UK Politics

Watch live as Boris Johnson faces Keir Starmer at PMQsPrime minister Boris Johnson has failed to deny reports that he attended two Downing Street parties during Covid lockdowns in the run-up to Christmas last year.Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Johnson insisted that “all guidance was followed” but did not dispute claims in the Daily Mirror that he and 40 or 50 staff held gatherings at the end of November and in December when restrictions were in place.Elsewhere, an investigation has been launched by the parliamentary standards commissioner into cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg over an alleged breach of the MPs’ code of conduct.The announcement comes weeks after the Labour Party called on the independent commissioner, Kathryn Stone, to investigate the leader of House of Commons over claims that he failed to declare £6 millions in cheap loans from one of this own companies.Mr Rees-Mogg insisted at the time that the loans were declared in the proper way. “Saliston is 100 per cent owned by me,” his spokesman said. “This is declared clearly in the Commons register and to the Cabinet Office.”Show latest update

1638370546New poll: 55 per cent in favour of Scottish independenceMore than half of voters in Scotland are in favour of independence from the UK, according to a new poll.An IpsosMori survey found 55 per cent of respondents said they would vote “Yes” in any future referendum against 45 per cent who would not.Ipsos said support for breaking away from the UK is 5 percentage points higher than it was in early May.
Matt Mathers1 December 2021 14:551638369946Ministers risk ‘endangering’ civil servants unless home working becomes default, union warnsMinisters risk a “dereliction of duty” unless they move to make working from home the default position for civil servants where they can in a bid to combat the spread of the omicron Covid variant, Whitehall’s biggest union has warned.
My colleagues Simon Murphy and Anna Isaac report: Matt Mathers1 December 2021 14:451638369346PM: Pushback plans branded unlawful will go ahead despite drowningsControversial plans to “push back” refugee boats in the Channel will go ahead, despite 27 deaths last week and mounting legal challenges, Boris Johnson has vowed.Our deputy politics editor Rob Merrick reports: Matt Mathers1 December 2021 14:351638368677Scottish Tory leader hit by standards probeScottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has also been added to the list of MPs that are under investigation by Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone.The MP for Moray revealed last month that he had referred himself to the commissioner after failing to declare thousands of pounds in outside earnings from his second job as an MSP and third job as a football referee.Like cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, Mr Ross is now being investigated over “registration of an interest under category one of the Guide to the Rules (Employment and Earnings)”.Matt Mathers1 December 2021 14:241638368108Rape victims demoralised by ‘distressing’ justice system delaysRape victims are “lucky” if their case is heard in court within four years, lawyers have warned MPs.MPs were told complainants get demoralised and “drop out of the system” as they wait for police to charge suspects.Senior barristers and solicitors told the Commons Home Affairs Committee today that a lack of resources could be major factors behind the low prosecution rates for rape.Kirsty Brimelow QC, vice chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, said: “There are increasing delays which, I have to say, is very depressing and distressing.“Having seen – in certainly my early years of practice – how cases involving complainants and sexual offences will be expedited, now you’re lucky if the case is heard within four years between complaint and trial. And it’s not all due to do with backlog.”Figures published earlier this month showed police forces in England and Wales had recorded the highest number of rapes and the second highest number of sexual offences in a 12-month period.But separate data shows the proportion of suspects being taken to court had fallen to a record low, and remains the lowest for rape cases.Lamiat Sabin1 December 2021 14:151638367510France urges EU to act against Britain in fishing disputeFrance’s minister for Europe has called on the EU to take “European measures” against Britain if there is no resolution to the post-Brexit row over fishing licences by 10 December.The European Commission has said the dispute must be settled by that date as it upped the pressure on the UK in the negotiations.Clement Beaune said today that it was not a Franco-British dispute, but one between the whole of the EU and the UK.Mr Beaune said that French punitive measures – such as a ban on British trawlers landing their catches in French ports and tighter customs checks to hamper cross-Channel trade – remain “on the table” if a deal cannot be reached.On the potential ban by the French, he added: “It’s one of the possible options but it’s better, to be honest, to have European measures.”France’s maritime minister Annick Girardin also warned of European retaliatory measures, telling the Ouest France newspaper on Tuesday that “London is testing the solidarity of the European Union.”Lamiat Sabin1 December 2021 14:051638366608Schools to remain open for rest of term, says ministerThe government plans to keep schools open until the Christmas holidays, an education minister has said.Children’s minister Will Quince said it was “deeply regrettable” that some school nativity plays have been cancelled but that the government wants to “see schools stay open.”The minister told MPs in the Commons Education Committee: “That is certainly our plan.”His comments came after Justin McCamphill – NASUWT teaching union’s national official for Northern Ireland – called on schools to cancel mass gatherings over Christmas amid staff shortages caused by Covid.Mr McCamphill had also said that the government may need to consider a circuit-breaker closure of Northern Ireland’s schools to stop the spread of the virus.Face masks are now being recommended in communal areas of England’s secondary schools and colleges following the emergence of the new omicron variant of Covid.Lamiat Sabin1 December 2021 13:501638366185Low-income Scots could get blanket winter payment from 2022About half a million households in Scotland will be given “certainty” in being able to pay for heating with a £50 payment every winter.The Scottish Government is aiming to replace the current UK-wide Cold Weather Payment from next winter.The current UK benefit pays £25 for each seven-day period where the temperature is forecast to be below freezing.Under the new scheme, households receiving income-related benefits would automatically receive £50 every winter regardless of whether temperatures drop below zero for a set amount of time.Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “Although Cold Weather Payments have been a valuable support for some during periods of very cold weather, there have been some years when hardly any payments have been made at all by the UK Government.“If winters, as predicted, are due to become generally wetter and warmer then this may also reduce the numbers of Cold Weather Payments in the future. We want people to have certainty about receiving a payment.”Last week, experts told MSPs that around 100,000 more households are expected to go into fuel poverty – and that more than 600,000 households are currently estimated to be struggling to pay for heating.Lamiat Sabin1 December 2021 13:431638364559Full report: PM refuses to deny No 10 held Christmas party during lockdown last yearBoris Johnson has refused to deny there was a Christmas party held at No 10 last year while lockdown curbs were in place – but claimed all Covid rules were followed.My colleague Adam Forrest has more details below: Matt Mathers1 December 2021 13:151638363258Watch: Starmer accuses Johnson of ‘taking British public for fools’Starmer accuses Johnson of ‘taking the British public for fools’Matt Mathers1 December 2021 12:54 More

