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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

Political journalists boycott No 10 briefing after PM's aide tries to ban selected reporters - as it happened

10 Downing Street.
10 Downing Street. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/AFP/Getty Images

Afternoon summary

  • Boris Johnson and Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, have set out the extent of the gulf separating the two sides in the forthcoming UK-EU trade talks in rival speeches setting out their respective approaches. (See 12.38pm.) There is a summary of what Barnier said here, at 2.10pm, and a summary of what Johnson said here, at 4.15pm.
  • Robert Buckland, the justice secretary, has told MPs that the government will introduce emergency legislation to end the automatic release of terrorist offenders after serving half their sentence in prison. Buckland is still speaking, and my colleague Haroon Siddique is covering what he is saying in the Streatham attack live blog. You can read it here.

That’s all from me for tonight.

Thanks for the comments.

Boris Johnson (centre) speaking to Woody Johnson, the US ambassador to the UK, after Johnson’s speech this morning in Greenwich.
Boris Johnson (centre) speaking to Woody Johnson, the US ambassador to the UK, after Johnson’s speech this morning in Greenwich. Photograph: Jason Alden/POOL/EPA

And this is from Tracy Brabin, the shadow culture secretary, on the Downing Street walkout. She said:

Press freedom is a cornerstone of our democracy and journalists must be able to hold the government to account. It is concerning that Boris Johnson seems to be resorting to tactics imported from Donald Trump to hide from scrutiny.

The future trade agreement with the European Union is an issue of great public importance and interest. Those gaining access to such important information should not be cherry picked by Number 10.

Updated

Back to the Downing Street lobby walkout, and these are from the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar.

Updated

Hilary Benn, the Labour chair of the Commons Brexit committee, says Dominic Raab was unable to tell him in the Commons which minister will be in charge of the Brexit trade talks.

Lib Dems accuse Johnson of hypocrisy for claiming to support free trade while implementing Brexit

Sir Ed Davey, the acting Lib Dem leader, has said that it was hypocritical of Boris Johnson to be declaring his support for free trade while at the same time making trade with the EU harder. (See 4.15pm.) Commenting on Johnson’s speech, Davey said:

Paying lip-service to free trade after taking us out of the largest free trade zone in the world is nothing short of hypocrisy.

All it shows is that Johnson is happy to jeopardise our trade with the EU for political gain. Refusing to practically commit to a level playing field is simply not a serious negotiating strategy.

Boris is gearing up for no-deal masqueraded as an Australian-style agreement, that will hollow out our trade. The Liberal Democrats will continue to oppose his dangerous plans and fight to maintain our most important trading relationship.

Sir Ed Davey.
Sir Ed Davey. Photograph: Guy Smallman/Getty Images

In the Commons Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, used a statement earlier to say that the government’s post-Brexit “Global Britain” policy would be based on the “three pillars” of being a good ally, a defence of free trade and doing good in the world.

Paul Blomfield, the shadow Brexit minister, said that the government’s willingness to contemplate the UK exiting the post-Brexit transition without a trade deal with the EU (see 9.21am) showed that “ideology has trumped common sense”.

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has told MPs that Public Health England has launched an information campaign urging the public to “help by taking simple steps to minimise the risk to themselves and their families” from Wuhan coronavirus. In a Commons statement, he said:

This afternoon, health ministers from G7 countries spoke and we agreed to coordinate our evidence and response wherever possible.

Currently the number of cases is doubling around every five days and it’s clear that the virus will be with us for at least some months to come.

This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Updated

Boris Johnson's speech and Q&A - Summary

And here (a bit later than normal) are the main points from Boris Johnson’s speech (full text here) and Q&A.

  • Boris Johnson said he did not see why the UK should agree to remain aligned with EU rules after Brexit. Addressing what may turn out to be the key faultline in the UK-EU trade talks, he said the UK would not be insisting on the EU remaining aligned to its rules. He went on:

So I hope our friends will understand that what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

There is no need for a free trade agreement to involve accepting EU rules on competition policy, subsidies, social protection, the environment, or anything similar any more than the EU should be obliged to accept UK rules.

The UK will maintain the highest standards in these areas – better, in many respects, than those of the EU – without the compulsion of a treaty.

  • He mocked claims that the UK was only being “saved from Dickensian squalor” by EU regulations. Arguing that UK minimum standards on paid paternity leave, flexible working and paid maternity leave are better than the EU’s, he said:

I dispel the absurd caricature of Britain as a nation bent on the slash and burn of workers’ rights and environmental protection, as if we are saved from Dickensian squalor only by enlightened EU regulation, as if it was only thanks to Brussels that we are not preparing to send children back up chimneys.

In one field after another, Britain is far ahead.

