Boris Johnson news: Senior Tory MP says government ‘ruling by decree’ over new Covid powers
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A senior Tory has accused the government of "ruling by decree" for "imposing" new coronavirus restrictions without proper debate and voting procedures.
Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, told the BBC that ministers were treating the British people "like children", as regulations such as the “rule of six” have not been subject to sufficient scrutiny by MPs.
Mr Brady’s remarks came a day before Boris Johnson is scheduled to convene a Cobra meeting to discuss the government’s emergency response to the rapidly increasing number of Covid-19 infections in the UK.
Meanwhile former prime minister Theresa May accused the government of acting “recklessly and irresponsibly” over the UK Internal Market Bill - which ministers admit would break international law by overriding the prime minister’s Brexit deal.
Government urgently needs to address testing shortages, Children’s Commissioner warns
The Children’s Commissioner for England has urged the government to improve its testing scheme ahead of the winter months, as a survey found that more than four in five schools currently have pupils out of class because they are unable to access Covid-19 tests.
Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner, warned that the government risked “throwing away” the progress that had been made through the reopening of schools.
Her comment came as a survey conducted by school leaders union NAHT reported that more than 80 per cent of schools had children who were unable to attend class because coronavirus tests were unavailable to them.
Ms Longfield told the Sun: "The PM and Chief Medical Officer have said schools are a priority - they must be the last to close, the first to open.
"But they can't now throw those achievements away by not having tests in place,” she added.
Ms Longfield also said that teachers and children should have access to priority testing before the number of suspected Covid-19 infections rise this winter, adding that small schools were most at risk because of a lack of testing.
“A lot of problems come because teachers are showing symptoms and therefore need to be tested and this affects the schools, especially small ones, because there comes a point when you can't run a school because there aren't enough staff,” she said.
Dodds to accuse Sunak of ‘cavalier’ approach to public money
Labour is to accuse chancellor Rishi Sunak of taking a “cavalier” approach to public spending, writes Kate Devlin.
In an online speech given to the Labour Party conference, shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds is set to accuse the government of “financial mismanagement” during the pandemic.
Ms Dodds will also use the speech as an opportunity to offer a new partnership between Labour and business.
As part of a three-stage plan for economic recovery, the shadow chancellor will lay out a scheme to "recover jobs, retrain workers and rebuild business".
“As Chancellor, I would restore that trust with business. Because I understand what a critical role business plays in creating jobs and supporting livelihoods across the country,” she will say.
Labour accuses Rishi Sunak of 'cavalier' attitude during pandemic
Attempt to draw a line under Corbyn-era attacks.
Thousands at renters at risk as evictions ban ends, campaign groups say
Tens of thousands of private renters could be made to leave their homes as the government’s ban on evictions lifts on Monday, campaign groups have warned.
The government introduced the ban in March to protect renters in England and Wales against eviction during the pandemic.
A new protection means that anyone served an eviction notice since 29 August will be given six months to vacate their homes.
However, campaign group Generation Rent says around 55,000 households in England, who were given eviction notices between March and August, do not have this protection and require help.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has said that councils are worried that the lifting of the evictions ban could lead to a rise in homelessness, while Labour has warned of a winter homelessness crisis.
Johnson and Trump criticised in Emmys acceptance speech
The creator of the TV series Succession criticised Boris Johnson and Donald Trump for their mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic during an Emmys acceptance speech.
Speaking from London during the largely virtual awards ceremony, Jesse Armstrong, whose hit TV show won the outstanding drama series, said “un-thank yous” to Mr Johnson and Mr Trump.
Mr Armstrong, who also picked up an award for his writing on the HBO series, said: "Un-thank you to the virus, for keeping us all apart this year. Un-thank-you to President Trump for his crummy and uncoordinated response.
"Un-thank you to Boris Johnson and his government for doing the same in my country."
Mr Armstong also “un-thanked” nationalist governments around the world and media moguls for helping to keep them in power.
Succession focuses on the Logan family, who control the largest media and entertainment company in the world.
Covid-19 lockdown restrictions are “unclear and ambiguous”, parliamentary committee warns
A parliamentary committee has said it is “unacceptable” that thousands of people are being given fines for breaking “unclear and ambiguous” coronavirus lockdown rules.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights said that “many thousands” have been given fixed penalty notices (FPNS), which they have no power to challenge and which could lead to fines of more than £10,000.
The committee added that the enforcement of the regulations was having a "disproportionate impact" on young men from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds
It called for the government to give greater clarity about the laws and for them to be made clearly accessible online, noting that the law has changed on average once a week in recent months.
Harriet Harman, who chairs the committee, said: "Confusion over what is law and what is merely guidance has left citizens open to disproportionate and unequal levels of punishment for breaking the rules, and unfortunately, it seems that once again, this is overtly affecting BAME individuals.”
