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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

UK gas supply robust and talk of three-day week ‘alarmist and misguided’, says business secretary – as it happened

Early evening summary

  • Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, has told MPs that there is no danger of the UK running out of gas and that talk of return to the three-day week is “alarmist, unhelpful and completely misguided”. But he also said the government would take steps to protect consumers. (See 3.35pm.) He did not say what new measures might be taken, but he did reveal that a joint announcement from the government and Ofgem is coming later.
  • Damian Green, the Tory former first secretary of state, has said that the UK is facing a cost of living crisis, with many people facing “very, very difficult times ahead”. (See 2.14pm.)
  • Johnson has told world leaders at the United Nations he is growing “increasingly frustrated” that their commitments to tackle the climate crisis are “nowhere near enough”. (See 3.10pm.)

That’s all from me for today. But our Covid coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.

The Labour for a Green New Deal campaign has welcomed a decision from Labour’s conference arrangements committee that its green new deal motion can be debated at the party conference. Originally CAC blocked the motion on the grounds that it was too wide-ranging. The motion is strongly backed by the pro-Corbyn group Momentum and includes proposals like universal free broadband and the repeal of all anti trade union laws.

Labour for a Green New Deal co-founder Chris Saltmarsh said:

Conference next week will now be a chance for the whole party to come together and embrace a green new deal which is built on public ownership and mass investment, and spans right across our economy, from green technology to universal basic services such as transport and care.

Updated

Johnson claims Anglo-French relationship 'indestructible' amid ongoing fury over Aukus deal

Boris Johnson has been holding a briefing for the press in New York. Here are the main points.

  • Johnson said the government was working “very hard” to find a solution to the gas price crisis. He said:

When the wholesale price massively increases, spikes, in this way and they have loads of customers on fixed retail prices then it’s very difficult. We are working very hard to find a way through, also to keep a steady supply of gas.

Yesterday Johnson compared the crisis to everyone turning the kettle on at the same time. Today he tried another simile, but this time involving frozen water, not boiling water. He said the economic recovery was like “the big thaw” after a frost had frozen the pipes.

That’s when you have the problems and the leaks and all the difficulties, that’s really what’s happening to the global economy.

It’s thawing very rapidly and you are seeing problems in the supply chains, very strong demand for gas around the world is producing this phenomenon but we’re going to fix it.

He also said the crisis illustrated the importance of moving to renewable energy. He said:

As you can see with some of the current problems with some of the hydrocarbon shortages around the world caused by the resurgence of the global economy, we need more than ever to move to security of supply for clean, green sources of energy.

  • He welcomed the US decision to allow fully-vaccinated Britons easier access to the country, saying the shift in policy had come “faster than we expected”. People would be able to travel to the US for Thanksgiving, he said.
  • He played down the significance of the row with France over Aukus, the Australia/UK/US military partnership, saying the London/Paris relationship is “indestructible”. He said:

The UK and France have, I believe, a very important and indestructible relationship ...

Our relationship with France is incredibly important, it is historic, it goes back a long, long time. It is founded on shared values, shared belief in democracy, we work together around the world.

The UK and France are shoulder-to-shoulder in the Sahel fighting terrorism, we are shoulder to shoulder in the Baltic states in Nato’s largest current mission.

And it is an extraordinary fact: there is one other country in the world with whom we share a programme to do simulated nuclear testing. Which country is that? It is France.

  • He said Aukus would not be “exclusionary” - although he did not say what that meant in practice. He said:

Of course we will be speaking with all our friends about how to make the Aukus pact work so it is not exclusionary, it is not divisive and it really doesn’t have to be that way.

This is just a way of the UK, the US and Australia sharing certain technologies because that is the sensible thing to do in the world in which we find ourselves.

But that does not in any way mean we wish to be adversarial towards anybody else or exclusive or crowding anybody else out.

