Markus Andrews

Frontline workers were left to risk their lives and those of their families because of an inadequate stockpile of personal protective equipment at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, a damning new report has found. The government also prioritised hospitals in the early days of the crisis, leaving social care staff more exposed to the problem, the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said. A subsequent scramble to source PPE has also led to hundreds of millions of pounds being wasted on poor-quality equipment that cannot be used for its intended purpose. Meg Hillier, chairman of the PAC, said: “The cost of emergency procurement – billions of pounds higher than the equivalent a year before – highlights how both (the government’s) pandemic plan and supply of essential equipment were inadequate.”She added: “Frontline workers were left without adequate supplies, risking their own and their families’ lives to provide treatment and care. We’re at a dangerous new phase of the pandemic, in our third national lockdown, with no defined end in sight. The government needs to acknowledge the errors and be better prepared.”The PPE scandal dominated discussions about government handling of the pandemic in its early days. At one point, the shortage of long-sleeved gowns was so stark that nursing leaders told staff without suitable PPE they could refuse to treat patients.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 mid-April Matt Hancock, the health secretary, was also forced to admit he could not guarantee hospitals would have enough PPE to see them through the next few days.The Department of Health and Social Care has always insisted that no “setting” ran out of PPE. But MPs said they had heard “compelling” evidence from organisations representing frontline staff that stocks ran perilously low and that single-use items had to be reused. There was some expired, substandard, broken and even insect-infested supplies. The report points to surveys that showed at least 30 per cent of care workers, nurses and doctors who took part reported insufficient PPE, even in high-risk settings. To make matters worse, emergency helplines referred desperate staff to suppliers that did not have PPE.  The report says the stockpile held “no more than two weeks’ worth of most types of PPE”. It also criticises the controversial “high-priority lane” for some companies, which has been accused of being a channel for Conservative cronies. MPs said the route was “was not designed well enough to be a wholly effective way of sifting credible leads”. Organisations not given access to the lane included the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Royal College of Nursing, despite the knowledge base of their members. Between February and July 2020, the Department of Health and Social Care spent more than £12bn on 32 billion items of PPE.  However, since then it has identified hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of items that cannot be used for their intended purpose, the report warns. Dame Donna Kinnair, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said nursing staff working in hospitals, community and care homes “are still being denied adequate PPE. Trusts and employers should not be forced into setting their own rules to protect their staff because the government guidance is unclear. “The government must now ensure all nursing staff, wherever they work, have the highest level of protection so they never again are forced to work while putting themselves at risk.”Christina McAnea, the general secretary of the health union Unison, said: “In the rush to protect the NHS, ministers forgot about social care. Staff were left without the PPE they needed, with deadly consequences. “Care workers were forced make their own safety kit, buy it themselves or go without, putting themselves, their families and the people they looked after at huge risk. The distress and fear this caused cannot be overstated. “The PAC makes clear many lives were lost because of government failings. There must be a public inquiry to hold those found lacking accountable for their inaction and learn lessons.” A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said:“We have been working tirelessly to procure, produce and deliver PPE to over 58,000 settings, protecting our health and social care staff on the frontline of this pandemic.“”As the Public Accounts Committee recognises, the government faced significant challenges in having to rapidly procure PPE at pace in a competitive international market. Thanks to the combined effort of government, NHS, Armed Forces, civil servants and industry we have delivered over 8.1 billion items of PPE at record speed.“We have a robust processes in place to ensure PPE meets the strictest safety and quality standards before being distributed to the frontline.”Almost a million extremely clinically vulnerable people had to wait weeks to be told they should be shielding at the start of the pandemic, a report by the National Audit Office has found.At the start of the pandemic there was no way to quickly identify all everyone affected, and the full list of those eligible for government support did not stabilise until May, the spending watchdog found.Vicky Foxcroft, Labour’s shadow minister for disabled people, said the government “must learn the lessons” of the report. More

