Markus Andrews

Barriers to trade caused by Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal are set to cost UK e-commerce importers more than £5 billion a year, a new report has warned. The introduction of new Brexit red tape and VAT charges from 1 January has already caused “major problems” to 35 per cent of retailers and traders importing from the EU, with large numbers of parcels blocked or returned and deliveries cancelled, said the report by international delivery company ParcelHero.And the crisis also affects parcels travelling between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland, with 38 per cent of companies which send goods on the route reporting reduced deliveries in the run-up to the scheduled 31 March expiry of awaiver agreed with Brussels on customs declarations on parcels, the report found.The warning came as the UK faces the threat of legal action from Brussels for declaring it will breach the Northern Ireland Protocol by unilaterally extending the “grace period” for checks on parcels and supermarket deliveries to October.The announcement prompted the European Parliament to postpone the planned ratification of Mr Johnson’s Christmas Eve Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) with Brussels. And European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič, has said that “infringement proceedings” are being prepared and are “coming to our table very soon”.But challenged over the crisis by The Independent, Mr Johnson told a press conference on Monday that he was “optimistic” that the row over grace periods could be “sorted out  … with goodwill and with imagination”. He continued to describe the obstacles faced by traders as “teething problems”.The new report found that unless barriers to e-commerce between the UK and EU are overcome, a 35 per cent drop in e-commerce imports is “likely”, equating to a £5.25bn hit to UK importers in lost sales and extra costs.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 weekdayProblems include new tariffs on items made outside the EU which are brought into the UK from the 27-nation bloc; onerous new requirements to provide “proof of origin” documentation; the rejection of consignments at customs due to incorrect paperwork; and confusion over VAT rules which can see recipients of parcels charged 20 per cent tax.The report found growing stockpiles of returned items, such as clothing, building up because it is now cheaper to write them off than take them back if rejected by consumers.And it said that most international couriers have introduced charges of £4-£11 a parcel for any shipment crossing the EU/UK border to cover the additional cost of trading, “dramatically” pushing up the final price paid by UK shoppers.It recommended the removal of a 12 per cent tariff on all clothing with a value of £135 originating outside the EU or UK, currently imposed when the parcel is moved between the EU and UK.ParcelHero head of consumer research David Jinks said: “The government’s Brexit rollout is going to hell in a handcart. The prime minister must return to the negotiating table to sort out the escalating issues facing the UK’s beleaguered retailers.“ParcelHero’s new report reveals that the crisis around ‘proof of origin’ – where exactly an item was made and sourced – means 35 per cent of UK retailers and traders importing from the EU are experiencing major problems. As the crisis unfolds, it’s likely we will see a corresponding 35 per cent drop in e-commerce imports, which will cost UK importers £5.25bn in higher prices on goods, lost sales and border fees.“To add to Britain’s Brexit woes, the government is now facing legal action by the EU after it unilaterally decided last week to extend the grace period on parcel checks and agri-foods at Northern Ireland borders until October.“Clearly, the introduction of new checks and potential tariffs on parcels sent within the UK itself is ludicrous. What we did not envisage was that the government would simply kick the problem into the long grass, without even agreeing to a delay with our EU trading partners.“The EU could now take the UK to the European Court of Justice or push for arbitration under the terms of the EU-UK trade deal. Either action will do little to smooth the increasingly testy relations between Britain and Europe.‘In the case of both EU-UK e-commerce imports and Great Britain-Northern Ireland parcel shipments, the big problem is new tariffs on products originating outside the EU or UK. Clothing valued at over £135 is likely to incur tariffs of around 12 per cent, for example. This is certainly not free trade. Axing this requirement would eliminate the need for checks on the majority of parcels and resolve most of the areas of disagreement between Britain and the EU.” More

