Boris Johnson’s Brexit legislation has cleared all stages in parliament after it received royal assent. It follows an EU warning of “sanctions” if Mr Johnson’s government fails to implement controversial goods checks in the Irish Sea after Brexit.
Opposition MPs warned the government it would be “foolish” to rush trade deals with both the EU and the US this year. Trump official Steven Mnuchin said Washington expects a US-UK trade deal to be done in 2020 – despite a growing row over No 10’s planned “tech tax”.
Elsewhere, Keir Starmer paused his Labour leadership campaign after his mother-in-law was admitted to hospital, while a formal bullying complaint has been filed against former speaker John Bercow by his most senior Commons clerk.
To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of events at Westminster and beyond.
Boris Johnson warned of ‘sanctions’ if he fails to implement GB-NI goods checks
The EU has warned Boris Johnson of “sanctions” if his government fails to implement controversial goods checks in the Irish Sea after Brexit.
Brussels will “not tolerate any backsliding or half measures”, the senior adviser to the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said. It follows repeated claims by the PM that checks won’t be necessary.
Stefaan De Rynck referred to “sanctions” when asked by The Independent what punishment the UK could face.
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has all the details.
EU threatens Boris Johnson with 'sanctions' if he fails to implement controversial Brexit checks
UK could be fined by the European Court of Justice, which will retain the power if there is 'any backsliding'Parents who lose child to be given two weeks’ statutory bereavement leave
Business secretary Andrea Leadsom will today outline the details of new measures to ensure working parents who lose a child get two weeks’ statutory leave.
Ministers estimate the new legal right – also called “Jack’s Law” – will support 10,000 families every year in the UK and claims it is now the longest paid bereavement leave worldwide.
It is expected to come into force in April, will apply to all employed parents who lose a child under 18-years-old, or suffer a stillbirth and will be irrespective of how long an individual has been with the current employer.
Parents who lose a child to be given two weeks’ statutory bereavement leave
New measures will come into force in AprilPM warns US president against escalating trade war
Boris Johnson has warned Donald Trump that both their countries will suffer if the US starts a trade war in the increasingly bitter dispute over the UK’s “tech tax”
The PM hit back after the US treasury secretary threatened retaliation – probably a tax on UK car exports to the US – if a two per cent levy on the Silicon Valley companies is imposed as expected in April.
No 10 not only insisted the digital services would go ahead, but declined to rule out tit-for-tat measures – despite the desire for a rapid post-Brexit deal meant to lower trade barriers.
Johnson’s spokesperson said: “Imposing additional tariffs would harm businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.”
All the details of the mounting dispute here:
Boris Johnson warns Trump both their countries will suffer if US starts trade war over tech tax
Prime minister’s remarks come after US Treasury secretary’s warning that a tech tax could be met with measures on car exportsThornberry denies ‘sneering’ at Brexiteers in BBC clash
Labour leadership hopeful Emily Thornberry was forced to deny “sneering” at Brexit voters during her interview on The Andrew Neil show last night.
She was confronted with a video in which she appeared to laugh as a fellow Labour frontbencher said that people who did not hate Brexit “have something wrong with them”.
Thornberry told Neil: “I was not sneering… I really object to this. When they say that I sneer at people, they forget who I am and where I come from.
“Somebody like me who comes from a council estate and from a single parent background, I don’t sneer at people, I listen to them.”
She also got cross when Neil asked her why she backed the comprehensive system – but sent her own son to a partially selective school. “As a mother I will never apologise for doing the best for my kids.”
Rebecca Long-Bailey, meanwhile, faced Laura Kuenssberg in a separate BBC interview. She claimed Jeremy Corbyn had the right policies, but got the “messaging” wrong.
Emily Thornberry denies 'sneering' at Brexit voters
Labour leadership contender hits back in TV grilling by Andrew NeilBercow faces new bullying claims from former clerk
A formal bullying complaint has reportedly been filed against John Bercow by a peer who served as his most senior official.
Lord Lisvane, who was Clerk of the House, has handed a dossier of allegations to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, according to The Times.
The former Commons speaker dismissed the claims and queried the “curious” timing – with reports that he may be in line for a peerage.
The document is said to accuse Bercow of having bullied and humiliated staff, including using inappropriate language. Bercow has consistently denied allegations of bullying from former members of staff in the past.
In a statement he said: “During the five years that we worked together, Lord Lisvane had ample opportunity to raise any accusations of bullying with me.
“At no stage did he do so, even though he became Clerk of the House - the most senior official. The timing of this intervention is curious.”
Outgoing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has reportedly been lining up Bercow, who was a Tory MP before becoming speaker, for a peerage.
But there have been suggestions that Downing Street could block the move, with the PM’s official spokesman highlighting a “long-standing convention” that opposition leaders nominate individuals form their own parties.
Bercow bullying claims could have ‘impact’ on potential peerage, says Leadsom
The business secretary Andrea Leadsom has said that if a complaint of bullying by former Commons speaker John Bercow is upheld, it should have an “impact” on whether he is made a peer.
