Early evening summary
-
Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, has argued that modern advances mean “greater effect can be delivered by fewer people” as he confirmed the army will shrink by around 10,000 troops. As PA Media reports, detailing a major overhaul of the armed forces, Wallace urged MPs not to play “Top Trumps” with force numbers on Monday as he broke a pledge the Conservatives ran the last election on. (See 2.35pm.) Wallace told MPs:
The army’s increased deployability and technological advantage will mean that greater effect can be delivered by fewer people. I’ve therefore taken the decision to reduce the size of the army from today’s current strength of 76,500 trade trained personnel to 72,500 by 2025.
The army has not been at its established strength of 82,000 since the middle of last decade.
These changes will not require redundancies and we wish to build on the work already done on utilising our reserves to make sure the whole force is better integrated and more productive.
That’s all from me for today. But our coronavirus coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.
Updated
Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, has said that Nicola Sturgeon is not “free and clear”, despite being exonerated by the independent adviser on the ministerial code, because the Scottish parliament’s committee has not yet published its report on her. In a statement he said:
The first minister has been given a pass because it has been judged her ‘failure of recollection’ was ‘not deliberate’.
I respect Mr Hamilton and his judgment but we cannot agree with that assessment. Nicola Sturgeon did not suddenly turn forgetful.
She is not free and clear. The first minister promised to ‘respect the decisions’ of both inquiry reports, not to pick and choose which one suits her and try to discredit the other.
Why Hamilton thinks Sturgeon's decision to keep fighting Salmond judicial review was not breach of ministerial code
And this is what James Hamilton said in his report (pdf) about the claim made by Alex Salmond that Nicola Sturgeon was in breach of the ministerial code because the Scottish government continued to fight Salmond’s judicial review legal challenge over the way it investigated the complaints against him even when its own legal advisers were saying its case was so weak it would be best to give in. Hamilton says:
There is undoubtedly scope for political criticism of the manner in which Scottish government handled Mr Salmond’s proceedings. That is not a matter for me to express any view upon ...
Mr Salmond appears to be under the misapprehension that the government is under a duty to withdraw a case if advised that there is less than an evens chance of winning. There is no such rule and the prediction of the outcome of cases is not an exact science.
There is in my opinion no evidence whatsoever that the first minister acted improperly or in breach of the ministerial code with respect to Mr Salmond’s petition.
Updated
Patrick Harvie, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens, has strongly criticised the Scottish Conservatives for calling for Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation (see 3pm) ahead of the publication of the Hamilton report. He said:
In lodging a vote of no confidence before this report was published, just as they called for the First Minister’s resignation before she even gave evidence to the parliamentary committee, the Tories have shown that they have no interest in establishing the truth.
This entire saga should have been about examining a process that let down women and ensuring that was never repeated.
In their ridiculous attempts to pursue a political scalp the Tories have completely ignored that fact. Ruth Davidson and Douglas Ross have shown that they have absolutely nothing positive to offer the people of Scotland.
Harvie also said it was members of the committee on the Scottish government’s handling of harassment complaints who should resigning for leaking stories about their inquiry into Sturgeon, especially this one (pdf) in the Scottish edition of the Sunday Times yesterday. Harvie said:
Members of the parliamentary committee have shown utter contempt for the women involved, and for the rules of the Scottish parliament, by leaking confidential evidence and their own conclusions.
If anyone’s resignation is still needed, it is these MSPs who should step down now, and who should not be candidates for re-election in May.
The leak to the Sunday Times prompted this statement from two of the women who had complained about Alex Salmond, issued by Rape Crisis Scotland.
We are issuing a statement on behalf of the two complainers whose evidence to the inquiry has been leaked: https://t.co/RmgsMHYgcu pic.twitter.com/HwxiVFcleo
— Rape Crisis Scotland (@rapecrisisscot) March 21, 2021
Anas Sarwar, the new Scottish Labour leader, has just told BBC News that his party will consider what the report from the Scottish parliament’s committee on the Scottish government’s handling of harassment complaints, which is out at 8am tomorrow, before deciding how it will vote in the no confidence debate on Nicola Sturgeon.
Why Hamilton thinks Sturgeon's failure to tell MSPs about key meeting was not breach of code
One of the allegations against Nicola Sturgeon was that when she told MSPs that she heard about the allegations against Alex Salmond on 2 April 2018, during a meeting with him at her house, she misled them because she did not mention an earlier meeting, on 29 March, with Geoff Aberdein, Salmond’s former chief of staff, where the allegations were discussed.
Under the ministerial code, ministers must not “knowingly” mislead parliament. Sturgeon said she forgot about the meeting when making her statement to MSPs.
This is what James Hamilton says in his report about why he does not think Sturgeon was deliberately misleading parliament.
Regarding her failure to recall the 29 March meeting when addressing the Scottish parliament on 8 January 2019 the first minister says that it is obviously not possible for anyone to be certain of the reasons for forgetting an event. She thinks the reason this meeting was not engraved in her mind (beyond the fact that it was an unscheduled meeting in the middle of a busy day) are as set out [earlier in the report]. She has expanded upon these comments as follows. Firstly, by the time she met with Mr Aberdein, she already had what she described as a ‘lingering concern’ that allegations might emerge about Mr Salmond. This was as a result of the Sky media query in November 2017. In other words, the meeting was not the first time possible allegations about Mr Salmond had been raised with her. Had it been, her memory might have been more vivid. But the second, and in her opinion perhaps more relevant factor is that her meeting with Mr Salmond himself a few days later on 2 April was so significant. It was then that he told her the details of the actual complaints against him and his response to them. She thinks it is because this was such a shock to her that the earlier meeting was overwritten in her mind.
