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Nicola Sturgeon will on Tuesday set out more detailed plans for lifting Scotland’s lockdown restrictions as new Covid-19 cases and deaths continue to fall and pressure on NHS hospitals and staff eases.Scotland’s youngest schoolchildren resumed lessons on Monday and Ms Sturgeon is expected to announce the loosening of more rules beginning in March following months of lockdown.Under current regulations, everyone in mainland Scotland and some islands must stay at home unless for essential purposes such as work and exercise.Ms Sturgeon has previously warned that any easing of measures will be guided by data rather than dates, with a return to “normality” dependent upon falling numbers of Covid-19 hospitalisations.Prime minister Boris Johnson on Monday revealed his “roadmap” out of England’s lockdown. And while Scotland’s will not be identical, Ms Sturgeon said her plans will be “broadly similar”.”I think the principles will be the same – we’re living through the same pandemic,” she told Scotland’s daily Covid-19 briefing.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”There is a limit to how much it is sensible to diverge in the circumstances we’re facing in common but clearly we will make our own judgements about the particular order and the particular timing of that because the data is not identical in each of the four nations.”Ms Sturgeon did, however, confirm there would be an eventual return to the geographical “tier” system brought in in autumn last year. Mr Johnson confirmed England would not reintroduce tiered measures.The first minister is expected to address the Scottish parliament at around 2.15pm. We’ll be bringing you details of Ms Sturgeon’s speech as it happens on our liveblog. More

The Scottish parliamentary authorities have taken down Alex Salmond’s written evidence to a Holyrood inquiry and will redact parts of it after the Crown Office raised concerns.Mr Salmond’s submission to the committee examining the Scottish government’s botched handling of harassment claims was published on Monday evening, ahead of the former SNP leader’s scheduled appearance at the inquiry this Wednesday.In the evidence, Mr Salmond alleged Nicola Sturgeon had misled parliament and breached the ministerial code. He also criticised the Crown Office – the body responsible for prosecuting crimes in Scotland.The Crown Office subsequently wrote to parliament to express concerns about the evidence published – purportedly over the possibility it could amount to contempt of court.Despite being in the public domain for approximately 16 hours, Holyrood’s corporate body has now decided to pull the evidence from its website and censor sections before republishing an edited version.A Scottish parliament spokesperson said: “Following representations from the Crown Office on Monday evening, the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body agreed collectively this morning that it will remove the Alex Salmond submission on the ministerial code from its website with immediate effect and republish it later today in a redacted form.”A Crown Office spokesman said: “In all cases where the Crown becomes aware of issues of potential contempt, these will be considered carefully and action will be taken if considered appropriate.”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 Salmond’s lawyers have demanded the legal justification for parliamentary authorities’ redactions – and warned that the decision could jeopardised his planned appearance before the committee on Wednesday.The decision to remove 474 words from the evidence about whether Ms Sturgeon breached the ministerial code suggests there is a “material risk” for Mr Salmond if he appears committee, said David McKie of Levy and McRae solicitors.“We therefore require to see urgently the legal basis for the proposed redactions in order that we can properly advise our client and make further representations. These could have a material bearing on whether he is able to attend tomorrow.” More

Ministers are under increasing pressure over their plans to lift lockdown after one of the architects of the measures suggested the restrictions could be eased earlier than planned.Professor Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist from Imperial College, told Times Radio there was a “chance” the government’s schedule could be accelerated, although he conceded it was “faint”. But the health secretary Matt Hancock insisted England would return to normality “no earlier” than 21 June.The timeline was set out in an official ‘roadmap’ unveiled yesterday. But the plans have prompted anger from some Tory MPs and businesses who believe the successful Covid-19 vaccination programme should enable the government to move more swiftly.That view appeared to be echoed, albeit cautiously, by Professor Ferguson.He said:  “I think things become more uncertain the further forward in time you look. We’re getting better data on vaccine effectiveness, but it’s still not perfect. And in particular we don’t know, for those people who get vaccinated but still get infected, is their infectiousness reduced, for instance. 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“If it is then the vaccines may actually have a bigger impact than we are currently estimating. “We also don’t know exactly how much transmission will increase with each step. So this is the key. Hopefully, what we’ll see when each step happens is a very limited resurgence of infections and hopefully very limited resurgence of hospitalizations and deaths, in which case, there’s a faint chance that we can accelerate the schedule.”He said plans to reopen schools on 8 March would push up the ‘R’ number, but added that the continued rollout of the vaccine programme would act as a counterweight.“There is always a balancing act between the need for children to be in schools to get an education and the need to control coronavirus. And at the end of the day, that is a judgement call by the government, I’m not going to sit here and criticise on the basis that it isn’t optimal for controlling disease, I think it will- and our modelling suggests – it will be an acceptable level of risk, but there will be risk associated with it.” Asked during a visit to a school in south London whether his roadmap was too cautious, Boris Johnson said he thought the balance was “right”. “I think it’s a cautious but irreversible approach which is I think what people want to see,” he said. He warned that with each measure to open up society the government was “adding all the time to the budget of risk, and you need time to observe the impact of that”. More

