Boris Johnson’s plan to block low-skilled workers from the UK after Brexit has been branded “toxic” by Labour. The opposition called Priti Patel “clearly clueless” after she suggested more than eight million “economically inactive” people could help meet any job shortages.
The home secretary – who conceded in a LBC interview her own parents may not have been allowed in under the new immigration rules – defended Mr Johnson after he was called “a real racist” by rapper Dave at last night’s BRIT Awards. “He is not a racist at all,” she said.
It comes as the government is accused of failing to understand the EU’s basic Brexit negotiating position, after the No 10 press office claimed Brussels had “changed” its stance from a previous willingness to agree a “Canada-style” free trade deal.
Possibility of ‘more immigration, not less’, says Farage
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage welcomed the government’s plan to bring precise criteria “for who can come into the country” as a “step in the right direction.”
“The problem is the criteria themselves suggest to me the number of people coming from outside the European Union will be even bigger,” he told Sky News.
“You’ve got a possibility this system means more immigration, not less.”
‘One rule for cabinet and another for constituents?’: David Lammy on drug row
The Labour MP has responded to Priti Patel’s claims there is “no such thing as dabbling in drugs”.
The home secretary was defending the recent Jamaica deportation flight, despite some of those due set to leave on the flight having convictions for one-time drug offences.
Lammy said: “Last summer, 7 out of 11 Tory leadership hopefuls, including Boris Johnson, admitted they dabbled in drugs.
“Why is it one rule for Cabinet members and another for my constituents?”
Rory Stewart promises to ‘fight’ government immigration plan
Another former Tory minister has attacked the immigration proposals set out by the home secretary today. The independent London mayoral candidate Rory Stewart called them “wrong” and promised to “fight these changes” if he gets to City Hall.
“They – completely unnecessarily - wrench us further away from Europe. They will deprive key services like social care, and our businesses, of the brilliant workers we welcome from abroad,” he also tweeted.
Brussels hits back in ‘slide wars’ against Britain
The EU appears to be quite happy waging “slide wars” against the UK to convince Boris Johnson’s government it will refuse a tariff-free trade deal if he insists on the right to break its rules.
Brussels hit back after No 10 issued what was widely seen as a misleading claim about a 2017 EU slide, warning Theresa May’s government she was heading towards a “Canada-style” deal she opposed.
The graph sets out why the UK – a powerful economy on its doorstep – will not be allowed to wriggle out of past commitments not required of Canada and other distant countries. It shows how about 13 per cent of EU trade is with the UK, while just 2 per cent or less is with countries many thousands of kilometres away that enjoy favourable agreements with Brussels.
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has all the details:
EU wages 'slide wars' against UK to convince Boris Johnson it will not back down in trade deal row
Brussels hits back after misleading No 10 claim about the 'Canada-style' agreement on offer - as relations deteriorateLondon and Edinburgh in final stages of negotiations on policing climate summit
The UK and Scottish governments are in the final stages of negotiations on policing for COP26 climate summit in Glasgow - with Westminster prepared to foot the bill, according to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).
Holyrood and Westminster have been engaged in a spat over who will cover security costs at the 10-day climate summit, due to be held in Glasgow in November.
The Scottish government has insisted the UK government should pay, although first minister Nicola Sturgeon recently called for a “reset” in the relationship between the two administrations when it comes to dealing with the summit.
Lynn Brown, SPA acting chief executive, has said negotiations are now in their final phase for the UK Government to pick up the tab, through a mixture of funding via the Scottish Consolidated Fund, drafting in reinforcements from other forces across the country and an accommodation payment from the Foreign Office.
She told a meeting of the SPA board on Wednesday: “It hasn’t be specifically agreed but that’s highly likely to be what we’re doing through mutual aid.
“The Foreign and Commonwealth Office have also been very helpful on accommodation, they will deal with that and that takes out another significant amount of money - about £28 million to £30 million.
“We're trying to reduce the risk [attached to] the money coming to Scotland but we're hoping to bottom that out in the next few weeks."
An SPA report has claimed costs could be as high as £250 million, although the figure is considered to be an estimate for the “worst-case scenario”.
Reports suggest the UK government has scouted potential sites for a move of the summit, although a spokesman for the prime minister has said he is “committed” to holding the summit in Glasgow.
Former Tory minister denounces Patel’s immigration plans as ‘worst kind of dog-whistle politics’
A former Tory cabinet minister has denounced Priti Patel’s immigration plans as “the worst kind of dog-whistle politics” and warned they show the government is bent on building a “deeply unattractive” Britain outside the EU.
Stephen Dorrell’s comments came as the construction industry warned that the new system - which aims to limit low-skilled migration - will get in the way of Boris Johnson’s plans to build 1 million new homes and invest in infrastructure.
And unions and employers warned that even Ms Patel’s reduced £25,600 minimum salary for migrant workers will exclude key workers like lab technicians and catering and hospitality staff.