  • He said having the US make a commitment to the climate finance pledge (see 3.10pm) would make a “huge difference”. It would “send a massively powerful signal to the world”, he said.
Boris Johnson arriving to speak to the media at the UN.
Boris Johnson arriving to speak to the media at the UN. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

In the Commons earlier John Redwood, the Conservative former cabinet minister, urged Kwasi Kwarteng to increase gas storage capacity in the UK. He said:

We have tiny capacity compared to the most advanced countries and it would provide a buffer to smooth supplies and keep prices down if this turns out, as we hope it will be, to be a short-term interruption to supplies from Russia and America.

And Steve Baker, another Conservative former minister, said the government should increase shale gas production.

Kwarteng told Redwood that storage was an issue, but that there was no need to panic. And he told Baker there was currently a moratorium on shale gas production.

The next statement is from Grant Shapps, who is making a statement about the changes to the new Covid travel rules announced on Friday. Again Sir Lindsay Hoyle complains about a big announcement being made outside the Commons and briefed to the media in advance. Shapps says the decision was only taken on Friday, when the Commons was not sitting.

Speaker criticises Kwarteng for holding back key energy announcement until later

The statement is over, but Ed Miliband, the shadow business secretary, rises to make a point of order. He says it is not acceptable for Kwarteng to appear in the Commons, but not tell MPs what will be in the joint statement with Ofgem later.

Kwarteng says the statement is not finalised. He says there will be opportunities for MPs to question him later this week.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, says that is not acceptable that MPs are not told first.

Mark Harper (Con) says he wants to be able to question a minister about what is announced. He says a third of his constituents are off the grid, and not protected by the price cap, so this is important to them.

Hoyle lets rip again. He asks his clerks to ensure that Kwarteng gets a copy of the ministerial code, with the passage about how important government announcements have to be made to MPs first underlined.

Kwarteng says that the Ofgem announcement coming later is not just for his department. It has to be agreed across government, he says.

Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative chair of the defence committee, asks if Russia is manipulating gas prices for its own advantages.

Kwarteng says it is not for him to comment on Russian policy or to speculate on their motives. He says the UK has security of supply.

Kwarteng says after he has finished this statement he will be speaking to the devolved administrations.

Kwarteng says the government may soon need to introduce an updated version of the “supplier of last resort” programme. (See 3.15pm.)

Updated

The SNP’s Patricia Gibson asks again about what happened to Boris Johnson’s promise that Brexit would lead to lower energy bills.

Kwarteng says he is not here to refight the 2016 Brexit campaign. The result should be accepted, in the SNP’s case with good grace, he says.

Matthew Offord (Con) asks why no one in government anticipated this.

Kwarteng does not accept that. He says government prepared for many scenarios.

This is from Giles Wilkes, a former special adviser to Vince Cable when he was business secretary.

Neale Hanvey (Alba) asks if the government will set up a state-owned energy company.

Kwarteng says government is looking at all option, but says he would prefer to rely on “market-based solutions”.

Jamie Stone (Lib Dem) asks at what level the price cap will be maintained.

Kwarteng says that is not up to him. That is for Ofgem, he says.

Kwarteng warns gas prices could stay high 'for longer than people anticipate'

Bim Afolami (Con) asks Kwarteng how long gas prices will remain high.

Kwarteng says it would be “foolhardy” to protect what the gas price will be tomorrow. If he could predict prices far ahead, he would be a gas trader, he says. But he says gas prices “could be high for longer than people anticipate, just as they could fall very quickly”.

Bob Seely (Con) says asks to what extent the UK is suffering “collateral damage” because of Russia “weaponising” its gas supply in a bid to get the EU to accept Nord Stream 2. He says this is hybrid warfare.

Kwarteng says the UK is not “at the mercy of Russian gas”. Half of gas used here is produced domestically, he says. He says another 30% comes from Norway, and 18% from LNG (liquefied natural gas).

Updated

From the i’s Paul Waugh

Stephanie Peacock (Lab) asks if the government crisis shows that it was a mistake to close the Rough gas storage facility off Yorkshire in 2017.

