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London should compete with New York and Singapore, not Paris and Frankfurt in post-Brexit worldLondon should compete with financial markets in New York and Singapore – rather than with European economic hubs – in the post-Brexit world, Barclays boss Jes Staley has said. “I think what London needs to be focused on is not Frankfurt or not, Paris – it needs to be focused on New York and Singapore,” he told the BBC.Mr Staley, who has run the bank since 2015, also said that Brexit had the potential to deliver a “positive” future for Britain.Such optimism is not currently shared in Northern Ireland, where leaders have called for calm amid growing tension over post-Brexit trade disruption over the Irish Sea. Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland’s first minister, encouraged people to channel their frustrations through constitutional means, after the country’s chief constable warned of a “febrile” atmosphere there. Simon Byrne, who heads the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said it was a time “for wise words and calm heads”. The Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney echoed this sentiment by saying that parties needed to “dial down the rhetoric” on the Northern Ireland Protocol, which unionists want to be scrapped. 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
1612533170No ‘current plans’ for vaccine passports despite reports, says Downing StreetDowning Street has said the government has no “current plans” for vaccine passports after The Times reported that officials were working on a certification system which would enable people to travel to countries allowing foreign visitors if they can show they have been innoculated.A No 10 spokesperson said: “There are still no current plans to roll out vaccine passports. Going on holiday is currently illegal.”We have always been clear that we will keep the situation under review. We are not going to speculate on this matter any further.”Sounds like a “maybe” then… Our Travel Correspondent Simon Calder explains what a vaccine passport scheme could look like if ministers were to introduce one:Liam James5 February 2021 13:521612531521Local elections will go ahead in May, Downing Street confirms after confusionDowning Street was forced to issue a correction during a wobbly press briefing where reporters were left guessing after a notice saying local elections will go ahead in May was withdrawn.A No 10 spokesperson initially said that a Cabinet Office press notice — confirming local elections would go ahead on 6 May — had been issued “in error” and had been withdrawn.However, a few minutes later the spokesperson said the notice was correct.“We have confirmed today that the elections must go ahead,” the spokesperson said. “The Cabinet Office document is correct.”Liam James5 February 2021 13:251612530321Government should avoid ‘being driven by a calendar’ on CovidA pair of scientists advising the government have warned against lifting coronavirus restrictions too quickly.Professor Graham Medley, chair of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), said ministers should “make decisions dependent on the circumstances, rather than being driven by a calendar of wanting to do things”.He was backed by Dr Mike Tildesley, also from Spi-M, who said there needed to be a gradual easing out of lockdown to avoid having to later return to restrictions due to a surge in cases.Liam James5 February 2021 13:051612529241Handforth parish council: The history of a feudAn unlikely political hero emerged last night from the depths of the rural-urban fringe near Manchester Airport.Everyone now knows Jackie Weaver, acting clerk at a heated Handforth Parish Council meeting that went viral on Thursday, has the authority. But why was she forced to assert it over grumpy chairman Brian Tolver and his supporters?Adam Forrest has taken a deep dive into the recent affairs of Handforth Parish Council to find what led to the chaotic power struggle in that fateful Zoom meeting:Liam James5 February 2021 12:471612528281UK finalises Ghana trade dealThe UK and Ghana have concluded negotiations on a future trade deal, the Department for International Trade (DiT) has announced.Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, said on Twitter the deal accounts for £1.2bn in trade and would be signed shortly.DiT said the agreement will provide for “duty free and quota free” access for Ghana to the UK and “preferential tariff reductions” for UK exporters to Ghana.Liam James5 February 2021 12:311612526611Top nine priority groups will be vaccinated by May, No 10 confirms Everyone in the top nine priority groups will receive their first coronavirus vaccine dose by May, the government has confirmed. As a result, a Cabinet Office statement said that ministers could commit “with confidence” to local elections going ahead in England and Wales in May. Rory Sullivan5 February 2021 12:031612525561Covid cases must drop to below 1,000 a day before lockdown lifts, says HuntThe