Markus Andrews

Boris Johnson’s £2.6m new briefing room at 9 Downing Street will be used for the first time for a televised prime ministerial press conference on Monday, No 10 has announced.The venue, controversially refitted as a high-tech TV studio at taxpayers’ expense, was originally intended for daily media briefings by the prime minister’s press secretary Allegra Stratton. But there was no date revealed today for when the long-delayed briefings will begin, with Ms Stratton saying only that it will be dependent on the progress of the roadmap out of lockdown, which is due to see most social distancing restrictions removed on 21 June at the earliest.Mr Johnson’s appearance on 29 March will mark the latest step in the relaxation of lockdown restrictions in England, with groups of up to six people or two households of any size allowed to meet outside, including in private gardens.It will mean an end to the frequent press conferences behind wooden lecterns in 10 Downing Street itself which have become a familiar feature of the last year as ministers and scientists provide updates on the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis. Read more:Future press conferences will take place in the new briefing room, draped in blue and with two Union Jacks flying behind the podium.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayThe new venue was converted from a disused Privy Council courtroom once used to hear appeals on legal cases from Commonwealth countries.Daily media briefings were the brainchild of Mr Johnson’s former top adviser Dominic Cummings, who wanted a setting modelled on the White House briefing room to allow the PM’s spokesperson to bypass Westminster’s lobby reporters and speak directly to voters via TV.Former Newsnight and ITV journalist Ms Stratton was recruited to be the TV face of No 10.However, the idea appears to have fallen out of favour since Mr Cummings’ departure from No 10 in November, with the date for her first appearance for a live televised grilling repeatedly put back. More

The UK’s meat industry faces a permanent loss of up to half of all its exports because of ongoing problems with “mountains” of Brexit red tape, a leading trade body has warned.The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) said “systemic weaknesses” in current trade arrangements meant a potential loss of trade for UK exporters of between 20 and 50 per cent.A new report by the BMPA found meat producers also face up to £120m a year in extra trading costs every year because of the deal forged by Boris Johnson’s government at the end of last year.The body has urged the government to seek a new agreement on food standards with Brussels to ease problems sending food to both EU, and from Great Britain into Northern Ireland.It wants Downing Street to forge a “common veterinary area” with the EU so standards could be made equivalent – removing many of the checks currently needed at the borders.“The export hurdles we face are now in plain sight and are not going away,” said chief executive Nick Allen. “We need government to urgently re-engage with both the industry and the EU to work out detailed and lasting solutions.”Last year’s UK-EU trade deal failed to include an agreement to avoid form-filling and physical inspections on plant and animal products.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayPeter Hardwick, the BMPA’s trade policy adviser, said the current level of “trade friction” experienced by British meat exporters was “enormous, absolutely enormous”.Speaking to MPs on the international trade committee on Thursday, he urged the government to consider a veterinary agreement with the EU to help “reduce that friction”.Mr Hardwick said it was taking “twice as long and costs us twice as much to get products to the EU as it did before the end of the transition period”.It comes as a new report by peers urged the government to consider an agreement with EU on common standards to reduce the “substantial barriers” for British traders.A report by the Lords EU goods sub-committee warned small firms are “feeling the squeeze” since the limited Brexit trade deal with Brussels came into force in January.The peers’ report cautioned that, without action, the physical checks currently in place on animal and plant products could become a “permanent barrier to trade” – with meat and live shellfish products particularly badly hit by the new inspection regime. More

The DUP has called for new guidance on flying the union flag to be extended to Northern Ireland.The national flag is to be flown on UK government buildings every day in a bid to unite the nation and as a “proud reminder of our history and the ties that bind us”, ministers confirmed on Wednesday.Currently flags can only be flown on designated days but fresh guidance from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will ask for it to be flown all the time in England, Scotland and Wales.However in Northern Ireland it will continue to be flown only on designated days, a decision which has been branded “bizarre” by DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.He said: “When I visit other nations around the world, flying the national flag on government buildings is commonplace,” he said.Read more:“The decision to exclude Northern Ireland at this stage is wrong and runs contrary to New Decade, New Approach which sought to align us with the rest of the UK when it came to the Union flag being flown on Government buildings.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday“This is a matter we will be pressing the government to address.”Flags and emblems are a contentious issue among Northern Ireland’s divided communities.In 2012 the decision of Belfast City Council to reduce the number of days on which the Union flag is flown from City Hall sparked widespread protests and disorder.In relation to the new flag guidance the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, said on Wednesday: “The union flag unites us as a nation and people rightly expect it to be flown above UK government buildings.“This guidance will ensure that happens every day, unless another flag is being flown, as a proud reminder of our history and the ties that bind us.” More

