Boris Johnson’s government has been warned that UK drug exports to the EU would slump by more than a fifth if the Brexit transition period ends without a deal. Experts have also warned that a no-deal scenario may have a more severe impact on food supplies than the coronavirus.
It comes as home secretary Priti Patel is set to update MPs on the Reading stabbing attack after visiting the scene of the suspected terror incident. She said the attack was believed to have been “the actions of one lone individual”.
Elsewhere, No 10 said Mr Johnson still has “full confidence” in his communities secretary Robert Jenrick after Tory donor Richard Desmond revealed he showed Mr Jenrick a promo video of his property development before the minister approved the application.
Here are the day's events as they happened:
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of events at Westminster and beyond.
PM set to ditch two-metre rule
Boris Johnson is meeting with his most senior ministers today to finalise the next steps for easing the lockdown, before announcing plans for reopening pubs, restaurants, hotels and hairdressers in England from 4 July on Tuesday.
A loosening of the two-metre social distancing rule is also widely expected to be on the cards to help businesses and boost the economy.
Boris Johnson is meeting with his most senior ministers today to finalise the next steps for easing the lockdown, before announcing plans for reopening pubs, restaurants, hotels and hairdressers in England from 4 July on Tuesday.
A loosening of the two-metre social distancing rule is also widely expected to be on the cards to help businesses and boost the economy.
The replacement is reportedly set to be branded “one metre plus”. It will mean one metre social distancing guidelines, alongside various “mitigation” measures such as Perspex screens and table service to help the hospitality industry reopen safely from 4 July.
Boris Johnson to unveil next stage of relaxing lockdown on Tuesday
Conclusions of two metre review into social distancing measures will also be published by PMPubs could require drinkers to leave contact details
Government officials are understood to be looking at a “guest book” measures which would require customers to leave their contact details at pubs and bars so they can be swiftly traced if they contract coronavirus.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said on Sunday it was possible pubs and restaurants might have to create a register of customers before opening on 4 July, although no final decision has been taken on the potential move.
What else is set to change on 4 July?
According to The Times this morning, Boris Johnson is ready to use the date as an opportunity to allow staycation travel again and an expansion of household “bubbles” allowing millions more grandparents to reunite with the grandkids.
He is expected to make an announcement about the next stage in lockdown easing to parliament on Tuesday.
Drinkers may have to sign 'guest book' to enter pubs under reopening plans
Matt Hancock says final decision has not been taken on new lockdown-easing measuresLiam Fox being lined up as British candidate to lead WTO
Former Tory minister Liam Fox being lined up for a possible return to a big political job as the UK’s candidate to lead the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The former trade secretary was sacked by Boris Johnson last year, but has remained loyal to the prime minister ever since.
His biggest rival for the nomination is thought to be Peter Mandelson, the former Labour cabinet minister and EU trade commissioner, who appears unlikely to get the nod from Downing Street.
Ministers have until July 8 to nominate a candidate and will meet this week to discuss the issue.
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has more.
Liam Fox being lined up as Britain's candidate to lead World Trade Organisation
Former trade secretary was sacked by Boris Johnson but has remained loyal - and would be popular choice among Tory MPs‘Grave risk’ of another Windrush-style scandal, says review author
The Home Office has been warned there is a “grave risk” of something similar to the Windrush scandal happening again if ministers fail to implement the recommendations set out in an independent report.
Wendy Williams, who authored the comprehensive Lessons Learned Review into the scandal, also said the compensation scheme for victims “is not demonstrating the benefits that it should” in a warning to the government.
Monday also marks 72 years since the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks on 22 June 1948 carrying some 500 people from Jamaica.
'Grave risk' of Windrush-style scandal happening again unless Home Office takes action, says author of review
'The Home Office has a very stark choice,' says Wendy Williams‘Great deal of work’ gone into examining two-metre rule, says minister
When asked if the two-metre social distancing rule is going to be reduced, security minister James Brokenshire told BBC’s Breakfast: “There has been a great deal of work that’s been taking place at pace over the last number of days, informed by the science, informed by experience from around the world as well, as to how we can appropriately look at easements and appropriately also reflect on the two-metre rule as well.”
He was later asked for his response after it was reported the R number in Germany had risen over the weekend.
Brokenshire said: “It is concerning to see the situation in Germany and it’s why we are informed in our actions by experience from around the world, why the chief scientific officer, the chief medical officer, speak to their counterparts in different parts of the world to ensure that we are applying the best learning and the best experience in informing our next steps.”
Chancellor should consider emergency VAT cut, says Alistair Darling
An emergency VAT cut should be considered to boost consumer spending as the UK emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, the former chancellor Alistair Darling has said.