former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that lockdown should only be lifted if Covid-19 case numbers fall below 1,000 cases a day. In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Hunt said the UK should look to Taiwan and South Korea as examples on how to keep transmission rates low. His message comes as the prime minister faces pressure from some of his backbenchers to ease restrictions fully by the end of May. Here’s Chiara Giordano with the details: Rory Sullivan5 February 2021 11:461612523926All over-50s to have Covid vaccine by May, says government The government has announced that all over-50s in the UK will receive their first coronavirus jab by the end of May. So far, almost 10.5 million people have been given their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Rory Sullivan5 February 2021 11:181612522799No 10 adviser on ethnic minorities considered quitting Downing Street’s senior adviser on ethnic minorities thought about resigning because of concerns that Boris Johnson’s government was pursuing a “politics steeped in division”. Samuel Kasumu’s wrote a resignation letter to the prime minister, which was then retracted on Thursday following a conversation with the Covid vaccine rollout minister Nadhim Zahawi, according to the BBC. Rory Sullivan5 February 2021 10:591612521622PM under pressure to end support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen Boris Johnson is under increasing pressure to withdraw UK support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, after Joe Biden announced that the conflict “has to end”.The new US president, who has stopped “relevant” US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, said the fighting had created a “humanitarian and strategic catastrophe”. Like the Trump administration, Mr Johnson has sold arms to the Saudis. The UK has also lent Riyadh technical support. Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said on Friday that “the government’s support for Saudi campaign in Yemen is not only morally wrong but increasingly leaves Britain isolated on the world stage”.Rory Sullivan5 February 2021 10:40 More

Government vaccination plans have been plunged into confusion after a Whitehall department announced that all over-50s will be offered a coronavirus jab by the start of May.In chaotic scenes, Downing Street initially distanced itself from the Cabinet Office announcement, with a No 10 spokesman telling the media it had been “issued in error”.But just minutes later, the same spokesman said that the statement was in fact correct, but added that the precise government target will not be announced until later this month. Prime minister Boris Johnson will announce the date for vaccinating the top nine priority groups – including all over-50s and people with certain underlying health conditions – on 15 February, when the deadline for offering the jab to all over-70s passes, he said.The contradictory statements fuelled speculation that the target date had inadvertently been prematurely revealed.Downing Street has faced a hail of questions in recent days over its deadline for vaccinating over-50s, but has doggedly stuck to the vague target of “by the end of spring”. Spokesmen have refused to specify whether this meant the end of May, the solstice on 21 June which marks the start of summer in astronomical terms, or some other date.The announcement of the May Day goal was buried in a Cabinet Office press release confirming that local elections in England will go ahead on 6 May this year.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 weekdayAfter setting out plans for voters to go to the polls, the document added without fanfare that the vaccination programme was “planned to have reached all nine priority cohorts by May”.The nine priority cohorts include everybody over the age of 50, frontline health and care staff, and people over 16 in an at-risk group.In its statement, the Cabinet Office said: “The UK’s vaccination programme is planned to have reached all nine priority cohorts by May, meaning that the Government can commit to go ahead with these polls with confidence – and maintain the choice for voters between voting in person or remotely.”Downing Street initially sought to disown the date, with one source quoted as saying it “does not reflect internal projections”.And at a regular daily media briefing, the No10 spokesman told reporters: “This was issued in error and I believe the Cabinet Office have now withdrawn this.”He added: “Our ambition is to offer all priority cohorts a vaccination by the spring. As the prime minister said this week, he will set out a precise timeline on 15 February, wehn teh current target for vaccinating groups one to four expires. “This will depend on the size of vaccine supply and future deliveries. We are extremely condident in the success of our vaccine programme.”Just minutes later, however, the spokesman said that the release had in fact not been withdrawn.”The Cabinet Office document is correct,” he said. “The prime minister will set out more details on 15 February.”
