UK Politics

Boris Johnson’s government has claimed that Brexit has already proved a “big success” despite a new survey showing most British exports are struggling with red tape.Treasury minister Simon Clarke said the UK’s exit from the EU had “allowed us to get rid of a load of red tape – it has been a big success already”.The claim comes despite huge lorry queues at Dover as drivers get snarled up in red tape, and a new survey showing that most British exporters are struggling with customs controls.Some 60 per cent of exporting firms surveyed by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) reported difficulties in trading with the EU – an increase from 49 per cent in January 2021.The business body called of “urgent action” from the government to ease trading barriers with Europe on the second anniversary of the UK’s departure from the bloc.Though the BCC survey results relate to November 2021, the business body said the pictures of lorries stacked up near Dover offered a “vivid illustration” of additional problems with trade since full customs controls were introduced on 1 January.“One of the issues at Dover currently appears to be linked to the export of food products across the Channel,” said William Bain, head of trade policy at the BCC.He added: “Like many of the problems this looks to be down to a differing interpretation of how the trade arrangements work after leaving the EU.”Each haulier is taking 10 to 20 minutes to clear checks at Dover, drivers and the Unite union have told The Independent – with queues on the A20 stretching up to 15km.The additional time is down to the codes needed for government’s new Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) system and other export paperwork.Though exports checks have been in place since last January, companies had 60 days to fill in customs forms after exporting. But since 1 January, the forms have to completed in full – adding to the pressure on the GVMS and customs agents at the border.Even longer delays have been experienced on the French side at Calais because of the additional red tape and rules of origin forms needed for imports from the EU into the UK since 1 January 2022.The BCC called on both London and Brussels to streamline some of the red tape, suggesting they could “eliminate or greatly reduce” the complexity of export health certificates required of food exporters.On Monday Mr Johnson claimed the government’s “Brexit freedoms” bill – aimed at making it easier to remove or amend EU regulations copied into UK law – would encourage investment.“We won’t diverge for the sake of it, but we are going to make sure this is the number one place to do business and invest because of the freedoms that we have,” he told broadcasters during a visit to Tilbury docks.Meanwhile, Mr Clarke told LBC: “In reality [Brexit] has allowed us quicker vaccination, it’s allowed us to scrap free movement, it’s allowed us to begin free trade negotiations, it’s allowed us to get rid of a load of red tape. It has been a big success already.”A booklet will be issued to celebrate “the benefits of Brexit” will be issued this week to mark the two-year anniversary of the UK leaving the EU. More

Boris Johnson has warned Vladimr Putin he faces “bitter and bloody” resistance from the people of Ukraine if Russia launches an invasion of its neighbour.The prime minister said he will urge the Russian president to “step back from the brink” when the pair hold talks on the crisis this week.He said a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be “an absolute disaster for the world”.The prime minister is expected to visit the region shortly, as tensions remain high over the Russian military build-up on the border with Ukraine.Speaking to reporters during a visit to Tilbury in Essex, Mr Johnson said: “What I will say to President Putin, as I have said before, is that I think we really all need to step back from the brink.“I think Russia needs to step back from the brink.“I think that an invasion of Ukraine – any incursion into Ukraine beyond the territory that Russia has already taken in 2014 – would be an absolute disaster for the world, and above all it would be a disaster for Russia.”Mr Johnson said that any Russian invasion would be “bitterly and bloodily resisted” by the Ukrainian people. More

