Ministers will do “what it takes” to ensure the NHS is not overwhelmed this winter, Sajid Javid has said as he warned that the number of new infections across the UK could hit a record 100,000 a day.
The health secretary said the government would not heed the call from the NHS Confederation to implement “plan B” measures such as mandatory mask-wearing “at this time”. But he underlined the fact that ministers would be, “staying vigilant, preparing for all eventualities”.
The government has come under mounting pressure to take action to contain the virus. The latest data shows 49,139 new infections recorded in the last 24 hours, and 179 deaths.
Lawrence Young, a professor of molecular oncology at the University of Warwick has added:
We are at a tipping point with increased levels of infection against a backdrop of waning vaccine-induced immunity and the easing of all restrictions. We must do everything to encourage those eligible to get their booster jabs and to vaccinate healthy 12 to 15-year-olds.
But we can’t rely on vaccination alone to protect us all over the winter and to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed. With the rising number of hospitalisations, ‘plan B’ measures (home orders, vaccine passports, social distancing and legally-enforced mask-wearing indoors) are looking increasingly likely.
Stopping the spread of the Covid-19 virus will not only protect individuals from getting sick but will also curb the generation of new virus variants that could be more infectiousness and more able to evade vaccine-induced immunity.
Carol Popplestone, the council chair of the Royal College of Nursing, has said:
New treatments are welcome and show how responsively the scientific community is working, but the emphasis must be on preventing infections in first place.
Nursing staff are bracing themselves for a winter of unprecedented pressure. Vaccines will boost immunity, but the public’s personal decisions and behaviours can boost the national effort.
There is already a shortage of nursing staff and their ability to deliver patient care is increasingly at risk.
Respectful mask-wearing, social distancing and being mindful of social contact with more vulnerable groups will be vital to our collective wellbeing as we head into this winter.
Updated
Javid closes with a tacit criticism of his cabinet colleague Kwasi Kwarteng, as well as backbenchers from his own party.
He is asked about the business secretary’s insistence this morning that he plans on “having a Christmas party as usual” and Tory MPs’ refusal to wear masks in the Commons chamber – and whether each is undermining the government’s message that efforts to control the virus, such as face coverings and social distancing, need to be redoubled. He says:
That is a very fair point. We’ve all got our role to play in this. We play our public roles ... we also have a role to play to set an example as private individuals.
Responding to this evening’s press conference, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, Matthew Taylor, has said:
No one wants another national lockdown, for NHS services to be disrupted this winter, or for people to get ill with coronavirus when there are measures at the government’s disposal that are not heavy-handed and could reduce the likelihood of all of these scenarios.
The NHS is already gearing up for a busy winter and so, the secretary of state’s warning that daily confirmed cases of coronavirus could reach 100,000 a day and hospital admissions with Covid are approaching 1,000 a day will be of no comfort. Despite the success of the vaccination programme, more cases and hospitalisations will eventually lead to more deaths.
The message from health leaders is clear: it is better to act now, rather than regret it later.
We’ve heard the secretary of state’s decision not to enact ‘plan B’ of the government’s winter strategy and while we do not agree with him, we encourage him to keep reviewing the data and engaging with health leaders.
Alongside that, there are measures the public can take to support frontline services this winter. This includes getting vaccinated against flu and coronavirus when invited, using frontline services responsibly, and volunteering to support, join or return to the workforce, if eligible.
Updated
Javid is asked if the country is more likely to see restrictions in the near future if the public does not get booster jabs and make other behavioural changes.
He says the summer provides “less attractive conditions” to the virus, so it was expected that it would be “more challenging as we head into winter”. He stresses that, yes, he is saying the onus is on the public to take action in order to avoid shifting to “plan B”.
He says everyone knows the what is needed because the country has already been taking the necessary action for the past 18 months or so.
Dr Harries adds that small changes applied across the whole population, such as mask-wearing, could turn the tide if allied to a strong vaccine uptake.
Javid lauds the progress the UK has made as a result of all of the measures the public have implemented since the start of the pandemic. Prof Powis adds:
The public has responded magnificently.
But Javid warns that we could lose that progress if the public do not continue in the same spirit and continue to get vaccinated.
Asked how bad things would need to get before he shifts to “plan B”, Javid insists: “We are concerned.” But he says the vaccines are working and that means the country does not yet need to go that far.
He asks people to speak to their friends and relatives to convince them to get jabbed, as well as speaking to anyone they know who has developed “weird ideas” by reading conspiracy theories online.
