Inside Politics – Coronavirus special: Disruption could last until ‘end of year’, says top official

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Thursday 23 April 2020 07:57 BST

Coronavirus: Dominic Raab says virus has been a 'immense physical, economic and mental strain' in UK

Missing the football? Me too. We might get to watch live Premier League matches for free in the summer, after the culture secretary Oliver Dowden said talks were held about widening TV access to behind-closed doors games if fixtures are resumed. It look as though we’ll have to get used to the footie – and a lot of other things – without crowds. While ministers remain reluctant to give anything away on easing the lockdown, the government’s scientific advisers say social distancing measures could stay in place until the end of 2020. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing during the coronavirus crisis.

Inside the bubble

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

The EU is holding a crisis summit via video call to discuss the best way to kick-start an economic recovery from the coronavirus. There are big splits between the 27 member states on how the bloc – crucially, whether it should start to issue so-called “coronabonds”, effectively jointly raising its own debt. Spain, Italy, France, and Belgium want the bonds, but the Netherlands, Finland and Germany are dead against them.

Daily briefing

YEAR OF SOLITUDE: Health secretary Matt Hancock told us we have reached the “peak” of the outbreak. But it’s still too early for the government to offer a lockdown exit strategy. The PM’s stand-in Dominic Raab said “we’re not out of the woods” – claiming the lifting of measures now could trigger a second wave and “prolong the economic pain”. England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said some forms of social distancing would be needed for a “really quite a long period of time”, since the chances of getting a vaccine or effective drugs within the calendar year was “incredibly small”. Tory backbenchers are getting ansty about it all. There was said to be a “very tense” meeting of the 1922 committee last night in which MPs aired their fears of an almighty economic crash. And according to The Spectator, the majority of the “outer cabinet” – the members not party to decision-making – are pushing for a “significant” easing of the lockdown in May.

INQUIRING MINDS: The reviews for Keir Starmer’s debut at PMQs as Labour leader have been positive, with pundits impressed by his forensic picking apart of government claims. After Starmer pointed out the number of tests being carried out each day is less than half the potential capacity of 40,000, Raab was forced to admit many of those eligible had “transport problems” getting to drive-thru centres. Starmer has ducked calls from the Lib Dems and SNP for a judge-led independent inquiry into the government’s handling of the crisis, however. The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford told The Independent an inquiry was “inevitable”. Meanwhile, a virtual Welsh Assembly session turned sour when Labour AM Vaughan Gething was caught swearing about colleague Jenny Rathbone. “What the f*** is the matter with her?” He later apologised.

SCARF FACES: No let up for the government’s scientific team. They will present their findings on whether the public should be advised to wear face masks to ministers later today. According to the BBC, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) is expected to give a cautious endorsement of scarves or other home-made masks for people heading outside. Hancock told MPs that trials for a NHS contact-tracing app at a Royal Air Force base in North Yorkshire “are going well”. But the health secretary is still under pressure to explain the muddle over the EU medical equipment procurement scheme. An EU official told The Independent the UK was definitely “not participating in any of the existing schemes”, despite Hancock’s claim we had joined as an “associate” member.

MASKS ON THE MOVE: In Germany, all federal regions have now backed measures to make face masks compulsory for while travelling on public transport. Bremen become the final state to endorse the move. Most states have made face coverings mandatory in shops too, as the country attempts to ease itself out of lockdown. While Germany has been praised for one of Europe’s most effective responses, experts in Australia are reflecting upon their success in flattening the curve. Epidemiologist Professor John Mathews told The Independent the country “has every right to hold its head up and say we’ve done well”. As of Wednesday, Australia had suffered 74 deaths and 6,625 cases.

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE: US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has attacked both the Chinese government and the World Health Organisation (WHO) over their handling of the coronavirus outbreak. The top Trump official claimed Beijing had “covered up how dangerous the disease is”, and called for an end to wildlife wet markets. Meanwhile, Donald Trump turned on Georgia’s governor Brian Kemp after the state decided to reopen salons, barbers, gyms and bowling alleys, revealing he “disagreed strongly”. While anti-lockdown protesters continue using Trump’s phrase “the cure cannot be worse than the illness”, New York governor Andrew Cuomo offered his thoughts. “How can the cure be worse than the illness, if the illness is potential death?”

MEAN STREETS: South African president Cyril Ramaphosa announced that more than 70,000 extra troops have put on standby to enforce the country’s lockdown amid rising tension. There have been reports of increased looting, burglary and vandalism, as the police struggle to get people off the streets. The president also unveiled a package of support measures worth $26bn (£21bn) aimed at protecting hard-hit workers. Ramaphosa – who is also chair of the African Union – called on the G20 to provide an economic stimulus package for Africa, including debt relief. He said the looming global recession would hit the continent “particularly hard”.

On the record

“There’s a pattern emerging here. We were slow into lockdown, slow on testing, slow on protective equipment, and now slow to take up [PPE] offers from British firms.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer goes on the attack.

From the Twitterati

“Watching PMQs there’s one clear conclusion: after a 5 year absence, Britain has an opposition again.”

Ex-chancellor George Osborne was impressed by Starmer’s debut...

“Keir Starmer very effectively demonstrated that Raab not having care worker casualty figures exposed government’s real lack of understanding of the plight & fears of workers in the care sector & on testing how far off the mark the government is.”

…and he gets ex-shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s seal of approval too.