Early evening summary
- Nearly 250,000 children in England missed school last week for Covid-related reasons, including 9,000 with confirmed cases of Covid-19, the worst figures since state schools fully reopened in March. (See 1.43pm.)
- Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, has said that Brexiters did not expect relations with the EU to be as difficult now as they are. (See 12.57pm.) In evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee, Frost also said that the EU would be harming itself by seeking to reduce the “disproportionate” amount of British content on European television but that the government is powerless to stop it.
- Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, has restated the government’s determination to pass Irish language legislation for Northern Ireland if Stormont does not do so by the end of September. Speaking in the Commons debate on the Northern Ireland (ministers, elections and petitions of concern) bill, he said:
The government has promised to deliver the balanced culture package for example that was agreed in NDNA [New Decade, New Approach agreement] through parliament if it’s not been taken forward by the Northern Ireland executive by the end of September, but I want to reiterate and be very clear that our strong preference and desire is for this to be delivered in the appropriate place by the devolved institutions.
In response, the DUP MP Sammy Wilson said:
[Lewis has] just announced that he’s prepared to interfere once again on the institutions in Northern Ireland in a way that no secretary of state would dare to do in Scotland or Wales and does he not accept that for the unionist community this continual interference in the institutions at Stormont at the behest of Sinn Féin is not an annoyance, it’s something which enrages people?
Edwin Poots was forced out as DUP leader by his party because he accepted the UK government’s plan for it to pass Irish language legislation if Stormont does not do so itself by the end of September. Today it was confirmed that Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will replace Poots as the party’s leader.
That’s all from me for tonight. But our coronavirus coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.
Updated
In a statement to mark the confirmation that he will be the next DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he would speak to Boris Johnson as soon as possible to stress his opposition to the Northern Ireland protocol. He said:
I will be speaking with the prime minister at the earliest opportunity to emphasise that it is not realistic to expect stability when every unionist representative in the devolved institutions opposes the Northern Ireland protocol.
The government and those who claim to be protectors of peace and stability, must step up and deal with the protocol in a manner which respects the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom.
I want to bring stability and encourage everyone to focus on what unites us as a people rather than on what divides us. There has been too much focus on division and recrimination both within unionism and within Northern Ireland.
I will play my part but the government and Brussels must step up and recognise the flaws of the protocol and how it was foisted upon Northern Ireland.
These are from Alastair McLellan, editor of the Health Service Journal.
NEW: Clear signs now that the rate of growth in covid hospitalisation in England is flattening (i.e. it's still increasing, but the rate at which that is happening is not climbing)
— Alastair McLellan (@HSJEditor) June 22, 2021
Growth of covid hospitatlisation in London appears to have almost stopped (up just 4% in last seven days) https://t.co/uJ6wfVvRHQ
— Alastair McLellan (@HSJEditor) June 22, 2021
A new poll by Savanta ComRes gives the Conservatives a 14-point lead over Labour.
🚨NEW WESTMINSTER VOTING INTENTION🚨
— Savanta ComRes (@SavantaComRes) June 22, 2021
🔵Con 44 (+3)
🔴Lab 30 (-4)
🟠LDM 10 (+2)
🟢GRN 5 (-1)
🟡SNP 4 (-1)
⚪️Other 6 (-1)
18-20 June
(Changes from 11-13 June) pic.twitter.com/SRARQcAEjH
The UK has recorded 11,625 new coronavirus cases and 27 further deaths, according to the latest update on the government’s Covid dashboard. The total number of new cases over the past week is now 34.8% up on the total for the previous week, while deaths are up 44.4% week on week.
This morning Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said that the rate at which cases are going up was slowing (see 9.25am), but yesterday cases were up 31.4% week on week. Over the last 24 hours there has been a small rise in the rate of increase.
Updated
Andrew George, the former St Ives MP and now a Lib Dem Cornwall councillor, has expressed concern that public officials may have been “drawn into” backing a Tory line that the G7 summit has not led to a Covid spike in the county.
George said the “G7 areas of St Ives and Falmouth” have “notably and significantly higher Covid caseload levels” than any other comparable holiday destination in the UK. He said:
I have concerns that public officials may have been drawn into bolstering the debatable Conservative party line. It is important that public servants should not have their political neutrality compromised in this way.
I had hoped officials would at least demonstrate an open mind and not adopt denial that G7 may have been a (possibly major?) contributor to the extraordinary and significantly higher Covid outbreak in the St Ives and Falmouth area.
George also said he wanted the government to supply the county with extra help to deal with the Covid spike.
At a press conference Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said he planned to speak to Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, tomorrow about her decision to impose a ban on non-essential travel to his city. He said that he wanted clarity on how the decision was taken, and some agreement on how to avoid a repeat of a decision like this taking a city like Manchester by surprise. He told reporters:
I anticipate having the opportunity to discuss it with the first minister tomorrow and obviously we will want clarity on elements of the policy that are currently unclear to us in terms of the criteria that are being used here, the exit strategy, the process for lifting the restrictions on the boroughs affected.
We just want to seek resolution and a better way of doing things going forward.
The political route is the route to pursue.
That’s obviously what we would seek to do. To put in place better dialogue, better lines of communication, which clearly aren’t there at the moment.
Cornwall council dismisses claim G7 to blame for rise in Covid cases as conspiracy theory
Cornwall council has dismissed the idea that the G7 summit in Carbis Bay may have caused the county’s worrying increase in Covid cases as a “conspiracy theory”.
The latest seven-day rate of coronavirus in Cornwall is 131 per 100,000 people, compared with 90 for England. There are clusters in St Ives, Falmouth and Newquay – all sites connected to the summit.