Kwarteng says the UK has a diverse range of supply.

Kwarteng criticises SNP for pointing out Brexit was supposed to mean lower gas prices

Stephen Flynn, the SNP business spokesman, says the country is facing a cost of living crisis.

The energy price cap will soon be at its highest level ever. He says the government should help the poorest families by abandoning the universal credit cut.

He says in 2016 Boris Johnson said energy bills would be reduced if the UK voted to leave the EU. What happened to that?

Kwarteng says he finds it “extraordinary” that Flynn is seeking to relitigate Brexit. This is a serious issue, he says.

This is from Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, on Kwasi Kwarteng’s statement.

Ed Miliband, the shadow business secretary, is speaking now.

He says he agrees with Kwarteng that people should not be alarmist.

But Kwarteng was “much too complacent”, he says.

He asks if the government has considered loans to businesses affected by rising prices.

And he backs the decision to keep the price gap.

UPDATE: Miliband said:

The rise in the price cap of £139 means half-a-million more families will be plunged into fuel poverty. At a minimum he should be looking at making the operation of the 140 warm homes discount automatic and possibly extending it, but even that will not be enough.

Families are facing a triple whammy: rising energy prices, national insurance rises and at the end of this month, the 1,000 cut in universal credit. These energy price rises turn the indefensible decision on universal credit into an unconscionable one.

If he really wants to put consumers first, if he really wants to help working people, if he really wants to tackle fuel poverty, isn’t it time even at this late stage, to cancel this terrible decision on universal credit?

Updated

Kwarteng says joint statement with Ofgem coming later

Kwarteng says because of rising gas prices, two fertiliser plants have closed down. That has affected the domestic supply of carbon dioxide, he says.

He says he has discussed this with the cold food sector. He says work is going on to ensure contingency measures are in place.

We have explored, quite thoroughly, possible ways to secure vital supplies.

Work is ongoing across departments in Whitehall, across the Government to ensure that those sectors which are affected by this announcement have appropriate contingency plans in place to ensure that there is indeed minimal disruption.

He says later he will be making a joint statement with Ofgem about next steps.

UPDATE: From the i’s Paul Waugh

And this is from ITV’s Robert Peston.

Updated

Kwarteng says government will not bail out failing energy companies

Kwarteng says some energy supplies have exited the market in recent weeks.

But he says this is not unusual in this market.

When an energy company fails, Ofgem appoints another company to take over, so there is no interruption of supply.

He says three further principles will govern the government’s approach.

First, the government will not bail out failing companies, he says. There must be “no rewards for failure or mismanagement”.

The government will not be bailing out failed companies. There will be no rewards for failure or mismanagement.

The taxpayer should not be expected to prop up companies which have poor business models and are not resilient to fluctuations in price.

Second, customers must be protected from price rises.

And, third, the energy market as a whole should not suffer because of poor practices by a minority of companies. He says competition must continue. He does not want to return to the oligopoly of the past.

We must not suddenly return to the ‘cosy oligopoly’ of years past where a few large supplies simply dictated to customers conditions and pricing.

The price cap protects 15m households, he says.

The energy price cap, which saves 15m households up to 100 a year, is staying. It’s not going anywhere.

Our priority in this situation has to be the consumer, the Great British public, and the cap has done that effectively. It protects and has protected millions of customers from sudden increases in global prices this winter.

We’re committed to that price cap and it’ll remain in place.

Updated

Kwarteng says demand for gas has increased around the world. That means far less LNG (liquefied natural gas) has reached Europe.

This has put pressure on prices, he says.

But there is no threat to security of supply, he says.

He says electricity security can be maintained under a very wide range of scenarios.

And, unlike some countries, the UK is not reliant on just one source of gas. He goes on:

The UK also benefits from an excellent relationship with Norway, one of our most important and reliable energy partners and that delivers nearly 30% of our total gas supply.

Just in the last half hour I was privileged enough to speak to the Norwegian energy minister and to welcome the announcement from Equinor today that gas production will significantly increase from the the 1st of October this year to support the UK and European demand.