It is regrettable that the first minister’s statement on 8 January 2019 did not include a reference to the meeting with Mr Aberdein on 29 March. In my opinion, however her explanation for why she did not recall this meeting when giving her account to parliament, while inevitably likely to be greeted with suspicion, even scepticism by some, is not impossible. What tilts the balance towards accepting the first minister’s account for me is that I find it difficult to think of any convincing reason why if she had in fact recalled the meeting she would have deliberately concealed it while disclosing all the conversations she had had with Mr Salmond. Furthermore, given that the meeting was with Mr Aberdein who was expected to report it back to Mr Salmond it would have been naive to think that the meeting would remain secret given the first minister’s poor relationship with Mr Salmond at that point ...
The failure to disclose the meeting of 29 March with Mr Aberdein to the Scottish parliament on 8 January 2019, although the first minister’s statement was technically a correct statement of the occasions on which the she had met Mr Salmond nonetheless resulted in an incomplete narrative of events. For the reasons stated above I accept that this omission was the result of a genuine failure of recollection and was not deliberate. That failure did not therefore in my opinion amount to a breach of the ministerial code.
Updated
Nicola Sturgeon is speaking now to broadcasters about the findings of the Hamilton report.
She repeats points she made in her earlier written statement. (See 4.56pm.)
She says she has been “at peace” with her conscience about what she did. But some grim things have been said about her, she says.
She says it was important for the Scottish people to have independent vindication of that.
This is from the SNP communications official Tom French. He is making the point that the Scottish Conservatives’ call for Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation, on the grounds of her supposed non-compliance with the ministerial code, was hypocritical because Boris Johnson did not require Priti Patel to resign as home secretary when she was found to have bullied staff, in contravention of the ministerial code.
We now know for certain that @NicolaSturgeon did NOT breach the ministerial code while Tory ministers have.
— Tom French (@tomfrench85) March 22, 2021
Perhaps @Douglas4Moray might consider his own position today? #NoBreach #HamiltonReport
The Scottish Greens have said they won’t support a vote of no confidence in Nicola Sturgeon in the light of the findings of the Hamilton report. The SNP do not have a majority in the parliament, and this means the Greens effectively hold the balance of power in key votes. Without their support, the Scottish Conservative no confidence motion has no chance of success.
This is from the BBC’s Lynsey Bews.
Scottish Greens confirm, following publication of Hamilton report, they won’t support a vote of no confidence in @NicolaSturgeon at Holyrood.
— Lynsey Bews (@lynseybews) March 22, 2021
Sturgeon's statement in response to Hamilton report
Here is a fuller version of the statement Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, released in response to the publication of the Hamilton report clearing her of breaching the ministerial code. She said:
Mr Hamilton has considered all of the allegations against me, and I am happy that his report’s findings clear me of any breach of the ministerial code.
I sought at every stage in this issue to act with integrity and in the public interest. As I have previously made clear, I did not consider that I had broken the code, but these findings are official, definitive and independent adjudication of that.
Prior to its publication, opposition politicians stressed the importance of respecting and accepting the outcome of Mr Hamilton’s independent inquiry, and I committed wholeheartedly to doing so. Now that he has reported, it is incumbent on them to do likewise.
Today I want, once again, to remind people that at the heart of this case were women who had the courage to come forward and complain. That they were let down by the Scottish government’s handling of their complaints is not in dispute, and I again apologise to them for that.
I was determined, however, at the time these complaints emerged that they should not be swept under the carpet, and that I would not intervene in the process.
Had I done so, as requested by Alex Salmond, it would - as Mr Hamilton observes - ‘undoubtedly have been seen as a partisan and political interference’ which ‘would undoubtedly have undermined public confidence in the processes of government to a much greater extent than in fact eventually happened’.
James Hamilton was appointed by Mr Salmond as an independent adviser on the Scottish ministerial code. He has previously investigated a Labour first minister of Wales, and he has applied himself to this task with rigour and diligence.
Mr Hamilton is an internationally renowned legal professional with impeccable credentials and no one should seek to suggest or imply that he has acted anything other than independently and utterly without fear or favour.
Now that this investigation is complete and its conclusions public, I will continue to devote all of my time and energy to leading Scotland, to helping the country through the pandemic, and to ensuring that as we rebuild from the hardships of the last 12 months, we do everything we can to protect jobs, support our health service and rebuild our communities for the better.
Sturgeon welcomes 'official, definitive and independent' ruling she did not commit 'any breach of ministerial code'
Nicola Sturgeon has welcomed the report’s findings.
Nicola Sturgeon: “I am happy that his report’s findings clear me of any breach of the ministerial code... As I have previously made clear, I did not consider that I had broken the code, but these findings are official, definitive and independent adjudication of that.”
— Jason Allardyce (@SundayTimesSco) March 22, 2021
Sturgeon 'did not breach provisions of ministerial code in respect of any of these matters', says independent adviser
Here are the conclusions from the report (pdf) by James Hamilton, Ireland’s former director of public prosecutions who is the Scottish government’s independent adviser on the ministerial code. He says:
I have considered the following issues which were alleged to amount to a breach of the Ministerial Code by the First Minister:
- 1. The allegation that her failure to record her meetings with and telephone discussions with Mr Salmond and others on 29 March, 2 and 23 April, 7 June and 14 and 18 July 2018 amounted to a breach of paragraphs 4.22 and 4.23 of the Ministerial Code.
2. The allegation that the First Minister may have attempted to influence the conduct of the investigation then being undertaken by the Permanent Secretary into allegations made against Mr Salmond under the Procedure for Handling of Harassment Complaints involving Current or Former Ministers (“the Procedure”).