  • He said the UK would only negotiate EU access to British fishing waters after Brexit on an annual basis. (See 12.38pm.)
  • He also implicitly criticised the Trump administration when he said governments around the world were becoming increasingly hostile to the concept of free trade. He said:

From Brussels to China to Washington tariffs are being waved around like cudgels even in debates on foreign policy where frankly they have no place - and there is an ever growing proliferation of non-tariff barriers and the resulting tensions are letting the air out of the tyres of the world economy.

  • He refused to use the word Brexit in his speech, and claimed in the Q&A (see 11.44am) that he did not need to use the word because Brexit was over.
  • He said he wanted the UK to champion the case for free trade around the world. He said:

We are re-emerging after decades of hibernation as a campaigner for global free trade.

And frankly it is not a moment too soon because the argument for this fundamental liberty is now not being made.

We in the global community are in danger of forgetting the key insight of those great Scottish thinkers, the invisible hand of Adam Smith, and of course David Ricardo’s more subtle but indispensable principle of comparative advantage, which teaches that if countries learn to specialise and exchange then overall wealth will increase and productivity will increase, leading Cobden to conclude that free trade is God’s diplomacy – the only certain way of uniting people in the bonds of peace since the more freely goods cross borders the less likely it is that troops will ever cross borders.

Johnson made this argument despite the fact that the government now accepts that, as a result of Brexit, goods will no longer cross the border into the EU as freely as they used to.

  • He said the government wanted to stop criminals currently in jail for terrorist offences getting automatic early release without proper screening. Stressing the need for new rules for those convicted of terrorist offences, he said:

The difficulty is how to apply that retrospectively to the cohort of people who currently qualify.

We do think it’s time to take action to ensure that people, irrespective of the law we’re bringing in, people in the current stream do not qualify automatically for early release, people convicted of terrorist offences.

I hope people understand that the anomaly we need to clear up is the process by which some people are still coming out under automatic early release without any kind of scrutiny or parole system.

Boris Johnson giving his speech at the Old Royal Naval College in London.
Boris Johnson giving his speech at the Old Royal Naval College in London. Photograph: Jason Alden/POOL/EPA

Updated

This is from my colleague Patrick Wintour, the former Guardian political editor.

The existence of “inner lobby” (see 3.48pm) has come as something of a surprise to political journalists. I had never heard the term until this afternoon. And these are from Paul Waugh and Kevin Schofield from HuffPost and Politics Home respectively – two of the organisations excluded from the briefing called this afternoon.

Colleagues can recall No 10 holding a selective briefing during the Conservative party conference, but it is not unusual for political parties to brief selectively. And there was a selective “inner lobby” briefing last week. In the Guardian office we can’t think of any others – but maybe we weren’t invited.

Updated

No 10 source defends 'inner lobby' briefings

No 10 says the meeting boycotted by political journalists earlier was part of a system called “inner lobby” that it has been operating since Boris Johnson became prime minister. A source has called to say that Downing Street holds regular briefings twice a day that are open to all lobby journalists, but that it also reserves the right to “brief journalists exclusively or in different groups whenever we wish” and that some briefings have been taking place on this basis for the last six months. He claimed that in the past people invited to “inner lobby” briefings had not complained, and that some of them said it was helpful to attend briefings in smaller groups. He said this was a system that allowed Downing Street to provide extra information for the more serious, heavyweight journalists.

Political journalists object to this system because it seems like an attempt to punish the news organisations most critical of the government by cutting off their access to information. The source said he totally rejected that suggestion. He pointed out that the Guardian was invited to today’s briefing, as well as the Times, the BBC, ITV and Sky. He also said that there were selective lobby briefings when Theresa May was prime minister.

In fact, the practice goes back much further than that. Years ago I wrote a history of the lobby, and this was happening in the 1960s, when the term “white commonwealth” was used to describe those journalists favoured by Harold Wilson who were given special access during his premiership. If my memory serves me right, that initiative eventually fizzled out after Wilson decided that it caused more trouble than it was worth.

Updated

In response to my colleague Rowena Mason’s report about political journalists boycotting a No 10 briefing after Downing Street tried to exclude certain news organisations (see 2.52pm), a senior No 10 source has been in touch to say that there was a normal briefing for all lobby journalists after the PM’s speech but that the later one was a “smaller, selected briefing for specialist senior journalists”. The source said that “a number of uninvited journalists barged into No 10 and demanded to be part of it” but they were told they could not attend.

This account implies that those who were invited to attend were specialists, and that those who were not invited did not have the same specialist background. In fact, all those involved – those invited, and those not invited – were regular political correspondents.

Updated

Political journalists boycott No 10 briefing after PM's aide tried to ban selected reporters

Political journalists walked out of No 10 Downing Street this afternoon in protest at the government planning to give a briefing on the EU only to selected reporters – banning the Mirror, i, HuffPost, PoliticsHome, Independent and others from attending.