Boris Johnson’s immigration plan will be a catastrophe – get ready for Windrush 2.0
“The sponsorship system is a regulatory labyrinth. Despite claims that we aren’t shutting EU talent out, the government’s new rules mean we should be on red alert for a crisis,” writes Kerry Garcia, a partner at Stevens & Bolton.
Read her analysis here:
UK refuses to include Parthenon marbles in Brexit trade talks
The return to Greece of marble sculptures from the Parthenon will not be discussed during Brexit negotiations, the government has said, after a leaked draft document suggested the EU would insist on “cultural objects” forming part of a divorce deal.
A leaked draft of Brussels’ negotiating mandate had reportedly included a stipulation that Britain should “return unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin” – believed to be a reference to the so-called Elgin marbles.
The ancient Greek artefacts are housed in the British Museum. Part of an extensive set of sculptures that adorned the Parthenon temple and other buildings on the Acropolis in Athens, the fifth-century-BC marbles were brought to the UK by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century.
No 10 tweet reveals ‘scary’ Brexit deal misunderstanding, says analyst
There’s been a lot of reaction the No 10 press office tweet claiming the EU had “changed” from its previous willingness to agree a “Canada-style” trade deal with the UK.
The government has been accused of failing to understand the EU’s basic negotiating position after No 10 press office claimed Brussels “changed” from its previous willingness to agree a “Canada-style” free trade deal.
As the respected ‘Steve Analyst’ account points out, the EU slides flagged up by No 10 also state clearly they were for “presentational” purposes – and were not meant to prejudice “future negotiations”.
The analyst also argues the Canada template is “not a pick and mix … so obviously the deal being proposed was going to be different and there were going to be different trade-offs”.
“If Number 10 haven’t got this, then they have a pretty big apology to the British public for not paying attention.”
Priti Patel ‘clearly clueless’, says Labour
The shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth has mocked home secretary after she claimed eight million “economically-inactive” potential workers can help fill vacancies after the planned crackdown on low-skilled immigration.
“I means she’s clearly clueless, isn’t she? Not only are these proposal hugely damaging for our economy … they’re potentially devastating for our health and care sector.”
Ashworth added: “It seems there will be no exemptions whatsoever for social care staff. At the moment there’s around 250,000 staff working in our social care sector recruited internationally, and we also have vacancies for 122,000 in social care.”
Patel earlier told BBC Radio 5 Live suggested that around 20 per cent of working age people were inactive and could fill vacancies.
The SNP’s Stuart McDonald said it was “wholly unrealistic”, saying the idea you could replace people currently working in social care and other sectors with people who were out of work for health reasons was “absolutely ridiculous”.
‘No such thing as dabbling in drugs’, says Patel
There’s plenty of reaction to a claim made by Priti Patel earlier about casual drug use and deportations. The home secretary told Sky News’ Kay Burley: “There’s no such thing as dabbling in drugs, these are serious offences.”
She was defending the recent Jamaica deportation flight, despite some of those due set to leave on the flight having convictions for one-time drug offences.
“It is the law of the land that foreign national offenders who have committed serious crimes should be deported back to their country of origin,” said Patel.
Patel said the public were “pretty horrified” about a last-minute appeal which saw dozens allowed to stay. Downing Street said 17 people were deported, but 25 others had been stopped because of an 11th-hour court order.
McDonnell will visit Assange
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell is set to visit Julian Assange in prison tomorrow, only days before the start of his extradition hearing, according to a campaign team working for the WikiLeaks founder’s release.
After weeks of battling with the prison authorities in order to be allowed to visit, McDonnell will be the first British MP to gain access to Assange at HMP Belmarsh.
The Labour MP recently lead a public rally for Assange, while Jeremy Corbyn asked Boris Johnson to halt the extradition proceedings at PMQs.
Farmers union warns of ‘severe impact’ from loss of low-skilled workers
Farmers have urged the government to allow tens of thousands of seasonal migrant workers to come to the UK to harvest fruit and vegetable crops.
Leaders in the sector have also raised concerns that many people from abroad who work full-time, for example on poultry farms, will not meet the thresholds for work visas set out in the new immigration policy.
Last season there were reports of fruit and veg rotting in the fields due to a shortage of pickers and packers from abroad to harvest them in the face of Brexit uncertainty.
The number of temporary workers farms can recruit from outside the EU under the seasonal workers scheme has been increased to 10,000 for the coming season, up from 2,500, which the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said would ease some of the pressure this year.
But the NFU urged the government to commit to a full scheme for 2021, so growers can recruit the 70,000 seasonal workers needed on British fruit, vegetable and flower farms.
NFU president Minette Batters said: “We have said repeatedly that for farm businesses it is about having the full range of skills needed - from pickers and packers to meat processors and vets - if we are to continue to deliver high-quality, affordable food for the public.
“Failure to provide an entry route for these jobs will severely impact the farming sector.”
Ministers fear Cummings’ approach ‘unsustainable’, report claims
Dominic Cummings hates ministers speaking out on an anonymous basis – he had hoped to reign that in with the cabinet reshuffle.
