern Ireland,” a spokesperson for No 10 said. “Any ban would be contrary to the aims of the Protocol and the interests of the people of Northern Ireland. We think an urgent solution needs to be found.“The Protocol was a compromise. We didn’t expect the EU to take a purist approach when implementing it. We are working very hard to try to resolve these issues consensually.“The prime minister has always made clear we will consider all our options in meeting our responsibility to sustain peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.“We hope that the EU will show the common sense and pragmatism needed to make progress.”Liam James8 June 2021 15:221623160728British Council will get funding boost, says ministerThe British Council, which aims to promote UK culture abroad, will receive a funding boost, a Foreign Office minister said amid concerns over possible outpost closures.After shadow Foreign Office minister Stephen Kinnock claimed there was an “ambivalence” from the government towards the council, Mr Adams replied: “We will be providing £149 million grant-in-aid this year, £189 million grant-in-aid next year – that’s an increase of 26 per cent.“We provided the British Council with a £145 million Covid loan, we’re providing a £100 million loan to help them restructure, in March 2020 we provided £26 million – £609 million of British taxpayers’ money since the pandemic hit doesn’t sound like ambivalence to me.”Mr Adams added the government values the “influence” of the council, which aims to promote British culture, education and the English language.Liam James8 June 2021 14:581623159648Ministers ‘failing the armed forces’ through mismanagement of new tanks schemeJohn Healey, the shadow defence secretary, accused the government of failing the armed forces and taxpayers through “chronic mismanagement” of the Ajax programme. After asking the defence minister about the tanks, Mr Healey told the Commons: “£3.5 billion paid out, four years late and just 14 vehicles delivered, light tanks that can’t fire while moving and vehicle crews made so sick that the testing has been paused.“This is a project that has been flagged red by the government’s own major projects authority, the defence select committee calls it another example of chronic mismanagement by the MoD and its shaky procurement apparatus, yet the Defence Secretary is failing to get to grip with the failures in the system and failing our frontline troops as a result.“He’s breaking a promise he made to them in this House when he said when it comes to equipment, the first thing to ensure is that we give our men and women the best to keep them alive and safe on the battlefield.”“Ministers are failing British forces and failing British taxpayers,” he added.Liam James8 June 2021 14:401623158877Government ‘very concerned’ by trouble with new tanks, says defence ministerThe government was “very concerned” by problems with noise and vibrations reported in new tanks destined for the British Army, defence minister Jeremy Quin said.Asked about the Ajax programme, which has seen the government spend £3.5bn on the new tanks, the defence minister said: “We remain in the demonstration phase and, as with all such phases, issues have emerged with the vehicle that we need to resolve.“We were very concerned by reports of noise issues in the vehicle, all personnel who may have been exposed to excessive noise have been tested.”He added that training was paused but had now resumed with “mitigations in place”.Liam James8 June 2021 14:271623157979Controversial scheme to collect and share patient data delayed The government has delayed plans to collect and share patients’ NHS data to reassure the public about the scheme. Health minister Lord Bethell told peers: “Data saves lives. We have seen that in the pandemic and it’s one of the lessons of the vaccine rollout.”He added that time was neede “to make sure that it is as effective as possible so the implementation date will now be September 1”.Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports: Rory Sullivan8 June 2021 14:121623156732Paul Givan to be Northern Ireland’s next first minister Paul Givan will be the new first minister of Northern Ireland, DUP leader Edwin Poots has announced.The Lagan Valley MP will suceed Arlene Foster, who is resigning at the end of this month following a no-confidence vote by her party.Mr Givan, MLA for Lagan Valley, will be the first person to hold the role who is not also a party leader.Rory Sullivan8 June 2021 13:521623154074Tory MP fined after puppy causes deer stampede A Tory MP has been fined for not controlling his dog, which caused a stampede of deer in London’s Richmond Park. Deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram fined Kruger £120 and told him he must pay £575 costs and a £34 surcharge – totalling £719. “You should have known better,” the judge told the MP.“Your dog was not under control, he was able to frighten the deer and here you are in court today. The deer were clearly startled and frightened. It could have caused injury, fortunately it didn’t,” he added.Rory Sullivan8 June 2021 13:071623152874Labour brands care minister ‘incredibly complacent’ The government has yet to name the date on which it will announce social care reforms. As a result, Labour has hit out at care minister Helen Whately, after ministers failed to say when this would take place. Care minister Helen Whately said that “complex problems” needed to be sorted before a plan could be introduced, claiming issues in the sector stemmed back to Tony Blair’s years in office. In response, the Labour MP Diana Johnson said: “Can I just say to the minister that I think most members of the House of Commons will find her attitude incredibly complacent on one of the key issues that face most families in this country.”Her words come almost two years after the prime minister promised to fix social care. Rory Sullivan8 June 2021 12:47 More