Holocaust survivors have written to Boris Johnson pleading for a meeting over the “genocide amendment” to the trade bill ahead of the prospect of another Conservative rebellion over the fiercely contested issue.In an open letter to the prime minister, Ruth Barnett and Dorit Oliver Wolff said they are “deeply concerned” the UK government is “not doing enough whilst the genocide” against the Uighur Muslim minority in China’s Xinjiang province worsens.“As survivors of the Holocaust, we know the trauma of genocide,” they wrote. “We are writing to you to invite you to invite to meet with us ahead of the vote in the House of Commons of the genocide amendment.”The joint letter comes as the so-called genocide amendment to the government’s flagship Trade Bill continues through the legislative tussle between the House of Lords and Commons — known as parliamentary “ping pong”.Peers are insisting safeguards are put in place to prevent the UK signing free trade deals with foreign powers deemed guilty of genocide.With proposals still being rejected by No 10, the crossbench peer Lord Alton has put forward a fresh amendment proposing a parliamentary judicial committee to examine evidence of genocide — rather than the High Court as originally proposed.If peers inflict defeat on the government once again on Tuesday, the issue will be passed back for a vote of MPs in the Commons, paving the way for a possibility of a significant backbench Conservative rebellion.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 issue has gained in recent traction in recent months, with dozens of Tory MPs defying the government and voting for the measures, highlighting growing evidence of human rights abuses against the Uighur people, including reports of forced sterilisation, women being held in detention camps and rape.In their letter to Mr Johnson, the Holocaust survivors added: “Going forward as global Britain, the UK has a chance to be an international leader on this issue. We in the UK have identified the problems at the UN and with the limited jurisdictions of the international courts.“Yet, we are proposing no solutions to these problems. The obligation to prevent and punish genocide arises where the UK learns, or ought to learn, of a serious risk that genocide will be committed. It is imperative that the UK makes a preliminary determination of genocide whilst we still have time to act.”They added: “Trade is not worth the price of a people. We simply cannot stand by when others remain silent. We cannot stand by whilst we carry on business as usual. Please meet with us ahead of the vote on the genocide amendment to discuss the changes we urgent need to see.”Addressing the UN Human Rights Council earlier this week, the foreign secretary Dominic Raab urged the United Nations to respond to China’s “appalling treatment” of the Uighur people, suggesting “no-one can ignore the evidence anymore”.He added: “”We see almost daily reports now that shine a new light on China’s systematic human rights violations perpetrated against Uighur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang. The situation in Xinjiang is beyond the pale.“The reported abuses – which include torture, forced labour and forced sterilisation of women – are extreme and they are extensive. They are taking place on an industrial scale.” More

Labour has warned the decision to postpone enforcement measures against companies that do not report their gender pay gap by an extra six months could cause “permanent damage” to gender equality.Rules obliging private companies who employ more than 250 people to release their gender pay gap figures were suspended by the government last spring due to pandemic upheaval. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has now announced it will not start enforcement action against companies until six months after the usual deadline of 4 April by which companies must publish their gender pay gap data.Marsha de Cordova, Labour’s Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary, hit out at the move as she warned all available evidence demonstrated the Covid crisis is having “awful consequences” for women’s representation in the workforce.The Labour MP for Battersea said: “Now is the time to be dialling up measures to protect against discrimination and unequal pay, not delaying them.“With schools closed and women taking on the lion’s share of childcare responsibilities as well as young women being more likely to work in sectors shut down for almost a full year now, we need accountability and transparency on the gender pay gap immediately to avoid permanent damage.”Ms De Cordova and many other MPs and charities have repeatedly called for the government to urgently reinstate gender pay gap reporting throughout the pandemic.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 weekdayJoe Levenson, of Young Women’s Trust, which helps women on low or no pay, said: “Almost a year on from when enforcement of gender pay gap reporting was first suspended, we are disappointed that it is seemingly being delayed yet again. “It is vital that we have data on the gender pay gap as a matter of urgency, so we can properly understand the inequalities the pandemic has already worsened, and so that government policy can reflect this.“Alongside gender pay gap reporting we are also calling for the equality impact of every government policy to be assessed and reported on, as only this level of scrutiny will protect young women as we move into recovery from the pandemic.” He argued it is critical employers are forced to report on redundancies by “protected characteristics such as age, sex and ethnicity”. Mr Levenson added: “If the government is serious about levelling up and ensuring that no young women is left behind, it cannot ignore the experiences of diverse young women.”Kishwer Falkner, the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the decision to delay enforcement action had been to made to find “the right balance between supporting businesses still impacted by the pandemic and making sure employers comply with the law”.Rules obliging companies and other organisations to release their respective gender pay gap figures were implemented in 2017. Anger over the delays to gender pay gap reporting comes as campaigners raise fears the pandemic is further entrenching gender inequality.While recent research found women are twice as likely to need time off work with no pay to look after children due to schools closing under lockdown measures, many studies discovered women bore the brunt of childcare responsibilities, household chores and homeschooling during the first lockdown – regardless of whether they were juggling the tasks with paid work or not. Women have also been over-represented in sectors hit hardest by the pandemic, such as hospitality, retail, leisure, tourism and the arts, with a study by the University of Exeter finding women were almost twice as likely as men to have lost their job during the first wave of the virus.A government spokesperson said: “Throughout the pandemic this government has done whatever it takes to protect lives and livelihoods, and will continue to do so. We are safeguarding people’s jobs and incomes with economic schemes worth over £200 billion, including the Self Employment Income Scheme for the 1.7 million self-employed women in the UK.“Covid-19 is prompting a culture shift with more people than ever before working flexibly, and the government wants to harness that as we recover. By doing so, we could see more equal sharing of care work by parents, and more flexibility from employers, enabling us to unleash the potential of everyone across the country.” More