Reporters on the invited list were asked to stand on one side of a rug in the foyer of No 10, while those not allowed in were asked by security to stand on the other side.

After one of Boris Johnson’s most senior advisers, Lee Cain, told the banned reporters they must leave the building, the rest of the journalists decided to walk out rather than allow Downing Street to choose who scrutinises and reports on the government.

Among those who refused the briefing and walked out included the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, ITV’s Robert Peston and political journalists from the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Sun, Financial Times, and Guardian.

The briefing was due to be given by government officials, who are meant to be neutral rather than political.

The tactics from No 10 mirror those of Donald Trump in the US, who has been known to try to exclude journalists from reporting on his activities, and represents an escalation of Johnson’s tensions with the media, which have been growing in recent weeks.

10 Downing Street.
10 Downing Street. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images

Updated

These are from Sky’s Beth Rigby on Boris Johnson’s speech.

The CBI has said the government should not allow business to be “caught in the crossfire” of UK-EU trade talks. Responding to Boris Johnson’s speech, CBI president John Allan said:

Business optimism is returning. The right signals about the UK’s future relationship with the EU will turn confidence into investment.

The Prime Minister’s clear, vocal commitment to global free trade and maintaining high standards through a thriving relationship with the EU will help.

The challenge is to ensure business confidence is not caught in the crossfire of a tough, public negotiation. Talk of a bare bones deal could pause investment.

Michel Barnier's speech and Q&A - Summary

Here are the main points from Michel Barnier’s speech and Q&A summary.

  • Barnier said that the UK would have to meet EU concerns on the level playing field and on fishing if it wants to have an ambitious free trade deal. (See 12.38pm.) He said the EU would be “very demanding” in relation to level playing field provisions. He said:

We don’t want that divergence [being followed by the UK] to become an instrument for unfair competition, whereby there would be disadvantages for EU industry. I can’t get embroiled in the details of the mechanism - that will all be discussed in the negotiation - but we’re going to be paying very close attention, and be very demanding, when it comes to the quality and the credibility of this level playing field mechanism.

  • But he also claimed that the EU was not looking for “alignment” from the UK. He said:

We are not asking for alignment - I know it is a sort of red rag to the UK. I mention it sparingly if at all. What we are a looking for is consistency.

As the BBC’s Adam Fleming points out, it was not clear who alignment differs from a level playing field, which the EU is insisting on. He said:

UPDATE: The word “consistency” is in the Press Association report of what Barnier said, but a reader who heard Barnier speak in French has been in touch to say that she thinks he used a different word.

  • Barnier said getting a trade deal would be “inextricably linked” to the UK and the EU reaching a deal on fishing. He said:

It’s clear that the agreement that we wish to have in the interests of UK fishermen and in the interests of European fishermen - I call that reciprocal access to our territorial waters and our markets - that agreement on fisheries will be inextricably linked to the trade agreement, as indeed will be ... the agreement on the level playing field agreed with Boris Johnson.

  • He said the EU would insist on the European Court of Justice continuing to play a role in certain respects. Referring to security aspects of the negotiation, he said:

The UK should commit itself to applying the European Convention on Human Rights.

Secondly, the British government should set up adequate standards for data protection - this is an essential concern for the Europeans and this is something that the European parliament is paying a great deal of attention to.

Thirdly, any co-operation should be subject to an effective dispute settlement mechanism.

Where a partnership is based on concepts derived from European law, obviously the European Court of Justice should be able to continue its role in full.

  • He said the main agreement being negotiated would not cover Gibraltar. He said:

Territorial application of any agreement that we are negotiating will not include the territory of Gibraltar … The kingdom of Spain will have to be involved and give its agreement to a specific agreement on Gibraltar.

Michel Barnier speaking at his press conference earlier.
Michel Barnier speaking at his press conference earlier. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Updated

'Level playing field' not a generally accepted concept, says No 10

At a briefing after Boris Johnson’s speech Downing Street said the concept of a “level playing field” was “not a generally accepted one”. The prime minister’s spokesman told reporters:

Level playing field is an EU concept, it’s not a generally accepted one.

Some FTAs [free trade agreements] contain some light provisions on competition, subsidy, environment and the like. Only the EU seeks to export its own laws into these areas and police them itself.

And our position is that there is no need to go further than the sort of provisions that the EU has agreed with countries such as Canada to reduce trade distortions.

The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has expressed reservations about Boris Johnson’s hardline negotiating position. Speaking at a press conference in Cardiff, Drakeford said:

The red line approach to negotiation has not served us well during the first phase of leaving the European Union. It doesn’t help to create the flexibility and compromise that any negotiation is bound to involve.