The president of the European Commission has said a “discussion” is needed on whether to bring in mandatory Covid-19 vaccination across the bloc.Ursula von der Leyen said Europe needed to take a “common approach” and said too many people were still unvaccinated.She made the comments as the Commission urged the EU27 countries to rapidly roll out booster vaccines, amid concerns about the new omicron variant.Asked whether she supported a move by the Greek authorities to fine unvaccinated older people €100 (£85) a month, the Commission president said mandatory vaccination needed to be considered as a policy option.”If you’re asking me what my personal position is, two or three years ago, I would never have thought to witness what we see right now that we have this horrible pandemic,” she told reporters in Brussels.“We have the vaccines, the life-saving vaccines, but they are not being used adequately everywhere. And this costs… this is an enormous health cost coming along.“If you look at the numbers, we have now 77 per cent of the adults in the European Union vaccinated or if you take the whole population, it’s 66 per cent. And this means one-third of the European population is not vaccinated. These are 150 million people.”She added: “This is a lot, and not each and every one can be vaccinated – children, for example, or people with special medical conditions – but the vast majority could and therefore, I think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now.“How we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union, this needs discussion. This needs a common approach, but it is a discussion that I think has to be met.”Elsewhere in Europe, Austria is looking at how to make Covid-19 vaccination mandatory from earlier next year, while Germany’s new chancellor Olaf Scholz is said to support the policy, according to German outlet Der Spiegel.Such a policy does not appear to be on the horizon in the UK, where health secretary Sajid Javid last week said he did not expect the vaccine to ever become mandatory for the general population. Frontline NHS health workers in England will however be required to be vaccinated from Spring 2022. More