So he won’t be happy that ministers are speaking out on an anonymous basis that Boris Johnson needs to “reign in” his powerful adviser.
One senior minister told BuzzFeed News the PM must “reign in” Cummings and “half the cabinet” are struggling to work with him since the general election victory.
Others warned his management style and methods at No 10 and are “unsustainable” and “untenable”.
It comes as ex-Tory chancellor Ken Clarke warns Cummings will only survive in his powerful role if he “vanishes” from the headlines.
Labour asks PM to explain why Andrew Sabisky was hired
Labour has written to the prime minister asking him if he agreed with a former aide’s controversial views on eugenics, black people and forced contraception.
Party chiefs have also called for answers on how Andrew Sabisky, who resigned this week after his “offensive” past writings were discovered online, came to be hired to work in Downing Street.
Ministers said Sabisky “jumped before he was pushed”, but Labour has demanded answers about how such a figure came to be employed by Downing Street.
Party chair Ian Lavery, in his letter to Boris Johnson demanding more information on the level of vetting involved, wrote: “Andrew Sabisky has thankfully left your government. However, the disturbing nature of his previous comments on eugenics, race and women, which have been well documented in the press, raise very serious concerns about your own views.
“Furthermore, there are unanswered questions about how somehow with such abhorrent views was ever considered for employment in the first place.”
Canada-style deal? UK is ‘different ball game’, says EU official
The EU’s trade agreement with Canada was a “different ball game” to the type of relationship Brussels wants with the UK, one of chief negotiator Michel Barnier’s senior aides said.
Stefaan De Rynck said the closer relationship with the UK – in terms of distance and the amount of trade – explained Brussels’s commitment to “level playing field” measures aimed at preventing Britain undercutting standards in future.
Boris Johnson’s government is focused on striking a Canada-style free-trade deal which will allow the UK to diverge from EU rules from January 2021.
“It’s clear that for us it’s a different ball game that we are playing with the UK to the one that we agreed with Canada in terms of the level playing field,” De Rynck said.
Speaking at the London School of Economics, he said: “Some in the UK now seem to want to become Canadians. But Dover is much closer to Calais than Ottawa is.”
Scotland needs its own immigration plan, say Sturgeon
Government plans to introduce a new points-based immigration system will be “devastating” for Scotland, the first minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned.
The SNP leader tweeted: “It is impossible to overstate how devastating this UK gov policy will be for Scotland's economy. Our demographics mean we need to keep attracting people here - this makes it so much harder. Getting power over migration in ScotParl is now a necessity for our future prosperity.”
She also said the idea of blocking “low-skilled” workers was “offensive in principle” and “disastrous in practice”.
Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, claimed UK ministers were “in cloud cuckoo land” while the Scottish Tourism Alliance branded the plans “the biggest threat to Scotland's tourism industry”.
Ben Macpherson, the Scottish government’s migration minister, accused the Conservative government of “engaging in dog-whistle politics”.
The proposals, which will bring about the end of freedom of movement for people, are “incredibly worrying and concerning”, he said.
Patel admits parents may not have been allowed into UK under her new rules
Home secretary Priti Patel has been forced to concede in an interview on LBC radio that her own parents may not have been allowed into the UK under the immigration rules she and the government is now proposing.
Host Nick Ferrari asked: “Your parents as I understand came from Uganda and then were very successful in setting up newsagents. They wouldn’t have qualified, would they?”
“This is a very different system to what has gone on in the past,” she replied.
Pressed again on it, she said: “The policies are changing – we are changing our immigration policy.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel admits own parents may not have been allowed into UK under her new immigration laws
The IndependentMinister insisted that changes were 'not about my background or my parents'No 10 insists on ‘sovereignty’ after Barnier’s rebuff
Michel Barnier offered Boris Johnson some bad news on Tuesday, claiming a “Canada-style” free trade deal is not going to happen.
The EU’s chief negotiator said our “economic closeness” means a potential agreement “can’t be compared to Canada”. Brussels remains insistent on so-called level playing field rules to prevent British companies getting the chance to undercut EU rivals.
The No 10 press office responded with a tweet: “In 2017 the EU showed on their own slide that a Canada type FTA was the only available relationship for the UK. Now they say it’s not on offer after all. Michel Barnier, what’s changed?”
This morning the press office has shared UK negotiator David Frost’s recent lecture, saying “sovereignty” means setting “rules for our own benefit”.
Baroness Warsi backs Dave after rapper called PM ‘racist’
The former Tory party chairwoman has backed rapper after he branded Boris Johnson “a real racist” – calling it “a necessary wake-up call”.
Baroness Warsi tweeted her support for Dave after he added a surprise verse to his track Black, which said “the truth is our prime minister's a real racist.”
Describing Dave’s appearance as “powerful”, the Tory peer said: “After the appalling appointment of #Sabisky and the shameful lack of condemnation this week from No 10 this performance felt like a necessary wake-up call in the most provocative way.”
.png?w=600)
