Early evening summary
Lammy criticises Truss for posting Thatcher-style on a tank, suggesting she should be focusing on her 'very serious' job not leadership ambitions
David Lammy, the new shadow foreign secretary, has criticised Liz Truss for posing for a photograph on a tank while on a visit to Estonia yesterday. In an interview with Radio 4’s PM programme, he said:
As I come into this brief, real concerns with Ukraine, Belarus, issues with China, Iran, I’ve got to say the photo ops are not where this is. So I was surprised to see Liz Truss attempting her best impression of Margaret Thatcher.
I just think these are very serious times and one’s got to approach the job very seriously. That got the comment it did for very obvious reasons; that she took her time out, frankly, to evoke an image that seemed more to do with appealing to a small section of the Conservative party and not really the country.
Lammy was referring to Truss’s ill-disguised leadership ambitions. According to the latest ConservativeHome survey of party members, Truss is rated more highly than any of her cabinet colleagues by Tory members, and she has held the top slot in this regular survey now for a year.
Here is the Truss image from yesterday.
And here is the iconic Thatcher picture that Truss seemed to be referencing.
Updated
The BBC has spoken to someone who attended the party at Downing Street on 18 December reported by the Daily Mirror this morning. (See 9.30am.) According to the BBC, the source said “several dozen” people were there, food and drink were laid on, people played party games and the event went on until past midnight.
After @PippaCrerar and @danbloom1 scoop this morning, we're told by an attendee of drinks in No 10 on Dec 18th that there were 'several dozen' people there, with food, drink and games which went on past midnight... https://t.co/42taDI3SKu - No 10's said all rules were followed
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) December 1, 2021
Maroš Šefčovič, one of the European Commission vice-presidents, has told members of Northern Ireland’s legislative assembly (MLAs) that the UK should “reciprocate” the efforts made by the EU to compromise in the talks on the Northern Ireland protocol.
Giving evidence to the assembly’s executive committee, Šefčovič said:
Our proposal will deliver significant changes, they amount to a new model for the implementation of the protocol and can deliver a real difference for all people and businesses in Northern Ireland.
We made an important move towards the UK with far-reaching proposals for solutions, we need the UK government to reciprocate this now, we have no time to lose, and what is most pressing is the need to ensure continued supply of medicines from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Updated
Commenting on the latest Omicron variant figures (see 3.38pm), Sajid Javid, the health secretary, has said he expects cases to go up.
As I’ve said recently, we do expect cases to go up ....
Our strategy is all about buying time, buying time so that we can assess it, but also [so] that we can build our defences and we’ve been really clear in the last few days, I think, that the best way to continue to defend ourselves is through our fantastic vaccine programme.
These are from Andrew Harrop, general secretary of the Fabian Society, the Labour thinktank, on the social care white paper.
This is just embarrassing
— Andrew Harrop (@andrew_harrop) December 1, 2021
There are three BIG problems with social care:
- can’t get care when you need it
- can’t get sufficient hours of care
- rates paid for care too low
This White Paper tackles none of them https://t.co/9IrXYGgZi2
Trying to be positive…
— Andrew Harrop (@andrew_harrop) December 1, 2021
The aspirations on extra care and housing adaptations are welcome but on a tiny scale compared to the need
This @thefabians paper sets out the scale of the challenge https://t.co/89kdf09QKw
The latest edition of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast is out. As the PM contradicts his own scientists, Jessica Elgot and Gaby Hinsliff discuss the government’s response to the new Covid-19 Omicron variant. Plus: is Keir Starmer’s new shadow cabinet an election-winning Labour team? Starmer’s former director of communications Ben Nunn gives us his take in an exclusive first interview since he resigned last summer.
Schools in England should stay open until Christmas, says minister
The government wants schools in England to remain open right up until the end of term and has rejected union proposals for early closure before Christmas to act as a Covid circuit-breaker.
Will Quince, minister for children and families, told MPs on the Commons education committee that individual schools and directors of public health would be monitoring the situation locally, but said the government plan was for schools to remain open.
The NASUWT teachers’ union in Northern Ireland has suggested that schools close early in the run-up to the Christmas holidays because of a spiralling teacher shortage due to sickness and Covid-related absence.
The committee heard that some schools in England have also been forced to send children home to study online because of staff absence. Quince insisted however: “The position of the government is we want all education settings open.”
He also defended the introduction of masks in communal areas in schools as a precaution, after MPs questioned the efficacy of face coverings in school settings, their impact on education, and the fact that children were being asked to wear masks when office workers were not.
Quince was also asked about school nativity plays which appear to have become central to backbench concerns about children enjoying a full school experience, and said any cancellations were “deeply regrettable”. He said:
Unfortunately as MPs we very rarely get to go to our children’s but often get to see them online, but they are wonderful, wonderful things. But there will be some areas where there is a higher prevalence of transmission.
The directors of public health guidance will say, ‘Look, actually, big gatherings probably isn’t the right thing to do.’ Or, ‘If you’ve got parents coming into school to watch a play, wearing a mask might be a sensible precautionary measure.’