The post-Brexit trade agreement has made it difficult for the Jewish community in Northern Ireland to get kosher meat in time for the Passover festival, the DUP has said.Disruption to supply chains caused by additional red tape since the end of the transition period has led to a series of bureaucratic obstacles, including interrupting supplies of specialist cricket soil from Great Britain.The Jewish Passover festival begins towards the end of March, and a central part of the meal is lamb. Northern Ireland has a small Jewish community centred around north Belfast.“This is something which is very concerning,” first minister Arlene Foster said.“We have a very small Jewish community here in Northern Ireland. The fact that they cannot access kosher meat is something that would cause me a great deal of concern.”The UK government has unilaterally extended some grace periods associated with the protocol to try and avoid a cliff-edge plunge into extra paperwork.But the EU has threatened legal action and described the decision to extend grace periods as a potential breach of international law.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 DUP is opposed to the Northern Ireland Protocol and has vowed to overthrow it, amid fears it damages the integrity of the UK internal market and Northern Ireland’s place in it.Mrs Foster told the Stormont Assembly the protocol was affecting trade and identity for unionists, and called for a “replacement of the protocol”.“There is a need to deal with that urgently because there is damage happening to the economy in northern Ireland,” she said, adding the variation had to happen otherwise some product lines would have quickly dried up.“I listened very clearly to what the business community want and they do not want the continuation of what we have seen in this protocol.”Meanwhile, John Stewart, an Ulster Unionist Assembly member, said a ban on bringing in specialist cricket pitch soil — known as loam — from England because of the protocol is farcical.He said: “Here we have another example of the EU using a sledgehammer to crack a non-existent nut.“There is no threat to the European single market or EU plant health standards by continuing the age-old tradition of bringing in ‘loam’ to create, build and maintain cricket pitches throughout Northern Ireland, and the Republic for that matter.“Groundsmen across the country have been told that it is currently prohibited and it is not an exaggeration to say that this prohibition could threaten the future of cricket here.”Additional reporting by PA More

The first minister is expected to announce an easing of lockdown restrictions as new cases of the virus continue to fall.On 7 March, Scotland reported 501 new cases of Covid-19, down from 555 the previous day. Health officials recorded one death, down from 12.Some 1,774,659 people have received the first dose of the Covid vaccination and 118,732 have received their second dose.Lockdown regulations began to lift last month as Scotland’s youngest schoolchildren resumed lessons after months of learning at home.Ms Sturgeon is scheduled to address the Scottish parliament at Holyrood in the afternoon, when an easing of the rules on outdoor meetings is expected.Older primary children are expected to return to school full time from 15 March – with secondary school pupils also to get some time back in the classroom from this date, before returning full-time after the Easter holiday.On Friday Ms Sturgeon indicated “good progress” with the vaccination programme and the falling number of infections could mean that “greater normality is firmly on the horizon”.She said then she was “hopeful” the Scottish government may be able to make some “relatively minor, but I think important, changes in our ability to meet outdoors and also how young people are able to interact with their friends outdoors”.Deputy first minister John Swinney confirmed on Monday any changes to the current lockdown regime would be set out by Ms Sturgeon. More

A senior cabinet minister has said he hopes NHS staff will be given an “appropriate” pay rise, suggesting Boris Johnson’s government could still perform a U-turn over the proposed 1 per cent increase.Ministers have faced a furious outcry after setting out the planned increase – a sum branded “pitiful” and “insulting” by Labour and the health unions.However, justice secretary Robert Buckland appeared to strike a more conciliatory note on Tuesday, saying that the submission to the NHS pay review body was only the “beginning of a process”.“The final recommendations have not yet been made,” he told BBC Breakfast. “We have got to remember that in large other swathes of the public sector there will be a pay freeze save for the lowest paid. I don’t think at the moment we are at the end of this process.“I think that we need to see what the recommendations are, and I very much hope that the outcome … that the work that has been done by NHS workers will be recognised in a way that is appropriate.”He added: “It is not for me to start to prejudge what the outcome of the negotiations is. I am simply pointing out that we are at the beginning of that process and we will have to see what the recommendations are.”The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is setting up a £35m industrial action fund in response to the recommended pay rise. The 1 per cent increase would amount to only £3.50 a week, the nursing union said.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 RCN described the prime minister as “out-of-touch” after he claimed on the government was looking after their wellbeing at his latest No 10 press conference.Dame Donna Kinnair, the union’s chief executive, said MrJohnson’s remarks “will appear blase to nursing staff who have been told they’re worth only an extra £3.50 after a decade of wage losses in the middle of a pandemic”.Labour shadow ministers call for ‘minimum’ 2.1% pay rise for nursesSir Simon Stevens, chief executive at NHS England and NHS Improvement, told MPs on Tuesday that he supported the government’s approach to resolving the dispute over NHS pay.Speaking at the Commons’ health and social care committee, Sir Simon said: “I think the right way to resolve this is the path the government has actually set out.“Which is to ask the independent pay review bodies to look at all of the evidence … and be able to independently make a fair recommendation so that NHS staff get the pay and reward that they deserve.”However, the NHS chief confirmed that government plans set out in 2019 had budgeted for NHS pay to rise by 2.1 per cent this year – an increase Labour MPs have demanded as the bare “minimum” offer.On Monday, Tory care minister Helen Whately told MPs the 2.1 per cent was not just for a pay rise, but for other existing NHS costs.Sir Simon told MPs: “At the time, the working assumption was that there would be available 2.1 per cent for the costs of the Agenda for Change pay group in 2021-22.” More