Updated

Kwarteng says UK has no shortage of gas supply and talk of return to three-day week 'alarmist and completely misguided'

Kwarteng says he spoke to Ofgem and energy companies yesterday, and held more talks today.

He starts by stressing that “protecting consumers is our number one, our primary focus, and will shape our entire approach to this important issue”.

And he says, while Britain has been affected by global price rises, it has a diverse range of supply. It has more than sufficient capacity to meet supply, he says. He goes on:

There is no questions of the lights going out, of people being unable to heat their homes. There will be no three-day working week, or a throwback to the 1970s. Such thinking is alarmist, unhelpful and completely misguided.

Kwasi Kwarteng's statement to MPs about gas price crisis

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, is about to make a statement to MPs about the gas price crisis.

Here is my colleague Jillian Ambrose’s latest story about what the government might do.

These are from ITV’s Robert Peston on the gas price crisis.

Kwarteng says energy customers will be protected, and price cap to stay

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, has been tweeting ahead of his statement to MPs at 3.30pm.

Johnson reprimands world leaders for not delivering on climate finance pledge to poorer countries

Boris Johnson has told world leaders he is growing “increasingly frustrated” that their commitments to tackle the climate crisis are “nowhere near enough”, PA Media reports. PA says:

The prime minister warned during a meeting at the United Nations in New York that the gap between what industrialised nations have promised and what they are actually delivering remains “vast”.

He urged them to redouble their efforts to hit a key financing pledge to help developing nations, which he has conceded there is only a “six out of 10” chance of hitting before the UK hosts the Cop26 climate summit in November.

But Joe Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, raised hopes that the target would be met, hinting that the US president could announce more money.

Co-hosting a discussion at the UN general assembly, Johnson noted that “everyone nods and we all agree that something must be done”.

“Yet I confess I’m increasingly frustrated that the ‘something’ to which many of you have committed is nowhere near enough. It is the biggest economies in the world that are causing the problem, while the smallest suffer the worst consequences. And while progress is being made all over the world, the gulf between what has been promised, what is actually being delivered, and what needs to happen... it remains vast. Too many major economies - some represented here today, some absent - are lagging too far behind.”

Johnson issued a stark warning over what would happen if they do not redouble their efforts to hit the target of giving $100bn (£73bn) a year in support to developing nations to cut their carbon emissions and protect themselves against environmental change.

“If you say that the lives of their children are not worth the hassle of reducing domestic coal consumption, will they vote with you in fora such as this?” he said.

“Will they work with you, borrow from you, stand with you if you tell the world that you don’t care whether their land and their people slip below the waves? To be merely a bystander is to be complicit in their fate - yet that is exactly what you will be if you fail to act this year.”

Johnson has downplayed the chances of hitting the $100bn target before he hosts Cop26 in Glasgow.

But, in New York, Kerry told Sky News: “I think we’re going to get it done by Cop and the US will do its part.”

Asked if Biden will announce more funds this week, the adviser said: “I’m not hoping... I’m telling you to stay tuned into the president’s speech and we’ll see where we are.”

John Kerry arriving at the UN HQ today.
John Kerry arriving at the UN HQ today. Photograph: John Minchillo/AP

Updated

US to relax travel restrictions for fully vaccinated Britons wanting to visit

One of Boris Johnson’s goals for his trip to the US was to get President Biden to lift the restrictions on Britons wanting to visit the country. He was going to press for fully vaccinated people from the UK to be allowed in freely. Here is this morning’s Telegraph splash.

The Financial Times (paywall) is reporting that the White House will announce this change today.

Reuters has confirmed the story. It says:

The United States plans to relax travel restrictions on vaccinated passengers from the European Union and Britain, a source familiar with the plans said on Monday. The new rules are part of a broader policy for international travel, the person said.

Jon Sopel, the BBC’s North America editor, says the change will take affect in November.

