Around 400 people to be housed in Kent as UK deals with record levels of arrivals crossing Channel
Migrants who have crossed the Channel in small boats are to be housed in former military barracks while their asylum claims are processed, it has emerged.
Around 400 people including families are to be housed in temporary accommodation at Napier Barracks near Folkestone, Kent, from 21 September, MP Damian Collins said.
Continue reading...The internal market bill will face opposition in the Lords and amendments from Tory backbenchers
The internal market bill, described by the government as a key element of Brexit legislation, has cleared its first Commons hurdle, with two Tory MPs voting against it and nearly 30 more abstaining. But why is the bill so significant?
Continue reading...Critics say advice should have been sought from lawyers without views on EU debate
The government is facing increasing scrutiny over its decision to use “committed Brexiteer” lawyers to provide advice on the legality of breaching the EU withdrawal agreement.
On Saturday, the attorney general, Suella Braverman QC, who chaired the annual general meeting of the Bar Council that represents barristers in England and Wales, faced repeated criticism over her role as the government’s chief legal adviser, according to those present.
Continue reading...Former chancellor Sajid Javid becomes most senior Tory MP to say he cannot back bill in its current form
The politics live blog will be paused for now, thank you all for reading along so far. We may be back later as the debate continues.
Heald also expressed his unhappiness at the UK government claiming precedent for breaking international law.
He said:
Can I just also say that I was surprised to see this justified by the precedent, allegedly, of the Finance Act 2013 General Anti-Abuse Rule by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
I was a law officer at the time, Dominic Grieve was attorney general. And one thing I can say about Dominic Grieve is that he was very correct and made sure that Government legislation did not offend the rule of law - he was extremely painstaking.
Continue reading...BMA survey also found 90% thought test-and-trace failures were a risk factor
Almost 86% of doctors in England say they expect a second peak of coronavirus in the next six months, according to a new survey, as concern continues to grow over a recent rise in cases.
On Friday, new results from a population-based study suggested the R number for England is now at 1.7, with infections doubling every 7.7 days. While the prevalence of the disease remains lower than it was in the spring, an R value above 1 means cases could grow exponentially.
Continue reading...UK government said it failed on two-thirds of targets, but RSPB analysis is bleaker – and suggests UK is moving backwards in some areas
The UK has failed to reach 17 out of 20 UN biodiversity targets agreed on 10 years ago, according to an analysis from conservation charity RSPB that says the gap between rhetoric and reality has resulted in a “lost decade for nature”.
The UK government’s self-assessment said it failed on two-thirds of targets (14 out of 20) agreed at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya, Japan, in 2010, but the RSPB analysis suggests the reality is worse. On six of the 20 targets the UK has actually gone backwards. The government’s assessment published last year said it was not regressing on any target.
Continue reading...Criticism grows of plan to break international law as EU calls for bill to be dropped
Downing Street is facing a showdown with Conservative backbench rebels as criticism over its plans to break international law with a new controversial bill that could override parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement grew louder on Sunday.
It is understood that opposition among the party is growing, with dozens of Tory MPs expected to support a key amendment to the internal market bill that would give parliament a crucial veto of any changes to the agreement.
Continue reading...Justice secretary says he doesn’t believe international law will be broken, as discontent grows among Conservative backbenchers over internal market bill
The UK justice secretary, Robert Buckland, has said he would resign if the law was “broken in a way that I find unacceptable”, as Downing Street continued to come under pressure over planned legislation that would override parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
In a remarkable scene in the Commons last week that astonished Conservative backbenchers, the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, admitted the internal market bill “does break international law in a very specific and limited way”.
Continue reading...Attendees of this year’s virtual gatherings may be spared any gaffes, but at what cost?
Utter the phrase “conference season” to a Westminster veteran and don’t be surprised if their initial reaction is a shudder. For regular attendees of the annual party gatherings, which kick off next weekend, they raise the prospect of lengthy policy sermons and curled cheese sandwiches by day, followed by sweaty bars and third-hand gossip by night.
