Early evening summary
- The UK has recorded 26,688 new coronavirus cases - a new daily record and a 25% increase on yesterday’s total. Weekly hospital admissions are up 39% in the UK and weekly deaths are up 57% on the previous week. (See 5.22pm.) As Jamie Jenkins, a former ONS statistician reports, in England hospital admissions are now at the level they were in the middle of May.
Data reported for the 18 October 2020 shows there were 870 admissions to English hospitals where there was a positive test for Covid-19.
— Jamie Jenkins (@statsjamie) October 21, 2020
In the 7 days to 18 October there were on average 745 patients admitted to hospital each day - a level not seen since 18 May. pic.twitter.com/KLNf7rXKan
But in Scotland, where restrictions were tightened earlier than in the rest of the UK, there are some positive developments in the figures. Although deaths are still rising (see 2.11pm), the recent sharp rise in new cases seems to have halted. (See 4.43pm.)
- Tens of thousands of deaths are now inevitable in a second wave of coronavirus infections sweeping across England because of the failure to contain the virus, a government scientific adviser has warned. As my colleague Ian Sample reports, John Edmunds, a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told MPs that without further measures England’s tiered Covid-19 strategy would lead to high numbers of new infections every day, putting the NHS under strain and driving up the death toll. “If you look at where we are, there is no way we come out of this wave now without counting our deaths in the tens of thousands,” Edmunds, an epidemiologist, told the joint hearing of the Commons science and technology committee, and the health and social care committee.
- Downing Street has said it is restarting trade talks with the EU, after Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said this morning that Brussels accepted the need for compromise on both sides. (See 5.39pm.)
That’s all from me for today. But our coverage continues on our global coronavirus live blog. It’s here.
The justice secretary and lord chancellor, Robert Buckland QC, is facing legal action over a claim that he has breached his duty to uphold the rule of law.
Lawyers acting for an Oxford University professor have served a formal, 19-page letter before action on him asking him to explain and justify why the government’s internal market bill is not in his view a breach of the law.
Another minister, the former advocate general for Scotland, Lord Keen, and the head of the Government Legal Service, Sir Jonathan Jones, have already resigned in protest at the legislation which permits the government to override international law.
There have been repeated calls from senior legal figures for Buckland to consider his position as the head of the legal system in England and Wales. He has told MPs and select committees variously that he would go if he found the legal situation to be “unacceptable” or if it breached “domestic law or the independence of the judiciary”.
The legal challenge to Buckland’s position comes from Prof Joshua Silver, an active pro-EU campaigner, who is being represented by the London law firm Edwin Coe LLP and Khawar Qureshi QC.
Buckland has been asked to justify why his position is not illegal considering his statutory duty under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which requires him to respect and uphold the rule of law.
The lord chancellor has also been asked to provide a written answer within seven days. If no satisfactory response is received, the letter says, then an application will be made to the high court for an emergency hearing to consider the claim.
The Ministry of Justice was asked for comment.
Updated
UK-EU talks to resume after Barnier's compromise offer leads PM to abandon five-day walkout
The UK-EU trade talks are back on. Only five days after Boris Johnson called them off, No 10 has put out a statement explaining why they are back on.
Downing Street is justifying this decision on the basis of what Michel Barnier told the European parliament this morning. As discussed earlier (see 10.55am), Barnier’s comment about compromise means the EU has now met the three conditions for the resumption of talks set by the UK.
No 10 also demanded a “fundamental” change in approach from the EU. It never defined what this meant, but now it is suggesting that meeting the three conditions set on Friday (agreeing to intensify talks, on the basis of legal text, and on the understanding that both sides were willing to compromise) and accepting UK sovereignty (which the EU never disputed) does amount to a “fundamental” change.
Here is the full statement from No 10.
We have studied carefully the statement by Michel Barnier (see 10.55am) to the European parliament this morning. As the EU’s chief negotiator his words are authoritative.
The prime minister and Michael Gove have both made clear in recent days that a fundamental change in approach was needed from the EU from that shown in recent weeks.
They made clear that the EU had to be serious about talking intensively, on all issues, and bringing the negotiation to a conclusion. They were also clear that the EU had to accept once again that it was dealing with an independent and sovereign country and that any agreement would need to be consistent with that status.
We welcome the fact that Mr Barnier acknowledged both points this morning, and additionally that movement would be needed from both sides in the talks if agreement was to be reached. As he made clear, ‘any future agreement will be made in respect of the decision-making autonomy of the European Union and with respect for British sovereignty.’
Lord Frost discussed the implications of this statement and the state of play with Mr Barnier earlier today. On the basis of that conversation we are ready to welcome the EU team to London to resume negotiations later this week. We have jointly agreed a set of principles for handling this intensified phase of talks.
As to the substance, we note that Mr Barnier set out the principles that the EU has brought to this negotiation, and that he also acknowledged the UK’s established red lines. It is clear that significant gaps remain between our positions in the most difficult areas, but we are ready, with the EU, to see if it is possible to bridge them in intensive talks. For our part, we remain clear that the best and most established means of regulating the relationship between two sovereign and autonomous parties is one based on a free trade agreement.
As both sides have made clear, it takes two to reach an agreement. It is entirely possible that negotiations will not succeed. If so, the UK will end the transition period on Australia terms and will prosper in doing so.
It is essential now that UK businesses, hauliers, and travellers prepare actively for the end of the transition period, since change is coming, whether an agreement is reached or not.
Updated
UK records 26,688 new Covid cases - new daily record, and 25% up on yesterday
The UK government has just updated its coronavirus dashboard. Here are the key figures.
- The UK has recorded 26,688 new coronavirus cases. That is a new daily record, and an increase of more than 5,000 - or 25% - on yesterday’s figure (21,331). This time last week the daily total was 19,724.
- Over the last week there have been 134,606 new cases - up 22% from the total for the previous week.
- The UK has recorded 191 further deaths. That is down 50 - or 21% - from yesterday’s total (241). A week ago the figure was 137.
- Over the last seven days there have been 1,003 Covid deaths - up 57% on the previous week.
- In England there were 5,828 Covid patients in hospital yesterday, up from 5,402 the previous day. On Sunday, the last day for which admissions figures are published, there were 870 coronavirus hospital admissions in England - up from 785 the previous days.