He also says Downing Street did not know this was coming.

The government has now published the full list of ministerial appointments following last week’s reshuffle. It’s here.

Boris Johnson told journalists on his flight to New York that Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minster, “wanted to come and see if he could mediate [between the UK and the EU on the Northern Irish protocol],” the Financial Times reports.

However, the Dutch have said that Johnson’s memory has let him down. The FT reports:

A senior Dutch diplomat said it was incorrect to suggest Rutte had offered to intercede on the UK’s behalf with the European Commission or EU member states. “Rutte’s message was clear: ‘be pragmatic, don’t escalate and talk to the commission who are negotiating on our behalf’,” said the diplomat briefed on last week’s meeting.

Boris Johnson leaving the RAF Voyager after he arrived in New York last night.
Boris Johnson leaving the RAF Voyager after he arrived in New York last night. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

The universal credit amendment to the social security (uprating of benefits) bill tabled by Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Damian Green (see 2.14pm) will not be put to a vote because it has not been selected, the Mirror’s Dan Bloom reports.

Senior Tory warns UK facing cost of living crisis, with many facing 'very, very difficult times' this winter

Later today MPs will debate the social security (uprating of benefits) bill, and two senior Conservatives - the former party leader, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, and Damian Green, who was de facto deputy prime minister under Theresa May - are trying to force a vote on an amendment that would block the bill until the proposed £20 per week cut in universal credit is abandoned.

Speaking on the BBC’s World at One Green, who is also a former work and pensions secretary who now chairs the Conservative one nation caucus, said the gas price crisis made the case for reversing the UC cut even stronger. He said:

Events in the past couple of weeks in, in other parts of life if you like, have made this argument stronger than it was before, because we’re clearly coming into a huge problem for the cost of living for people.

So those who are receiving universal credit - many of them are in work, and are working as hard as they can to keep their families out of poverty - they will be the ones who will be most hit by the the upcoming problems with inflation and energy prices and so on.

Green said that the UK is facing a cost of living crisis, with hundreds of thousands of people facing “very, very difficult times ahead”. He said:

It’s going to be very, very hard for those people. There are roughly 500,000 people who are vulnerable. It includes 200,000 children. These are people many of whom are already working very hard to keep their families’ heads above water. Already the £20 cut was going to be difficult for them..

Now we see we’re going to get rising energy prices, and we’ve already seen that the growth in inflation is faster than it has been for a generation. There’s the possibility of very, very difficult times ahead for hundreds of thousands of people in this country.

He also said his colleagues needed to realise how serious a problem inflation could be for people. It could turn into the biggest challenge facing government, he said.

It’s one of the things we’ve almost forgotten about because we’ve now had a whole generation of low inflation. But those of us old enough to remember times of higher inflation know it can be the biggest political issue out there.

It’s perhaps a paradox that many of us thought we would come out of the pandemic with a big employment problem, and a very sluggish economy. Actually, the government, with its various support measures, has done brilliantly on jobs - unemployment is very low - but we’re facing a big, global inflation problem that I suspect will become the biggest political issue over the coming period.

Damian Green.
Damian Green. Photograph: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA

Dan Jarvis to step down as mayor of South Yorkshire next year

Labour’s Dan Jarvis has said that he will stand down as mayor of South Yorkshire when his term of office ends next spring. He was originally elected in 2018, when it was called the Sheffield city region mayoralty, not the South Yorkshire mayoralty.

At the time, despite facing criticism for the move, Jarvis decided to combine heading the new authority (which had very limited powers initially) with staying on as MP for Barnsley Central. In his statement today he says that was the right decision.

When I first stepped forward to take on the role, I took the decision to remain as a member of parliament. Some people didn’t agree with that, but I said from the beginning that this wasn’t a long-term arrangement. And I meant it.

I honestly don’t believe we would have made the progress we have, and we certainly wouldn’t have got the devolution deal over the line, if I had not stayed in Westminster. The settlement we negotiated helped take us through the worst of the pandemic and is really starting to deliver for people in South Yorkshire.