Boris Johnson says his “no jab no pint” suggestion would only allow pubs to bar drinkers when “absolutely everybody” has been offered a vaccine – if at all.Amid a growing outcry, the prime minister sought to reassure Tory MPs and the industry that no decisions had been taken, but stuck to his backing for “vaccine certificates”.“You might only be able to implement a thorough-going vaccination passport scheme – even if you wanted such a thing – in the context of when absolutely everybody had been offered a vaccine,” he said. Publicans have reacted with horror to the idea that they would be left to decide whether to let in only customers who have been vaccinated against coronavirus.Trade bodies suggested the idea was “simply unworkable”, while the boss of the Shepherd Neame chain called making jabs mandatory a “fairly poorly thought out idea”.Read more:No 10 mounted a hasty rescue job, briefing that the plan would have to allow entry – including to other venues, such as restaurants and cinemas – after a negative Covid-19 test, as well as vaccination. Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayBut Mr Johnson made no specific mention of testing, telling broadcasters: “I do think there is going to be a role for certification.“What we said is we’ll be reporting on the work of the certification group in early April, either on 5 April or 12 April.“There are lots of difficult issues because there are some people who for medical reasons can’t get a vaccination, pregnant women can’t get a vaccination at the moment, you’ve got to be careful about how you do this.” Mr Johnson, visiting a nursery in London, also denied telling Conservative MPs that the UK’s successful vaccination programme was because of capitalism and “greed, my friends”.“That’s obviously not what I said,” the prime minister claimed – despite multiple MPs reporting that he did – but he stressed the part played by the businesses in delivering the project.The government had played a role, but it was “also thanks to free enterprise and big companies deciding to take a risk to put their investment into bets that they didn’t know would pay off”.Mr Johnson said that “what capitalism is basically all about, and producing a life-changing result”, adding: “So it’s the combination that matters.” It is thought that the review into certification could back allowing pubs to scrap social distancing rules – if they agree to check for jabs, or negative tests, on entry.Pubs that did not want to go through that cost and effort would be allowed to open, but with the restrictions imposed last summer.Mr Johnson also insisted the UK is “on the side of openness” in trade in vaccines, as European Union leaders met to consider tougher export rules.“I don’t want to see blockades of vaccines or of medicines,” he said – even as Matt Hancock confirmed the UK demanded an “exclusivity” deal that prevented AstraZeneca sharing UK-made jabs with the EU. More

A former UK diplomat has been found to be in contempt of court after writing about the Alex Salmond trial on his blog.Craig Murray, ex-ambassador to Uzbekistan, was found to be in contempt after his online posts about the former SNP leader’s criminal trial in 2020.Judge Lady Dorrian told Mr Murray that several blog posts and tweets the diplomat wrote could lead to the identification of four different complainers.Mr Murray sat in the public gallery during two days of the trial in March 2020, at which Mr Salmond was found not guilty of all 12 of the sexual assault charges against him.The former diplomat’s sentencing has been deferred until 7 May, while the judge awaits further reports on the contempt case.Prior to the judge’s statement on Thursday morning, Mr Murray said he had closed his blog on a “temporary” basis, having been given “no choice but to go dark”.It comes as Mr Salmond has said he is ready to take legal action against Scottish government’s top civil servant.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayIn a statement, the former first minister said permanent secretary Leslie Evans had failed to take “real responsibility” for failings highlighted in two reports this week.The Holyrood committee investigating the Scottish government’s unlawful handling of harassment complaints concluded there was an “individual failing” by Ms Evans because she knew of the prior contact between the officer investigating complaints and those who made them.First minister Nicola Sturgeon has made clear Ms Evans “retains her confidence” despite the criticisms made in the committee’s report.Mr Salmond, who has urged Ms Evans to resign, said: “I have waited to see the response from those individuals to the publication of the inquiry reports. Unfortunately, it appears that the clear intention is to carry on regardless.”The former SNP leader said he had now instructed lawyers to “bring proceedings” related to Ms Evans’ conduct – though it is not yet clear whether the action would be raised against Ms Sturgeon’s government, or the top civil servant personally.Mr Salmond also said he would make a complaint to Police Scotland about the alleged leak of the original harassment claims against him to the Daily Record newspaper. “I have every confidence that Police Scotland will pursue that matter with rigour,” he said. More