So I think, ultimately, on balance, it comes down to trusting schools and headteachers and directors of public health.
Updated
White paper on social care 'a disappointment', says Tory health committee chair Jeremy Hunt
Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative chair of the Commons health committee, has described the white paper on adult social care published today (see 1.33pm) as a “disappointment”. In a statement issued on behalf of the committee, which is cross-party, but with a government majority, he says:
This is a disappointment given the extent of the crisis in social care and the predicament of people whose quality of life is dependent on a solution being found.
Providing an additional £1.7bn in funding over three years falls far short of the annual £7bn sum that our evidence found would be necessary to fix social care. The white paper states that it provides an ‘ambitious 10-year vision’, but it doesn’t acknowledge the scale of extra resource needed to realise that vision, based on the crisis the sector faces right now.
The government deserves credit for grasping the nettle of social care reform, and no one can argue with the laudable aims of providing choice, quality and fair access. However, these plans represent three steps forward and two steps back. Though there is progress with a cap on care costs, it could have gone further. Failures in social care will continue to put pressure on our overstretched hospitals with patients who cannot be safely discharged exacerbating the winter crisis and thousands of people will not get the care they need because the carers do not exist.
Organisations linked to employers, workers and users in the care sector have welcomed particular aspects of the white paper, and there is praise for the government for at least addressing the issue. But overall many of the comments released about the white paper echo what Hunt said about the contents being disappointing overall.
Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary, said the white paper did not address the key problems. She said:
Britain needs high-quality care and high-quality employment for those providing it. But the biggest problem for both care users and the burnt-out workforce is the staffing crisis caused by a generation of underfunding, fragmentation and privatisation.
A credible plan for social care must transform the pay and conditions of the workforce. But the white paper fails to do that. And it has no answers for care workers who want to know when they will get a secure contract and a living wage.
Helen Walker, the chief executive of Carers UK, said:
We welcome the announcements of £25m to work with the sector to improve services to support unpaid carers, the £30m to help local areas innovate services, and £150m to drive adoption of technology across the sector. These all have potential to improve the experiences of unpaid carers. The proposals to encourage digital technology, improve data collection and sharing of data could all make carers’ lives easier.
However, many unpaid carers tell us they are at breaking point, exhausted and on their knees after more than 18 months caring with little or no outside support right now. Seventy-two percent have not had a break at all from caring since the start of the pandemic. We are concerned that there is no substantial funding to enable carers to take the breaks they desperately need.
Sally Warren, the director of policy at the King’s Fund, a health thinktank, said:
The overall vision in the white paper is the right one and if delivered could significantly improve the experience of people receiving care and those who work in the sector. However, the steps outlined don’t go fast or far enough to achieve this vision and the funding allocated to deliver it is insufficient. In particular, although there are some welcome commitments on training and skills for staff, there is little to tackle poor workforce pay and conditions and high vacancy levels in the sector.
Martin Tett, adult social care spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said:
Proposals to digitalise social care, a greater emphasis on supported housing, policies on workforce recruitment, and a person-centred care service are what the County Councils Network has called for.
However, while CCN supports many of today’s proposals, we remain concerned that the amount of funding committed so far falls short of the ambitions laid out.
And Rachel Harrison, national officer at the GMB union, said:
This is like groundhog day. Care workers have been waiting for the government’s plan for years – since before the last election. Now they’re being told they have to wait even longer for any substantial reforms.
You don’t have to be Einstein to realise addressing pay for carers is the absolute number one priority to tackle the catastrophic understaffing crisis – a crisis which will only get worse.
Updated
The Metropolitan police have issued this statement about the intruder at the Palace of Westminster earlier. (See 3.08pm.)
At around 15:00hrs today, 1 December, a man was detained and arrested at Carriage Gates inside the Palace of #Westminster on suspicion of trespassing on a protected site. The arrest is not terror related. pic.twitter.com/BoFkvF0AqJ
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) December 1, 2021
Another nine Omicron cases confirmed in England, UKHSA says
The UK Health Security Agency says a further nine cases of the Omicron variant have been confirmed in England. That takes the total to 22.
And in Scotland one further case has been confirmed, taking the Scottish total to 10.
UKHSA says:
The individuals that have tested positive and their contacts are all isolating. Work is under way to identify any links to travel to southern Africa. We have now identified cases in the east Midlands, east of England, London, south-east and north-west. UKHSA is carrying out targeted testing at locations where the positive cases were likely to be infectious.
Here is the list of local authority areas in England where the cases have been identified
Barnet – 2
Bexley – 1
Brentwood – 1
Buckinghamshire – 1
Camden – 2
Haringey – 1
Lancaster – 1
Lewisham – 2
Liverpool – 1
Newham - 1
North Norfolk – 1
Nottingham – 1
South Cambridgeshire – 1
Sutton – 1
Three Rivers – 1
Wandsworth – 1
Westminster - 3
Updated
As reported earlier, at the post-PMQs lobby briefing the PM’s press secretary failed to deny that parties were held in Downing Street last Christmas. (See 2.35pm.) Adam Bienkov from Byline Times has the exchanges in their glory, for anyone interested in how these briefings actually function.