Businesses in Northern Ireland have warned that the UK and EU are testing their “faith” in the Brexit deal ahead of key talks aimed at making the agreement work. In a statement on the eve of the joint committee meeting, the Northern Ireland business Brexit working group said previous talks had been a “missed opportunity” and said the situation would get worse without action.Brexit minister Lord Frost admitted over the weekend that the Northern Ireland protocol negotiated by Boris Johnson had been more damaging for trade between Great Britain and the province than expected.The UK has urged the EU to be flexible amid supply issues in Northern Ireland that have seen suppliers simply pull out of the region, and discontent in the loyalist community over the new status quo.“We cannot afford another missed opportunity at the Joint Committee as we saw earlier in the year,” a spokesperson for the working group said, adding that the protocol was “undoubtedly having an impact and will increasingly do so as more stringent requirements come in from October”.The agreement puts controls down the Irish Sea with the aim of leaving the border with the republic open. Businesses have so far been largely supportive of the approach as the best out of series of bad options, but the latest comments from the working group suggest that goodwill is not inexhaustible. Ahead of a videoconference meeting with EU Brexit commissioner Maros Sefcovic on Wednesday, Lord Frost faces the EU on one side saying the UK must hold to what it has agreed – and voices in Northern Ireland warning that the situation is untenable. The UK has unilaterally delayed implementing some of the more stringent parts of the protocol, such as applying controls to supermarket suppliers – a move the EU says is illegal.EU figures have hit out at the British positions, which in the space of six months has moved from claiming the agreement would be good for Northern Ireland to saying it needs to effectively be changed. Officials in Brussels say patience is wearing thin after the UK failing to stand by what it had signed, while Simon Coveney, Ireland’s foreign minister, said Lord Frost had been focused more on “media messaging” for a British audience rather than finding a solution. Both sides have been holding non-stop technical talks in recent months to find a solution but nothing substantial has yet emerged. Meanwhile, France’s minister for EU affairs, Clément Beaune, said the UK minister had “called into question” the protocol signed by both sides. The French government minister repeated a familiar refrain on the other side of the channel that the protocol was not a problem but in fact a “solution to a problem that we have not created”.Lord Frost on Monday said: “We have already sent a proposal to the EU – it’s just not one based on alignment, ie losing control over our own laws. We continue to be happy to talk whenever the EU is ready.”A spokesperson for the NI business Brexit working group said: “We are heartened by the increased level of engagement that we have had in the past few weeks and months, however, we need to see that our faith in this process is justified by the delivery of solutions. “We need to see that not only are we being heard and understood, but that both the UK and EU are willing to work together to deal with the impact of the Protocol. “We want to ensure that trading arrangements under the Protocol can work to benefit business and communities across Northern Ireland, now and in the future.”“In order to build confidence in the process, we need some quick wins that will de-dramatise the current situation in Northern Ireland and show communities that they are being heard; but we also need long-term solutions designed and delivered in tandem business to keep trade flowing. “There will be opportunities under the Protocol, given the access it gives to both the UK and EU markets, and some businesses are already availing of those opportunities, but for our economy as a whole we need trade frictions to be removed and our key priorities of stability, certainty, simplicity and affordability to be delivered if we are to keep business competitive and keep costs down for families across NI.” More

Keir Starmer’s north London constituency would annex part of Jeremy Corbyn’s seat under proposals released by the government’s boundary review.The plans would see the Labour leader’s seat of Holborn and St Pancras “eat” the Tufnell Park ward, currently represented by his predecessor Mr Corbyn in Islington North.Other changes planned in the review could see Labour represent the City of London in parliament for the first time after the next election.The financial hub would sever its longstanding pairing with Westminster and becomes part of a new “City of London and Islington South” seat – ditching Tory areas for strongly Labour ones.Westminster itself – previously a Labour target – would be paired with eastern Chelsea, likely hardening its Tory electorate.Meanwhile Westminster North would likely become more safely Labour, being grouped into a new Camden Town and St John’s Wood constituency.”The existing Holborn and St Pancras constituency [of Keir Starmer], which comprises the eastern half of the borough of Camden, has an electorate above the 5 per cent [size] limit,” the boundary review says.”Given that the Camden Town, Gospel Oak, and Haverstock wards currently in this constituency would be included in our proposed Camden Town and St John’s Wood constituency, we are required to cross the borough boundary with Islington to bring this third Camden constituency into the permitted electorate range. “We propose including the Tufnell Park ward from Islington, and calling this constituency Kentish Town and Bloomsbury, to better reflect the main areas covered by the constituency.”It adds: “The existing Islington North constituency has an electorate within the permitted electorate range. However, given our proposal to include the Tufnell Park ward in the Kentish Town and Bloomsbury constituency, the existing Islington North would need to gain electors from elsewhere. “We therefore propose including the Dalston ward from the borough of Hackney in place of the Tufnell Park ward.”Tim Bowden, secretary of the Boundary Commission for England, said the proposals were “just the commission’s initial thoughts”. He said there would be “significant change” required to ensure that each constituency complied with a law equalising their size to between 69,724 and 77,062 electors.The government has dropped plans to reduce the number of constituencies from 650 to 600 after opposition from MPs to earlier proposals. The commission plans to hear feedback on its initial proposals and report back early next year with firmer plans, with recommendations handed to the Commons speaker by July 2023. The next general election is due on 2 May 2024, though the government says it wants to repeal the Fixed Term Parliament Act, which can be easily bypassed to call an earlier election anyway. More