- In the week up to Saturday 6,463 patients were admitted to hospital in the UK - up 39% on the previous week.
- More than 2m tests were processed in the week up to yesterday - up 11% on the previous week.
At her briefing earlier Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said there were grounds for “cautious optimism” because new cases were slowing. (See 4.11pm.)
This chart, from the Scottish government’s coronavirus dashboard, illustrates her point. It shows the seven-day rolling average for positive cases (the green line) going down.
Updated
After the vote was announced the Conservative MP Katherine Fletcher said that Mancunians (she was born in the city, but now represents South Ribble in Lancashire) believed in being fair. She went on:
Is it in order for [Angela Rayner] to call repeatedly out “scum” when my colleague was talking (see 3.38pm) and then to fail to retract it or apologise. Today she has shamed Manchester, shamed this house, and she should apologise.
Rayner did not respond. Nigel Evans, the deputy Speaker in the chair, said MPs should always use courteous language, and that some of the comments he had heard in the debate had made him wince.
Labour has just lost the vote on its motion calling for “fair” economic support for areas under Covid restrictions (see 1.48pm) by 261 votes to 340 - a government majority of 79.
Sturgeon accuses Johnson of ignoring expert advice as she confirms plan for Scottish five-tier alert system
Nicola Sturgeon has accused Boris Johnson of ignoring expert advice about the need for a Covid restrictions strategy that includes an “extreme” top level close to the full lockdown imposed in March.
Sturgeon confirmed she will unveil a five-tier system of restrictions on Friday that will partly mirror England’s three-tier traffic light system of controls, as Scotland’s Covid-19 infections and fatalities climbed sharply to levels not seen since May.
She said the Scottish system would start with a zero, lowest tier “which is the closest to normality we can reasonably expect to live with until we have a vaccine or a more effective treatment for this virus”.
After confirming Scotland had passed the 50,000 infections threshold overnight, with 28 new fatalities, the first minister said her government had heeded warnings from England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, that a very tough top tier of controls was needed in extreme situations. She said:
The English system starts at medium, which is quite a high level of restriction.
We also think we need another one at the top because if you remember when England published theirs, the chief medical officer in England said he thought that the top level was not enough to necessarily get the virus down.
We think we need one above that which is not identical to but perhaps closer to a full lockdown, if things got to be that serious.
NHS England has recorded 94 further coronavirus hospital deaths. There were 37 in the north-west, 27 in the north-east and Yorkshire, 12 in the Midlands, eight in London, five in the east of England, three in the south-east and two in the south-west. The details are here.
That is much lower than yesterday’s figure (134) but higher than the figure for a week ago today (68).
In Scotland there have been 28 further deaths, up from 15 yesterday.
Public Health Wales has recorded 962 further cases and 14 further deaths.
Yesterday there were 1,148 cases and 10 deaths. A week ago today there were 946 cases and 10 deaths.
And in Northern Ireland there have been 1,039 new cases and five further deaths. The details are here.
Yesterday there were 913 new cases and three deaths. A week ago today there were 1,217 new cases and four deaths.
Updated
In the Commons Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chancellor, is just winding up the economic support debate for Labour. She says MPs have just been told that Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, will be making an economic statement in the Commons to tomorrow.
The Conservative party has posted this response on Twitter to Sadiq Khan, who earlier accused Boris Johnson of lying about Khan’s responsibility for the Transport for London deficit at PMQs. (See 1.37pm.)
What a load of tosh
— CCHQ Press London (@CCHQLondon) October 21, 2020
The 2019 TfL Budget factored an operating loss of £742million - pre-Covid
You U-turned on your fares freeze & agreed to raise fares by RPI+1 - pre-Covid
Your abject failure to deliver Crossrail meant up to £1.35BN in lost revenues - pre-Covid https://t.co/UBEWbPg5kC
Tory MP accuses Labour's deputy leader of calling him 'scum' in Commons Covid debate
The Commons debate on Labour’s call for “fair” economic support for areas under Covid restrictions has mostly been quite routine, but it turned very bitter a few minutes ago when a Conservative MP claimed Labour’s Angela Rayner had called him “scum”.
Chris Clarkson, MP for Heywood and Middleton, was speaking when it happened. He accused Labour of “opportunism” and claimed that many Labour frontbenchers agreed with Kate Green, the shadow education secretary, who he claimed had described coronavirus as a good crisis to exploit. Then he suddenly stopped, and accused Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, of calling him “scum”.
Eleanor Laing, the deputy Speaker who was in the charge, intervened and said any language of that kind was totally unacceptable.
Rayner then rose herself, and asked Laing for guidance about what she could do about an MP making claims about the Labour front bench that were not true. She seemed to be referring to Clarkson’s comment about Green, not his comment about her calling him “scum”. Clarkson then said that he asked if Rayner had called him “scum” because that’s what he heard.
Boris Johnson has several times criticised Green for what she said about not wasting a good crisis, accusing her of seeking political advantage from a virus that has killed thousands. But Green was talking about using Covid as an opportunity to address deep-seated problems. Johnson has made much the same argument himself.
This is from the Conservative MP Dehenna Davison.
So @AngelaRayner literally just called @ChrisClarksonMP “scum” in the Chamber whilst he was making his speech about COVID support.
— Dehenna Davison MP (@DehennaDavison) October 21, 2020
Absolutely disgraceful behaviour from the Labour front bench. Rayner needs to apologise immediately.
This is not what politics is about. pic.twitter.com/ETbIwj7Vrg
Government talks with Tees Valley and Tyneside over introducing tier 3 coronavirus restrictions have been paused, it is understood. PA Media says this follows signs that progress has been made in controlling coronavirus in the area.
Discussions have also taken place about moving Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire into the highest category of restrictions.
Earlier the Conservative MPs Dehenna Davison, who represents Bishop Auckland, and Richard Holden, who represents North West Durham, discussed the situation in the north-east with Boris Johnson. Davison said she thought it would be possible for the area to stay out of tier 3.
Grateful to @BorisJohnson for taking the time to chat to me and @RicHolden today about the COVID landscape across County Durham and the North East.