How Boris Johnson’s spokespeople answered questions today about whether the Prime Minister broke Covid rules by having parties in Downing Street during lockdown. pic.twitter.com/5nknYjs5hO
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) December 1, 2021
Armed police have apprehended someone trying to get into the parliamentary estate without permission, the Times’ Matt Dathan reports.
Breaking: A man has cycled through security at Parliament and has now been pinned to the floor inside the secure zone: pic.twitter.com/jAKmTxgYqV
— Matt Dathan (@matt_dathan) December 1, 2021
Updated
The journalist Alex Taylor has more on Le Canard enchaîné’s article about the Johnson/Macron relationship (see 2.40pm), with a helpful tip for anyone looking to improve their mastery of French vernacular insults.
So Macron (allegedly 😀) calls Johnson a clown and a "gougnafier" ("knucklehead"🤡)
— Alex Taylor (@AlexTaylorNews) December 1, 2021
Most interesting revelation in today's Canard Enchaîné is however ...
"In private, he tells me he's sorry he acts like he does, conceding he has first and foremost to accommodate public opinion" pic.twitter.com/TNFJxlCkXg
Updated
Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, has promised to do everything possible to restore power to homes affected by Storm Arwen before Christmas, PA Media reports. PA says:
Five days after what Kwarteng said was a storm unlike any other in 60 years, 30,000 homes are still without electricity.
Speaking in the Commons he said weather events like Arwen could become more frequent due to climate change.
On Friday night, winds reached almost 100mph in parts of northern England and Scotland, power lines were ripped down, tens of thousands of trees were uprooted and roads were blocked by debris.
On Wednesday, thousands of people in County Durham remained without power and Conservative MP Richard Holden said a rural surgery in his North West Durham constituency had lost 10,000 worth of flu vaccines when its fridges cut out.
Holden said some living in remote communities have been warned it could be a “very long time” before their electricity supply is fully restored.
Kwarteng replied: “Being without power until Christmas is simply unacceptable, I’ll say that publicly, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure that that doesn’t happen. Clearly, Storm Arwen was an event the likes of which we haven’t seen for certainly 60 years since the record starts.
“We have to be prepared for similarly extreme, difficult weather conditions in the future. We have to make sure that our system is resilient in that eventuality.”
He said it was “unacceptable” that people were left waiting up to two hours to get through to a power cut emergency phone number over the weekend.
Updated
Covid-related deaths in Scotland have risen slightly after a recent fall as National Records of Scotland registered 97 deaths over the week ending on Sunday 28 November, one more than the previous week.
NRS, a government statistics agency, said that brought the total number of deaths in Scotland where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate to 12,127 since the pandemic began, including cases where Covid was suspected or probable.
The latest increase in deaths, attributed to the more infectious Delta variant, saw weekly death data peak at 164 in late September before it plateaued at around 140 deaths per week during October. There are no known deaths in Scotland associated with the Omicron variant detected last month in South Africa.
Updated
According to Le Canard enchaîné, which is often described as the French equivalent of Private Eye, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has described Boris Johnson in private as a clown. These are from the French journalist Pierre Briançon.
Macron on Boris Johnson, according to @canardenchaine pic.twitter.com/alyP2Y1OGN
— Pierre Briançon (@pierrebri) December 1, 2021
“When he talks with me, we have adult discussions. But either before or after, he hits us with an inelegant blow. Always the same circus(…) Sad to see such a great country (…) governed by a clown.” https://t.co/3AZaNJuLGg
— Pierre Briançon (@pierrebri) December 1, 2021
No 10 defends its decision not to toughen travel rules in line with Sage advice
Here are the main lines from the post-PMQs Downing Street lobby briefing.
- Downing Street defended its decision not to introduce pre-flight tests for UK arrivals, as proposed by Sage. (See 9.48am and 11.47am.) Asked if the government had ignored a recommendation from Sage, the PM’s spokesman said:
At all times we take account of any clinical advice we receive, and then we need to make a balanced judgement on what is right.
He said the government had “acted swiftly” to put new measures in place to protect against the Omicron variant of coronavirus “on a precautionary basis”. He added: “We’re confident this is the right approach.
- The PM’s press secretary said she did not “recognise” the account giving in the Daily Mirror of parties in Downing Street last winter. (See 9.30am.) “We don’t recognise this account, as we’ve said Covid rules have been followed at all times,” she said. But she would not say which parts of the report were inaccurate. “I’m not going to get into individual aspects of speculation,” she said.
- The spokesman said Boris Johnson and President Macron have a close working relationship. Asked about a comment from the former French ambassador, Sylvie Bermann, on Times Radio that relations have not been as bad since Waterloo, the spokesman said:
The prime minister’s been asked about this on a number of occasions and has talked about his close relationship ... working relationship with President Macron.