The omicron variant could see a “very large wave” of Covid infections in the UK and may need “stringent” rules to protect the NHS, according to leaked minutes of a meeting of top government advisers.The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) believes it is “highly likely” that the new variant can escape immunity from existing vaccines “to some extent”.Official notes from the Sage meeting, shared with the BBC, warned: “Any significant reduction in protection against infection could still result in a very large wave of infections.”The stark warning added: “This would in turn lead to a potentially high number of hospitalisations even with protection against severe disease being less affected.”Although the Sage scientists remain unsure how big a wave of omicron infection might be, they warned that a “very stringent response measures” may be needed by Boris Johnson’s government to ease the pressure on the NHS.The Sage advisers also said a tightening of existing travel rules so pre-departure testing for travellers returning to the UK would be “valuable”, according to the BBC.Labour has already called on the government to reintroduce pre-departure Covid tests for anyone travelling to the UK, demanding “strong action at the border now”.Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s shadow home secretary, responding to leaked minutes by saying: “It is totally unacceptable that ministers are failing to take action at the border when even their own advisors are telling them to introduce pre-departure tests.”The minutes also show that the Sage advisers believe the government’s existing policy of a single PCR test within two days of arrival will “identify significantly fewer cases” than an extra test on either day five or day eight after arrival.Both the Scottish and Welsh governments have already urged No 10 to “toughen” rules so travellers are asked to self-isolate at home until they receive a negative test result after eight days. “It would be sensible,” said SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.A spokesperson for the government did not deny the leaked minutes were genuine, adding: “We continue to monitor the situation closely and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary.”Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said: “At all times we take note of any clinical advice we receive and then we make a balanced judgement. We need to strike the right balance between protecting lives and livelihoods. We are confident this is the right approach.”The government’s Sage advisers say it is too early to know how Omicron may effect the seriousness of illness experienced by those who contract the variant.But the minutes of their Monday meeting also warn: “It is important to be prepared for a potentially very significant wave of infections with associated hospitalisations now, ahead of data being available.”Health secretary Sajid Javid said on Wednesday it was possible that vaccines were less effective against the Omicron variant, but they should still protect against serious disease.Results of lab studies on omicron and its impact on vaccines are expected in the coming weeks. Mr Javid said the government was confident that “within two weeks that we can know a lot more about this”.Asked on LBC about reports that it could take six months to tweak the vaccine against omicron, Mr Javid said: “Look, the truth is … no one really knows about such things. First of all, what does Omicron actually mean?”He added: “From what we do know from – let’s call it a desktop analysis – we know it’s got lots of mutations, we know that it’s concerning scientists about its infectiousness rate, about potentially its impact on vaccines.”Mr Javid also said the NHS is working to suspend some of the workload of GPs so they can concentrate on expanding the booster vaccination programme.“The NHS is working on that right now with GP representatives,” the health secretary told BBC Breakfast.“I am confident that they will work out a way where some of the workload of GPs can be temporarily suspended or GPs can be helped in other ways.” More

Boris Johnson has refused to deny there was a Christmas party held at No 10 last year while lockdown curbs were in place – but claimed all Covid rules were followed.Challenged by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs over the festive bash for Downing Street staff, the prime minister said: “All guidance was followed completely.”The Labour leader said: “The prime minister doesn’t deny there was a Downing Street Christmas party last year … He says no rules were broken. Both of those things can’t be true. He’s taking the British public for fools.”Sir Keir quoted from the “clear” Covid rules in place when London was under tier 3 restrictions, which stated: “You must not have a work Christmas lunch or party.”He added: “Does the prime minister really believe that while the country was banned from seeing loved ones at Christmas last year, it was fine for him and his friend to throw a boozy party at Downing Street?”The Daily Mirror reported that Mr Johnson gave a speech at a packed leaving do for a senior aide last November when the country was in the midst of the second lockdown.The newspaper said members of his No 10 team then held their own festive party in the days before Christmas while London was under tier 3 restrictions.In each case there was reportedly 40 or 50 people crammed “cheek by jowl” into a medium sized room. “It was a Covid nightmare,” one source claimed, while another said there were “many social gatherings” at No 10 at the height of the second lockdown.Grilled over the Downing Street party at the start of PMQs on Wednesday, Mr Johnson deflected and urged Sir Keir to follow current guidance when he holds his own party on 15 December “to which he’s unaccountably failed to invite the deputy leader [Angela Rayner]”.The Labour leader responded: “Nice try, but that won’t work”, before going on to question the refusal of some Conservative MPs to wear masks in the Commons.“As for following the rules, prime minister – it might be worth looking behind you when it comes to the question of masks,” said Sir Keir. “As ever, one rule for them, one rule for everybody else.”It was reported that the official No 10 staff party was cancelled but that the leaving-do still took place on 27 November, while an unofficial Christmas party was held on 18 December. Mr Johnson did not attend the latter event, it was claimed.A Downing Street source did not deny that parties had taken place, telling reporters only: “We don’t recognise this account. At all stages the rules have been followed.”Leading barrister Adam Wagner, an expert on Covid restrictions, said rules were “probably broken” at the 18 December gathering if 40 to 50 people did attend.“At the time (Tier 3), you could only have gatherings over 30 indoors if they were a ‘permitted organised gathering’, but that would require households not mingling, or if ‘reasonably necessary for work’,” he tweeted.He added: “But a Christmas party was very unlikely to be ‘reasonably necessary for work’ … I think that purely social gatherings which weren’t e.g. combined with work meetings – like a Christmas party – weren’t ‘reasonably necessary’.”Earlier on Wednesday, health secretary Sajid Javid said “all rules would have been followed” if there had been parties in the run-up to last Christmas.Questioned on LBC, Mr Javid said: “I don’t know who attended these parties – but I don’t even think there were parties, that I’m aware of.” More