But at a press briefing on Tuesday the council, which has been under Conservative control since the May elections, said the rise was down to a combination of an increase in the number of visitors, greater social mixing and outbreaks in hospitality venues among young workers.
Councillor Andy Virr, portfolio holder for adults and public health at the council, argued that conspiracy theories around G7 were distracting.
“It would be frustrating if stories around G7 distracted from the message people need to hear,” he said. “It would be desperate if people stopped hearing our messages.”
Virr was questioned over why there had not been a similar rise in Devon, which has been busy with visitors, or in other popular Cornish spots such as Padstow, which was not a G7 venue. But he said: “We have nothing to cover up here.”
A “pop-up” vaccination clinic is to be held in St Ives. Cornwall’s director of public health, Rachel Wigglesworth, said Cornwall remained open for visitors.
Updated
Number of households subject to benefit cap doubled over past year, DWP figures reveal
More than 200,000 households in Britain were living with their benefits capped around the start of the year - the vast majority families with children, PA Media reports. PA says:
The number of households subject to the benefit cap was up by 13% (24,000) in February compared to last November, according to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) statistics.
It is also more than double the number of households subject to the cap in February 2020 (79,000), just before the first national coronavirus lockdown was imposed and the number of new claimants soared.
As of February 2021, 180,000 households had their universal credit (UC) capped and 24,000 had their housing benefit capped, the DWP said.
The most recent quarterly rise is mainly due to UC claimants being newly capped, it added.
Out of all households claiming housing benefit or UC, 2.9% had their benefits capped as of February 2021, compared with 2.7% in November 2020.
Of these, 83% were families, and 59% were single parent families.
And 43,000 households were capped for the first time in the quarter up to February - a rise of 30% compared to the previous quarter.
The cap, which some campaigners want to see abolished, limits the total amount of benefits low-earning or non-working claimants can receive.
UC claimants are exempt if they earn at least £617 a month, and can get a nine-month grace period which exempts them if they earned at least this each month in the previous year.
Campaigners said this set of data for the first time includes people who lost their jobs at the start of the pandemic, claimed UC and have been newly capped after their grace period expired.
This number will rise as these periods continue to end, they say.
Households had their benefits capped by an average of £55 a week as of February, the DWP said.
Scottish government will not pay compensation to those affected by Manchester travel ban, Swinney says
In response to a question in the Scottish parliament on the travel ban between Scotland and Manchester (see 3.31pm), John Swinney, the deputy first minister, explained why the Scottish government would not be paying compensation to those affected, as Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has proposed. Swinney said:
The government does not believe that would be appropriate.
Travel to the north west of England has previously been prohibited last year, before local levels regulations were introduced and no compensation was offered.
We are all responsible for putting in place, in our respective parts of the United Kingdom, the financial support to arrangements for business and that’s exactly what the government will continue to do here in Scotland.
Here is the full text of Nicola Sturgeon’s statement to the Scottish parliament.
Here is the Scottish government’s latest strategic framework update for Covid (pdf), including the plans announced today. This chart sums up the key points.
And here is the Scottish government’s review of physical distancing (pdf) published today.
Nicola Sturgeon’s Covid statement was delayed by over half an hour as MSPs expressed significant frustrations about the manner in which the Scottish government does business. While this isn’t new in itself, what’s interesting is how the new presiding officer, Alison Johnstone, is dealing with them.
Johnstone issued a rebuke to ministers for not announcing the Manchester and Salford travel ban in parliament last Thursday, instead using a written question to announce it. This went unnoticed until Sturgeon’s televised announcement on Friday. Johnstone queried whether this was an “appropriate” way of announcing such restrictions, stating: “All significant and substantive announcements should be made to this parliament wherever that is possible”.
It’s worth noting that Johnstone is already proving herself attentive to MSPs’ concerns, finding smart ways to use parliamentary procedure to address them. So today, for example, she chose a topical question on the travel ban to allow that questioning to happen in the chamber.
Earlier, Scottish Tories and Lib Dems challenged the speedy timetabling for the new coronavirus extension and expiry (Scotland) bill – which extends the unprecedented powers given to government during the pandemic into the autumn, arguing the extension of emergency powers should be fully debated after recess to allow for proper scrutiny.
'Normal life is much closer', Sturgeon says
Sturgeon says, even after all legal requirements are lifted, people could still be advised to adopt measures like hand washing, ventilation and keeping a distance.
The government will not advise a return to the office until 9 August, she says.
But after that it will expect home working to be more possible than before, she says.
She ends by saying “normal life is much closer”.
Sturgeon says all remaining restrictions, including socially distancing indoors, could go from 9 August
Sturgeon says by 9 August all over-40s should have had their second vaccine for at least two weeks.
She says it may be possible to lift remaining restrictions then.
NS: "We will consider and make a final assessment nearer the time of whether - as we hope - this could include the lifting of the legal requirement to physically distance indoors as well as outdoors."
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
NS: "The move beyond level 0 will be a major milestone and it will signal a return to almost complete normality in our day to day lives."
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
Sturgeon says whole of Scotland should be at level 0 from 19 July
Sturgeon says she hopes the whole of Scotland will be able to be at level 0 from 19 July (which is also the day when all remaining restrictions are due to be lifted in England). Most areas of Scotland are currently at level 1 or 2. She says at that point all over-50s should have had their second vaccine for at least three weeks.
She explains what this will mean.
NS: "That means, for example, that the limits for household gatherings indoors will increase from that date, and up to 200 people will be able to attend weddings and funerals."