- The spokesman said there was “nothing to suggest” children are worse affected by the Omicron variant. Asked about reports that reports from Tshwane in South Africa that children under the age of two accounted for about 10% of total hospital admissions with the variant, the spokesman said:
We have seen those reports, but we have seen nothing to suggest ... there’s no hard evidence to suggest it disproportionately affects children in the way you suggest. Clearly, we will [be] monitoring all evidence very carefully.
It’s important to stress that there is nothing to suggest it’s impacting on different age groups in a different way to (what) we see with other variants, and it’s also worth noting the different age profile characteristics of South Africa as well.
Support for Scottish independence has hit a recent high of 55%, according to an Ipsos Mori poll for STV that contradicts a recent downturn in the yes vote.
Ipsos Mori found that, counting only those certain to vote and excluding don’t know, the yes vote had a 10-point lead over no, at 45%. Most recent polls by other companies have put the no vote ahead, by between two to six points.
Rather than the panels of voters polled over the internet used by most pollsters, Ipsos Mori uses telephone polling of random voters – a technique it regards as superior. It recorded a record yes vote of 58% last year (a figure not directly comparable with figures from other pollsters, because its methodology is different).
Ipsos also registered the lowest satisfaction for Boris Johnson it has recorded for Scotland, putting it at 16%. With don’t knows at 4%, it found 80% of Scottish voters were dissatisfied with the prime minister’s performance. In April this year, with the Covid vaccination programme under way, Johnson had his best Ipsos rating in Scotland: 27% positive against 64% negative.
The SNP vote rose by two points to 52%, but satisfaction with Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister fell, by four points to 58% (giving a net positive rating of 20 points), along with a 4.5-point fall for the Labour leader, Keir Starmer. With his positive rate of 31%, Starmer had a negative net satisfaction rate of -16.
Unlike a YouGov poll for the Times last week, which found only 13% of voters felt independence was a priority, eighth in its list, the Ipsos Mori survey found Scottish independence was the second most important topic, after healthcare and the NHS. Even so, its importance rating fell 13 points, to 27%, compared with April.
Updated
Starmer claims Johnson's '40 new hospital' promise worthless
Here is the PA Media report of the Johnson/Starmer exchanges at PMQs.
Boris Johnson has denied his key hospital building programme is unachievable, as Labour revealed a “playbook” has been issued to ensure refurbishments are described as new hospitals.
Keir Starmer accused Johnson at PMQs of breaking “yet another promise” on his hospital rebuilding programme.
The Health Service Journal last month reported a government infrastructure watchdog has raised concerns about the lack of progress made to build 40 new hospitals by 2030.
Starmer said: “The Cabinet Office and the Treasury have checked on the progress and it’s reported that they have reached a damning conclusion. They have concluded that the project needs a red flag because it is unachievable. Prime minister, is that true?”
Johnson replied: “No. He plays politics and asks frivolous questions, we are getting on with the people’s priorities. We are helping to build another 40 new hospitals with an injection of £36bn of investments which that party voted against.”
Starmer countered: “This is strange because the government hasn’t been denying the reports about the red flag and they haven’t done since, but now the prime minister does. There was obviously some confusion on these benches over whether the Cabinet Office and the Treasury think he is on course to break yet another promise, this time on new building of hospitals. If he is so confident in his answer, why doesn’t he publish the progress report in full and let us all see it?”
Johnson maintained 40 hospitals are being built but Starmer said the PM lacked the confidence to publish the report, adding: “The more we look at this promise, the murkier it gets. I’ve got a document here sent by the Department of Health to the NHS. It’s called the ‘new hospital programme communications playbook’ - I kid you not. It offers advice to make it easier to talk about the programme. This guide instructs everybody to describe refurbishments and alterations on existing hospitals as new hospitals. We can all agree that refurbishments are a very good thing, but they’re not new hospitals. How many of the 40 are fix-up jobs on existing hospitals and how many are actually the new hospitals he promised?”
Johnson replied: “You obviously don’t always go around building on greenfield sites, you rebuild hospitals and that’s what we’ve said for the last two-and-a-half years; it’s the biggest programme of hospital building this country ever undertaken.”
Starmer joked: “No wonder so many Tory donors paid so much for that wallpaper last year, he probably told them he was building a new flat.”
Concluding, Starmer highlighted “broken promises” from Johnson before adding: “He promised 40 new hospitals and even if you count the paint jobs, his own watchdog says he can’t deliver it. Isn’t this the truth, Mr Speaker, that any promises from this prime minister aren’t worth the manifesto paper they’re written on?”
Johnson said Starmer “dribbles on irrelevantly about wallpaper and parties, playing politics”, adding: “They’re getting on with factional infighting, we are delivering for the people of this country.”
Labour says social care white paper fails to deal with key problems
Liz Kendall, the shadow care minister, responded for Labour. “Is that it?”, she asked. She said the plan did not explain how the government would cut waiting lists for care, and she said it would not deliver extra care workers. Another 500,000 will be needed by the end of the decade, she said. A new website (one of the plans) would not do it, she said. She said Labour wanted a proper plan that would integrate health and social care.
UPDATE: Kendall said:
There are two central flaws in this government’s approach.