The health secretary adds that there is “not just one number we are looking at” when deciding whether or not to introduce stricter measures.
Updated
Javid is asked whether he is ignoring the principal lesson from last year – that waiting to take measures means having to take harsher ones later.
He says the government can play a part but insists that people need to take action themselves, such as getting jabs, taking tests and isolating when necessary. This is “plan A”, he says. We’re not at that point yet, he adds, referring to the stricter measures associated with “plan B”.
Updated
The health secretary says the pressures on the NHS are huge, but the government does not think they’re unsustainable at the moment.
He hands over to Prof Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, who says the health service is under significant pressure and has had a difficult summer as it continued to treat Covid patients as society opened up.
He says health officials also have their eyes on the flu season, which may be more difficult than usual because the UK “missed out a flu season last year”.
He asks the public to help the NHS by using face coverings indoors and getting vaccinated when invited.
Updated
Javid is asked directly by a member of the public whether or not it would be a good idea to make face coverings mandatory.
He says “we think it is the right decision to learn to live with this virus ... it’s asking people to take more responsibility.” He advises people to wear face masks and says the government might make them mandatory in certain settings in future. But makes it clear that this will not be happening right now.
Dr Jenny Harries says the UK is starting the winter from a position of relatively poor position in terms of infection numbers and hospitalisations.
She laments the number of deaths but repeats that those numbers are relatively low because of the vaccine uptake.
The fact that we are now approaching winter and the fact that there are still people out there who have not had a first dose, which will significantly protect them, [shows] there is still an opportunity to [come forward].
Closing, Javid directly links the ability to enjoy Christmas this year to continuing to come forward for jabs and following other measures his government is declining to make compulsory, such as wearing masks indoors in public places.
Javid refers to the new variant AY4.2. While there’s no indication it poses a greater threat, the virus is mutating all the time and future variants may do so. That, he says, is why the booster programme is so important.
We’ve got the jabs. We just need the arms to put them in.
Infections and hospitalisations are burdensome, Javid says. And the country must work to prevent the NHS becoming overwhelmed.
While the link between those indices and deaths is not as strong as it was last year, he says there are still more than 100 people dying each day.
The health secretary adds that the government wants to “redouble” its efforts to convince people to get their jabs. “Please take this huge step to protect yourself and to protect your loved-ones.”
He says the government is extending the offer of a jab for 12- to 15-year-olds. And he talks up the booster programme, saying the protection from vaccines “decreases materially over time; especially for older people”.
Updated
The health secretary confirms the UK will not implement its “plan B” measures just now.
He refers to the new treatments upon which we reported just a few moments ago.
Javid: Cases could hit 100,000 per day
Sajid Javid is opening his presser by saying we always knew the coming of winter would bring a greater problem to deal with.
He says cases could hit as many as 100,000 per day. And that we are approaching 1,000 hospitalisations per day.
This pandemic is not over.
Downing Street buys up as-yet unapproved antiviral Covid treatment
No 10 has made deals to buy hundreds of thousands of doses of two new antiviral treatments for coronavirus, ministers have announced, with the hope they will be approved for use in the UK ahead of the winter.
One deal covers 480,000 courses of molnupiravir, which can be taken as a capsule twice a day. Previous treatments such as the steroid dexamethasone have needed to be given as injections or IV infusions.
In trials, the drug, made by Merck, known as MSD outside the US, has been shown to cut the risk of hospitalisation or death for patients not in hospital by half.
The other treatment is PF-07321332/ritonavir, a combination of another oral antiviral treatment used in combination with ritonavir, a drug usually used to treat HIV/Aids. Made by Pfizer, the UK has a deal for 250,000 courses, the announcement said.
The health secretary, Sajid Javid, is due to hold a press conference in about 10 minutes to address the mounting concerns around the UK’s Covid numbers.
Some scientists and public health officials have called for the return of some restrictions after 223 daily Covid-related UK deaths were reported on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, insisted this morning that renewed measures were not needed “for now” – at least as far as England is concerned. The matter is devolved.
Ministers have previously set out “plan B” winter measures but, despite the UK reporting one of the highest weekly rates of new cases in the world, are refusing to resort to it.
Updated
Katharine Birbalsingh, the new head of the Social Mobility Commission, has told MPs that she would like to launch a national campaign to stop parents letting toddlers use mobile phones.
She cited this as an example of what she might be able to do in her new role, saying that young children were less likely to learn to read if they could play with a phone. She told the Commons women and equalities commission:
My initial thoughts are that I would like national campaigns on things like phones and not giving them to your toddler.