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Speaking in an interview with the BBC, Mr Staley, who has held the top job at Barclays since December 2015, said he believed Brexit had the potential to deliver a more “positive” future for Britain. “I think Brexit is more than likely on the positive side than on the negative side,” he said.While jobs in the financial services sector that might have been created in the UK have been moved to EU countries as a result of Brexit, Mr Staley the situation was an opportunity for the UK and London to look beyond Europe. “I think what London needs to be focused on is not Frankfurt or not, Paris – it needs to be focused on New York and Singapore,” the Barclays boss said. “Brexit gives the UK the opportunity to define its own agenda and in defining that agenda around financial services staying competitive with other markets outside of Europe is really what the government here should be focused on and I think that is what they’re focusing on,” he 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 weekdayMr Staley also said that Britain needs to make sure London “is one of the best places, whether it was regulation or law or language, or talent that manages these flows of capital well.”While the Barclays boss advocated for competing with countries outside Europe to do that, he said he could not support widespread deregulation to achieve that goal. “I wouldn’t burn one piece of regulation,” he said. Rather, he suggested that the UK’s strong regulation was a strength, rather than a weakness, with the Barclays boss praising a recent effort to crack down on firms offering “buy now, pay later” schemes. “You see what’s happening right now with ‘buy now, pay later’, you know… The FCA is going to come in and start to increase the regulation of that marketplace. That’s the right thing to do,” he said. “And, in a funny way we’ve gotten pretty good at working inside the regulatory framework that is here. It protects the financial industry in London as we learn how to deal with this regulation, and it makes the bank safer,” he said. More

Jeremy Hunt has warned against lifting lockdown restrictions until coronavirus cases fall to 1,000 a day amid calls for measures to be eased by May.The prime minister is facing pressure from lockdown-sceptic Tory MPs to bring forward the lifting of social distancing restrictions as cases fall and the vaccine rollout continues.Mark Harper, chairman of the Covid Recovery Group (CRG), said he thought ministers could “get rid of restrictions completely” by the end of May when all those over aged 50 are likely to have received at least one vaccine jab.And Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, said the government was in danger of falling out of step with public opinion if it delayed the reopening of schools in England to 8 March as planned.Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, also said he thought people would be able to meet up with friends and family in March as the decline in positive cases had given him cause for optimism – although he added some form of social distancing may need to continue until spring 2022 even with effective vaccines.However Mr Hunt, the former health secretary and current chair of the health select committee, warned ministers should listen “very carefully” to the scientific advice and aim to suppress the virus enough to allow a “South Korean-style approach” of intensive contact tracing possible, in an interview with The Guardian.He told the newspaper: “I think we have to recognise that the game has changed massively over Christmas with these new variants, and that we mustn’t make the mistake that we made last year of thinking that we’re not going to have another resurgence of the virus.”Mr Hunt’s suggestion that restrictions should not be eased until new infections are driven below 1,000 a day would likely mean measures remaining in place for an extended period of time.On Thursday, 20,634 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the UK, bringing the total to 3,892,459.Government figures showed a further 915 people also died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, taking the UK’s death toll to 110,250.And while the latest Public Health England data suggests coronavirus cases have dropped across all regions in England and among all age groups, NHS hospitals are still under considerable pressure as seriously ill patients remain in intensive care.The prime minister on Wednesday told a Downing Street briefing the level of coronavirus infections in the country was still “forbiddingly high” and that it was too soon to relax current restrictions.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Boris Johnson should ease the restrictions “in a careful, measured way” to ensure “this lockdown is the last lockdown”.Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents trusts in England, also called for a “cautious, evidence-based” approach to any relaxation of lockdown restrictions in England, saying the social-distancing rules had been eased too early last year.He said there were still 26,000 Covid-19 patients in hospital, 40 per cent more than the peak last April, while the NHS was running at 170 per cent of last year’s intensive care unit (ICU) capacity.Additional reporting by PA More

