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Watch live as Boris Johnson faces Keir Starmer and MPs at PMQsThe government will not ditch the Northern Ireland protocol but will work to improve post-Brexit trade disruption in the territory, a minister has said. This comes after unionists called for it to be scapped, claiming that customs checks across the Irish Sea threatened the constitutional “integrity” of the UK. Ahead of a meeting between the UK and the EU on Wednesday to discuss the situation, Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, told BBC Radio Ulster that the protocol should remain in place but should be “put right”. Asked whether it should be scrapped, he said: “No, the protocol is a legal agreement that’s there, that’s in place, and we’ve got to make sure that we make it work in a positive way for people in Northern Ireland.”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 weekdayShow latest update
1614177471David Cameron tells PM to be ‘muscular’ in reshaping economy David Cameron has said that Boris Johnson should be more interventionist in order to achieve a green recovery after the pandemic. Speaking to the Guardian, the former prime minister added that Mr Johnson’s approach to reshaping the economy needed to be “muscular”. “My advice would be…you have to roll up your sleeves and be quite muscular in your interventionism,” he said.Here’s our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin with more details: Rory Sullivan24 February 2021 14:371614176561Williamson to lead Downing Street press conference at 5pmEducation secretary Gavin Williamson will lead today’s 5pm press conference from Downing Street. Jenny Harries, England’s deputy chief medical officer, will also be speaking. More

The team behind the Oxford University coronavirus vaccine is assessing the possibility of creating tablets or nasal sprays to replace jabs in the future, lead researcher Sarah Gilbert has said.Appearing in front of the Commons Science and Technology Committee, professor Gilbert also warned that easing Covid restrictions too quickly could result in higher transmission and increase the risk of new variants emerging with more resistance to existing vaccines.Professor Gilbert told MPs that “we are also thinking about second generation formulations of vaccines” which could replace injections, but warned they would “take time to develop”.“We have flu vaccines that are given by nasal spray — and this could be a very good approach in the future to use vaccines against coronaviruses,” she told MPs on Wednesday.“It is also possible to consider oral vaccination where you have to take a tablet that will give the immunisation, and that would have a lot of benefits for vaccine rollout — if you didn’t need to use the needles and syringes for people.”Professor Gilbert added: “Both of those are approaches which we are beginning to asses. They will take time to develop. 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“They will have to be tested for safety and then for efficacy as well because the immune responses that will be generated by both of those approaches will be a little bit different to what we get from an intramuscular injection. “But they have potentially large advantages and so that’s where we’re going to be focusing our attention on working out if we could use different delivery routes in the future for these vaccines”.Speaking last month, Ms Bingham, who was tasked with procuring vaccines on behalf of the UK government last year, said that two injections delivered by health care professionals was “not a good way of delivering vaccines”. In an interview with the BBC, the former vaccine taskforce chief insisted: “We need to get vaccine formats which are much more scalable and distributable, so whether they are pills or patches or nose sprays.”Ms Bingham said the UK needed to be working together with international partners to “develop those tweaked vaccines that will address new variants, which will inevitably arise because that’s what viruses do they mutate, and we need to improve the vaccine format.”Addressing the easing of restrictions, professor Gilbert also told the committee that in order to ensure the UK has the “lowest chance” of new variants emerging “we need to prevent the virus from transmitting between people” – something she said the vaccine was already doing effectively.“We cannot allow only the vaccines to do all the work of protecting the population, while at the current time in the UK we still have relatively high levels of transmission,” she told MPs.“And there is a danger that if measures are lifted too quickly that transmission could increase, and that puts us at a greater risk of selection of new variants that are not so well effectively neutralised by the virus.“It wouldn’t be all or nothing but it could be a significant change, and we want to minimise the chances of that happening as much as we possibly can.” More