The Police, Crime, Security and Courts Bill will impose new requirements to notify the police and to cut noise, as well as restricting the ability to inconvenience Parliament.Robert Buckland, the justice secretary, did not dispute that the legislation was “a direct response to the climate movement” and the challenge posed by Extinction Rebellion.“We’ve got to think about the sometimes huge inconvenience caused to other people going about their lawful business,” he said.The government is believed to be seeking to make it illegal for protesters to obstruct Parliament, the courts, or the distribution of newspapers and the work of broadcast media.There could also be restrictions on where demonstrations can be staged including barring them from critical national infrastructure.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 weekdayMinisters have backed away from exploring whether the organisation should be classed an organised crime group, focusing on its tactics instead.It is expected to become a legal offence for activists to block the gates in and out of Parliament, with “buffer zones” to prevent gatherings within set distances.A requirement for protestors to give seven days’ notice of demonstrations in Parliament Square – repealed a decade ago – could be reinstated. And anyone damaging a memorial would face up to 10 years in prison, with the scrapping of a rule that limits jail terms to three months unless more than £5,000 worth of damage is caused.Asked about the crackdown on Sky News, Mr Buckland was asked: “Two words spring instantly to mind – Extinction Rebellion. This is a direct response to the climate movement isn’t it?”He said: “It’s a response to the fact that, while freedom of expression, the right to protest, are the heart of our civil liberties, we’ve got to think about the sometimes huge inconvenience caused to other people going about their lawful business.”Insisting the legislation “gets the balance right”, Mr Buckland pointed to “the rights of other people who choose not to take part in these events – but who often face great inconvenience and sometimes worse as a result of what happens”. Last month, the home secretary, asked about the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, said: “Those protests were dreadful.”“We saw statues being brought down,” she said, adding: “Some councils making, quite frankly, a stance around statues and street names. There are other ways in which those discussions can took place.” Ms Patel also said: “I don’t support protest,” before, after being interrupted, seeking to clarify that she was not criticising the right to protest itself, but rather the “dreadful” BLM marchers. More

A former DUP councillor who left the party has spoken out about its “hateful” and “bitter” actions towards him.Guy Spence, who served as Belfast deputy mayor, said he is now a “happier and more resilient man” after announcing he would quit the DUP in March 2020, having “lost all confidence” in the party.”This day last year I left the DUP,” Mr Spence tweeted on Saturday, marking the anniversary of his departure. “After many years I couldn’t stand for the twisted, bitter & hateful actions set out against me & my values. “Fuelled by those wanting to cause me harm.”He added: “Today I say thank you. You made me a stronger, healthier, happier & more resilient man!”In a statement announcing his unexpected resignation last year, Mr Spence said: “For the last year or more I have been wrestling my conscience watching party values be tossed aside often by personal agendas for individual gain.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”I have lost all confidence in the party, in particular its integrity, making my position within it untenable.”The specific reasons for Mr Spence’s departure remain unclear. He was considered one of the party’s more liberal councillors and had previously voiced support for the LGBT+ community.In a statement following Mr Spence’s resignation, the DUP thanked Mr Spence for his service. The Independent has contacted the party for additional comment.Mr Spence was elected to office in 2011 aged 19.In a 2015 interview with the Belfast Telegraph, he cited former Belfast North MP Lord Nigel Dodds, and Belfast East MP Gavin Robinson as two influences on his political career.”It’s a big thing to give a 19-year-old an opportunity – not just in politics, but to trust me enough to give me a position in elected politics where you are under scrutiny every day,” he said.”The person who had the confidence in me to do that was Nigel Dodds. The whole team within the City Hall were also fantastic, particularly someone who had already walked the same path as a young man, Gavin Robinson. They have all been terrific.” More