I would love it if we could get to a point where [it is considered] in the same way that we know that you should eat four or five fruit or vegetables in a day, or drink eight glasses of water a day.
We know this because the campaigning has been so clear, and it’s happened over time – years and years, it’s everywhere – it just becomes part of the national consciousness.
I would love it if things like ‘don’t give your child a phone’ were to become part of the national consciousness.
She added that giving young children phones made it more difficult for them to engage in reading, because a “book that’s black and white and flat” is less interesting than a tablet which has “all sorts of flashing images and colours and adverts”.
That’s is all from me for today. My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is now taking over.
Updated
UK records 49,139 further Covid cases and 179 new deaths
The government has updated its UK coronavirus dashboard, and it confirms that all three key principle indicators are now heading in the wrong direction.
- There have been 49,139 new cases – and the total number of new cases over the past week is up 17.2% on the total for the previous week.
- There have been 179 more Covid deaths – and the total number of deaths over the past week is up 21.1% on the total for the previous week.
- And hospital admissions are up 11.2% week on week – although this data only covers the period up to Saturday, when there were 869 hospital admissions.
Updated
Tom Harris, the former Scottish Labour MP who served as a transport minister under Tony Blair, has been appointed an adviser to the Scotland secretary, Alister Jack. Harris lost his seat in the 2015 general election, and since then his political journey has included running the Vote Leave campaign in Scotland and working as a Telegraph columnist.
Welcoming his appointment, Jack said:
Tom has extensive experience, as well as an excellent understanding of Scottish public life. He brings to the table a wealth of knowledge and skills in policy, strategy and communications.
As we emerge from the worst of the pandemic, recovery remains our top priority. I’m very pleased to have Tom on board to further strengthen the UK government’s capabilities as we build back better for Scotland.
Some personal news. https://t.co/2qgpxQ50XP
— Tom Harris (@MrTCHarris) October 20, 2021
Police told to review applicants' social media postings before granting firearms licences
The Home Office has announced measures to tighten gun ownership laws. From next month, “no one will be given a firearms licence unless the police have reviewed information from a registered doctor setting out whether or not the applicant has any relevant medical history – including mental health, neurological conditions or substance abuse,” the Home Office says.
Guidance will also set out what else the police should review before granting a licence, “including examining an applicant’s social media, financial history, interviewing associates, or checking with domestic violence or public protection units”, the Home Office says.
The rules were reviewed after five people were killed in Plymouth in August in a mass shooting by Jake Davison, a licensed firearms holder who had previously posted misogynist content online.
Updated
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, told the World at One that the government should be using retired doctors to help administer vaccines to teenagers. He explained:
I’ve heard stories from around the country that the reason a school has had to cancel its vaccination is because there wasn’t requisite school nurses available … if we’ve not got the school nurses available why don’t we mobilise retired clinicians to drive up vaccinations in school?
Ashworth also accused minister of having “lost their grip of the vaccination programme”. He added:
They boasted that this is our wall of defence, well I’m afraid the wall is beginning to crumble.
At PMQs Boris Johnson implied that the online harms bill would include criminal sanctions for social media company executives who allow extremist content on their platforms. (See 1.24pm and 1.35pm.) But at the post-PMQs briefing Downing Street would not confirm that would definitely be the case. The PM’s spokesperson just said the government would continue to listen and to work closely with the industry on the bill.
Updated
Lib Dems urge Johnson to convene emergency meeting of Sage to discuss rising Covid cases
The Liberal Democrats have called for an emergency meeting of Sage, the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, to discuss the rising number of Covid cases. Responding to a report in the i saying Sage is now only meeting monthy, Munira Wilson, the Lib Dem health spokesperson, said:
Covid cases are surging and millions of vulnerable people are yet to receive their booster jabs, yet ministers are burying their heads in the sand.
Boris Johnson must call an emergency meeting of Sage, resume weekly meetings and follow the expert advice provided on how to protect the NHS and keep schools open this winter.
We cannot risk a fourth wave because the prime minister refuses to learn the lessons from the terrible mistakes throughout this pandemic.
In an interview with the Specator earlier this month, Sajid Javid, the health secretary, implied he is more minded to ignore Sage than his predecessor Matt Hancock was. Fraser Nelson, the Spectator editor, put it to Javid that it was time to “move on” from Sage, given that some of its modelling assumed hospital cases would soar this summer far above the level they actually reached. Javid replied:
They’re an independent group. They’re entitled to come to their own decisions and I’m entitled not to listen to them. Because I’m a minister and I have to make the decisions.
