Inside Politics: Boris Johnson plots to override EU withdrawal agreement

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Monday 07 September 2020 07:01 BST

Dominic Raab urges people to go back to the office

Beware of dangerous cliff edges. Authorities in Sussex have warned tourists to stay away from the Birling Gap, after a group of daredevils were see posing for pics over a fragile, cracked and crumbling section of the famous chalk cliffs. Our daredevil prime minister has had so many warnings about a Brexit cliff edge, does he even see the danger anymore? The UK-EU trade deal talks – which resume this week – now appear to be so fragile, cracked and crumbling they could break at any moment. Does Boris Johnson actually want to push us to the brink?

Inside the bubble

Our policy correspondent Jon Stone on what to look out for today:

The eighth round of Brexit trade talks are kicking off in London this week, after a fruitless stint in Brussels. Both sides agree on three things: this round is crucial if there is to be a deal and there’s been little progress so far. We’ll know how they fare when the session closes on Friday. Elsewhere, health secretary Matt Hancock will be on LBC radio this morning to address the worrying rise in coronavirus cases.

Daily briefing

WHEELER-NO DEALER: Boris Johnson’s finger seems perilously close to the self-destruct button. It has emerged the government is planning legislation to override key components in last year’s withdrawal agreement with the EU. An “Internal Market Bill” would wipe away the requirement for new customs arrangements for Northern Ireland, according to the Financial Times. No 10 claims it’s only an option in case trade talks fail. Is the PM now ready and willing to let them fail? Johnson is expected to say today that a no-deal scenario can be a “good outcome”, and that if no agreement is reached by 15 October then both sides should “move on”. If follows more Russian roulette grandstanding from David Frost about the UK not being “scared” to walk away. The Independent has learned that European Parliament has drawn a “red line” on letting talks push past October. So prepare yourself for some wild weeks ahead.

THIS BIRD HAS FLOWN: More Brexit madness. Tens of thousands of EU citizens resident in the UK – including some of the “heroes and heroines of the coronavirus crisis” – could be facing deportation because they have fallen through the cracks of the government’s post-Brexit settled status scheme, a group of MPs has warned. Signatories to a letter sent to the PM claimed that figures also indicate that hundreds of thousands of EU nationals will be left for up to five years after the end of the transition period without knowing whether they will be able to stay long-term. Ed Davey is sympathetic, of course, but he has insisted the Lib Dems won’t campaign to re-join the EU – saying the dream was “for the birds”. Davey said his party would remain “passionately pro-European” and push for closer ties with the bloc but said there was no appetite to revisit the Brexit issue.

TESTING, TESTING, ONE TWO: Another government U-turn on the horizon? The government is said to be “rattled” by growing Tory anger over the 14-day quarantine policy – and is reportedly looking into testing alternatives. One option would see passengers given an airport test on arrival followed by another test a few days later, according to The Mail. It’s essentially the same idea Labour suggested at the weekend. Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds told The Andrew Marr Show he was calling for a “two test system” to help the country move past the current “chaotic” quarantine rules. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said the testing regime was under review but testing at airports would not be a “silver bullet”. It comes as the number of daily Covid-19 cases jumped by 2,988 – the biggest 24-hour rise for more than three months.

ON THE CASE: The new cabinet secretary Simon Case – Prince William’s former consigliere – has his first big decision to make. The Whitehall investigation into bullying allegations against Priti Patel is said to have found “evidence” substantiating those claims, according to the FT. How will Case handle such a delicate matter? Well, the PM is said to be reluctant to publish it because of his support for the (allegedly) indelicate home secretary. So let’s wait and see. Meanwhile, there’s a huge push to get Whitehall staff back to work. The government wants 80 per cent of civil servants back at their desks at least once a week by the end of September. As MPs get back into the swing of things, Sir Lindsay Hoyle said they could all be tested daily for Covid to allow for a full chamber again. The Speaker told Times Radio he had spoken to the government about getting “a quick turnaround of tests”.

PRESS GANG: The government is considering legislation to prevent a repeat of Extinction Rebellion’s Friday night operation to shut down many of the newspapers’ printing presses. The press may even be reclassified as “essential national infrastructure”, several reports suggest. The Mail says Patel may even designate XR a “criminal gang”. Keir Starmer may have to rein in his own MPs on the issue after he condemned the protests – but former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott defended them as “legal”. The Labour leader may also have to prepare himself from more personal attacks from the PM. Johnson was said to be “furious” after getting trounced at PMQs last week – demanding his staff come up with new ways to tackle Starmer. Speaking of one-on-one attacks, Man United striker Marcus Rashford called out Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake on Twitter for saying it was a “parent’s job to feed their children”. The star responded: “Talk to families before tweeting.”

DELIGHTFUL MAN: A book by Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen is making major waves in the US right now. Cohen describes the president as “a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man” in pre-publication excerpts. Don’t hold back Mike! Trump allegedly watched “with delight” at a Las Vegas strip club during a “golden showers” performance, the ex-confidante claims in the most lurid section of the memoir. He also alleges Trump said he would “never get the Hispanic vote … Like the blacks, they’re too stupid to vote for Trump”. The White House called Cohen’s claims “fan fiction”. Speaking of Trump fans, The Telegraph reported that Johnson told US diplomats way back in August 2017 that the president was “making America great again.” Ingratiation goes a long way.

On the record

“We are not going to be a client state. We are not going to accept provisions that lock us into the way the EU do things.”

UK negotiator David Frost prepares to resume talks in a pleasant mood.

From the Twitterati

“Where they can, it’s a parent’s job to feed their children.”

Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake responds to question about hunger in the UK…

“I would urge you to talk to families before tweeting. To this day I haven’t met one parent who hasn’t wanted or felt the responsibility to feed their children.”

…and Marcus Rashford questions whether the MP knows what he’s talking about.