Ministers have utterly failed to deal with the immediate pressures facing social care as we head into one of the most difficult winters on record and they have failed to set out the long-term vision and more fundamental reforms we need to deliver a care system fit for the future.
Last week we learnt that a staggering 400,000 older and disabled people are now on council waiting lists for care, with 40,000 waiting more than a year.
There are over 100,000 staff vacancies and turnover rates are soaring and, because of these shortages, 1.5 million hours of home care couldn’t be delivered between August and October alone, and half of all councils report care homes going bust or home care providers handing back contracts.
Where was the long-term strategy to transform the pay, training, terms and conditions of care workers to deliver at least half a million additional care workers by 2030 just to meet growing demand?
Updated
Government publishes white paper on social care
Gillian Keegan, the health minister, is making a statement on adult social care. She says a white paper is being published today. It is the product of years of work, she says.
Social care workers deserve a system that works for them. But that has not always been the case, she says. Carers are not just underpaid, but under-appreciated.
She says the government has published its plans for the health and social care levy. But there is more to do, and that is why the white paper sets out plan for the next three years.
Here is an excerpt from the document summarising some of its main proposals.
- At least £300m to integrate housing into local health and care strategies, with a focus on increasing the range of new supported housing options available. This will provide choice of alternative housing and support options.
- At least £150m of additional funding to drive greater adoption of technology and achieve widespread digitisation across social care. Digital tools and technology can support independent living and improve the quality of care.
- At least £500m so the social care workforce have the right training and qualifications, and feel recognised and valued for their skills and commitment. We want the workforce to also have their wellbeing prioritised.
- A new practical support service to make minor repairs and changes in people’s homes to help people remain independent and safe in their home, alongside increasing the upper limit of the Disabilities Facilities Grant for home adaptations such as stairlifts, wet rooms and home technologies.
Updated
PMQs - snap verdict
Keir Starmer is starting to sound like an opposition leader who has finally found his target, and is concentrating his fire in the right place. Or, to adapt another violent metaphor, he has decided to keep punching the same bruise. For the third week in a row he has majored on broken promises. Two weeks ago it was broken promises to the north of England over rail. Last week it was broken promises over social care reform, and people no longer being at risk of having to sell their homes. And this week Starmer focused on the 40 new hospitals that are not new hospitals, but refurbishments that may not even happen anyway. (About time too, some might say. In a crowded field, “40 new hospitals” must be the most dishonest government boast yet.) It set Starmer up for a final question that was ideally crafted for the TV news.
It’s the same old story from this prime minister, week in, week out defending the indefensible and broken promises.
His mates were found to be corrupt, he tried to get them off the hook. Downing Street throws parties during lockdown, he says ‘not a problem’.
He promised there’d be no tax rises, then he put up tax. He promised a rail revolution in the north, then he cancelled the trains. He promised no one would have to sell their home for care, then along came his working-class dementia tax.
He promised 40 new hospitals and even if you count the paint jobs, his own watchdog says he can’t deliver it.
Isn’t this the truth, Mr Speaker, that any promises from this prime minister aren’t worth the manifesto paper they’re written on?
Boris Johnson has had a reputation for not delivering from the moment he entered Downing Street, but in the past the ‘broken promises’ line of attack against him by Labour has tended to bounce off. Perhaps that was because voters think all politicians break their promises. Perhaps it was because getting Brexit done inoculated him against this charge for a while. Or perhaps because people were just prepared to give him a bit more time. But now the charge is starting to stick, and it sounds like a line of argument with traction. Presumably Labour has tested it too with focus groups, and it is hard to believe Starmer would keep using it if he did not know it was having some effect. It is certainly the case that voters are starting to take a more sceptical view of Johnson than in the past. This is from the latest Ipsos MORI political pulse (pdf) out two days ago.
The other interesting thing about Starmer’s strategy today was his decision to go heavily on the Daily Mirror splash. (See 9.30am.) The broadcasters seemed wary of touching this story this morning, but Starmer’s decision to pile in heavily, and - even more importantly - Johnson’s failure to deny that there was a party last December ought to give the story a leg up onto the news agenda. The government sources briefing the BBC this morning made a better effort at trying to argue that the story was untrue than Johnson did. But quite how damaging it will turn out to be remains to be seen. An on-the-record witness would be useful. Perhaps Dominic Cummings will be firing up his Substack service?
Johnson managed to keep sounding confident, and Tory MPs cheered loudly, but he did not engage properly with Starmer’s questions and it was mostly bluster. His Captain Hindsight peroration is sounding ever more feeble (does even the most diehard Tory really think we would “still be in lockdown” under Labour?). And at one point Johnson said, according to PM, that Starmer “dribbles on irrelevantly about wallpaper and parties”. I heard it as “drivels on”, which it might just as well have been. But whether it was dribbles or drivels, it was quite a charge from the man who gets invited to the CBI and bangs on about Peppa Pig.
Updated
Ian Byrne (Lab) asks about Hillsborough. Will the PM agree to ensure the tragedy is included in the national curriculum?
Johnson says Byrne makes a powerful point. The government is committed to continuing engagement with the bereaved, he says. And he wants to ensure the lessons are not forgotten. He will ensure Byrne has a meeting with ministers so this is taken forward.
