UK Politics

Laws requiring mask-wearing and costly travel tests will remain in place into the New Year without a Commons vote if necessary, No 10 says.Ministers had vowed to lift the Covid restrictions before Christmas if possible – but their own scientific advisers have warned it will take longer to assess the threat from the omicron variant.Now Boris Johnson’s spokesman has said a decision can be taken to extend the curbs in England – or even to beef them up further – after MPs leave Westminster for their Christmas break, late next week.“We do have the ability to take public health decisions in the interest of public health during recess, as the public will expect,” he said.MPs will be updated next week, before the Commons recess begins on 16 December, and No 10 says it is “confident” it will have fresh data on the omicron threat by then.But the spokesman admitted: “I can’t get into hypotheticals about what might happen during any future recess period.”The statement will increase pressure from Conservative MPs for the Commons to postpone its recess, after dozens rebelled in last week’s vote.On Tuesday, travel rules will be tightened with pre-departure tests to enter the UK, but the spokesman denied that meant it is inevitable that curbs will be needed for longer than the three weeks originally announced.“We simply don’t have sufficient data, and neither does the rest of the world, to decide what the correct approach will be during the Christmas period and beyond,” he argued.Face coverings are required in takeaways, post offices, banks and building societies, beauty premises and pharmacists, as well as in shops and on public transport and in taxis.People who refuse will be fined an initial £200, rising to £400 for a second offence and £800 for a third – although a minister agreed shops should not enforce the crackdown.The prime minister said the emergency regulations should not stay in place “a minute longer” than the three weeks announced.more follows More

A union representing senior civil servants has lost a High Court challenge over Boris Johnson’s decision to back Priti Patel after she was found to have bullied staff in an internal probe.The ruling comes after the FDA union brought a judicial review over the prime minister’s decision last year to overrule the findings of his then adviser on ministerial standards over the home secretary’s conduct.An investigation by Sir Alex Allan, the independent adviser, found that “her approach on occasions has amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying in terms of the impact felt by individuals”.It concluded Ms Patel’s behaviour was in breach of the ministerial code “even if unintentionally”. But in a move that resulted in Sir Alex’s resignation, Mr Johnson, the ultimate arbiter of the ministerial code, said the home secretary was “unaware” of the impact she had and he was “reassured” she was “sorry for inadvertently upsetting” individuals. After “weighing up all the factors”, he concluded the code had not been breached.In a hearing last month, lawyers for the FDA argued Mr Johnson “misinterpreted” the term “bullying” in the ministerial code when deciding if Ms Patel’s treatment of civil servants breached its standards. They alleged he made a “misdirection of law” in reaching his decision.But delivering a ruling on Monday, Lord Justice Lewis concluded that the prime minister had not misdirected himself as to the provisions in the ministerial code when reaching his decision.The judge, sitting with Mrs Justice Steyn, said: “The question for this court is whether the prime minister proceeded on the basis that conduct would not fall within the description of bullying within paragraph 1.2 of the ministerial code if the person concerned was unaware of, or did not intend, the harm or offence caused.”Reading the statement [made by Mr Johnson] as a whole, and in context, we do not consider that the prime minister misdirected himself in that way.”Despite the case being dismissed, the FDA general secretary Dave Penman said the judgement was an “important step forward in the battle to ensure that ministers are held to account for their behaviour in the workplace”.He added: “The Court has also determined that while the prime minister is the ultimate arbiter of the code, this does not mean that he can give any interpretation he chooses of the words in it.“This is critical, as the government argued in court that the prime minister could decide what the words in the Code meant, uninfluenced by external standards or definitions of bullying.“The court rejected this argument, and aligned bullying in the Code with how it is understood in workplaces across the UK. There cannot be one rule for ministers and one rule for the rest of us when it comes to bullying and harassment, and this judgment confirms that the prime minister cannot simply make up whatever definitions or standards he chooses.” More

