Markus Andrews

Marcus Rashford has escalated his campaign to tackle child food poverty by calling on the prime minister to carry out an urgent review into the government’s free school meals policy in England.The England and Manchester United striker has already taken the government to task over issues around holiday hunger — forcing a u-turn on the government’s plans not to fund free meals that would otherwise be given to school children during the school break.Now joining with TV chefs Jamie Oliver, Tom Kerridge, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and the actress Dame Emma Thompson, the footballer is again pressing ministers to develop a strategy to help end child food poverty.It comes after provisions for children from low income families were brought to the fore yet again when unappetising images of free meal parcels began to circulate online, prompting anger from the public and politicians alike.The letter, cosigned by the footballer and more than 40 NGOs, charities and education leaders, said they welcomed the “robustness” of his response to the “inadequate” meal parcels being provided by some private companies.But following what they said were a series of problems — including food voucher provisions and meals over the school break — that had arisen during the pandemic, it was the right time to “step back and review the policy in more depth”.“This review would provide the government with the opportunity to future-proof its policy on school food, and to carefully consider how best to support low-income children and families in the aftermath of the pandemic,” they 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“School food is essential in supporting the health and learning of our most disadvantaged children.“Now, at a time when children have missed months of in-school learning and the pandemic has reminded us of the importance of our health, this is a vital next step.”Among the steps charities are urging the government to take are a review of eligibility thresholds for free school meals, as well as whether the current allowance was an adequate provision for those living with food poverty.Ministers have lined up to condemn food parcels handed out to free school meal recipients during lockdown, with Priti Patel the latest to condemn the offering from Chartwells, a school catering brand operated by Compass UK and Ireland linked to some of the offerings.“The company that were involved with that appalling display of food parcels should be ashamed of themselves quite frankly,” she told ITV’s This Morning.“It was thoroughly unacceptable and it is right that the government are investigating them. I personally think some action should be taken against that company.”Chartwells and Compass UK have since apologised for the parcels, and have pledged to include breakfasts as an addition to their offering while providing meals over the February half term free of charge.In a statement Robin Mills, the managing director of Compass Group said: “The quality and quantity of the produce in the images on Twitter fell short of our usual standards.He added: “We are moving quickly to fix the problem and to deliver on  our commitments”.Additional reporting by agencies More

The 48-hour week could be scrapped by the UK government under reported plans to rip up key working protections following Brexit.The weekly cap on working hours is set to be ditched along with other protections enshrined in EU law as part of an overhaul of labour rules, according to the Financial Times.Labour described the reported plan as a “disgrace” and warned it would fight any such moves “tooth and nail,” but the government denied it would water down labour protections.No 10 is said to have given the go-ahead for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) to draw up a package of deregulatory measures.The 48-hour working week — known as the EU working time directive — was designed by the European Commission to protect workers rights by putting a limit on the amount of hours that can be worked and mandating how long breaks can be.The policy is thought to be the main target for UK regulatory divergence from the EU by No 10. But any changes to labour market conditions could incur the wrath of Brussels who may seek redress through the post-Brexit trade deal.Any potential changes to employment rights would also put the government on a direct collision course with trade unions. 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 Labour’s shadow business secretary, Ed Miliband, said ministers were “preparing to take a sledgehammer to workers’ rights”.He added: “These proposals are not about cutting red tape for businesses but ripping up vital rights for workers. People are already deeply worried about their jobs and health. It’s a disgrace the government is considering forcing them to work longer hours or lose paid holidays.But business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng denied there were plans to water down worker protections. He tweeted: “We are not going to lower the standards of workers’ rights. The UK has one of the best workers’ rights records in the world – going further than the EU in many areas.“We want to protect and enhance workers’ rights going forward, not row back on them.”Beis has been approached by The Independent for further comment.The government has previously dismissed fears it would seek to slash workers’ rights after Brexit, with Mr Kwarteng insisting in 2019 that such suggestions were “exaggerated”. More

