UK Politics

The UK has finally signed a trade deal with Australia – the first with a new partner since Brexit – but it will add just 0.08 per cent to the economy and not until 2035.The agreement will scrap tariffs on UK exports, allow young backpackers to visit for longer and give greater certainty to scientists, lawyers and other professionals seeking visas, ministers say.But the signing – six months after an outline deal was announced by Boris Johnson – is certain to trigger criticism that British farmers are being sacrificed in the desperation to agree it.Liberal Democrats warned it would lead to farmers being undermined by imports produced to lower standards of animal welfare and environmental protection. And the TUC said it amounted to a “threat to working people while contributing almost nothing to our economy”.Tariffs will be scrapped immediately on imported beef and lamb, up to a “cap” on sales expected to be many times the current level of Australian meat sold in this country.There is also anger over the UK secretly dropping a pledge to bind Australia to the 1.5C global temperature rise target at the heart of the Cop26 climate negotiations in Glasgow, last month.The Independent understands that the agreement – which will now finally be published – will contain no specific reference to a 1.5C rise, beyond which the world is at risk from runaway climate change.The head of the advisory climate change committee, Tory peer John Gummer, has condemned the deal for undermining climate goals. Officials admit to “pressure” on shipping emissions.There are also fears that beef from farms where forests with endangered species are destroyed will end up in the UK, although beef injected with hormones will be outlawed.Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the international trade secretary, called the signing “a landmark moment” and proof of what the UK “can achieve as an agile, independent sovereign trading nation”.“This agreement is tailored to the UK’s strengths, and delivers for businesses, families and consumers in every part of the UK – helping us to level up,” she said.But Greenpeace warned of the danger of “kicking off a race to the bottom for our environmental standards and for action on climate”.“What people will want to know is whether this trade deal will stop beef from farms involved in destroying habitats for koalas and other endangered species from reaching our supermarket shelves,” said John Sauven, the group’s executive director.The government says the agreement is expected to:* Boost gross domestic product (GDP) by £2.3bn a year, or 0.08 per cent, by 2035 – a tiny fraction of the 4 per cent slump from leaving the EU single market and customs union.* Boost trade by £10.4bn by the same date – a 53 per cent increase – of which £6.2bn will be UK exports to Australia.* Increase sales of cars, Scotch whisky and UK fashion, for example, by removing tariffs.Officials dismiss fears of Australian meat flooding the UK market, threatening domestic farmers, on the grounds that the country’s target markets will continue to be in Asia.But TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: ”This deal poses a threat to working people while contributing almost nothing to our economy.“Yet again the UK government has agreed a trade deal with no effective means to enforce fundamental labour rights or protections for migrant workers from exploitation. “And there are other serious issues which could threaten workers’ rights and conditions, like the failure to protect our public services and the lack of safeguards for how workers’ data or NHS data is used.”Liberal Democrat rural affairs spokesperson Tim Farron said that the deal “fails to protect our farmers in the long term”.  He added: “The Conservatives make promises of transitions, but all that means is delaying the inevitable – our farming communities being undermined by imported food that is produced to lower standards of animal welfare and environmental protection.” More

The Department for Transport has apologised after admitting that staff working for cabinet minister Grant Shapps held a Christmas party while strict Covid curbs were still in place last year.Government staff were “boozing and dancing” at an event in Whitehall on December 16, according to The Mirror – the same day London was moved into tier 3 restrictions.Mr Shapps’ spokesman said the transport secretary did not attend and had “absolutely no idea” the festive gathering was taking place at the departmental office.The minister’s spokesperson said: “He was not notified or invited and would have banned such a gathering forthwith, had he been made aware that it was being prepared.”Staff reportedly drank alcohol, danced and takeaway food on the day tier 3 curbs banned all mixing indoors with anyone outside of your household or support bubble.“Fewer than a dozen staff who were working in the office had a low-key, socially distanced, gathering in the large open-plan office after work on the 16th December, where food and drink was consumed,” said a spokesperson for the transport department.The spokesperson added: “We recognise this was inappropriate and apologise for the error of judgement.”It comes as a joint investigation by The Independent and The Guardian revealed that a gathering took place at Downing Street last May during the first lockdown.Boris Johnson joined staff at a reception described by a source as “a party” on 15 May and told one attendee they deserved a drink for “beating back” the virus, The Independent has been told.It is understood that about 20 civil servants and advisers gathered inside No 10 and its garden, when gatherings indoors were strictly forbidden and people from different households were restricted to one-on-one meetings outdoors.Labour accused Mr Johnson of overseeing “a culture” of rule-breaking at No 10, while the SNP responded by calling for Mr Johnson to resign – saying he had lost all authority to deliver Covid guidance.Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said it was now time for “an official and independent inquest into how many times Downing Street officials – and the prime minister himself – may have broken lockdown rules”.A No 10 spokesperson said: “On 15 May 2020 the prime minister held a series of meetings throughout the afternoon, including briefly with the then health and care secretary and his team in the garden following a press conference.”They added: “The prime minister went to his residence shortly after 7pm. A small number of staff required to be in work remained in the Downing Street garden for part of the afternoon and evening.”It comes as the Metropolitan Police revealed it is contacting two people who attended a Christmas party at the Conservative HQ over alleged breaches of Covid laws.The force said it was aware of the gathering on 14 December last year. “Officers will be making contact with two people who attended in relation to alleged breaches of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations,” a spokesperson said.Former mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey was photographed with his staff at a party at Tory HQ in the run-up to last Christmas. The London Assembly member has apologised for attending the festive bash, admitting it was “a serious error of judgment”. More