The Labour peer urged ministers not to hike taxes and instead said they should utilise favourable conditions for borrowing and invest in capital spending.
Lord Darling made the comments in a report by the Policy Exchange think tank that calls for the prime minister and chancellor to fund new infrastructure projects, even if it means breaking or changing the fiscal rules.
In the foreword, Lord Darling warns that the economy "reels from an even more profound shock" from the coronavirus crisis than in his time as chancellor.
Rishi Sunak is said to be considering slashing VAT. Reports at the weekend suggested the chancellor has ordered Treasury and HMRC officials to prepare options for reducing the sales tax.
Rishi Sunak plans emergency cut in VAT
Report says Treasury and HMRC officials to prepare options for reducing value-added taxCouncils in affluent areas could be hit hardest by pandemic
Councils in more affluent areas could face the biggest short-term financial hit as a result of the coronavirus crisis, it has been suggested.
In a report published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), researchers indicate that the locally generated incomes of councils are more likely to be affected than their spending due to the crisis.
They outline that income from local taxes - council tax and business rates - and especially sales, fees, charges and commercial activities will all be hit by the economic effects of lockdown and social distancing.
And with councils in more affluent areas tending to be more dependent on those income streams, they could be harder hit, the report concludes.
An additional £3.2bn of general-purpose funding has been set out by the government for English councils to help support them through the coronavirus crisis, with the IFS estimating that this will increase their budgets by just over 5 per cent on average.
However, researchers suggest that the government should consider relaxing the rules which prevent councils from borrowing to cover day-to-day spending.
End ‘hostile environment’ once and for all, says Sadiq Khan
London mayor Sadiq Khan has called on the government to learn from the suffering endured by the Windrush generation and end the “hostile environment” faced by immigrants in the capital.
Ministers should help Londoners by increasing funding to the immigration sector and cutting its “extortionate” fees, Khan said in a statement.
“Many of the Windrush generation and their families are still struggling to access the advice and support they need, and it is clear that too many Londoners are still being failed by an immigration system that is prohibitively expensive and simply not fit for purpose,” he said.
“I’m proud that our funding is helping Londoners of all backgrounds to get the legal advice and support they need, but the Government must end its hostile immigration policies now to ensure these Londoners can secure their future in our city.”
Khan will join community leaders to mark Windrush Day on Monday at a virtual event co-hosted by the Greater London Authority and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.
The day marks 72 years since the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks in Essex, bearing some 500 people from Jamaica.
Priti Patel visits scene of Reading stabbing attack
Home secretary Priti Patel has paid a visit to the scene of the Reading stabbing attack this morning, where she is meeting senior police officers involved in the arrest of a terror suspect.
Patel joined at minute’s silence at 10am and laid flowers at Forbury Gardens park. She is expected to hold talks with Thames Valley Police chief constable John Campbell and several other officers.
The home secretary will update MPs on the Reading attack later on Monday. The Commons Leader’s office confirmed she will make a statement in parliament.
Lockdown increasing UK’s wealth divide, think tank warns
Lower-income households are more likely to have been forced into debt during the crisis while wealthier families have been able to fall back on or even boost their savings, a new study suggests.
The Resolution think tank said the crisis was exposing Britain’s widening wealth gaps and the ability of low-wealth households to weather the economic storm.
A typical worker in a shut-down sector of the economy had average savings of just £1,900. This compares to average savings £4,700 of someone who has been able to work from home during the crisis.
With less of a buffer to fall back on, poorer households have increased their use of consumer credit – usually credit cards which carry high interest rates.
In contrast, just one in eight high-income households have increased their use of consumer credit. And one in three of these wealthier households (34 per cent) have seen their savings increase significantly during the crisis, as their day-to-day spending has fallen.
Lockdown increasing UK's wealth divide, report warns
Impact of the coronavirus crisis ‘will be with families for many years to come’, warns economistSecond Reading attack victim named as American living in UK
One of the three victims of the Reading stabbing attack is an American citizen named locally as Joe Ritchie-Bennett.
Mr Ritchie-Bennett’s Facebook page lists him as originally from Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, but he had been living in Reading.
He was a friend of James Furlong, the only other victim named so far, according to tributes posted on social media.
Mr Ritchie-Bennett’s brother, Robert Ritchie, told the Philadelphia Inquirer the family had been left “heartbroken and beside ourselves” after hearing of his death.
'Our family are heartbroken': Second Reading terror attack victim named as American living in UK
Joe Ritchie-Bennett, 39, moved to England from the US around 15 years ago‘Lone individual’ believed to have carried out Reading attack, says Patel
Home secretary Priti Patel said the stabbing attack in Reading is believed to have been the work of a “lone individual”.
