Inside Politics: Boris Johnson makes U-turns on masks and Huawei

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Manchester City have managed to get their controversial ban from European football overturned – a huge development with major implications for domestic rivals and the future of the game’s financial dealings. It’s not the only big decision getting overturned this week. Boris Johnson is expected to bring in a controversial ban on Huawei’s involvement in Britain’s 5G network today – a huge development with major implications for domestic rivals and the future of financial dealings with China. The PM is also overturning previous advice on masks, finally making them mandatory in England’s shops.

Inside the bubble

Our chief political commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for today:

The big deal today is a meeting of the National Security Council to decide (again) what role Huawei will be allowed in the new 5G network. Digital secretary Oliver Dowden will cross over from Downing Street to parliament to tell MPs what exactly has been agreed this time. Health secretary Matt Hancock will update the Commons on coronavirus, and clear up any confusion about masks. On the committee corridor, three young people will be giving evidence about their experience of the criminal justice system.

Daily briefing

FACE THE MUSIC: After months of discussion on the merits of masks, wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets will become mandatory in England from 24 July. And those who don’t comply face a fine of up to £100. Labour – accusing the government of acting in a “slow and muddled” manner on the issue – has asked why the change isn’t happening for 11 days. Slow and muddled would be a good way to describe Boris Johnson’s approach to Huawei. Although everyone agrees the PM is ready to ban the firm from Britain’s 5G network, nobody is quite sure on the deadline by which existing 5G kit must be removed. The BBC reports that it could be 2025, while The Times suggests 2027. According to The Guardian, Tory rebels will “beef up their opposition” if it’s any later than 2025.

TRUCKULENT BEHAVIOUR: You wait for one lorry park to get built, then 12 come along at once. Up to a dozen “inland customs centres”, similar to the planned truck facility in Kent, are to be built to deal with the deluge of port bureaucracy looming at the end of the transition period. The government confirmed it expects businesses to complete an additional 215 million annual customs declarations as a result of Brexit – at a cost previously estimated by HMRC at anything from £7bn to £20bn a year. Speaking in the Commons, Labour MP Barry Sheerman said dealing with this after coronavirus is like “going 15 rounds with Anthony Joshua only to find … we’ve got Tyson Fury for another 15”. Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove responded by saying “seconds out, round one”. I guess he thought he was boxing clever.

GAME OF SKILL: What level of “skill” do you need to become home secretary? Priti Patel was accused of presiding over an “embarrassing shambles” as she set out plans for a post-Brexit immigration system. Labour, the unions and care sector bodies are furious that frontline care home workers have been excluded from the new fast-track NHS visa. It’s open to workers who have a confirmed job offer in “skilled” roles within the health service, meaning many cleaners and porters are also ineligible. Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said it was “yet another insult to those who have been at the frontline of this crisis.” Patel said employers would be encouraged to invest in workers already living in the UK “rather than simply relying on labour from abroad”.

WINTER IS COMING: A potential second wave of Covid-19 could bring twice as many deaths as the initial outbreak, according to a report commissioned by the chief scientific adviser. Presenting the worst-case scenario, experts said the R rate could rise to 1.7 by September and as many as 120,000 people may die while the NHS is also managing winter flu season. Elsewhere, Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said only 10 per cent of his city’s wards have a higher-than-average transmission of the virus and lockdown could have been targeted on small areas. Officials in the small town of Barnard Castle – destined to be forever associated with lockdown after Cummings’ eye sight test – are in a better mood. Mayor John Blissett is delighted at the upsurge in day trippers. “This has done us one hell of a favour … it has put us on the map.”

LIES, DAMNED LIES AND COVID STATISTICS: Donald Trump retweeted a conspiracy theory from a former game show host that “everyone is lying” about the coronavirus to damage the president’s re-election chances. It follows a move by a White House advisor to discredit the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, labelling him too frequently “wrong” about the pandemic. The claim was condemned as “atrocious” by the House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff. Trump also took the time to lash out against his big ally Fox News – accusing the network of “working so hard against the people that got them there”.

TO YOUR HEALTH (WORKERS): The French government has approved a big pay rise for health workers amounting to £7.2bn. It means staff will see wages rise by around £165 a month, on average. The decision – following protests and negotiations with the unions – comes as the country enjoys low-key Bastille Day celebrations today. Elsewhere, the head of the World Health Organisation has warned that the Covid-19 pandemic could get “worse and worse” if some governments don’t get their act together and take appropriate action to stop its spread. “Let me blunt, too many countries are headed in the wrong direction,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

On the record

“The government’s new slogan is ‘let’s get going’; it should be ‘let’s start filling in the forms’.”

Stephen Dorrell, former Tory minister and head of the European Movement, on the cost of the new border bureaucracy.

From the Twitterati

“Unbelievable. The govt just excluded carers from its fast track immigration track for NHS staff. Yes, those same carers they clapped & swore were national heroes … Quite clearly this govt doesn’t give a damn.”

Dr Rachel Clarke is amazed at the government’s gall…

“Why is it called a ‘health and care visa’ when care workers are excluded?”

…and Victoria Derbyshire is amazed at the inclusion of the word ‘care’

Essential reading

Tom Peck, The Independent: The message is go back to work. The guidance is stay at home. Clear?

Gary Franks, The Independent: As a black Republican, I have some advice about the 2020 election

Rachel Sylvester, The Times: Failing Grayling is wrong man for intelligence committee job

George Eaton, New Statesman: China’s ownership of UK assets exposes Britain’s broken model

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