Boris Johnson has said he was “sticking by” his home secretary Priti Patel after a senior official at the overseas aid department reported a “tsunami” of bullying allegations. Jeremy Corbyn said the PM “had no shame in defending bullying in his own government”.
It comes as a spokesman for Mr Corbyn claimed government staff had contacted the Labour party over the last 24 hours with more “information and allegations” of bullying against Ms Patel.
Meanwhile, environment secretary George Eustice warned the EU that the Royal Navy will protect British waters from European fishing boats after Brexit, and a poll shows most Tory party members don’t accept human activity is responsible for climate change.
To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below
Tory MP mounts bid for Brexit bank holiday
The creation of a new bank holiday to celebrate Brexit has cleared its first parliamentary hurdle.
Brexiteer Peter Bone led calls for a United Kingdom Day in June to celebrate Brexit, the Union and the Queen.
His proposed bank holiday would fall on the Friday nearest to June 23 - the date of the EU referendum in 2016 - and could also mark the Queen's birthday and coronation anniversary, both of which fall in June.
The Wellingborough MP said an extra day off would boost workers' productivity as there is "a long gap" between the late May and the late August bank holidays in England, Scotland and Wales.
Mr Bone said the government had been "quite sniffy" about his proposals.
He added: "This has rather surprised and disappointed me. I can understand the former government having reservations, as they always saw the UK leaving the EU as a duty, not an opportunity.
"Whereas this government wholeheartedly believes in it. So my question to them would be why not mark this great democratic event?"
The bill has little chance of making further progress in its current form without government backing.
Supreme Court president refuse to rule out stepping down if Boris Johnson tries to politicise judiciary
The president of the Supreme Court has declined to rule out resigning if Boris Johnson attempts to politicise the judiciary.
Lord Reed of Allermuir said it would be “unacceptable” for senior judges to be subjected to US-style confirmation hearings featuring interrogation by politicians on their personal views of contentious issues.
Confirmation hearings are one of the reforms likely to be considered by the constitutional review ordered by Mr Johnson in the wake of his election victory.
Labour leadership contest 'a joke' says ex-MP
Former Labour MP Ian Austin has said his old party was on 'life support' and warned that none of the leadership hopefuls understand the gravity of the situation.
Mr Austin, who resigned the Labour whip in protest at Jeremy Corbyn's handling of antisemitism, said the contenders were blaming the disastrous election result on 'the media, attacks on Corbyn or even the voters'.
Writing in The Evening Standard, he said: "Many former Labour voters don't just think their party didn't listen. It's much worse than that.
"They think Labour's leaders look down on them, sneer at their patriotism, ignore their anguish about industries they’ve lost and dismiss concerns about immigration. 
“The leadership debates are a joke. They blame their defeat on the media, attacks on Corbyn or even the voters. They seem to have spent longer debating trans rights than housing or jobs.
"I’ve not heard a word about welfare reform or massive questions such as equipping Britain for artificial intelligence and globalisation.”
He added: "Labour is on life support and so far, none of the candidates seem to even understand that, let alone have a plan to bring it back as a credible alternative."
Emergency talks held over parliamentary shutdown to prevent spread of coronavirus
Emergency discussions have taken place in Westminster over a possible shutdown of parliament if it becomes necessary to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Chief medical officer Chris Whitty briefed Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle on the risks on Monday this week, but no decision has yet been taken on whether to send MPs home.
And Boris Johnson suggested that an announcement could be made within days on possible alternatives to MPs gathering at Westminster, such as electronic voting and debates by conference call.
Ordering a halt to large gatherings - from football matches to concerts to parliament - is one option on offer to public health officials to prevent the spread of the illness if it becomes established in the UK.
But Prof Whitty cautioned that the move might have unintended consequences, as football fans barred from watching a match played behind closed doors might simply go and see it televised in a pub, where they could be at more risk of spreading the virus.
Prime minister Boris Johnson hinted that an announcement on the action to be taken over large gatherings of people could be expected within a matter of days.
At prime minister’s questions in the Commons, SNP MP Carol Monaghan asked him if MPs might be able to make use of electronic voting and conference calls, in order not to have to attend Westminster during the outbreak.
Mr Johnson replied: “She’s raised a very important point and the chief medical officer and the chief scientific adviser, together with the health secretary, will say a little bit more in the next couple of days about what we’re going to do to delay the advance of coronavirus in Parliament and at other large gatherings.”
