UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email The British government has called off post-Brexit trade talks with Canada after discussions broke down over disagreements related to the import and export of beef and cheese.The two countries have been negotiating a new trade deal over the past two years since Britain fully left the European Union. Trade between the two has largely continued under the same deal that was originally brokered when Britain was a member of the bloc. In a statement late Thursday, the U.K. government said it “remains open” to restarting talks in the future but that there was no progress so far. Annual trade between the two countries is valued at around 26 billion pounds ($33 billion).Over time as the discussions pushed ahead, Canadian negotiators came under mounting pressure from their beef industry and domestic cheesemakers. The beef industry wanted access to the United Kingdom for its hormone-fed beef while the cheesemakers warned about the economic impact of tariff-free cheese from Britain, primarily cheddar. Tariff-free cheese exports from Britain stopped at the end of 2023 after a time-limited side agreement expired, leaving British producers facing higher duties of 245%.Canada’s trade minister, Mary Ng, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the Canadian government “will never agree to a deal that isn’t good for our workers, farmers and businesses.”#Minette Batters, president of the Nation Farmers’ Union of England and Wales, praised the British government, especially its apparent refusal to allow hormone-linked beef to be allowed into Britain.“Trade on agricultural products is always the first thing to be discussed and the last thing to be agreed,” she said. “I am pleased the government has stuck to its line and not given way,”One of the main benefits that was being pushed during Britain’s 2016 referendum on its membership of the EU was that it would allow the country to pursue its independent trade policy. However, few new trade deals have been negotiated since Brexit, and any ensuing benefits are widely considered to be modest when put against the impediments to trade that have now been put in place between Britain and the EU. Before Brexit, Britain could trade freely within the bloc.Britain’s Conservative government, which negotiated the post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, sought to downplay the breakdown in the talks with Canada.“It is a benefit of our independent trading status that we are able to insist on the detail of each and every deal to ensure that it works, specifically in the U.K. interests,” said Camilla Marshall, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.“We are open to restarting talks with Canada in the future where we can build a trading relationship that benefits businesses and consumers on both sides,” she added. “There is no schedule for those.”With the talks breakdown, there are renewed worries British cars could see higher tariffs from April on exports, when another temporary tariff-free agreement — similar to the one involving cheese — is due to expire.The British Chambers of Commerce said the breakdown in the talks was “unwelcome news” and urged the government to help sectors affected.“For our dairy exporters and parts of our manufacturing industry the loss of key trade preferences puts them in a worse position than before 2020,” said William Bain, the chamber’s trade policy chief.Britain’s main opposition Labour Party, which is far ahead of the Conservatives in polls ahead of a general election sometime this year, said the collapse of the talks was another “significant failure” by the government to deliver on its post-Brexit promises. More

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightRishi Sunak’s government has been hit by a new Brexit catastrophe, as talks aimed at reaching a trade deal with Canada collapsed in acrimony.It had been hoped that a free trade agreement with Britain’s close Commonwealth ally would have been among the very easiest to strike after Brexit.The Conservatives had boasted that post-Brexit Britain would be free to sign new economic pacts all over the world after quitting the EU.Then-PM Boris Johnson pledged to sign a “bespoke” trade deal with Justin Trudeau’s government to boost the economy after agreeing temporrary rollover arrangements in 2020.But two years on from the launch of formal talks, the Sunak government has called off negotiations with the Canadians due to a fall-out over beef and cheese quotas.The row erupted over Canada’s pushing for Britain to relax its ban on hormone-treated beef, which its producers say effectively shuts them out of the British market.Canada’s government has been facing pressure from both its beef industry and domestic cheesemakers – also pushing to get better access to the UK market.Canadians have told UK trade secretary Kemi Badenoch they are ‘disappointed’ But a spokeswoman for Canada’s trade minister, Mary Ng, said she was “disappointed” at the talks had now fallen apart – saying as much to trade secretary Kemi Badenoch.Ms Ng’s spokeswoman told the BBC: “Their decision to continue to maintain market access barriers for our agriculture industry and unwillingness to reach a mutual agreement has only stalled negotiations.”Ms Ng