Updated
The Royal College of General Practitioners has said that the slow rate of progress with booster vaccinations is “concerning”. As my colleague Miranda Bryant reports on our global coronavirus live blog, Prof Martin Marshall, head of the RCGP, said the country’s immunity is “waning” and that vital booster shots are not being distributed fast enough. He told BBC Radio 4’s World at One:
We know that immunity is waning. Six months after you receive the second vaccination we know that immunity is – in some cases – considerably less, it will be different for different people.
Javid to hold Covid press conference at 5pm
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, will lead a Downing Street press conference at 5pm as the government faces pressure from health chiefs to impose coronavirus restrictions, PA Media reports. PA says:
Javid’s appearance comes amid mounting concern about rising cases and a faltering vaccination programme.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents health bodies, warned “we risk stumbling into a winter crisis” unless measures such as face masks and vaccine passports - the government’s “plan B” for the coming months - are introduced in England.
He called for ministers to come up with a “plan C” of even tougher restrictions if those measures are insufficient to address pressure on the health service.
Ministers have rejected calls to introduce the contingency measures which were included in the government’s autumn and winter strategy.
Downing Street said the number of hospital admissions and deaths are still “substantially lower” than they were earlier in the year.
“The important thing is the fact that our vaccination programme has been successful in breaking the link between cases and hospitalisations and deaths,” a No 10 spokesman said.
“Our focus remains on ensuring we get boosters out to those who are eligible.”
The spokesman added: “There isn’t any proposed plan for any further lockdowns. We are sticking to the autumn and winter plan we have set out.”
Updated
Johnson says online harms bill will include criminal sanctions for allowing 'foul content' online
Here is the PA Media story on PMQs.
Boris Johnson has insisted new internet safety laws will impose “criminal sanctions with tough sentences” on those responsible for allowing “foul content” on their platforms.
The prime minister sounded the warning to social media giants as he told MPs the online harms bill would make progress in the Commons before Christmas.
The legislation is expected to force the biggest tech firms, such as Facebook and Google, to abide by a duty of care to users, overseen by Ofcom as the new regulator for the sector.
Johnson was pushed by the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, to use the “inescapable desire” of MPs, in the aftermath of the killing of Conservative Sir David Amess, to “clamp down on the extremism, the hate and the abuse that festers online”.
But Starmer said closing down anonymous accounts would not have “saved Sir David” nor prevented other attacks, adding that “arrogant” social media firms should be made to take responsibility for their platforms.
The pair agreed to work together on the issue when it was raised at PMQs.
The Conservative former minister Mark Francois earlier this week called for the bill to be toughened up as he proposed “David’s law” in memory of Amess.
Speaking in the Commons, Starmer said: “It’s three years since the government promised an online safety bill but it’s not yet before the house. Meanwhile, the damage caused by harmful content online is worse than ever.
“Dangerous algorithms on Facebook and Instagram, and Hope Not Hate have shown me an example of violent Islamism and far-right propaganda on TikTok.”
He called on the PM to “commit to bring forward the second reading of the online safety bill by the end of this calendar year”, adding: “If he does, we’ll support it.”
Johnson replied: “The safety of MPs, indeed of all public servants, everybody who engages with the public is of vital importance. The online safety bill is of huge importance, it’s one of the most important tools in our armoury.”
He added: “What we’re doing is ensuring that we crack down on companies that promote illegal and dangerous content and we’ll be toughing up those provisions.
“What we’re also going to do is ensure that the online safety bill does complete its stages before this house – before Christmas – rather that we do bring it forward before Christmas in the way that he suggests.”
Starmer questioned why directors of platforms failing to crack down on extremism would not face criminal sanctions under the government’s plans.
Johnson later said: “I’ve already said that we are willing to look at anything to strengthen the legislation, I’ve said that we will bring it forward to second reading before Christmas.
“And, yes, of course we will have criminal sanctions with tough sentences for those who are responsible for allowing this foul content to permeate the internet.
“What we hope for also, is that no matter how tough the proposals we produce, that the opposition will support it.”
Updated
PMQs - snap verdict
One of the near-certain laws of politics (and there are no ultra-certain ones) is that, once an argument descends to a point of detail, Boris Johnson is bound to lose. It’s a proposition often tested at PMQs, and today Sir Keir Starmer convincingly exploited it to make Johnson look ill-briefed and defensive on one of the key issues of the day.