Jarvis said that he will stand down as mayor next year, but stay on as an MP. “Barnsley is my home, and I’m immensely proud to represent the town,” he said. He said he was announcing his decision now so that there was plenty of time for alternative candidates to step forward before the election next May.

Dan Jarvis
Dan Jarvis. Photograph: UK Parliament/Roger Harris/PA

Updated

Like the Lib Dems (see 1.02pm), the Greens are also calling for an extensive home insulation programme as a response to the energy crisis. Zoe Nicholson, the party’s green new deal spokesperson, said:

Soaring gas prices threaten to increase further the appalling levels of fuel poverty this winter. The Conservative government must shoulder the blame for this crisis.

Recently, the green homes grant, that offered households the opportunity to insulate their homes and power them with renewable energy, was axed. That’s why Greens are calling for emergency grants to be made available immediately so households facing the prospect of cold and damp homes this winter can pay for simple insulation measures.

Of course, this short term fix is only needed because of years of government inaction on fuel poverty. Ultimately, we need to see the implementation of a large-scale nationwide insulation programme.

Lib Dems urge ministers to consider creating Northern Rock-style nationalised energy company

The Liberal Democrats say the government should consider setting up a Northern Rock-style nationalised energy company to take on the customers of energy firms that go bust. In a statement on the crisis Sir Ed Davey, the party leader who served as energy secretary under the coalition until 2015, said:

The Conservatives have taken their eye off the ball by failing to insulate millions of people’s homes and diversify our energy supply. Now taxpayers risk having to foot the bill for the Conservatives’ energy policy failures over the last six years.

We now need urgent action to end this crisis and prevent families having to choose between eating and heating this winter.

Today ministers must restore calm to the market and consider creating a Northern Rock-style energy company to take on customers of companies that have gone under.

But we also need a massive home insulation programme so we are prepared for the next crisis. The Liberal Democrats are demanding that all UK homes are upgraded within 10 years - including fully funded grants for those in fuel poverty and on low incomes.

Ed Davey speaking to the Lib Dem conference on Sunday.
Ed Davey speaking to the Lib Dem conference on Sunday. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Updated

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, had a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer this morning. She says they discussed the “enduring special relationship” between the US and the UK.

Updated

This is from Darren McCaffrey from GB News, reporting on what Boris Johnson is up to this morning.

The Kwasi Kwarteng statement (see 12.25pm) will be the first of two in the Commons this afternoon.

Kwasi Kwarteng to give statement to MPs later about gas price criss

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, will make a statement to MPs this afternoon about the gas price crisis, Downing Street said.

At the morning lobby briefing the No 10 spokesman also insisted that the government was not worried about gas supplies running out, and that food supply chains were “well prepared” to handle any disruptions. He said:

We recognise people and businesses are worried about the increase in wholesale gas costs. I’d firstly points out that major energy suppliers purchase much of wholesale gas in advance, which obviously give them some protection in terms of short-term price hikes. We would expect companies with longer term contracts to have less or little exposure to the high wholesale prices.

I’d also point to the energy price cap which is in place, which protects 15m households from the sudden increase in gas prices.

Asked if the government was committed to keeping the energy price cap in place over the winter, the spokesman said that it remained in place now and that he was not aware of any plans to change it.

Asked if the country was facing a “winter of discontent”, the spokesman played down the suggestion. He said:

We have diverse and resilient food supply chains and we are well prepared to handle any potential disruptions.

And asked about the prospect of industry having to move to a three-day week over the winter because of a gas shortage, he replied:

We are confident that security of supply is not a cause for immediate concern in terms of energy. We have a diverse range of gas supply sources with sufficient capacity to meet demand.

Voters think PM's Brexit deal has created more problems than it has solved, by more than three to one, poll suggests

A new poll suggests that, by a margin of three to one, people think the government’s Brexit deal has created more problems than it has solved.

