Boris Johnson news – live: UK to offer new route to citizenship for Hong Kongers, as Keir Starmer says PM ‘flippant’ on lockdown easing
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The UK will offer some Hong Kong residents a new route to British citizenship after Beijing imposed a draconian new “national security” law, Boris Johnson has confirmed. He and, earlier, Dominic Raab, said the new law violated the city’s autonomy which had been agreed when the UK handed control to China in 1997.
Mr Johnson faced a grilling at PMQs as Keir Starmer said he was “blind to the risks” of easing lockdown. Sir Keir blamed the prime minister for scenes of crowded beaches last week and suggested the impending reopening of pubs – on a Saturday – was cause for concern.
Earlier, the PM issued a plea for Israel to abandon plans to annex more Palestinian territory in the West Bank, warning it will risk the country’s security in the long run and that the UK will regard expansion as against international law.
Hong Kong police make first arrest under new 'national security' law
A look at what Dominic Raab will be talking about in the Commons today after PMQs.
Hong Kong police fired water cannon and pepper spray at protesters marking the anniversary of the city’s handover to China on Wednesday, as the first arrest was made under a controversial new national security law, writes Adam Withnall.
The new law, which critics say will undermine the right to protest and end the city’s judicial autonomy, was signed into law by Chinese president Xi Jinping and came into effect on Tuesday night, almost 23 years to the day after Britain returned Hong Kong to Beijing.
Turkey expects to be on UK's safe-to-visit list
Turkey expects to be on the list of destinations to be exempted from the UK's quarantine measures.
The nation's ambassador to the UK said on Wednesday that his country believed it would be among those to form so-called air bridges when an announcement is made later this week.
Umit Yalcin insisted it was safe to open up travel with Turkey despite a recent spike in cases after lockdown restrictions to combat the spread of Covid-19 were eased.
Are you thinking of going abroad this summer? Simon Calder has everything you need to know here:
Join our expert team to dissect PMQs at 12.45pm
John Rentoul and Lizzy Buchan will take you through every cut and thrust of PMQs once the session finishes later today.
Councils' coronavirus funding gap 'hits £7.4bn'
A survey by the Local Government Association has found that, between March and June councils incurred £4.8bn extra cost pressures and income losses because of coronavirus.
Overall, the lobby group says, local authorities expect to be on the hook for £10.9bn to cover the costs of the pandemic.
In a press release, it added: "The government has provided £3.2bn of emergency funding to councils and CCGs [local health boards] have provided funding of £300m, which has helped meet some of the pressures so far - leaving councils facing a funding gap of £7.4bn."
The LGA is holding its annual conference virtually this year.
Sir Keir Starmer is due to address it later today.
DHSC and Royal Mail create faster way of sending back Covid-19 tests
The Department of Health and Royal Mail have designated "priority post boxes" for people to use in sending back their Covid-19 home tests.
It will help speed up the processing of results, the department said.
Johnson urged to abolish Public Health England
Boris Johnson has been urged to scrap Public Health England (PHE), the government body facing criticism for delays in sharing data that shows how the coronavirus is spreading in different parts of the country, writes Adam Forrest.
Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith said he would “abolish PHE tomorrow” if he was in charge, claiming the agency was guilty of “arrogance laced with incompetence”.
The prime minister admitted on Tuesday that “some parts of government” had responded to the coronavirus crisis “sluggishly” — prompting widespread speculation he was referring to PHE in particular.
Passing of worst of Covid-19 an illusion, expert warns
This will be nails on a chalkboard to the ears of Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson.
A former government adviser has warned it is an "illusion" that the UK is past the worst of the Covid-19 epidemic.
Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London - who quit as a his role after breaking lockdown rules - said the UK should be braced for regional flare-ups.
Already this week Leicester has been locked down after a spike in cases.
"This is far from over, so I think lessons can be learned from what happened in the UK up to now," said Prof Ferguson. "I would prefer to focus on getting the next six months right before looking back in earnest [at how the government has performed].
Expect some semblance of this issue to feature at PMQs shortly...
SNP 'could withdraw from Commons'
The SNP could withdraw from UK institutions - including the House of Commons - if ministers do not allow a second Scottish independence referendum, one of its MPs has claimed.
Pete Wishart, an SNP MP for almost two decades, said the party could consider "withdrawing from the apparatus of the UK state" if Westminster continued to oppose a new plebiscite.
This could be "escalated" to the extent of impacting on the SNP's "participation in institutions of the UK parliament", he added.
Mr Wishart argued if Westminster continued to refuse, Holyrood could try to gain the support of the European Union and the international community for such a ballot.
The Perth and North Perthshire MP said getting Westminster's permission remained his preferred option.
Chinese 'security' law violates Hong Kong autonomy, Raab says
A preview of the foreign secretary's planned statement to the Commons.
Speaking to reporters outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Wednesday, Dominic Raab said: "We have very carefully now assessed the contents of this national security legislation since it was published last night.
"It constitutes a clear violation of the autonomy of Hong Kong and a direct threat to the freedoms of its people, and therefore I'm afraid to say it is a clear and serious violation of the joint declaration - the treaty between the United Kingdom and China."
But Mr Raab will have to wait. First up, PMQs...
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