The consequences of Brexit have been “considerably worse” than expected, the boss of JD Sports has said.Peter Cowgill said red tape and delays in shipping goods to Europe was costing the company “double-digit millions”.He told the BBC’s World at One that the company will probably have to move 1,000 distribution centre jobs to the continent, causing job losses in the UK.The sports retailer’s chairman claimed Britain does not really have a free trade agreement with the EU, explaining that if companies such as his import goods from Asia, tariffs are then applied when goods go on sale in Europe.”I actually think it was not properly thought out,” he said. “All the spin that was put on it about being free trade and free movement has not been the reality.”The new system and red tape just slows down efficiency. The freedom of movement and obstacles are quite difficult at the moment.”I don’t see that regulatory paperwork easing much in the short term.”Mr Cowgill said opening a distribution centre in mainland Europe “would make a lot of economic sense,” with the facility employing around 1,000 people.He said while the company’s warehouse in Rochdale would not be closed, “it would mean the transfer of a number of jobs into Europe.”Similar criticisms have been made by businesses across the UK in the wake of new trading rules with the EU coming into force on 1 January.On Monday, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) said exports from British ports to the EU had fallen by 68 per cent last month compared with the same period last year. Richard Burnett, the RHA’s chief executive, largely blamed Brexit for the stunning drop, saying he “warned repeatedly that there was a lack of clarity over how the new arrangements would work and that hauliers, traders and manufacturers were confused, having had insufficient time to prepare” ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period.The environment secretary, George Eustice, said the government had been forced to advise traders that consignments would likely be rejected at EU ports, adding that it was “in the EU’s interest to restore this trade” so its businesses could buy British shellfish. However, Brussels has said the rules have existed for decades and will not be changed anytime soon. More

Live: Matt Hancock updates MPs on CovidEnvironment secretary George Eustice denounced the EU’s ban on the import of live British shellfish as “indefensible” after admitting on Monday the Brexit-driven ban was a “devastating blow” for the industry, which was valued at £393m in 2019.The government had hoped that current bureaucracy — requiring seafood to be purified and accompanied by health certificates — would be lifted from April.Mr Eustice said ministers disagreed with the EU’s approach and advised exporters that their “consignments may very well not be accepted at EU ports for now”. Meanwhile, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has insisted that the UK will not break up as a result of Brexit, while admitting that the Northern Ireland protocol “is not working” and needs “redefining”. Speaking on Monday to the European Scrutiny Committee, Mr Gove said that “constitutional, territorial, political integrity” of the UK was “unaffected”, despite trade problems between Great Britain and Northern Ireland UK.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
1612882153UK demands over Northern Ireland Protocol may be going too far, says Irish MPAn Irish MP has questioned whether the UK government is in danger of pushing things “too far” after Michael Gove said the implementation Northern Ireland protocol required “refinement”.The Cabinet Office minister last night told MPs the protocol was “not working at the moment” and needed “refinement” amid ongoing difficulties at the Northern Ireland border. However Neale Richmond, a Fine Gael member of Ireland’s parliament, said the UK had leapt at the opportunity to criticise the EU after the bloc tried to invoke Article 16 of the protocol in a row over vaccine supplies, and now risked making the situation worse.”Are the British government now in danger of pushing this too far? We see extra demands, we see a consistent underlining that they are now preparing to trigger Article 16,” he said.”We look at the, albeit typical, British newspapers and they’re demanding a renegotiation less than six weeks after the trade deal was agreed.”I’m very worried that less than six weeks in, people are really damaging the house of cards.”Liam James9 February 2021 14:491612880539Ireland wants ‘early warning system’ for Article 16 after EU vaccine rowThe Irish government will seek an “early warning system” in case Britain or the EU attempt to invoke a clause in the Brexit withdrawal bill overriding Northern Ireland’s unique customs position. Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol was intended as an emergency measure not to be used but the EU recently attempted to invoke it in a row over Europe’s vaccine supply, without warning Ireland.Ireland’s European Affairs Minister Thomas Byrne said the Dublin government is seeking a new safety clause, to prevent a repeat of those events.He told Ireland’s Committee on European Union Affairs:
The reaction of government that day was complete shock and surprise, and with no knowledge of what was being planned…. What the government wants fundamentally is an early warning system to be put in place.There is a view, and it’s a risky view, that, yes, the Commission made a mistake, yes the Commission acknowledged its mistake, and that is everything solved now.Clearly that’s not the case because the consequences of this are continuing.Liam James9 February 2021 14:221612879147British supermarket chain in EU sees bare shelves and weekend closuresStonemanor, a specialist supermarket chain selling British produce in the EU, has been struggling to keep shelves stocked due to post-Brexit supply issues.The chain was forced to shut up shop over recent weekends due to depleted stock levels and has been unable to get a single food delivery from the UK since 1 January.Custard creams, Irn Bru and other sweet treats have been in particularly short supply in the Belgium supermarkets, with one shop worker saying her store was “down to the last scone”.Read the full story from Adam Forrest here:Liam James9 February 2021 13:591612877883‘You have the details’Downing Street has declined to say whether or not the government will publish an impact assessment on the post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.”You have got the details of the trade deal and you have got what the prime minister said at the time when we signed it and we set it out to the British people,” Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said.”We have been clear that it is a good deal which allows us to maintain access to the EU market and it also allows us to take advantage of the opportunities that have arisen from leaving the EU.”And you continue to see the work we are undertaking to secure trade deals around the world.”Liam James9 February 2021 13:381612877010Aviation sector ‘must be supported’ as border measures stepped up, says CBIBritain’s largest business lobby group has called on the government to provide extra help for the aviation sector after Matt Hancock’s announcement of tougher border measures to tackle coronavirus.Moments after the health secretary made the announcement, Matthew Fell, policy director of the Confederation of British Industry, said:
Business understands the priority is to protect the health of the population, and supports measures to reduce infections and hasten the return to a normal way of life.Yet these new quarantine rules and testing requirements are a further reminder of just how challenging the situation is for the international travel sector right now.Further, immediate support is now essential to protect companies and jobs in the aviation sector and its supply chains in the difficult months ahead. The government should also be clear on a road map to relaxing restrictions when health data permits.The UK’s world-class aviation sector – which underpins so much of our economic activity – must be supported so that it can play its full part in the country’s recovery.Liam James9 February 2021 13:23161287544210 years in prison if you hide your trip to ‘red zone’ country, Hancock confirmsTravellers face a jail sentence of up to 10 years if they try to hide a trip to a ‘red zone’ country, Matt Hancock has just told MPs.”The new measures build on the tough action that we’ve already taken,” he said as he updated the Commons on the government’s coronavirus strategy.Follow this breaking story as updates come in:Liam James9 February 2021 12:571612874113EU shellfish export ban is ‘indefensible’, says environment secretaryBrussels’ decision to place barriers on live UK shellfish exports is “indefensible”, the Environment Secretary has said.Mr Eustice said the Commission changed its position last week, and that prior to that “they had been clear that this was a trade that could continue”.He said in an interview with LBC that the action, which puts a “ban on the trade altogether” was “quite unexpected and really indefensible”.Liam James9 February 2021 12:351612873032More than 15,000 people accidentally deleted from police computer, home office admitsThe Home Office has admitted that more than 15,000 were accidentally deleted from the Police National Computer earlier this year.Policing minister Kit Malthouse said in a written statement that a total of 209,550 offence records relating to 112,697 individuals had been deleted in error, 15,089 of them had their entire records wiped. The government says the error may not lead to a permanent data loss as duplicate records may still be available on other systems.Our policy correspondent Jon Stone has more on this:Liam James9 