Starmer focused on two particular issues: the contents of the draft online safety bill, a piece of government legislation that has been in gestation for years (partly because of the complexity of what it is trying to achieve); and on a report from the Commission on Countering Extremism (pdf) published in February.
On the bill, he managed to get two concessions out of Johnson. The PM said it would have a second reading before Christmas. And, when Starmer asked why the draft legislation did not include plans for criminal sanctions against social media company directors, Johnson implied the bill would do this. He told Starmer:
Yes, of course we will have criminal sanctions with tough sentences for those who are responsible for allowing this foul content to permeate the internet.
But Starmer was able to point out that the bill does not currently say this explicitly, and he left the impression that Johnson was busking on a piece of legislation whose actual clauses he has not studied closely. Johnson sounded even more flummoxed when asked about the commission’s recommendations, which the government has not yet responded to, and Johnson resorted to criticising Labour’s stance on a quite different aspect of terrorism policy.
Starmer has done all this before, but he does it well. He sounded well informed (as indeed he is). He was posing questions that enabled him to remind people about his background as the former DPP, one of his most impressive leadership credentials. And he was sounding impartial (which always goes down well at PMQs). By comparison, Johnson’s efforts to drag the exchanges into party political point-scoring came across as particularly cheap.
Overall, it was clearly Starmer’s day. But it is always worth remembering that for some people the detail doesn’t matter that much, and although Johnson may have a feeble record on nuance, on message discipline he is hard to fault. Over and over again, he tried to turn the argument back to Labour’s failure to support his plan to end early release for terrorist offenders - a scheme first conceived in 2019, after the Fishmongers’ Hall attack. It was woefully off-topic for today, but for some people watching it may be a point that resonates.
Updated
Police Scotland’s most senior officer has invited MPs and MSPs to a series of one-hour safety briefings “as a priority” following the killing of Sir David Amess.
In a letter to Scottish parliamentarians, reported by the BBC, the chief constable, Iain Livingstone, said four virtual sessions were scheduled with specialist officers for Thursday and Friday. He wrote:
I recognise this comes at short notice, however consider it important to extend this invitation as a matter of priority. I hope that you are able to join the security briefings and, of course, if you have any specific personal concerns please raise them with your own local area commander.
While such attacks are rare, they are shocking and utterly unacceptable. It is vital our elected politicians are able to carry out their duties safely.
With the Holyrood parliament still in recess, the Scottish parliament’s head of security has issued a reminder of safety arrangements already in place, and the presiding officer, Alison Johnstone, wrote to MSPs last weekend assuring them that they would be given fresh security advice “as a matter of urgency” and would be able to discuss with police officers any “threats and fears” for the safety of their staff and families.
Updated
Shailesh Vara (Con) says it is MPs’ staff who receive the abuse directed at MPs. They are caught in a “vicious cycle of venom and abuse”. Will the PM pay tribute to them for the work they do?
Johnson says Vara spoke for the entire House of Commons on this. He says some Commons staff have in the past paid with their lives.
PMQs is over, and MPs are now standing in silence for a minute in honour of James Brokenshire, the former Northern Ireland secretary who died during the party conference recess.
Bob Blackman (Con) asks if the PM agrees that the Vagrancy Act should now be abolished, but that the police should be given other powers to address aggressive begging.
An amendment on this to the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill is due to be debated in the Lords.
Johnson says he agrees it is time to consider this act. No one should be criminalised for having nowhere to live, he says.
Updated
Virendra Sharma (Lab) says heating costs and food bills are going up. Will the PM reinstate the £20 per week universal credit uplift?
Johnson says the energy price cap remains, and councils have had £500m to help poorer families. And he says wages are going up. There is “a huge jobs boom”, he says.
Mary Robinson (Con) asks if the PM supports calls for a review of Greater Manchester police’s culture.
Johnson says it is vital people speak up against wrongdoing. The people of Greater Manchester deserve better, he says. But he says this is a responsibility for the mayor (Andy Burnham).
Kirsten Oswald (SNP) asks about the 22 people who died in a gas explosion in Scotland 50 years ago.
Johnson says the disaster should never be forgotten.
Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Westminster, says the Scottish government has powers over the Crown Estate, giving it more power over offshore wind and power. Will the government give the same power to the Welsh goverment?
Johnson says he is opposed to that. He says it would be complicated to do that in Wales because the market is fragmented.
Anthony Mangnall (Con) asks about the fishing industry.
Johnson says £100m is being made available to support fisheries.