3. The allegation that the First Minister misled the Scottish Parliament in relation to her meetings as specified in paragraph 1 above.
4. The allegation that the First Minister was in breach of her duty to comply with the law in respect of the Scottish Government’s response to the petition of Mr Salmond for judicial review of the Procedure.
For the reasons set out in detail above in this Report I am of the opinion that the First Minister did not breach the provisions of the Ministerial Code in respect of any of these matters.
The remit also invited me to consider “whether the Ministerial Code might need revision to reflect the terms of the Procedure and the strict limitations it places on the involvement of the First Minister in cases which fall to be considered under the Procedure.” In view of the urgency of addressing the other issues relating to alleged breaches of the Ministerial Code which are referred to in the remit I decided to defer consideration of this. It would also in my opinion be appropriate that the other independent adviser also take part in this process. It would also seem sensible to await decisions on what changes if any are to be made to the Procedure. It might also be appropriate to consider the matters relating to special advisers referred to in Chapter 16 in this context.
The report, and two associated documents, are here.
And here is the Scottish government’s summary.
Mr Hamilton was asked to investigate whether there had been any breach of the ministerial code by the first minister, the nature of any such breach and, if a breach had occurred, to advise on the appropriate remedy or sanction. The completed report shows that Mr Hamilton has found no breach of the ministerial code.
We have published Mr Hamilton’s note on redactions with the report as he has requested in his letter to the deputy first minister.
Updated
Sturgeon did not break ministerial code, report finds
The James Hamilton report says Nicola Sturgeon did not break the ministerial code, the BBC’s James Cook reports.
BREAKING Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon did not breach the ministerial code of conduct, an inquiry finds.
— James Cook (@BBCJamesCook) March 22, 2021
Updated
Boris Johnson actually spoke to Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron about the vaccine crisis yesterday, the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar reports. Downing Street did not reveal this at the lobby briefing earlier.
Boris Johnson spoke to Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel about vaccines row on Sunday, Govt sources have confirmed. We weren't told about this at No 10 lobby briefing because apparently these were "private calls". 🧐
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) March 22, 2021
Raab says oppression of Uighurs by China 'one of worst human rights crises of our time'
This is what Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, told MPs about the oppression of the Uighurs in Xinjiang. He said:
This is one of the worst human rights crises of our time and I believe the evidence is clear as it is sobering. It includes satellite imagery, survivor testimony, official documentation and indeed leaks from the Chinese government itself, credible open source reporting including from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, visits by British diplomats to the region that have corroborated other reports about the targeting of specific ethnic groups.
The evidence points to a highly disturbing programme of repression. Expressions of religion have been criminalised, Uighur language and culture discriminated against on a systematic scale.
There is widespread use of forced labour, women forcibly sterilised, children separated from their parents. An entire population subject to surveillance, including collection of DNA, use of facial recognition software and so called predictive policing algorithms.
State control in the region is systemic. Over a million people have been detained without trial, there are widespread claims of torture and rape in the camps based on first-hand survivor testimony.
People are detained for having too many children, for praying too much, for having a beard or wearing a headscarf, for having the wrong thoughts.
I’m sure the whole house will join me in condemning such appalling violations of the most basic human rights.
It’s the largest mass detention of an ethnic or religious group since the second world war and I believe one thing is clear - the international community cannot simply look the other way.
And here is the Foreign Office news released with details of the UK sanctions being imposed on four officials and on the Public Security Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
Updated
Half of all eligible adults in Wales have now had a first dose of vaccine, the Welsh government has announced.
Over half of all eligible adults in Wales have now had their first dose 🙌
— Welsh Government #StayLocal (@WelshGovernment) March 22, 2021
1,273,186 people in Wales have now had their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
346,058 people are now fully vaccinated.
Latest @PublicHealthW figures👇https://t.co/ZrXD2dtGgR
📸: @shortandrounduk pic.twitter.com/BpiK88Bzag
In the Commons Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, has announced sanctions against four senior Chinese officials and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Public Security Bureau in response to “appalling violations” of human rights.
Updated
Only 17 further UK coronavirus deaths have been recorded today, according to the latest update on the government’s dashboard. This is the lowest daily total since late September. Week on week, deaths are down 41.5%.
NHS England has recorded a higher number of coronavirus hospital deaths (see 3.26pm), but sometimes the NHS England total is higher than the UK dashboard total because the two datasets are compiled differently.
Updated
We are expecting the Scottish government to publish the report from James Hamilton into Nicola Sturgeon about now. It should appear here.
The Scottish government has published its draft bill for an independence referendum. The parliament is going into recess later this week, ahead of the election on 6 May, and so the draft bill is probably best seen as part of the SNP’s election platform.
Michael Russell, the Scottish government’s constitution secretary, said the referendum should be held in the first half of the next parliament. He said:
Scotland’s recovery should be made by the people who live here and who care most about Scotland. That is why Scotland’s future should be Scotland’s choice.
It should be for the next Scottish parliament to decide the timing of the referendum. So that the recovery from the pandemic can be made in Scotland, the Scottish government believes it should be held in the first half of the new parliamentary term.
No confidence vote on Sturgeon now expected to take place tomorrow
The vote of confidence in Nicola Sturgeon in the Scottish parliament is now set to take place tomorrow, the BBC’s David Wallace Lockhart reports.