The “hotel quarantine” plan will finally come into force on 15 February, amid rising criticism of government delays and bungling.Anyone returning to the UK from a country on the banned “red list” will be required to pay to isolate in government-supervised accommodation for 10 days.However, the announcement did not contain any information about how passengers will book into their designated hotels, with “further details” to be set out next week.Hotels near ports and airports have been “asked for proposals” on how they can join the scheme “ahead of formal contracts being awarded”, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.Matt Hancock, the health secretary, will lead “cross-government efforts to deliver mandatory quarantine and enhanced testing” to tackle the threat from new variants of Covid-19.The announcement appeared to have been rushed out after stinging criticism from Rob Paterson, the boss of the Best Western chain, who said hotels were still “in the dark” about what was planned.It is three weeks since it was first revealed that hotels were being lined-up for quarantining passengers – from high-risk areas only, it later emerged – and eight days since the plan was confirmed.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 weekdayLabour said it was “beyond comprehension that these measures won’t even start until 15 February” and repeated its calls for all arriving passengers to be quarantined.Instead, the crackdown will apply to only the 33 “red list” countries – mainly in southern Africa and South America – from which travel is already banned.That means only Britons returning to the UK will be affected, and required to pay an estimated £1,500 or more to stay in a room for 10 days.“We are in a race against time to protect our borders against new Covid strains. Yet hotel quarantine will come in to force more than 50 days after the South African strain was discovered,” said Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary.“Even when these measures eventually begin, they will not go nowhere near far enough to be effective in preventing further variants. As ever with this government, it is too little, too late.But a DHSC spokesperson said: “Throughout the pandemic, the government has put in place proportionate measures, informed by the advice of scientists, and that has led to some of the toughest border regimes in the world.“We are now working at pace to secure the facilities we need to roll out managed quarantine for British nationals returning home from the most high risk countries, and are rightly engaging with representatives from the hospitality, maritime and aviation industry, and learning from our friends around the world.”The last point is a reference to talks Mr Hancock held with his counterpart in Australia – which has among the world’s toughest quarantine policies – with his staff also due to receive tips from officials in New Zealand. More

Dozens of humanitarian charities and green groups have written to Boris Johnson in protest at government approval for a new UK coalmine.They warn the decision is “an embarrassment” when Britain is hosting international talks this year, when other countries will be urged to set tougher climate goals. And they are calling on the prime minister to send the decision to a public inquiry, saying backtracking would “help restore confidence in the UK government’s climate leadership, both internationally and at home”.Exactly a year ago, Mr Johnson announced the deadline for the phase-out of coal from Britain’s energy system would be brought forward a year to 2024, under a government drive to reach net-zero carbon emissions.But earlier this month Robert Jenrick, the local government secretary, refused to block a 2019 decision by Cumbria county councillors to give the green light to the UK’s first deep coal mine in 30 years.This was despite pleas for Mr Jenrick to intervene, and despite government pledges to rapidly decarbonise the economy.The mine would take coal from under the Irish Sea to make steel, and supporters say less coal would have to be imported. The government defended its decision, saying the planning approval was a local matter.However, the prime minister’s father, Stanley, told the BBC the decision was a “massive mistake” in public-relations terms.“How can we ask other countries to bring in their climate change-reduction programmes when we are reopening the whole argument here in Britain?” he asked.The 81 people who signed the letter include representatives of Oxfam, Save the Children, the RSPB, the New Economics Foundation, Friends of the Earth, the Wildlife Trusts, Greenpeace and Christian Aid.In 2017 the UK co-founded and now co-chairs the PoweringPast Coal Alliance, a group of governments, businesses and organisations that push for a switch from coal power generation to clean energy.The letter – seen by The Independent – says given that the UK’s credibility is at stake, it is “mystifying” that the government is not intervening. “This decision will make it much harder to fulfil the ambitions of the Powering Past Coal Alliance,” it warns. “Alok Sharma MP, the COP president, when questioned before a Commons business select committee,clearly understood that the mine approval was an embarrassment. “The Climate Change Committee has urged