Labour MP Rosie Duffield has said she is considering leaving the party, as she accusing officials of failing to protect her from “obsessive harassment”.The MP for Canterbury is thought to be meeting with senior Labour officials about her future after a party member accused her of moving away from her constituency.Ms Duffield has come under fire over her views on trans issues, after expressing her opposition to “male-bodied biological men” being allowed to self-identify as female in order to access women-only spaces.In a series of tweets, Ms Duffield said she was the victim of “personal, libellous, nasty and fictional crap” written by people in her own party.Denying she had moved from her constituency, the MP said both current and former members were “absolutely obsessed by my private life for some reason”, adding: “I have been subjected to this rubbish for several years now. It is obsessive harassment.”She said Kent Police, parliament’s security team and the Speaker’s office have been helpful, but Labour officials had not supported her – singling out both Jeremy Corbyn and Sir Keir Starmer for criticism.“Neither the Labour Party or either the former or current Leader or the Whips’ office have done anything at all to stop it, to offer me any support, help or legal assistance,” she tweeted.“It is the Labour Party that have offered me no support at all since I unexpectedly became an MP five years ago”, adding: “I am today considering my future in the party very carefully.”The Canterbury MP decided to stay away from the Labour conference in Brighton last September. She said she has been unfairly branded “transphobic” for “knowing that only women have a cervix”.Ms Duffield said in November she “sometimes” wishes she had never waded in to the debate, but said: “I’m not remotely transphobic. I can’t imagine wanting to discriminate or hate a group of people just for who they are and how they want to live.”Asked about the row at the time if the conference, Sir Keir said the Canterbury MP was wrong to say that only women have a cervix but called for the debate to be conducted in a “respectful” way.Deputy leader Angela Rayner said she was “concerned” about the level of abuse directed at female MPs.A Labour party spokesperson said: “The party continues to be in touch with Rosie Duffield and has offered her advice and support.” More

Boris Johnson’s government is expected to announce a U-turn on mandatory Covid vaccinations for NHS and social care workers, according to reports.Health secretary Sajid Javid has been facing pressure to scrap the requirement for health workers in England to be vaccinated by April amid fears it will lead to a major staffing crisis.Mr Javid is set to meet ministers on the Covid-Operations Cabinet committee on Monday to confirm the U-turn, according to The Telegraph.The government is said to be comfortable ending the policy because Omicron is milder than previous variants during the pandemic.Asked about the U-turn on Monday, junior minister Simon Clarke said the variant being “less severe” than the Delta variant “opens a space where we can look at this again.”Suggesting a change was on the way, he told Sky News: “What we know about Omicron is it is much more transmissible but less severe – any decision that is taken this week will reflect that reality. Mr Clarke added: “I can’t pre-judge the decision that is going to be made but obviously we do recognise those realities.”Nadra Ahmed, chairwoman of the National Care Association, told BBC Breakfast she was “frustrated” and “saddened for all the people who may have lost their jobs needlessly” owing to the introduction of mandatory vaccination – which may soon be scrapped by the government.She said social care had lost “around 40,000” staff, which were the government’s own figures, adding that “the impact has been devastating … social care is on its knees”.It comes after the Department of Health and Social Care said last Monday there were no plans to change the policy following a number of reports suggesting ministers were considering an 11th-hour delay.However, the health secretary said on Tuesday that the policy is being “kept under review”.He went on to say that plans for compulsory jabs were made when the Delta variant of the virus was the dominant strain in the UK, but now “almost all” cases are the Omicron variant which is “intrinsically less severe”.Meanwhile, Conservative MPs welcomed the reports of a U-turn on Sunday with Andrew Rosindell tweeting that Mr Javid had made “the right decision”.He said: “These free-thinking NHS workers’ jobs are saved and quite right too. Well done all those who had the courage to stand up for the values of a free society!”Meanwhile, senior Tory MP Mark Harper , head of the Covid Research Group (CRG) of lockdown sceptics, called the reported decision a “huge win”.He said: “It beggars belief that the PM and health secretary kept insisting on bulldozing this policy through, despite warnings of staff shortages, for so long.”The policy would mean frontline staff in the NHS and registered social care settings must have their first vaccine doses by February 3 and they must be double jabbed before the policy kicks in on April 1.There have been protests and calls for the policy to be delayed, amid fears that it could force thousands of frontline workers to leave their roles at a time when patient demand is high.The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) called for a U-turn on mandatory vaccines for health workers urgently. Patricia Marquis, RCN director for England told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We think the situation needs to be reviewed urgently and quick decisions need to be made before we start to lose people from the system.”Meanwhile, the British Medical Association called for an “urgent impact assessment” on how the policy would affect staffing numbers.Patricia Marquis, RCN director of England, said: “If these reports are correct, this climbdown by government is long overdue.“Vaccination is hugely important but this was the wrong policy, especially as it added to the current pressure on NHS and care services.“It was never in the interests of patient safety to threaten tens of thousands with dismissal in the middle of staffing crisis. We will continue to support government and employers to make the case for vaccination.” More