Boris Johnson’s policing minister has admitted he would be “surprised” if people weren’t taking illegal substance in parliament, as the government prepares to announce a new crackdown on “lifestyle” drug use.Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has said he will call in police over “deeply concerning” allegations of widespread drug use at Westminster.Sir Lindsay said he wanted to see “full and effective enforcement of the law” after the Sunday Times reported that an investigation found evidence of cocaine in 11 out of 12 locations tested in parliament.Policing minister Kit Malthouse said he would be “surprised” if there were not users of illegal drugs in parliament after the probe found traces of the class A substance in numerous lavatories.“There are obviously several thousand people who work on the estate and I would be surprised if there weren’t some lifestyle users of drugs amongst them,” said the Home Office minister.It comes as the government unveils a £700m plan to tackle problem drug use – including moves which would see middle-class “lifestyle” drug offenders have their passports and driving licences taken away.Asked if some of his own colleagues could be hit by proposals to remove the passports and driving licences of offenders, Mr Malthouse told Sky News: “I hope not.”Mr Malthouse said Britain has “an awful lots of lifestyle users of cocaine … who are driving much of the violence and degradation” – pointing to plans to bring forward legislation next year aimed at tackling middle-class drug use.He told LBC: “Where we want to get to is a situation that when the police are enforcing on drugs, they are as likely to do an operation outside Westminster … as they are outside Tottenham Hale or anywhere else.”Mr Malthouse told the radio station he had never been to a dinner party where someone took drugs. “I would have reported it,” he said.Mr Johnson said the government’s 10-year drugs strategy – due to be published on Monday – will see more “problem users” placed into rehab as part of a plan to spend £700m on recovery over the next three years.Speaking to broadcasters in Merseyside, the prime minister said: “What’s new is that we are putting a lot more investment, number one, into tackling the 300,000 problem drug users who drive about half the acquisitive crime and about half of the homicides in this country.”He added: “You can’t simply arrest them time after time and put them back into prison again and again – you’ve got to do rehab as well.”But Mr Johnson said the government is planning to “come down hard” on those pushing unlawful narcotics – part of a pledge to break up 2,000 county lines drugs gangs.“You’ve got to be tougher on the county lines gangs, you’ve got to be tougher on the criminals who are doing it, but you’ve also got to make sure that you find those 300,000 people and you help them,” he said.Asked about his claim that passports could be taken away from middle-class drug users – made in The Sun on Sunday – Mr Johnson said: “We are looking at doing things to tackle those so-called lifestyle drug users who don’t think they are part of the problem.”Sir Keir Starmer claimed that cuts to criminal justice spending over the last decade are behind many of the problems the government is seeking to address with its latest drugs strategy.“I want the prime minister to take responsibility for the money that’s been taken out of criminal justice in the last 10 years,” said the Labour leader. More

Police should investigate whether Christmas parties were held in Downing Street in violation of Covid restrictions if a report is made, the policing minister has suggested.Home Office minister Kit Malthouse said forces “should be investigating anything that is a historic crime to them”, amid claims that festive events were held at No 10 while strict curbs were in place last year.It follows criticism of justice secretary Dominic Raab after he suggested on Sunday that police “don’t normally look back and investigate things that have taken place a year ago”.But Mr Malthouse told Sky News on Monday: “If reports are made then inquiries should follow and let’s see where it goes after that … we’ll learn more about it in the days to come.”Asked about the reported parties on Times Radio, Mr Malthouse added: “I don’t even know if there was an event. I know these allegations have been made. But if they have and the police have a look, it’s for them to form a view and I shouldn’t really attempt to influence that either way.”The Metropolitan Police is now considering letters of complaints from Labour MPs that Boris Johnson and his staff may have broken Covid rules with parties at No 10 in the run-up to Christmas last year.In a statement, Scotland Yard said it was policy “not to routinely investigate retrospective breaches of the Covid-19 regulations” – but added: “We will however consider the correspondence received.”Mr Raab said on Sunday that if a formal party were found to have been held at No 10 “that is something that is clearly contrary to the guidance”. But the justice secretary also said that police “don’t normally look back and investigate things that have taken place a year ago”.Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said she would “look into” what communication there was with the Met about allegations a party took place in No 10 during Covid restrictions last year.Met commissioner Dame Cressida Dick had said on Friday morning that she was not aware of any complaints being received on the issue at that stage. Labour MPs Barry Gardiner and Neil Coyle subsequently wrote letters to the police chief.“I just don’t understand that response because you know, I understand that other MPs have raised it directly with her and also that it has been in the newspapers repeatedly,” said Ms Cooper.The Labour frontbencher added: “I wanted to find out what’s happened because my understanding is that this has actually been raised with her and she has been sent questions about this by other MPs, by other London MPs. So I will look into what has happened here.”Meanwhile, Mr Malthouse said he would be “surprised” if there were not users of illegal drugs in parliament after a newspaper investigation found traces of cocaine in numerous sites.The Sunday Times reported that all but one of 12 lavatory areas in parliament that were tested showed traces of the class A substance.“There are obviously several thousand people who work on the estate and I would be surprised if there weren’t some lifestyle users of drugs amongst them,” said the policing minister.It comes as the government unveils a £700m plan to tackle problem drug use over the next three years – including moves which would see middle-class “lifestyle” drug offenders have their passports and driving licences taken away.Asked if some of his own colleagues could be hit by proposals to remove the passports and driving licences of offenders, Mr Malthouse told Sky News: “I hope not.” More