the government to reconsider, highlighting that the increase in emissions from this mine alone would amount to more emissions than it has projected for all open UK coal minesto 2050.”Mike Starkie, mayor of Copeland council, told the BBC the mine would bring large numbers of jobs and prosperity to the area. “It’s been broadly welcomed across Copeland  – I’ve never known a project that’s carried so much public support,” he said.The signatories acknowledge it is “crucial” to support West Cumbria in switching to sustainable employment but claim research shows that investment in green industries locally would provide significantly more than the mine’s 500 jobs.The Climate Change Committee says all coal, including coking coal, should be phased out by 2035, they point out. “The government therefore risks allowing the creation of a stranded asset as the mine may be required to close only a few years after it opens. “It also sends the wrong signal to all those countries who want to hold on to coal, from Poland to China.”Friends of the Earth coal campaigner Tony Bosworth said: “The mounting criticism over the government’s coal mine decision is completely justified. This new mine undermines Boris Johnson’s credibility ahead of this year’s crucial climate summit.”The Independent has asked the government to respond. More

Leading medics have warned against complacency over the pace of England’s emergence from coronavirus restrictions as coronavirus cases dropped across all regions.The leader of the influential Covid Recovery Group of Conservative MPs, Mark Harper, said restrictions should be removed entirely by the end of May.And another senior backbencher, Sir Graham Brady, told The Independent that the success of the vaccination programme should enable the prime minister to make moves to “reopen normal life” in the coming weeks.Positive UK-wide figures, which today saw seven-day death rates down 16.6 per cent and hospitalisations down 23.1 per cent on the previous week, have emboldened MPs demanding an acceleration of the easing of restrictions.“Dropping our guard at this stage could waste everything we have endured over the last few weeks,” she 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 weekday“However encouraging it is that case rates and hospitalisations continue to fall across all age groups and regions, it is important to reduce the level of infection in our communities because the rates remain very high.”Mr Johnson signalled on Wednesday that the roadmap to recovery he intends to unveil in the week of 22 February will take a cautious approach, stressing that levels of infection remain “alarmingly high” and that restrictions would be removed in a gradual and sustainable way.He has resisted pressure to set out a timescale for the return of social mixing and the opening of hospitality and non-essential shops following the planned reopening of schools on 8 March – with some reports suggesting that retail may return in April and pubs and restaurants not before May.The Treasury today dismissed reports that chancellor Rishi Sunak was pushing back against scientists’ focus on getting case numbers down before relaxing controls.But one Tory MP told The Independent that the mood in the country and in parliament could be expected to shift quickly if the public sees deaths and serious illnesses drop sharply as a result of the vaccination drive.“It might well be that by the time we get to the end of the February half-term, most parts of the country will have very little Covid around, and people will be asking ‘Why are the schools reopening in Scotland and Wales and not here?’” said the MP.“We are probably at the point where the pressure from the public – and by extension in parliament – is soon going to be for the rapid release of restrictions.” Mr Harper said he thought ministers could “get rid of restrictions completely” by the end of May when all those over the age of 50 are likely to have been offered at least one vaccine jab.“Back-of-the-envelope calculations that I did based on 2 million doses a week, you could get the top nine [priority] groups, first doses, and the top four groups, second doses, all done by the end of May,” the former chief whip told BBC Radio 4’s World At One.“So it seems to me by the time you get to the end of May – no later than that – you should be in a position to get rid of restrictions completely.”Sir Graham, the chair of the influential 1922 Committee of backbench Tories, told The Independent: “The news at the moment is positive with a strong fall in rates of infection, accompanied by the great success of the vaccination programme, which looks set to meet its target of vaccinating the four most vulnerable groups by 15 February.“Achieving that goal will in itself reduce the risk of mortality in this country by nearly 90 per cent. The very positive news about the benefits of vaccination in cutting rates of transmission and also keeping those vaccinated out of hospital are all powerful arguments for moving to reopen normal life in the coming weeks, starting with the huge priority of schools.”However, a member of the PM’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said Mr Johnson was “absolutely right to be cautious” in unwinding the lockdown in the immediate future.Professor Andrew Hayward, the director of UCL’s Institute for Epidemiology, said the UK would probably have to wait until the summer for “a significant return to normality”,  with restrictions gradually phased out once the most vulnerable people in the UK have been vaccinated.