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
NS: "We also hope - assuming the data supports this - that the general indoor physical distancing requirement can be reduced from 2 metres to 1 metre.
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
And we hope, from that date, to lift the outdoor requirement to physically distance altogether."
NS: "In addition – in recognition of the reduced risk of outdoor transmission and therefore the desire to encourage people to stay outdoors as much as possible..."
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
NS: "..we hope that limits on informal outdoor social gatherings, in private gardens for example, will also be removed at this stage."
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
But Sturgeon stresses that some restrictions will still apply at level 0.
Updated
Sturgeon announces minor changes to rules coming into force from Monday next week.
NS: "For example suppliers of wedding services, and other people employed by a couple getting married, will no longer count towards the cap on numbers."
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
NS: "Those accompanying the wedding couple down the aisle will no longer need to wear face coverings.
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
Live entertainment at receptions will be possible - although people will still need to be seated at tables."
NS: "We expect these changes to have a relatively minor impact on transmission - they are relatively minor changes. But I hope they will make some difference to those organising and attending weddings and funerals, ahead of the more substantial changes at level 0."
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
Sturgeon says weekly case numbers in Scotland up 40% on previous week
Sturgeon says the number of new cases over the past week is up 40% on the previous week.
And cases are at their highest since January, she says.
NS: "That total is seven times higher than in early May, and higher than at any point since late January.
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
This reflects the fact that the faster-transmitting Delta variant is now dominant.
Obviously, we cannot be complacent about this."
But the link between infections and hospitalisations is weakening, she says.
NS: "However we do have evidence that the link between new cases and serious health harm is weakening.
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
The number of people being admitted to hospital with Covid has fallen from around 10% of reported positive cases at the start of the year, to around 5% now."
NS: "And Covid patients, on average, are spending less time in hospital - though, we should remember that even if they don’t need hospital treatment, some people will suffer significant health harms, including long Covid."
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
Sturgeon confirms Scotland's restrictions not being lifted next week in statement to MSPs
Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, starts her statement to MSPs by saying that, as she signalled last week, no part of Scotland will move into a lower level for restrictions next week.
First Minister @NicolaSturgeon: "Today’s statement contains several important updates.
— The SNP (@theSNP) June 22, 2021
Firstly, as indicated last week, I can confirm that no part of the country will change level next week."
Apart from minor changes, restrictions will remain unchanged from Monday.
She also reads out the latest daily figures.
There have been 2,167 new cases, and 9.1% of tests gave a positive result.
She says 171 people are in hospital - an increase of 12 on the previous day.
And there have been four further deaths.
Steve Back, the Westminster photographer who tweets as @PoliticalPics, has posted a picture of the briefing note prepared for the PM’s spokesman ahead of his lobby briefing today. It shows that someone at No 10 was paying quite close attention to what Dominic Cummings was saying in his Q&A on Substack yesterday.
Paper seen this morning coming out of No10 going to PM spokesperson as he briefed the media, Cummings as the PM says Dom getting under the skin, and plenty more !! pic.twitter.com/HUCND3ckje
— PoliticalPics (@PoliticalPics) June 22, 2021
You might wonder why, if the spokesman is asked if the government is really like the blind leading the blind, he can’t simply say no. That is because Downing Street has tried, as far as possible, not to respond to the Cummings allegations in detail. Responding to them gives them credence and, if you start denying some specific allegations, the reporters start to assume your refusal to deny others means they are actually true.
But this note says “if pushed” the spokesman is authorised to say the government is not like the blind leading the blind.
Updated
Starmer offers assurances to Muslim voters in Batley and Spen byelection
Sir Keir Starmer wrote to Muslim organisations in Batley and Spen today reassuring them of his “gratitude and appreciation” for the “steadfast and enduring support” from the Muslim community, which he says “has been, and always will be, crucial to the Labour party”.
In response to an open letter published last Wednesday from representatives from mosques and Muslim organisations, which stated that their “votes and voices have been taken for granted” by the party, Starmer acknowledged “every vote must always be earned”.
The letter asked for a direct pledge to tackle the rising tide of Islamophobia, a clear statement on Labour’s position on Palestinian statehood and support for a full arms embargo against Israel.
Starmer’s response stated that the issues were of “utmost importance”, pledging to “continue to do everything in [his] power” to demand action from the government on anti-Muslim hate crime, referencing the recently published report on Islamophobia with the Conservative party.
In reference to Boris Johnson’s offensive comments about Muslim women, Starmer wrote:
The prime minister’s non-apology is frankly offensive in itself; I will continue to call for an unequivocal apology and ask what steps he will take to tackle Islamophobia within his own ranks.
Starmer’s letter reiterated his party’s support for a two-state solution “where an independent Palestinian state can thrive alongside a safe and secure Israel”, underlining that Labour’s policy position had not changed.
In reference to a report from the Labour Muslim Network published last October on Islamophobia within the Labour party, Starmer said the findings were “stark and concerning”. He went on: “I take this incredibly seriously and I will do everything in my power to root out Islamophobia in our party.”
Amid fears that many disillusioned Muslim voters will switch support from Labour in the byelection, Starmer urged voters to support Kim Leadbeater, the party’s candidate. He said:
Kim is the best hope the people of Batley and Spen have for real change - and a vote for anyone other than Kim is sadly a vote that helps the Conservative party win the seat.
A recent poll from Survation showed the Conservatives on course to win the seat at 47%, with Labour six percentage points behind. The poll put George Galloway, whose campaign is focused on ousting Starmer, on 6%.
Updated
More than 60,000 fans to be allowed to watch Euro 2020 semi-finals and final at Wembley
More than 60,000 fans will be allowed to attend the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final at Wembley, the government has announced. That will take attendance to 75% of stadium capacity.
