Boris Johnson news - live: France rejects UK’s ‘artificial’ Brexit deadline, as PM mocked over emergency coronavirus meeting in three days' time

Follow all the latest developments

Brexit briefing: How long until the end of the transition period?

Boris Johnson’s plan to walk away from talks with the EU by the end of June unless there is a “broad outline” of a Canada-style free trade deal has been met with dismay in Brussels. EU diplomats reportedly believe a “dramatic crisis” lies ahead this summer.

France’s Europe minister Amelie de Montchalin said the bloc would refuse to accept “artificial deadlines” in trade talks. “We do not accept time pressure,” Montchalin told an audience at Chatham House in London on Friday.

Mr Johnson will convene the government’s Cobra committee in response to a growing number of cases of the coronavirus – but has been ridiculed for scheduling an “emergency” meeting for Monday.

Key Points

• EU diplomats predict ‘dramatic crisis’ with UK this summer
• European minister rejects PM’s ‘artificial’ June deadline
• PM calls emergency coronavirus meeting – for three days’ time
• Government treatment of EU nationals ‘unacceptable’, says Labour
• Labour leadership rivals clash over antisemitism

[28 February 2020 11:18 · Adam Forrest]

Government ‘may be breaking own climate change laws’ with roads programme

Boris Johnson’s government could be challenged in the courts over breaching its own climate change laws with a £28bn pound road expansion programme.

It comes after the Court of Appeal ruling plans for a third runway at Heathrow were illegal – as ministers had not adequately taken into account the legal commitments to combat the climate emergency.

Transport Action Network – a group opposing “damaging road schemes” – told The Independent it is now seeking legal advice “to see whether the government is also acting outside the law in pursuing its road building programme”.

A report suggests the current assessment of the lavish investment in roads across the country was done under guidelines last updated in spring 2019 — several months before Theresa May’s administration introduced the legally binding target to eliminate carbon emissions as one of her last acts as PM.

All the details here:

[28 February 2020 11:29 · Adam Forrest]

PM calls emergency coronavirus meeting – for three days’ time

Boris Johnson will convene the government’s emergency Cobra committee in response to a growing number of cases of the coronavirus across Europe – but it won’t meet until Monday, 2 March.

[28 February 2020 11:50 · Adam Forrest]

‘Completely decent’: Lawyers praise Starmer

Some of Labour leadership contender Keir Starmer’s old colleagues in the legal profession have been speaking about his years as barrister for a lengthy profile piece in Prospect magazine.

Gavin Millar, now a QC at Matrix Chambers, said he was “obviously brilliant” and “the hard workers’ hard worker”.

Ken Macdonald QC added: “I still find it hard to think of him as a politician … because he is so completely decent.”

Former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve said Starmer was easy person to deal with when he was in charge at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). “He was 100 per cent professional and very good at his job. We had a very good working relationship.”

Not everyone was entirely complementary, however. “There’s something slightly missing where the rousing stuff might need to be,” said one anonymous legal professional.

“Keir’s real speciality is getting it right. He can unpick an argument brilliantly, but he’s not such a natural at the passion behind the argument.”

Labour leadership hopeful Keir Starmer (Getty)

[28 February 2020 12:15 · Adam Forrest]

PM heading to Chequers this weekend

Boris Johnson is working at No 10 on Friday and will be at his country residence Chequers over the weekend.

A Downing Street spokesman gave no explanation of why the Cobra meeting on the coronavirus was not being held earlier, but said that so far during the outbreak there had been one meeting a week led by the health secretary Matt Hancock.

Asked why the PM was taking the chair of Cobra for the first time, the spokesman said: “If you look at the increased number of cases on mainland Europe, the prime minister is keen to chair Cobra to be sure that everything that can be done is being done."

The PM last night visited Kettering Hospital in Northamptonshire to discuss preparations for possible coronavirus cases with senior clinicians.

Johnson joined the night shift and stayed at the hospital from 11pm to 3am, spending time with staff in the accident and emergency department, intensive care unit and paediatrics ward, said Downing Street. “Staff talked him through the processes in place for if there is a suspected case,” said the spokesman.

The No 10 spokesman declined to give a breakdown of Johnson’s activities over the weekend.