Drakeford said Wales would be working hard over the next weeks and months to strengthen its bonds with trading partners.

This would include work around the Wales v Ireland rugby match in Dublin on Saturday and events in Berlin, Paris and Brussels in the spring. Drakeford said work was also being done to boost trade between Wales and Canada and the US. He said:

We recognise that leaving the European Union means we have to work even harder to make sure that Wales is known, promoted and successful around the world.

The pound has fallen sharply today in the light of Boris Johnson’s speech, which has renewed fears of the UK leaving the transition period at the end of the year without a trade deal, my colleague Julia Kollewe reports on the business live blog. Traders clearly aren’t impressed by the notion of an Australian deal, or by the argument that not having a deal is not the same has having no deal. (See 9.48am.)

Here is the full text of Boris Johnson speech in Greenwich about the UK-US trade talks.

The Times’ Raphael Hogarth thinks the gap between the UK and the EU on alignment might not be as wide as some people think.

Dmitry Grozoubinski, a former Australian trade negotiator who now runs the Explain Trade blog, has written a thorough and detailed Twitter feed about the EU’s draft negotiating guidelines for the UK-EU trade talks. It starts here.

Downing Street has now published the written ministerial statement from Boris Johnson setting out the government’s ambitions for the UK-EU trade talks. It is an ultra-condensed UK version of the document published by the EU earlier. (See 10.36am.)

There are three oral statements in the Commons this afternoon. The first, from Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, will cover the UK-EU trade talks.

Updated

Johnson/Barnier speeches on trade talks expose deep gulf between UK and EU on standards and fishing

There is a lot to unpack in the speeches from Boris Johnson and Michel Barnier this morning, and in the draft guidelines for the UK-EU trade negotiation (pdf) published by the EU. But the outline story is relatively simple; Johnson and Barnier have set out their opening bids, and what they have said has made it clear that a deep disagreement on two issues could derail the talks.

Those two issues are level playing field provisions, and fishing. Barnier identified them as the two key issues in his opening speech. He said:

We are ready to offer a highly ambitious trade deal as the central pillar of this partnership ...

But because of our geographical proximity and economic interdependence, our draft mandate also makes clear that this exceptional offer is conditional on at least two things.

First, we need to make sure competition is and remains open, and fair. We have already agreed with Prime Minister Johnson that our future partnership will prevent, and I quote, “unfair competitive advantages”. We must now agree on specific and effective guarantees to ensure a level playing field over the long term.

That means mechanisms to uphold the high standards we have in social, environmental climate, tax and state aid matters today, and in their future developments.

Second, our free trade agreement must include an agreement on fisheries. This agreement should provide for continued, reciprocal access to markets and to waters with stable quota shares.

If you can agree on this, as well as on robust commitment towards a level playing field, and the necessary enforcement regime, because it in, we will achieve a very ambitious free and fair trade agreement.

The concept of a “level playing field [LPF]” is a broad one and it can encompass anything from non-regression (not going back on standards that currently apply) to dynamic alignment (promising to match new standards imposed by the EU). What was most significant about what Barnier had to say on this was that he seemed to be holding out for something at the dynamic alignment end of the spectrum; the LPF rules would have to apply “over the long term”, he said, and there would have to be a mechanism to uphold standards applying now “and in their future developments”.

Johnson said he did not accept the need for these sorts of LPF provisions. In his speech he said:

There is no need for a free trade agreement to involve accepting EU rules on competition policy, subsidies, social protection, the environment, or anything similar any more than the EU should be obliged to accept UK rules.

The UK will maintain the highest standards in these areas – better, in many respects, than those of the EU – without the compulsion of a treaty.

And it is vital to say this now clearly because we have so often been told that we must choose between full access to the EU market, along with accepting its rules and courts on the Norway model, or a free trade agreement, which opens up markets and avoids the full panoply of EU regulation, like the Canada deal.

Well folks, I hope you’ve got the message by now. We have made our choice: we want a comprehensive free trade agreement, similar to Canada’s.

It is worth pointing out that saying there is no need to accept alignment with EU rules (which is what Johnson said in the speech) is not the same as categorically ruling one out. But he implied very strongly that he would not be willing to sign up to the sort of mechanisms Barnier was proposing.

And, on fishing, Johnson said that he would be willing to allow EU boats access to UK waters – but only on condition that such arrangements were reviewed annually. He said:

We are ready to consider an agreement on fisheries, but it must reflect the fact that the UK will be an independent coastal state at the end of this year 2020, controlling our own waters.

And under such an agreement, there would be annual negotiations with the EU, using the latest scientific data, ensuring that British fishing grounds are first and foremost for British boats.

The EU want an agreement on fishing that is much more long term. That is what Barnier was referring to when he talked about “continued”, reciprocal access, and “stable” quota shares.