Related: Keir Starmer's conference challenge is to avoid the shadow of past leaders | Zoe Williams
Continue reading...Letter signed by 150 public figures hits back at move to scapegoat protesters
Stephen Fry, Mark Rylance and a former Archbishop of Canterbury are among 150 public figures to hit back at government moves to classify the climate protesters of Extinction Rebellion as an “organised crime group”. In a letter to be published in the Observer on Sunday, XR is described as “a group of people who are holding the powerful to account” – who should not become targets of “vitriol and anti-democratic posturing”.
It comes in response to the prime minister and home secretary’s reported move to review how the group is classified in law after it disrupted the distribution of four national newspapers, including the Sun and the Daily Mail, last Saturday.
Continue reading...PM claims internal market bill is needed to counter EU ‘threats’ to put a blockade in Irish Sea
Boris Johnson has said his controversial legislation to override parts of his Brexit deal is needed to end EU threats to install a “blockade” in the Irish Sea.
The prime minister said Brussels could “carve up our country” and “seriously endanger peace and stability” in Northern Ireland if Conservative MPs rebel to block the internal market bill.
Continue reading...Queues for tests are growing, Tory MPs are agitated and doctors are sceptical about the ‘moonshot’
For Alex, an NHS call centre worker, the signs that coronavirus was back in earnest came when his phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
Over the summer, Alex would log on at home to see 70 or 80 people in the queue for advice on booking an appointment for a Covid test. “You’d get answered in a few minutes,” he said. “Last week, that went up to about 100. By this week it was 1,500.”
Continue reading...Plan has enraged EU and many Tories but sources say No 10 thinks it will move talks along
Britain’s Brexit negotiators believe Downing Street’s plan to break international law, pushing the trade and security negotiations to the brink, may have helped reboot the talks by offering Brussels a reality check about the looming danger of a no-deal outcome.
The publication of the internal market bill on Wednesday, under which key parts of the withdrawal agreement agreed last year would be negated, has enraged the EU and prompted an internal rebellion within the Conservative party.
Continue reading...Stricter regulations across the UK come as a study reports that mask wearing and lockdown rules are causing deeper social divides than Brexit
The Covid-19 app will be launched across England and Wales on September 24, the Department of Health and Social Care said.
Ahead of the roll-out businesses including pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and cinemas are being urged to ensure they have NHS QR code posters visible on entry so customers who have downloaded the new app can use their smartphones to check-in.
QR codes provide an easy and simple way to collect contact details to support the NHS Test and Trace system.
“Hospitality businesses can now download posters for their premises ahead of the launch of the NHS Covid-19 app. This will allow the public to seamlessly check in to venues using the app when it launches.
Grassroots campaigners for EU nationals in the UK and Britons in Europe have expressed fears that they too could be hit by a government U-turn on the Brexit deal.
They say that Boris Johnson’s willingness to backtrack on the Northern Ireland protocol he agreed in January undermines trust that he will stick with the other core parts of the deal in the future including the section on citizens’ rights.
Continue reading...My J and H keys have been sanitised to death, the reduced seating is full and my anxiety levels are sky high
It’s the same every time. I spend months looking forward to my summer holidays, only to find that the positive effects of being away have worn off within a few days of getting home. This year was no exception, not helped by the government’s decision to end recess a week early, which meant I had to work for the last three days of our second improvised holiday with close friends in Norfolk. Having to leave everyone on Holkham beach on a rare sunny day to get back in time to watch a Matt Hancock statement was not exactly my idea of a fun day out. As it was, it took me the best part of the week to wind down and by the time I felt vaguely relaxed we were packing to go home. It was too cold to swim this time – at least for me, others were rather more brave – but we did get some lovely walks in along the coast. By about day five of the holiday, the dog – who generally never turns down a walk – was completely knackered and pleading for a bit of personal time. As the others went off to see the Anish Kapoor exhibition at Houghton Hall, Herbie stayed behind with me to watch prime minister’s questions. I’ve never much liked the end of summer at the best of times – the nights closing in never fail to lower my mood – but this year has been more difficult than most because I feel cheated of seeing my daughter, who remains out of reach in Minneapolis. I know other people have had to endure far worse during the coronavirus pandemic, but I do miss her dreadfully. It was early December last year that I last saw her and who knows when quarantine-free travel between the US and the UK will resume? I feel so proud of the woman she has become: someone capable of making a life with a man she loves in a foreign country. But part of me can’t help wishing we had brought her up to be just a little less independent.