Vote of no confidence in Nicola Sturgeon expected tomorrow at Holyrood
— David Wallace Lockhart (@BBCDavidWL) March 22, 2021
The Scottish Conservatives are claiming that the debate, which had originally been expected on Wednesday, has been brought forward because the Scottish government wants to reduce the amount of time available for MSPs to consider the evidence, Alan Smith reports
Scottish Conservatives confirming their vote of no confidence in Nicola Sturgeon will take place tomorrow instead of Wednesday pic.twitter.com/z1DCt6Mef1
— Alan Smith (@Political_AlanS) March 22, 2021
Later this afternoon we will get the James Hamilton report into Sturgeon’s conduct, and tomorrow, at 8am, the Scottish parliament’s committee on the Scottish government’s handling of harassment complaints will publish its report.
NHS England has recorded 48 further coronavirus hospital deaths. The details are here.
A week ago today the equivalent figure was 76 deaths, and two weeks ago today it was 101 deaths.
A government policing adviser has urged ministers to change coronavirus rules to allow protests to take place to avoid more scenes of the kind seen in Bristol and Clapham.
Prof Clifford Stott, who chairs the SPI-B Policing and Security sub-group of Sage, warned that without a change many protests and other public gathering could “cascade into disorder”.
He was asked BBC Radio World at One programme to advise the government on one measure it should take to avoid such an outcome. He replied:
You have got to change the Covid legislation to allow for protests that will place the police in far clearer legal framework and alleviate some of the tensions that are currently driving these escalations.
Stott, who is director of the Keele Policing Academic Collaboration, warned of more disorder this spring and summer. He said:
We certainly look at the coming few weeks and months as perhaps some of the most challenging period of the of the pandemic.
And he warned the government attempts to restrict protests made disorder more likely. He said:
We have already seen two consecutive weekends of protests and disorder. With the warmer weather, the duration of the lockdown [and] increasing dissatisfaction among sections of the community about the imposition of control measures will all feed into situations where public assembly is going to be more likely. And in a context where public assembly is deemed unlawful under all circumstances by the government, then the kinds of dynamics that we’re witnessing are going to play themselves out again.
The Food and Drink Federation has published figures showing food and drink exports to the EU were down 75% in January compared to a year earlier, Adam Payne from Politicshome reports.
The @Foodanddrinkfed has published a snapshot of UK food & drink exports in January to accompany the ONS data. Stark stats galore: Salmon exports to the EU fell by 98% compared to Jan 2020, beef by 91.5%. Pork (-86.9%) & cheese (-85.1%) close behind. Exports to 🇮🇪 fell by 84.9%. pic.twitter.com/ofLxYP9ugW
— Adam Payne (@adampayne26) March 22, 2021
From Adam Payne at Politicshome
We are now expecting the report by James Hamilton, the Scottish government’s independent adviser on ministerial standards, into whether Nicola Sturgeon broke the ministerial code will be published later this afternoon, the Scottish government has confirmed.
A government spokesperson said:
The Scottish government received the independent adviser’s report this morning and it will be published later today, once legally required checks and notifications are completed.
Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, is already saying Sturgeon should resign.
Nicola Sturgeon promised to ‘respect the decisions’ of both inquiries that report this week.
— Douglas Ross MP (@Douglas4Moray) March 22, 2021
But the evidence against her is already overwhelming.
Only Alex Salmond acted worse as First Minister.
So I say directly to @NicolaSturgeon – go now, before you do any more damage.
Commons sitting suspended for 30 minutes due to technical problem with remote participation
The House of Commons has been suspended for 30 minutes due to a “technical” problem, PA Media reports. Opening proceedings ahead of Home Office questions, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle told MPs:
I gather there is a technical problem which means we cannot proceed immediately with our business today. I am going to suspend the House for 30 minutes.
Due to social distancing restrictions, many MPs have been contributing to proceedings virtually via Zoom.
No 10 defends PM's decision to break pre-election pledge not to cut size of armed forces
The Downing Street lobby briefing is over. Here are the main points.
- Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, has been invited to attend the G7 summit in Cornwall in June being hosted by Boris Johnson, No 10 said. The summit is due to be going ahead as an in-person meeting. The PM’s spokesman suggested Ramaphosa was being invited primarily to discuss coronavirus. He said:
President Ramaphosa has led Africa’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and has played a key role on the issue internationally. South African scientists and researchers have contributed a huge amount to our understanding of the virus.
Johnson has already invited his counterparts from India, Australia and South Korea to attend, in addition to actual G7 members. This has been presented as a move to extend international cooperation amongst democracies.
Under the #G7 Presidency, the Prime Minister has invited leaders from India, South Korea and Australia to join G7 leaders at the #G7UK Summit in Cornwall in June 🇮🇳🇰🇷🇦🇺
— G7 UK (@G7) January 17, 2021
The 10 leaders will represent over 60% of the people living in democracies around the world #G7Cornwall
- Downing Street has defended the need to extended the Coronavirus Act for another six months. The PM’s spokesman said said an extension of the emergency powers Act was needed to allow furlough payments to continue, “vital court hearings” to proceed and measures including the extension of sick pay provision for “as long as they are needed”. Johnson is due to address Tory MPs at the 1922 Committee ahead of the votes on the Act, and on extending lockdown restrictions, on Thursday.
- The PM’s spokesman said the government was “confident” in its vaccine supplies. He said:
We have said throughout the vaccination programme that supplies will fluctuate, but we remain confident in our supplies ... I would point to the fact that not only do we produce AstraZeneca vaccines here in the UK, but they are produced in other countries as well, and we remain confident in our supplies.
- Johnson will privately observe a minute’s silence tomorrow as the country marks a year since the first lockdown, the spokesman said.