The PM’s official spokesman later said: “Discussions are already taking place with parliamentary authorities and the scientific and medical advisers.
“I’m sure parliament will be led by the advice of experts in terms of taking the steps it needs in order to protect the people who work there.”
Speaker Hoyle’s office confirmed he had held talks with Prof Whitty and is being kept updated by the chief medical officer’s team and the clerk of the Commons.
With a large number of elderly peers in the House of Lords, parliament could be expected to be more vulnerable than the average workplace to coronavirus, which appears to be particularly dangerous to older and frailer patients.
Boris Johnson sealed Priti Patel's fate with his own paranoid disdain for civil servants
"Normally, a “three strikes and you’re out” rule would appeal to Priti Patel, as the home secretary is a hardliner on law and order," writes The Indy's Andrew Grice.
"She will be rather less in favour of the maxim today, after allegations that she bullied civil servants in a third government department surfaced."
Cobra emergency meeting on coronavirus due this afternoon
Health Secretary Matt Hancock will chair a Cobra meeting at 5pm, Downing Street said.
Boris Johnson held a briefing with the chief medical officer, chief scientific adviser, the Chancellor and Health Secretary earlier this morning.
Dominic Raab urged to end Saudi Arabia arms sales as he undertakes official visit to Riyadh
Dominic Raab has been urged to insist Saudi Arabia fixes its "abysmal human rights record" and to ban arm sales from the UK as he embarks on his first official visit to the Gulf state.
Campaigners called on the foreign secretary to call for an end to the ongoing conflict in Yemen and implement an immediate embargo on sales of British arms to Riyadh, amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Mr Raab is expected to hold talks on the conflict with Saudi leaders during his two-day visit, where he will also meet Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Hadi.
The under-pressure home secretary has attempted to get on the front foot despite the furore over bullying allegations – announcing that a pilot of new knife crime prevention order will start in April.
Irish premier Leo Varadkar has said that Brexit must not define Ireland or the EU. He also described the EU as a “steal when you look at” what Ireland puts in and what it gets out of the European Union.
Varadkar told a ‘Europe and the Future’ event at Trinity College Dublin: “It’s really cheap if you think about what we get back from European Union, for the amount that we contribute and it’s a pity, I think in some ways, that it was never seen by the UK, not least in the last 30 years.”
Varadkar also said he wants to secure a one billion euro Peace Plus programme for Northern Ireland and the border counties.
“We are very much on our way to do that,” he added. “I think the world should not divided between dreamers and realists.
“It is driven forward by dreamers and realists who believe in creating a better future.”
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has more on today’s PMQs exchanges and what Boris Johnson said about his beleaguered home secretary.
The PM refused to say if he was aware of allegations that Priti Patel bullies her staff when he brought her back to the cabinet after she was sacked by Theresa May.
Johnson ducked the question as Corbyn condemned what he suggested appeared to be “a shocking and unacceptable pattern of behaviour” by Patel.
Sitting alongside Patel, the PM instead offered her his staunch support, insisting she was “doing an outstanding job” and adding: “I am sticking by her.”
Johnson also declined to say if Patel would be “expected to resign” if the Cabinet Office inquiry finds she has breached the ministerial code on behaviour.
Boris Johnson refuses to say if he was aware of Priti Patel bullying allegations
PM gives beleaguered home secretary staunch support, telling MPs 'I am sticking by her'The former Tory minister has warned of the threat posed to Britain from a cyberattack by “some autistic person” in a bizarre radio interview.
Sir Oliver Letwin, who lost the Conservative whip over his opposition to Brexit last year, made the claim on Radio 4 as he discussed his new book Apocalypse How?
The novel, which is set in 2037, imagines what would happen if a technology-dependent national infrastructure network collapsed.
“There are so many different ways that these networks could be attacked, either by nature as I picture … or a terrorist attack, or another country attacking us,” he said.
“Or in fact, just some autistic person or some strange youth sitting in some place in the world who’s connected to our network by the Internet [and] gets in and does something…”
Former Tory minister warns ‘some autistic person’ could launch cyberattack in bizarre interview
Ex-MP lists people with autism among terrorists and foreign nations as threat to UK infrastructureThe Department of Health has announced the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK has risen to 85 – a further 32 cases in the past 24 hours.
It appears the government is also changing its approach to releasing information about COVID-19. “As of today, due to the number of new cases, we will no longer be tweeting information on the location of each new case,” said the health department.
