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People aged 25 and over in England will be invited to book Covid-19 vaccinations from Tuesday, the Health Secretary has announced.Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Matt Hancock told MPs: “From tomorrow morning we will open up vaccination to people aged 25 to 29. Over the remainder of this week the NHS will send texts to people in these age groups and of course GPs will be inviting people in these age groups to come forward.”Mr Hancock also confirmed that the Joint Committee on Vaccine and Immunisation has determined that the Pfizer vaccine is safe people teenagers 12 years and older.“I can confirm to the House that I have asked the JCVI to come forward with clinical advice on vaccination 12 to 17 year olds and we will listen to that clinical advice, just as we have since the start of the pandemic,” he added.The secretary of state added that innoculating school-aged children was increasingly crucial as large numbers of new cases were being detected in this age group. He said the government was still on track to offer all adults a vaccine by the end of this July.The dates apply to England, where the NHS is under control of the government in Westminster. Wales is ahead of schedule, and set to offer vaccines for all over 18 from next week.More follows… More

Boris Johnson has dodged a potential House of Commons defeat on international aid cuts after Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle rejected calls for a vote in parliament.However, the Speaker said he expected the government to allow MPs to have an “effective” vote on the cut from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of GDP at a later date – warning that he was ready to clear the way for a debate as early as tomorrow.Leader of the Tory rebels Andrew Mitchell told the Commons that Mr Johnson would have lost a vote tonight by between nine and 20 votes.The former international development secretary accused the government frontbench of “riding roughshod over parliament” and treating the Commons with “disrespect”. “In the week of the British chairmanship of the G7, the government’s failure to address this issue will indisputably mean that hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths will result,” said Mr Mitchell. “It is already attracting criticism from all round the other members of the G7.” More

Watch live as Matt Hancock faces Covid questions from MPsBoris Johnson has avoided an embarrassing defeat in the Commons over his decision to renege on a manifesto pledge on foreign aid after the speaker did not select the amendment for consideration.Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle rejected calls for a vote in parliament despite support from around 30 backbench Tories, who warned the government that cutting the international aid budget from 0.7 per cent of GDP to 0.5 per cent would damage the UK’s reputation at a time when it was hosting the G7 summit in Cornwall, and cause potentially “thousands” of deaths.Sir Lindsay said the Tory rebel amendment on overseas aid “may not be debated” on Monday as it was “outside the scope of the Bill”.But he added that he was open to hearing applications for an emergency debate on the issue, which could take place on Tuesday.Read more:Show latest update