This means these matches, on 6, 7 and 11 July, will attract the largest crowds for a sporting event in the UK in more than 15 months.
Announcing the decision, the culture department said:
All ticket holders will need to follow a number of strict entry requirements including having a negative Covid-19 test or proof of full vaccination - two doses received, 14 days before the fixture. Ticket holders registered with a GP in England will be able to display their proof of vaccination via the NHS app, or equivalent proof printed out, for example for people from Scotland and Wales. Ticket holders will also be able to display a NHS negative lateral flow test result via email, test message or the NHS App.
Further details, including on ticket sales for these matches, will be communicated by Uefa in due course. However, it is expected ticket holders in the UK who lost their tickets for the semi-finals and final in the re-ballot will be at the front of the queue to be at the games.
Commenting on the announcement, Aleksander Ceferin, the Uefa president, said:
It is great news that so many fans will be able to watch the final three matches of the Euro 2020 at Wembley.
The last 18 months have taught us – both on and off the pitch – how integral fans are to the fabric of the game.
This tournament has been a beacon of hope to reassure people that we are returning to a more normal way of life and this is a further step along that road.
Updated
Levelling up is not just about helping the north, Johnson tells cabinet
Here are the main points from today’s Downing Street lobby briefing.
- Boris Johnson used cabinet to stress that his levelling up agenda does not just benefit the north, No 10 said. In the readout from this morning’s meeting, a spokesman said:
The prime minister started cabinet by reiterating his commitment to levelling up the whole country. He emphasised that this approach will benefit everyone, including by spreading employment opportunities more evenly across the United Kingdom, helping relieve pressure on services and housing demand in areas which have traditionally seen higher demand.
Johnson’s message was clearly intended to address concerns that the Conservatives suffered their shock defeat in the Chesham and Amersham byelection partly because voters in the south feel the party is no longer treating them as a priority.
- Downing Street remains committed to building a new railway line between Leeds and Manchester, the PM’s spokesman said. In a report for HuffPost, Arj Sing says the Treasury wants to cut the costs of the project. Asked if the project would be abandoned, the spokesman said:
We’re getting on top of our priorities of levelling up and investing in northern transport. The Integrated Rail Plan will soon outline exactly how major rail projects including HS2 phase 2b and Northern Powerhouse Rail will work together to deliver reliable train services that passengers need and deserve.
- The spokesman rejected Ken Clarke’s claim (see 10.03am) that spending money on a replacement for the Royal Yacht was “silly, populist nonsense”. Asked about the comment, the spokesman said:
Obviously we totally reject that, the new national flagship will boost British trade and drive investment into our economy. It will be used to host high-level trade negotiations, for trade shows, and will sail all over the world promoting British interests.
Asked if there was any evidence to justify Matt Hancock’s claim that the yacht would “pay for itself many, many times over” because of the trade benefits it would bring, the spokesman said:
Well, he was simply referring to the fact that this is a ship that will promote UK trade and drive investment back into our country, so we expect any costs of building and operating the ship will be outweighed by the economic benefits it brings over its 30-year lifespan.
Asked if any business or trade bodies wanted the government to buy a new yacht of this kind, the spokesman was unable to name any. But he said the government was “confident this is a ship that will be in the interests of British trade”. He also said that, although the Ministry of Defence will pay for the initial costs of the vessel - said to be around £200m - it has yet to be decided which department will fund its operating costs.
- The spokesman brushed aside calls from the lord chief justice (see 10.54am) for the size of juries to be reduced to help deal with the backlog of cases facing the courts. He said the government thought it had “struck the right approach” by developing Nightingale courts and investing £450m to tackle the courts backlog.
- The spokesman said the UK is “looking forward” to hosting the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final - despite the Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi, saying the final should be in Rome because Covid cases in Britain are rising. Asked about Draghi’s comment, the spokesman said:
We’re looking forward to putting on a fantastic semi-finals and final at Wembley. We will do so safely and securely.
Updated
Nearly 250,000 pupils missed school in England last week for Covid-related reasons, DfE figures show
Nearly 250,000 children in England missed school last week for Covid-related reasons, including 9,000 with confirmed cases of Covid-19, the worst figures since state schools fully reopened in March.
The weekly attendance figures published by the Department for Education (DfE) found that Covid-related absences from secondary schools tripled in the space of seven days between 10 June and 17 June when it surveyed schools, while the rate of absences in primary schools has doubled.
There were 9,000 confirmed cases among state school pupils last week, compared with 7,000 the week before and just 4,000 at the end of May.
The DfE’s figures have been adjusted to exclude pupils in years 11 and 13 who have finished school for the year, leaving 3.3% absent overall.
The biggest rise was in the number of pupils self-isolating because of Covid case contacts within schools: 172,000 according to the DfE, while a further 42,000 were self-isolating because of contacts outside school, and 16,000 were off with unconfirmed cases.
This is from the i’s Richard Vaughan on the events research programme. (See 1.17pm.)
Labour's UQ demanding why the Govt not publishing Events Research Programme findings. I've been told this is because No10 didn't want to publish the results which showed festivals are "safe" at a time when they were delaying step 4 of the roadmap https://t.co/LBjp4rkCFL
— Richard Vaughan (@RichardVaughan1) June 22, 2021
And this is from Mark Harper, the Conservative MP who chairs the lockdown-sceptic Covid Recovery Group.
Govt isn’t releasing data from their Events Research Programme (mass event pilots with no social distancing etc.) Why?
— Mark Harper (@Mark_J_Harper) June 22, 2021
The Minister says no “major concerns” resulted from these events.