[28 February 2020 12:25 · Adam Forrest]

European minister rejects PM’s ‘artificial’ June deadline for trade talks

France’s minister for European affairs Amelie de Montchalin said on Friday the EU would not accept “artificial deadline” in trade talks.

The rebuttal follows the UK government’s threat to walk away by June if there the outline of free-trade agreement in place.

“We do not accept time pressure,” Montchalin told an audience at Chatham House in London.

She also said: “We did not accept cherry-picking from the UK in the first half of negotiations, we will not accept it now.”

Montchalin added: “Don’t underestimate the unity of the 27 members.”

[28 February 2020 12:45 · Adam Forrest]

Foreign Office considering airlift option for tourists in Tenerife, says No 10

On the Britons stuck in a Tenerife hotel hit by the virus, a No 10 spokesman said: “We are working closely with the Spanish authorities to ensure British nationals are being looked after. Our priority will always be their wellbeing.

“It is for local authorities to contain and manage outbreaks locally. We will continue to work with Spain to support them as needed.”

Asked if there could be an airlift of UK nationals, the spokesman said: “The Foreign Office will keep all options under review.

“We are working with airlines such as Jet2 to work out what assurances they need from the Spanish authorities in order for people to come home.”

[28 February 2020 13:19 · Adam Forrest]

London mayoral candidate proposes hotel tax

Conservative mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey says he will introduce a hotel tax in London to help pay for almost 9,000 extra officers in the capital.

Bailey, who is vying to replace Sadiq Khan as Mayor of London in May, is pledging to boost the Metropolitan Police’s numbers from 31,321 to 40,000 if he gets into office.

Bailey said he will lobby the government to introduce a 1 per cent hotel levy in London to generate about £48m per year.

He acknowledged that hoteliers “don’t want” the tax, but argued that every major city in the world has introduced a levy. “I will definitely be lobbying for a hotel levy. London needs to be safe, we invite people here, and paying a levy towards safety is a great thing.”

Shaun Bailey (Reuters)

[28 February 2020 13:27 · Adam Forrest]

PM warned Brussels will not bow to ‘artificial deadlines’ in trade talks

More now on the big speech by France’s Europe minister Amelie de Montchalin. Speaking at Chatham House in central London, De Montchalin said Brussels will not be pressurised by “artificial deadlines” in the post-Brexit trade talks between the EU and UK.

Her comments come after the UK government warned in its negotiation mandate on Thursday that it could walk away from trade talks with Brussels in June unless there is the “broad outline” of a deal.

De Montchalin said the EU would “not accept time pressure” and is “not ready to sign any kind of a deal on December 31 at 11pm”.

“We cannot let our level of ambition be affected by what I would call artificial deadlines,” she said. “If the UK decides to shorten the negotiating period, it will be the UK's responsibility.

“It will not be our choice on the European side, and that choice will have consequences in terms of the breadth and depth of the relationship we can build.”

De Montchalin also spoke of the importance of trust in the negotiations. “A swift negotiation could be impacted by a degrade in implementation of the former agreement which we just reached three months ago - the Withdrawal Agreement.

“Ensuring that our citizens are protected and are never bargaining chips in the future. Ensuring that the Northern Ireland protocol is fully implemented is for us an absolute priority.”

Amelie de Montchalin (EPA)

[28 February 2020 13:35 · Adam Forrest]

‘Boris needs three days off before Cobra meeting’

There’s been a fair amount of mockery for Boris Johnson’s decision to call an emergency meeting over the coronavirus outbreak – but timetable it for Monday.

[28 February 2020 14:10 · Adam Forrest]

Conservatives avoiding the phrase ‘no-deal Brexit’

The government’s latest move in the Brexit process – threatening to quit talks in June – has increased the chances of coming to the transition period without a deal. It’s widely known as “no-deal” scenario. But not to loyal Tory MPs.

Former minister and staunch Brexiteer Theresa Villiers appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live this week and kept referring to an “Australian-type deal” in an interview, explaining that: “The reference to an Australia type trading relationship with the European Union does indeed reflect not having a free trade agreement and trading on WTO terms is something we do with many of our trading partners very successfully.”