Brexit

The warning comes after a number of lorries headed for Ireland, which remains in the EU, fell foul of the new customs arrangements that came into force at 11pm on New Year’s Eve.Ferry operator Stena Line on Friday said it had turned away six lorries from a Holyhead service to Dublin because drivers did “not have the correct references”.Eugene Drennan, president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, told The Times: “There will be delays, for sure. The mayhem that’s coming in Dublin port is unbelievable.”Lorries arriving into Northern Ireland – which now operates under different customs arrangements to the rest of the UK – also saw delays, with nearly half on one ferry being subjected to inspection on arrival in Belfast, haulage association Logistics UK claimed.But for now severe border chaos is yet to arrive at Britain’s major ports, due in part to reduced services on New Year’s Day.Dover on Friday saw just a trickle of lorries, with operator Eurotunnel saying traffic was particularly quiet because businesses had stockpiled in advance of a possible no-deal.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayThe Road Haulage Association, which represents lorry operators, said the chaos would be largely invisible and take the form of drivers being turned away for not having the right paperwork rather than tailbacks.“This is the quietest time of the year,” Ian Davies, Stena Line’s head of UK ports, told Sky News. “The true test will come when the volume starts to build.”Businesses trading with Europe will now have to deal with dramatically more bureaucracy, filling in around 200 million extra customs declarations and year as frictionless trade comes to an end.A last-minute free trade agreement negotiated by Boris Johnson managed to reduce some of the damage caused by the policy, but the new settlement is still expected to reduce UK growth by around 5.4 per cent in the long-term, according to the government’s own estimates. More

Boris Johnson accused of ‘mis-selling’ Brexit dealAmbassadors from the EU’s 27 nations convened on Christmas Day to start assessing the free trade deal the bloc has struck with the UK, a historic accord that takes effect in just a week.At Friday’s exceptional meeting, the EU delegations asked for more time to study the texts before sending them to lawmakers at the European Parliament, according to an EU diplomat. The ambassadors are expected to meet again on Monday.Boris Johnson hailed Thursday’s agreement as a “new beginning” for the UK in its relationship with its European neighbours, but the fishing industry said it had been sacrificed by the prime minister in order to get a deal.Barrie Deas, head of the National Federation of Fisherman’s Organisations, said there would be “frustration and anger” at the “significant concessions” agreed by the UK government with Brussels. Under the deal announced on Thursday, there would be a five-year transition period after which EU catch in British waters would be reduced by 25 per cent, compared to the 60 per cent the UK was asking for as recently as last week. Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayShow latest update
1608907923Brexit deal will make UK safer, home secretary claimsHome Secretary Priti Patel insisted the Brexit deal will help make the UK safer, despite police chiefs’ concerns about lack of access to a key EU information database.The deal allows the two sides to co-operate on security and policing issues, but Brussels said the UK will no longer have “direct, real-time access” to sensitive information.UK officials insisted the deal would ensure law enforcement officers had the tools they needed, while new border controls and the end of free movement would help protect the public.In the run-up to the UK’s separation from the European Union, police chiefs have raised concerns about access to information and the loss of the European Arrest Warrant.The Home Office said the agreement includes streamlined extradition arrangements, fast and effective exchange of national DNA, fingerprint and vehicle registration data and continued transfers of Passenger Name Record data.Tom Embury-Dennis25 December 2020 14:521608906627Passengers travelling to US from UK will need negative test or be barred from flyingAirline passengers flying to the US from the UK will have to produce a negative Covid-19 test from the three days before travel as authorities there try to prevent the new coronavirus variant gaining a toehold in the country.Travellers will be banned from boarding aircraft if they cannot provide written documentation of a lab-based test to the airline, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a Christmas Day statement.The new rules will be applied from 28 December onwards, it added.Read more:Tom Embury-Dennis25 December 2020 14:301608905462Transport secretary Grant Shapps has revealed that more than 10,000 lorry drivers have been tested for coronavirus amid demands from France that everyone arriving from the UK prove they have tested negative. Twenty-four of those drivers have tested positive, Mr Shapps says.Tom Embury-Dennis25 December 2020 14:111608904736EU states expected to formally back post-Brexit trade deal within daysThe 27 European Union states are expected to formally back the post-Brexit trade deal within days.Ambassadors from the member states were being briefed on the contents of the