“Allegations, accusations have been made – they obviously need to be looked at,” said Jonathan Ashworth, the party’s health spokesman.Asked how the investigation should be carried out, Mr Ashworth replied: “That is a matter for the Palace and they will need to come forward with a process.”And – after more than 24 hours of silence from the royal family – he told BBC Radio 4: “I think people will expect them to make a response.”The comments come after criticism of Boris Johnson for refusing to make any comment on the couple’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, despite the controversies raised. The duchess claimed that an unnamed member of the royal family voiced concerns about the colour of their unborn baby’s skin.The couple made a string of other claims, including that Meghan’s pleas for help when she was feeling suicidal were ignored by Palace courtiers.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 was reported that the Queen refused to sign off a statement that officials had hoped would lower tensions by stressing the family’s love and concern for the couple, to allow more time to consider her response.Some have noted that more time has passed than it took for the Palace to respond to last week’s bullying allegations against Meghan – when it announced it would investigate her behaviour. Buckingham Palace has been thrown into turmoil, particularly by the claim of comments made about Archie’s skin colour – after Ms Winfrey clarified that they were made by neither the Queen nor Prince Philip.Senior ministers have privately expressed fears that the accusations will eventually be made directly against a very senior member of the royal family, causing huge damage to the monarchy.Ducking the controversy at a press conference, the prime minister yesterday said only that he had “the highest admiration for the Queen and the unifying role that she plays in our country”.Robert Buckland, the justice secretary, also refused to add to what he called “the running commentary”, in interviews on Tuesday morning.“It is not right for me, as a member of the government, to start commenting on matters that are for the royal family,” he said. In contrast, Keir Starmer said the controversy was “bigger than the royal family”, saying: “For too many years we have been too dismissive and too willing to put these issues to one side.”One minister has commented, Zac Goldsmith – a close friend of the prime minister – targeting the duke and duchess by tweeting: “Harry is blowing up his family. What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.” More

The government should prepare for future pandemics by holding regular NHS war games across the health service, Labour will say on Tuesday.In a speech the shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth will accuse the Conservatives of having “weakened our defences” by failing to plan properly for outbreaks like Covid-19.And he will urge the creation of a new Office for Budget Responsibility-style watchdog to rate ministers’ pandemic preparedness in future.The party says the NHS went into the coronavirus crisis with 17,000 fewer beds than in 2010 and with a smaller health workforce compared to other advanced economies. The opposition’s most eye-catching recommendation is for regular “germ-games” that would test the state’s pandemic defences and help identify weak points.“Being on the back foot has cost lives. Labour would get on the front foot against future threats. Future resilience against pandemics isn’t a choice. It’s a necessity,” Mr Ashworth is expected to say at the speech to left-wing think-tank IPPR. “This pandemic has been devastating. Our NHS staff are exhausted, families are fatigued, over 120,000 have died and we’re suffering a deep economic hit. 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“Our vaccination programme is the light at the end of the tunnel, but with experts warning we are in an ‘era of pandemics’, this is no time for complacency. Viruses more deadly or contagious than Covid-19, or resistant to antibodies, could emerge. Pandemic threats are real and must be reduced.”Warning that Boris Johnson’s government “ignored the warnings and weakened our defences”, the shadow health secretary will claim that the Tories “left our country vulnerable and exposed when this pandemic hit”. More