“Instead, this information will be released centrally in a consolidated format online, once a week. We are working on this now and plan to share on Friday.”
The president of the UK’s Supreme Court has warned that American-style confirmation hearings for senior judges in the UK would be “intolerable”.
Giving evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee, Lord Reed of Allermuir refused to rule out resigning if the government brought forward proposals for a “politicised” judiciary.
“I would have to see exactly what it being proposed,” he said. “The sort of system they have in the United States would be unacceptable.
His warning came after the Tory election manifesto last year set out plans for a “constitution, democracy and rights commission” which would review the relationship between the government and the courts.
Boris Johnson has previously hinted that appointees could face confirmation hearings by MPs, saying they should be subject to “some form of accountability”.
Lord Reed also revealed judges are receiving support to help them cope with the emotional impact of “upsetting” child abuse cases they have to listen to in court.
Judges are receiving support to cope with 'upsetting' child abuse cases, senior legal figure reveals
Number of harrowing cases has increased to become a 'steady diet' for some judgesThe Tory Brexiteer – the new chair of the European Research Group (ERG) – has issued a strong defence of the under-pressure home secretary. “Priti Patel is an excellent home secretary … I’m a compete supporter of Priti.”
Referring to John Bercow, Francois said: “I seem to recall Jeremy Corbyn has nominated someone for a peerage who has been accused of bullying. So let’s have some balance in this.”
A spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn said government staff had contacted the Labour party over the last 24 hours with bullying allegations about home secretary Priti Patel.
Corbyn’s spokesman told a Westminster briefing: “We’ve had government staff contact our office directly with information and allegations about bullying in the Home Office by Priti Patel.”
He would not be drawn on how many people had contacted Labour, but said staff from the Home Office and other departments had contacted the party in the last 24 hours.
The allegations relate to Patel and another former minister, the spokesman said. He added: “They are bullying and harassment allegations of government staff and they simply build up the picture that has already accumulated in recent days.
“It is quite clear this is not an isolated allegation by one individual about one incident or one set of incidents.”
More now on various claims made by the environment secretary, who has been answering questions about post-Brexit fishing rights at the House of Lords committee.
George Eustice said EU vessels will see their access to UK fishing waters reduced and there is no prospect of using the industry as a “bargaining chip” in trade talks.
The minister said the UK had a “strong hand” and claimed that Germany and other countries without a strong interest in access to British waters would prevent France derailing trade talks over the issue.
He confirmed that the government had increased its fleet of patrol vessels to monitor UK waters and officials played down the impact of a possible blockade of French ports by the country’s trawlers if they saw their access to British fishing grounds restricted.
Eustice also said he was “optimistic” the UK could get an arrangement with the EU similar to Norway’s, with annual negotiations based on the scientific evidence on fish stocks.
But if no deal could be reached by the end of June, then the UK will rely on its automatic status as an independent coastal state from January 2021 to determine access arrangements.
Eustice said: “There will be some reduction in access, not least in the six-12 mile zone. But it’s too early to say what access we would grant.”
Andrea Leadsom, making a personal statement in the House of Commons as she leaves the business department, has been telling MPs just how much she enjoyed Brexit.
“The result of the 2016 EU referendum is right up there with England winning the World Cu for rugby 16 years … it’s right up there with the look on John Bercow’s face when I told him to apologise for calling me a stupid woman.”
The ex-business secretary, sacked during the recent reshuffle, added: “My own part in Brexit was always about doing what I thought was best for the UK.”
Speaking at PMQs, Boris Johnson said the government would introduce legislation to ensure that people self-isolating are protected financially.
Under the existing system, those off work due to illness can claim £94.25 per week under statutory sick pay and can be paid once an individual has been off work for four or more days in a row. It can be paid for up to 28 weeks.
Johnson said the government would bring forward “measures to allow the payment of statutory sick pay from the very first day you are sick instead of four days under the current rules”.
Boris Johnson announces statutory sick pay to be available from day one for those self-isolating for coronavirus
Emergency measures will be introduced to increase statutory sick pay for individuals by providing payments from the first day off work rather than the fourth amid the coronavirus outbreakLabour's Liz Kendall asks where long-delayed plans are for dealing with the crisis in social care.
The PM says the plans will be coming forward shortly - and he would ensure no one had to sell their home to pay for care.