deal on Christmas Day by Michel Barnier, who led Brussels’ negotiating team in the talks with the UK.They have written to the European Parliament to say they intend to take a decision on the preliminary application of the deal within days.The timing of the deal has forced politicians and officials in the UK and Brussels to tear up Christmas plans.MPs and peers will be called back to Westminster on December 30 to vote on the deal, but MEPs are not expected to approve it until the new year, meaning it will have to apply provisionally until they give it the green light.The draft treaty and associated Brexit agreements stretch to 1,246 pages of complex legal text.Tom Embury-Dennis25 December 2020 13:581608903061Thousands of lorry drivers spending Christmas Day in their cabs at Channel borderThousands of international lorry drivers are spending Christmas Day in their cabs at the English Channel border amid ongoing coronavirus chaos.Some 1,100 soldiers have been deployed to Kent to help carry out coronavirus testing after French authorities agreed trucks could entry to the country if their drivers were found negative for Covid-19.More than 700 trucks have been cleared for departure since that decision on Wednesday.Read more:Tom Embury-Dennis25 December 2020 13:311608901861Prominent Brexiteers jubilant after UK announces trade dealIt’s fair to say some of the UK’s most prominent Brexiteers are in jubilant mood after the UK and EU announced a bare bones trade deal in time for 1 January. Nigel Farage said the deal with “not perfect” but called it a “victory” for “ordinary men and women”. Kate Hoey, the former Labour Party MP, hailed Boris Johnson as “back to his best”. Arron Banks, who bankrolled the Leave.EU campaign, said the country had “put the Great” back into Great Britain. Tom Embury-Dennis25 December 2020 13:111608900661Around 1,000 soldiers are spending Christmas Day trying to clear a huge backlog of truck drivers stuck in Dover after France briefly closed its border to the UK then demanded coronavirus tests from all amid fears of a new, apparently more contagious, virus variant.Even as 4,000 international truck drivers spent yet another day cooped up in their cabs, some progress was evident Friday, with traffic around the port moving in an orderly fashion towards the extra ferries that were put on to make the short crossing across to CalaisThe military personnel were directing traffic and helping a mass testing program for the drivers, who must test negative to enter France. French firefighters have also been drafted to help the military test drivers for coronavirus.Officials from Britain’s Department for Transport said all but three of the 2,367 coronavirus tests conducted so far have been negative.France closed its border for 48 hours to the UK last Sunday after Boris Johnson said a variant of the virus that is 70 per cent more transmissible is driving the rapid spread of infections in London and surrounding areas. As a result, the capital and many other parts of England have seen lockdown restrictions tightened and family holiday gatherings cancelled.Tom Embury-Dennis25 December 2020 12:511608899556Opinion: The horrific reality of Brexit hasn’t changed in four years – this deal won’t alter thatAfter four and a half long and torturous years, Brexit can finally get started. The reality of it didn’t change once in all that time, and it hasn’t changed now, writes Tom Peck.That it took so many shapes and forms and inflicted so much psychological misery was purely because a long and dismal line of Conservative governments and politicians either couldn’t understand, couldn’t face or couldn’t tell the truth about its blunt simplicity.There was so much rubbish spoken, so loudly and for so long, that it came to form its own mad world of denial, which many a Tory will go on living in, quite possibly for the rest of their days.Read more:Tom Embury-Dennis25 December 2020 12:321608897940JP Morgan gives view on EU-UK trade dealJP Morgan has said suggested the bad news outweighs the good news for the UK regarding its trade deal with the UK.“The good news is that a disruptive and acrimonious ‘no deal’ has been avoided,” JPMorgan’s Malcolm Barr wrote in a research note on Thursday, which was quoted by CNN. “The bad news for the UK, in our view, is that the EU appears to have secured a deal which allows it to retain nearly all of the advantages it derives from its trading relationship with the UK, while giving it the ability to use regulatory structures to cherry pick among the sectors where the UK had previously enjoyed advantages in the trading relationship.”Tom Embury-Dennis25 December 2020 12:051608897298Johnson heralds Brexit deal as ‘tidings of great joy’Boris Johnson has bemoaned the lack of “snogging under the mistletoe” that can be enjoyed this Christmas while heralding his Brexit deal as “glad tidings of great joy” in a video message to the public.Just hours after finally brokering a trade agreement with the EU following a string of missed deadlines, Mr Johnson published a video to Twitter saying the 500-page document could serve as  a “present for anyone who may be looking for something to read in that sleepy post-Christmas lunch moment”.“The oven-ready deal was just the starter,” he said in reference to the withdrawal agreement implemented in January this year. Lifting the document aloft, he added: “This is the feast – full of fish, by the way.”Read more:Tom Embury-Dennis25 December 2020 11:54 More