The push against a Russian invasion of Ukraine is being led by “Brexit Britain” while EU nations “drag their feet”, one of Boris Johnson’s ministers has claimed.Treasury minister Simon Clarke singled out Germany for criticism, as the UK government prepares to set out new sanctions against Moscow in the event of an invasion.“Brexit Britain is one of the foremost opponents of the actions of the [Vladimir] Putin regime,” he said. “If you look at the EU, it is countries like Germany that are dragging their feet in the response to this crisis.”Mr Clarke told Sky News: “We are the ones tightening this sanctions regime, making sure we support our Nato allies and standing up to Putin in a way that is, frankly, leading the continent rather than following it.The Treasury minister also denied the idea that the UK was compromised by the flow of suspected dirty Russian money into London, claiming British politics was “fundamentally clean”.Asked by host Kay Burley about donations to the Conservative Party from Lubov Chernukhin – a former banker who holds both Russian and British citizenship – and others donors originally from Russia, Mr Clarke said: “No-one has taken money from the Russians.”The minister added: “Let’s be very clear about this. One needs to be a UK national to make a donation. Any such donations are declared and properly scrutinised.”Mr Clarke said there was “nothing wrong with any person in business having a link with any country, as long as it is legally-acquired wealth”, adding: “How they choose to spend it at that point is a matter for them.”The Treasury minister said: “I think it’s important we don’t muddy the waters on this issue. To do so is to undermine a wider faith in politics. I believe British politics to be fundamentally clean.”Mr Clarke said he did not believe Mr Johnson had lied about parties at No 10 during the pandemic and described the PM as “a good man” ahead of the imminent release of a redacted version of the Sue Gray report.He also told LBC that Brexit has “allowed us to get rid of a load of red tape – it has been a big success already”, as the government prepares to release a booklet to celebrate “the benefits of Brexit”. It comes as the Foreign Office is expected to set out plans to toughen the UK’s sanctions regime on Monday in a bid to target Russia’s financial interests.Mr Clarke said that if Russia were to take “further action” against Ukraine, sanctions would be tightened, targeting businesses and individuals “with the closest links to the Kremlin”.However, officials in Washington are said to fear that suspected dirty money flowing into London will undermine efforts to sanction Russia in the weeks ahead.US State Department officials have expressed “dismay and frustration” at the British government’s failure to tackle the flow of Russian funds into the city, according to The Times.A report from the Centre for American Progress, a think-tank close to Joe Biden’s administration, has warned the US will have to take the lead in countering “Russian kleptocrats” – because the UK has become “a major hub for Russian oligarchs and their wealth”.Tory peer Lord Agnew – who dramatically quit as Whitehall efficiency tsar earlier this week – claimed the government had rejected the chance to put forward anti-fraud legislation in the next parliamentary year, attacking the decision as “foolish”.Tory MP John Penrose, Mr Johnson’s anti-corruption chief, warned the government against delaying an economic crime bill that would expose the kleptocrats’ use of shell companies to buy British property.Mr Penrose said the “well of excuses” has “run dry” after years of promising legislation on tackling the problem – warning that it would be “about as popular as a cup of cold sick” if the proposed bill is ditched or kicked into the long grass. More

The center-left Socialist Party won a landslide victory in Portugal’s general election, removing a political roadblock that had halted its plans to spend billions of euros (dollars) of European Union aid for the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic.The Socialists collected 41.7% of the vote and 117 seats in the 230-seat parliament in Sunday’s ballot. That majority will allow the Socialists over their four-year term to enact legislation without the support of other parties.The center-right Social Democratic Party came second with 27.8% and 76 seats, with four seats still to be allocated Monday.The snap election was called after parliament last November rejected Socialist Prime Minister António Costa’s state budget proposal for 2022. It contained his plans to begin deploying 45 billion euros ($50 billion) of EU aid for the economy over the next seven years. Portugal’s economy needs a shot in the arm, which the EU funds may bring. The country of 10.3 million people is western Europe’s poorest.“The Portuguese have shown a red card to any type of political crisis,” Costa said in his victory speech, referring to the fall of his minority government two months ago.“The Portuguese showed that in coming years they want stability, certainty and security, with our country on a sure path,” he told flag-waving — and mask-wearing — supporters at a hotel in the capital, Lisbon The ballot took place amid a surge of coronavirus cases blamed on the omicron variant. Around 1 million infected voters were allowed to leave home to cast their ballots.Two-thirds of the EU funds are intended for public projects, such as major infrastructure, giving the government a financial bonanza. The other third is to be awarded to private companies. A parliamentary majority smooths the government’s path in allocating those funds in a country whose economy has struggled to gain traction since the turn of the century.The country has been falling behind the rest of the 27-nation EU since 2000, when its real annual gross domestic product per capita was 16,230 euros ($18,300) compared with an EU average of 22,460 ($25,330). By 2020, Portugal had edged higher to 17,070 euros ($19,250) while the bloc’s average surged to 26,380 euros ($29,750).The Socialists promised to increase the minimum monthly wage, earned by more than 800,000 people, to 900 euros ($1,020) by 2026. It is currently 705 euros ($800). The Socialists also want to “start a national conversation” about working four days a week instead of five.Some 10.8 million voters — 1.5 million of them living abroad — were eligible to choose lawmakers in the Republican Assembly, Portugal’s parliament, where political parties then decide who forms a government. More