A Downing Street gathering held during the first lockdown last May has been branded “disgusting” by families who lost loved ones to Covid.Boris Johnson joined staff at a reception described by a source as “a party” on 15 May and told one attendee they deserved a drink for “beating back” the virus, The Independent has been told.It is understood that about 20 civil servants and advisers gathered inside No 10 and its garden, when gatherings indoors were strictly forbidden and people from different households were restricted to one-on-one meetings outdoors.Hannah Brady, a spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said she remembered 15 May last year “very well” because she was visiting the hospital where her father was ill with Covid. He died the following day.The campaigner said the latest claim of a party inside No 10 “makes me sick to my stomach”, adding: “It’s disgusting.”Ms Brady said: “What makes it hurt even more is that when I met the prime minister some months later, I showed him a photo of dad in the hospital. The prime minister looked me in the eye and told me he’d ‘done everything he could’ to protect my dad.”She added: “When me and other Covid-bereaved families called for a rapid review inquiry over Summer 2020 … we were told again and again that staff were too busy tackling the virus. Now we know what that looked like.”The latest revelations – uncovered in a joint investigation by The Independent and The Guardian – are likely to pile pressure on Downing Street, already under fire over a series of gatherings in the run-up to Christmas last year.The May 2020 event took place after then health secretary Matt Hancock had delivered a press conference, revealing that 384 Covid deaths had been recorded in the previous 24 hours and highlighting a gentle easing of lockdown curbs.The prime minister was present for around 15 minutes early on at the gathering, according to one witness. The event was characterised as a party by one source in attendance. Staff are understood to have drunk alcohol and eaten pizza, with some staying late into the night.Asked about Mr Johnson’s “beating back” comment, and his presence at the gathering, a No 10 spokesperson said: “In the summer months Downing Street staff regularly use the garden for some meetings.“On 15 May 2020 the prime minister held a series of meetings throughout the afternoon, including briefly with the then health and care secretary and his team in the garden following a press conference.”The spokesperson added: “The prime minister went to his residence shortly after 7pm. A small number of staff required to be in work remained in the Downing Street garden for part of the afternoon and evening.”Labour accused Mr Johnson of overseeing a culture of rule-breaking at No 10.“It seems that from the very beginning of this awful pandemic the prime minister was setting a culture of disregarding the laws he was applying to the rest of us,” said Fleur Anderson, the shadow paymaster general. The Labour frontbencher added: “People have made immense sacrifice during this crisis. It is starting to look like the prime minister has only dithered, partied and eroded public trust.”The SNP responded to the latest revelation by calling for Mr Johnson to resign – saying he had lost all authority to deliver Covid guidance.The party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: “It’s beyond any doubt that the reported Downing Street parties were not out of the ordinary or spontaneous, but that there were repeated offences. A culture of rule-breaking dominates this corrupt Tory government.”Mr Blackford added: “The SNP has been clear that this prime minister has lost all authority and he has a duty to at long last do the right thing and resign.”Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “There needs to be an official and independent inquest into how many times Downing Street officials – and the prime minister himself – may have broken lockdown rules. The public will not stomach a political stitch up. Those who think they are above the law must be held to account.”It comes as the Metropolitan Police revealed it is contacting two people who attended a Christmas party at the Conservative Party headquarters over alleged breaches of Covid laws.The force said it was aware of the gathering on 14 December last year. “Officers will be making contact with two people who attended in relation to alleged breaches of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations,” a spokesperson said.Meanwhile, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has written to Lord Bew – chair of the House of Lords Appointment Commission Lord – asking him to confirm that Tory politician Shaun Bailey will not be given a peerage.Mr Bailey was photographed with his staff at a party at Tory HQ in the run-up to last Christmas. The London Assembly member has apologised for attending the festive bash, admitting it was “a serious error of judgment”. More