- Allegra Stratton, the PM’s press secretary, suggested the changing nature of the threats facing the UK justified the Tories breaking an election promise to maintain the size of the armed forces. Stratton was asked why the government was cutting the army when Johnson said he would not do this before the 2019 election.
Boris Johnson speaking before the election: "We will not be cutting our armed services in any form. We will be maintaining the size of our armed services, because we believe in our armed services. They are loved."https://t.co/uKzL2pKQMR
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) March 22, 2021
Stratton said she could not comment in detail on what Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, would tell MPs this afternoon when he presented the findings of the defence review. But she went on:
I should think he will say that threats change, and so, the government of the day has to adapt and respond. But you will have his own words very soon.
- Stratton was unable to say whether Johnson would be happy to be interviewed by the Electoral Commission as part of its investigation into the use of donations to pay for part of the bill he faced for renovation of the Downing Street flat. Stratton said she had not discussed that question with the PM.
- But No 10 also said the Electoral Commission played an important role. Asked if the PM agreed with Amanda Milling, the Conservative party co-chair who last year said the commission should be abolished if it could not be made more accountable, Stratton said:
I think the prime minister believes the Electoral Commission does an important job in adjudicating and running the appropriate rules that we all need for political life.
- Downing Street effectively rejected calls for the last remaining hereditary peers to be removed from the House of Lords. Yesterday the Sunday Times highlighted calls for the 92 hereditaries still allowed to sit in the Lords to go. They are there under what was supposed to be a temporary arrangement agreed when most hereditaries were removed by Labour in 1999 and, if one dies, another hereditary is elected to take his place. Asked if it was time for hereditary peers to be removed from the House of Lords, the PM’s spokesman said:
I would point you to the manifesto where it talks about looking at the role of the Lords, but it sets out that it’s a complex issue and any reform needs careful consideration and wider engagement and should not be brought forward in a piecemeal way.
Asked how allowing so many Old Etonians to sit in parliament by hereditary right fitted in with the PM’s levelling up agenda (the Sunday Times revealed yesterday that almost half of hereditary peers still in the Lords are Old Etonians), the spokesman referred again to the manifesto commitment. But he went on:
Given departures, some new members are essential to keep the expertise and outlook of the Lords fresh. It is in the manifesto that we are committed to looking at the role of the Lords. But it’s a complex issue.
In fact the manifesto (pdf) only contains one very brief reference to the House of Lords, saying it is one of several issues to be covered when the government looks at “broader aspects of our constitution” after Brexit. And the government can also use the life peerage mechanism to bring “fresh” expertise into the House of Lords. One of the main arguments against the hereditaries is that they do not provide a fresh outlook because they are all white, upper class men.
Every earl, duke, marquis, viscount and baron has the same passport to parliament: blood and, in most cases, their status as firstborn sons.
— The Sunday Times (@thesundaytimes) March 20, 2021
Whether measured by age, education or experience, they do not resemble those on whose behalf they make laws. https://t.co/RUlAO8d5in
Updated
In his interviews at BAE Systems Boris Johnson also condemned the rioting in Bristol last night. He said:
I think all that kind of thing is unacceptable and the people obviously have a right to protest in this country. But they should protest peacefully and legally.
Vaccine export ban 'counter-productive', says Irish PM
Micheál Martin, the Irish taoiseach (PM), has said a vaccine export ban would be counter-productive, Darren McCaffrey from Euronews reports.
NEW: Irish PM @MichealMartinTD on the radio this lunchtime making clear he is against any export ban
— Darren McCaffrey (@DarrenEuronews) March 22, 2021
"If we start that, then we are in trouble"
"It would be counterproductive”
Taoiseach says it is “vital” that supply lines are kept open
Reminder that not all EU leaders are in favour of an export ban - difficult to see how there could be consensus on one at EU summit later this week
— Darren McCaffrey (@DarrenEuronews) March 22, 2021
In his interview at BAE Systems in Preston Boris Johnson also said the plans in the defence review to modernise the armed forces would make them “more valuable” to the UK’s allies. He said:
What we are doing is giving them the kit now that they will need to make themselves all the more useful, all the more, I’m afraid, lethal, and effective around the world. Therefore, all the more valuable to our allies, and all the more deterring to our foes.
We don’t want to fight wars, we want to deter them, and we want to be useful around the world in partnership with our friends to keep the peace.
To do that, you need strong, robust armed services of the kind that we are investing in, investing in for the long-term, not just for military purposes, although that’s absolutely crucial, but for very, very good economic reasons as well.
Johnson calls for vaccine 'cooperation' as he says 3rd Covid wave hitting EU will affect UK
Boris Johnson has been speaking to broadcasters at the BAE Systems factory he was visiting in Lancashire (see 12.13pm) and, like the European commission this morning (see 12.07pm), he sounded keen to turn down the dial in the argument about possible vaccine export bans. Here are the main points from what he had to say on this.
- Johnson said a third wave of Covid has hit the EU and Britain will be affected. He said:
One thing that’s worth stressing is that, on the continent right now you can see, sadly, there is a third wave under way, and ...previous experience has taught us that that when a wave hits our friends, it I’m afraid washes up on our shores as well. And I expect that we will feel those effects in due course.
That’s why we’re getting on with our vaccination programme as fast as we can.
- He stressed the important of “international cooperation” in getting people vaccinated. He said:
That’s why we’re getting on with our vaccination programme as fast as we can.
But a vaccination campaign, developing vaccines, rolling them out, these are international projects, and they require international cooperation.
- He said he did not think the EU wanted to see vaccine blockades. He said:
I’m reassured by talking to EU partners over the last few months that they don’t want to see blockades. I think that’s very, very important ... I’ve talked to our friends repeatedly over period, we’re all facing the same pandemic, we all have the same problems.