February 2021 12:171612870979Cornish fishing industry to rename species after Brexit trade disruption The Cornish fishing industry will rename two of its most common catches in a bid to make them more appetising to British buyers, following the trade disruption caused by Brexit. Megrim fish and spider crab, which both used to be sold en masse to the Spanish market, will be rebranded as “Cornish sole” and “Cornish king crab”. Adam Forrest has the story: Rory Sullivan9 February 2021 11:421612869290More Britons against controversial coal mine than for it, survey finds A YouGov poll has found that 47 per cent of Britons believe the opening of a coal mine in Cumbria will negatively impact the UK, with only 9 per cent in favour of the scheme. The government has so far refused to override the plan, which has been approved by Cumbria County Council. Phil MacDonald, an analyst at the clean energy think-tank Ember, told The Independent: “The UK can’t meet its climate targets if we keep allowing coal mining – and it sends a terrible signal to the rest of the world just as we are hosting the climate conference in Glasgow.”Here’s Jon Stone with more details: Rory Sullivan9 February 2021 11:14 More

A specialist supermarket selling British produce in the EU is struggling to keep food on its shelves because of post-Brexit supply problems.Stonemanor, a small chain of UK food stores in Belgium, has experienced significant shortages of scones, shortbread and other favourites bought by expats and Anglophiles.Shelves normally filled with goodies like custard creams and Irn Bru have been left bare by red tape difficulties faced by Britain’s food exporters.Stonemanor has even been forced to shut up shop over recent weekends because of depleted stock levels – having been unable to get a single delivery of food from the UK since 1 January. “Our main delivery is still unconfirmed,” Ryan Pearce, manager at the store on the outskirts of Brussels told the BBC. “If that doesn’t come in it looks like we may have to close for a longer period of time until we can guarantee supplies.“You can’t have a supermarket running with no stock on the shelves. We’re shipping hundreds of products in one truck and each product needs a different set of paperwork to go along with it.”Shop assistant Tracy Smith added: “Digestive biscuits are missing, popcorn is missing, Walker’s shortbread is missing, oatcakes are missing, various cheeses and milk. We’re even down to the last scone.”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 weekdayMarks and Spencer stores in the EU have also faced empty shelves since the Brexit trade deal was implemented at the beginning of last month. The company said problems with customs paperwork would “significantly impact” its food sales on the continent.Fortnum & Mason has suspended sales of food items to the EU due to the burden and cost of complex new paperwork.British exports to the EU fell by a whopping 68 per cent in January, according to figures shared by the Road Haulage Association (RHA). The organisation has written to the Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove pleading for an “urgent intervention” to ease the crisis.However, RHA chief executive Richard Burnett suggested the government was not listening. He said it was “frustrating and annoying that ministers have chosen not to listen to the industry and experts”. More

Travellers face up to 10 years in jail if they attempt to conceal a trip to a designated ‘red zone’ country, as ministers tighten borders to prevent the spread of new strains of coronavirus. All international arrivals to England will also have to take two Covid tests from Monday, health secretary Matt Hancock said, while a long-trailed system of hotel quarantine for some will finally begin. Mr Hancock repeated his claim that the UK is “turning a corner” in the battle against the global pandemic. But he warned that ministers “must protect this hard fought progress”. “Everyone has a part to play in making our borders safe”, Mr Hancock told the Commons, a process that was crucial to “securely” restarting travel again in the future. From Monday, UK nationals arriving from 33 “red list” countries will be required to spend 10 days in a government-designated hotel, where they will be charged £1,750 for their stay. Ministers have already signed contracts with 16 hotels for the programme, which will involve “visible security”. 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 weekdayThose who lie on their passenger locator forms about where they have been in a bid to conceal a visit to a ‘red zone’, or high-risk, country face up to 10 years in jail,  Mr Hancock said.  Passengers will have to stay in their hotel room during their quarantine.  Mr Hancock also confirmed a new “enhanced” testing regime for all international travellers, which will also come into force on Monday.  