The successful vaccination campaign and falling coronavirus death rates have failed to persuade a large chunk of voters to trust Boris Johnson’s handling of the pandemic, according to a new poll. Some 41 per cent of those quizzed for The Independent in a survey to mark the anniversary of the first lockdown said they did not trust the prime minister to do the right thing, compared to 38 per cent who said they did trust him.Among them were almost one-third of the population (30 per cent) who said they distrusted Mr Johnson “a lot” on Covid-19 and only 16 per cent who trusted him a lot.Trust in Matt Hancock to deal with the crisis stood at just 29 per cent, with 39 per cent saying they did not trust the health secretary.Despite Labour fears that a “vaccine bounce” would boost Conservatives as the UK appears to be heading out of lockdown, the BMG study found the race between the parties tighter than in any mainstream poll since late January.Read more:Asked how they would vote in a general election tomorrow, 39 per cent chose the Tories, against 37 per cent for Labour and 9 for the Liberal Democrats.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayBMG pollster Andrew Price said that as many as four in five voters say the vaccination process has gone well and half say the same about Covid-19 testing, while more are positive than negative about the economic response to the pandemic, leaving only the handling of schools and foreign travel as “obvious areas of perceived weakness”.But he added: “That being said, the public is split on whether they trust key Conservative politicians to effectively handle the pandemic. Some 38 per cent feel they trust prime minister Boris Johnson compared to 41 per cent who do not.”“A potential vaccine ‘bounce’ does not appear to be leading to major improvements in trust for the Conservative party to handle the pandemic or the prime minister’s satisfaction ratings.”The poll came as Mr Johnson locked horns with Brussels over threats of an export ban on vaccines produced in the EU.And the prime minister was at loggerheads with a substantial section of his party over plans to extend legislation underpinning coronavirus restrictions to October.Mr Johnson was on Tuesday evening pleading with Tory MPs on the backbench 1922 Committee to vote for a six-month extension of the Coronavirus Act, which the government argues is necessary for continued business support programmes like the furlough scheme.But former minister David Jones said that “a few dozen” Tories, including himself, were likely to rebel over any effort to maintain the power to impose restrictions beyond the scheduled 21 June end-date of Mr Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown. “The vaccination programme has been outstandingly successful and seems to be having a real effect in terms of reducing numbers of deaths and hospitalisations,” Mr Jones told The Independent. “That being the case, we simply cannot keep the country locked down, given that the really baleful effects of the virus are now being tackled and within the next few weeks should be virtually eliminated.”Tory backbencher Marcus Fysh said he was “pretty uncomfortable” with any extension. He urged the prime minister to order a fresh review of the most up-to-date data on infections, hospitalisations and deaths to determine whether the relaxation of restrictions can be brought forward.“Most of us want to support the roadmap because it seems to be heading in the right direction, but we can’t see why ministers need to take powers until October,” he told The Independent. Mr Johnson is in no danger of losing the vote on Thursday, as Labour has said it will back the extension.On Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer sought to step up pressure on the PM for an early public inquiry into official handling of the crisis.“I think the government was very slow to react,” said the Labour leader on a visit to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London. “They were slow in the first wave, slow to go into lockdown, very slow with protective equipment to the front line.Epidemiologist Professor Neil Ferguson suggested an inquiry should start “in the next few months”, arguing that a lengthy delay would mean that “people’s concerns will have moved on and it’s less likely to actually effect real change”.But Downing Street continued to refuse to put a date on the inquiry which Mr Johnson has promised.Tuesday’s poll put public trust in Sir Keir’s response to the pandemic at 28 per cent, marginally ahead of the 27 per cent who voiced distrust.But Sir Keir lagged behind Mr Johnson on the metric of preferred prime minister, by a margin of 28 per cent to 35.Overall, just 38 per cent of voters said they were satisfied with Mr Johnson’s performance as PM, against 44 per cent who were dissatisfied. Satisfaction with Sir Keir stood at 29 per cent, with 27 per cent dissatisfied and others not expressing a view.• BMG Research questioned 1,498 GB adults between 16 and 19 March. More