Michel Barnier speaking at his press conference earlier.
Michel Barnier speaking at his press conference earlier. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

Updated

Boris Johnson giving his speech at the Old Naval College in Greenwich, London, this morning.
Boris Johnson giving his speech at the Old Naval College in Greenwich, London, this morning. Photograph: Frank Augstein/AP

Johnson says he has 'come to end of patience with idea of automatic early release' for terrorist offenders

Johnson says de-radicalising people is a very difficult thing to do.

That’s is why he no longer believes in automatic early release, he says.

That’s why I’ve come to the end of my patience with the idea of automatic early release.

The press conference is now over.

I will post a summary soon.

Johnson says Scott Morrison (he refers to him as Prime Minister ScoMo, Morrison’s nickname) called him last week to say how important a trade deal with Australia was for him.

Johnson suggests that terrorist offenders are going to be subject to new checks before being released

Q: Will you ensure terrorists offenders are kept in jail until people can be sure they are safe?

Johnson says reporters should wait for what Robert Buckland has to say. He says he does not want those offenders released without “some process of scrutiny”. That should involve experienced people being able to look them in the eyes and assess if they are a threat.

  • Johnson suggests that terrorist offenders are going to be subject to new checks before being released.

Q: Your speech did not use the word Brexit. Has it been banned?

Johnson says it has not been banned.

It is not banned, it is just over. It has happened.

Updated

Q: Would you bring back control orders?

Johnson says there has been a lot of talk about this. But he does not want to return to a system involving a lot of laborious surveillance, when a custodial option would have been better.

  • Johnson rules out bringing back control orders.

Johnson says he wants a smooth and unobtrusive mechanism for resolving disputes in a trade deal, without involving the European court of justice.

Q: Can you tell us more about the “mumbo jumbo” about standards that you referred to? (See 11.12am.)

Johnson says he means the UK will be governed by science.

But he was not dismissing concerns about chlorinated chicken. That is an animal welfare issue, he says. He says the US will have to follow UK animal welfare standards.

He says he was referring to some “hysterical” claims about US food. He does not think there is a problem with US food, he says. Americans look well nourished to him, he jokes.

Q: Will you stand up for Gibraltar?

Johnson says he will be negotiating on behalf of the whole UK family, including Gibraltar.

Q: Do you accept Australian-style trade deal is a euphemism for no deal? And what is your response to Michel Barnier today saying you should not be surprised about what the EU is saying on a level playing field, because that was set out in the political declaration?

Johnson says the political declaration talked about the need for high standards.

Johnson's Q&A

Q: What will the government do about terrorists in jail?

Johnson says there is a real problem here. Do you keep Islamist extremists in jail all together. Or do you isolate them? He says there are few successes here.

Q: During the election you said there was no chance of the UK leaving the transition period without a deal. Now will you level with the public, and say that is a real option?

Johnson says he is looking forward to getting trade deals with other countries.

Johnson says government wants to stop automatic early release for terrorist offenders currently in jail

Before taking questions, Johnson says he wants to say a few words about the Streatham terror attack.

He says people want to know why the attacker was out on automatic release.

The difficulty is how to apply new rules retrospectively, he says.

He says the government wants to stop people “in the current stream” from qualifying for automatic early release. Robert Buckland, the justice secretary, will say more about this shortly, he says.

Updated

Johnson repeats a point he made during the general election about Wales being closer to Beijing than New Zealand. So it should be exporting more lamb to China, he says, than New Zealand does.

(As when he made this point during the election, he ignores the fact that New Zealand is closer by sea, which is how many goods are exported.)

Johnson says that, if you combine the government’s commitment to free trade, with its commitment to levelling up the UK, he expects to see the UK exporting more ships, more bone china and more beef.

He is complaining now about the US refusing to accept imports of haggis. He does not know how they manage, he says.

Johnson rules out offering EU long-term assurances on fishing access to UK waters

Johnson says he wants a new relationship that goes beyond trade.

For example, he says he wants a deal on aviation, so cheap flights can continue.

And he wants a deal on fish, he says. But it must respect the fact that the UK is an independent coastal state, controlling its own waters.

He says there will have to be annual negotiations on the EU fishing quotas, using latest scientific data, “ensuring that British fishing waters are first and foremost for British boats”.

  • Johnson rules out offering EU long-term assurances on fishing access to UK waters.

Updated

Johnson says the UK is not going to insist that the EU follows all its rules.

For instance, it won’t insist that the EU follows UK rules on the use of single-use plastics. It won’t ban German cars or Italian wine unless those countries follow UK plastic rules.

He says the EU must understand that “what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander”.

He says the UK should not be obliged to accept EU rules in key areas.

This is the passage briefed in advance. See 9.48am.