Boris Johnson wants to weaken the power of courts to overrule decisions by ministers through the process of judicial review, according to reports.The Times reported the PM wants to allow ministers to effectively throw out any legal rulings they do not agree with.It comes after a number of clashes with judges, such as the ruling that Mr Johnson’s 2019 decision to prorogue parliament for five weeks was unlawful.According to the newspaper, justice secretary Dominic Raab has been tasked with toughening plans to reform judge’s powers to rule on the legality of minister’s decisions. Whitehall sources were cited as saying the move would reinforce parliament’s sovereignty over the unelected judiciary.An option drawn up by Mr Raab and attorney general, Suella Bravermen is for MPs to pass an annual “Interpretation Bill” in which ministers will strike out findings from judicial reviews the government did not agree with. The plan has reportedly won the approval of No 10.The move has received backlash from the legal establishment, with one senior QC quoted as saying the prime minister is seeking a “more compliant judiciary.”Labour MP Stella Creasey said: “The one rule for everyone else, no rules for them motif of this government is quite something.”Mr Johnson is reportedly unhappy with the Judicial Review and Courts Bill currently going through parliament – which focuses on subtle remedies such as suspended judgments to give ministers time to tackle problems – because it “doesn’t go far enough,” according to sources quoted by The Times.This is the latest attack on the legal framework by the government.Mr Raab on Sunday said he wants to “correct” the drift towards the principle of free speech being outweighed by protection of privacy.The justice secretary’s intervention comes just days after Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, won an appeal court battle over the Mail on Sunday’s publication of extracts of a letter to her father.Court of appeal judges ruled that the duchess had a “reasonable expectation of privacy” in the contents of the letter which were “personal, private and not matters of legitimate public interest”.Speaking to Times Radio on Sunday, Mr Raab did not directly reference the duchess’s case, but made clear he believes the balance has slipped too far in favour of the ability of rich individuals to protect their secrets.He said: “In the politics of this country, we’ve had a heavier emphasis on free speech, transparency, accountability for politicians, for people in positions of influence. We don’t have the continental-style privacy law protections.“If we were going to go down that route, it should have been decided by elected politicians.”He added: “I think the drift towards continental-style privacy laws, innovated in the courtroom not by elected lawmakers in the House of Commons, is something that we can and should correct.” More

Britain’s leading business organisation has downgraded its economic growth forecasts for this year and 2022, blaming supply shortages and inflation for a slower-than-expected recovery from the Covid lockdowns.And the CBI warned of a “cliff-edge” in 2023, when chancellor Rishi Sunak’s super-deduction tax break for business investment expires and the main rate of corporation tax rises from 19 to 25 per cent.Director-general Tony Danker called for a “booster for growth” in the form of new incentives to invest in technology and skills, to protect the recovery from a retrenchment caused by this double blow to business.The CBI’s six-monthly economic forecast put GDP growth at 6.9 per cent for 2021 – down from 8.2 per cent at the time of its last forecast in June – and 5.1 per cent next year, down from the previous 6.1 per cent. Growth in 2023 was forecast sharply lower at 3 per cent.And there were warnings that the new omicron variant of coronavirus could put even the downgraded growth forecasts at risk if it leads to new restrictions on social and economic activity, reinforcing the need for equitable distribution of vaccines to all parts of the world.The CBI forecast envisaged continued high inflation, peaking at 5.2 per cent in April next year and remaining above the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target until the spring of 2023.Unemployment is expected to rise briefly around the turn of the year before falling back to 3.8 per cent by the end of 2023.Rising prices will hit spending power as inflation outpaces pay rises for most, with a knock-on hit to growth, which is heavily dependent on consumer purchases.Household spending will generate 90 per cent of growth in 2022 and two-thirds in 2023 as consumers splash out using some of the money saved during their enforced stay at home, the forecast suggested.However, the CBI stressed that the longer-term challenge of persistently poor productivity levels must be addressed in order to deliver sustainable growth.The UK lags behind global peers on exports, and needs to “normalise” its relationship with its largest and most important trading partner, the European Union, said the CBI’s chief economist Rain Newton-Smith.Any recovery in exports is expected to be “lacklustre” following disappointing growth this year.And the current surge in business investment, which is expected to rise above its pre-pandemic level to register growth of 8.2 per cent in 2022, is expected to fall back from mid-2023, as the super-deduction comes to an end and the rise from 19 to 25 per cent in the main rate of corporation tax kicks in.Mr Danker said: “Significant headwinds and rising costs of living threaten the extent of recovery and prospects for economic success.“The UK’s new year resolution must be to give firms the confidence to go for growth. We should be raising our sights on the economy’s potential and seizing the moment.“I know from speaking with firms of all sizes that they have an ambitious investment mindset and are anxious to implement growth plans. But while intentions have thawed, we’re coming up to a cliff-edge in 2023.“The super-deduction is a welcome catalyst, but a one-hit wonder isn’t enough to make up for four decades of underperforming business investment. We must build on its success with targeted measures encouraging the scale of investment we need, particularly in green technologies. A booster for growth is needed to protect and build on our recovery.”And Ms Newton-Smith added: “We expect a pretty firm economic recovery ahead, though understandably the emergence of omicron poses another downside risk to our forecast.“Ultimately this underscores the need for equitable distribution of vaccines across the world – supporting lives, livelihoods and freeing our international travel sector, boosting trade too. The emphasis must be on testing and using all the tools at our disposal to keep as many global routes open as possible.” More