The former clerk of the House, Lord Lisvane, is reported to have handed a dossier of allegations against Bercow to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
Leadsom told Sky News: “The whole purpose of that was that anybody, including the Speaker of the House of Commons whoever he or she may be, should also be subject to that procedure,” she told Sky News.
“In the event that there are genuine, upheld complaints about any persons that should have an impact on whether they are found suitable for the House of Lords.”
Leadsom has also had a few things to say about escalating dispute with the US over the digital service tax.
She told Talk Radio: “There are always tough negotiations and tough talk but I think where the tech tax is concerned it’s absolutely vital that these huge multinationals who are making incredible amounts of income and profit should be taxed and what we want to do is to work internationally with the rest of the world to cover with a proper regime that ensures that they're paying their fair share.”
Leadsom also admitted Brexit was “a bit of an anti-climax” but said she was “delighted” the Brexit bill was on the verge on royal assent.
‘I want to ask him to be brave’: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband heads to No 10
The prime minister will meet Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband to discuss efforts to secure the release of the British-Iranian mother imprisoned in Tehran.
Richard Ratcliffe will speak to the PM in Downing Street on Thursday as he re-doubles the pressure to free his wife, who has been detained since 2016.
Ratcliffe will ask Johnson – who he has previously criticised over his handling of the charity worker's case – to take a personal interest in the case and treat it as “a priority”.
He told the BBC: “I want to ask him to be brave.”
Ratcliffe also told Sky News he wanted to hear “what the prime minister’s thinking and how he’s planning on solving it”.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is serving a five-year sentence after being arrested during a holiday with her daughter and accused of spying.
Johnson has been persistently criticised for wrongly claiming, when he was foreign secretary, that she was training journalists at the time of her arrest.
Four days later she was summoned to an unscheduled court hearing during which Johnson’s comments were cited as proof she was engaged in “propaganda against the regime”.
There are some hopes that diplomatic tensions could ease between London and Tehran if a long-running £400m dispute is settled in the Court of Appeal this week.
US wants trade deal with UK done in 2020
The Trump administration’s treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has said Washington expects a US-UK trade deal to be done this year.
Speaking in Davos, Mnuchin said it was possible to get it done in 2020, describing it as an “aggressive timetable”.
According to the BBC’s economics Faisal Islam, the US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross claimed there were “far fewer issues between UK and US than between either of us and EU.”
Tory MP wants ‘We Love the UK’ beamed across White Cliffs of Dover
The Conservative MP for Dover and Deal wants to beam a patriotic message on the White Cliffs of Dover on 31 January to celebrate Britain’s exit from the EU.
Natalie Elphicke has written about her idea for “Brexit Day” on Facebook. “This is a moment where we can look forward with ambition to the Britain we can build in the decades to come,” she stated.
“That’s why the message we should be beaming onto the White Cliffs is that ”We love the UK”. Because we are proud to become an independent nation again.”
British tax policy ‘not a matter for the US’, says trade secretary
The international trade secretary Liz Truss has been answering questions in the Commons.
She has suggested that the government will push ahead with its plan to bring in a controversial digital services tax on US tech companies in April.
“Let me be absolutely clear – UK tax policy is a matter for the UK chancellor,” she said, answering a question from Labour’s Jonathan Reynolds on whether the government would cave to US pressure.
“It’s not a matter for the US, it’s not a matter for the EU, it’s not a matter for anybody else, and we will make the decisions that are right for Britain, whether it is on our regulatory standards, whether it’s on our tax policy, or whether it is on anything else.”
Reynolds said Truss’ answer was “genuinely interesting” – and interpreted it to mean the government “will defy US pressure” over the tax.
Government accused of ‘foolish’ twin-track US-EU trade strategy
International trade secretary Liz Truss has defended the UK’s post-Brexit trade negotiating team, amid warnings that she is “setting herself up for a fall”.
SNP trade spokesman Stewart Hosie suggested it was “foolish” for Britain to use its limited resources to hold parallel talks with the EU and the US this year – but Truss accused the SNP of “talking our country down” in the Commons clash.
Hosie said: “I’m glad the Secretary of State expects us to cut lots of free trade deals, but they don't happen by chance – they happen by detailed analysis and tough negotiations.
“Can I ask her, how does she believe we can succeed in those negotiations when the number of expert trade negotiators she has is a fraction of the 600 the EU has?
“And, more importantly, is she not setting herself up for a fall by, rather foolishly, in my opinion, embarking on parallel trade negotiations with such limited resources with both the European Union and the USA?”
Truss replied: “We have scaled up our trade negotiation expertise. We now have approximately the same number as the US trade representative, which is one of the leading trade negotiators in the world.
“Our trade negotiators have already secured £110 billion of trade continuity deals even though people like him said it couldn't be done.”
Truss outlined the expertise of those recruited, adding: “We have the staff in place ready to conduct the negotiations with the US, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.”
Mark Brexit with fireworks that can be seen from France, says Tory MP
More now on the newly-elected Tory MP for Dover and Deal’s desires for appropriate celebrations to mark “Brexit Day” next Friday.