It’s not unreasonable to ponder whether the data undermines the delay of 21 June to 19 July pic.twitter.com/afcRUD1v89
Pilot schemes with testing for attendance at sports events have not caused Covid outbreaks, MPs told
Pilot schemes involving testing intended to allow large-scale attendance at sports and cultural events have not caused any Covid outbreaks, MPs have been told.
Responding to a Commons urgent question about the so-called events research programme, Nigel Huddleston, a culture minister, said:
Although we are not yet in a position to publish the full report, I can assure the house that post-event data closely monitored have not shown any evidence of the events causing outbreaks. If they had, we would have communicated that information urgently.
Jo Stevens, the shadow culture secretary, asked why data from the pilots had not yet been released. Was Downing Street blocking the release of this information, she asked.
Huddleston replied:
We outlined when we announced the programme that we would release the report prior to step 4 [of the road map to unlock] and that’s exactly what we will be doing, we will be releasing the report very soon.
Updated
Jeffrey Donaldson named as next leader of DUP
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been named as the next leader of the DUP, PA Media reports. PA says:
The Lagan Valley MP said he would be speaking with Boris Johnson to warn that stability at Stormont cannot be expected while the Northern Ireland protocol remains.
He was the only candidate to replace Edwin Poots, who announced his resignation following an internal party revolt over his decision to go ahead with the nomination of Paul Givan as Stormont first minister after a deal was struck between Sinn Féin and the UK government over the progression of Irish language legislation.
Donaldson is Northern Ireland’s longest-serving MP and was narrowly defeated in the previous party leadership contest won by Poots last month.
He will become the party’s third leader in a matter of weeks, after Arlene Foster was ousted last month and replaced by Poots.
Updated
Summary of Lord Frost's evidence on Brexit to foreign affairs committee
Here are the main points from Lord Frost’s evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee. He has given evidence to other parliamentary committees recently, but he was probably more candid this morning than he has been in the past.
- Frost, the Brexit minister, said Brexiters did not expect relations with the EU to be as difficult now as they are. He said that the relationship was now “settling down”. But there had been big changes, and it would take time to “play out”, he said. He went on:
It’s reasonable to think it will be a little bumpy for some time because of that.
I said last week at a speech at another event that I think those who campaigned for leave would have been surprised to think that the relationship was as relatively difficult as it is now.
It’s not something that we want. We do think the sooner we can move beyond the settling down process, the better. But we probably have to let it work through.
Michael Dougan, a European law professor, says that given what the Brexiters used to say about the EU, Frost should not be surprised relations are difficult.
Unelected Cronycrat David Frost claims Brexitists are surprised EU-UK relations are so poor. Those the same Brexitists that spent years denouncing the EUSSR, comparing it to Nazism, wishing its total destruction, calling for gunboats in the Channel, blockades of Ireland... Hmmm?
— Michael Dougan (@mdouganlpool) June 22, 2021
- Frost initially claimed that “nobody” expected the Northern Ireland protocol to have the impact on GB/NI trade that it did. He said:
The basic problem [with the protocol] is that the chilling effect on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is pretty strong. Until we began implementing the protocol nobody could quite know that.
But when later challenged by Tom Tugendhat (Con), the committee chair, who pointed out that experts did predict these problems, Frost clarified his point. He said:
I’m not saying that nobody suggested the such thing could happen. I think what we’ve seen, though, is that the effects has been pretty marked.
Frost also said the UK might have been “ambitious” in thinking how flexible the EU would be in implementing the protocol. (See 11.38am.)
This is from Jill Rutter, a Brexit specialist at UK in a Changing Europe, an academic research project.
the clear conclusion from this Frost @CommonsForeign session is that he is not a very effective negotiator.. seemed to think he would get lots out of EU in 2020 to make protocol operate better.. and failed...
— Jill Rutter (@jillongovt) June 22, 2021
- Frost said he did not expect the protocol to survive in its current form. Asked to comment on a quote from Edwin Poots, the outgoing DUP leader, who said he had been assured by the government that there would be significant changes to the protocol, Frost said:
I can’t comment on private conversations and accounts of them. But we haven’t made a secret of the fact that we find it hard to see how, as currently operated, important elements of the protocol are sustainable.
I don’t think that’s a new judgment. We have also said that we are considering all our options, and we are doing so.
- Frost accused the EU of being too quick to resort to threats. He said:
If I have one criticism [of the way the EU is handling its relations with the UK] perhaps, it is sometimes it feels like the resort to threats is a bit quick. We don’t make threats in quite the same way as I think some players in the EU do. I think if we could just dial that down a bit, it would help.
This is quite a claim given that the UK has been quite quick to issue threats too; last year it introduced legislation into parliament that it admitted broke international law because it would break parts of the agreement on Northern Ireland signed with the EU.
- Frost suggested that the EU might agree to extend the “grace period” that exempts chilled meats from the restrictions on GB/NI trade introduced by the protocol. An extension like this would avert a “sausage ban” from the start of next month. Frost said:
We have put in our proposal to extend the grace period on chilled meats which expires very soon and I know both sides are thinking very actively about that.
I wouldn’t want to leave the impression that nothing is happening. Quite a lot is happening, in one or two areas there is engagement, in other areas it’s more difficult.
Updated
Tugendhat ends by thanking Frost for his time.
But he repeats his earlier point about Frost effectively being Europe minister. So Tugendhat will ask him to give evidence again. He tells Frost “your importance knows no limits”.
Frost says Tugendhat’s point is well made.
And the hearing has now finished. I will post a summary shortly.