added on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the Canadian “government will never agree to a deal that isn’t good for our workers, farmers and businesses”.A UK government source said Canada appeared to have “lost sight of the bigger picture – the British and Canadian businesses who do £26bn worth of trade a year and the people they employ”.The source added: “If Canada come back to table with a serious offer and desire to make progress we’re all ears, but in the meantime we’re going to focus on other trade deals that deliver for UK businesses.”The two nations have been negotiating for the last two years, with trade continuing under the arrangements brokered when the UK was a member of the EU.Negotiations began on a new agreement in March 2022. The previous agreement had allowed the UK to continue to sell cars and cheese in the North American nation without Canada charging import tax.Boris Johnson said post-Brexit deal with Canada’s Justin Trudeau would boost economyIn November 2020, then-PM Mr Johnson claimed a new, post-Brexit deal with Canada would “go even further in meeting the needs of our economy”.Hopes were raised a deal could finally be done this year when Ms Badenoch worked closely with her Canadian counterpart in talks which saw the UK join its ally in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).However, Minette Batters, president of the Nation Farmers’ Union (NFU) of England and Wales, praised the Sunak government for having “stuck to its line and not given way”.She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was essential that hormone-treated beef is not allowed into the country.“It is a relief for farmers. This has been going on for a long time and it is about enhancing the trading relationship between the UK and Canada.”The farming leader said agricultural products tended to be “the first thing to be discussed and the last thing to be agreed – I am pleased the government has stuck to its line and not given way”.Ms Batters added: “Canada has played hardball for a long time. It was always going to come to a crunch point as to who was going to capitulate.”The fresh Brexit blow comes after a top group of MPs wanted that Britons heading to Europe could face waits of 14 hours or more at border control because of looming travel rule changes.And business chiefs have warned that a fresh wave of Brexit red tape coming at the end of January and April is already creating an “existential” crisis for Britain’s fresh food and flower firms.A UK government spokesperson on the collapse of talks with Canada: “We reserve the right to pause negotiations with any country if progress is not being made.”They added: “We remain open to restarting talks with Canada in the future to build a stronger trading relationship that benefits businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailKeir Starmer has called for an inquiry into failings that led to a series of fatal stabbings in Nottingham, saying it is the “least these families are owed”. The Labour leader said the deaths of Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, who were stabbed by Valdo Calocane last June were “absolutely awful”.The police have been accused of having “blood on their hands” after a series of failures meant the killer was able to carry out the attacks. Barnaby’s mother, Emma, said “true justice has not been served” after Calocane was handed a hospital order and not jailed. And she told Nottinghamshire Police assistant chief Rob Griffin: “If you had just done your job properly, there’s a very good chance my beautiful boy would be alive today.” But Downing Street said it was “important” that as “the first action the relevant agencies look back and ensure that all the proper processes were followed and that reasonable steps that could have been taken were taken, to ensure that where there are lessons to be learned we do so.”The Attorney General is also considering whether judges should review the sentence to decide if it is unduly lenient.The 32-year-old has paranoid schizophrenia and his pleas of manslaughter by diminished responsibility were accepted earlier this week.But the families of those killed reacted angrily to the sentencing and accused prosecutors of a “fait accompli” in not pursuing a murder verdict.Sir Keir, who in a previous job was the top prosecutor for England and Wales, told ITV’s This Morning programme: “As far as the sentence is concerned, obviously there are mental health issues in this particular case, and the Attorney General has got the power to review it and I think that probably makes sense and have it double checked by the Court of Appeal.”But I think alongside the sentence, I am very worried by what appear to be a number of points at which action could have been taken that would have prevented this happening.”The family are saying that needs to be an inquiry into that. I think they’re right about that. I think somebody outside of this independent needs to look at exactly what happened, what were the points of which there could have been an intervention and why it didn’t happen. That is the least that these families are owed.”Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has backed calls for an inquiry into the Nottingham attacks (Stefan Rousseau/PA)Rishi Sunak has so far resisted ordering an inquiry. A Number 10 spokeswoman said: “We believe that it’s important that as the first action, that the relevant agencies look back and ensure that all the proper processes were followed and that reasonable steps that could have been taken were taken, to ensure that where there are lessons to be learned we do so.”That is the first thing that needs to happen.”Judge Mr Justice Turner said Calocane would “very probably” be detained in a high-security hospital for the rest of his life as he sentenced him for the “atrocious” killings, as well as the attempted murder of three others.Speaking on the steps outside Nottingham Crown Court after the sentencing, Mrs Webber said: “We were presented with a fait accompli that the decision had been made to accept manslaughter charges.”At no point during the previous five-and-a-half-months were we given any indication that this could conclude in anything other than murder.”We trusted in our system, foolishly as it turns out.” More

Tory Minister Alex Burghart was met with laughter as he praised Rishi Sunak on BBC Question TimeMr Burghart appeared on the show on Thursday (26 January) and said: “The truth is, Rishi Sunak has been doing an incredibly good job in very, very difficult circumstances.”His comments were met by laughter from the audience, with many people shaking their heads.Mr Burghart said: “Hear me out, this has probably been …” before he was stopped by host Fiona Bruce.She said: “Just a minute. Why do you think people are laughing?” More

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the worldSign up to our free Morning Headlines emailNewly released documents show that Post Office chiefs secretly ditched forensic accountants who found problems in the Horizon IT system – with the full knowledge of David Cameron’s coalition government.A Post Office committee called “Project Sparrow”, decided to sack Second Sight, a firm of investigators which uncovered evidence the computer system was faulty, and bring the investigation in-house.The secret plan to get rid of the firm was exposed in minutes from two meetings of the group that took place in April 2014, the BBC reported.Kevan Jones has warned of a potential second scandal involving IT software used by the Post Office (James Manning/PA)The records show that former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells, senior lawyer Chris Aujard, and Richard Callard, a senior civil servant at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, were all part of the Post Office committee.Former sub-postmaster Alan Bates told the broadcaster: “It’s been a cover-up from start to finish. That’s coming out now. It’s undeniable.“And this is what we’ve been up against all the way. We’ve always known they were covering up – it’s just been very difficult to find proof.”Second Sight first identified various IT bugs in the Horizon computer system in a report on 8 July 2013, which cast doubt on the data used to prosecute sub-postmasters. Alan Bates told the BBC the whole scandal ha “been a cover-up from start to finish” The Post Office was warned by its own legal counsel this could be in breach of its legal duties as sub-postmasters who were convicted should have been made aware of the faults.However months later when “Project Sparrow” met in April 2014, the members said it wanted to pay “token payments” to sub-postmasters, in the region of around £1m. The compensation bill is now expected to reach £1bn.Months after the meetings, former Post Office minister Jo Swinson reiterated the independent role of Second Sight in a parliamentary question in 2014 on the Horizon IT scandal. Vince Cable was the business secretary at the time.Second Sight’s contract was terminated in 2015 and the operations of “Project Sparrow” were not uncovered until years later.In a statement, the Post Office said: “We never discuss individuals and it would be inappropriate to comment on allegations being made outside of the Inquiry, whose role it is to consider all of the evidence on the issues it is examining and independently reach conclusions.“We fully share the Public Inquiry’s aims to get to the truth of what happened in the past and accountability.”In other developments, Labour MP Kevan Jones warned on Thursday of a potential “second scandal” involving the Post Office after concerns were raised that subpostmasters were convicted over losses involving another IT system.Labour MP Kevan Jones has called on Post Office boss Nick Read to come before MPs to answer questions following reports about faults with the Capture software used for accounting.Number 10 has said it wants the matter investigated and “robust action” must take place if there are any issues.The i newspaper first reported concerns about the prospect of a second faulty IT system, following on from the scandal over the Horizon system.In a letter to Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake, Mr Jones said: “We know the Capture software was faulty, resulting in corrupted data. We also know that the Post Office knew about these faults at the time, as it openly communicated with sub-postmasters about them.” More