Boris Johnson caved in on fish to avert a no-deal Brexit, securing a last-minute trade and security deal with the EU which left business just seven days to prepare for seismic changes to the way they operate.Industry leaders breathed a sigh of relief after the Christmas Eve announcement of a zero-tariff zero-quota free trade agreement on imports and exports totalling around £668bn a year.But fishermen voiced “frustration and anger” as the prime minister settled for a cut of just 25 per cent in the EU’s share of the catch in UK waters, phased in over five and a half years – compared to the 80 per cent over three years initially demanded by the UK – and failed to secure an immediate 12-mile exclusion zone to protect inshore waters.Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, said: “In the end it was clear that Boris Johnson wanted an overall trade deal and was willing to sacrifice fishing. I think the industry will be extremely disappointed.”Mr Johnson accepted that the UK had given ground on access to fishing waters, but insisted that the compromise outcome represented “a reasonable transition period”.“I can assure great fish fanatics in this country that we will as a result of this deal be able to catch and eat quite prodigious quantities of extra fish,” he said.The prime minister said that the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement had allowed Britain to “win freedom”, hailing the removal of any role for the European Court of Justice in overseeing future relations.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday“We have taken back control of our laws and our destiny. We have taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a way which is complete and unfettered,” he said.“We have today resolved the question that has bedevilled our politics for decades and it is up to us all together as a newly and truly independent nation to realise the immensity of this moment and to make the most of it.”He said that the UK would be in a “giant free trade zone” with the EU but would not have to obey Brussels rules and would be able to strike further deals with other countries around the world. But he wrongly suggested that the deal removed all non-tariff barriers to trade, when in fact the government admits that more than 200 million additional customs declaration forms annually will just part of the extra friction faced by UK business.Downing Street pointed to what it claimed as a series of negotiation wins, including the defeat of an EU proposal for a “ratchet” allowing Brussels to penalise the UK automatically for diverging from its standards and regulations. Instead, either side will be able to take action only on changes which have a clear impact on trade and a panel of experts will arbitrate on disputes.The prime minister took an emollient tone in his remarks following the conclusion of negotiations, declaring that the UK would remain “culturally, emotionally, historically, strategically and geologically attached to Europe” and suggesting that the EU will benefit from having “a prosperous and dynamic and contented UK on your doorstep”.But European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was regretful about the result of the Brexit vote of 2016, quoting the Beatles, TS Eliot and Shakespeare as she sent a message to Britain: “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”She said the outcome of discussions stretching back to Britain’s formal departure from the EU on 31 January was “fair and balanced”.But she echoed the feelings of many in the EU who are tired of battles with Britain when she said: “To all Europeans, I say, it is time to leave Brexit behind. Our future is made in Europe.”And she pointedly contrasted Brexiteers’ isolationist concept of sovereignty with the strength gained by EU states by banding together.“We should cut through the soundbites and ask ourselves what sovereignty actually means in the 21st century,” she said.“It is about pooling our strength and speaking together in a world full of great powers. In a time of crisis, it is about pulling each other up instead of trying to get back to your feet alone.”French president Emmanuel Macron, widely seen as the main obstacle to a deal, congratulated chief negotiator Michel Barnier for his “tenacity and commitment”, declaring: “European solidarity has shown its strength”. His comments removed any lingering doubt that the agreement will be approved by the 27 EU member states when their diplomats meet on Christmas Day.And Sir Keir Starmer assured the deal of a safe passage through the House of Commons by announcing that Labour will vote for it when parliament is recalled on 30 December.The Labour leader denounced Mr Johnson’s deal as “thin” but said his MPs had no other option than to back it to avoid the “devastating” consequences of no deal.He warned the prime minister: “Up against no deal, we accept this deal, but the consequences of it are yours and yours alone. We will hold you to account for it every second you are in power … No longer can you blame somebody else. Responsibility for this deal lies squarely at the door of No 10.”Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said that the agreement was a reminder that Brexit was “happening against Scotland’s will”.But in Northern Ireland – which stands to benefit economically by remaining a part of the UK inside the EU customs territory – first minister Arlene Foster welcomed “a new era” in relations between the EU and UK and said she wanted to “maximise the opportunities the new arrangements provide for our local economy”.The director general of the Confederation of British Industry, Tony Danker, said the that the deal would come as “a huge relief” to British business, allowing companies to “begin our new chapter on firmer ground”.And Helen Dickinson of the British Retail Consortium said: “Given that four-fifths of UK food imports come from the EU, today’s announcement should afford households around the UK a collective sigh of relief.”Marley Morris, of the IPPR think tank, described the deal as a “remarkably weak” framework for future relations with the UK’s closest neighbour and biggest trading partner.“In many respects this agreement isn’t far off a no deal,” he said. “Crucially, this deal will not prevent the introduction of major trade barriers between the UK and the EU in one week’s time.” More

Lorry drivers clash with police in DoverUK and EU negotiators are set to announce they have finally agreed a Brexit trade deal, just eight days before the transition period ends and Britain leaves the single market and customs union on 31 December.Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen are believed to have reached an agreement, though reports suggest there are some last-minute hiccups on fish which have delayed the announcement that camera crews are waiting to hear outside No 10. It comes after Mr Johnson and Ms Von der Leyen had a slew of late night, secret calls to get a deal over the line – set to culminate in a free trade agreement being signed, sealed and delivered on Christmas Eve. Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayShow latest update
1608821484No-deal averted as PM to announce UK and EU trade agreementBoris Johnson will give a press conference at around 3pm to confirm that UK and EU negotiators have finally agreed a Brexit trade and security deal, just eight days before Britain leaves the bloc’s single market and customs union on 31 December.Stay tuned, and check out Andrew Woodcock and Jon Stone’s report below in the meantime:Sam Hancock24 December 2020 14:511608821169‘Stand by for Brexit announcement,’ reports suggestThe Telegraph’s political editor Gordon Rayner reports an announcement is imminent:Sam Hancock24 December 2020 14:461608820592Level playing field a ‘complicated structure’RTE’s Europe editor Tony Connelly reports the level playing field is a “complicated structure” amid suggestions it is one of the hurdles that has now been conquered by EU and British negotiators:Sam Hancock24 December 2020 14:361608820244EU will not be asked to look at Brexit deal today, council saysReports suggest ambassadors from the EU member states will not be asked to look at a Brexit deal today.Sebastian Fischer, a spokesman for the German presidency of the Council of the EU, said no meeting would be called due to the “ongoing” negotiations.“At the same time we have asked EU ambassadors to be available during Christmas period,” he said.The 27 EU states will be required to agree to any deal that is thrashed out by Brussels’ officials and the UK.It comes after a No 10 source reportedly suggested earlier that it was a “done deal” – though others were not so optimistic, as disagreements over fishing rights are said to remain. Sam Hancock24 December 2020 14:301608819128ERG’s ‘star chamber’ at the readyThe Tory party’s European Research Group (ERG) of hardline Brexiteers are eagerly awaiting the chance to go through the trade agreement – thought to be over 2,000 pages – over Christmas. They will get a little help researching all that detail from a “star chamber” of legal advisers.
The Mail reported this morning that around 20 of the most fervent eurosceptics in the group, led by Mark Francois, could vote against a deal after Christmas. But around half a dozen ERG MPs have told Politico they were minded to back the deal.Adam Forrest24 December 2020 14:121608818311Farage signals backing for Brexit trade dealNigel Farage has signalled that he will accept the Brexit trade struck by Boris Johnson – declaring “the Brexit wars are over”.
The Brexit Party leader’s comments will come as a relief to No 10, significantly reducing the prospect of his agreement with Brussels being branded a betrayal by Brexiteers.“Boris will be seen as the man that finished the job. Perhaps not perfectly but, yes, he’s done what he said he’d do on the big picture,” Farage said on TalkRadio.Though he also tweeted that Downing Street officials “want a Christmas Eve announcement to hide the fisheries sell-out”.Adam Forrest24 December 2020 13:581608817749Has No 10 made ‘huge concessions’ on fish?So what’s the hold up? The two sides are thought to be haggling over just how much fish, such as sole, sand eels and herring, EU boats should be able to catch in British waters. Officials are still working on spreadsheets about individual fish quotas in Brussels, according to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.Reports suggest that the overall value of fishing stock caught be EU fishermen in British waters will be cut by 25 per cent – a figure Brussels was keen on for the past couple of weeks. It’s very far from 80 per cent reduction demanded by London recently.