— Dehenna Davison MP (@DehennaDavison) October 21, 2020
We know local restrictions are tough, but if we keep playing our part, we can get the case rate down and stay out of Tier 3. pic.twitter.com/TOJXExn2Kz
In the Commons the Conservative MP William Wragg, who represents Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester, says he does not support the region going into tier 3.
And he questions the compulsory 10pm closing time. That encourages people to socialise in homes, he says.
He says people in the north are not going to the government with a begging bowl.
But if premises are forced to close, they deserve support, he says.
He says the medicine could be worse than the disease.
Updated
Sadiq Khan accuses Johnson of lying to MPs about TfL's deficit, saying Covid to blame not him
Boris Johnson repeatedly accused Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, of bankrupting Transport for London at PMQs. He made the claim in response to MPs who asked about the bailout package being offered by the government to Transport for London, which would require fare increases and the extension of the congestion charge. In response to one of the MPs, Labour’s Janet Daby, Johnson said:
It was the Labour Mayor of London who bankrupted TfL’s finances and any changes that he brings in are entirely his responsibility.
Khan, who succeeded Johnson as London mayor in 2016, said the PM was lying. He posted this on Twitter.
The PM has lied to the House of Commons.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) October 21, 2020
Before Covid I was fixing his mess at TfL- reducing the deficit by 71% since 2016.
Covid-19 is the sole cause of TfL’s challenges. The PM wants to increase fares, the C-Charge & taxes - & end free travel for children and older Londoners. https://t.co/EcVNVSSWjp
A police chief has said breaches of Covid regulations have become “another version of antisocial behaviour” for the service, adding “it’s a very difficult area for us to police”.
Andy Rhodes, the chief constable for Lancashire Constabulary, told MPs on the home affairs select committee that calls relating to coronavirus breaches made up around 4% of the force’s calls and were similar to antisocial behaviour calls, with residents complaining about neighbours’ behaviour.
But he said the shift from tier 2 to tier 3 had seen some residents have a “last blast” and triggered a surge in incidents over the weekend.
Rhodes said the force was only deploying officers to serious scenarios such as “150 people in a marquee”, adding the force was “genuinely not knocking on people’s doors and asking how many people you have round for supper tonight”.
He went on:
That is not the policing style of British policing. Covid has become like another version of antisocial behaviour for us. That’s what people are ringing us about.
Some of the Covid calls we’re getting our normal antisocial behaviour calls - there are 20 people in the park and they shouldn’t be there because of the Covid regulations.
We are putting in the same policing response to those things as we’ve always done to some degree ... It’s very difficult area for us to police.
But he said it was important and legitimate to have an enforcement element to the policing response.
Over the weekend, because we went into tier 3, it was almost like some people thought we’ll have a last blast. Our Covid incidents went up 25% and so we issued significantly more tickets over the weekend.
We’ve got 150 people hiring a marquee to have a wake. That hasn’t from day one been an area for confusion. That will attract a £10,000 fine if we can find the organiser. There needs to be a deterrent for people who are clearly and blatantly putting other people’s lives at risk in our view.
ACC Owen Weatherill, who is the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for the Covid policing response, told the committee it was “inevitable” there will be a “level of fatigue” with the restrictions.
Updated
Scotland records 28 Covid deaths - highest daily figure since May
Scotland has surpassed 50,000 cases of Covid-19 after recording 1,739 positive cases in the last 24 hours, with 28 deaths of people confirmed to have the virus, the highest daily figure since 21 May.
Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, said the continuing surge in cases led her government to extend the restrictions on pubs and cafes, on unnecessary travel and on contact sports across central Scotland for a further week.
She said Scotland had now recorded 50,903 positive cases since March, with the numbers in hospital rising again by 49 to 873 and the numbers in intensive care up by three to 73.
The data came as National Records of Scotland, the government public records agency, said that 75 deaths with Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate last week, up by 50 on the previous week, and the highest weekly figure since early June.
Sturgeon added, however, that the latest data suggested the rate of increase in cases was slowing, giving her “cautious optimism” the existing restrictions were having an impact on the latest surge in cases.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, is launching legal action against the imposition of tier 3 restrictions on the hospitality sector in the region. This is from Sacha Lord, his night-time economy adviser.
LATEST: Last night we started the Judicial Review into the legality of implementing emergency restrictions on Greater Manchesters hospitality sector, without scientific evidence.
— Sacha Lord (@Sacha_Lord) October 21, 2020
A pre-action letter has been filed and we await the Health Secretary's response.
The fight goes on.
The Welsh health minister has criticised people who spread false stories about coronavirus via social media and called for platforms to do more to stop lies being disseminated.
Vaughan Gething spoke after a tweet falsely claiming one Welsh hospital was so empty that its doctors were able to take time off to play golf gained traction and made headlines. Gething said:
It’s incredibly frustrating to see direct lies being told about what is taking place within our health service, Our health service is under significant pressure.
He said people had to think before sharing wrong and damaging information but also said social media platforms needed to take responsibility. “We are not in a game here. We are in a really serious position.”
Speaking at the Welsh government’s press conference, Gething said it was not possible to say what Christmas would look like in Wales, calling such a prediction a “mug’s game”.
Gething said there were 894 people in hospital with Covid – up 26% on the same time last week and the highest number since June.
Updated
MPs debate Labour plan for economic support for areas under Covid restrictions
MPs are now debating a Labour motion calling for “fair” economic support for areas under Covid restrictions.
It says:
That this house calls on the government to publish clear and fair national criteria for financial support for jobs and businesses in areas facing additional restrictions, to be voted on in parliament; and calls on the government to make good on its claim that workers faced with hardship who are subject to the job support scheme extension will receive at least 80% of their previous incomes.
Angela Rayner, the Labour deputy leader, is opening the debate.
She says people in Greater Manchester have been offered support worth the equivalent of just £8 per head. She says that is just what a test and trace consultant earns in 30 seconds.
And now the government is seeking to play councils in the area off against each other, she says. (See 1.36pm and 1.43pm.)
She says people in the city have been “dismayed” by how the democratically elected mayor has been treated by the government.
Greater Manchester is no longer a city region united after the only Conservative-run council announced it was willing to consider a bespoke deal for its hospitality workers.
David Greenhalgh, the leader of Bolton council, said he was “willing to look at” a Bolton-only package, breaking away from the rest of the cross-region negotiating block and distancing himself from Andy Burnham.