Rishi Sunak admitted he had a “stressful moment” as he helped apprentices wire a fuse box at a construction training centre in Scarborough.The prime minister looked delighted with their work and eagerly waited to see if the lights came on once the switch was thrown.“Boom! God, that was a stressful moment there,” Mr Sunak joked.He also took selfies with some of the apprentices studying at the Construction Skills Village, located near Scarborough, during a visit to the site on Thursday 25 January. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailScotland’s former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, called Boris Johnson a “f***ing clown” at the time of the second Covid lockdown, bombshell messages have revealed. WhatsApp messages shared between the ex-SNP leader and her top adviser, Liz Lloyd, shown at the Covid inquiry demonstrated the utter disdain with which the then-prime minister was held.Ms Sturgeon said Mr Johnson’s address announcing a second national lockdown on 31 October 2020 was “f***ing excruciating” and “awful”.She told Ms Lloyd: “His utter incompetence in every sense is now offending me on behalf of politicians everywhere,” adding: “He is a f***ing clown.”It came as Humza Yousaf, the SNP leader, admitted the Scottish government’s handling of information was “frankly poor” as he announced a review into its use of WhatsApp in a bid to end the controversy over deleted messages.The new messages shared at the inquiry on Thursday also revealed the extent to which Ms Sturgeon and her officials discussed the political implications of pandemic policies.The SNP government has come under fire in recent days after messages revealed top officials had discussed how to use the Covid crisis to forward the cause of Scottish independence.Ms Lloyd told Ms Sturgeon she wanted a “good old-fashioned rammy” with the Tory government so she could “think about something other than sick people”.Liz Lloyd, Nicola Sturgeon’s former top adviser, arriving at the Covid inquiry The adviser told Ms Sturgeon she had “set a timetable” for the UK government to answer the Scottish government on the furlough scheme as a “purely political” move in the November 2020 messages.Ms Sturgeon replied: “Yeah, I get it. And it might be worth doing. I’ve sent a rough formulation of what I might say tomorrow.”Asked if she was looking for a spat, Ms Lloyd replied: “I was looking for a spat with a purpose.” Handwritten notes also showed Ms Lloyd suggested a possible strategy of “calling for things” that the Scottish government could not do to “force the UK government to do things”.Ms Lloyd told the inquiry that the Scottish government were “clearly not complimentary” about the UK government’s way of communicating new rules with the public. “We had to mitigate the chaos that appeared around some of the decisions they took.”Discussing calls between the government, she said Mr Johnson “wasn’t well briefed, he wasn’t listening – engagement with him became slightly pointless”. Ms Lloyd added: “They didn’t get us anywhere.”Sturgeon is under scrutiny over her use of private emails and deletion of messages Last week, it emerged from Sturgeon cabinet meeting minutes from June 2020 that her ministers agreed to consider how the Covid crisis could be used to boost support for Scottish independence.Her ministers “agreed that consideration be given to restarting work on independence” with the case updated based on “arguments reflecting the experience of the coronavirus crisis”. The Scottish Tories said it was “disgusting” to use the crisis to “break up” the UK.Mr Yousaf rejected accusations the Scottish government made Covid decisions for political reasons. “Our motivation – every step of the way – was to ensure we kept the people of this country safe,” he told the Scottish parliament shortly before his own appearance at the inquiry.Appearing at the Covid inquiry, Mr Yousaf admitted the Scottish government’s handling of information was “frankly poor”. He said: “I apologise unreservedly to the inquiry and to those mourning the loss of a loved one.”The SNP leader announced that he had commissioned officials to deliver “an externally-led review” into the use of mobile messaging apps and the use of non-corporate technology in the Scottish government.Mr Yousaf later confirmed to the Covid inquiry that the review would not have access to messages deleted by ministers and senior officials.The SNP leader – Scotland’s health secretary during the pandemic – also admitted that he had used personal phones to conduct government business rather than a government-issued phone.The messages were all deleted “after a month for cyber security purposes”, according to a document from October 2023 that details how ministers used informal communications.However, Mr Yousaf realised some messages were recoverable as he had retained a previous phone handset. The SNP leader has maintained that he has personally handed over all his relevant Whatsapps to the inquiry.Humza Yousaf arriving at the Covid inquiry Ms Sturgeon’s use of private party emails is also under fresh scrutiny. It emerged that she had provided a public health expert with an SNP email address – saying she could be contacted “privately”. She told Professor Devi Sridhar: “Don’t worry about protocol.”Scottish Labour has demanded an investigation. But a source close to Ms Sturgeon denied concealment on Thursday – saying any emails relevant to the pandemic