"The Government must learn from these mistakes to ensure that any additional lockdowns do not unfairly impact specific groups,” she added.
Number 10 dismisses story that PM was in Italy earlier this month as ‘completely untrue’
Downing Street has roundly denied suggestions that the prime minister visited Perugia in mid-September, following a report in the Italian media.
Citing a statement from Perugia’s airport, newspaper La Repubblica reported that Mr Johnson was allegedly in the city “over the past few days”.
It also quoted a source as saying that the prime minister arrived on the afternoon of 11 September and left on 14 September.
However, Downing Street said the report was “completely untrue”, while transport secretary Grant Shapps said it was “mistaken, as far as I’m aware”.
“This story is completely untrue. The Prime Minister has not travelled to Italy in recent months,” a spokesperson for Number 10 said.
“Anyone who publishes these claims is repeating a falsehood,” they added.
Khan ready to ‘recommend’ new coronavirus restrictions for London
London mayor Sadiq Khan will meet with council leaders on Monday to discuss the possibility of new Covid-19 restrictions in the capital, writes Adam Forrest.
This comes after the rate of cases in London has risen dramatically from 18.8 infections per 100,000 people to roughly 25 in recent weeks.
A spokesperson for Mr Khan said that the situation is “clearly worsening” and that the mayor is ready to “recommend” further restrictions if necessary.
The spokesperson said on Sunday: “The situation is clearly worsening. Sadiq will meet council leaders tomorrow and any London-specific measures will be recommended to ministers following that.”
“The mayor wants fast action as we cannot risk a delay, as happened in March. It is better for both health and business to move too early than too late,” they added.
Health secretary Matt Hancock has not ruled out the possibility that workers in London will be told to work from home to curb the spread of the virus.
London mayor in talks over possible lockdown measures for capital
Londoners could be told to work from home this week, as mayor discusses restrictions with local leaders
Tories told to return £1.7 million of gifts from donor over links to Putin
The Conservatives have been urged to return £1.7 million of gifts from one of the party’s largest donors, after leaked bank files suggest that her husband received funds from a Russian oligarch closely linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
An investigation by BBC Panorama found that Vladimir Chernukhin, whose wife Lubov has given at least £1.7 million to the Tories, was sent £6.1 million in 2016 from an account linked to a Russian politician who has been sanctioned by the US.
Mr Chernukhin was sent the money from an account connected to the gold magnate Suleyman Kerimov, according to papers seen by the BBC from a leak called the “FinCEN Files”.
Mr Kerimov, who sits in the upper house of the Russian parliament, is currently being investigated in France over alleged tax fraud.
In response to the BBC’s investigation, Labour MP Chris Bryant said: "Successive Tory prime ministers have been utterly complacent and naive about accepting vast slabs of cash from Russian cronies of Putin.”
"The Conservative Party should return every penny it has received from Lubov Chernukhin now,” he added.
Read more on this story from The Independent’s political editor Andrew Woodcock.
Tories urged to return £1.7m from donor over ties to Putin ally
Conservatives defend gifts after publication of leaked bank documents on suspicious transactions
Covid-19 deaths could rise to hundreds a day by November, government’s chief scientific adviser warns
The UK could face 50,000 new coronavirus cases by the middle of October and 200 deaths a day in November, the government’s chief scientific adviser has warned.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday morning, Patrick Vallance said that infections are currently doubling roughly every seven days in the UK.
If this trend continues, Mr Vallance warned that Britain could see tens of thousands of new infections a day by mid-October, leading to hundreds of deaths each day the following month.
The government adviser said: "The challenge…is to make sure the doubling time does not stay at seven days.
"There are already things in place which are expected to slow that, and to make sure that we do not enter this exponential growth and end up with the problems that you would predict as a result of that.
"That requires speed, it requires action and it requires and it requires enough in order to be able to bring that down."
Mr Vallance added that there has been an increase in the rate of infection in every age group.
Coronavirus deaths will rise to hundreds a day if second wave continues, Vallance warns
Increase at current rate could lead to 50,000 new cases a day by mid-October, says scientific adviser
Rise in infections is ‘all of our problem’, chief medical officer says
Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, has said that parts of the UK are currently experiencing “significant rates of transmission”.
The chief medical officer added that the rate of infection is rising across the country but varies from region to region.
Prof Whitty said: “It is going at different rates but it is now increasing.
"And what we've found is, as we go through in time, anywhere that was falling is now moving over to beginning to rise and then the rate of rise continues in an upwards direction.
"So, this is not someone else's problem, this is all of our problem."
He made the remarks at a coronavirus press conference in which he appeared alongside Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser.
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