Boris Johnson news – live: Keir Starmer challenges PM over handling of coronavirus crisis as Priti Patel confirms 14-day quarantine for UK arrivals
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Your support makes all the difference.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has challenged Boris Johnson over his handling of the coronavirus crisis at PMQs, asking the prime minister: “Who’s been in direct control up until now?”
Mr Johnson was challenged on why he had promised a “world-beating” test and trace programme when it wasn’t yet fully operational. It follows leaked figures suggesting only four in 10 coronavirus patients identified by the scheme have provided information about their recent contacts.
The scheme’s chief executive Baroness Dido Harding was asked by MPs at the health and social care committee to send “reams of letters” with data on how the programme is working to account her lack of answers, citing concerns the testing and tracing figures were not yet “validated”.
Home secretary Priti Patel confirmed to MPs the government is going ahead with a 14-day quarantine plan for arrivals to the UK from 8 June. Elsewhere, transport minister Kelly Tolhurst confirmed the government is still considering establishing “air bridges” with other countries.
Speaking at the Downing Street, Mr Johnson urged the public not to meet indoors in light of the rain, as he warned “there could be a second wave, a kind of kinetic pulse of disease sweeping across the world”, in a view echoed by Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance.
It came as new Office for National Statistics figures showed there have been more than 50,000 fatalities in the UK with Covid-19 on the death certificate – at least 10,000 more than the government’s official toll, which only includes those who had been tested.
Keir Starmer asks: ‘Who’s been in control?’
The Labour leader has asked Boris Johnson: “The Telegraph is reporting this morning that the prime minister has decided to take direct control of the government’s response to the virus. So an obvious question for the prime minister, who’s been in direct control up until now?”
Starmer cites Dido Harding, in charge of the new test and trace system, who has said it won’t be fully ready until the end of June.
The Labour leader said: “The prime minister promised that we will have test, track and trace system that will be “world-beating” and it will be in place by 1 June. But it isn’t.”
He also said council leaders have told Labour that they are “weeks away” from getting it fully operational.
He also quotes the head of the UK Statistics Authority, who has criticised the government’s use of testing figures – and asks the PM whether he sees “how damaging” that is to public trust.
Johnson challenges Starmer to say whether he supports the government’s plan.“I really do not see the purpose of his endless attacks on public trust and confidence,” said the PM.
“Boy he makes it difficult to support this government,” Starmer replied.
‘Of course black lives matter,’ says Johnson
The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford has also asked about the police killing of George Floyd. He asked Boris Johnson what he has said to Donald Trump, and whether he agreed that “black lives matter”.
Johnson replies that “of course black lives matter” – and repeats his reservation that the US protests must be peaceful.
Follow our PMQs verdict on YouTube
You can join our chief political commentator John Rentoul and our political correspondent Lizzy Buchan for their post-PMQs analysis on The Independent’s YouTube channel from 12.45pm.
Starmer calls queues to vote to end remote voting ‘shameful’
Sir Keir Starmer has said scenes of MPs queuing around the parliamentary estate to vote was “shameful” and claimed it was a clear case of indirect discrimination under the Equalities Act.
Urging the prime minister to restore the so-called “hybrid parliament” and online voting, the Labour leader said: “The scenes yesterday of MPs queuing to vote and members being unable to vote were frankly shameful.
“This should not be a political issue. Members on all sides know this is completely unnecessary and unacceptable. If any other employer behaved like this it would be a clear and obvious case of indirect discrimination under Equalities Act. A clear and obvious case.”
Johnson replied: “He needs to consider what is going on throughout the country where ordinary people are getting used to queuing for long periods of time to do their shopping or whatever it happens to be.
“I must say I do not think it unreasonable that we should ask parliamentarians to come back to this place and do their job. I know it’s difficult, I apologise to colleagues for the inconvenience.
“I apologise to those with particular difficulties because they are shielding or they are elderly and it’s vital they should know the changes we are making today they should be able to vote by proxy.”
PM claims alert level allowed him to ease lockdown – despite it stating ‘current restrictions’ must remain
Boris Johnson claimed his “alert level” system for coronavirus allowed him to lift restrictions – despite it stating they should have remained in place.
Under pressure in the Commons – after it was revealed he overruled the chief medical officer, who said it was too early to cut the level from 4 to 3 – the prime minister denied breaking his own rules.
“He knows perfectly well that the alert level does allow it,” he told Keir Starmer.
However, health chiefs said the level should remain at 4, meaning transmission of coronavirus is “high or rising exponentially” – and carrying the instruction: “Current social distancing measures and restrictions.”
Follow our experts’ PMQs verdict
PMQs is now over – but you can now join our chief political commentator John Rentoul and our political correspondent Lizzy Buchan for their post-clash analysis via The Independent’s YouTube channel.
Tory MP says ‘arsonists and looters have it coming’
A Conservative MP has replied to a constituent asking him to condemn Donald Trump’s response to US protests, saying: “Arsonists and looters have it coming”.
The remarks from Desmond Swayne came in an email from a New Forest West constituent asking him to “condemn Trump’s use of force against his own citizens” and support Black Lives Matter.
The correspondence, seen by The Independent, went on: “I am sure you have been troubled as I have with the news and activities coming from the US amidst the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement across the globe.”
The reply from the MP – posted on Twitter – read: “Thanks. Sorry to disagree. Arsonists and looters have it coming.”
Our correspondent Ashley Cowburn has more details:
UK coronavirus deaths rise above 50,000
The number of deaths registered in England and Wales from confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases reached 44,401 by 22 May, according to the latest ONS data.
When combined with the latest figures from Scotland and Northern Ireland, the total number of deaths has now surpassed 50,000.
Do not misuse furlough scheme, transport minister warns airlines
Transport minister Kelly Tolhurst urged airlines not to use the pandemic as an excuse to cut employment terms and conditions for staff.
Asking an urgent question, Tory MP Huw Merriman, chair of the Commons transport select committee said British Airways was seeking to cut its workforce and also employ workers on worse terms, calling it “ethically outrageous”.
He told MPs: “Step forward British Airways, the only airline that is effectively sacking its entire 42,000 workforce and replacing it with 30,000 jobs on inferior terms.”
In response, Tolhurst said she does not want to see employers use the pandemic “as an excuse to slash terms and conditions”.
She also warned that the job retention scheme – which has seen the government pay the wages of millions of furloughed workers – should not be misused by airlines.
The transport minister told MPs: “The scheme was not designed for taxpayers to fund wages of employees, only for those companies to put the same staff on notice of redundancy during the furlough period.”
Ministers are mulling ‘air bridges’, confirms minister
The government is looking closely at air bridges to enable more people to travel this year, the junior transport minister Kelly Tolhurst has confirmed.
“No option is off the table and we are looking very closely at air bridges which are also known as international corridors,” Tolhurst told parliament.
Tolhurst said she regretted the layoffs at some airlines such as British Airways. When asked if the government should look at reallocating landing slots, she said:
“We want airport landing and takeoff slots to be used as effectively as possible for UK consumers and the UK aviation market ... and I want to ensure the slot allocation process encourages competition.”
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