1623076997Boris Johnson dodges potential defeat on foreign aid cuts as Speaker blocks rebel voteBoris Johnson has dodged a potential House of Commons defeat on international aid cuts after Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle rejected calls for a vote in parliament.The Conservative rebel amendment had been designed to reverse cuts described as morally “devastating” but it has not been selected for consideration, Sir Lindsay told MPs on Monday afternoon.Here is the story:Tom Batchelor7 June 2021 15:431623076372Starmer speech halted by internet issues Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s address to a union conference has been delayed due to internet issues, PA reports.Sir Keir was due to speak virtually at the GMB conference on Monday, but instead, viewers could only see Sir Keir’s name on the screen and a grey stock image silhouette.After three attempts to connect with the leader, the conference moved on.GMB national president Barbara Plant said: “There just might be issues with wifi at Parliament, that’s the problem.”Tom Batchelor7 June 2021 15:321623074691‘Special relationship’ out, ‘close relationship’ in as PM meets BidenBoris Johnson will meet US President Joe Biden face to face this week – but meantion of the “special relationship” will reportedly be avoided because the PM does not like the expression.No 10 said Mr Johnson “prefers not to use the phrase” and would instead refer to the “close relationship” with Washington.A profile of Mr Johnson in The Atlantic magazine said the PM told aides he does not like using the term because it seems “needy and weak”.The White House has said Mr Biden, on his first overseas trip as president, will meet Mr Johnson for talks on Thursday, ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall which begins on Friday.Perhaps unaware of Mr Johnson’s dislike of the term, the White House said the visit will “affirm the enduring strength of the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom”.Tom Batchelor7 June 2021 15:041623074051DUP members quit amid claims of ‘purge’ of opponents of Edwin Poots leadershipSeveral Democratic Unionist Party members have quit the party over what is claimed to be a “purge” against those who opposed Edwin Poots during the recent leadership campaign.DUP councillors Glyn Hanna and Kathryn Owen, and former Westminster candidate Diane Forsythe, are among members to have left the Northern Ireland party during a bitter row over the ousting of Arlene Foster.The departures follow a vote to remove Mr Hanna as the chair of the DUP South Down Association at its AGM over the weekend.Here is the full story: Tom Batchelor7 June 2021 14:541623073540Green Party drops candidate over homophobic tweetsA rugby league international has had his Green Party candidacy for the Batley and Spen by-election revoked after it was revealed he made a series of “highly offensive” homophobic tweets as a teenager.Ross Peltier, 29, who played for the Doncaster Dons and was a Jamaica international, apologised for the “terrible” language used in the tweets and said “in no way” is he homophobic.The Green Party said it did “not feel it is right” for Mr Peltier to continue as the party’s candidate in the upcoming by-election.A spokesman said the party will not be putting another candidate forward.In a statement released on Twitter at the weekend, Mr Peltier said: “A few tweets have come to light from around 10/9 years ago from when I was 19 years of age.“The language used is not acceptable or appropriate in any way, shape or form.“In no way am I homophobic.“I am sorry if my old tweets have caused harm or upset to anybody.“But my growth as a person since the time of those tweets has been immeasurable.“I hope I can be judged on my character now and not of when I was a 19-year-old.”Tom Batchelor7 June 2021 14:451623071822Foreign aid vote confirmed at 3.30pmCommons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will announce in the chamber at 3.30pm whether the rebel amendment seeking to overturn the government’s cuts to foreign aid spending can be debated, the PA news agency is reporting.His spokeswoman said that will be the time that he will reveal whether the amendment led by Tory backbencher Andrew Mitchell will be selected.One rebel toldThe Independent it was “50-50” whether the speaker will select the amendment which seeks to reinstate the UK’s commitment to 0.7 per cent of gross national income on overseas aid spending from January 2022.Tom Batchelor7 June 2021 14:171623071651Vote on foreign aid cut could still go ahead, says former international development secretaryFormer international development secretary Andrew Mitchell has told the BBC’s World At One programme that it was still not known whether the Commons speaker would allow an amendment to challenge the foreign aid cut.Amid speculation that Sir Lindsay Hoyle had decided not to allow the vote to go ahead, Mr Mitchell said: “Well we don’t know yet, and no one knows and there’s obviously been a certain amount of spinning going on this morning, but the meeting at which the Speaker will make that decision starts in about 20 minutes.”Mr Mitchell said the rebel clause was “clearly in order … otherwise it wouldn’t appear on the order paper”.He said: “I think Mr Speaker will also be conscious in making up his mind that the government has specifically denied the House of Commons a vote on this matter so far, we’ve had to come to a device through amending this Bill, which we think works, and in making his decision he will note that every single member of the House of Commons elected in December 2019 was elected on a promise to stand by this spending commitment, that it’s a legal commitment.”Tom Batchelor7 June 2021 14:141623071381Labour criticises Dowden over Ollie Robinson remarksLabour’s Jo Stevens, the shadow culture secretary, has criticised Oliver Dowden for wading into the row over the suspension of Ollie Robinson for a series of offensive tweets.Ms Stevens said: “It is right that the ECB takes the action that they think is necessary and appropriate to tackle racism and other forms of discrimination in their sport.“They should not be criticised for doing so by the secretary of state.”Tom Batchelor7 June 2021 14:091623070502Sign up for your essential email briefings from The Independent For all the latest news, analysis and political insights, as well as updates on the pandemic, The Independent offers a host of email newsletters.For your essential morning political briefing, Adam Forrest’s Inside Politics newsletter is there to guide you through the turmoil – keeping you up to date on all the key developments and providing short, sharp analysis of what’s really going on at Westminster and beyond.And Shaun Lintern’s weekly Health Check newsletter aims to chart major developments in the post-Covid recovery as well as keeping you up to date with the latest research across the health and social care landscape.To view our full range of newsletters and to sign up click here.Tom Batchelor7 June 2021 13:551623069361No 10 refuses to condemn supporters who booed players taking the kneeBoris Johnson’s spokesman has also refused to condemn supporters who booed players for taking the knee in protest at racial injustice.He said the prime minister “supports individuals’ rights to protest” and that Mr Johnson “fully respects the right of people in this country to peacefully protest and make their feelings known about injustices”.Asked whether the PM was refusing to criticise supporters who boo the gesture, the spokesman said: “No… the prime minister is supporting the England football team and wants them to succeed and he wants the whole country to get behind them in that endeavour in this tournament.”Tom Batchelor7 June 2021 13:36 More

Emmanuel Macron’s governmen is drawing up plans for French to replace English as the official “working language” of the EU when it takes over the European Council presidency in 2022, a diplomat has revealed.France planning to use its first presidency since Brexit to push its native tongue as the “lingua franca” of Brussels, according to a report in Politico.A senior French diplomat told the website: “Even if we admit that English is a working language and it is commonly practiced, the basis to express oneself in French remains fully in place in the EU institutions.“We must enrich it, and make it live again so that the French language truly regains ground, and above that, the taste and pride of multilingualism.”The unnamed diplomat said all high-level meetings of the Council – the body which sets the political priorities of the EU – will be conducted in French instead of English during the six-month presidency.Notes and minutes will also be “French-first” and the Council will expect all letters from the EU Commission to be in French.“We will always ask the Commission to send us in French the letters it wishes to address to the French authorities, and if they fail to do so, we will wait for the French version before sending it,” the diplomat said.France’s presidency from January to June next year is the first stint in charge of the Council since 2008, when Nicolas Sarkozy was president.Mr Macron’s ministers have expressed a keen interest in pushing French ahead of the “ersatz” English used by officialdom in Brussels, now that the UK has left the bloc.EU affairs minister Clement Beaune and secretary of state Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said in April that the presidency created “an opportunity to hold high this vital fight for multilingualism.”In an article for Le Figaro, they said the use of French in Brussels “had diminished to the benefit of English, and more often to Globish – that ersatz of the English language, which narrows the scope of one’s thoughts, and restricts one’s ability to express him or herself”. More

Boris Johnson has ditched the term “special relationship” to describe the UK’s partnership with the USA, Downing Street has confirmed.The prime minister’s official spokesperson did not dispute a report in The Atlantic magazine which suggested Mr Johnson told president Joe Biden that he felt the term made Britain seem “needy and weak”.But this did not stop Mr Biden saying in an article for the Washington Post that he would use his trip to the UK this week to “affirm the special relationship between our nations”.Mr Johnson and Mr Biden are due to meet in Cornwall on Thursday for their first face-to-face talks, ahead of the three-day G7 summit in coastal resort Carbis Bay the following day.Prime ministers dating back to Winston Churchill have referred to the relationship between London and Washington as “special”, reflecting Britain’s close defence and economic ties with the US and its status as a trusted partner in intelligence-sharing, as well as the many historical and family ties uniting the two allies.The focus on whether successive US presidents will reciprocate has sometimes reached near-neurotic levels, particularly during the “pivot to Asia” of Barack Obama’s time in office.But Mr Johnson’s spokesman told reporters that the current prime minister does not lay great store by the term.“The prime minister is on the record previously saying he prefers not to use it as a phrase,” said the spokesperson.“That in no way detract from the importance with which he regards our relationship with the US, our closest ally.”The White House has announced that Mr Biden will meet Mr Johnson on Thursday ahead of the G7 gathering, chaired this year by the UK. Downing Street is yet to confirm details of the meeting.Writing ahead of the trip, the president said: “In the United Kingdom, after meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson to affirm the special relationship between our nations, I will participate in the G7 summit. “This group of leading democracies and economies has not met in person in two years due to the coronavirus. Ending this pandemic, improving health security for all nations and driving a robust, inclusive global economic recovery will be our top priorities.”On Sunday, Mr Biden will become the 13th serving US president to meet Queen Elizabeth II, who will receive him at Windsor Castle.He then travels to Brussels for a Nato summit and discussions with EU leaders before he meets Russian president Vladimir Putin in Geneva on 16 June. More

Several Democratic Unionist Party members have quit the party over what is claimed to be a “purge” against those who opposed Edwin Poots during the recent leadership campaign.DUP councillors Glyn Hanna and Kathryn Owen, and former Westminster candidate Diane Forsythe, are among members to have left the Northern Ireland party during a bitter row over the ousting of Arlene Foster.The departures follow a vote to remove Mr Hanna as the chair of the DUP South Down Association at its AGM over the weekend.The councillor said there had been “open and unashamed bullying” by some in the party against people who had voiced support for Ms Foster and backed Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in last month’s leadership contest.Sir Jeffrey said it was highly regrettable that “senior and valued members now feel the DUP is no longer a warm house for them” – and revealed he had been forced to talk others in the party out of resigning.Mr Hanna alleged some party members faced intimidation and bullying at a meeting of the DUP executive in Belfast at the end of last month when Mr Poots’s election victory was formally ratified.“I believe this is the beginning of the purge of anyone who spoke against the leadership so I encourage others in the DUP with decency and integrity to consider their position,” he said in his resignation statement.Ms Owen, a fellow councillor on Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, added: “It is apparent to me that there is a purging of Donaldson supporters, and it is only a matter of time before this continues across the party.”In her own resignation statement, Ms Forsythe said she had faced “disrespectful attitudes” within the party, including “shameful sexism, ageism and the underlying tone of bullying”.She said the bullying was now in “plain sight” – with members’ families “bullied and smeared” during the leadership contest. “The disintegration of this party in recent times has left me no option but to leave.”Sir Jeffrey, speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, urged the party’s new leader to reach out to those who had opposed him.“I fear that if Edwin fails to quickly get a grip of this situation, then many others may also conclude that the DUP is no longer capable of being a broad church and providing a home for the type of unionism we espouse,” he said. More

Bulgaria’s interim prime minister on Monday urged the government to redouble its efforts to fight endemic graft, calling for changes in prosecutors’ offices, the judiciary and all law enforcement agencies.Prime Minister Stefan Yanev spoke at a meeting of the government security council that he convened to discuss new anti-corruption policies following U.S. sanctions on Bulgarian officials and businessmen for their allegedly “extensive” roles in corruption.Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act against the former member of parliament and media mogul Delyan Peevski; oligarch Vassil Bozhkov; and former national security official Ilko Zhelyazkov for their alleged roles in public corruption. It also imposed sanctions on 64 entities allegedly linked to them, saying the move was its single biggest action targeting corruption to date.The sanctions on the Bulgarians and companies effectively prevents them from accessing the U.S. financial system, freezes their U.S. assets and bars Americans from dealing with them.Yanev said the Bulgarian government will try to minimize the political and the economic risks for the country from the U.S. sanctions. “We must protect state-owned companies from financial sanctions being imposed. To this end, we must prevent bank transactions with these investigated persons, so that businesses and state-owned companies are not blocked,” Yanev said.He admitted, however, that the U.S. sanctions are a serious signal that corruption in Bulgaria has deep roots in the country’s political and economic system and the consequences of that already go beyond the country’s borders.Bulgaria, a member of the European Union and NATO, has repeatedly been reprimanded by its Western partners for failing to effectively fight corruption. Transparency International a corruption watchdog, has declared Bulgaria the most corrupt country in the 27-nation EU.Yanev said the corrupt environment in Bulgaria not only destroys the country’s international authority, it undermines its political system and the foundations of its democracy, making it dysfunctional and inefficient.“There is no way we can have a stable political system, a prosperous economy, or a functioning social system without solving the fundamental problems with corruption,” he said.The interim government, appointed after an inconclusive general election in April, has made a series of revelations of alleged corruption involving the previous government under former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. More

The Tory peer who was formally in charge of implementing the government’s widely criticised test and trace programme has revealed she is considering a bid to become the next head of NHS England.Dido Harding said on Monday that she is “thinking about” applying to succeed Sir Simon Stevens in the role of chief executive of the health service when he steps down later this year.“I haven’t applied for the NHS job yet and I’m thinking about what I want to do with my life,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.Pressed on whether she would consider applying, Baroness Harding said: “It means I’m thinking about it … Many people are around the country thinking about what they’ve learned and experienced in the course of the last 18 months, and I’m no different.”Baroness Harding blamed expectations being “too high” for the perceived failure of test and trace – and admitted she regretted that Boris Johnson promised the system would be “world-beating”.The baroness left her role leading NHS Test and Trace in April and has returned to her role as chair of the NHS Improvement board after a short break.Her appointment to the head of NHS England would be highly controversial, given the heavy criticism she has faced over the test and trace system – set to cost £37bn over two years.Defending her work, Baroness Harding said it was “important” to have set aside the sum on the system – arguing it had helped health authorities track Covid variants across the UK.“We’re able to surge testing and tracing and vaccination where we see dangerous and potentially dangerous variants occur – that’s absolutely essential to get us all back to normal.“In the last year every developed country in the world has been spending … very large sums of money on testing and on tracing in order to combat Covid. We all want to get back to a more normal way of life and [test and trace] is an essential ingredient in that.”In March a report by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee found that NHS Test and Trace had failed to achieve its task of preventing the second and third national lockdowns.The government’s Sage advisers found the system had only had a “marginal impact” on reducing transmission levels. Lord Macpherson, the former head of the Treasury civil service, said it had proved “the most wasteful and inept public spending programme of all time”. More