The polling was carried out by Opinium, on behalf of Best for Britain, an anti-Brexit group that now campaigns for internationalism and better relations with the EU. It has been published alongside a report recommending how the Brexit deal could be improved.

Opinion asked a representative sample two questions. Here are the results.

So far, the government’s Brexit deal has created more problems than it has solved: 53%

So far, the government’s Brexit deal has solved more problems than it has created: 15%

Neither: 19%

Don’t know: 13%

Among Conservative supporters opinion was evenly split, with 28% of them saying the deal created more problems and 28% saying it solved more problems. But among people who voted for Brexit in 2016, those saying the deal created more problems than it solved (30%) outnumbered those saying the opposite (25%).

Opinium also asked people if they were aware of more positive or more negative consequences for business from the Brexit deal.

More positive consequences: 13%

More negative consequences: 50%

About the same: 22%

Don’t know: 15%

On this question Brexit voters were evenly split, with 23% seeing more negative effects, and 23% seeing more positive ones, but Conservative supporters were marginally more positive; some 25% of them said the impact had been positive, and 22% negative.

Best for Britain released the results to coincide with the publication of a report from the cross-party UK Trade and Business Commission it set up proposing some changes to the Brexit deal. The commission’s 64 proposals include relaunching the Brexit support fund for business, reducing the cost and complexity of the visa system, setting up a new body to protect food standards in trade deals and digitalising checks for food exporters.

Naomi Smith, CEO of Best of Britain, said:

The poll shows the British public can see the government’s Brexit deal for what it is - an insufficient and self-sabotaging agreement that is causing significant problems for British businesses, the economy and jobs. With new heads around the cabinet table, here’s hoping sense prevails, and the commission’s recommendations are adopted.

Updated

Ed Miliband, the shadow business secretary and a former energy secretary, has released a statement saying that the energy crisis shows that there has been “a fundamental failure of long-term government planning over the last decade”. He said the government should do everything necessary to protect customers, but has not specified what this might involve.

He said:

A basic duty of government is to ensure secure, affordable energy supplies for businesses and consumers. It is a fundamental failure of long-term government planning over the last decade that we are so exposed and vulnerable as a country and it is families and businesses that are paying the price.

The government must take all necessary steps to ensure stability for customers and do everything in its powers to mitigate the effects of this crisis on businesses and consumers.

Yet it is making the squeeze on household finances worse by putting up taxes for working people and cutting universal credit.

In her Today interview the Labour MP Rosie Duffield also called for Keir Starmer to meet her and other female Labour MPs to discuss the party’s policy on transgender issues, my colleague Peter Walker reports.

James Cleverly, the Foreign Office minister, was doing the morning interview round on behalf of the government this morning. Asked about the gas price crisis, he said the UK was in a better position than other countries. He explained:

We are in a better place than many other countries that are also feeling the pinch from this increase in wholesale gas supply and we will absolutely do everything we can to protect consumers.

He said this was because the UK has domestic supplies but “we also receive gas from very, very reliable partners like Norway, for example, so we’re in a better place than many other countries around the world”.

Rosie Duffield, the Labour MP who is missing this year’s party conference after provoking threats and vicious criticism because of her views on trans issues, told the Today programme this morning that women in public life regularly have to worry about their security. She explained:

This is a cross-party issue, not just politicians but anyone who puts their head above the parapet - councillors and people in the public eye - just get abuse for the way we look and what we say and it is really horrible.

It always turns to violence when it is women. Recent government ministers have had to resign and they get lots of comedy-based abuse. It is jokey, off-the-cuff and silly. We always get the violence, pictures of guns, pictures of mocked-up nooses - that’s the kind of thing we get on social media and Twitter really is the worst platform. I don’t know what they can do about it but something would be good.

Asked how certain she was she would have faced abuse at conference, Duffield replied:

Obviously I am not 100% sure but some of the messages I have received have been pretty unpleasant. There are groups that would be at the Labour party conference where my presence would irritate.