Along with a “We love the UK” banner to be hung from the White Cliffs of Dover, Natalie Elphicke wants Britain's exit from the EU marked with a firework display that can be seen from France
Elphicke find herself competing with a rival campaign by the Lib Dem MEP Anthony Hook – who is crowdfunding an attempt to have a 150 square metre “We still love EU” banner draped over the iconic white cliffs.
Hook’s campaign has raised more than £13,000 – more than twice his target of £5,500 – and he said he and his team have “more exciting plans to make sure our message is heard right across the continent”.
Rees-Mogg will ‘pray for the soul’ of Scottish writer
Tory MP and Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has said he “will pray for the soul” of the great Scottish novelist and artist Alasdair Gray – who died at the end of December at the age of 85.
The SNP MP Patrick Grady had called for a debate on the author’s life – which Rees-Mogg said he could not promise.
PM finds Bercow bullying allegations ‘concerning’
Responding to reports of a bullying complaint against former speaker John Bercow, Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said: “These are very concerning allegations and they need to be investigated thoroughly.
“Everyone working in parliament deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. There can be no place for bullying in Westminster or any workplace.”
Speaking ahead of the PM’s meeting with the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe later today, his official spokesman said: “Nazanin’s continued detention is inhuman and completely unacceptable.
“We remain deeply concerned about her welfare.
“The UK continues to take every opportunity to raise Nazanin’s case at the most senior levels with the Iranian government. The prime minister called for the release of Nazanin and other dual nationals when he spoke to president Rouhani.”
The Withdrawal Agreement Bill is expected to receive royal assent later today, the official spokesman said.
Government monitoring Coronavirus outbreak, says Hancock
Health secretary Matt Hancock has made a statement about the Coronavirus outbreak in the House of Commons.
“As of this morning there have been 571 cases confirmed by the Chinese government, and 17 people are reported to have died of this new strain … all the fatal have been so far contained to mainland China,” he said.
Hancock said he expected the number of fatalities to rise further.
“A small number of cases … have now been detected in other countries,” he added. “There are no confirmed cases of this new infection in the UK so far.”
He added that the government has been guided by the chief medical officer, and said Public Health England officials had been carrying out “enhanced monitoring” of direct flights from Wuhan city – the epicentre of the outbreak.
Report: UK officials recommend green light for Huawei over 5G network
British officials have formally recommended granting Huawei a limited role in the UK’s future 5G network, two people with knowledge of the matter have told the Reuters news agency.
The recommendation, made at a meeting of officials from senior government departments and security agencies on Wednesday, comes ahead of a meeting of the National Security Council next week to decide how to deploy Huawei equipment, the sources said.
US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier that he would be meeting with British finance minister on Saturday on Huawei.
“Let me just say again, it’s a complicated issue,” Mnuchin said. “We’ve made very clear that it relates to all of the critical areas that we have significant concerns. But again, there’s ongoing discussion on these issues.”
Starmer cancels campaign events after mother-in-law taken to hospital
A spokesperson for Labour leadership candidate Keir Starmer said: “Following an accident, Keir Starmer’s mother-in-law is critically ill and has been admitted to hospital in intensive care.
In order to support his family at this difficult time, Keir will be cancelling all campaign events today and tomorrow. We ask that his family’s privacy is respected at this time.”
Welsh Tory candidate deselected after being accused of sabotaging rape trial
A Welsh Conservative candidate accused of deliberately sabotaging a rape trial in 2018 has been deselected by his party.
Ross England was giving evidence as a witness in the trial of a male friend when it was halted after he referred to the female victim’s previous sexual history against the directions of the judge.
The judge in the case, Stephen Hopkins QC, said England had “single-handedly” and “deliberately” sabotaged the trial at Cardiff Crown Court in April 2018.
On Thursday, the Conservative Party said England’s nomination to contest the Vale of Glamorgan seat in the 2021 Welsh Assembly election had been “withdrawn”.
Former Welsh secretary Alun Cairns stepped down from his cabinet role after it was revealed he had endorsed England as an Assembly candidate eight months after the rape trial was stopped.
Cairns claimed he was unaware of the role played by England, who had been a staff member in his office, in the aborted trial until after the story broke last October. But a leaked internal email suggested he had been made aware earlier.
Amy Winehouse’s mother delivers letter to Downing Street
Janis Winehouse, mother of the late music star Amy Winehouse, has delivered a letter to Downing Street with campaigners demanding Boris Johnson makes urgent changes to the benefits system.
More than 21,000 people have signed the open letter calling on the Prime Minister to fix the process for claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
The benefit, which replaces the Disability Living Allowance, is designed to help with the extra costs of a long-term health condition or disability. But there are concerns about the assessment process and the complexity of claims forms.
The late singer’s mother, who is an MS Society ambassador, said she wanted to “support the people living with MS whose voices still aren’t being heard”.
She added: “Some of my closest friends have been through the exhausting and demoralising process of claiming PIP, and it can’ go on any longer. MS is relentless, painful and disabling, and right now PIP is costing many people their independence rather than giving it to them.”