she received in her private inbox “were passed to the Scottish government”.Ms Sturgeon is also under pressure over deleted messages. The ex-SNP leader previously suggested that she had never used informal messages to make Covid decisions.It then emerged that messages were routinely deleted. But Ms Sturgeon has insisted that informal messages erased on her own devices were later obtained and submitted to the inquiry.Humza Yousaf defended his use of masks while giving evidenceMr Yousaf also defended his use of masks after it emerged that a top health adviser had told him he could be exempt while attending an event if he had “a drink in your hands at all times”.The first minister said national clinical director Professor Jason Leitch’s advice that “literally no one” followed mask guidance for standing in public places was simply him “over speaking”.He used the same term when defending Ms Sturgeon and the Scottish government’s decision-making after it emerged that Prof Leitch said the then-first minister “actually wanted none of us” in crucial meetings.The inquiry counsel asked Mr Yousaf if this was an indication that Ms Sturgeon “really took decisions in connection with the pandemic herself”.Mr Yousaf said there had been “times the former first minister needed a tighter cast list” for meetings, but denied cabinet ministers were not involved in big moves. “I think this is a classic example of Jason perhaps over speaking,” he added.Mr Yousaf also branded the Scottish Police Federation a “disgrace” in messages exchanged with former SNP deputy first minister, John Swinney, over the implementation of Covid rules. He said: “Sometimes when you are venting to a colleague you use language you regret.” Earlier, Ms Lloyd denied that a decision about guest limits on weddings showed she was involved in making up policy that was made “on the hoof” with Ms Sturgeon. She was shown messages exchanged on 22 September 2020, where Ms Sturgeon said: “We haven’t thought about weddings.”A media briefing was then delayed so a decision could be made to keep wedding and funeral numbers at 20. Ms Lloyd said a decision taken to change numbers would be “on the hoof”, but “sticking with a decision already taken was more coherent”. More

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightRishi Sunak’s government has been urged to reassure Britons there will be no shortage of red roses for Valentine’s Day due to new Brexit checks.Fruit, vegetable and flower importers are urging the government to provide more detail on the wave of new red tape imposed on imports coming in at the end of January and April.And Dutch flower growers have called on Sunak government to delay the looming border controls – warning EU exporters are not ready.Labour MP Daniel Zeichner said British growers importing young plants, flowers seeds and other products were now “seriously worried” about the looming changes.The Horticultural Trade Association has warned that the process of importing a petunia plant from the Netherlands had gone from 19 to 59 steps, Mr Zeichner pointed out in the Commons.The MP asked: “So what’s the minister doing to ensure that we’ll have a plentiful supply of imported red roses for Valentine’s Day – especially for all those Conservatives on the other side who love each other so much?”Tory trade minister Greg Hands said the government had done a lot of work on the system for import checks “to make sure businesses are aware and the introduction of this will be staged”.Dover has seen waves of congestion and delay from post-Brexit rules Mr Hands said the new model will “simplify border processes for both imports and exports”, before going on to attack Labour’s plans for a new veterinary agreement with Brussels to ease trade friction.Mr Sunak’s government delayed the introduction of checks on EU imports until 2024 over fears the extra burden could push up food inflation, which is finally beginning to ease from the peaks of the cost of living crisis.New health certificates are required for imports from 31 January. Then there will be a further three months before sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks on medium-risk food, animal and plant products come into force on 30 April.Chris Bonnett, founder of Gardening Express, has warned the new checks could lead to a shortage of some flowers and plants. He said it is “likely that consumers will face the brunt of it all with increased prices of flowers and plants”.Earlier this month, the Dutch Association of Wholesalers in Floricultural Products said checks should be pushed back again until 2025 – warning of problems ahead of Valentine’s Day and Easter.James Barnes, chairman of the Horticultural Trades Association, has told the Financial Times that the new border system is “a disaster waiting to happen”.He added: “The fundamental issue is that the infrastructure isn’t in place to cope with the volume of trade that’s coming through.”The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said the looming paperwork and inspections on imports could pose an “existential threat” to Britain’s horticultural businesses.The farming group said British growers who are dependent on young plants from the EU – such as soft fruits like strawberries and raspberries – look set to be hit by disruption. More