Yet Downing Street appears to have got its own way on whether the EU can retaliate if the UK decides to change its fishing quotas in the future. Brussels had wanted “cross-retaliation” tariffs, but that won’t be part of the deal, according to Politico.One French official told Reuters: “The British have made huge concessions the negotiations in the past 48 hours.” No 10 will be keen to sell the deal very differently, of course.Adam Forrest24 December 2020 13:491608815930Let them eat sandwiches: Negotiators served lunch as talks go on Our policy correspondent Jon Stone reports the following: It seems fish is absent from the menu this time – perhaps it will be served once the talks wrap up…Sam Hancock24 December 2020 13:181608814941Pound rises by more than 3%The Great British Pound (GBP) has risen by more than 3 per cent against the dollar since the start of the week, when a no-deal Brexit looked most likely.David Madden, a market analyst at CMC Markets UK, pointed out that some investors have avoided the pound, suggesting it could still be undervalued.He said: “The pound has seen a lot of volatility in recent weeks and months as the uncertainty of the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU has impacted the currency.“Some traders have been avoiding sterling due to the lack of clarity with respect to the EU situation.“This morning there has been a lot of talk that a deal will be announced and that has lifted the pound. Sterling is up 0.7 per cent versus the US dollar and at one point in the session it came within a whisker of printing a new 31-month high against the US dollar.”Sam Hancock24 December 2020 13:021608813894UK granted ‘listed status’ to continue exporting animal productsExports of meat, fish and dairy products to the European Union will be able to continue beyond 1 January after the United Kingdom was granted “national listed status”.The measure means live animals and products of animal origin can be supplied to the EU after Brussels confirmed the UK met health and biosecurity standards.The EU has also agreed to the exports of many plants and plant products can continue being exported to the bloc and Northern Ireland. But seed potatoes – an important Scottish export – will be banned, leading Scotland’s Nicola Sturgeon to condemn the “disastrous” outcome.Businesses in the £5bn animal export market will face some red tape in order to continue exporting, including the need for a health certificate. While potatoes destined for European dinner plates can continue to be exported, those used as seed crops cannot be.Businesses in the £5bn animal export market will face some red tape in order to continue exporting, including the need for a health certificate.While potatoes destined for European dinner plates can continue to be exported, those used as seed crops cannot be.Adam Forrest24 December 2020 12:44 More

UK and EU negotiators have finally agreed a Brexit trade and security deal, just eight days before Britain leaves the bloc’s single market and customs union on 31 December.The eleventh-hour agreement, which only emerged after a litany of missed deadlines, averts a no-deal outcome that would have seen Britain trading on WTO terms with tariffs and quotas applied to its imports and exports.It represents the largest trade deal ever signed by either side, retaining existing zero-tariff zero-quota arrangements on imports and exports totalling around £668bn a year.A UK source said: “Deal is done. Everything that the British public was promised during the 2016 referendum and in the general election last year is delivered by this deal.”We have taken back control of our money, borders, laws, trade and our fishing waters.“The deal is fantastic news for families and businesses in every part of the UK. We have signed the first free trade agreement based on zero tariffs and zero quotas that has ever been achieved with the EU.”The deal does not preserve the seamless trade with the bloc the UK currently enjoys in the single market, and will see new border checks applied to UK and EU goods. It is the first trade deal in history to erect rather than remove barriers to commerce between the two sides.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayExtra red tape and bureaucracy caused by Brexit will see traders fill in an estimated 200 million customs declarations a year, while official estimates say it will cost the UK 4 per cent of GDP in the long term compared our remaining in the EU.But failing to reach the agreement  would have dramatically worsened the logistical chaos currently playing out at English channel ports due to French border closures. The 2,000-page legal text is understood to resolve bitter disputes on issues including access for EU ships to British fishing waters and Brussels’ demand for a “level playing-field” on standards and state aid.Brinksmanship on both sides took the negotiation process to the wire, with the UK accusing Brussels of introducing new demands in the final weeks. Even after the detail of the vast bulk of the agreement was finalised, officials haggled through the night on the precise proportions of individual species of fish to be caught by either side in UK waters.The  deal thrashed out by chief negotiators David Frost and Michel Barnier was concluded some 1,645 days after the UK’s referendum vote to leave the EU, and almost 11 months after the formal date of Brexit on 31 January.The final, most difficult issue of fishing rights required direct talks between Boris Johnson and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who are understood to have spoken at length over the telephone in the final days and as many as five times in the final 24 hours.If ratified by EU leaders it paves the way for a treaty governing trade between the former partners on the basis of zero tariffs and zero quotas, as well as future co-operation in areas