Continue reading...Agreement in principle comes as Britain races to secure deals before Brexit transition ends
Japan and the UK have agreed a “historic” free trade deal, as Britain races to secure easy access to overseas markets as it prepares to leave the European Union.
“This is a historic moment for the UK and Japan as our first major post-Brexit trade deal,” Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, said after a video call on Friday with the Japanese foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi.
Continue reading...Dublin minister says UK plan to undo Brexit deal would have ‘unthinkable’ consequences
The Irish government has accused Boris Johnson of trying to sabotage the Northern Ireland peace process with a “unilateral provocative act” based on spurious claims about the Good Friday agreement.
As Brexit talks hang by a thread following the UK’s threat to renege on parts of the withdrawal agreement, Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s European affairs minister, branded the UK government’s claims that its move was to protect the peace process as “completely false”.
Continue reading...The UK internal market proposals turn Britain into a country whose word cannot be trusted. Conservative MPs must use their power to stop this shameful plan
The damage is real, the damage is mounting and the damage must be ended as soon as possible. By trumpeting its readiness to override some of its treaty obligations towards the European Union, Boris Johnson’s government has cast Britain as a country that does not act in good faith and cannot be trusted to keep its word. The irresponsibility makes the Brexit process more difficult, triggering Thursday’s EU ultimatum to withdraw the plan. It subverts the rule of law at home and abroad. It pulls the rug from under Britain’s reputation everywhere from Ireland to Hong Kong, and wherever else people hope they can rely on Britain to play fair. The plans set out this week in the United Kingdom internal market bill read like an application for rogue state status.
The pushback against this law-breaking bill is already international. The government may have been relaxed about causing consternation in Brussels and exasperation in Berlin. But did it not stop to think of the impact on the politics of Ireland, north and south, or on already alienated opinion in Scotland and Wales, or on trade negotiators in Tokyo and other capitals? Did the government factor in the inevitably frosty response of the Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, who is proud of his Irish ancestry and a friend of the EU, or of Democratic lawmakers (and some Republicans too) in Washington? Did it think about the multitude of other places around the world where goodwill towards Britain cannot always be assumed? Did it not realise that the promise-breaking would be welcomed by the likes of Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, all of whom will feel that Britain has just made it a bit easier for them to go on defying the rules too? If ministers did not think of these things, they are fools. If they did, and still went ahead, they are rogues.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Scottish advocate general warned of breach of ministerial code but two other advisers disagreed, letter shows
A behind–the–scenes rift has emerged between the government’s top legal advisers over the legality of the decision to bring legislation that overrides the EU withdrawal agreement.
Legal advice contained in a three–page letter marked “official – sensitive”, seen by the Guardian, summarises the legal opinions of the government’s three law officers, whose role includes ensuring ministers act in accordance with the law.
Continue reading...From the £100bn cost to the plan for getting football crowds back: what the official documents reveal
Operation Moonshot – the government’s bid to accelerate testing from around 200,000 a day to 10m a day by early 2021 – was met with derision by Labour MPs in the House of Commons on Thursday when the health and care secretary Matt Hancock set out the scale of the ambition. They were “naysayers”, Hancock responded. “They would do far better to support their constituents and get with the programme.”
Here are five key parts of that programme as revealed in the leaked official documents obtained by the British Medical Journal and the Guardian.
Continue reading...