“We’re still in a very serious situation with amongst the highest coronavirus rates in the world and the number of deaths are still very high,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.“Yes, they are going down, but we know that when we begin to release the rates will start to bounce back very quickly. It’s fantastic that we’ve vaccinated 10 million people, but there’s still a lot of vulnerable people yet to be vaccinated. It’s too early to release just yet.”However, one expert suggested restraints could be softened sooner, allowing friends and family to meet as early as March and restaurants to reopen in the following weeks.Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said he thought schools could open before the PM’s 8 March target and that social mixing should be able to start “probably not long after – if I had to bet on a time, I’d say some time in March certainly.”Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson said the recovery roadmap would set out a “gradual, phased approach that is sustainable” following a review of the evidence in the week of 15 February. He confirmed that 8 March was the earliest date being considered for schools to reopen to all pupils, adding: “As has been the case throughout, we will be guided by the science and the data.” Latest figures showed 915 coronavirus deaths reported on 4 February, down from 1,322 the previous day. But positive tests were up by more than 1,400 to a daily total of 20,634. The seven-day total of 148,725 daily tests was down more than a quarter (25.7 per cent) on the previous week.Vaccinations reached 10,490,487 for the first dose, after passing the symbolic 10 million level on Wednesday. Some 501,957 people have now received their second booster shot.Meanwhile, Public Health England data showed coronavirus cases dropping across all regions in England and among all age groups.PHE’s latest surveillance report found the highest rate of infection was among 30-39 year-olds, with 358.6 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to January 31, down week-on-week from 499.5.Among 20-29 year-olds, the rate dropped from 478.7 to 333.5, and for 40-49 year-olds from 442.5 to 316.0.For people aged 80 and over, the rate fell from 412.0 to 284.5.The West Midlands region is the worst hit area for infections with an overall rate of 319.9 infections per 100,000 people. This has fallen from 427.5 in the week before. More

Ministers are refusing to open talks to solve the exporting crisis caused by Brexit until the EU feels “some of the pain”, an industry leader says.The delayed introduction of UK border controls in April is “another potential car crash”, the head of Scottish Food and Drink warned – telling MPs: “The clock is ticking.”But, James Withers added: “The mood music I pick up from government officials is that there is a reluctance to engage with the EU until April.“In other words, that they need to feel some of the pain that we are feeling before it will come to the table.“I’m massively worried about that – that is the same mentality of brinksmanship and of last minute negotiation that failed spectacularly at the end of last year.”Mr Withers urged the government to “learn from that, see what is coming” and start a dialogue now to find “practical solutions”.The criticism came as fish exporters echoed criticism of blunders made in the rushed Christmas Eve trade agreement, in evidence to the Commons Scottish Affairs Committee.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 weekdayDeliveries have been hit by the blizzard of new red tape, with requirements for health checks and customs documents – and ban on shellfish trade is “indefinite”, the EU is warning.Jimmy Buchan, the chief executive of Scottish Seafood Association, said he could not understand why the government had agreed rules that were “crippling” its businesses.And Elaine Whyte, of the Clyde Fishermen’s Association said EU markets built up over 40 years were being lost to rivals in Norway and Ireland.Mr Withers also poured scorn on government claims that the absence of the feared huge queues at Channel ports meant disaster had been averted.Around two-thirds of lorries heading to the Continent were empty – “carrying fresh air” only.“That is not a measure of success, that is a measure of the scale of failure that we have got just now,” he told the MPs.Pre-Christmas “pleas” to the government for a grace period before the hurdles of post-Brexit trading rules were inflicted “fell on deaf ears”.“There have been some catastrophic decisions taken to create enormous non-tariff barriers,” Mr Withers told the committee.“We have ended up with a trading regime that has become complex, costly, slow, prone to break down at its best,” he added.“At worst, the door to the EU market has been closed altogether for some food exporters across Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.“And, unfortunately, it’s a very predictable outcome of trying to test the multibillion-pound new trading system in real time in the midst of a pandemic.” More