David Cameron is under formal investigation over whether he breached lobbying rules with his work on behalf of collapsed by Greensill Capital. Mr Cameron, whose government introduce statutory regulation of lobbyists, is reported to have repeatedly texted Chancellor Rishi Sunak in a bid to get access to state-backed loan schemes for the bank.But The Times newspaper now reports that the lobbying registrar has opened an investigation into Mr Cameron’s actions to assess whether they constitute a breach.Mr Cameron’s activities are not on Westminster’s statutory register of lobbyists – but he may argue that he was acting as an employee of Greensill Capital, which would mean he was not required to sign up to it.He has reportedly been on the company’s payroll as an advisor since 2018.Read more:The loophole excluding so-called “in-house” lobbyists was controversial at the time it was introduced by Mr Cameron’s government, with critics suggesting the promised protections had been “watered-down” and noting they only covered around 1 per cent of lobbyists.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayA spokesperson for the lobbying registrar Harry Rich told the Times: “The registrar is investigating whether David Cameron has engaged in unregistered consultant lobbying.”Breaching lobbying rules can result in fines of up to £7,500 and in severe cases even see criminal charges brought.Mr Cameron has not commented on the situation. Labour has asked Rishi Sunak to “set the record straight” on whether he spoke to Mr Cameron around the affair.An HM Treasury spokesperson last week said of the encounter: “Treasury officials regularly meet with stakeholders to discuss our economic response to Covid.“The meetings in question were primarily about broadening the scope of CCFF to enable access for providers of supply chain finance, which – following a call for evidence and discussions with several other firms within the sector – we decided against and informed the businesses concerned.” More

Pubs could be allowed to refuse customers who cannot prove they’ve been vaccinated, Boris Johnson signalled amid reports social distancing could be lifted for establishments that check Covid status before allowing entry.The prime minister told MPs on Wednesday that whether a vaccine certificate could be required to enter a pub “may be up to individual publicans, it may be up to the landlord”.The measure is being considered as part of the government’s review into social distancing measures, which is due to report in June, the newspaper said.The consultation on certification is understood to be looking at whether an NHS app could be modified to allow people to show whether they had been recently tested or vaccinated against Covid-19.Mr Johnson said he believed vaccine certifications are supported by the British public, who want him “to take all the actions I can to protect them”.The government has resisted calls for mandatory vaccine “passports” to permit individuals to access particular venues, like restaurants and concert halls.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayRead more:And lawyers have questioned whether it would be legal for employers to demand proof of a jab if the requirement was not already written into workers’ contracts.But while Mr Johnson shied away from any state-mandated certification as he answered questions at the House of Commons Liaison Committee on Wednesday, his comments were seen as a stronger endorsement of Covid certification compared to previous statements.He suggested that, once lockdown restrictions are lifted, venue operators would be within their rights to demand proof of vaccination from customers.Asked if a vaccine certificate could be required to enter a pub, Mr Johnson said: “I think that that’s the kind of thing – it may be up to individual publicans, it may be up to the landlord.”Mr Johnson said that the concept of “no jab no job” in particular professions “should not be totally alien to us”, as doctors already have to have hepatitis B jabs.He said that the idea “doesn’t seem to me to be irresponsible at all, far from it. It is wholly responsible for care home companies to think about requiring vaccinations”.The PM said that many MPs want tougher restrictions, adding: “I find myself in this long national conversation thinking very deeply about it, and the public have been thinking very deeply about it.“My view is there is a huge wisdom in the public’s feeling about this. Human beings instinctively recognise when something is dangerous and nasty to them and they can see that Covid is collectively a threat. “They want us as their government and me as prime minister to take all the actions I can to protect them.”However, the concept of vaccine certificates drew sharp backlash from backbenchers and hospitality groups, who said it would be “unworkable” for pubs and other venues.Tory MP and deputy chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of lockdown sceptics Steve Baker warned such requirements could create a “two-tier Britain” for those unable to take up the vaccine for medical reasons.He said: “The prime minister began to tread a dangerous path when he opened the door to domestic Covid certificates.“First they said we’ll need them to watch the football, and today that it may be papers for the pub.“Whether the state legislates for it, recommends it or simply allows it the result will be the same: a two-tier Britain that prevents pregnant women from taking part in society, given that the government is telling them not to take the vaccine, or one where we turn back the clock and tolerate businesses turning away customers from communities which have shown an unfortunate hesitancy to take up the offer of a vaccine.“We must not fall into this ghastly trap.”Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “It’s crucial that visiting the pub and other parts of hospitality should not be subject to mandatory vaccination certification.“It is simply unworkable, would cause conflict between staff and customers and almost certainty result in breaches of equality rules.“Through the success of the vaccine rollout we need to throw off the shackles of coronavirus in line with the government’s roadmap, not impose more checks on our ability to socialise and do business.”A British Beer and Pub Association spokesperson added: “Our sector has already gone to extraordinary lengths to prepare for reopening and we do not believe a requirement for pubs to check whether someone has had the vaccine would be appropriate or necessary.”The Independent has contacted the Department for Health and Social Care for comment. More