Tom Tugendhat (Con) is asking the final questions.
Q: Can you think of any other trade deal that negotiated away control of part of sovereign territory?
Frost says, if that is a reference to the Northern Ireland protocol, he does not accept that that is what it does.
Andrew Rosindell (Con) goes next.
He is contributing remotely, in his iPhone, and appears on the screen sideways. This is from the Telegraph’s James Crisp.
Andrew Rossendale MP at the Foreign Affairs Committee with Lord Frost just now. pic.twitter.com/M5HhyGixy0
— James Crisp (@JamesCrisp6) June 22, 2021
Q: When the Northern Ireland protocol was signed, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said it would be a “cracking” deal for Northern Ireland. Was he right?
Frost says he might have been if the protocol had been implemented differently.
Q: How is it sustainable if it disrupts the union?
Frost says the Northern Ireland assembly will get a vote on this.
Q: But that will not happen for a few years. Shouldn’t we have bilateral arrangements with Ireland, instead of persisting with this “failed protocol”?
Frost says the UK is considering all its options. He says “the current situation is not satisfactory and it’s hard to see how it can be sustained”.
Updated
Q: Should the government tell parliament if it is going to join a Pesco-type defence cooperation arrangement with the EU?
Frost says he does not want to comment on that.
Stewart McDonald (SNP) goes next.
Q: How can the UK continue to try to shape EU rules?
Frost says the traditional influencing task remains important. He says it is important to spot ideas “upstream” and influence them.
It is difficult when you are not in the EU.
Q: It is harder.
But we are not bound by the results, Frost says.
Q: So do you think if the EU sets standards on, for example, data policy, we are not affected? That’s absurd.
Frost says the UK would not be part of the legal framework. But it is influenced by what happens elsewhere, he admits.
He says the UK could also respond by acting itself.
If it acts more quickly, it could influence the EU, he says.
He says he has always believed in regulatory competition.
Frost says Brexiters did not expect UK's relationship with EU to be as difficult now as it is
Frost says the post-Brexit relationship with the UK is “settling down”. But it will be bumpy for some time, he says.
He says people who campaigned for leave would have been “surprise” to be told the relationship with the EU would be as “relatively difficult as it is now”.
Both sides will have to work through that, he says.
Frost says one day he might write a book about what it is like to negotiate with the EU.
Tom Tugendhat goes again. He questions Frost’s claims that nobody predicted the impact of the protocol on trade. He says the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium flagged this up. And Gavin Barwell, Theresa May’s chief of staff, has said this was why May rejected an arrangement like this.
Frost says he is not saying nobody said this might happen. But the impact has been marked, he says.
Q: What made you think that the EU would adapt like this? It is not aways flexible.
Frost said they did hope, and “have reason to expect”, that in relation to Northern Ireland the EU would see things differently. He says they thought the EU would be responsive.
He is not saying there has been no responsiveness. But they are not there yet.
Tugendhat suggests hoping for that kind of approach from the “legalistic monster” that is European court of justice was optimistic.
Frost concedes it was “ambitious”.
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Frost suggests EU may agree move to avert 'sausage ban' by extending NI protocol chilled meats exemption
Q: Edwin Poots, the outgoing DUP leader, has said he expects significant changes to the protocol. Is that right?
Frost says he cannot comment on private conversations. But he says the government has made it clear that it thinks the current situation is not sustainable. The government is considering its options, he says.
And he says the UK has asked to extend the grace period for chilled meats. He says both sides are “thinking very actively” on this.
(The grace period is due to lapse at the end of this month. If it is not extended, the “sausage ban” will take effect, because Northern Ireland retailers will no longer be able to import chilled meats from Britain.)
UPDATE: These are from Mujtaba Rahman, the Brexit specialist at the Eurasia Group consultancy.
Frost tells F Affairs select committee there are “still big problems” with NI protocol. “We are trying to find solutions at the moment there is not a huge amount of engagement on all of them”. NIP not sustainable as implemented so “we are considering all options.” 1/2
— Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) June 22, 2021
But confirmed both sides are “thinking very actively” on chilled meats issue. “Quite a lot is happening” on that but other issues more difficult 2/2
— Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) June 22, 2021
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Q: How is it different from what you expected?
Frost says the “chilling effect” on trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is quite strong. And he says nobody could know that until they started implementing the protocol.
He says there must be more pragmatic rules for goods that are not likely to leave the EU.
Q: Before agreeing the protocol, did you consider its impact on the Act of Union?
Frost says there is a court cases that touches on some of these issues. And the Withdrawal Act was passed by parliament, he says.
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Graham Stringer (Lab) goes next.
Q: The PM says the Northern Ireland protocol should not impact on the indivisibility of the UK. But it has. What went wrong?
Frost says the NI protocol arrangement was exceptional, and a “big compromise”.
If those arrangements are to work, they must work in a pragmatic and proportional way, he says.
He says the government is implementing the protocol as best it can. And it is spending a lot of money on it.
But there is not a huge amount of engagement on this from the EU, he says.
Q: What will be the impact of the EU plan to limit the amount of UK TV content shown in Europe?
Frost says, as far as he understands it, the EU has just sent round a questionnaire asking for views on this.
The UK is not in favour, he says.
He says, if the EU chooses to harm itself and its viewers, the UK cannot stop them.
But he is sure “good sense will prevail”.
Lord Frost: 'We’re in favour of free circulation of audiovisual goods as of other goods. If the EU choose to harm themselves and their viewers by excluding some categories of UK content we can’t stop them, but I’m sure good sense will prevail and we won’t be in that position.'