Imran Hussain (Lab) says all people from BAME backgrounds are concerned that the government is coming for them, because the borders bill will make deportations easier.
Johnson says that is shameful. He says Hussain should look at the make-up of the government front bench. He says the bill does not do what Hussain claims. Labour should support border controls, he says.
Tom Randall (Con) asks if the government will help places like Gedling apply for money from the levelling up fund.
Johnson says there will be another round of bidding next year. The government wants to help places like Gedling.
Updated
Jessica Morden (Lab) says Wales has been left out for rail investment. Why should people trust the government to deliver on its promises?
Johnson says Morden has failed to look at the plans in the union connectivity review.
Updated
Christine Jardine (Lib Dem) asks the PM to support her clean air proposals.
Johnson says the government is promoting electric cars, and he says its clean air strategy has been praised worldwide.
David Jones (Con) asks if the PM is committed to ensuring Gibraltar stays British, and to keeping the European court of justice out of it.
Johnson says he is committed to keeping it British, and he sees no role for the ECJ there.
Colleen Fletcher (Lab) says cuts have left West Midlands police with real problems. They say they do not have the officers to investigate every crime.
Johnson says the government is increasing the number of police officers. He promised an extra 20,000, and an extra 11,000 have already been recruited. He says they are more diverse too.
Emma Hardy (Lab) asks why mesh-damaged women are not getting proper compensation. It is impossible to know the pain they are going through.
Johnson says the Cumberlege report has been published. If there is more to do, he will look at it.
Damian Collins (Con) asks if the PM agrees it is wrong that Facebook allows people smugglers to use its site.
Johnson agrees. The online harms bill will allow that material to be taken down.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, says farmers are on the brink. They are about to see payments cut by 5% at least. The PM promised a new support system for farmers. But in the meantime farmers will go bankrupt. Will the PM stop cutting the old payments until the new system is in place?
Johnson says he met representatives of the food and farming industry last night. He says every embassy now has an official backing food exports.
Updated
Ian Blackford (SNP) says it is regrettable that MPs are having to talk again about the PM’s misconduct. Last Christmas the PM hosted a party that broke lockdown rules. He says he spoke to the Mirror newspaper, they are confirming their report [er - they would, they would not have published it otherwise], and they have legal advice saying the law may have been broken. It is one rule for him, one rule for everyone else.
Johnson says Blackford should have mentioned Storm Arwen.
Blackford says he did. He says Sage advice to PM called for tougher travel rules. That is what Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, advised too. Will the PM take this advice?
Johnson says Blackford is “simply wrong” in what he has said about the steps taken by the government. He says this government was the first internationally to respond to Omicron. He says it put countries on the red list. He says the measures being taken are balanced and proporotionate.
Andrew Rosindell (Con) says the government cannot deal with illegal migrants while still constrained by the Human Rights Act and the European convention on human rights.
Johnson says the government is reviewing the human rights system. He says Labour should back the nationality and borders bill.
Starmer says the new hospitals are just the latest example of Johnson not keeping a promise.
Johnson accuses Starmer of drivelling on about parties and wallpaper. He says Labour are obsessed with factional infighting. He is getting on with governing. He says the government is cutting tax for low-paid families. He ends with the usual dig at Captain Hindsight.
That is not true. The lowering of the universal credit taper will lead to poorer workers having higher take-home pay, but it is not a tax cut.
Updated
Starmer quotes from government advice saying refurbishments should be called new hospitals. Refurbishments are a good thing, but they are not new hospitals. How many are genuinely new?
Starmer seems to be referrring to this report.
Government 'comms playbook' orders NHS trusts to describe new-build wings and refurbishments as 'new hospitals'https://t.co/eZWEjGBsee pic.twitter.com/un0NgHQ8R4
— Dave West (@Davewwest) August 26, 2021
Johnson says you do not build on greenfield sites.
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Starmer challenges the PM to publish the report saying the building programme has been flagged as red.
Johnson says there is record investment going into the NHS.
Starmer points out that Johnson has not denied that there was a party. But he says no rules were broken. Both of those things cannot be true. Both of those things cannot be true.
He says Tory MPs are not obeying the rules. As usual, it is one rule for them, one rule for us.
He says a Treasury analysis says the PM’s plan for 40 new hospitals is unachievable. Is that right?
No, claims Johnson. He claims he is helping to build another 40 hospitals, with investment worth £36bn.
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Starmer says the rules were clear. They say you could not have a work Christmas lunch or party. Why does the PM think it was OK to hold a boozy party?
Johnson says he has commented on what happened 12 months ago. He says he wants to focus on this year. He summarises the latest guidance. He says he hopes Starmer has had his booster.
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Johnson does not deny report saying party was held in Downing Street last December
Keir Starmer says he also wants to mark world Aids day. He says it is within our hands to end new transmissions of Aids within a decade.
Was a Christmas party held in Downing Street on 18 December last year?
Johnson says all guidance was followed. He says Starmer is holding his own party on 15 December, and has not invited Angela Rayner.