The public is “fed up” and “demoralised” by the number of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel, Priti Patel has claimed.The home secretary’s comments came hours after it was confirmed a toddler whose body was found washed up on the Norwegian coast was that of a boy who died with his family while trying to reach the UK from France last year.Artin Irannezhad drowned along with four family members when their boat sank in October, Norwegian police said.Ms Patel told MPs in the Commons that people seeking to claim asylum must do so in the “first safe country” rather than try to reach the UK.She added that her French counterparts “absolutely must do more” to respond to migrant numbers and reduce the chances of people attempting to cross the Channel.There were reports on Monday that migrant children wrapped in lifejackets had arrived in Dover after crossing the English Channel.Kent County Council has threatened Ms Patel with legal action, saying its services for unaccompanied child migrants are at breaking point for the second time in less than a year.The authority said it may no longer be able to accept new unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) within days – a situation which came to pass in August 2020.A Home Office spokesperson said: “We recognise the longstanding role that Kent County Council has played in supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and are extremely grateful for their contribution.”We continue to encourage more areas to join the National Transfer Scheme and do their part.”Charities have called on the Home Office to increase funding for children who arrive in the UK “completely alone and incredibly vulnerable”.Clare Moseley, founder of migrant charity Care4Calais, said: “These children are completely alone and incredibly vulnerable.”They have arrived in the UK after making a dangerous journey that would terrify most adults.”The government has a duty of care but once again it appears that legal action is the only way to make the home secretary to recognise this.”Artin, his two siblings and their parents, Rasoul ran-Nejad and wife Shiva Mohammad Panahi, died when their boat capsized on 27 October.Artin was reported missing following the tragedy and it was not until Monday that police confirmed that a body found on the Norwegian coast was that of the young boy.His body is set to be returned to his family in his home country of Iran, Norwegian police saidArtin’s family had sold their house before leaving Iran and paid £14,000 to get on to the boat, with a further £8,200 supposed to be due when they arrived safely in the UK.Ms Patel said at the time that the deaths were “an ultimate tragedy” and one that “could have been avoided”.Meanwhile, MPs on Monday also heard the home secretary’s decision on whether she would appeal against the High Court ruling on Napier Barracks was “imminent”.Six asylum seekers previously housed in the former Army barracks in Kent won a legal challenge against the government last week after a judge ruled their accommodation was inadequate.Home Office permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft said the department was studying the judgment “carefully” and “will work out what it means for our ongoing use of the barracks”.Additional reporting by Press Association More

During his gripping recent testimony to a Commons committee, Dominic Cummings shed a little light on the relationship between Britain and America. In a day of chaos when lockdown, the American bombing of Syria and a press story about the prime minister’s “girlfriend” and their dog vied for the attention of Boris Johnson, one outcome was that the British declined the US invitation to join in the air assault. In the past, during say the Thatcher or Blair premierships, joining in with such a limited but powerful symbolic action would have been almost automatic. But times are changing. “Special relationship” is, arguably, one of the most vexed and least useful expressions in the British political vocabulary. According to well-informed reports in The Atlantic, it seems that Boris Johnson is sceptical about its usage, and dislikes it because it makes Britain seem “needy and weak”, and pushed back on it when President Biden used it, no doubt thoughtfully, in an inaugural phone call to Downing Street in January. It might just be a sign that Johnson is attempting to make the best of what will never be a particularly warm friendship with the Biden administration, given the president’s public aversion to Brexit and devotion to the Good Friday Agreement. For the prime minister, it might also be simply a recognition that the “special relationship” has been, mostly, fetishised by a succession of British diplomats and politicians, but largely neglected or ignored in Washington. Sadly, that has largely been due to the long-term decline in Britain’s power and influence since the Second World War. Whether Brexit enhances or weakens the UK’s international status remains to be seen. It is, though, apparent that a UK-US free trade deal is as remote as ever. Despite his affinity with Brexit, Nigel Farage and Johnson, aka “Britain Trump”, Donald Trump’s trade policy was strictly America First and protectionist, and so is Joe Biden’s. When Barack Obama warned Britain it would be at the back of the queue for a trade deal if it voted for Brexit, he was merely stating the reality of the imbalance in the “special relationship”. Trade policy towards the UK has been more or less constant across the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, and owes little to sentiment. More