- He said the UK would “bash on” with the roadmap to easing restrictions. He said:
Clearly the matters to us in the UK is that we get on with the rollout of the vaccine programme. I think we’ve now done over half the adults in the country, which is very good news.
And we’re on course to do ... groups 1 to 9, all the over 50s, by April, 15, and we will just bash on with the roadmap that we’ve set out, and the programme that we’ve got.
Updated
In his Commons statement on human rights later (see 9.50am) Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, will call on the international community to send a “clear message” that China’s abuses in Xinjiang “will not go unanswered”. A Foreign Office spokesman said:
We have been clear the situation in Xinjiang is beyond the pale.
The reported abuses, which include torture, forced labour and forced sterilisation of women, are extreme and they are extensive.
It’s important that the international community, working together, sends a clear message that this will not go unanswered.
The foreign secretary will update parliament later today.
DUP minister rejects claim party might collapse power sharing as last-resort, anti-NI protocol measure
At the weekend David Campbell, chairman of the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), an umbrella group representing loyalist paramilitary groups, said in an interview that Arlene Foster, the DUP leader and Northern Ireland first minister, had told the LCC that collapsing the power-sharing executive was within her party’s “thinking” - but only if all its other attempts to remove the Northern Ireland protocol failed.
This morning the DUP has said Campbell’s claim was wrong. In an interview with BBC Radio Ulster, Peter Weir, the DUP education minister in the executive, said:
We’re somewhat bemused by the comments and I think we’re seeking David to clarify the situation, whether he’s misinterpreted.
But you know the reality is in terms of the meeting that was held between the DUP and David’s group, we didn’t raise the issue of bringing down the assembly, it wasn’t discussed, it’s not within our thinking, and I think that would be counter-productive.
I think what we are looking to see across the board, across unionism as a whole, is constructive co-operation on an entirely sort of peaceful constitutional manner to see what actions can be taken against the protocol, and that’s where the focus of our activities is.
We’re not and we haven’t suggested bringing down the assembly or the executive nor indeed was it discussed at the meeting.
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Marvin Rees, the Labour mayor of Bristol, has said those involved in the rioting in his city last night at the end of a demonstration against the government’s bill giving the police new powers to control protests were “people living out their revolutionary fantasies”. He said:
There’s debate to be had about all proposed government legislation. I think there are particular concerns about this bill and we’ll speak about those more on another occasion.
But the violence that happened in a city last night goes nowhere to actually reducing the likelihood of this bill winning support. In fact, it does quite the contrary ...
It’s selfish, it is self-indulgent and self-centred activity - people living out their revolutionary fantasies.
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Boris Johnson has been visiting a BAE Systems factory in Lancashire this morning ahead of the publication of the defence review later. He was shown work on Team Tempest, a proposed fighter aircraft.
EU says it wants 'reciprocity' in vaccine exports
The European commission has this morning made some effort to tone down the rhetoric in the vaccine row with the UK, insisting that it has no desire to place a ban on the export of jabs to Britain. Instead it is focusing on getting AstraZeneca to deliver on its commitments to supply vaccines to the EU, the commission’s spokesman Eric Mamer told reporters at a briefing. He said the EU wanted “reciprocity” in vaccine exports.
Mamer said:
[Ursula von der Leyen, the commission president] has given our view of what the situation is and what are the objectives that we are following.
This is not about banning vaccine exports, this is about making sure that companies deliver on their commitments to the member states and the European Union that are inscribed in the contracts that they have with us.
Therefore, this is our objective, to make sure that the contracts that we have signed are respected.
In that context, the president has said that, of course, we see that, actually, companies that manufacture doses in the EU have been exporting very widely - which is in itself a good thing - but that we want to see reciprocity and proportionality in these exports.
Mamer was referring to comments Von der Leyen made in an interview published at the weekend. His tone was perhaps a bit less confrontational than his boss’s, but he was not indicating any change in policy.
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Prof Andrew Hayward, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), which advises the government on Covid, told the Today programme this morning that he thought some sort of “traffic light system” might allow some foreign holidays to go ahead this summer. He explained:
I suspect what we may end up with is some sort of traffic light system with some countries that are no-go areas, for example likely to be South Africa and South America; other areas where there will be more severe restrictions, there will be some combination of vaccine certificates, testing and maybe quarantine, and maybe there will be some low-risk countries that you can go.
But Hayward also said that it would be “very bad” if the South African variant, which appears to be more resistant to vaccines than the B117 variant now dominant in the UK, spread more widely. He said:
If that strain starts to become dominant in this country, that would be a very bad thing.
We can see in some areas of Europe it is starting to creep up from very low levels to 10-15-20% [of cases] in some areas, and so that’s a worrying trend.
Increasing global travel will increase the spread of these variants. That’s our main threat in this whole strategy.
Seven year groups of school children in Northern Ireland have returned to classes after three months of home learning during the coronavirus lockdown, PA Media reports. PA says:
Primary pupils in P4 to P7 and secondary school children in year groups 12 to 14 resumed face-to-face education on this morning.
Primary pupils in years P1 to P3, nursery and pre-school children are already back, having returned on 8 March.
The final cohort, secondary pupils in years 8 to 11, will go back to classes on 12 April after the Easter holidays.
People in richest areas in England and Wales live almost 20 more years of healthy life than those in poorest areas, ONS says
People in England and Wales in the richest areas can expect to have almost 20 more years of healthy life than people living in the poorest areas, according to reports from the Office for National Statistics out today.