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, (who is close to having lost his voice) says Cop26 may be the last chance to confront the climate emergency. He criticises the government decison not to back the Scottish carbon capture and storage pilot. But investment was promised in 2014. Will the government honour that promise?
Johnson says the Acorn bid from Aberdeen is a reserve option.
Blackford says people in Scotland want answers. All they see is another broken promise. He says tidal energy could generate 20% of the UK’s energy - the same as nuclear. He says it needs much less funding than nuclear.
Johnson says Blackford is too gloomy. He should be more optimistic. The Acorn project has prospects. Blackford should “keep hope alive”, he says.
Starmer says they need to stop online spaces being safe for terrorists. Will the PM commit to working with the opposition on tackling this together?
Johnson says he is willing to do so. But he says the house and the country also want to see Labour back measures to stop the early release of terrorists from jail.
Starmer criticises Johnson for his knockabout approach. He says this is a serious topic, and he expected better.
Johnson says the government will do all it can to strengthen its counter-terrorism laws.
Updated
Starmer says he is making progress. He says criminal sanctions are currently not on the face of the bill; they are only an option for ministers.
Will the government accept the recommendations from the commission on countering extremism set up after the Manchester Arena bombing?
Johnson sidesteps the question, saying the government has strong anti-terrrorism laws. He says Labour should back the government’s plans for longer sentences.
Starmer says 40 hours of hateful content from Anjem Choudary is available online. Will the government strengthen the bill?
Johnson says there will be criminal sanctions in the bill for things like this.
Starmer asks about the Telegram app, and says it is being used as the app of choice by extremists. He says the government’s current plans do not include sanctions for directors who fail to crack down on extremism.
Johnson says he will look at how the bill can be toughened. The government will come down hard on firms that allow dangerous content. He says he hopes Labour will back the government on this.
Johnson says MPs will vote on online safety bill before Christmas
Sir Keir Starmer says the online safety bill is not before the house yet. He cites examples of violent material not being removed by social media companies. Will the government give the bill a second reading before the end fo the year? If so, Labour will support it.
Johnson welcomes Starmer’s comments. He says the bill will toughen up laws for social media companies. It will come for a vote before Christmas, he says.
Updated
Luke Hall (Con) asks about support for parents who have a premature baby.
Johnson says the governemnt will legislate to allow parents who have premature babies to take extended leave.
Rachael Maskell (Lab) asks about Sir David Amess and James Brokenshire, saying both MPs served the public well before they died. And she asks about the lack of confidence women have in the police, citing, among other things, the Met’s “flag down a bus” advice.
Boris Johnson says this is a most important issue, one of the most important the country faces. Women should feel confident in the police, he says. He says the government is investing in more police and better street lighting.
But it is also important that men are prosecuted, that the CPS secures convictions and that sentences are tough.
Updated
PMQs
PMQs is starting soon. It is the first one since the party conferences.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Met commissioner admits 'flag down bus' briefing was mistake
Dame Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan police commissioner, told the London assembly this morning that it was a mistake for the Met, at a briefing, to suggest that women stopped by an undercover lone officer could, as a last resort, flag down a bus if they were worried. When asked about this at a hearing this morning, Dick said that a colleague had used that line after being “pressed, pressed, pressed” as to what to do if all else failed. She went on:
I completely understand why that ended up as the headline. It was not intended. And that is not how we see things.
And, yes, we have reviewed it. And I think we would, hopefully, address the question differently were it to come again in the future.
The all-party parliamenary group on coronavirus, which is chaired by the Lib Dem MP Layla Moran and which is mostly made up of opposition parliamentarians with an interest in Covid policy, has said the government should act now to tighten coronavirus rules.
In a statement Moran said:
The prime minister thinks he can continue to hide behind the NHS’ successful vaccine rollout but he is undoing all of their hard work by proceeding with the careless attitude that this pandemic is over.
In August the APPG on coronavirus warned how dropping all restrictions coupled with increased winter pressure could spell disaster and two months on, with case numbers and deaths continuing to rise, the government must act or risk of repeating the failures of last Christmas.
After PMQs there will be an urgent question in the Commons, from Labour’s Harriet Harman, on sexual misconduct in the Met police.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is planning to more than halve the tax surcharge on bank profits in next week’s budget to help boost London’s competitiveness as a global financial centre, the Financial Times is reporting. It says that he will announce a cut to the surcharge from 8% to 3% from April 2023 and that this will partly compensate for the plan, already announced, to increase corporation tax from 19% to 25% in 2023.
Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation thinktank, says the move is not surprising.
