Markus Andrews

Emma Gilthorpe raised the alarm over the “capability” of Border Force operations – even with passenger numbers at no more than 15 per cent of normal.Asked whether Heathrow would “cope” when holiday travellers return for the summer, she said improvements were urgently needed, adding: “I need to know the desks will be manned.” The chief operating officer said “pre-Covid-19” queues of up to two hours had become three hours, warning: “We have had queues extended out to 6 hours on occasion.”E-gates were out of use because they were not yet able to cope with virus test forms and other paperwork introduced because of the pandemic. “The extra layers that have been introduced are crippling the resourcing capability that Border Force has in place,” Ms Gilthorpe told the Commons home affairs committee“We are at unacceptable levels of queuing. It is distressing when we see those pictures of queues,” she warned.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 Heathrow boss said “there isn’t currently a requirement” for passengers from ‘red list’ countries – those heading for hotel quarantine – to do separated out in arrival halls.And, asked if procedure were putting people “at risk”, she replied: “I can’t answer that question” – saying the Border Force had raised the issue with Public Health England.Asked at what point passengers might have to be kept waiting on planes – to ease the pressure inside Heathrow – Ms Gilthorpe suggested the trigger point was “40-50 per cent” of normal numbers.“But those queue lengths would still be unacceptable,” she told the committee. Ms Gilthorpe warned of longstanding staff shortages, a situation that “has been deteriorating since the Olympics”, nearly a decade ago.There was no date for when e-gates would be able to cope with Covid checks, but she said: “The hope is that is going to be introduced for the summer.”The bleak picture was painted ahead amid an explosion in bookings for foreign holidays, sparked by the success of the vaccination programme.The ban on overseas travel will not be lifted until after 17 May at the earliest – with a government travel plan to be announced last month – but Greece and Cyprus are already inviting Britons. More

SNP MP Patrick Grady has stepped down from his role as the party’s chief whip at Westminster following sexual harassment allegations.Patrick Grady was named on Tuesday as the MP at the centre of the claims, with his party confirming an investigation is now under way.Letters obtained by The Herald detailed concerns about the MP’s behaviour at the SNP’s Christmas party at London’s Phoenix Artist Club in December 2016.An SNP spokesman said Mr Grady – the MP for Glasgow North – had “stood aside” from his role as chief whip at Westminster after the party received a formal complaint about him.“That now allows due process to take placed and we will not be commenting further while an investigation is under way,” the spokesperson said.The complaint is understood to relate to allegations made by a SNP staffer in a report in Scotland’s Daily Record on Monday. A SNP employee accused two of the party’s MPs – one male and one female – of sexually harassing him in separate incidents at pubs in London.It comes as difficulties for Nicola Sturgeon’s party at Holyrood continue. A vote of no-confidence in Scotland’s deputy first ministerJohn Swinney has been scheduled by the Scottish Conservatives for Wednesday.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 weekdayIt follows Mr Swinney’s admission that records of meetings between Nicola Sturgeon, permanent secretary Leslie Evans and the Scottish government’s legal counsel about the unlawful Alex Salmond investigation cannot be found. More

Boris Johnson’s plan for a tunnel or bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland has been dismissed as a “vanity project” by the Scottish transport secretary.SNP MSP Michael Matheson aid the Scottish government already had its own “robust process” for considering future transport infrastructure projects.He added: “It’s not a priority for Scotland, nor for Northern Ireland. I’ve just discussed the matter with Nichola Mallon, who is the minister for infrastructure in Northern Ireland last night, and she reiterated the point it is not a priority for Northern Ireland. More

The government’s Test and Trace system has been blasted as “the most wasteful and inept public spending programme of all time” by a former head of the Treasury civil service. The former mandarin’s attack came after a report by a Westminster spending watchdog found there was no evidence that the programme has had any measurable impact on the coronavirus pandemic despite its “unimaginable” £37bn budget over two years.Test and Trace chief Dido Harding has defended its performance, insisting that it is “essential” to the UK’s fight against Covid-19.But Lord Macpherson, who led the Treasury civil service from 2005 to 2016 under chancellors Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and George Osborne, was scathing in his response.“This wins the prize for the most wasteful and inept public spending programme of all time,” he said in a tweet. “The extraordinary thing is that nobody in the government seems surprised or shocked. “No matter: the Bank of England will just print more money.”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 weekdayLord Macpherson rounded off his comment with the heavily sarcastic hashtag “#soundmoney”.And it said the programme must “wean itself off” its reliance on private-sector consultants, after figures showed it was still employing around 2,500 in early February on an estimated daily rate of £1,100 a head – with the highest-paid individual costing taxpayers £6,624 a day.Committee chair Meg Hillier demanded better control of costs, accusing the government of treating taxpayers “like an ATM machine”.But Baroness Harding said NHST&T had succeeded in building a test system from scratch which has now carried out more than 83m Covid tests and is now rolling out regular asymptomatic tests to support children to go back to school and visitors to see loved ones in care homes.Some 93.6 per cent of contacts of infected people were being successfully reached, she said.“NHS Test and Trace is essential in our fight against Covid-19 and regular testing is a vital tool to stop transmission as we cautiously ease restrictions,” said Lady Harding.“Protecting communities and saving lives is always our first priority and every pound spent is contributing towards our efforts to keep people safe – with 80 per cent of NHS Test and Trace’s budget spent on buying and carrying out coronavirus tests.” More