Updated

Johnson says the UK was also ahead of the EU in legislating to cut carbon emissions.

Johnson turns to the EU.

He says the UK does not intend to lower standards after it has left the EU.

We will not engage in some cut-throat race to the bottom. We are not leaving the EU to undermine standards. We will not engage in dumping.

He says France and Germany use state aid more than the UK. If the EU has worries about state aid, it should focus on them.

He says in many areas the UK is ahead of the EU in standards, such as in relation to paternity leave, flexible working, and paid maternity leave.

The UK has a higher minimum wage than all but three EU member states, he says.

And on animal welfare it wants to go further than the EU. And it already has. It banned veal crates 16 years before the EU. And it has taken action on ivory imports to protect elephants.

Johnson says he wants to negotiate trade deals with countries the UK turned its back on in the 1970s.

And he has a message for the anti-Americans who are unhappy about the idea of a trade deal with the US: “Grow up.”

He says conspiracy theorists should accept that the NHS will not be on the table in trade talks with the US.

He says the UK will maintain food, hygiene and animal welfare standards.

But he says what the UK does will be determined by science, not by “mumbo jumbo”.

Johnson says the UK will have to start using muscles it has not used for decades to start negotiating free trade deals.

He says Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, tells him she has enough trade negotiators. But if she doesn’t, they will hire some more, he says.

Johnson says he wants UK to make global case for free trade

Johnson quotes Richard Cobden as saying free trade is “God’s diplomacy”.

He says nothing else has done as much to guarantee prosperity.

But this “beneficial magic” is fading, he says. He says free trade is being choked.

He says in Washington tariffs are being waved around like cudgels. And there is a proliferation of non-tariff barriers.

Trade used to grow at twice the rate of GDP. But now it barely keeps pace, he says.

He says we are starting to hear “some bizarre, autarkic rhetoric”.

So the UK needs to make the case for free trade, he says.

Boris Johnson's speech on Brexit trade deal

Michel Barnier is still speaking, but I’m switching now to Boris Johnson, who has just started his speech on the proposed Brexit trade deal.

He says this is a moment for the UK to re-emerge as a campaigner for free trade.

Q: Do you think the British are acting in bad faith?

Barnier says it is not for him to say what the UK will do. But he should not underestimate the scale of what will happen.

He says the EU should continue to prepare for all options, including no deal.

Barnier turns to Gibraltar.

He says this deal will not cover Gibraltar. But that does not rule out parallel negotiations covering Gibraltar.

This is what the guidelines say on Gibraltar.

Barnier says he has a lot of respect for Boris Johnson. He has a frank relationship with him.

He will not make a judgment about his intentions. (He is responding to a question about the possibility of the UK walking away from the talks.)

He says Johnson and his team paid a lot of attention “to every word and comma” of the political declaration. That is relevant to what he said a moment ago about the level playing field, he says. (See 10.51am.)

Q: Having the ECJ police any deal is a red line for the UK. Why is it so important for the EU for it to play a role? It is not in the Canada deal.

Barnier says the deal the EU has in mind will not just be about trade. It will cover security too. If the EU works with the UK on security, there will have to be provisions for the exchange of data, often very personal data. He says the Prüm system relates to DNA data. He says that is why the ECJ is so important.

Q: Tony Blair talked in an interview about how divergence could be a good thing. Do you think the EU could benefit from the UK diverging?

Barnier says he read the Blair interview. He always pays attention to what Blair says, he says.

There may be some areas where the EU will allow divergence, he says.

But given the concerns expressed by the public, and the anger, “is this really the time to drive things down”, to lower standards? Barnier says he does not think so.

He says agriculture and fisheries products could enter the EU without tariffs under a deal. So the EU will want to ensure competition is fair.

Updated

Barnier says EU will be 'very demanding' in setting level playing field conditions

Barnier is now taking questions.

Q: Can you say more about how you would like to see the UK remain aligned to EU rules. And is a Canada-style deal your goal?

Barnier says this has never been before.

Barnier says every FTA (free trade agreement) contains rights and obligations. They are not all the same.

He says an FTA is the objective. “Where there is a will, there’s a way.” But the UK is constrained by the decision, “if it is confirmed”, to leave the customs union and single market by the end of the year.

(It is interesting that Barnier still seems to think this is in doubt. Boris Johnson has been adamant that the UK is leaving the single market and the customs union.)

He says every FTA model is different.

He says there should be no surprise on the British side about the demand for level playing field conditions. The political declaration (pdf) is quite clear about this, he says.

Barnier refers to some of the language in paragraph 77. He does not read the whole thing out, but for the record this is what it says.