Air travel from a swathe of South American countries will be banned amid growing fears of a new variant of Covid-19 in Brazil.Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, said he was taking the “urgent decision” – which also suspends arrivals from Portugal “given its strong travel links with Brazil”.It comes as the government refused to rule out bringing in tougher social-distancing measures next week, amid concerns that the current lockdown may not be enough to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control.Asked whether restrictions could be beefed-up, the home secretary, Priti Patel, only said there would be no new measures “today or tomorrow”, fuelling speculations that they would come after the weekend.Ministers are reportedly considering mandatory mask-wearing outside and a ban on exercising with anyone outside a person’s own household. Increasing social-distancing measures – requiring people to stay three-metres rather than two-metres apart at all time – is also thought to be one of the policies under consideration. But the latest daily figures raised hopes that the current measures might be enough, as the prevalence of Covid-19 fell in most regions of England and across all age groups apart from the over-80s.The Public Health England data shows that although London continues to have the highest rate of any region, its rate of new cases stood at 864.9 per 100,000 people in the seven days to 10 January, down from 1,043.9 in the previous week.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 weekdayScientists say the mutations of the variant shared with the South African strain appear to be triggering a rapid increase in cases in locations where infections were already very high.Now arrivals will be banned – from 4am on Friday – from a total of 15 countries, Argentina, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, as well as Brazil itself.However, British and Irish nationals, and third country nationals with residence rights, will be able to fly home – with the requirement that they self-isolate for 10 days, along with their households.Mr Shapps also tweeted: “Travel from Portugal to the UK will also be suspended given its strong travel links with Brazil – acting as another way to reduce the risk of importing infections.
“However, there is an exemption for hauliers travelling from Portugal (only), to allow transport of essential goods.”
The move comes after Boris Johnson was left red-faced over the Brazil variant during questioning by a committee of MPs – promising he was “taking steps” without saying what they were.Overnight, there was further embarrassment when new rules requiring travellers arriving in England to have a negative coronavirus test were suddenly delayed to allow “time to prepare”.
The requirement for passengers by boat, train or plane – including UK nationals – to test negative for Covid-19 up to 72 hours before leaving their country of departure was also due to come into force at 4am on Friday.
But it has been pushed back until the same time on Monday, amid concern that guidance on which tests would be accepted had not been published early enough.
Yvette Cooper, chairperson of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, described the delay in introducing the new rules as “truly shocking”.A lot is still unknown about the new variants, including whether the current vaccines available in the UK will be effective against them.
Even if not, a new coronavirus jab could be manufactured within just 30 to 40 days, according to Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccine development minister.
There have been many mutations in Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, since it emerged in 2019, because of pressure on the virus to evolve when so many millions of people have now been infected.
Sometimes can lead to weaker versions of a virus – but the new UK variant is more transmissible, just as the Brazilian strain is thought to be. More

Jacob Rees-Mogg says fish are ‘happier’ now they’re in British waters.mp4Downing Street has signalled that Boris Johnson has not yet read the full text of his own Brexit trade deal with the EU – with his official spokesman telling reporters that the prime minister was “fully aware” of its contents.It comes as a government document revealed emergency measures are being planned at UK ports to prevent food shortages in supermarkets. Up to 300 empty lorries a day could be fast-tracked “to expedite” their the return to Europe, where they can be restocked with supplies. Sir Keir Starmer called on the government to apologise Scottish fishing communities angry at the government over delayed shipments. The Labour leader said “they’ve been left high and dry”. But Jacob Rees-Mogg has said fish were “happier” now that they’re fully “British”.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
1610635723Brexit red tape here ‘for good’, says BarnierNew regulatory frictions causing disruption to trade with the EU are an “obvious and inevitable” consequence of Brexit – and can be expected to be permanent, Michel Barnier has warned.
The EU’s former chief negotiator said some things have “changed for good”, although he added some “glitches, problems and breakdowns” could be cleared up in the coming weeks and months.
Adam Forrest14 January 2021 14:481610634753Report: Government considering ‘grabbing a coffee can kill’ sloganMinisters “privately” expect some rules to tighten before the lockdown ends in England, according to The Spectator. The magazine’s reporter Katy Balls says the government has been knocking around some slogans to discourage takeaway coffee drinking.“I understand one draft advert being considered for publication reads along the lines of ‘grabbing a coffee can kill’,” she writes. The Sun, meanwhile, reports another line being tested is: “Don’t let a coffee cost a life.”Adam Forrest14 January 2021 14:321610634200Visa-free music tours proposal was rejected, No 10 admitsNo 10 has admitted an EU proposal to allow visa-free tours by musicians was rejected, apparently because of a belief it clashed with ending free movement.