such as security and law and order.The document requires approval from the leaders of the 27 EU nations, while the European Parliament is expected to vote on it next year, after the deadline for MEPs to scrutinise it in 2020 was missed by a week.EU leaders are expected to give provisional approval for the deal so that it can come into effect this year. If they were to refuse to do so, a short period of no-deal could still happen in early January anyway.MPs and peers are expected to be recalled to Westminster on 30 December to rush the agreement into law in a single day. But hardline Brexiteers on the backbench Tory European Research Group have signalled that they are not prepared to act as a rubber-stamp, reconvening their so-called Star Chamber of legal experts under the chairmanship of veteran eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash to scour through the document for signs that it does not protect the UK’s sovereignty.Sir Keir Starmer has yet to say whether his party will back the deal, though Mr Johnson has little reason to fear parliamentary defeat next week, as few Labour MPs will vote against an agreement when the alternative is a no-deal crash-out.Trading on WTO terms would have meant tariffs of 10 per cent on cars and an average 18 per cent on foodstuffs imported from the EU.More follows… More

As people across Britain wait to hear whether the long-running negotiations have finally culminated in a deal, here is a look at the key figures involved: Michel Barnier and Lord Frost.Michel Barnier: The diplomat who has kept 27 EU states united More

Lorry drivers clash with police in DoverChristmas is now thought to be the final deadline for officials to avoid a no-deal Brexit, amid warnings from Brussels that an agreement must be signed before the holiday to be pushed though by the end of the transition.Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, told MEPs on Tuesday night that he had done all he could to break the deadlock on fishing, with an official present at the meeting saying Mr Barnier warned that the issue now had to be resolved directly by Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen.It comes after Guy Verhofstadt said Britons would “start to understand what leaving the EU really means” after 1,500 lorries became stranded in Kent due to border closures forced by the emergence of a new coronavirus variant. NHS leaders have meanwhile written a letter to the PM, calling for him to extend the New Year’s Eve negotiations deadline by a month – citing no deal as a potential risk for patients’ health during the Covid crisis.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayShow latest update
1608735006‘Not all doom and gloom’: Hints of progress in negotiationsSam Hancock23 December 2020 14:501608733577EU officials to work on Christmas Day if deal reached, Irish premier saysIreland’s premier Micheál Martin has hinted at the possibility of EU officials working on the text of a Brexit deal on Christmas Day if a breakthrough comes before then.Mr Martin said he and other European leaders were on “standby” to endorse any agreement that might emerge from negotiations between Brussels and the UK.“If you had a breakthrough tonight or tomorrow officials in Europe could be working Christmas Day on the text,” he said.Mr Martin said both sides were still a distance apart in agreeing a reduction in the EU catch in UK waters.He said there was also EU concern about a UK demand for an annual negotiation on catch size, claiming that would create “instability”.Sam Hancock23 December 2020 14:261608732473Hancock to host press conference at 3pmIn some none Brexit-related news, our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports: A health official said: “Ministers have met today to assess what further action may be needed to address the rise in cases driven by the new variant.“The health secretary will provide an update at a Downing Street press conference at 3pm.”Sam Hancock23 December 2020 14:071608730175What moving to the EU after Brexit will look likeFor those dreaming of an escape from the UK and the expected economic turmoil, the end of the transition period on 31 December brings about the biggest changes to freedom of movement in decades.My colleague Adam Forrest explores what happens if you want to move to the EU after 1 January:Sam Hancock23 December 2020 13:291608729081Lord Adonis: ‘We need a deal’Remainer Lord Andrew Adonis appeared on the BBC today and said that lorry queues at Dover are a taste of things to come after the Brexit transition ends.When asked what more needs to be done to improve the situation on the border, he said: “It’s obvious what needs to happen, a deal. Given the complete chaos, close to pandemonium we are seeing in Dover at the moment which won’t even be properly cleared until next week at this rate.”He warned if a deal isn’t done “we will just see more of this chaos” at the border next week.Joe Middleton23 December 2020 13:111608727486Former government lawyer hits out at ‘bonkers’ decision over Brexit clausesIn a piece by Beckie White in PoliticsHome, Sir Jonathan Jones rips into the government for preparing to insert clauses into the Internal Market Bill that would allow it to break international law.Sir Jonathan resigned over the matter and in the interview published today has slammed the “absolutely bonkers” move that made his position untenable.The government later agreed to drop the clauses in December but Sir Jonathan said it was “quite disgraceful” and there was “no justification” for it in the first place.He said: “The point is that the government, by introducing the clauses, was saying publicly that it was prepared, avowedly, to break the terms of the treaty which it had concluded and indeed, implemented into UK law only months before. That seemed to me to be disgraceful.”Joe Middleton23 December 2020 