He said he had spoken to Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, this morning, after hearing that the £60m offered by government to Greater Manchester on Tuesday was still up for grabs for individual councils.
It is clear the amount on the table, which is what has been accepted in Liverpool, Lancashire and now South Yorkshire, and I am not prepared for Bolton businesses to miss out on this extra financial help.
This is not the time for posturing and politics. This is about getting the best deal available for Bolton business, and those who work in the sectors worst affected.
I hope to have further discussions later today with government officials and ministers, and progress as a matter of priority to enable a scheme to be worked up that targets those most affected.
Unsurprisingly, his Labour counterparts are fuming.
The latest episode of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast is out. Heather Stewart and Peter Walker run through a cantankerous week in Westminster. Rajeev Syal speaks to the chair of the women and equalities committee, Caroline Nokes. Plus, Heather chats to the comedian and former Labour party member Matt Forde, about his new book, Politically Homeless.
Government invites Greater Manchester council leaders, but not Burnham, to discuss allocation of £60m
Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, has written to all 10 Greater Manchester council leaders inviting them to come forward individually to claim their share of the £60m still on offer.
The move appears to be a deliberate attempt to cut Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, out of the discussions following the dramatic breakdown of talks on Tuesday.
In the letter, seen by the Guardian, Jenrick says it was “with regret” that he had to inform the prime minister that they had been unable to reach a deal. But he adds:
Though our discussions with the mayor were unable to reach agreement, the government remains committed to providing people and businesses in Greater Manchester with the support they need as we move into the next phase of action against coronavirus.
I am therefore writing to restate our offer of business support to your areas. This funding of £60m is for the people and businesses of Greater Manchester and with your help, we will ensure it reaches them as swiftly as possible and ensure this support can go to those who need it. Our officials stand ready to work quickly and closely with their counterparts to ensure this can happen - starting today.
I have valued the conversations I have had with you in recent days. I do not underestimate how challenging it is to lead your councils and communities through this period. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you wish to discuss further.
Here's the letter from Robert Jenrick. Clear deliberate attempt to cut Andy Burnham out of the picture. pic.twitter.com/H2eUM9YVXN
— Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) October 21, 2020
Updated
Starmer says 'miserly' treatment of Greater Manchester defining moment for government
Here is the quote from Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs where he claimed that Boris Johnson’s treatment of Greater Manchester was a defining moment for the government. He said
This is a prime minister who can pay £7,000 a day for consultants on track and trace, which isn’t working, can find £43m for a garden bridge that was never built but he can’t find £5m for the people of Greater Manchester.
I really think the prime minister has crossed a Rubicon here, not just with the miserly way that he’s treated Greater Manchester, but the grubby take-it-or-leave-it way these local deals are being done.
It’s corrosive to public trust to pit region against region, mayor against mayor, council against council, asking them to trade away their businesses and jobs.
My colleague Helen Pidd, the Guardian’s north of England editor, came up with a similar analysis in a tweet posted this morning.
I think the way the government treated Greater Manchester yesterday will be one of those rare things which linger in voters' minds long after the fact — bit like the Lib Dems and tuition fees. Some very flimsy Tory majorities up here.
— Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) October 21, 2020
Updated
Downing Street clearly thinks Michel Barnier’s comments to the European parliament this morning (see 10.55am) were significant. In response a No 10 spokesperson said:
We note with interest that the EU’s negotiator, speaking to the [European parliament] this morning, has commented in a significant way on the issues behind the current difficulties in our talks.
We are studying carefully what was said.
David Frost will discuss the situation when he speaks to Michel Barnier later today.
That may be a hint that the trade talks will formally resume soon.
PMQs - Snap verdict
Who won? is the standard question after PMQs. Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes it isn’t, but Westminster conventional wisdom normally demands an answer more or less immediately. Today Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer both seemed happy to leave it for a month or two. They are both auditioning for the role of “Captain Foresight”, betting their credibility and authority on an assumption about whether or not the government’s tier 3 strategy will work.
Neither of them committed to a firm timetable, but the gist of it was clear. Starmer was saying that areas going into tier 3 would be stuck there for months. He said:
There’s a stark choice: carry on with the prime minister’s approach, which will lead to weeks and weeks and months and months of prolonged agony in all your constituencies for millions of people in tier 2 and tier 3, with no exit, or put in place a two- to three-week time-limited circuit break to break the cycle and bring the virus back under control.
And Johnson insisted tier 3 measures would work, implying areas could be out within a month or so. He said:
I made it absolutely clear that part of the country going into tier 3 is only in there for 28 days, we will review it after 28 days and areas that have gone into tier 3, I believe, are already making progress. Areas where there are restrictions in place are also showing signs of progress. We are pursuing a local, a regional approach, which is the sensible approach for this country.
Ultimately, of course, time will tell – or at least up to a point, because it may well be the case that within a month or so the tier 3 framework has been revised. Most other government Covid strategies end up being rewritten within weeks. Starmer’s forecasts sounded considerably more plausible than Johnson’s. But he should also remember that being proved right is not a sufficient, or even perhaps a necessary, key to electoral victory. It probably counts less than pundits assume.
As for who “won” this afternoon, it was more even than in most recent weeks. Starmer’s question about what regions have to go to get out of tier 3 was very good because it was a real question, pertinent to millions, and not just a clever, gotcha trap. But it was that too, because Johnson did not have a very good answer, and Starmer was entitled to say his response sounded confused. Starmer also produced a reasonable hit on the £7,000-per-day consultants and the garden bridge.
But Johnson, although probably losing on points, had a vivid turn of phrase as he rounded on Labour’s plan for a short, national lockdown. He told MPs:
I think it’s the height of absurdity that [Starmer] stands up and attacks the economic consequences of the measures we’re obliged to take across some parts of the country when he wants to turn the lights out with a full national lockdown.
Although polls, like this one, suggest that the voters clearly back Starmer on this issue, none of these decisions are easy and there must be a good chunk of people listening to Johnson minded to agree.
Updated
Helen Hayes (Lab) asks why consultants are getting £7,000 a day to work on test and trace.
Johnson says NHS Test and Trace has tested more people than any other system in Europe.
He says we need to get through this without going back into the social, psychological and economic disaster of further lockdowns.
And that’s it. PMQs is over.
