Boris Johnson news: Keir Starmer says PM ‘making it up as he goes along’ as rumours grow of tax hikes from Rishi Sunak
Follow how the latest developments in Westminster unfolded as MPs return from summer recess
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox
Get our free View from Westminster email
Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of “making it up as he goes along” during a fiery exchange at PMQs amid growing Tory wrath over his summer of U-turns – described by one Conservative MP as a “mega-disaster from one day to the next”.
The embattled prime minister sought to reassure his Cabinet as they reconvened on Tuesday after the summer recess that although in the last few months they have been “sailing into the teeth of a gale, no question ... sometimes it is necessary to tack here and there in response to the facts as they change, in response to the wind’s change”.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak has been warned against “shortsighted” alleged plans to divert billions from the foreign aid budget to pay for defence and intelligence upgrades, as Dominic Raab pledged to fight famine as he launched the controversial new department set to replace the Department for International Development.
Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load:
Jeremy Hunt 'would be surprised' if Tony Abbott was being lined up for government trade role
Amid reports that Tony Abbott - a former Australian prime minister whose critics accuse him of misogyny and denying climate change - is being tipped for employment in a government trade envoy role to “bang the drum for Brexit Britain around the world” - Jeremy Hunt has said he would be "surprised" if this was the case.
Last week, Mr Abbott used a special travel dispensation to fly to London to meet with international trade secretary Liz Truss.
‘Completely illogical’: Andy Burnham calls on people in infection-hit areas to ignore lockdown easing and stick to restrictions
People living in two areas of Greater Manchester where coronavirus measures have been eased despite infection rates surging should ignore the government’s new guidelines and stick to previous restrictions, the region’s mayor has said.
Bolton and Trafford are among a number of places being released from the wider northern lockdown on Wednesday morning – meaning social gatherings between two households can resume for the first time since July, Colin Drury reports.
But the decision to ease restrictions in the two boroughs came despite local leaders in both asking for measures to be maintained for at least another week.
It means Bolton is returning to normal life despite the latest NHS data showing it has the worst infection rates in the country and is in the "red zone." Trafford, meanwhile, has seen its own case numbers double in a week and is now in Public Health England’s amber zone.
“Overnight we’ve had restrictions released from two boroughs where we’ve got rising number of cases – in one case in the red zone – and neighbouring boroughs are still under restrictions but with much lower numbers of cases. These restrictions were always hard to explain to the public, but they’re completely illogical now,” Andy Burnham said.
'Fundamental mistake was to believe' exam downgrading 'would ever be acceptable to public', Ofqual chair says
"We fully accept our share of the responsibility for what goes wrong this year," Roger Taylor has told the Commons education select committee.
"The fundamental mistake was to believe that this would ever be acceptable to the public ... which means that we were looking at this in terms of particular ideas of fairness across a whole population - the probability that somebody would get a grade but acknowledging from the outset that it would not be anything like as accurate as exams."
Asked why they didn't ask for help to prevent bias against less advantaged institutions, he replied: "We did know about it [bias]. It's important to say that given the choice between standardising and not standardising, the impact is better for students from lower socio-economic status with the standardised result.
He added: "We do acknowledge that the level of fairness achieved was not felt to be acceptable, but it improved the level of fairness."
Exams fiasco U-turns led to 'situation which was getting rapidly out of control', Ofqual chief tells MPs
When the issue of how students would sit exams during the pandemic was first raised, Ofqual first advised the government to hold socially distanced exams, with a second option being to delay exams, and as a last resort to use calculated grades, its chief Roger Taylor has told MPs on the education select committee.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson then "announced, without further consultation from Ofqual, that exams were to be cancelled and that a system of calculated grades was to be implemented", he said.
Mr Taylor then described the chain of events as Ofqual officials scrambled to implement Mr Williamson's last-minute orders to ensure students could use mock results, following one of several U-turns in the days before results were due.
"I think at this stage we realised we were in a situation which was rapidly getting out of control, that there were policies being recommended and strongly advocated by the secretary of state that we felt would not be consistent with our legal duties, and that there was additionally a growing risk around delivering any form of mock appeals results in a way that would be acceptable as a reasonable way to award grades," Mr Taylor.
"The issue here being simply that this was looking increasingly like it was going to result in 85/90 per cent of candidates receiving a centre-assessed grade but potentially a small number not receiving them because they did not have access to this route.
"Furthermore, it would take time to make this happen and that therefore there was a risk to candidates' university places and there was furthermore an increasing risk about the deliverability of it."
Help available for asylum seekers, minister insists after Ugandan woman dies in Glasgow
Asylum seekers can apply to the government for emergency financial help, a government minister has insisted following the death of a Ugandan woman in Glasgow who was receiving no money due to her immigration status, Adam Forrest reports.
Mercy Baguma, 34, was said to be living in “extreme poverty” in the city when she was discovered dead alongside her malnourished baby son by police last weekend.
The work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey suggested destitute asylum seekers could apply to the Home Office for Section 4 support – £5 a day and emergency accommodation – if they have no recourse to any benefits.
“When people are in very difficult situations there are ways the government can help, but it may need an application from them,” she told Sky News. “People without recourse to public funds can apply to the government … so they can get support.”
Asked by host Kay Burley for her response to Baguma’s death “as a human being”, Ms Coffey repeated: “When people are in difficult situations like that … there are ways they can access that help.”
Glasgow’s Positive Action in Housing (PAIH) charity said Baguma had lost her job after her “leave to remain” status in the UK had expired and she was no longer allowed to work. She had then claimed asylum, but had not been receiving any asylum support from the Home Office.
‘U-turn after U-turn’: Boris Johnson fails to meet bereaved Covid group after saying on camera he would
Our reporter Vincent Wood has more details on Boris Johnson's letter to campaigners in Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, in which he said it was "regrettably not possible" to meet with all those who lost loved one during the pandemic, just days after signalling live on-air that he would meet with the group.
Extinction Rebellion protesters attempt to block PM's route to parliament
Police have been filmed carrying climate activists from the road outside parliament, where they are attempting to stop Boris Johnson from reaching his looming appearance at PMQs.
Read Adam Forrest's report from central London on yesterday's protests below:
Clear that Gavin Williamson responsible for exams fiasco following Ofqual evidence to MPs, Labour says
Labour has said Ofqual's evidence at the Commons education committee shows it is clear that education secretary Gavin Williamson was responsible for the exams fiasco.
"The evidence given by Ofqual today has raised serious questions about Gavin Williamson's role in this summer's exam fiasco," said shadow education secretary Kate Green.
"Gavin Williamson has repeatedly tried to blame Ofqual and officials for the crisis over exams. It is now clear he was responsible. Williamson must urgently come to the Commons to offer an explanation and to take responsibility for his own incompetence."
Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer are due back at PMQs for the first time since the summer recess.
You can watch along live with The Independent here:
Britain's rail services are among the safest in Europe, party because we take accidents like this so seriously, and we must ensure we learn the lessons of this tragic event to make sure no such incident occurs in the future, Boris Johnson has said of the train derailment in Aberdeenshire, which claimed three lives.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments