Markus Andrews

Vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi has said he remains “cautiously optimistic” about the prospect of lifting coronavirus restrictions on 21 June, despite concerns about the spread of the Indian variant of Covid-19.Mr Zahawi was asked on Monday about whether it was likely that all legal restrictions and social distancing would come to an end next month.Conservative MP Greg Smith urged the minister to give “hope and certainty” to businesses hoping for a successful summer of trading without Covid rules.Mr Zahawi responded by noting there had been “good news” from a Public Health England study that showed vaccines were effective against the B1617.2 variant (also known as the Indian variant) after two doses.“Ultimately we are effectively pursuing an evidence-led strategy – the reason for the five-week interval is for us to be able to assess the data and then share it with parliament and the nation,” the minister told the Commons.“At the moment, I would say I am cautiously optimistic that we’re in a good place. We have to remain vigilant and work together.”His comments came after local leaders criticised the government for quietly changing its coronavirus guidance for eight areas affected by the Indian variant.The updated advice, which is not law and was not officially announced, encourages people in areas including Bolton, Leicester, Kirklees and the London Borough of Hounslow to not meet indoors due to concerns about rising infection rates.Health chiefs have said they were not consulted or informed about the new guidance, which also includes advice to avoid travelling in and out of the variant hotspots.Despite concerns about those areas, work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday that the lifting of all restrictions in June was “still very much under consideration”. “We are taking a little bit longer to make sure that we have all the data to understand the impact of what has been happening and some of the measures that have been taken and helped by local communities in order to assess whether or not we can proceed,” Ms Coffey said.“But those announcements will be made in the usual way. We are just gathering more data, recognising the risk that this new variant poses.”Additional reporting by PA More

Conservative MP Rob Roberts should be suspended for six weeks for “significant” breaches of parliament’s policy on sexual misconduct, a Commons watchdog has said.The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) said Mr Roberts, the MP for Delyn, “made repeated and unwanted sexual advances” towards one of his employees and use “his position as his employer to place him under pressure to accede”.Leaked WhatsApp messages showed Mr Roberts asked a 21-year-old female intern to “fool around” with him. In a separate incident he also admitted asking out another House of Commons employee, which led them to move job.Stephen Irwin, chair of the IEP, said: “The misconduct demonstrated here was significant. It is evident that Mr Roberts MP was in a very powerful position as an employer in relation to the reporter. Our conclusion is that the determination of six weeks suspension from the service of the House was proper and proportionate.”MPs will now decide whether they will back the recommended six week sanction. Labour says Mr Roberts should immediately resign his parliamentary seat in light of the findings, and the Conservative party has withdrawn the whip from him.The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards previously had found Mr Roberts had breached parliament’s sexual misconduct policy, but the MP had appealed the decision, meaning the the case was referred to the IEP.A Conservative Party internal investigation into the affair concluded last month, with a spokesperson for the party stating that he had been “strongly rebuked” – a lack of sanction the women involved said was like “he’s gotten away with it”. “The investigation into Rob Roberts has concluded,” the Tory spokesperson said.“Rob Roberts conduct was found to be unacceptable under the Party’s Code of Conduct and he has been strongly rebuked.“Mr Roberts has apologised for his behaviour and was instructed to undertake safeguarding and social media protection training.”The female former intern told BBC Wales: “It’s not one incident but multiple and he’s a threat to our safety. He’s gotten away with it, and that’s not acceptable.”The said the outcome of the investigation had brought “the morals and values of the Conservative Party under scrutiny if they are unwilling to stand up against sexual harassment and stand on the side of women – especially in the current climate.”Last month Boris Johnson defended the decision not to withdraw the whip from Mr Roberts, telling reporters: “I believe that the disciplinary processes were correct, and we’re a party that believes in cracking down on unacceptable behaviour of all kinds. And that’s what we do.”She also criticised their decision of “keeping him within the party and giving such a minimal punishment”.Speaking after the IEP report was released, Anneliese Dodds, the chair of the Labour Party, said Mr Roberts should “resign his seat with immediate effect”.“That such serious and proven abuse doesn’t automatically result in the recall of a sitting Member of Parliament is both absurd and unjust,” she said.”The Conservative Government cannot dance around gaps in legislation if it is serious about upholding standards in public life.“That is why we expect the Government to take immediate action – Labour will support efforts to pass emergency legislation or measures to rectify this situation.”Asked about the situation, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “Mr Roberts has had the whip removed. The government is considering next steps and will update shortly.”The spokesperson said the Leader of the Commons was committed to bringing forward a motion to automatically implement recommendations brought by the panel.A Tory spokesperson clarified that Mr Roberts’ Tory whip had only been suspended rather than permanently removed. More

Recent tensions in Northern Ireland are not a result of the protocol but flow from Brexit itself, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said.Protocol arrangements mean a new raft of checks on goods at ports in the province, sparking anger among unionists who feel Northern Ireland is being separated from the rest of the UK.While talks are continuing between the EU and the UK to resolve some protocol issues, both the outgoing DUP leader Arlene Foster and her successor Edwin Poots have demanded it is scrapped.But Ms von der Leyen insisted this would not happen. “There should be no doubt that there is no alternative to the full and correct implementation of the protocol,” she said.The EU chief added: “If we see problems today we should not forget that they do not come from the protocol but they result from Brexit. That is the reason why the problems are there.”The commission president was speaking following the first day of the EU Council – the first such meeting since the introduction of the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement at the beginning of May.Ms Von der Leyen reiterated that the protocol was “the only possible solution” to ensure peace and stability in Northern Ireland while protecting the integrity of the EU’s single market. “The beginnings are not easy,” she added on post-Brexit arrangements.“Now, it’s our common duty with the United Kingdom to do whatever we can to reduce tensions in Northern Ireland and that is why we are exploring practical solutions to help to minimise the disruptions to the everyday life in Northern Ireland.”The outgoing leader of the DUP accused the EU chief of having a “tin ear” to concerns about the protocol on Tuesday.Responding to von der Leyen remarks, Ms Foster said: “I think it is hugely disappointing, in spite of everything that has happened, the fact that we are talking about cancer drugs being prevented from coming into Northern Ireland.She added: “The fact that there are more checks from Great Britain into Northern Ireland than there are in Rotterdam; that still the European Union and the European Commission have had a tin ear to the concerns and the absolutely genuine concerns of the people in Northern Ireland.”Boris Johnson’s Brexit minister David Frost suggested last week that the way the protocol was operating was to blame for recent violence and could “undermine the Good Friday Agreement”.Mr Frost said trading problems in Northern Ireland must be solved before the “turbulence” of marching season in mid-July.The Brexit deal negotiator also made clear the UK would not strike a new agreement with the EU on food and plant rules to minimise checks, saying: “We are not doing dynamic alignment.” More

An independent review into allegations of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party has been labelled a “whitewash”, as Boris Johnson faced calls to issue a “proper public apology” over his incendiary comments about Muslim women.The probe — led by professor Swaran Singh — said the PM’s article about women wearing the burqa gave the impression that the Tories were “insensitive to Muslim communities” and said the leadership of the party “ought to set a good example for appropriate behaviours and languages”.“Several” witnesses told Prof Singh’s investigation that they found Mr Johnson’s language in a newspaper column “discriminatory and unacceptable”, the report said.And one witness told the inquiry that the comments led to “a large increase in anti-Muslim events” reported to the Tell MAMA project, which records incidents of Islamophobia hate.A Tell MAMA report in 2019 found that Islamophobic incidents rose by 375 per cent the week after Mr Johnson’s article, with 42 per cent of reported racist abuse in the streets of the UK directly referencing his language.But Mr Johnson refused to apologise for his comments to the inquiry, saying only that he was “sorry for any offence taken” and adding that he would not use the same language as prime minister.He acknowledged that the struggle to eliminate discrimination from the Conservative party was “not yet over”, but insisted that the party had changed over the past 20 years and was open to “opportunity and talent”.He told the inquiry: “If you are a young Muslim child and you want to grow up and be prime minister, you should join the Conservative Party. We believe in opportunity and talent. If we have an image problem, it is because the wider public is not aware yet of how much the party has changed in recent years.”However, Labour demanded “proper public apology” from Mr Johnson, saying: “This report is a damning indictment of the discrimination rife in the Conservative Party, and it goes all the way up to the prime minister.”Mr Johnson sparked fury in 2018 with a newspaper column in which he said that he felt “fully entitled” to expect women to remove face coverings when talking to him at his MP surgery – and schools and universities should be able to take the same approach if a student “turns up… looking like a bank robber”.Writing shortly after his resignation as foreign secretary, Mr Johnson said it was “weird and bullying” to expect women to cover their faces, adding:  “I would go further and say that it is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes.”In interviews during the 2019 general election campaign he said he was “sorry for any offence I have caused” but refused to apologise for the article, which he insisted was not written with the intent to offend.During his oral testimony to the inquiry, Mr Johnson was challenged over these comments, as well as previous articles in which he referred to black people having “watermelon smiles” and said that fear of Islam was “a natural reaction” for any non-Muslim reading the Quran.Describing his articles as “often parodic, satirical”, he insisted that the comments about the burqa were part of an “honest defence for a woman’s right to wear what she chooses”.But asked if he would like to take the opportunity to apologise, he replied only: “I do know that offence has been taken at things I’ve said, that people expect a person in my position to get things right, but in journalism you need to use language freely. I am obviously sorry for any offence taken. Would I use some of the offending language from my past writings today? Now that I am prime minister, I would not.”Prof Singh said it was not within the remit of his inquiry to decide whether the PM’s comments breached the Conservative Party’s code of conduct.But he added: “The investigation noted that several interviewees considered Mr Johnson’s language as discriminatory and unacceptable.“Mr Johnson declined to add anything to his previously expressed regret that offence had been taken at his comments. He asserted that he would not make such remarks now that he was prime minister.“While this could be considered leading by example, the investigation would like to emphasise that using measured and appropriate language should not be a requirement solely for senior people, but ought to be expected throughout the Conservative Party. “Prof Singh said that an internal party investigation into Mr Johnson’s comments was regarded as a “whitewash” by some of those involved, because its deliberations were not made public.“This case illustrates the need for complaints handling to be not only independent of the party structure but also for greater transparency about process and outcome on individual complaints, particularly those that might be considered ‘high profile’,” said the report.“The leadership of the Conservative Party ought to set a good example for appropriate behaviours and language as a guide for the rest of the party to follow.”The inquiry found anti-Muslim sentiment was seen at local association and individual levels but claims of “institutional racism” were not borne out by evidence of the way complaints were handled.Responding to the publication of the report, the former Conservative MEP Sajjad Karim told The Guardian: “The manner in which this inquiry has been conducted means it is nothing but an attempt to whitewash deep-rooted issues out of sight”.“It is difficult to identify any basis upon which this has been a serious attempt to address credible and serious matters or deliver on Boris Johnson’s leadership election pledge.”Sajid Javid, the former chancellor who urged his rivals in the 2019 Tory leadership contest to commit to an inquiry, said: “Although the investigation didn’t find any evidence of institutional or systemic anti-Muslim prejudice, it did find distressing examples of anti-Muslim sentiment at local association and individual levels, as well as serious shortcomings in the party’s complaints process.“Stamping out discrimination, whether against Muslims or any other minority group, is an issue where our country’s political parties have a responsibility to demonstrate leadership.“I strongly urge the Conservative Party to adopt the independent investigation’s recommendations — unconditionally and in full”.Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a former minister who has campaigned against Islamophobia, said the report found “an inadequate, inconsistent and opaque system of dealing with complaints of racism”.“The urgency & extent of change recommended & required by the report is an acknowledgement of the scale of the problem & evidence of a system that failed to protect victims of racism — it also highlights the victimisation of complainants painted as ‘troublemakers’ for speaking out,” she added.“The detail of this report is crucial and tells a story that headlines do not. Each section reveals a deep & embedded issues of a party at best unable and at worst unwilling to deal with the issue of racism”.Mr Johnson told the inquiry that he felt the party’s complaints procedures were “robust” and the party acted “decisively” in the event of breaches.However, he acknowledged that the party could do more to educate its members about the code of conduct, and agreed it was a “failing” that members were not required to read it.While he admitted that discrimination could exist in the selection of candidates, he insisted it does not exist in the “vast majority of cases”.The report said Mr Johnson had committed to implementing the investigation’s recommendations or to explain clearly to Prof Singh the justification for not doing so. More

A partnership agreement has been reached by non-Labour councillors to run Durham County Council for the first time in 100 years.The so-called Joint Administration made up of independents, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and a Green has been arranged to take over at the council’s annual meeting on Wednesday.Labour was the largest party following the local elections, with 53 of 126 councillors, but lost overall control of the authority and a cross-party alliance will now take over.Leadership of the council will rotate between the partnership, with cabinet positions shared out.Liberal Democrat Amanda Hopgood is due to take charge initially.A partnership spokesperson said: “We recognise that, subject to a successful annual meeting, this will be a historic moment for Durham County Council.”Not only will the council be run by a non-Labour administration for the first time, it will also have its first ever female leader.”In building to this moment, the partners have demonstrated what can be achieved by focusing on the big picture and the best outcome for communities across the county.”That is the approach that the Joint Administration of Durham County Council intends to continue taking during its time in office.”In that spirit, we are willing to work with any and all groups for the good of County Durham.”Labour said it was disappointed to have been shut from the alliance talks and said the exclusion of the most popular party “seems to go against the will of the people”.PA More

An inquiry has criticised the Conservative Party for failing to properly investigate allegations of internal racism, because of a lack of “transparency”, training and staff.Two-thirds of complaints related to anti-Muslim discrimination – but the party’s complaints process was not fit for purpose to deal with them, it has found.Boris Johnson also comes under fire for his comments about women wearing the burka, which gave the impression of being “insensitive to Muslim communities”, the professor who carried it out said.The probe, set up by the prime minister, was completed in March, triggering allegations it was held back until after May’s local elections.The Independent revealed that victims of alleged racism had complained of being ignored – while the inquiry was restricted to complaint-handling, rather than why many Muslims feel unwelcome in the party.Now the inquiry, by Prof Swaran Singh, has found:* The Conservatives recorded 1,418 complaints concerning 727 incidents of alleged discrimination, between 2015 and 2020.* Two-thirds of the incidents related to allegations of anti-Muslim discrimination.* The people interviewed by the investigation who experienced discrimination did so “at the level of a local party association”.* Local anti-Muslim sentiment was “demonstrated by a number of social media complaints against party members which were upheld”.* Many of those interviewed believed Islamist extremism should not be conflated with Islam.Prof Singh said: “We were tasked with scrutinising how the Conservative Party dealt with allegations of such discrimination and whether its policies and processes to deal with complaints of discrimination were fit for purpose.“Our report should make for uncomfortable reading for the party and, more importantly, spur it into action.“I hope the party will fully accept our recommendations and implement the changes needed in a transparent and timely manner.”But Sajjad Karim, a former Tory MEP, said: “The manner in which this inquiry has been conducted means it is nothing but an attempt to whitewash deep-rooted issues out of sight.“It is difficult to identify any basis upon which this has been a serious attempt to address credible and serious matters or deliver on Boris Johnson’s leadership election pledge.”On the handling of racism complaints, Prof Singh found:* The party has “an under-resourced and inadequately trained complaints team and a weak data collection system”.* It “falls short of best practice”, compared with that recommended by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.* There is “no evidence of attempts to pressure or interfere with the handling of individual complaints”, by party chiefs.* “Minimal training” is given to party members on compliance with codes of conduct.A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “The party is considering the recommendations set out by the report.  We will respond later today.” More

Boris Johnson gave the public a bizarre two-minute monologue on the wonders of Shakespeare as the Covid threat loomed last year – fuelling claims that he was focused on writing a book.Dominic Cummings is expected to make the accusation – strongly denied by No 10 – that the prime minister skipped crucial meetings because of a money-spinning deadline with a publisher, when he speaks to MPs on Wednesday.Mr Johnson spent 12 days at the Chevening grace-and-favour estate, in February 2020, having received an advance of close to £100,000 to write ‘The Riddle of Genius’.Now a recording of his ‘People’s PMQs’ session, on 5 February, has revealed how he mused at length on the bard’s work – despite not having been asked any questions about it.“What an incredible thing it is to have pictures, contemporaneous pictures, of William Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth,” the prime minister told the public.“Just imagine he performed in front of her. I mean, we didn’t know this for certain, but it’s almost certain that William Shakespeare will have performed in front of Queen Elizabeth.“And they say, of course, that A Midsummer Night’s Dream was staged particularly for her.“I think, you remember, that she liked the character of Falstaff so much, in Henry IV part one and two – where he dies – she said, Shakespeare, give us another Falstaff, give us another Falstaff!”The prime minister concluded: “Anyway, nobody asked me that question tonight on People’s PMQs – but I’m giving you that information, absolutely free gratis, nonetheless.”A week later, Mr Johnson left Downing Street for a “working” holiday at Chevening with his partner Carrie Symonds, and would not be seen in public for 12 days.At the time, medical experts were warning that the coronavirus threat emerging from China could be comparable to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, but he missed 5 emergency Cobr meetings.He was also wrestling with his divorce from Marina Wheeler, after the family court approved a financial settlement with his wife of 27 years.On Monday, the prime minister’s spokesman denied he was working on his Shakespeare book in January and February 2020, when the Cobr meetings took place.“No, the prime minister has been leading the response to this pandemic throughout. That has been his focus,” he insisted.However, asked whether Mr Johnson has spent any of his time in No 10 writing the book, he replied only: “Not that I am aware of.”The book was originally due to be published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 2016, close to the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.It was delayed when Mr Johnson was made foreign secretary in July 2016, “in light of his new responsibilities”, the publisher said.It was reported that he was left facing having to repay the advance – having, in 2015, declared two payments worth a total of £98,000 “for book as yet unwritten”. More

Health chiefs in eight Covid hotspots hit by “local lockdowns by stealth” have said they were kept in the dark about shock new advice to people not to enter or leave.The government guidance also says people in the areas – Bolton, Blackburn, Kirklees, Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, North Tyneside and Hounslow – should not meet indoors and should stay 2 metres apart.But there was no announcement of the move, which is being seen as a form of local lockdown in places with the highest rates of the Indian variant of coronavirus.Cabinet minister Thérèse Coffey insisted the advice was simply “formalising the need to be extra cautious” in the 8 areas, saying: “I think it’s a sensible approach.”But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the failure to alert local leaders was “utterly shameful” and branded local lockdowns the “wrong approach”.Dominic Harrison, Blackburn with Darwen’s public health director, said: “Areas involved were not consulted with, warned of, notified about, or alerted to this guidance.“I have asked to see the national risk assessment which supports this action – it has not been provided to us yet.”Likewise, North Tyneside Council said there was “no communication” from the government before the advice for people to avoid the borough was quietly changed four days ago.Extraordinarily, on Monday, its public health director Wendy Burke told local people: “It’s certainly okay to visit the area and obviously we’ve got some fantastic things for people to come and see.”Yasmin Qureshi, a Bolton MP, told the Bolton News: “I was not told about this new guidance and I don’t think anybody was. It just shows the incompetence of the government in dealing with this.“I am very angry and upset on behalf of my constituents who may have booked to go away to see family, paid for rail tickets, made arrangements.“Had they known about this guidance I am sure the majority would not have made plans. It leaves them in a very difficult situation because these new guidelines are advisory.”At Westminster, Layla Moran, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus, said: “This is a major change to policy that will have a huge impact on people’s lives.“Simply updating the government website without an official announcement is a recipe for confusion and uncertainty. Local people and public health leaders in these areas need urgent clarity.”At 5.26pm last Friday, the Cabinet Office website was changed to say people in Bedford, Blackburn, Bolton, Kirklees, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside should “avoid travelling in and out….unless it is essential”.The same advice for Bolton and Blackburn was issued a week earlier – on the day Boris Johnson staged a press conference – but the change was never mentioned.Publicly, ministers have backed away from threats of official local lockdowns where the Indian variant is on the rise, as they seek to lift all remaining Covid restrictions on 21 June.Ms Coffey, the work and pensions secretary, said the 21 June final step on the roadmap, is “still very much under consideration”, pending further Covid data. More