Julian Sturdy (Con) asks what can be done to get the infection rate down in York.
Johnson says the guidance is having an effect. If it were not for the restrictions, R would be at three, he says. He says it won’t take much to get it below one. It would not be sensible to have a sustained series of national lockdowns.
Updated
Lilian Greenwood (Lab) asks for more help for Nottingham businesses.
Johnson says he sympathises with businesses. But in Nottingham the infection rate is running at 815 per 100,000. We must get that down, he says.
Johnson says the UK will use its Cop26 presidency to promote female education around the world.
Sarah Olney (Lib Dem) asks about reports that the congestion charge in London is going to be extended. That is unfair on Barnes residents who cannot use Hammersmith Bridge because it’s closed, she says.
Johnson says the bridge is closed because of Sadiq Khan’s incompetence. He says the Tory candidate for mayor, Shaun Bailey, would reopen it.
Updated
Stephen Metcalfe (Con) calls for suitable enforcement against people who flout the rules.
Johnson agrees. He says people must follow the guidance.
Sir George Howarth (Lab) says extending free school meals (over the holidays) to Easter is the moral thing to do.
Johnson says free school meals will continue during term.
Robin Millar (Con) asks if the future is a series of rolling national lockdowns. Or should government trust business?
Johnson says he had a great conversation with Dan Jarvis last night. He says local leadership is crucial to getting the R number down.
Sarah Owen (Lab) says Johnson praised Luton as the only place to come out of restrictions. But the town needs financial support too.
Johnson says the government will support businesses there. It wants to continue with its sensible, balanced approach. Businesses in Luton would not benefit from having the lights turned off under Labour’s policies, he says.
Janet Daby (Lab) asks if it is true that the government wants to force TfL to remove free travel for the under-18s and over-60s.
Johnson says it was Sadiq Khan who bankrupted TfL and this is his responsibility.
Updated
Sir Gary Streeter (Con) asks when the government will roll out full-fibre broadband.
Johnson says that is happening. The UK will be a world leader in connectivity, he says.
Updated
Daisy Cooper (Lib Dem) asks about free school meals. The Scottish and Welsh governments have extended their free school meal programmes. Is the PM aware of that? Will he do the same?
Johnson says the Tory government extended free school meals to infants, while Labour never did that. He says the government will support families throughout the holidays as well.
Philip Hollobone (Con) asks a closed questing about Kettering hospital.
Johnson says the infrastructure programme includes this hospital.
Hollobone says red tape is holding up clearances.
Johnson says he agrees. Site development is now under way, he says.
Updated
Rupa Huq (Lab) says the government has done many good things, but its schemes are time-limited. Will the PM support the Labour motion tonight to extend free school meals?
Johnson says he hopes there is agreement on the need to keep kids in school.
Bob Blackman (Con) says Sadiq Khan is demanding £5.6bn to keep Transport for London running. But he won’t accept any cuts because of pressure from his union paymasters.
Johnson says TfL was left in a good state by the previous mayor (Johnson himself). The problem has been entirely caused by Khan’s demagogic policies, he says.
Sir Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, asks about a severely disabled 18-year-old who cannot access his child trust fund money because of his disability. And his parents cannot without expensive legal action. Will the PM help?
Johnson says he will take this up.
Andrea Jenkyns (Con) says the EU is not acting in good faith in the trade talks.
Johnson says the UK’s internal market will be protected and upheld by the internal market bill.
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, says the furlough scheme is being cut back while the PM complains about not being able to manage on his £150,000 salary. If he can’t manage, how can others?
Johnson says he is proud of the support he has been able to offer. The furlough scheme, with universal credit, will mean workers getting 80% of their salary.
(Last week Johnson claimed it was 90%.)
Blackford says Johnson has made a deliberate decision to let unemployment soar, “just like Thatcher did in the 1980s”.
Johnson says Blackford’s comments bear no relationship to what is actually happening.
Edward Timpson (Con) asks about female involvement in sport.
Johnson says he looks forward to the opening of a centre for women’s football.
Starmer says Johnson showed heat maps at his press conference yesterday showing the infection spreading. Tier 2 is not working. Cornwall is the only place today with infection rates lower than they were in Manchester when it went into restrictions. He suggests tier 3 will last for some time. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are doing a circuit break. Friday is the last chance for one for England before half-term. Will the PM order one?
Johnson says he does not think this is the right policy. It would mean shutting schools and businesses, with all the psychological and economic damage that would follow. He says Starmer cannot say how long that would go on for. He says he thinks his policy would allow all the regions of the country to bounce back strongly.
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Starmer says Johnson can find £7,000 a day for consultants on test and trace. And he spent £40m on a garden bridge. With the Manchester decision, he has crossed a Rubicon. Why won’t he support Labour’s plan for a one-nation approach?
Johnson says he is pursuing one-nation policies. He says no other country in Europe is being so generous. It is the height of absurdity that Starmer is attacking him when Starmer wants to “turn the lights out”.
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Starmer says he does not believe the PM would take an area out of tier 3 with the R number still going up. This could go on for months. He says the PM is bargaining with people’s lives. Why won’t he give Manchester what it needs?
Johnson quotes figures for what has already been given to Manchester. He says Andy Burnham turned down £60m. That money will now be given to the Greater Manchester boroughs, he says.
Starmer says he is now confused. The chief scientific adviser said on Friday tier 3 measures on their own would not work. Can Johnson not see the problem if there is no clear exit?
Johnson says areas in tier 3 are already making progress. He is pursuing a local and regional approach, he says. He says that is sensible. He thanks the local leadership in Merseyside and elsewhere. He says Starmer’s position is “incoherent” because he wants a national lockdown.
Sir Keir Starmer asks how an area in tier 3 can get out of those restrictions.
By getting R below one, says Johnson.
Starmer asks if there are any circumstances in which an area can come out if R is not below one.
Johnson says other factors are taken into account, like hospital admissions. But R is crucial, he says. He says he is grateful for what regions are doing. Tier 3 decisions will be reviewed every 28 days.
Rob Butler (Con) says Buckinghamshire might have to enter tier 2. How would it be able to get out?
Johnson says the incidence in Butler’s Aylesbury constituency is half the national average.
Catherine West (Lab) asks about plans to extend the congestion charge in London.
Johnson says Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, effectively bankrupted Transport for London before the crisis. If measures are needed to rescue it, that is Khan’s fault, he says.
Boris Johnson starts by sending good wishes to Yasmin Qureshi, the Labour MP in hospital with coronavirus.
Scottish government criticised for outsourcing some contact tracing
The Scottish government has outsourced its Covid-19 contact tracing service after failing to recruit enough contact tracers to work in its NHS Test and Protect programme, prompting criticism from opposition parties.
Scottish ministers promised in the summer to hire 2,000 contact tracers within NHS Scotland to avoid the out-sourcing crises affecting England’s contract tracing system. But Jeane Freeman, the health secretary, disclosed last week it had only recruited 800 people.
The website healthandcare.scot said today the government had now struck a £1.3m deal with a call centre firm in Motherwell called Ascensos without putting the contract out to public tender. Ascensos already runs NHS Scotland’s Covid-19 helpline.
The government said that was due to the urgency of the situation; ministers in London have used the same argument to justify billions of pounds worth of private sector coronavirus-related contracts being let without competition.
The site quoted Prof Linda Baulds, a public health expert at Edinburgh university, who advises Scottish ministers, saying it was essential the call centre’s operations were supervised by the NHS. In England, while many contact tracing operations are run by local authorities, others have been outsourced entirely to firms such as Serco, which has faced attacks over poor performance.
Bauld said:
While we all recognise the importance of expanding capacity this shouldn’t be at the expense of expertise. So, any private call centre involvement needs to be integrated with and supervised by colleagues with public health experience and qualifications.
NHS National Services Scotland, which oversees NHS contracts, told healthandcare.scot another company had also been hired to provide support but it has not been named.
Monica Lennon, Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman, said outsourcing this service was a “desperate measure” by ministers. She said:
Contact tracing performance has been going in the wrong direction and that’s down to the Scottish government’s complacency and dithering.
Johnson 'a good PM' because he has 'very clear agenda', says former cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill
Sir Mark Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary, has given his first interview since leaving No 10 to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg. Although the BBC write-up is leading on his comment that the UK did not have “the exact measures” in place ahead of the pandemic, and his criticism of Dominic Cummings’ lockdown-busting trip to Durham, overall he is perhaps surprisingly complementary about the No 10 that was widely perceived to have forced him out of his post.
According to the transcript, this is what Sedwill said about the government’s handling of coronavirus.
If you look at what we did in terms of imposing the lockdown, and then creating the economic programmes to support people through it, actually I think we should be really proud of the speed at which those were devised and implemented, and how quickly the public service responded.
I think there is a genuine question about whether we could have been better prepared in the first place and that is obviously a very legitimate challenge.
And this is what Sedwill said when asked if he thought Boris Johnson was a good prime minister. He replied:
Yes, I do think he’s a good prime minister. He’s the seventh prime minister I’ve worked under, and probably the fourth or fifth I’ve served in reasonable close proximity and it’s a job that you can shape around your personality, almost unlike any other job in government. So his style of doing the job is different to his predecessors, different to the previous ones that that I’ve that I’ve worked for but he’s got a very clear agenda and he’s seeking to deliver it. And that in the end is the job of the prime minister.
A good relationship with No 10 will be useful if Sedwill fancies becoming the next Nato secretary general as some people have suggested, when the job next becomes vacant in 2022. Kuenssberg asked him if he would like the job at the end of the interview. Sedwill said he was “flattered” by the idea, but very much did not rule it out.
Scottish government set to to announce its own five-tier alert system
The Scottish government is expected to introduce a new “extreme” level of Covid restrictions akin to a full lock-down when its version of Boris Johnson’s traffic light system is unveiled by Nicola Sturgeon later this week.
After Sturgeon briefed party leaders on her proposals for a new five-tier alert system last night, the Daily Telegraph reported the Scottish system will span a “zero” tier where life is near normal up to a fifth level.
At that top level, people living in areas affected will reportedly live under restrictions close to the full lockdown introduced in late March across the UK, when there were strict controls on travel, a “stay at home” message and the closure of the vast majority of shops and businesses.
The Telegraph said that unlike the full lockdown, schools would not automatically close if they were in areas hit by the extreme tier unless public health advice recommended it; that would be judged on a case-by-case basis.
The new system in Scotland comes into force on Monday 2 November; Sturgeon is due to publish her draft proposals on Friday before a debate in the Scottish parliament next week.
She fuelled speculation yesterday that strict controls on hospitality venues, social events and unnecessary travel affecting health board areas across the central belt from earlier this month would be extended on Monday until 2 November.
She said extending the current restrictions was logical. Council sources have confirmed the new measures will be based on council boundaries rather than health board areas, making them easier to publicise and manage.
Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said after the briefing with Sturgeon: “The public need to be treated like adults which means sharing the science and the modelling so they can see whether the new sacrifices they are expected to make have a good chance of working.”
Sir Steve Houghton, the Labour leader of Barnsley council, has defended the decision to place South Yorkshire under tier 3 restrictions. In a statement he said:
Although these additional restrictions come as no surprise, it’s difficult to see our borough in such a severe situation.
We understand the impact this virus is having on people’s daily lives and on jobs and businesses, but Barnsley cases are spreading from young to old, putting more lives in danger, leading to more people in our hospital, more people becoming seriously ill, and sadly more people dying. We must act now to save lives and prevent our NHS from being overwhelmed.
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Scotland Yard is being urged to withdraw “misleading and unlawful” advice that pubs ask for photographic identification to stop households mixing, PA Media reports.
The Metropolitan police sent a letter telling business licence holders they should take steps to ensure groups were only from one household or part of a support bubble. This could include asking for photographic identification with names and addresses, it added.
The letter, dated October 16 and seen by PA news, came the day before new tier 2 coronavirus restrictions banning households from mixing indoors came into force in London. It said:
Premises should take steps to satisfy themselves that the group (maximum six people) is only from one household or part of a support bubble.
This could include requesting photographic identification with names and addresses.
We ask that you support the MPS [Metropolitan police service] and the local authority by being proactive in discouraging groups from gathering in the public realm outside of your premises.
But Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) said that following legal advice it was urging the Met to withdraw its “misleading and unlawful” advice. He said:
The recent communication from the Met Police on October 16 we feel confuses an already confused situation. The conditions for trading are already extremely difficult and our entire sector have taken reasonable measures to ensure guidelines have been met and people are kept safe within their premises.
Following legal advice we will be requesting that the Met withdraw their misleading and unlawful advice and issue a statement that reflects the correct current legal position.
This is typical of erroneous advice and enforcement activity up and down the country.
A Met spokesman said that the original letter was just “advice” from a Met licensing team and that it did not reflect the force’s policy.
Compromise necessary 'on both sides' in UK-EU trade talks, Barnier tells MEPs
In a speech to the European parliament this morning about the UK-EU trade talks, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said compromises were necessary on both sides.
Stressing that “it takes two to make a deal”, he said:
We will seek the necessary compromises on both sides in order to do our utmost to reach an agreement and we will do so right up until the last day which it’s possible to do so. Our doors will always remain open right up until the very end.
On Friday last week Boris Johnson called off the formal UK-EU talks, claiming the EU was being intransigent. No 10 said, for talks to resume, the EU would have to agree to intensify talks, on the basis of legal text, and on the basis that the UK would not have to make all the compromises. Barnier seemed to concede the first two points on Monday, and today he said it would not just be the UK required to compromise.
But No 10 has also called for a fundamental change in the EU’s position – a much tougher condition (assuming a strict definition of “fundamental”).
In his speech today Barnier said the UK has been willing to shift ground on the issue of the “level playing field” – the EU’s demand for the UK to rule out giving its businesses unfair state aid advantages over EU ones. Barnier said:
The UK are willing to look at this demand, and they’re willing to move forward and shift in their way of looking at this. They’re willing to do things in a different way to what exists in current trade deals among other countries.
On fisheries, the other key remaining area of dispute, Barnier said:
There will not be a trade deal without a fair solution for fishermen on both sides. There needs to be mutual access to waters and there needs to be a fair distribution of quotas for fishermen on both sides.
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Jeremy Hunt, the chair of the health committee, is questioning Prof John Edmunds now.
He asks why the Imperial College paper published on 16 March did not model what would happen if an effective test and trace system were in place.
Edmunds says that was not the only modelling down. Test and trace was taken into account.
Hunt asks for proof that Sage did model the impact test and trace might have. He is not aware of it.
Edmunds tells Hunt this was looked at, even though he says Hunt does not seem to accept it.
(The exchanges are quite testy.)
Q: How comfortable are you with the phrase “following the science”?
Edmunds says he is “pretty uncomfortable” with it. Scientists have different views, he says.
And he says ultimately ministers must take the decisions.
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Vaccines will be available 'in the not too distant future', Sage expert tells MPs
At the joint Commons science and health committee hearing, Prof John Edmunds, a leading member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Emergencies, has just started giving evidence.
Greg Clark, the science committee chair, who is chairing today’s session, asked why in the early stages of the crisis Sage seemed to be opposing a policy of completely suppressing the virus. He quotes from these minutes (pdf) of a Sage meeting on 13 March. Sage said:
Sage was unanimous that measures seeking to completely suppress spread of Covid19 will cause a second peak. Sage advises that it is a near certainty that countries such as China, where heavy suppression is underway, will experience a second peak once measures are relaxed.
Edmunds says that Sage was just describing what would happen if all restrictions were lifted after a policy of complete suppression. He says the use of the word “cause” may have been clumsy.
He also says that Sage did not decide policy.
He says he thinks we will have to learn to live the virus. But he says vaccines should become available soon.
We will be able to use vaccines in the not too distant future.
That is why it would be good to keep the virus as low as possible now, he says.
Ahead of the debate on free school meals, the England and Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford, whose campaigning on this issue led directly to the government agreeing to fund food vouchers for poor children in England over the summer, posted this on Twitter.
Paying close attention to the Commons today and to those who are willing to turn a blind eye to the needs of our most vulnerable children, 2.2M of them who currently qualify for Free School Meals. 42% newly registered. Not to mention the 1.5M children who currently don’t qualify.
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) October 21, 2020
In response the Conservative MP Steve Baker posted these.
No one will be turning a blind eye and it is wrong to suggest anyone would.
— Steve Baker MP (@SteveBakerHW) October 21, 2020
Not destroying the currency with excessive QE is also one of our duties. https://t.co/EeDp1x3d85
And when Rashford posted a tweet saying he wanted to respond, Baker posted this.
You have 3.4M followers Marcus, to my 96K. The power is yours here.
— Steve Baker MP (@SteveBakerHW) October 21, 2020
Everyone knows feeding hungry children is a top priority. I'd like to see UC boosted.
But if the economy and currency collapse, the poor will be devastated.
Alleging a blind eye is just wrong.
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MPs will later vote on a Labour motion on free school meals. It says calls on the government “to continue directly funding provision of free school meals over the school holidays until Easter 2021 to prevent over a million children going hungry during this crisis”.
Even if it were to pass, the vote would not be binding on the government. But Labour has called the vote as a means of putting pressure on ministers, because it will be embarrassing for MPs to be seen to vote against this.
Robert Halfon, the Conservative MP who chairs the Commons education committee, told the Today programme this morning that he would either vote with Labour, or abstain, depending on what the government said during the debate. He said:
What the government needs to do is to have a long-term plan, sit down with the taskforce set up by Marcus Rashford and actually come up with a serious plan and a budget to deal with this problem.
All the statistics show that families are struggling. We know that 10% of families are affected by food insecurity.
I am not arguing this should happen for ever but the free school meals should at least go on until we are out of the coronavirus, god willing, by next spring.
These are from Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, on the South Yorkshire tier 3 announcement.
(1/4) South Yorkshire will move from Local COVID Alert Level High to Very High from 00.01 on Saturday 24 Oct. I would like to thank Dan Jarvis & the leaders of the local councils of South Yorkshire for the constructive discussions we have had.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) October 21, 2020
(2/4) Given rates are amongst the highest in the country I am pleased that we were able to reach an agreement that ensures swift action is taken in accordance with the public health advice.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) October 21, 2020
(3/4) I fully recognise the huge impact this will have on communities in the area and the sacrifices people will be making. That’s why we have agreed an extensive package of support for local people, businesses and councils.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) October 21, 2020
(4/4) The restrictions agreed together will only be in place for as long as they are absolutely necessary. They will be reviewed jointly in 28 days time. The Govt will be working with local leaders as we tackle this challenge, for the benefit of all the people of S Yorkshire.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) October 21, 2020
This is from Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, this morning.