The report for England is here (pdf), and it says:
Healthy life expectancy (HLE) at birth among males living in the most deprived areas was 52.3 years in 2017 to 2019, compared with 70.7 years among those living in the least deprived areas. This amounts to a difference of 18.4 years (almost two decades) in “Good” general health between these populations across their life course.
This chart illustrates the point.
And this is what is says about women.
Females living in the more advantaged areas (deciles 7 to 10) were expected to live more than 65 years in “Good” health, while those living in deciles 1 to 3 were expected to live fewer than 60 years in “Good” health.
Here is the chart illustrating this.
The report covering Wales is here (pdf), but the picture is very similar. This is what it says about healthy life expectancy at birth for men.
Healthy life expectancy (HLE) at birth for males was lowest in the most deprived areas at 51.8 years and highest in the least deprived areas at 68.6 years, a difference of 16.9 years.
And here is the chart.
And this is what it says about women in Wales.
HLE at birth for females in the most deprived areas was 50.2 years, 18.3 years fewer than those in the least deprived areas, where females could expect to live 68.4 years in “Good” health.
Life expectancy at birth is defined as how long someone might be expected to live, assuming the mortality rates in the area they live apply to them throughout their life.
And health life expectancy is time spend in “very good” or “good” health, as defined by the individual.
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Lord Richards of Herstmonceux, who (as Gen Sir David Richards) was head of the armed forces from 2010 to 2013, told Times Radio that he was concerned the plans to reduce the size of the army by 10,000 could leave the UK vulnerable. He said he was in favour of modernising the armed forces. But he said that shouldn’t be “at the expense of conventional capabilities”.
He explained:
You’ve got to have some of the more traditional capability in case mass becomes an asymmetric attraction to one’s potential opponents.
I’m thinking Russia and China. I don’t necessarily buy that they’re about to start World War Three with us, but they still possess large numbers, and if all we’ve got is high-tech stuff, and they’ve got half a million troops that can come across the border at you, then these high-tech capabilities aren’t going to be much good.
If your opponent senses that they are at a disadvantage, or their own capability is being neutered by one’s own possession of those capabilities, they will look for another way of achieving their goals, and that could suddenly become numbers again, mass. And we certainly won’t have it.
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The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic illness in a large trial in the US, Chile and Peru, my colleague Sarah Boseley reports.
From Glenn Campbell, BBC Scotland’s political editor
I expect the Hamilton inquiry findings to be submitted to the Scottish government for publication today
— Glenn Campbell (@GlennBBC) March 22, 2021
That’s not officially confirmed and there’s always scope for delay but that’s my understanding ATOW https://t.co/FguIIoYPDV
Transport for London has accepted the government’s offer to extend financial support by seven weeks, PA Media reports. A TfL spokesperson said:
We have today agreed with the government that our funding will be extended until 18 May on the same terms that have applied to our funding for the second half of 2020/21.
We continue discussions with the government on our need for further financial support and a long-term capital funding deal.
This is vital for us to support a strong and robust recovery from the pandemic, and to provide confidence to our UK-wide supply chain.
The Commons statement on the defence review won’t start now until around 4.30pm, because there is a statement first from Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, on human rights. This may be an announcement linked to the vote on the so-called genocide amendment later, where the government is facing a rebellion.
Two statements today from 3.35pm:
— Labour Whips (@labourwhips) March 22, 2021
1. Human Rights Update - @DominicRaab
2. Integrated Review: Defence Command Paper - @BWallaceMP
Q: Should Nicola Sturgeon resign if she has broken the ministerial code?
Starmer says she should. He says she wrote the foreword to the ministerial code. She should lead by example, he says.
And that’s it. The phone-in is over.
Starmer says his “starting position” is to support the government in renewing the coronavirus restrictions later this week.
Q: Do you support an inquiry into Operation Midland?
Starmer says he would want to look at this. It would depend on whether it was just looking at the action of individuals, or at the wider police culture at the time.
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Starmer is now asked about his beliefs.
Caller Tina: "What do you stand for."
— Theo Usherwood (@theousherwood) March 22, 2021
Keir Starmer: "I want to change lives for the better.... I want to make sure that as we come out of the pandemic we say 'Britain can be better than this'."
Says a Labour Government will invest in people and in public services.
Q: What is your relationship like with Len McCluskey?
Starmer says:
Len and I have got a pretty straightforward relationship. When we agree, we agree. When we disagree, we agree to disagree.
Q: Is it true you have not spoken since you became Labour leader?
Starmer says that is not correct. But he says they have not spoken for some time.
But he accepts they disagreed about the decision to suspend Jeremy Corbyn.
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Q: Do you support increasing the number of nuclear warheads the UK has?
Starmer says his support for the nuclear deterrent is non-negotiable. But he says the government has not explained why it wants to be able to increase the number of warheads. Internationally countries are reducing their stockpiles, he says.
Q: Boris Johnson said Labour was all over the place on this. Lisa Nandy and Angela Rayner voted against renewing Trident.
Starmer says the party’s support for the deterrent is non-negotiable.
Q: If you were prime minister, would you be willing to push the nuclear button?
Starmer says nobody in that position would answer that question.
(In fact, normally they do; most prime ministers say, in principle, they would be willing to use it.)
Starmer then clarifies his position, saying a prime minister should not discuss the circumstances in which a nuclear weapon might be said.
Q: But if it had to be done?
Starmer said “of course”, if it had to be done, he would do so.
Q: Is the UK not guilty of vaccine nationalism? It is not sending vaccines abroad.
Starmer says the vaccine rollout is going very well.
The EU is not helping itself, he says. And it should not ban the export of vaccines.
Where contracts have been signed, they should be honoured, he says.