Boris Johnson is to promise to invest £300m in “wiping out” the county lines drug gangs responsible for distributing and selling illegal substances across England.The crackdown forms part of the government’s new drugs strategy, which also includes an expansion of drug testing after arrest for other offences and a behaviour change campaign to be piloted in universities in the hope of turning young people away from narcotics.The launch of the strategy on Monday comes after evidence emerged that around 300,000 heroin and crack addicts in England are responsible between them for nearly half of all acquisitive crime – such as burglaries and muggings – while drugs are linked to almost half of homicides.The total cost to society of illegal drug use is estimated by the government to be nearly £20bn a year in England alone.Mr Johnson said that the police county lines programme had already closed down 1,500 “lines” responsible for spreading drugs from the cities to every corner of the country, making more than 7,400 arrests and safeguarding more than 4,000 vulnerable adults and children.The new campaign will aim to dismantle a further 2,000 county line operations over the next three years.The prime minister said: “Drugs are a scourge on our society, fuelling violence on our streets, which communities across the country are forced to endure.“That’s why, to cut crime and truly level up across the country, we must step up efforts to wipe out the vile county lines gangs who are blighting our neighbourhoods, exploiting children and ruining lives.“Backed by record investment, the strategy we’re setting out today will attack supply and break the county lines model, which sees criminals profit from people’s misery. Those who break the law will have nowhere to hide.”Home secretary Priti Patel added: “It is clear that the drugs trade is still driving so much crime – we must do more to prevent these ruthless gangs ruining lives, tearing apart communities and exploiting young people.“This strategy will help to relentlessly pursue the kingpins behind these supply lines, making our streets safer.”Other elements of the strategy include:• Carrying out 6,400 disruptions against the activities of organised criminals• Strengthening organised crime partnerships preventing the wholesale supply of drugs to neighbourhood dealers• Out-of-court interventions including mandatory attendance of drug awareness courses for those who continue to use substances• Powers for judges to order drug testing of anyone serving a community sentence whose offending is related to drug use• Contacting phone numbers found on drug dealers’ seized mobiles with a range of messages to discourage drug use and direct users to supportChris Farrimond, director of threat leadership at the National Crime Agency, said: “So far this year, over 120 tonnes of cocaine have been seized as a result of NCA activity. We have more than 300 ongoing investigations, both at home and abroad, specifically focusing on class A drugs.“We have worked with government partners on the 10-year drugs strategy and will continue to suppress the dynamic drugs market, taking out of circulation those exploitative, violent and connected individuals and crime groups intent on causing harm to our communities.”The National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for county lines, deputy assistant commissioner Graham McNulty, said: “County lines drug dealing is linked to the most serious violence and abuse of vulnerable young people, and we are committed to doing everything we can to bring these criminals to justice.“Additional funding will support police in stopping these abhorrent criminals, protect young people, and protect our communities from the misery caused by county lines.” More