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Boris Johnson starts by saying he is wearing a purple tie because it is people with disabilities day on Friday.
He says MPs’s thoughts are still with those affected by Storm Arwen. There will be a statement after PMQs, he says.
PMQs
PMQs is about to start.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Labour says government being 'totally irresponsible' in ignoring Sage call for tougher travel rules
Here is the BBC report with more details of its story about Sage, the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, saying pre-departure Covid tests for people arriving in the UK would be “valuable”. It is based on leaked minutes of a meeting held this Monday.
Yvette Cooper, the new shadow home secretary, says that in ignoring this advice the government is being “totally irresponsible”.
What are Ministers playing at?
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) December 1, 2021
Their own expert advisors have made clear the value of pre-travel tests in catching cases before people board planes. Yet they are refusing to put these common sense checks in place.
This is totally irresponsible & means more #omicron will spread https://t.co/g8AlwrTUBV
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Nervtag called last week for 'robust actions' to keep Omicron out of UK, minute reveals
Last week a subgroup of Nervtag, the government’s new and emerging respiratory virus threats advisory group, met to consider the threat posed by the Omicron variant. As Sky News reports, Nervtag concluded that this could lead to a new wave of coronavirus hitting the UK that could overwhelm the NHS. A minute of the meeting says:
If introduced into the UK, B.1.1.529 [Omicron[ would likely be capable of initiating a new wave of infections. We cannot exclude that this wave would be of a magnitude similar, or even larger, than previous waves.
Although data on disease severity associated with B.1.1.529 are not yet available, a large wave of infections will be accompanied by a wave of severe cases and the subgroup cannot rule out that this may be sufficient to overwhelm NHS capacity.
This is a marginally starker expression of the risk that ministers and government advisers have been talking about in public since the Omicron threat emerged at the end of last week.
According to the minute, which is available on the Nervtag website here, the subgroup said the government should improve early detection of Omicron and intensify the vaccine booster campaign. Both of these things are happening.
Nervtag also called for “early and robust actions to prevent introduction and onward transmission”. The government has re-introduced PCR tests at day 2 for arrivals into the UK, mandated mask wearing in shops and on public transport in England, and ordered close contacts of Omicron cases to isolate for up to 10 days, but whether these responses are “robust” enough for the Nervtag advisers is not clear from the minute.
There will be two statements in the Commons after PMQs, the parliamentary authorities have announced.
At 12.30pm Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, will make a statement on Storm Arwen.
And at around 1.30pm Gillian Keegan, the care minister, will make a statement giving further details of the government’s plans for social care.
Inquiry report claims government handling of Covid amounted to misconduct in public office
The People’s Covid Inquiry, which was set up by the campaigning group Keep Our NHS Public and which took evidence in a series of public evidence sessions earlier this year, has this morning published its final report (pdf).
It is called “Misconduct in Public Office”, and one of its conclusions is that the pandemic involved “serious governance failures” by the UK government that “contributed to tens of thousands of avoidable deaths and suffering” and that this amounts to misconduct in public office.
The inquiry was chaired by Michael Mansfield QC. In his introduction to the report, Mansfield says that the government has a legal duty to protect public health and that, because a pandemic was anticipated, and because Whitehall had even planned for one, the government should have been prepared. He says:
The government should, therefore, have been well prepared for the eventuality that presented itself at the end of 2019. The NHS and social care infrastructure should not have been neglected and run down; effective in-date personal protective equipment should have been readily stored and accessible; track and trace provision should have been anticipated as vital to basic public health measures; extra NHS hospital space carefully planned; an adequate NHS trained staffing complement at the ready; quarantine conditions and support sorted; strict border controls and isolation facilities programmed in advance. None of this is hindsight, as we make clear. This People’s Covid Inquiry report is unequivocal – dismal failure in the face of manifestly obvious risks.
And he says that, once Covid arrived in the UK, Boris Johnson and the government failed to respond properly.
There was no consistent, comprehensive and coordinated plan of public health strategy. What leapt off the press conference page was the dilatory initial response; the absence of any effective track and trace system; the sheer waste of taxpayers’ money ploughed into the pockets of private cronies; the contradictory messaging; the abject failure to provide PPE; the albatross of Nightingale hospitals; the lack of trained staff; the failure to utilise NHS primary care facilities; the misrepresentations about care home ringed protection; the parlous state of the NHS in the first place. Above all is the utter distrust of the public and the disrespect for the frontline workers, who, once the claps and saucepan fanfares had abated, were offered a 1%, below-inflation, pay rise for their life-endangered troubles.
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Javid hints he could relax pressure for more face-to-face appointments so GPs have more time for booster jabs
As my colleague Rowena Mason reports, in his morning interviews Sajid Javid, the health secretary, also hinted that demands for GPs to return to face-to-face appointments could be dropped to let them do more vaccinating.
In his interviews Javid also suggested that people might want to take lateral flow tests before attending Christmas celebrations. Asked on Sky News if people should take a Covid test before going to a Christmas party, he replied: “I would.”