“This is a tragic, tragic event,” Patel said. “We have to look at all aspects of what happened on Saturday, the individual that’s in custody as well to ensure, yes, justice is served – but also we learn the lessons from what has happened over the weekend to prevent anything like this from happening again.”
She did not comment on whether the man arrested in connection with the attack was Libyan, although she did not say that it was incorrect.
“What we saw here on Saturday evening in Reading was the actions of one lone individual,” she said.
The home secretary will update MPs on the Reading attack later on Monday.
One-metre rule would ‘effectively end’ social distancing, independent SAGE warns
Boris Johnson is due to discuss proposed changes to the two-metre social distancing rule with the Covid-19 strategy committee on Monday afternoon, attended by chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty.
The prime minister is widely expected to cut the guidelines to one metre.
But the independent group of SAGE scientists – who have been highly critical of the government’s handling of the crisis – have warned it is not safe to relax social distancing to one metre indoors.
They said a one-metre rule will “effectively end” social distancing in Britain.
Sir David King, the former chief scientific adviser to the government, said: “The rate of infection is still far too high to consider this even with mitigating measures. There are more 1,000 new cases a day and still no functioning tracing system. It is vital that the government releases the evidence it has used to make this decision.”
Attacks on 5G masts linked to anger and paranoia
Psychologists have discovered that people who believe in the debunked conspiracy theories linking coronavirus to 5G are more likely to feel justified to have a violent response towards the technology, amid a series of attacks on 5G phone masts.
Their findings, published in the British Journal of Psychology, psychologists from Northumbria University in Newcastle found a correlation between those believing in the theories and their level of “state anger” – temporary, short-lasting outbursts of anger.
In turn, this anger was associated with a greater justification of violence in response to any supposed link between 5G mobile technology and coronavirus.
All of these associations were strongest for those who reported higher levels of paranoia – defined as a participant’s belief there was hostile intent towards them personally, as opposed to a conspiracy that powerful organisations were harming society at large.
PM urged deliver fresh package for tourist industry
Boris Johnson is coming under pressure to deliver a fresh multi-million pound package of support for the tourism industry – with the PM warned the sector is set to suffer “three winters in a row” because of the pandemic.
A cross-party group of MPs are joining with industry bodies in calling for an extension of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s support schemes – such as grants, loans and furlough payments – for as much as six months to the spring of 2021, when they can expect revenues from bookings to start flowing again.
“The tourism industry has specific problems because it operates on a feast and famine basis, with businesses making enough during the spring and summer to see them through the winter,” said Lib Dem MP Tim Farron.
“Covid-19 came just at the end of the famine, and it closed everything down just as the feast should have been beginning … when we get to November when the support schemes have all run out, they are knackered, because the usual summer feast has just been a picnic and you are really in a three-winters-in-a-row scenario.”
No recourse to public funds rule must be scrapped, say MPs
The government must suspend an immigration rule that forces migrant workers to choose between “financial ruin” or risking their lives to work, a group of cross-party MPs has said.
The Work and Pensions Committee said the Home Office’s no recourse to public funds (NRPF) policy – which prevents tens of thousands of migrants who live and work in the UK legally from claiming benefits – was forcing people to make “invidious” choices.
The committee’s report argues that during a pandemic it cannot be in the public interest to expect people – some of whom are key workers – to comply fully with public health guidance while denying them full access to the safety net.
Labour MP Stephen Timms, warned some were at risk of “destitution and homelessness”, said: The government must suspend these rules for the duration of the pandemic.”
Ministers must scrap rule that forces migrant workers to risk their lives during pandemic, say MPs
NRPF policy forcing thousands of people to make 'invidious' choices during crisis, says cross-party groupPriti Patel on 'tragic' Reading terror attack which left three dead
'Babies are dying as women in prison are refused care'
Eight months ago, a baby girl was born and died in a cell at Bronzefield prison. Unforgivably, her mother was unattended when she gave birth. The resulting trauma will last that woman's entire lifetime, writes Louise Tickle.
Now another baby has been born pre-term and dead at Styal prison, after a woman complained for days of severe pain and was reportedly refused medical care until it was beyond question she was about to deliver. Instead, she was told to take paracetamol. This woman was not known to be pregnant, but the question remains: why was someone in agony, frightened and begging for a doctor not taken straight to the prison infirmary to be checked over?
'Khan admitting he struggled during lockdown is a sign of strength, not weakness'
Before launching an attack on Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, no really, and promoting/cheering on her fave right-wing shock jocks, Susan Hall, the leader of the Conservative Group on the Greater London Assembly, decided she was going to start the week classy by weaponising mental health, writes James Moore. Specifically the London mayor’s.