Given the Union and the United Kingdom’s geographic proximity and economic interdependence, the future relationship must ensure open and fair competition, encompassing robust commitments to ensure a level playing field. The precise nature of commitments should be commensurate with the scope and depth of the future relationship and the economic connectedness of the parties. These commitments should prevent distortions of trade and unfair competitive advantages. To that end, the Parties should uphold the common high standards applicable in the Union and the United Kingdom at the end of the transition period in the areas of state aid, competition, social and employment standards, environment, climate change, and relevant tax matters.

He says the detail of the mechanism for a level playing field will be discussed in the negotiation.

But the EU will be “very demanding” in this area. He says a level playing field will be “the key” to opening up the EU market.

Updated

The Times’s Steven Swinford has flagged up what the EU document says about fishing, which will probably be an early flashpoint in the talks.

Updated

Barnier says he wants to negotiate in a spirit of mutual respect and professionalism.

He is now introducing senior members of his team.

Barnier says he will continue a dialogue with national parliaments in the EU27. And he will continue to speak to other stakeholders, so that they are kept informed.

Barnier says the EU will apply a high level of transparency in the process.

EU publishes draft negotiating guidelines for trade talks with UK

The draft negotiating guidelines have now been published.

Here is the press notice.

And here are the draft negotiating directives (pdf). They run to 33 pages, and 167 clauses.

Barnier is now turning to the second aspect of the guidelines – the security partnership.

He offers solidarity in the light of the Streatham attack. He says security is not a bargaining chip.

He says the EU would like a framework for the exchange of data, and also for cooperation in police matters.

Updated

Barnier says the EU will consider whether there will be equivalence for financial services, and an adequacy ruling for data protection.

Barnier says the EU must know whether the UK intends to diverge in the long run, or whether it intends to stay close to the EU.

He says the depth of the deal will depend on the answer to this question.

Barnier says exporters must prepare now for border checks

Barnier says there will be no mutual recognition of rules.

That means there will be no passporting in the banking sector.

Goods entering the EU will be subject to regulatory checks, he says.

He says these are the automatic and mechanical consequences of the UK’s choices.

Business must adapt now to these conditions, he says.

  • Barnier says exporters must prepare now for border checks.

Barnier says trade must must guarantee level playing field 'over long term'

Barnier, who has been speaking in French, switches to English.

He says the draft guidelines cover the economic partnership, the security partnership, and the institutional governance framework.

On the economic partnership, he says the EU is willing to offer a zero tariff, zero quota deal on goods, and an ambitious deal on services. The EU would like to include digital services, intellectual property, and access to public sector markets.

He says the UK would offer competition. Competition is normal, he says. But he says “this exceptional offer” is conditional on two things.

First, competition must be open and fair.

There must be a level playing field “over the long term”. That means a mechanism for upholding high standards.

Second, there must be a deal on fisheries, involving reciprocal access to waters.

Updated

Barnier says the UK will no longer be able to benefit from the rights and advantages of EU membership.

Updated

Barnier says terms for UK will be 'less favourable' than when it was in EU

Barnier says the EU will seek an ambitious partnership with the UK. But it must be “clear-headed” at the same time, he says.

The most ambitious partnership is the one that we had, because we were in the same union.

He says being out of the EU means the terms for the UK will be “less favourable”.

Michel Barnier's press conference

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, is speaking at his news conference now.

He says the EU is about to publish its draft negotiating guidelines for the trade talks with the UK. They have only just been approved.

He says the document will not contain any surprises.

The Michel Barnier press conference was due to start at 10am UK time, but there seems to be a hold-up.

Now that the UK has left the EU, some of its 73 seats in the European parliament have been redistributed. This chart shows where they have gone.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European commission, said this morning that access to the single market always involves “a mix of rights and obligations”, ZDF’s Stefan Leifert reports.

My colleague John Crace, the Guardian’s sketchwriter, is not being allowed to attend the PM’s Brexit speech this morning.

Advance extracts from Johnson's speech on UK-EU trade negotiation

No 10 released some extracts from Boris Johnson’s speech on the UK-EU trade talks overnight. Here are the key points.

  • Johnson says the UK will not commit to remaining aligned to EU standards - even though it intends to voluntarily maintain high standards. He is expected to say:

There is no need for a free trade agreement to involve accepting EU rules on competition policy, subsidies, social protection, the environment or anything similar, any more than the EU should be obliged to accept UK rules.

The UK will maintain the highest standards in these areas – better, in many respects, than those of the EU – without the compulsion of a treaty and it is vital to stress this now.

  • He says the UK wants a Canada-style free trade agreement with the EU, but that it is willing to manage without one. He is expected to say:

We have often been told that we must choose between full access to the EU market, along with accepting its rules and courts, on the Norway model, or an ambitious free trade agreement, which opens up markets and avoids the full panoply of EU regulation, on the example of Canada.