Later he told the Today programme:
If you are invited to a Christmas party, there’s quite a few people there, maybe you want to take an LFT [lateral flow test] before you go. Go to the party, but just be cautious.
Asked if he would wear a mask if he was at a party, Javid said:
It depends if I am walking around or sitting down. It depends if I’m eating. People just need to make a decision based on the guidance.
This is what the government guidance for England says about taking lateral flow tests ahead of going to crowded events.
You are at higher risk of catching or passing on Covid-19 in crowded and enclosed spaces, where there are more people who might be infectious and where there is limited fresh air.
You may wish to take a rapid lateral flow test if it is expected that there will be a period of high risk that day. This includes spending time in crowded and enclosed spaces, or before visiting people who are at higher risk of severe illness if they get Covid-19.
In Scotland government advice is tougher. Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, has advised Scots to take a lateral flow test every time they leave home to meet up with friends.
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Leaked document shows Sage backs pre-departure testing for arrivals in UK, report claims
According to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, there has been a leak of a document from the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) saying that its members think pre-departure tests for people coming to the UK would be valuable and that PCR tests for arrivals would be more use at day 5 or day 8, instead of at day 2 (where they are now required, under a rule announced at the weekend).
More from SAGE leak - pre-departure testing for travellers returning to the UK would be “valuable” and the government’s existing policy of a day 2 PCR for arrivals will “identify significantly fewer cases” than additional tests on days 5 or 8 - HT Jim Reed and @adamfleming
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) December 1, 2021
This is almost certain to come up at PMQs. The new shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, and the new shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, have been loudly calling for pre-departure testing since they took up their new roles on Monday night.
Why on earth are Ministers refusing to reinstate pre-travel tests for people travelling to the UK? Surely it is common sense?@wesstreeting & I are calling for urgent action on this to prevent more new #Omicron cases arriving
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) December 1, 2021
Unthinkable that Govt is making same mistakes again. https://t.co/hJomP0Jyr8
And the SNP government in Scotland and the Labour government in Wales have both said the PCR testing at day 2 for arrivals is not enough, and the arrivals should have to isolate until they have done a PCR test at day 8.
Javid dismisses reports claiming No 10 parties last winter broke lockdown rules
Good morning. Sajid Javid, the health secretary, was doing the morning interview round this morning and, although mostly he was asked about the expansion of the booster programme announced last night, he also faced questions over new reports about Downing Street breaking Covid rules last year. We’ve had a steady stream of such stories during the pandemic, some more consequential than others, and the latest is by Pippa Crerar in the Daily Mirror, who says Boris Johnson and his Downing Street staff “have been accused of breaking Covid rules by attending parties at No 10 in the run-up to last Christmas”. Crerar reports:
The prime minister gave a speech at a packed leaving do for a top aide last November when the country was in the grip of its second lockdown.
Then just days before Christmas, with London in tier 3 restrictions, members of his top team held their own festive bash in Downing Street.
Officials knocked back glasses of wine during a Christmas quiz and a Secret Santa while the rest of the country was forced to stay at home.
Around “40 or 50” people were said to have been crammed “cheek by jowl” into a medium-sized room in No 10 for each of the two events.
“It was a Covid nightmare,” one source claimed.
Wednesday’s Mirror: “Boris party broke Covid rules” #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/7FuHsAa3Vz pic.twitter.com/ynZuBX1ymO
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) November 30, 2021
The Mirror quotes from the lawyer Adam Wagner, who says that if there was an unofficial Christmas party on 18 December, it probably broke the rules. The paper also says that, when it put the story to No 10, Downing Street did not dispute that the gatherings took place, but claimed no rules were broken.
Asked about the story on the Today programme, Javid – who only became health secretary because Matt Hancock resigned after breaking Covid restrictions – replied:
Whatever would have happened at No 10 throughout the pandemic, I’m absolutely certain all the rules around the pandemic would have been followed. Obviously I can’t tell you what’s going on on a daily basis in any building. But what I can tell, if it’s government, and especially No 10, is that all the rules would have been followed at all times.
Javid also told the interviewer, Mishal Husain, not to assume that the news report was accurate. But when asked if the report was definitely inaccurate, he just said: “I can tell you all rules would have been followed at all times.”
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: The ONS publishes a report on the characteristics of people getting Covid.
10am: Leading lawyers give evidence to the Commons home affairs committee about rape prosecution rates.
10am: The People’s Covid Inquiry publishes a report based on the hearings it held earlier this year.
12pm: Boris Johnson faces Keir Starmer at PMQs.
2.15pm: Sir Tom Scholar, permanent secretary at the Treasury, gives evidence to the Commons Treasury committee.
3pm: Tom Pursglove, a Home Office minister, gives evidence to the joint committee on human rights about the nationality and borders bill.
4pm: Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister, discusses the Northern Ireland protocol at a Public Policy Projects event.
4.30pm: Maroš Šefčovič , vice-president of the European Commission, gives evidence to MLAs about the Northern Ireland protocol.
I will be covering UK Covid developments here, as well as non-Covid politics, but for global Covid developments, 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.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com
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