The civil service is still failing on diversity from top to bottom of the organisation, new figures reveal.Just 6.2 per cent of Ministry of Defence (MoD) staff are black, Asian or minority ethnic, according to statistics published by the Institute for Government (IfG) think-tank in its annual Whitehall Monitor. While the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has the highest proportion of both female civil servants (65 per cent) and disabled civil servants (18.2 per cent) across all departments, it has one of the lowest proportions of civil servants from an ethnic minority background.In 2021, the civil service became more diverse with some 14 per cent of civil servants identifying as coming from an ethnic minority background, including 11 per cent of senior civil servants, compared with 13 per cent of the economically active population.The Department for International Trade (DIT) is by far the most ethnically diverse department, figures reveal, with more than a quarter of civil servants coming from an ethnic minority background. However, it is one of the few departments where less than half of civil servants are female.  More

A bonfire of EU laws on everything from data privacy to road standards will be forced through behind parliament’s back under new plans to seize “Brexit freedoms”, it is feared.The alarm has been raised over the announcement of a single Bill to remove all unwanted “retained law” – using backstage regulations, instead of allowing full scrutiny and votes.The move marks the two-year anniversary of the UK leaving the EU, to cut “red tape”, Boris Johnson claimed – provoking ridicule, as truckers queue for many miles to get through Brexit checks at the Channel ports.A booklet will be issued to celebrate “the benefits of Brexit”, although many of the “benefits” – the Covid vaccine rollout and stronger animal welfare rules – were possible without withdrawal.A ban on pavement parking is believed to have been dropped when it was pointed out that London cracked down on the practice in 1974 and the Scottish Parliament in 2019.The booklet is being seen as an attempt by No 10 to calm Brexit-backing Tory MPs who resent the snail’s pace progress in striking out EU regulations since departure day in 2020.Ministers have been forced to boast about the possible return of pounds and ounces, the adding of the Crown mark to pint glasses and selling “pints of champagne”.But most concern centres on the use of a single Bill to delete retained law, to prevent the need for different legislation that “would take years”, No 10 admits.Catherine Barnard, professor of EU law at Trinity College Cambridge, has warned: “This raises issues about the quality of parliamentary scrutiny of any changes, especially if, as proposed, an ‘accelerated process’ is involved.”Sarah Olney MP, Liberal Democrat business spokesperson, said: “This is sneaking through a bonfire of retained law without proper scrutiny. This is likely to end badly for farmers and businesses already shafted by this government.”And Naomi Smith, head of the campaign group Best for Britain, said: “In a barely concealed attempt to save his own skin, the prime minister is proposing scrapping standards in the UK with minimal scrutiny and no consideration of the consequences.”Before he suddenly quit last year, the former Brexit minister David Frost pointed to data rights, genetically modified crops, medical trials and “outdated EU vehicle standards” as likely targets.To ensure continuity of the legal system, amid the turmoil of Brexit, all EU law was converted into UK law and given supremacy over pre-withdrawal UK law.Tearing that up could come at a price, if divergence triggers disputes under the Brexit trade deal, potentially allowing Brussels to curb access to EU markets for British firms.But the prime minister said: “The plans we have set out today will further unleash the benefits of Brexit and ensure that businesses can spend more of their money investing, innovating and creating jobs.“Our new Brexit Freedoms Bill will end the special status of EU law in our legal framework and ensure that we can more easily amend or remove outdated EU law in future.”Asked if the “Brexit benefits” booklet – to be published online only – will stretch to a rumoured 100 pages, a government source said only “it’s a big document”. More