After days of arguing that Brussels threw out a deal, Boris Johnson’s government has now acknowledged it did turn down a plan (as The Independent revealed at the weekend) – but has refused to explain the reasons for doing so.A Downing Street spokesman said the offer “fell short” of what was required, but a source has said the reason was a fear it involved travel rights that undermined the aims of Brexit.
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick – who got the big scoop at the weekend – has all the details:Adam Forrest14 January 2021 14:231610632241PM has not read full text of Brexit deal, No 10 indicatesDowning Street has signalled that Boris Johnson has not yet read the full text of his Brexit trade deal with the EU. His official spokesman has told reporters only that the prime minister was “fully aware” of its contents.The PM’s spokesman told a Westminster media briefing: “The prime minister is fully aware of the deal that we agreed.” Pressed on whether Johnson expected his cabinet colleagues to read the agreement text, the spokesman said: “The prime minister and other ministerial colleagues are fully aware of the deal we agreed with the EU.”Adam Forrest14 January 2021 13:501610630046Fish are happier being ‘British’, says Rees-MoggThe Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said he believes fish are “better and happier” at being fully “British” now the Brexit process is complete. “The key is we’ve got our fish back – they’re now British fish!  And better and happier for it!” he exclaimed.Adam Forrest14 January 2021 13:141610629092Seafood export delays down to ‘teething problems’, claims Eustice Environment secretary George Eustice has parroted a phrase used by the prime minister, saying that the delayed export of Scottish seafood to the EU this month is down to “teething problems”. In response to a question from Alistair Carmichael, the Lib Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, Mr Eustice said: “We are looking very closely with industry on this matter. We are having twice a week meetings with all the key stake holders, all of the key sectors to help them understand these issues.“Yesterday we had a meeting with the Dutch officials, earlier this week we had a meeting with the French, on Friday we had a meeting with the Irish to try to iron out some of these teething problems.”On Wednesday, Boris Johnson admitted there were “teething problems” with the new Great Britain-Northern Ireland trade rules.Rory Sullivan14 January 2021 12:581610628003‘Emergency’ measures planned at ports to prevent food shortages, says government document Hundreds of trucks could be fast-tracked at UK ports as part of “emergency” measures designed to prevent food shortages in British supermarkets, a government document shows. This comes amid growing concerns in Whitehall about the disruption to food supply chains caused by Brexit. “We are proposing an emergency contingency measure . . . to expedite the return of empty food lorries from the UK to the EU where they can be restocked with supplies,” the document says.Our deputy politics editor Rob Merrick has the details: Rory Sullivan14 January 2021 12:401610627404Government should apologise to Scottish fishing communities, says Starmer Keir Starmer has said the government should apologise to Scottish fishing communities for the problems they face from the UK’s post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.  The Labour leader said he had “a lot of sympathy” for these communities because “they’ve been left high and dry” by ministers. He added: “The Government left the signing of the agreement to the 11th hour.“Those communities have been through a hell of a lot already and we owe them a better way of working with this, and I think the Government owes them an apology.” Rory Sullivan14 January 2021 12:301610626598Tesco sees ‘limited’ Brexit disruption, says CEOThe chief executive of Tesco, Britain’s largest retailer, has said the firm has experienced “limited disruption” to its supply chain in Northern Ireland since a post-Brexit trade deal was signed last month. Ken Murphy said: “We have seen some limited disruption into the Republic of Ireland and into the north of Ireland, but we’re working very closely with government on both sides of the Irish Sea to smooth the flow of product.” He added that this had affected items such as short shelf life ready meals, but that overall product availability “remains strong”. Mr Murphy also said there had been “teething problems” with the flow of goods from continental Europe to the UK. Rory Sullivan14 January 2021 12:161610624890Government must act to avert ‘major crisis’ in food supply, says NI ministerNorthern Ireland’s agriculture minister Edwin Poots has warned that Boris Johnson’s government must act now to avert “a major crisis” in food supplies.
A grace period that limits the level of red tape required to move retail food products from GB to NI runs out at the end of March. With some empty supermarket shelves already in evidence, the DUP politician said things could turn drastic from the beginning of April.