Boris Johnson has suggested that journalists are always “abusing” others and that “guilt” led him to swap the profession for politics.The prime minister made the comments while speaking to a group of schoolchildren.He told them: “When you are a journalist you think ‘great, great job…’“But the trouble is that… sometimes you find yourself always abusing people or attacking people.“Not that you want to abuse them or attack them but you are being critical …where maybe you feel sometimes a bit guilty about that, where maybe you have not put yourself in the place of the person you are criticising. And so I thought I would give it a go (politics).”But he added that he was in his mid-30s before he went into politics and his “strong” advice would be to do something else first. The prime minister’s press secretary Allegra Stratton denied his remarks were a comment on press reports about his fiancee Carrie Symonds. 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 weekdayMs Stratton told a Westminster media briefing: “That is the prime minister talking about the fact that for all of you as journalists, your job is to constantly challenge and that’s something that makes all of us in government better. The role of journalism is to constantly be asking the details and the finer points, as you have done on the roadmap.” Mr Johnson gave his views on journalism while on a visit to a south London school. During his long career in journalism Mr Johnson worked as columnist for the Daily Telegraph and was editor of the Spectator magazine. While serving as mayor of London he infamously dismissed the 250,000-a-year he earned from his second job writing columns as “chicken feed“.  His columns themselves also proved controversial, including in 1998 when he referred to gay men as “tank-topped bum boys”. He was also criticised for calling black people “piccaninnies“ and describing “watermelon smiles”. Labour called on Mr Johnson to apologise for today’s remarks. Chris Matheson, Labour’s shadow media minister, said: “For Boris Johnson to say journalists are ‘always abusing people’ probably says more about his own career.”It is particularly troubling coming so soon after the prime minister stood by one of his ministers who attacked a journalist who was just trying to do her job.”We know from Donald Trump that these kind of assaults on the free press are dangerous and designed to stir up distrust and division.“Boris Johnson should withdraw these remarks and apologise.” More

The world’s poorest countries could be charged for the “surplus” vaccines the UK passes on, a government minister has admitted.Lord Ahmad repeatedly refused to rule out making developing nations pay – triggering fresh criticism of the delays and uncertainty before any jabs are sent overseas.Now Lord Ahmad, a Foreign Office minister, has ducked questions about charges, saying “details of how and when the vaccines will be shared” are yet to be decided.“Can he confirm that the cost of the surplus doses for low-income countries will be met by the UK and that we are not just transferring the ability to buy the vaccine?” she asked.For developing countries, “one of the main issues is supply, but of course it is also cost”, the peer pointed out.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 response, Lord Ahmad said there would be “further discussions” with vaccine manufacturers and COVAX, the cross-government programme to share jabs across the world.But he then hinted at charges, saying: “We are contributing £548m for global equitable access through the COVAX AMC [Advance Market Commitment]. That remains the primary area of UK support.” Sarah Champion, the chair of the Commons international development committee, said: “The government repeatedly stated its intention to give vaccine doses to developing countries.“It appals me that the government now appears to be considering selling our surplus doses to developing countries. To make a profit from the most vulnerable people on the planet is utterly despicable.” Preet Gill, Labour’s international development spokeswoman, said: “Any attempt to row back on the pledge to donate our excess vaccines to support people in low income countries get vaccinated will signal a further retreat from the world stage.”And Heidi Chow, of the campaign group Global Justice Now, said: “Offering surplus doses is just a drop in the ocean to address the vaccine inequality that the government itself has contributed to by hoarding doses.“If the government is going to make money from its donation, then this gesture is even more a slap in the face to developing countries.”The controversy was swerved by the prime minister when he made his pledge to share “surplus” vaccines, speaking to the other G7 leaders last week.Pressure is growing because just 10 rich countries have administered 75 per cent of all vaccinations worldwide, while 130 countries had not yet received a single dose, the United Nations says.Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the new head of the World Trade Organisation, pointed to research suggesting a £6.4tn global GDP slump if – by the middle of this year – that gulf remains.Emmanuel Macron, the French President, has said richer countries should start sending around 5 per cent of their current vaccine supplies to poorer nations.And Russia, China and India are making their supplies available – in what is seen by some as ‘vaccine diplomacy’, a route to building closer ties with other capitals. More