Controversial plans to “push back” refugee boats in the English Channel will go ahead, despite 27 deaths last week and mounting legal challenges, Boris Johnson has vowed.The tactic had been thrown into doubt by complex rules drawn up by the Home Office – suggesting Priti Patel might back down in the face of widespread protests.And a report by a parliamentary committee warned of more tragedies to come, because the policy would make Channel crossings “even more dangerous”.But the prime minister doubled down on the plan in the Commons, as he claimed a vote on legislation next week is a test of Labour’s willingness to act on illegal immigration.“It gives us the power to make the distinction, at last, between illegal and legal migrants to this country,” Mr Johnson told Keir Starmer“It gives Border Force the power to turn people back at sea and it gives us the power to screen people and send them for screening overseas, rather than in this country.”Mr Johnson also pledged to “review the human rights system”, while ducking a Tory backbencher’s call to axe the Human Rights Act altogether.The Independent revealed that any operations would have to meet numerous conditions, including the presence of French authorities to receive vessels.When questioned about the legality of the planned operations, Ms Patel said a “framework” had been drawn up but admitted: “There is a narrow basis for the operationalisation of this tactic.”Several charities, including Care4Calais and Channel Rescue, are involved in legal challenges, arguing that the plans are unlawful under human rights and maritime laws.Labour opposes both the pushback policy and the Home Office’s as yet unsuccessful attempts to find a country that will accept UK asylum seekers for processing.Meanwhile, Ms Patel has bowed to pressure to protect the RNLI and other charities from being prosecuted for rescuing asylum seekers in the Channel.New laws would make it a criminal offence to “facilitate the entry of asylum seekers” by taking them ashore, even if not done for payment or any sort of criminal gain.The home secretary has now tabled an amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill creating a specific legal exemption for rescuers.In the Commons, Mr Johnson was challenged to go further by the Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell, who said: “We will not be able to stop the endless waves of illegal migrants crossing the English Channel until we break free from the constraints of the European Convention on Human Rights, which impedes our ability to tackle this tragic situation and protects even the most violent of criminals from being deported.“It’s time to take back control and fulfil our manifesto commitment in 2015 to get rid of Labour’s Human Rights Act and bring in a British bill of rights.” More

An investigation has been launched by the parliamentary standards commissioner into cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg over an alleged breach of the MPs’ code of conduct.The independent commissioner Kathryn Stone announced that she is investigating a complaint of a breach of paragraph 14 of the code, which requires MPs to make an “open and frank” record of their financial interests in the Commons register.It is understood that the inquiry relates to a series of loans totalling £6m made to Mr Rees-Mogg by his company Saliston Limited between 2018 and 2020.The leader of the Commons was reported to the commissioner by his Labour shadow Thangam Debbonaire, who said that if confirmed the alleged loans would amount to “yet another egregious breach” of rules by a Conservative MP.Mr Rees-Mogg was one of the driving forces behind a botched Tory attempt to neuter the commissioner’s office by appointing a Conservative-dominated committee to rewrite the rules governing her inquiries in favour of MPs under investigation.The Commons leader admitted earlier this month that he had encouraged prime minister Boris Johnson to force through an amendment setting aside a punishment recommended for Tory MP Owen Paterson after Ms Stone found him guilty of breaching sleaze rules.The Paterson vote on 3 November came just around a week before the spotlight fell on Mr Rees-Mogg’s own financial arrangements, as it emerged he had not reported cut-price director’s loans which he received from Saliston.The North-East Somerset MP owns Saliston, even though he gave up his directorship in 2019. It has a stake in investment company Somerset Capital Management, the parent firm of Somerset Capital Management (Cayman) in the Cayman Islands.Ms Debbonaire said “Over the last few weeks, we have seen that Conservative MPs repeatedly act as if they can put their own private business interests ahead of their constituents and the prime minister must put a stop to this. “It is right that the standards commissioner is investigating what appears to be yet another egregious breach of the rules, with Jacob Rees-Mogg failing to declare millions of pounds of directors’ loans. “The prime minister also needs to investigate whether the ministerial code has been breached.“Labour would strengthen the standards system, with a ban on directorships and paid consultancy, and the House of Commons must be given the chance to fully debate and approve measures put forward by the Standards Committee to toughen up the system” More