12:441608726209France urges EU not to feel pressured over January 1 deadlineFrance said today that European Union negotiators should not yield to any time pressure imposed by the January 1 economic cutoff date in the talks on a post-Brexit trade agreement, arguing that no deal would be better than a bad one.Negotiators are dealing with EU fisheries rights in UK waters and a few remaining fair competition issues as the last outstanding problems in the nine-month talks that are seeking to avert a chaotic transition on New Year’s Day when Britain fully leaves the EU’s single market.Beyond the imposition of customs checks and other barriers, a trade deal would avert the imposition of tariffs and duties that could cost both sides hundreds of thousands of jobs.But the diplomatic brinkmanship continued despite the urgency for a deal.”We should not put ourselves, Europeans, under time pressure to finished by this hour or that day. Otherwise we would be put ourselves in a situation to make bad concessions,” France’s Europe Minister Clement Beaune told the BFM network.EU officials have already said they would negotiate past January 1 if necessary.Associated PressJoe Middleton23 December 2020 12:231608724953Alastair Campbell calls Boris Johnson a c***In an explosive piece written for the Daily Mirror, former Labour adviser Alastair Campbell has called Boris Johnson the C-word. The article, titled “Alastair Campbell: Boris Johnson is a c*** and has condemned us all to a Covid dystopian hell”, sees Tony Blair’s former spokesman launch an attack on the “blonde-haired, grinning, smirking, clueless clown [Mr Johnson]”. It comes amid another week of chaos in the UK, after borders closed due to a new coronavirus variant and EU-UK Brexit negotiations appeared to be delayed – again. Refusing to apologise for the move, Mr Campbell posted the article to his personal Twitter account and wrote: “I know the C-word is bad, but … when you wake up before 4am in the middle of a Dystopian nightmare that feels all too real, someone has to feel the rage!”Sam Hancock23 December 2020 12:021608723039New Christmas deadline for deal to ‘get through on time’Christmas is emerging as the final deadline to avoid a no-deal Brexit, amid warnings from Brussels that  a deal needs to be signed before the holiday to be in place by the the end of the transition.Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, privately told MEPs on Tuesday night that he had done all he could to break the deadlock on fishing – with an official present at the meeting saying Mr Barnier had warned that fishing now had to be resolved directly by Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen.Our policy correspondent Jon Stone reports:Sam Hancock23 December 2020 11:301608722493Deal ‘all comes down to fish,’ Micheal Martin saysIreland’s premier Micheal Martin said fishing remains the main obstacle in the way of a UK-EU deal.“It’s all down to fish, it would appear right now,” he said on Wednesday. “There was a lot of progress made on the level playing field over the last two to three weeks and it’s very difficult for all involved but the gap is still wide on fish, and for fishing communities in Ireland it’s a time of worry.”Mr Martin said the EU was agreeing to reduce the number of fish caught in UK waters by 25 per cent, accompanied by a six-year transition period. He suggested the UK was asking for a drop in excess of 35 per cent.“It’s not just about monetary terms, I think it’s about the sustainability of the fishing industry in the respect of member states and there’s six or seven member states have particular concerns here,” he said.“It’s about sustaining rural communities.”He said there was a need for a sustainable future agreement on fishing and expressed concern about a UK demand for annual negotiations.“One of the concerns here is that Britain must have annual negotiations in terms of access to its waters and to the fish in its waters, which I think would be a recipe for instability and in terms of the fishing community wanting to know what does the future look like,” he said.Sam Hancock23 December 2020 11:21 More

Brexit not mentioned in Macron call, Johnson saysMichel Barnier is due to make an announcement today about the state of Brexit negotiations, updating ambassadors from the 27 EU nations, as time for a UK-EU deal runs out. Brussels’ chief negotiator will also set out the state of play to MEPs, after Boris Johnson continued to insist that the UK would “prosper mightily” without a deal.The PM is currently under fire for laughing during a Downing Street press conference on Monday night when asked about the prospect of a no-deal Brexit. The prime minister – alongside transport secretary Grant Shapps – was seen sniggering when ITV’s political editor Robert Peston said: “It’s almost the end of the year, you must know by know whether we’re going to get a free trade deal. Will we?”Meanwhile, a group of MPs have warned that ministers must intervene to prevent Brexit driving up food prices as foreign workers leave Britain. Neil Parish, chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said “we all risk higher food prices” if “British farmers and food producers can’t get the workers they need”. Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayShow latest update