— Nick Gutteridge (@nickgutteridge) June 22, 2021
Q: This might suggest that the original deal was not a good one.
Frost says France has always taken the view that audio-visual arrangements are not part of free trade deals.
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Chris Bryant (Lab) tells Frost that his description of his job makes it sound like the Europe minister job that Bryant himself once used to do in the Foreign Office.
Q: What was gained by not treating the EU ambassador to the UK as a full ambassador?
Frost says they were surprised this blew up as an issue. But it has now been resolved.
Q: What difference will it make treating the EU ambassador as a full ambassador?
Frost says they are still working out the details, but he says both sides think they have now found the right balance.
Tugendhat tells Frost he finds it hard to see how is is not Europe minister.
Frost says he has other responsibilities too.
Tugendhat suggests that makes him “Europe minister plus”.
Q: Shouldn’t the Europe minister be a Foreign Office minister?
Frost says across Europe European business tends to be done centrally, overseen by the head of government. He says the UK approach reflects this.
Tugendhat asks Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby, head of mission at the EU, who he works for.
Croisdale-Appleby says the mission is accountable to the foreign secretary, but works for different ministers on different topics.
Tom Tugendhat (Con), the committee chair, starts.
Q: Are you in reality minister for Europe?
Lord Frost starts by saying they only have an hour.
And he says he wants to make a point about parliamentary scrutiny. He says he is happy to appear before this committee, but his primary responsibility is to answer to the European affairs committee and the European affairs committee in the Lords.
As for whether he is Europe minister, he says the answer is yes and no. Dealing with Europe is a large part of his job, he says. But he says the foreign secretary also deals with Europe, and parts of his job are not Europe-related.
Lord Frost's evidence to foreign affairs committee on Brexit
Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, is giving evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee.
He is giving evidence with Matthew Taylor, director general of the EU secretariat at the Cabinet Office, and Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby, head of the UK mission to the EU.
According to the committee, the session will cover “a range of topics, including the pursuit of bilateral agreements with EU and EFTA member states, and the opportunities for collaboration with the EU on defence and security”.
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Cornwall council is planning to combat the county’s housing crisis in Cornwall, which has been exacerbated by Covid, by setting up park homes and self-contained ‘Bunkabin’ units.
Up to 1,000 people – from single-person households to families – are currently in temporary or emergency accommodation in Cornwall, including in hotels.
Solutions being looked at include purchasing around 100 park homes to be put on pop-up sites, which would be able to house four people each and so provide a home for families. A batch of 30 Bunkabins will be arriving next month with 15 to be set up at New County Hall in Truro.
The council’s cabinet portfolio for housing and planning, Olly Monk, said:
We are facing a massive challenge in terms of housing, exacerbated by the pandemic, and we’re acting with urgency to deal with the immediate issue of those in need of emergency accommodation that offers security.
Labour welcomes lord chief justice's support for its call for smaller juries to help tackle backlog in courts
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph (paywall), Lord Burnett of Maldon, the lord chief justice, has suggested that juries should be made smaller to help tackle the huge backlog in cases awaiting crown court trial.
“Do some of the low-grade cases that go to the crown court really need as many as 12 [jurors]?” Burnett asked.
The backlog has increased by 50% since March 2020, and there are now more than 57,000 crown court cases waiting to be heard. Burnett told the Telegraph “an opportunity was missed to introduce a temporary reduction in jury size” in 2020.
David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, said in a statement this morning that he first proposed this idea some months ago. He said:
Labour first called for war-time juries of six in most cases until restrictions were lifted back in January.
But instead of taking the bold actions needed to clear the backlog, the government dithered and delayed.
The result is a record-breaking backlog, with tens of thousands of victims being denied justice and countless criminals being let off the hook.
Just 0.8% of deaths in England and Wales registered in the week ending Friday 11 June involved coronavirus, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. That amounted to 84 deaths out of 10,204. The previous week 1.3% of deaths involved coronavirus.
Concern grows in Cornwall over spike in Covid cases
Concern and anger is growing in Cornwall over the rise in the number of Covid cases there. Jayne Kirkham, the Labour councillor for Falmouth Penwerris said she was almost past arguing over whether holding the G7 summit in west Cornwall was to blame. (Downing Street denies it is.) “We just need more help now,” she said.
Kirkham is calling for an emergency council meeting and said there needed to be a vaccination centre in Falmouth rather than at Stithians Showground, which is seven miles out of town.
When she went for a jab on Monday, Kirkham said she noticed young people with backpacks who had walked to the centre for their vaccinations. Kirkham said hospitality venues in Falmouth - where the G7 media centre was based - were “opening and closing like yo-yos” as staff came back with positive Covid tests.
Updated
Ken Clarke calls royal yacht replacement plan 'complete waste of time' as he urges PM to control spending and consider raising taxes
Ken Clarke, the former Conservative chancellor, used an interview on the Today programme this morning to criticise Boris Johnson for not being able to control government spending. As an example, he cited the plans for a replacement for the royal yacht, which he described as a “silly, populist nonsense”. Asked what he thought of the plan, he told the programme:
Complete waste of time, silly populist nonsense. It’s a symptom, £200m is not going to cause problems, but it shows there are people in No 10 who just think there’s free money and who think that waving a union jack and sending yachts and aircraft carriers around the world shows what a great power we are. We have no money for that kind of thing.
Clarke said that inflation was now a “big risk” and that it was essential to bring public spending under control. He said:
Unless we actually take care, inflation is now the big risk over the next few years.
These are such unusual circumstances that no one is quite sure how big the risk is, nor when the crunch will come, but it’s now time to start addressing the serious problem of the huge debts we have run up, which we had to run up – that was perfectly OK to stop the economy collapsing when Covid hit it – and try to make sure that we can tolerate a short little boomlet, with inflation going up for most of this year; we can act very promptly to control it once it’s obviously settled in.
And also you have got to start addressing the serious question of how do we pay for this fantastic amount of borrowing in a sensible and responsible way in order to be able to maintain fiscal discipline in future.
Clarke said that it was a mistake for a government to take a “short-term, populist view” and just keep spending. The best Conservative governments in the past were respected for “their competence in running the economy”, he said.
He also argued that Johnson should not be afraid of raising taxes. He claimed that increasing VAT would be progressive, because it was a tax on spending and the wealthy spent more, and he pointed out that a tax rise could always be followed by a tax cut. “You can always tell Boris, ‘If we are successful and the economy is growing in two or three years, we can give you a pre-election tax cut which will be frightfully popular,’” he said.
Later Matt Hancock, the health secretary, was asked about Clarke’s comment about the plans for a replacement for the royal yacht. While stressing his respect for Clarke, Hancock said he disagreed with him on this. He went on:
The amount of investment that you can get in from the rest of the world by showing the best of Britain in harbours the world over is very, very significant.
And I think we should be getting out there and trading with the world.
And so I think that a royal yacht is a great idea and I’m very positive about it, because I think it will more than pay for itself many, many times over.
Updated
Hancock confirms government considering dropping quarantine requirement for fully-vaccinated holidaymakers
And here are some more lines from Matt Hancock’s morning interviews.
- Hancock confirmed that the government is working on plans to allow people who have had both doses of vaccine to return to the UK from amber list countries without having to quarantine. Asked about this proposal, he said;
This hasn’t been clinically advised yet – we’re working on it ...
We’re working on plans to essentially allow the vaccine to bring back some of the freedoms that have had to be restricted to keep people safe.
After all, that’s the whole purpose of the vaccination programme, that’s why it’s so important that every adult goes out and gets the jab.
Today the Times is reporting that this system could be introduced from August, and that it may be announced this week. The Times (paywall) reports:
Ministers are set to announce an overhaul of travel restrictions on Thursday. While they are not expected to add a significant number of countries to the green list, they are likely to unveil plans to exempt travellers with two vaccine shots from the requirement to quarantine for 10 days after visiting an amber list destination.
Asked to confirm that the new system could be in place in August, Hancock replied: “We’ll get there when it’s safe to do so.”
- Hancock confirmed that coronavirus booster vaccines could be administered at the same time as flu jabs this autumn and winter.
- He refused to discuss why a ministerial meeting to discuss social care reform originally planned for today was postponed. He told Sky News that he would not discuss “diary management issues”, but that the government was committed to producing a plan before the end of this year.
Updated
Matt Hancock says growth rate in coronavirus cases is slowing
Good morning. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has been giving interviews this morning, and it was a mixture of good news and bad news.
First, the good news, which was probably more salient. Echoing what other ministers have been saying in recent days, Hancock said England was still on track to lift all remaining restrictions on 19 July. But he also made an important point about the progress of the virus.
- Hancock said the growth rate in Covid cases was slowing. Asked what was happening now on Covid case rates on the Today programme, he said:
Well, we are seeing that growth in case rates is slowing.
Thankfully, the number of hospitalisations whilst rising is not rising very quickly.
And thankfully, even more, the number of people dying from Covid remains very, very low.
In Scotland, which is the worst affected part of the UK at the moment, their case rates have been rising somewhat earlier, somewhat more, than elsewhere in the UK. And there again, the number of people dying is not rising. This is encouraging.
That was the cheery bit. A bit more sobering was what he had to say when asked about the winter.
- Hancock would not rule out some restrictions having to be re-imposed in the winter. Asked on the Today programme if restrictions would have to come back in the winter, he replied:
I hope we don’t have to do that, and I hope that we can take the steps on the 19 July that are pencilled in for then because the data is looking encouraging. But then for the winter, I hope that with a booster shot we get that protection against Covid very, very high.
Hancock explained that this was partly because of the threat from flu. Asked to explain what Boris Johnson meant yesterday when he talked about the NHS facing a “rough winter”, Hancock said there was very little flu last winter because people were socially distancing. He went on:
We didn’t see any other communicable diseases last winter in any serious size at all, and so the clinical concern is that our immunity will be lower ... Almost nobody has had flu now for 18 months in this country. Obviously that’s a good thing. But it does mean that the flu vaccination programme this autumn will be even more important ... We do expect this winter to be challenging.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Boris Johnson chairs cabinet.
9.30am: Nadine Dorries, a health minister, gives evidence to the Commons health committee on children and young people’s mental health.
9.30am: The ONS publishes its weekly death figures for England and Wales. It is also publishing figures on antibody levels in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
11am: Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, gives evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee.
11.30am: Rishi Sunak, the chancellor takes questions in the Commons.
12.30pm: Nigel Huddleston, a culture minister, responds to an urgent question about the pilot programme for making large events Covid secure.
12pm: Downing Street is expected to hold its daily lobby briefing.
2pm: Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, makes a statement on Covid to the Scottish parliament.
📺 I will make a statement to @ScotParl today (c 2.20pm) setting out the vaccine milestones we hope to reach over the summer and, based on those, the path we hope to take out of Covid restrictions and back to greater normality in our day to day lives. Please tune in if you can.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 22, 2021
2pm: Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, holds a press conference.
Politics Live has been a mix of Covid and non-Covid news recently and that is likely to be the case today. For more coronavirus developments, do follow our global Covid live blog.
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