Speaking at prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons, Mr Johnson said that the campaign against the Uighur people in the western province of Xinjiang was “appalling” and did not absolutely rule out snubbing the Games in Beijing in February 2022.But he made clear he does not back a stay-away order for UK athletes, telling MPs: “We’re not normally in favour of sporting boycotts in this country and that’s been the long-standing position of this government.”Foreign secretary Dominic Raab raised the prospect of a boycott in October last year, when he told a committee of MPs: “Generally speaking, my instinct is to separate sport from diplomacy and politics. “But there comes a point where that may not be possible. I would say let’s gather the evidence, let’s work with our international partners, let’s consider in the round what further action we need to take.”But the PM’s words today indicate that the UK will not be at the forefront of any drive for a boycott, and will join one only reluctantly.His comments came a day after the House of Lords voted for a third time for changes to legislation to prevent trade deals with countries guilty of genocide, in a move directed at China over credible reports of its use of forced labour camps in Xinjiang.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 weekdayLiberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged Mr Johnson to commit the UK to staying away from the Beijing Games unless the Chinese authorities cease persecution of the Uighur people “Today, millions of Uighur people in China live in fear under a cruel regime,” Sir Ed told the Commons.“The BBC, international media and human rights NGOs (non-governmental organisations) are all reporting on forced labour camps, women being raped and sterilised and families being separated. “This is a genocide happening in front of our eyes.”And the Lib Dem leader asked: “Does the Prime Minister agree with me that, unless China enters this genocide, Britain and team GB should boycott the Winter Olympics in Beijing next year?”Mr Johnson said that Davey was “absolutely right to highlight the appalling campaign against the Uighurs in Xinjiang”, and pointed to action taken by the government to ensure that no British companies are complicit in violations of human rights.“We are leading international action in the UN to hold China to account and will continue to work with the US, friends and partners around the world to do just that.”But he added: “We’re not normally in favour of sporting boycotts in this country and that’s been the long-standing position of this government.” More

Health secretary Matt Hancock appears to have removed a photograph of the local pub formally run by an acquaintance caught up in controversy over a government Covid contract.A company owned by Alex Bourne – the former landlord of Mr Hancock’s local pub the Cock Inn – is currently under investigation by the UK’s medical regulator over a contract to produce Covid test vials for the NHS.In recent months Mr Hancock has been seen doing live TV interviews with a framed photo of the Cock Inn, located in his West Suffolk constituency, on the wall of his study.However, on Tuesday, a different picture could be seen over the minister’s right shoulder when he made a series of media appearances.Earlier this week the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency confirmed it was “currently investigating” Mr Bourne’s firm Hinpack, after it secured a multi million-pound government contract.Last year it was widely reported that Mr Bourne had messaged the health secretary to offer his firm’s services after obtaining Mr Hancock’s phone number from a mutual friend.Mr Bourne has acknowledged contacting the health secretary via WhatsApp – but has denied any impropriety. He said on Sunday that he had heard “nothing” from the MHRA on its investigation.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 weekdayAsked about Mr Bourne and Hinpack in December, Mr Hancock said: “I had absolutely nothing to do with that contract.” More

One of Boris Johnson’s predecessors has called on the government to be more interventionist to drive a green recovery after the coronavirus crisis.The prime minister has said he wants a new ‘green industrial revolution’ to generate hundreds of thousands of new jobs. But David Cameron has urged Mr Johnson to be “muscular” in reshaping the economy.Mr Cameron, who as prime minister was famous for pursuing ‘austerity’ policies as he steered the UK’s attempt to recover from the 2008 financial crisis, made his comments in an interview with the Guardian.He said there was “every opportunity for this recovery to be a green recovery.”But he added: “The government has got a strong framework for green energy policy and in green investment, much of which we put in place, but it needs to combine that with active assistance and helping with key green investments that can make a difference.”He suggested an example of what he meant could be seen in his government’s encouragement of the German company Siemens to build a wind turbine factory in Hull. 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 weekdayMr Cameron said: “That is a transformational investment, that only happened because we really helped to make it happen. We cleared all the obstacles out of the way, we helped in lots of different ways. And I think there’ll be lots of opportunities like that (for Mr Johnson).” He added: “My advice would be, from what I learnt, is that as well as the framework [of climate and economic policy], you have to roll up your sleeves and be quite muscular in your interventionism.”The idea would not be incompatible with Mr Johnson’s political beliefs, he argued.“[Being] Conservative is not intervening everywhere all the time but being quite selective. That’s what Margaret Thatcher was with the motor industry, getting Toyota and Nissan and Honda to come to Britain,” he said.In November Mr Johnson set out his 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution in the UK. In the interview, Mr Cameron also reiterated his concerns about the government’s decision to cut the overseas aid budget, from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent for a limited period.Mr Cameron described the move as “a big mistake” ahead of Cop26 climate change conference hosted by the UK later this year and the UK’s G7 presidency. “It’s both a tragedy and a mistake … particularly as Britain is making its way in the post-Brexit world and wants to prove that it is a global power and can still punch above its weight, and has important elements of soft power. Our aid budget was an absolutely key element [of soft power],” he said.But he refused to criticise the government for its controversial decision to green light a new coal mine in Cumbria. “I need to look at this more,” he said. “When I was prime minister, we really moved decisively away from coal for power. We still have an iron and steel industry that imports coking coal.”But he added: “I try to limit my criticism of the government to one at any one time.” More