“Whenever it comes to the supermarket side of things it was made very clear to us by the suppliers to both hospitals and schools that if the current arrangement for supermarkets isn’t extended in a few months; time that they will not be able to supply our hospitals and schools with food,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.
“That is a major crisis and I have raised this with [Cabinet Office minister] Michael Gove.”
But the Alliance party’s deputy leader Stephen Farry accused Poots of “scaremongering on steroids”. More

Ministers have met to discuss “urgent measures” to restrict any spread of the Brazilian coronavirus variant to the UK, Downing Street has said.Boris Johnson was caught out yesterday when he was unable to tell a committee of senior parliamentarians what steps he planned to take to protect the UK from the new strain, which is believed to be more infective than the original Covid-19 virus.Reports suggest that ministers are considering a ban on travel from not only Brazil but also neighbouring countries in South America where the mutated variant may already have spread.Mr Johnson’s official spokesman told reporters that the issue was discussed at the government’s Coronavirus Operations (CO) today.“Ministers have met this morning to consider urgent measures to reduce the potential spread to the UK of the Brazilian variant,” he said.An announcement is expected to follow the meeting.The PM’s spokesman defended a last-minute delay in the implementation of a new requirement for pre-departure coronavirus tests when travelling to England.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 rule was due to come into force on Friday, but transport secretary Grant Shapps announced in a late-night tweet that it was being put back three days to Monday next week.The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We always said we’d introduce the regulations on Friday and the law is still coming into force on Friday.“But we’ve implemented a grace period over the weekend until 4am on Monday so passengers can have a little bit more time to ensure they can get access to tests that meet our requirements.”Asked if the delay was giving the Brazilian strain a chance to enter the UK, he said: “It is important to remember this is alongside other measures we have in place.“We will continue to look out for new variants and new strains.” More

Downing Street has signalled that Boris Johnson has not read the full text of his EU trade deal, telling reporters only that the prime minister was “fully aware” of its contents.Fisheries minister Victoria Prentis has come under fire for saying that she did not read the Trade and Cooperation Agreement when it came out on Christmas Eve because she was busy organising a nativity event.But when Mr Johnson’s official spokesman was asked repeatedly whether the PM had read every word of the 1,246-page document, he was unable to confirm that he had.Instead, he told a Westminster media briefing: “The prime minister is fully aware of the deal that we agreed.”
Pressed on whether Mr Johnson expected his cabinet colleagues to read the TCA text, the spokesman said: “The prime minister and the cabinet and other ministerial colleagues are fully aware of the deal we agreed with the EU.”Mr Johnson has offered Ms Prentis his backing after she faced calls to quit over her admission.Asked if her jaw had dropped when she saw the deal with the EU on Christmas Eve, Ms Prentis told the Lords EU Environment Sub-Committee: “No, the agreement came when we were all very busy on Christmas Eve, in my case organising the local Nativity trail.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”We had been waiting and waiting, it looked like it was coming for probably four days before it actually arrived.”I, for one, had gone through, as I’m sure members of this committee had, a gamut of emotions over those four days.”A Number 10 spokesperson said that the Prime Minister had confidence in Ms Prentis.But the SNP took a dim view of her behaviour and insisted she should stand down and that her position was “untenable.”The comments came following delays to seafood exports after the Brexit transition period ended on New Year’s Eve.The SNP’s Brexit spokesperson Philippa Whitford, said: “Due to Brexit-induced bureaucracy, Scotland’s fishing communities are already experiencing severe disruption and cannot get their produce to their customers in the EU market on time.”For the Tory Government’s fisheries minister to then admit that she did not even bother to read the details of the damaging deal because she was too busy is unbelievable and makes her position untenable.” More

Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate for London mayor, is facing criticism after suggesting families living in temporary accommodation in the capital should be able to save up for a deposit to buy a share in newly built affordable housing. If elected mayor in London’s upcoming vote in May, Mr Bailey has vowed use his proposed £4bn housing budget to see 100,000 affordable homes built in the capital. Much of the housing the candidate wants to see built would be for shared ownership, allowing buyers to purchase a share for around £100,000 or more. Pressed in an interview with Inside Housing  on how his plan would help the 62,670 households living in temporary accommodation, the Conservative candidate suggested that shared ownership was a solution.“You can get involved in this for around £24,000/£25,000 as a household income,” he said. “That’s less than the London average.”Asked whether he thought having to pay a £5,000 minimum deposit might be a barrier for many households unable to access stable accommodation, Mr Bailey appeared to dismiss the concern. Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday“I don’t think the £5,000 deposit will [be a problem],” he said, according to the outlet. “The mortgage application bit might be a bit tougher,” he conceded, however.Asked how a family in temporary accommodation would be able to put up a mortgage deposit, Mr Bailey said: “They could save for it”. Mr Bailey argued that social housing was not the only solution to address London’s housing situation, with the Conservative candidate asserting that many Londoners will not qualify anyway.“Let’s be clear, I will continue to build social housing,” he said. “I was born in social housing, I know the value of it and I will continue to build that as well. This isn’t instead of, this is as well as.”However, he asserted: “The point is housing in London should be for the broadest set of people.”“Lots of people work and that takes them away from social housing,” Mr Bailey said. “When I was younger the only way to get housing was to be destitute, and I knew young people who would either lie about their destitution or just allow themselves to become destitute and that has social implications.”“You don’t have to earn very much for it to become an issue for you that you earn too much for social housing,”  he expanded. The Conservative candidate further argued that Londoners should be able to feel that they have a “stake in our society”. “How many Londoners have no stake in our society because they have no equity in London?” he says. “I desperately want to turn that around. I come from a very poor community. We had lots of violence, lots of graffiti, lots of rubbish on our estate; the minute we felt we owned the estate we turned that round because we thought we had a stake in it.”Critics, however, have argued that Mr Bailey has missed the point that the reason many do not have equity in London is because they cannot afford to do so. In a tweet, David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham, condemned Mr Bailey’s comments, branding them “completely bonkers”. Journalist Dawn Foster also expressed bewilderment at the plan, calling Mr Bailey a “magical clown” for making the claim. “Magical clown/Tory London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey says homeless people should simply buy a house,” she tweeted.”I don’t even know where to begin,” Labour Co-op MP for Ealing North James Murray wrote. In a statement sent to The Independent, a spokesperson for Mr Bailey’s campaign defended the comments, asserting that “as Shaun made clear in his interview, he will provide social housing for those who are in temporary accommodation”.“But the point he also made was that his Shared Ownership scheme will be open to all — including those in temporary accommodation,” the spokesperson said.“As someone who went through homelessness, Shaun knows better than most journalists what life is like for people struggling to make ends meet,” they added.The controversy comes after a recent incident in which the Conservative candidate faced widespread criticism after his campaign sent out flyers made to look like official warnings from London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s office of a Council Tax rise. While London’s mayor had warned that he was considering a Council Tax rise to cover TfL funding gaps left unplugged by the British government and later announced that a rise would be likely, Mr Bailey’s campaign was accused of trying to create panic among Londoners during an already difficult time in the midst of the pandemic. The Conservative candidate’s campaign team defended its actions, however, claiming that it was only providing Londoners with the facts. This article has been updated with a statement from Shaun Bailey’s campaign team. More

New social distancing regulations could be rolled out next week amid concerns that the current lockdown may not be enough to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control.Asked whether restrictions could be beefed-up, Home Secretary Priti Patel only said there would be no new measures “today or tomorrow”, fuelling speculations that they would come after the weekend.Ministers are reportedly considering mandatory mask-wearing outside and a ban on exercising with anyone outside a person’s own household.Requiring people to say three metres rather than two from others at all times for social distancing is also thought to be one of the policies under consideration.  1,564 people were recorded to have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test on Wednesday, the highest figure since the pandemic began.But there was some hope that the current restrictions might be turning the tide, as the number of new cases continued to fall compared to previous days. The numbers of deaths tends to lag the number of cases.But the prime minister warned that there was a “very substantial” risk of intensive care capacity in some hospitals being “overtopped” by the current wave.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 tougher restrictions on Thursday morning, Ms Patel told ITV’s This Morning: “We are not thinking about bringing in new measures today or tomorrow.”But she warned against “speculation and rumours”, adding: “This isn’t about new rules coming in, we are going to stick with enforcing the current measures.”In Scotland, the government has toughened its lockdown restrictions to curtail  click and collect services to only those deemed essential
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