1608648567Road Haulage Association (RHA) calls for clarity on EU ‘market access issues’Richard Burnett, chief executive of RHA, has warned that “on literally every front at the moment we have no clarity”.On logistics, he said: “These are all basic principles that should have been in place a long time ago. This is a high-risk strategy from, I think, any Government.”EU hauliers are saying if there is disruption in the UK we will not come, and we have a supply chain issue there and in terms of getting product in, but then if we’ve got issues around our ability to go and bring this product back because of market access issues, we have a big problem.”So on literally every front at the moment we have no clarity, the clock is ticking, we’re almost at the year-end and all of these issues are still unresolved.”Joe Middleton22 December 2020 14:491608647005CBI calls for ‘urgent’ Brexit dealThe Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has called for an “urgent Brexit deal” involving grace periods, as reported by the BBC’s Faisal Islam.The CBI said: “Final preparations are currently impossible for most businesses… Disruption is now inevitable..just a matter of how much..only responsible course of action to limit damage is to get a deal & get ready, this week.”Joe Middleton22 December 2020 14:231608645856Farage urges PM towards no-deal BrexitArch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage has written in The Telegraph that there “is still a slim chance that the UK really could break free from the EU without a deal.”Mr Farage adds that Boris Johnson has “handled the Covid crisis very badly” and his premiership is being widely debated.But the leader of the Brexit Party thinks that if Mr Johnson announced we were leaving without a trade deal it would “turn him into a hero overnight.”Joe Middleton22 December 2020 14:041608644383No10 denies reported breakthrough on fishing quotasDowning Street insiders have flatly rejected reports that there has been a breakthrough in the row over fishing quotas.Reports suggested the UK had offered a cut of around a third in the amount of fish EU vessels catch in British waters over a five-year period.That is down from an initial demand to cut it by 60% over three years but the compromise was reportedly rejected by Brussels.A Number 10 insider described the reported compromise as “b****cks” and officials have warned that significant differences remain between the two sides.Mr Barnier will update EU ambassadors at 3pm GMT before addressing MEPs at 5pm.Joe Middleton22 December 2020 13:391608643143What other countries are saying as UK struggles with Covid and Brexit crisesJournalist Rory Mulholland comments that Europe is looking on in horror at Britain’s ‘catastrophic year’:Joe Middleton22 December 2020 13:191608641732Cable: ‘PM must recognise 2021 uncertainties to avoid more disasters’Our columnist, former Lib Dem leader Vince Cable, comments on what Boris Johnson needs to do moving forward – in order to deal with the happenings of this year:Sam Hancock22 December 2020 12:551608640975Labour ‘want a deal,’ Reeves saysShadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Rachel Reeves said Labour “want a deal” and warned the impact of no deal for businesses “would be absolutely catastrophic”.Speaking at Labour’s online Hauliers and Brexit Roundtable, she told the PA news agency: “In terms of the trade deal, obviously we’ll look at whatever the government brings back, we’ve just got nine days now until the end of the transition period and I think what you’ve heard from the hauliers today is that they want a deal and they want the transition to be as smooth as possible, and part of that is getting a deal because we know the chaos that would ensue and we’re just getting a small taste of that really at the moment with the disruption we’re seeing in Kent.”She added: “So we want a deal. I think the impact of no deal for these businesses and many others as well would be absolutely catastrophic, so we will look at the deal and compare it to the alternative at this stage. Beyond the deal, we’ve just got to get in place some of the basics to make it work.”Sam Hancock22 December 2020 12:421608639759No 10 refuses to confirm if PM and EU president spoke on phoneOur policy correspondent, Jon Stone, has more on the secret phone call that allegedly took place between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen on Monday (see post from 10.53am).In a highly unusual move, Downing Street would neither confirm nor deny on the record whether the calls between the prime minister and Ms Von der Leyen had taken place, he reports.Sam Hancock22 December 2020 12:221608638976Brexit ‘uncertainty’ to hit health sector hard, report findsThe health and care sector faces “perilous uncertainty” after the Brexit transition period is up on 31 December, a new report has said.The think tank said there was “a perilously uncertain future facing the UK at the end of the Brexit transition period could put the UK’s health and care system at risk”.The report said new migration rules, possible disruption to medicines and devices, “an ongoing economic slowdown” and “barriers to science investment” would hit the health sector.Referring to possible disruption of medical supplies, the study said that while extensive planning had been undertaken by the government and NHS. “it is not clear exactly what scenario has been prepared for and what the impact will be if disruption is longer or broader than expected”.And the Nuffield Trust stated that “plans will not have anticipated the effect of the current border restrictions brought in as a result of the new Covid-19 variant”.In its assessment, the study said: “The health of the public could be directly worsened by a prolonged economic slowdown that leads to lower living standards and a squeeze on public spending, as well as the possibility of less effective regulation of determinants of health like air pollution.“These risks could hit the most vulnerable hardest.”Sam Hancock22 December 2020 12:091608636845No-deal could mean 2% loss in GDPA reminder that earlier this year, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that a no-deal outcome could result in a 2 per cent hit to gross domestic product – a measure of the size of the economy – in 2021.That would equate to around £45bn being wiped off the value of the UK economy, reports the PA news agency. Sam Hancock22 December 2020 11:34 More