Dido Harding’s test and trace system has swallowed up “unimaginable” amounts of taxpayers’ money with no evidence of any measurable difference on the progress of the coronavirus pandemic, a scathing report by a Westminster spending watchdog has found.The report said NHS test and trace must “wean itself off” its reliance on private-sector consultants, after figures showed it was still employing around 2,500 in early February on an estimated daily rate of £1,100 a head – with the highest-paid individual costing taxpayers £6,624 a day.Despite its £23bn budget in its first year of operation, test and trace failed in its task of preventing the second and third lockdowns, found the cross-party House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. And there was still no clear evidence of its effectiveness in driving down Covid-19 infection rates. The committee said it was “not clear” that its contribution to the fight against coronavirus justified its astronomical cost.Committee chair Meg Hillier demanded better control of costs, accusing the government of treating taxpayers “like an ATM machine”.And unions said that vast sums had been “frittered away” on poorly performing parts of the test and trace system, rather than investing in NHS staff or in the financial support needed to persuade people to stay at home when told to self-isolate.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 report found that the system had increased testing levels to more than 800,000 a day, contacted over 2.5 million people who had tested positive and 4.5 million of their contacts.Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget last week included an additional £15bn for test and trace, taking the total bill to more than £37bn over two years.But the report said that claims that test and trace activities have cut the reproduction rate – known as R – by 0.3 to 0.6 rest on the assumption that people self-isolate as required, when in fact compliance with self-isolation rules has been “low”.The proportion of available laboratory testing capacity used by test and trace was often well below 50 per cent into the months to October and remained below 65 per cent in November and December as cases soared, the report found. Test and trace “significantly underestimated” the increase in demand when schools and universities returned in September and “still struggles to consistently match supply and demand” for its services.Ms Hillier said: “The £23bn test and trace has cost us so far is about the annual budget of the Department for Transport. Test and trace still continues to pay for consultants at £1,000 a day.“Yet despite the unimaginable resources thrown at this project, test and trace cannot point to a measurable difference to the progress of the pandemic. And the promise on which this huge expense was justified – avoiding another lockdown – has been broken, twice.” She said that Matt Hancock’s Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and test and trace must “rapidly turn around these fortunes and begin to demonstrate the worth and value of this staggering investment of taxpayers’ money”.Today’s report called on test and trace to put in place a clear plan to reduce its reliance on costly consultants. And it said DHSC should produce a strategy within the next six to nine months for maintaining testing readiness for future pandemics.“Not only is it essential it delivers an effective system as pupils return to school and more people return to their workplace, but for the billions of pounds spent we need to see a top-class legacy system,” said Ms Hillier. “British taxpayers cannot be treated by government like an ATM machine. We need to see a clear plan and costs better controlled.”Today’s report follows a National Audit Office analysis in December which found that too few test results were delivered within 24 hours and too few contacts told to self-isolate.
UK news in picturesShow all 51 More

Brussels could initiate legal action against the UK this week over Boris Johnson’s government’s decision to unilaterally extend the grace period for fully implementing the Brexit agreement.According to RTE News, the European Commission is set to issue a formal notice to London in the coming days alongside a letter to the EU-UK Joint Committee —  triggering the dispute settlement mechanism contained in the Brexit withdrawal agreement. An EU source did not dispute the account when approached by The Independent.On Tuesday, diplomats from EU member states also convened and agreed to back proposals for legal action against Mr Johnson’s government’s move to extend the “grace period” to the Northern Ireland Protocol.The grace period — a temporary relaxation of checks for supermarkets and suppliers — was put in place to allow firms time to adapt to new trade barriers across the Irish Sea and was due to expire at the end of March.But Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, infuriated Brussels last week as he unilaterally announced the UK would be “taking several operational steps to avoid a disruptive cliff edges” and that the grace period would be extended until October.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“For supermarkets and their suppliers, as part of the operational plan the UK committed to at the UK-EU Joint Committee on 24 February, the current scheme for temporary agrifood movements to Northern Ireland (STAMNI) will continue until 1 October,” he said.“Certification requirements will then be introduced in phases alongside the roll-out of the digital assistance scheme.”Negotiations over an extension to the grace period were ongoing between Brussels and London and ministers had asked the EU to extend the grace period until 2023.Speaking during a No 10 press conference this week, Mr Johnson insisted “goodwill and imagination” were all that was needed to iron out what he he claimed were “teething problems” in the agreement.Northern Ireland’s first minister, Arlene Foster, however, described the Commission’s reaction to the UK move to delay the full implementation of the protocol as “hysterical” and expressed confidence the government would defend any legal action.“As I understand it from the secretary of state (Brandon Lewis) last week, the attorney general has indicated that the small moves that were made by the United Kingdom government are legal and therefore any legal action that will be taken I’m sure will be fought,” Ms Foster said.“I hope that doesn’t end up being the case, I think there has been a bit of a hysterical reaction actually to some very small moves.“You know the position of my party — we believe that we need to see the protocol replaced because it’s the architecture of the protocol which is causing all of these difficulties.” More