Those isolating at home, instead of in a hotel, must get a test two and eight days into their 10-day quarantine period, he said. The burden for ensuring the rules are not flouted will fall on the travel industry as well as on individuals, he added. “Passenger carriers will have a duty in law to make sure that passengers have signed up for these new arrangements before they travel, and will be fined if they don’t, and we will be putting in place tough fines for people who don’t comply.”This includes a £1,000 penalty for any international arrival who fails to take a mandatory test, a £2,000 penalty for any international arrival who fails to take the second mandatory test, as well as automatically extending their quarantine period to 14 days, and a £5,000 fixed penalty notice – rising to £10,000 – for arrivals who fail to quarantine in a designated hotel.” In another security measure, all tests will have to be booked before passengers are allowed to travel to the UK.If either of the post-arrival tests is positive, arrivals will be forced to quarantine for another 10 days. All positive tests will also automatically undergo genomic sequencing to confirm whether or not they show a variant of the disease. Earlier this week ministers moved to reassure the public that the coronavirus vaccines currently in use in the UK were effective, even against the a new variant of the strain from south Africa. Teams are carrying out door to door testing in a number of postcodes in England to prevent community transmission of the South African variant. A small study has also suggested that the Oxford/ AstraZeneca jab does not prevent moderate forms of the South African virus. But England’s deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam predicted that the South African strain would not become dominant in the UK, as he urged the public not to put off receiving a vaccination. If necessary ministers could provide a ‘booster’ vaccine this winter to deal with various strains, he suggested. Despite the tough measures, the shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth told Mr Hancock the public wanted ministers to go further. “Our first line of defence is surely to do everything we can to stop (new variants)arising in the first place. That means securing our borders to isolate new variants as they come in. He’s announced a detailed package today but he hasn’t announced comprehensive quarantine controls at the borders,” he said.”So why then when over half of the countries where the South Africa variant has been identified – why are over half of them not on the so-called red list?”And indeed according to newspaper reports he wanted to go further with more extensive quarantine arrangements. I want that as well, the British public want that as well, so I will work with him to make that happen so we can strengthen our borders and fix any holes in this nation’s defences.” More

The UK has licensed £1.4bn worth of arms sales to Saudi Arabia since a ban was lifted last year, campaigners say – most of them bombs and missiles.Liz Truss, the trade secretary, restarted sales last July – after the Court of Appeal had imposed a block – insisting any breaches of humanitarian law by the Saudis were “isolated incidents”.Now the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) has used new official statistics to calculate that, in little more than six months since, £1.4bn of licences have been racked up.“These new figures are shocking and once again illustrate the UK government’s determination to keep supplying arms at any cost,” said Sarah Waldron, a CAAT spokeswoman.“UK-made weapons have played a devastating role in the Saudi-led attacks on Yemen, and the humanitarian crisis they have created, yet the UK government has done everything it can to keep the arms sales flowing.“Even the US is curbing its arms sales, while the UK government is continuing to fuel the war.  They must change course now and work to support meaningful peace.”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 figures were released by the Department for International Trade (DIT), as the government rejected calls to follow Washington’s lead and halt arms sales to Riyadh.Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, said the issue was the UK’s “first big test” of its international stance after Brexit.“I encourage the UK to fully align ourselves with our closest security ally by ending arms exports connected to the war and to reverse the cuts to our overseas aid budget,” he told ministers.But James Cleverly, a Foreign Office minister, pointed to “Yemen’s need to defend themselves and to have support from the international community to do so”.“The UK takes its own arms export responsibilities very seriously, and we continue to assess all export licences in accordance with strict licensing criteria,” he told MPs.Arms sales resumed last July, one day after the UK sanctioned senior Saudi figures over their suspected involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.The Court of Appeal had ruled the government had failed to properly assess whether incidents during the war with Yemen constituted breaches of international humanitarian law.But Ms Truss decided the Saudis had “a genuine intent” to comply, adding there was no “clear risk that the export of arms and military equipment” would violate humanitarian law.CAAT said the majority of approvals were “for ML4 licences which cover bombs, missiles and countermeasures”.In total, the UK had licensed £6.8bn of arms to Saudi forces since the bombing of Yemen began in March 2015.DIT has been asked to respond to the criticisms and the calculation that licences since last July have reached £1.4bn. More