A slowdown in coronavirus vaccination rates is to be expected, officials have said, as the number of first doses administered dropped under 200,000 for two days in a row. Both a government minister and scientific adviser offered reassurance the figure would pick up again, following the recent dip to a level not seen since mid-January.When asked about concerns over the drop in daily vaccination rates, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer for England, said it was “very simple” to explain.“There are always going to be supply fluctuations. These are new vaccines, by and large the manufacturers have not made them or anything like them before,” he told Sky News on Wednesday.“The process of making a vaccine is one where, basically, you set the equipment up and leave it all to do its thing — a bit like beer-making really.“What you get at the end is not something that you can say is identical every time in terms of the yield, the amount of doses you can then make from that batch.”The deputy chief medical officer said it was “natural” to get variations in batch size because of this and it would take “a few months” before the manufacturers can get into a steady routine. There were also “global supply constraints”, he added.Prof Van-Tam said he was “confident in the long-term” the UK would meet its vaccination targets, and believed the “slowdown” seen in data from the last few days would “suddenly pick up again”.Around 141,000 people in the UK received their first dose of a coronavirus jab on 21 February, followed by 192,000 did on 22 February. The figure had been over 200,000 for weeks.More than 300,000 people were vaccinated every day between 16 and 20 February.The last time the daily vaccination figure previously dipped below 200,000 was on 17 January, when around 191,000 people in the UK received their first dose, according to government data. A government minister said he understood “people will raise concerns” but insisted there were no issues in the supply chain.“There is no problem in terms of flow of vaccines,” Gavin Williamson told radio station LBC on Wednesday, when asked about concerns.“We will be hitting incredibly high numbers. The prime minister has already made it clear we will be hitting all the adult population in record speed.”The government has said every adult in the UK will be offered a vaccine by the end of July in an acceleration of the rollout.Speaking about recent daily rates, Mr Williamson told LBC: “There will always be some days where it dips lower.” The education secretary added: “I have every confidence it will be rebounding back very shortly.”More than 17.9 million people in the UK had received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine as of Monday, according to government data, while over 642,000 had received their second. More