One option floated today would be to charge the £13 levy on only one leg of a return flight between UK destinations, effectively halving the level of the tax, which raises £3.7bn annually.Mr Johnson’s green light for a consultation on the move was warmly welcomed by the industry, with Airlines UK hailing it as a boost to carriers facing an “existential threat” to their future after a year of restrictions to travel.It came in response to the interim report, published today, of Sir Peter Hendy’s Union Connectivity Review into improving transport links between the four nations of the UK.Mr Johnson also announced £20m to explore potential investments including:- Better rail links between the north coast of Wales and England.- Upgrade for the A75 road linking Scotland’s Cairnryan ferry port to Northern Ireland with the motorway system.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- “Significantly” faster rail links between England and Scotland, including the West Coast main line.- Rail improvements in southeast Wales.Sir Peter’s report confirmed the appointment of engineering experts Doug Oakervee and Gordon Masterson to look into the “feasibility, cost and timescales” for Mr Johnson’s pet project of a bridge or tunnel to link mainland Britain to Northern Ireland.But the report devoted only a few lines to the project, which is regarded by many experts as an undeliverable pipedream, and Sir Peter made a point of stating that he had been asked specifically to consider the fixed-link proposal and that work on it would be conducted separately to the rest of his inquiry.Sir Peter’s report proposed a UK Strategic Transport Network to help connect all parts of the UK by road, rail, sea and air. A final report in the summer is expected to identify specific upgrades which could form the backbone of the network ahead of the allocation of funds in the government’s spending review, expected this autumn.As well as the option of a “return leg exemption” for APD, the consultation will look at the possibility of a new lower rate for domestic flights.Reduction or abolition of APD on domestic flights has long been a demand of the UK aviation industry, particularly airlines and airports serving Northern Ireland.When air passenger duty was first introduced by Conservative chancellor Ken Clarke in 1995, the £5 flat rate for short-haul flights was charged on only one leg of return domestic trips. But under European Union rules the UK was later obliged to apply it to both flights.Airlines UK CEO Tim Alderslade welcomed the news that the consultation, first promised in last year’s Budget, will go ahead in the spring.“This is really positive news that will help support regional connectivity, level up the UK, and provide a welcome measure of relief to domestic carriers facing an existential threat from the impacts of Covid,” said Mr Alderslade. “It will help to sustain current domestic connections – including into Heathrow, our national hub, as well as all the regions of the UK – which is essential to achieving economic growth and supporting the government’s Global Britain agenda. “We look forward to working further with the Hendy Review and ministers and would urge as much speed as possible in the consultation process.”Mr Johnson said that the connectivity review would deliver the tools to provide a UK-wide transport network.“We will harness the incredible power of infrastructure to level-up parts of our country that have too long been left off the transport map,” he promised.“And I also want to cut passenger duty on domestic flights so we can support connectivity across the country.”Sir Peter said he had  spoken with over 100 organisations and received nearly 150 submissions to his inquiry, identifying shortcomings in the UK’s transport links.“Devolution has been good for transport but it has also led to a lack of attention to connectivity between the four nations, due to competing priorities and complex funding,” he said. “A UK Strategic Transport Network could resolve this.”The Department for Transport also announced a contest for innovative ideas for zero-emission vehicles, with a potential share of £20m funding up for grabs for successful applicants.The competition came as the DFT confirmed the government’s target of all new cars and vans being zero-emission by 2035. More

You might not believe it by the long-running and often vicious arguments about the incomes of junior doctors and nurses, but the issue of NHS pay was supposed to have been taken out of politics long ago. The NHS Pay Review Body dates back half a century and was designed to bring a rational, fact-based approach to arbitrating annual pay awards, with the aim of avoiding industrial action, which all concerned agree would have some detrimental effect on patient care. The heat was to be taken out of the arguments by delegating them to experts. It hasn’t always happened. The concept is a typically corporatist one, and made into reality through a tortuous bureaucratic procedure. This has the disadvantage of being complicated and cumbersome; yet it has the great advantage of being flexible enough to allow for the shifting positions of government, health trusts and the unions to be accommodated in the process of agreeing an eventual messy compromise. Thus, all interested parties involved submit a “recommendation” about a pay increase to the Pay Review Body around now. (This is all the government’s “offer” of a 1 per cent rise represents – the very first stage in a long rigmarole. It may be an “insult”, but it is not the final insult.) Similar pay review bodies operate for the police, armed forces and civil servants. More