He says we will not be through this until the whole world has been vaccinated.
He had his jab last Sunday, he says.
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Q: Why have you not supported changes to the loan charge?
Starmer says the government should look again at how this works. But he won’t say more, he says; the issue is complicated.
He says he has a constituent affected by this.
But he says he accepts the government also has to come down on people who are avoiding tax.
A select committee should look at this, he says.
From the Evening Standard’s Sophia Sleigh
Starmer getting a good prodding from a caller in Hartlepool.
— Sophia Sleigh (@SophiaSleigh) March 22, 2021
I've lost count of the number of times he's mentioned the Labour candidate was working on the "frontline" of pandemic. Pitching it as an NHS battle. @LBC
Q: [A caller from Hartlepool] We’ve got a byelection coming up. What would Labour do for this seat. There is not much we’ve had from central government when Labour has been in power.
Starmer says Labour would give Hartlepool a strong voice. The candidate, Paul Williams, has been working in the town as a doctor.
Q: Paul Williams was chosen from a shortlist of one.
Starmer says Williams was working in the town as a doctor before he knew there would be a byelection there.
Q: Why was he the only person on the shortlist?
Starmer says the local party wanted Williams. They wanted to choose a candidate quickly. And they wanted someone local.
Q: But it went against process?
Starmer says the process varies.
Q: Williams supports the People’s Vote campaign. Is that an issue?
Starmer says Brexit has happened. We have left the EU. Neither Williams nor Starmer himself want a people’s vote now. He says he accepts the result. We have to make it work.
We have left the EU, neither Paul nor I are suggesting a people’s vote, we have left the EU, we have got a deal, we have got to make it work and we don’t want to rejoin.
That’s the position of the Labour party.
We can’t go on fighting yesterday’s wars. The referendum was five years ago now, we don’t want further division. We accept we’ve left, we’ve got a deal, let’s make it work.
Q: He used inappropriate language about women, talking about Tory milfs. But it was 10 years ago.
Starmer was that was not appropriate. It was a long time ago.
Q: He also supported Saudi Arabia more recently, three years ago.
Starmer says his views on Saudi Arabia are well known. What matters is that Williams is a doctor.
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Keir Starmer's LBC phone-in
Sir Keir Starmer is holding his LBC phone-in. Nick Ferrari, the presenter, starts by asking about last night’s rioting in Bristol.
Starmer says what happened was “inexcusable” and “completely unacceptable”.
Q: You supported an organisation which wants to defund the police when you took the knee of Black Lives Matter.
Starmer says the two issues are completely different.
Q: The police need powers to act. The lax police approach last year when the statue of Edward Colston was taken down may have encouraged the protesters last night.
Starmer does not accept that.
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Johnson to speak to EU leaders in bid to stop ban being imposed on vaccine exports to UK
Good morning. One of the benefits of Brexit, its supporters claimed, was that it might improve the UK’s relations with the EU, because Britain would be transformed from a surly tenant of the EU’s to a helpful neighbour. “So I say again directly to our EU friends and partners, I think this deal means a new stability and a new certainty in what has sometimes been a fractious and difficult relationship,” Boris Johnson said on 24 December, when the trade deal with the EU has been agreed. Three months later the opposite seems to be happening, and this week the vaccine dispute is in danger of escalating.
As my colleague Daniel Boffey reports in his overnight story, the EU has revived its threat to ban vaccine exports to the UK, which could put back the UK’s vaccine programme by two months.
This week, ahead of the EU summit on Thursday where the proposal will be discussed, Boris Johnson is expected to speak to EU leaders including Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, in a bid to stop vaccine protectionism taking hold.
Giving interviews this morning, Helen Whately, the health minister, said the government wanted to calm things down. She told the Today programme:
What we’re hearing at the moment is some speculation, some conjecture, an element of rhetoric. But what is actually important is that the EU and no country should follow vaccine nationalism or vaccine protectionism.
We expect the European Union to stick by their commitments and I’m sure the prime minister will be in contact with European counterparts - he speaks to European counterparts regularly - but I don’t think this debate is helpful to anybody.
What matters is for all countries to be getting on and deploying and vaccinating their population.
But she would not rule out the UK taking retaliatory action (such as blocking the supply of materials used for the production of the Pfizer vaccine on the continent) if the EU were to block the export of vaccines to the UK. Asked if the UK would retaliate in this way, she said:
I don’t think it is very helpful to speculate at the moment. I don’t think this is a helpful line to go down.
Here is the agenda for today.
9am: Sir Keir Starmer holds his monthly LBC phone-in.
9.30am: The ONS publishes healthy life expectancy figures for England and Wales.
12pm: Downing Street is expected to hold its daily lobby briefing.
12.15pm: Vaughan Gething, the Welsh government’s health minister, holds a coronavirus briefing.
12.15pm: Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, is expected to hold a coronavirus briefing.
2.30pm: Priti Patel, the home secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
2.30pm: Tim Davies, the BBC director general, gives evidence to the Commons public accounts committee.
3.30pm: Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, makes a statement to MPs about the defence review. As my colleague Dan Sabbagh reports, he will confirm a cut of 10,000 in the size of the British army.
4pm: Theresa May, the former PM, gives evidence to the joint committee on national security strategy.
After 4.30pm: MPs will debate the so-called genocide amendment to the trade bill passed in the Lords.
And at some point today the James Hamilton report into whether Nicola Sturgeon broke the ministerial code is expected to be published.
Politics Live has been mostly about Covid for the last year and I will be covering UK coronavirus developments today, as well as non-coronavirus Westminster politics. For global coronavirus news, do read our global 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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