Ministers will use “shameful” tactics to dodge a likely Commons defeat designed to prevent trade deals with countries committing genocide, triggering outrage.Rebel Tories were poised to back a plan for British courts to rule if a deal should be blocked – but an extraordinary procedure is set to deny the vote and hand the decision to parliamentary committees.A Uighur exile said she was “sickened” by the “shameful” tactics, with the revolt aimed primarily at China amid evidence it is committing genocide against the minority Muslim group.And Tory rebels also expressed outrage, Nusrat Ghani saying she was “appalled at the Parliamentary games played over an issue as grave as genocide”.Iain Duncan Smith, the former party leader, said: “The sad tragedy is that the government has so engineered it that the democratically elected House of Commons will not be able to vote on Lord Alton’s genocide amendment.”And Benedict Rogers, the chief executive of Hong Kong Watch, described the tactics as outrageous, adding: “I have never seen a government so afraid to do the right thing.”The Alton amendment passed in the House of Lords last week with a majority of 171, fuelling the revolt on the Conservative benches ahead of the vote on the Trade Bill on Tuesday.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 weekdayHowever, ministers are now coupling that vote with a separate Labour-sponsored amendment to impose further checks before trade deals are signed – diluting Tory support.MPs are now expected to back a government-backed compromise to give the Foreign Affairs Committee, and a parallel Lords committee, powers to investigate whether a genocide is occurring.It would then merely make a recommendation to the government about whether a trade deal should go ahead.But Ms Ghani added: “A select committee can already prepare a report on genocide and the offer is meaningless since genocide can only be determined by a judicial process.”The genocide allegations against China cannot be referred to the international courts because Beijing has a veto, prompting campaigners to push for a right to refer them to domestic courts.Pressure is growing on the UK after the US concluded that China is committing genocide – but ministers are determined to preserve their post-Brexit freedoms.Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said, on Monday: “The government shares the grave concerns about human rights abuses in Xinjiang.“On this issue however that amendment could embroil the courts in the formulation of trade policy and the conduct of international relations and risks undermining the separation of powers.“The amendment put forward by the chair of the select committee, which the government will be supporting, addresses the concerns raised by the parliamentarians to take a stand on credible reports of genocide by a prospective trade partner whilst ensuring a specific duty on the government to act.”The spokesman added, on Tuesday, that “it is common practice during ‘ping pong’ on Bills for some Lords amendments to be packaged together where they cover similar issues”. More

More than 15,000 people were accidentally deleted in their entirety from the Police National Computer at the start of the year, the Home Office has admitted. After a month of uncertainty around an IT blunder, minister Kit Malthouse said in a written statement that a total of 209,550 offence records relating to 112,697 individuals had been deleted in error.The coding mistake thought to have occurred on 10 January had led to the entire records of 15,089 people being wiped, he confirmed.Labour said the Home Office screw-up could see criminals walk free because of a “dangerous” lack of records.The government says the error – which covers fingerprints, DNA and arrest records – may not lead to a permanent data loss as duplicate records may still be available on other systems.But it has been unable to say how many profiles and other items could end up being saved.In a statement, Mr Malthouse said the deletion affected fewer than 200 fingerprint records and that work was ongoing to recover as many as possible.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 estimated that it would take around 12 weeks to restore available data.“While the data is incomplete, there is the possibility that law enforcement partners will not have access to records and information that could help progress their inquiries and investigations,” he admitted.Labour’s shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, said: “This statement confirms many of the worst fears about the impact of this catastrophic data loss.
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