We have made our choice: we want a free trade agreement, similar to Canada’s but in the very unlikely event that we do not succeed, then our trade will have to be based on our existing withdrawal agreement with the EU.

  • He rejects claims that not having a trade deal amounts to “no deal”. He is expected to say:

The choice is emphatically not ‘deal or no-deal’. The question is whether we agree a trading relationship with the EU comparable to Canada’s – or more like Australia’s.

Updated

Here is Sir Ed Davey, the acting Liberal Democrat leader, on the suggestion from No 10 that not having a trade deal with the EU would be the equivalent of an Australian-style deal. (See 9.21am.) Davey said:

A deal with the EU ‘like Australia’s’ is no-deal in all but name.

To deliberately hollow out our trade is nothing short of a scorched earth policy for Britain’s economy. This isn’t a vision – it’s a nightmare.

Updated

UK does not need trade deal with EU, Rishi Sunak, chief secretary to Treasury, claims

Good morning. On Friday night, as the UK was formally leaving the EU, Boris Johnson said he wanted this to be “the start of a new era of friendly cooperation” between Britain and the EU. But less than 72 hours into our new existence as an “independent” state (actually, for the next 11 months the UK is still paying into the EU’s budget, and still bound by EU law, but with no say over what the EU does, so “vassal state” would be a more accurate description), Johnson is about to give a speech setting out conditions for the forthcoming trade talks that could potentially poleaxe the prospects of a wide-ranging deal from the start. As we report in our overnight story, he is going to rule out the UK committing to remaining aligned to EU rules - even though the EU says there will have to be a “level playing field” if the UK wants zero tariff and zero quota access to its markets.

Johnson has ruled out extending the post-Brexit transition beyond the end of 2020 and so, if there is no trade deal, the UK will revert to trading with the EU on WTO terms. This would be much the same as the no-deal Brexit MPs were so alarmed about in the last parliament (although not exactly the same, because the withdrawal agreement has been passed, and so Northern Ireland and citizens’ rights have been settled). But ministers are refusing to talk about the concept of a no-deal Brexit any more. In his speech today, Johnson will describe this prospect as akin to an Australian-style arrangement. (Australia does not have a free trade deal with the EU, but Britons have a positive view of Australia as a country, and so the concept does not sound as scary as “no deal”). And in an interview this morning on Sky News Rishi Sunak, the chief secretary to the Treasury, claimed that “no deal” was no longer a prospect. When asked if it was still on the table, he replied:

No. We have a deal, and we have now left the EU. So that is now just off the table.

Sunak was referring to the withdrawal agreement deal.

But Sunak also confirmed that the UK could leave the transition period without a trade deal with the EU. When the presenter, Kay Burley, put it to him that the UK needed to do a trade deal with the EU, he replied:

We don’t need to. We have left ... There are lots of different ways that countries trade with each other. We trade with lots of countries around the world, the EU trades with lots of countries around the world. They trade with some countries as part of the customs union. They trade with other countries, like Canada, through a free trade agreement. And they trade with countries like Australia with specific little agreements here and there for sectors. So there are a range of options we can pursue.

So either we will get a free trade agreement, that we have said that we would like. And that’s what they have offered in the past, so I’m hopeful that they make good on that. Or else we will trade on the basis of the terms that are already negotiated, like Australia and like many other countries. But either way I think people should feel very confident about our future.

This contradicts what Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister in charge of no-deal planning, was saying just after the general election. He said on 15 December he was certain there would be a trade deal.

Sunak also insisted that trade was not the only factor that would decide whether the UK economy prospered in the future. He told Burley:

Trade is important, of course it is. But it’s only one part of what’s going to drive our economy forward. All the other things we are doing to invest in infrastructure, R&D, education, to unite and level up across the country, all those things are going to make a tangible difference to people’s quality of life over the coming years as well.

There will be a lot more on this as the day goes on. Here is the agenda.

10am (UK time): Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, holds a press conference to mark the publication of the EU’s draft negotiating guidelines for the proposed UK-EU trade deal. Originally this was supposed to happen at 11am, but Barnier seems to have brought the timing forward so it does not clash with Johnson’s speech.

11am: Boris Johnson gives a speech on the UK’s priorities for the proposed UK-EU trade deal.

1.30pm: Sir Keir Starmer, favourite in the Labour leadership contest, takes part in a webchat on Mumsnet.

After 3.30pm: Priti Patel, the home secretary, is expected to make a Commons statement on the government’s response to the Streatham terror attack.

After 4.30pm: Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, is expected to make a Commons statement on the UK-EU trade talks.

As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web, although I will be focusing mostly on Brexit, and on the speeches from Johnson and Barnier. I plan to post a summary when I wrap up.

We are covering political reaction to the Streatham terror attack on a separate live blog. You can read it here.

You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.

If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

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.

Updated

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