A Scottish Conservative MSP on the committee investigating the Scottish government’s botched handling of complaints against Alex Salmond has claimed he is “heartily sick of the whole affair”.The former first minister pulled out of Wednesday’s scheduled appearance at the committee after parliamentary authorities removed, redacted and republished an edited version of his written evidence.MSP Murdo Fraser condemned the decision to redact parts of Mr Salmond’s claims about Nicola Sturgeon following “grave concerns” raised by the Crown Office about its publication.“As a member of the parliamentary committee investigating the matter, I am heartily sick of the whole affair,” said the Tory politician in an article for The Scotsman. “I am sick of the lies, the evasion, the deceit, the obstruction, and the obfuscation.”Mr Fraser claimed the “whole sorry story” of the inquiry had revealed the Scottish government to be a “cesspit of vipers obsessed with personal vendettas, tearing at each other and destroying public trust”.The MSP also criticised the Crown Office – the body responsible for prosecuting crimes in Scotland – for “threatening the Scottish parliament with criminal proceedings” if the evidence was not redacted.“In his written submission, Salmond claims that the Crown Office acted under political influence,” Mr Murdo said. “The action taken yesterday would suggest that the Crown Office is out to prove his case for him.”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 comes as Mr Salmond’s lawyers announced that they would be writing to the Lord Advocate – Scotland’s top law officer – to ask for an explanation for the Crown Office’s “astonishing” and “highly irregular action”.Questioning why the Crown Office waited until this week to intervene, his legal team asked: “What new information or intervention led to such a dramatic expansion of the material which the parliament has been required to redact?”Acting Scottish Labour leader Jackie Baillie, who sits on the inquiry committee, has demanded to see the Crown Office’s letter to the Scottish parliament’s corporate body.The Labour MSP also said the Lord Advocate, “should be invited to come before parliament and make an urgent statement” about the matter.Despite being in the public domain for approximately 16 hours, the parliament’s corporate body decided to pull the evidence from its website on Tuesday afternoon and censor sections.Mr Salmond’s lawyers said there was a “material risk” for him in giving evidence to the committee, and demanded to know the legal justification for the redactions. His legal team said he could still appear on Friday if an agreement can be reached.The committee is set to meet in private on Wednesday to discuss “the implications of Mr Salmond’s response and the next steps for its work”.Influential SNP councillor Chris McEleny appealed to Ms Sturgeon to help ease the damage done by the endless wrangling over the inquiry.He tweeted: “Stop this madness that your officials and staff are responsible for which is ruining the hard earned reputation of our parliament and jeopardising the cause of independence.” More

Gavin Williamson has confirmed secondary schools will be given a week to bring all pupils back to classrooms in order to navigate the logistical challenge of administering Covid-19 tests onsite.The education secretary’s remarks came after Boris Johnson announced the return of all schools on 8 March in England, unveiling plans for twice-weekly rapid home testing for all secondary and college pupils.Initially, students will be asked to use lateral flow devices onsite when they return — and if they test negative, they will be allowed to resume face-to-face classes. In total pupils will be asked to take three tests on return before being requested to start using testing kits at home.“As you see in the guidance it says explicitly they’ll be three Covid tests over a two-week period for secondary school pupils,” Mr Williamson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.“Schools will be able to bring year groups in from 8 March, depending on their capacity as to how they are best able to do that. They’ve got a week to bring all those pupils back so they can be tested during that week.Pressed on whether all pupils would be back on 8 March — the date in the government’s roadmap for the return to face-to-face teaching — the education secretary replied: “All schools are open, back on 8 March. “Schools will, if they think they’ve got the capacity to get all the pupils through by the 8 March, of course they can have them all there. All primary schools will be coming back on 8 March as well.”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 weekdayHe added: “What we are doing is supporting schools. But we do recognise it is a big logistical task and as soon as these three tests have been completed then children will be getting their home testing kits so that they are able to take those kits home in order to do a test on themselves having learnt how to do it with the supervision of adults during that first two-week period.”Earlier this week,  the Association of School and College Leavers said the return may need to be staggered over two weeks due to the “huge logistical challenge” presented by administering Covid tests onsite.Julie McCulloch, the director of policy at the organisation, told The Times: “We think it is extremely unlikely that there will be secondary schools able to welcome back all their pupils on 8 March. Testing all secondary school pupils three times onsite is a huge logistical challenge.“Without significant extra support some schools and colleges may need longer than a week to enable all students to be tested prior to returning to the classroom. We expect the government to show a spirit of understanding, particularly as it has handed schools and colleges the job of carrying out a medical task with very little support.”Mr Williamson also said on Wednesday that the policy of advising all secondary and college pupils to wear face masks on school premises, including inside classrooms, will be reviewed over Easter.“We’re reviewing that at the Easter holidays to see if that has had a positive impact, and the impact that Public Health England would feel is right, or whether it’s going to continue to necessary,” Mr Williamson said.However, he declined to rule out the possibility of the advice being in place until 21 June — the final date in the government’s roadmap to easing restrictions and when the majority of measures are set to be scrapped.The roadmap to easing restrictions — published on Monday — said: “The government recommends that the use of face coverings in higher education, further education and secondary schools is extended for a limited period to all indoor environments – including classrooms – unless 2m social distancing can be maintained.” More