Not surprising that the Bank Corporation Tax Surcharge is being cut - always on the cards once @RishiSunak had gone so far on the main rate of CT (raising it to 25% in 2023) https://t.co/TD6XBjeDkw
— Torsten Bell (@TorstenBell) October 19, 2021
Just because it’s not surprising, doesn’t mean there aren’t risks. Labour Party is gearing up for a ‘fair taxes’ row…
— Torsten Bell (@TorstenBell) October 19, 2021
Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England and the UK government’s chief medical adviser, has urged people to accept a booster vaccine if they are offered one.
COVID-19 cases are rising and winter is drawing closer.
— Professor Chris Whitty (@CMO_England) October 20, 2021
1) If you have not been vaccinated, now is the time.
2) If you are offered a booster please take up the offer.
3) Ventilation, masks in crowded indoor spaces and hand washing remain important.
Boris Johnson is to attend a service in Armagh on Thursday to mark the centenary of partition and the foundation of Northern Ireland which became the centre of controversy after the president of Ireland declined an invitation.
According to the Irish Times, Johnson will join the Queen at the event organised by leaders of Ireland’s Catholic and protestant faiths.
President Michael D Higgins confirmed last month he would not be attending, prompting a row about the nature of an event marking a contested time in history which Sinn Fein is also snubbing.
No reason was given for his decision which was criticised by unionists.
Church leaders denied the event was to “celebrate” partition but to mark 100 years since the establishment of Northern Ireland and promote “healing of past hurts”.
The Irish government will be represented by its foreign minister, Simon Coveney.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis will also attend.
UPDATE: The Queen is now not attending the service.
Updated
Kwarteng claims net zero strategy does not make tax rises inevitable
And here are some of the non-Covid lines frm Kwasi Kwarteng’s morning interviews.
- Kwarteng rejected claims that the government’s net zero strategy announced yesterday would mean individuals having to pay more. When it was put to him on the Today programme that the plans would mean individuals having to make a financial contribution, he replied: “No, I don’t agree with that at all.” When pressed if he was sure that individuals would not have to meet some of the costs, he replied:
No. As far as our economy is concerned, the green challenge, if you like represents, enormous economic opportunity. And the figures I was quote in this respect are the fact that we’ve reduced carbon emissions by 44% since 1990, which is the biggest reduction of emissions of any advanced economic country of any of the G7. And in that time,we’ve managed to grow the economy by nearly 80%. So it’s not true to say that the green transition will cost us economically. In fact, I think it represents an economic opportunity.
Making the same argument in an interview with LBC, he said that he did not accept that the net zero strategy made tax increases inevitable. He said:
I don’t think that tax rises are inevitable because if we look at how we’ve moved, just in the last ten years, in this green transition 10 years ago 40% of our electricity came from coal, basically burning coal. Today that figure’s 1-2% and renewables have taken up most of that difference, and costs haven’t gone up in that time actually.
- He claimed that the Treasury analysis suggesting taxes might have to rise (set out in the Treasury’s net zero review) did not take account of “the actual investment that we’re going to be attracting”.
- He specifically rejected suggestions from the Treasury that government policies supporting the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) would disproportionately benefit the rich. When it was put to him that the Treasury analysis (pdf) implied these plans were about the poor subsisiding “the green guilt of the rich”, he said: “I don’t accept that.” Asked if he accepted what the Treasury said, he replied: “I accept lots of what they say.” But he also said the transition to electric vehicles would be successful. The Treasury report he was being asked about said:
Policies to support the adoption of EVs may disproportionately benefit higher income groups, and the costs of any policies that affect the remaining drivers may fall disproportionately on low-income groups; this could create a trade-off in some areas between incentivising decarbonisation and minimising distributional impacts.
Kwarteng said this was a point about charging points; more charging points were needed he said.
- He said manufacturers had told him they expected the cost of EVs to come down to £10,000. Now some of them cost around £45,000.
- He said the rate of inflation was “a real cause of some concern” but that he thought it would be contained. He said:
One of the causes of slightly higher inflation is the fact that the economy is rebounding, and you’ve made the point that it was from a low point, but it’s still a fast rebound, and when you see quite strong economic growth there is always the danger that you’ll have inflation.
Now, the critical question is how long is that inflation going to last for?
I speak to the governor of the Bank of England, they’re hopeful that the inflation rate will be contained, that’s something that they’re looking at actively.
- He confirmed that he became a father for the first time when his baby girl was born last week.