Our aim in this negotiation was simple: to agree a deal based on what people will actually need to get through this rather than the arbitrary sum being forced on us all one by one.
— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) October 21, 2020
We hoped to set a template for others to use. Presumably that’s why the Government walked away. https://t.co/DirwF8dvua
Burnham to blame for talks with Greater Manchester failing, claims Jenrick
Here are some more lines from Robert Jenrick’s interview with the Today programme this morning.
- Jenrick, the communities secretary, blamed Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester for the collapse of talks between the region and the government yesterday. He said:
The mayor of Greater Manchester was never willing to draw this to a conclusion. The public health situation was deteriorating. It would have frankly been irresponsible of the government to allow this to continue for many more days without bringing it to a conclusion.
In a meeting with the prime minister, the prime minister offered £55m, Andy Burnham asked for £65m. The prime minister said: ‘Look, let’s just compromise, and get this done for the sake of people in Greater Manchester.’
Andy Burnham wasn’t willing to, so we had to take action.
- Jenrick confirmed that the £60m for business support offered to Greater Manchester was “still on the table”. He said:
The money is still there. It’s got Greater Manchester’s name on it.
At his press conference yesterday afternoon, despite repeated questions about this, Boris Johnson refused to confirm that money was still available.
West Yorkshire council leaders put out a statement last night saying they would not be going into tier 3 this week, the BBC’s Kevin Larkin reports.
#BREAKING: #WestYorkshire will NOT get tougher #coronavirus rules this week.
— Kevin Larkin (@kevin_larkin) October 20, 2020
Current rules will stay in place across #Bradford #Halifax #Huddersfield #Leeds and #Wakefield.
More @BBCLeeds pic.twitter.com/ymJaJAMzhs
UK public finances pushed into £36bn deficit as inflation rises
Steep falls in tax receipts and higher Whitehall spending pushed UK public finances into a £36.1bn deficit in September while inflation rose to 0.5%, according to the latest official figures, my colleague Phillip Inman reports.
There is more coverage of the borrowing figures on my colleague Graeme Wearden’s business live blog.
Gyms allowed to reopen in Merseyside after tier 3 Covid row
Gyms will be allowed to reopen in Merseyside after the UK government failed to provide evidence that they should close under the top-tier strict coronavirus restrictions imposed only a week ago, my colleague Josh Halliday reports.
This is from Steve Rotheram, the Liverpool city region mayor.
Last week Government imposed Tier 3 restrictions on our region – forcing our gyms to close.
— Steve Rotheram (@MetroMayorSteve) October 21, 2020
Since then we've been in constant dialogue to make them provide evidence for that decision - or reverse it.
They have now agreed to reverse their original decision and let gyms open. pic.twitter.com/AIoxK9gVNW
The 1.4m people in South Yorkshire joining the Liverpool city region, Greater Manchester and Lancashire in tier 3 means 7.3m people, or 13% of England’s population, will be living under the toughest restrictions by the end of the week, PA Media reports.
Sheffield city region mayor says tier 3 'only practical choice' as he set out details of rules and funding
Dan Jarvis, the metro mayor for Sheffield city region, has now published a statement about his region moving into tier 3 restrictions. Here are the main points.
- The new rules will come into force from 00.01am on Saturday and they will cover Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield, Jarvis says.
- South Yorkshire is getting £41m to help fund the measures, including £30m for businesses, and £11m for public health measures like localised test and trace.
- In addition to the baseline tier 3 measures, betting shops, adult gaming centres, casinos and soft play centres will be closed. Gym classes will also be banned, although gyms will be allowed to stay open
Jarvis says:
We all recognise the gravity of the situation and have taken the responsible route to ensure we save lives and livelihoods, and protect our NHS. More older people are contracting the virus. The number of people with Covid in our hospitals has doubled over the last ten days, with no signs this will relent over the coming weeks. Inaction was not an option.
We called on government to offer a local lockdown lifeline for our local authorities and economy, and the new restrictions will be introduced alongside resources which mean we are better equipped to control the virus and limit some of the damage on jobs and businesses.
While infection rates vary across South Yorkshire, collective action was the only practical choice to keep everyone in our region safe. If restrictions are effective, individual local authorities will be able to move to lower alert levels as soon as it is safe to do so, in consultation with fellow local leaders, myself and national government.
Jenrick says 'serious situation' in Sheffield city region meant tier 3 restrictions needed
Good morning. Tier 3 is spreading across England like a rash. Yesterday afternoon Boris Johnson confirmed that Greater Manchester was joining Liverpool city region and Lancashire in the very high alert level tier 3, where the strictest coronavirus restrictions apply. And this morning it has just been confirmed that South Yorkshire is joining them. My colleague Helen Pidd has the latest here.
Speaking on Sky News earlier, Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, appeared to commend local leaders in Sheffield city region, where Dan Jarvis, the Labour MP, is the metro mayor. (He still sits in the Commons because that mayoralty currently has very few powers.) Jenrick said:
We have had very successful conversations with him and with the leaders of South Yorkshire. Again there’s a serious situation there, and rightly they wanted to take action.
That seemed an obvious dig at Andy Burnham.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10.15am: Prof John Edmunds, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine epidemiologist and Sage contributor, and Sir Ian Diamond, head of the ONS, are among scientists giving evidence to the Commons science and health committees, who are holding a joint inquiry into lessons to be learnt from coronavirus.
12pm: Boris Johnson faces Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs.
12.15pm: The Scottish government is due to hold its coronavirus briefing.
12.15pm: The Welsh government is due to hold
Around 12.45pm: MPs begin two opposition day debates on Labour motions on fair economic support for areas under Covid restrictions, and on free school meals. The votes will be at around 4pm and then at 7pm.
Politics Live has been doubling up as the UK coronavirus live blog for some time and, given the way the Covid crisis eclipses everything, this will continue for the foreseeable future. But we will be covering non-Covid political stories too, like Brexit, and when they seem more important or more interesting, they will take precedence.
Here is our global coronavirus live blog.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
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