Boris Johnson news – live: Protests on Orkney as PM makes case for union and Nicola Sturgeon accuses him of politicising pandemic
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Boris Johnson has spoken about the merits of the union while downplaying calls for Scottish independence on a visit to Scotland on Thursday.
After the prime minister implied that Scotland's coronavirus response benefited from being part of the UK, Nicola Sturgeon accused of him politicising the pandemic, adding that leaders should not use the crisis as "some kind of political campaigning tool".
Earlier on Thursday, Ms Sturgeon remained firm on her stance about independence, tweeting that the country's future is currently being "decided by politicians we didn't vote for, taking us down a path we haven't chosen".
Ex-Tory MP an ‘accomplished liar’ who deceived police, bosses and wife, court told
Former Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke has been described as an “accomplished liar” who deceived the police, his bosses in the Tory party and his wife after being accused of sexual assaults.
Prosecutor Eloise Marshall QC said witness testimonies against the 49-year-old were “almost identical” to each other, despite being from two women who did not know each other.
Our reporter, Samuel Osborne, has the full story below:
Johnson planning to unveil crackdown on unhealthy food, report says
Boris Johnson is planning to unveil a crackdown on unhealthy food in the UK as early as next week, according to the Financial Times.
The newspaper has reported that the proposals are expected to include a ban on online advertising for junk food, a pre-9pm watershed for TV adverts and restrictions on in-store promotions.
It comes as part of Mr Johnson’s anti-obesity drive amid the coronavirus pandemic - with the PM’s support for the measures apparently linked to his battle with Covid-19 earlier this year.
Lord appears at sub-committee meeting from moving car
A member of the House of Lords has made an appearance at a parliamentary sub-committee meeting from a moving car.
Lord Robathan asked Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, a question in the EU International Agreements Sub-Committee via a video call on his way home from what was described as “an important family engagement”.
“Secretary of state, I'm going to go to Lord Robathan in a moment and you're going to be a little bit surprised because he's wearing a seat belt,” Lord Goldsmith, the committee’s chairman, told Ms Truss.
“That's because he's coming back from an important family engagement - he'd hoped to get home but he can't.
“I don't think it's because he's expecting a very bumpy ride from your answers.”
Lord Robathan, sat in the passenger seat, went on to ask a question about the possible effect of the result of the upcoming US presidential election on trade negotiations.
That's all from The Independent's live political coverage for today - we'll be back with more updates tomorrow.
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