NHS Providers, which represents NHS hospitals, ambulance, community and mental health services, has also warned that the government may need to activate its plan B for the winter. Saffron Cordery, its deputy chief executive, told the Guardian:
Trust leaders are looking on anxiously as the number of Covid cases, hospital admission rates and patients on ventilators steadily increases.
It is vital that the government and national NHS leaders keep a close watch on these figures and act quickly and decisively to prevent any surge that could place overwhelming pressure on the NHS, particularly as we head into winter. This should include activating ‘plan B’ in the Covid winter plan, if needed.
It is important to recognise that as Covid-related pressures intensify, this could impact on the NHS’s ability to bear down on the care backlog. Trust leaders understand only too well the importance of minimising any delays for planned treatment. But if other pressures continue to escalate they will have to take hard decisions about priorities.
The NHS Confederation, the other leading organisation for NHS leaders, went further in the statement it issued last night, saying a “plan B plus” was definitely needed now.
The government published a limit set of possible plan B measures for England in the autumn and winter plan for Covid it published in September.
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Kwarteng says government needs to speed up rollout of booster vaccines
Here are some more lines from the Kwasi Kwarteng interviews on coronavirus this morning.
- Kwarteng, the business secretary, admitted that the relatively slow take-up for booster vaccines was “something that we really need to address”. Happily for the government, the Sun agrees, and today it is running a front-page editorial urging its readers to get a booster jab.
Wednesday’s SUN: “Booster Jabs: Time For Lift-Off!” #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/HYDFLdxw5W
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) October 19, 2021
- He also accepted that the rollout of vaccines for 12 to 15-year-olds needed to happen more quickly. He said:
It is working but we just need a faster rollout.
I mean, it’s easy to say that things aren’t working when they’ve just started or we need to push them more dynamically, but it is working.
- He said that although the government was “concerned” about rising deaths, the situation was still far better than it was at the start of the year. He said:
You’ll remember at the beginning of the year we had hundreds, if not thousands, a day. Mercifully that hasn’t happened and, as the health secretary said, it’s something we’re going to have to live with and I think we are managing the situation.
- He said that the government thought that its coronavirus policy was working “for now”.
- He rejected suggestions that it was not worth paying the deposit for a Christmas party because of the risk of restrictions having to be reimposed. Asked if it was sensible to pay up now, he replied:
Absolutely. I think I already have. We’ve got some arrangements in place and I look forward to having a Christmas party as usual.
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Kwarteng rules out further lockdown as rising Covid cases prompt calls for action
Good morning. It has been a while since Covid has been leading the news but cases in the UK are going up, and they are now far higher than they are in most other European countries. As we reported overnight, the NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals and other NHS trusts, is saying ministers must urgently implement sweeping “plan B” winter measures or derail efforts to tackle the backlog of 5 million patients.
This morning Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, has been on microphone duty for the government. On Sky News he was asked about a suggestion from Prof Stephen Reicher, professor of social psychology at St Andrews University and one of the government’s science advisers, that the government’s refusal to act now made a future lockdown more likely.
No-one WANTS to re-introduce restrictions.
— Stephen Reicher (@ReicherStephen) October 19, 2021
We will only be forced into restrictions if we fail to introduce the protections that other countries have used to control the delta variant.
More than ever, it is clear that the 'do nothing' advocates are the real lockdown party. pic.twitter.com/jMSJeu3wE1
Kwarteng said he would rule out another lockdown. He told the programme:
No, I would rule that out. Clearly, throughout this process there have been people saying the lockdown was unnecessary, and there’s been other people saying we should continue to lock down. We’ve really plotted a path between those two extremes. I think it has worked. And that is one of the reasons we’ve got the fastest growing economy in the G7.
I will post from from his interviews about Covid, and other matters, shortly.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10am: Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan police commissioner, gives evidence to the London assembly on the safety of women and girls in the capital following the deaths of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa.
11am: Sarah Crew, temporary chief constable for Avon and Somerset police and the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for rape and adult sexual offences, gives evidence to the Commons home affairs committee inquiry into the prosecution of rape. Other policing figures, and legal experts, are also giving evidence.
12pm: Boris Johnson faces Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs.
2.30pm: Katharine Birbalsingh is questioned by the Commons women and equalities committee about her proposed appointment as chair of the Social Mobility Commission.
3pm: Alok Sharma, the Cop26 president, gives evidence to a joint hearing of the Commons science and transport committees about Cop26.
3pm: Sir Stephen Lovegrove, the national security adviser, gives evidence to the joint committee on the national security strategy about the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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