It is hard to know how serious to take threats from people who post them online - I don’t always very often take them that seriously - but they are pretty awful and I did not want to subject myself and other people to that kind of abuse.

Rosie Duffield.
Rosie Duffield. Photograph: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA

Covid case rates in wave three varying less by ethnicity than before, says ONS

The Office for National Statistics has published some new research covering Covid case rates (not deaths) by socio-demographic characteristics in the second and third waves.

Cases are defined by someone having a positive test. Wave 2 is defined as the period between 1 September 2020 and 22 May 2021, and wave 3 is defined as the period from 23 May (until 25 July, which is the cut-off point for these figures - so the ONS says this data only properly covers the first part of the third wave).

Here are the key points.

  • Pakistani and Bangladeshi people had the highest case rates per head of population in the second wave of Covid. Their rates were more than double those for some other ethnic groups. In wave three so far white British people have had the highest case rates, although this time case rates vary far less than before by ethnicity.
Case rates by ethnicity in waves 2 and 3
Case rates by ethnicity in waves 2 and 3. Photograph: ONS
  • Case rates were lowest per head among the highest paid workers in wave 2. In the third wave case rates have been lowest among the long-term unemployed.
Case rates by occupation
Case rates by occupation. Photograph: ONS
  • Case rates have been higher per head in urban areas than in rural areas during waves two and three.
Case rates for rural and urban areas compared
Case rates for rural and urban areas compared. Photograph: ONS
  • Case rates have been lower per head among disabled people than non-disabled people during waves two and three. (Disabled people are more at risk from Covid, and many of them will have been shielding, or making more effort to avoid infection than non-disabled people.)
Case rates amongst disabled and non-disabled people
Case rates among disabled and non-disabled people. Photograph: ONS

Updated

Boris Johnson admits he was wrong in past about climate change ahead of talks at UN in New York

Good morning. Boris Johnson is in New York for the United Nations general assembly meeting and on the flight over he had a lengthy chat with the journalists accompanying him. They filed his words as they landed, late last night. Here are probably the three most important lines.

  • He said he would challenge the Amazon boss Jeff Bezos on the company’s tax record when they meet later today. Asked if he would ask Bezos about Amazon paying a fair share of tax in the UK, Johnson replied:

Yes, certainly. But I will also be congratulating him on his massive forestry initiative. He’s putting a huge amount into planting trees around the world.

But there was also an intriguing line from Johnson when he was asked about comments that Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the new international trade secretary, made in the past denying the climate crisis. Johnson defended her, but then he also admitted that in the past he had been wrong about climate change. He told reporters:

I don’t want to encourage you, but if you were to excavate some of my articles from 20 years ago you might find comments I made, obiter dicta, about climate change that weren’t entirely supportive of the current struggle, but the facts change and people change their minds and change their views and that’s very important too.

Johnson wrote many things in his career as a newspaper columnist that are embarrassing now that he is prime minister, but when challenged about these articles, normally he just brushes aside the complaints, or claims that he has been quoted out of context. A full admission of this kind that he was wrong is relatively rare.

Climate change denial cropped up quite often in Johnson’s columns. There are examples here and here.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9.30am: The ONS publishes new figures on Covid rates by demographic group.

11am: Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, holds a summit with energy industry bosses about the gas supply crisis.

11.30am: Downing Street holds its morning lobby briefing.

Around 2pm (UK time): Boris Johnson holds a meeting in New York with the UN secretary general, António Guterres. Afterwards they are expected to record a clip for the media.

2.30pm: Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

After 3.30pm: MPs will debate the social security (uprating of benefits) bill. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, and Damian Green, Theresa May’s former first secretary of state, have tabled an amendment opposing the bill because it does not reverse the proposed £20 per week universal benefit cut.

For more Covid coverage, do read our global live blog.

I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com

Boris Johnson boarding the RAF Voyager at Stansted airport yesterday for his flight to New York.
Boris Johnson boarding the RAF Voyager at Stansted airport yesterday for his flight to New York.
 Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Updated

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