Brexit news – live: Boris Johnson warned six months of port ‘mayhem’ ahead in 2021, even if trade deal agreed
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Boris Johnson’s government has been warned of “mayhem” at Holyhead port when the Brexit transition period ends, even if a UK-EU trade deal is struck.
The Irish Road Haulage Association said the first six months of 2021 would be “terrible” due to the lack of preparations.
It comes as Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said that a no-deal Brexit would cause even more long-term damage to the UK’s economy than the coronavirus pandemic.
The influential figure told MPs a deal was in the “best interests of both sides”.
It follows an optimistic assessment of trade talks by Irish premier Micheál Martin, who revealed legal texts were now in play on all areas of the prospective trade deal.
“I would be hopeful that by the end of this week we could see the outline of a deal,” said Mr Martin.
Allegra Stratton ‘to begin televised briefings in January’
Boris Johnson’s new spokesperson, Allegra Stratton – whose arrival in Downing Street has been linked with the chain of events that led to the departure of Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings – is to give her first televised briefings in the role as of 11 January, according to ITV’s Robert Peston.
Ms Stratton, a former Guardian and BBC journalist, will reportedly do so on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Tory politicians accused of seeking ‘one rule for them’ in case involving disgraced ex-MP
The most senior judge in England and Wales has condemned a group of Conservative politicians for seeking “to influence a judge” in the case of ex-Tory MP Charlie Elphicke.
He was jailed for two years in September for sexually assaulting two women. A court is now considering whether or not to release character references given during his trial.
The office of the Lord Chief Justice responded after a group of Tory MPs and peers wrote to senior judges urging them to block the release of statements.
The letter was signed by MPs Sir Roger Gale, Adam Holloway, Bob Stewart and former cabinet minister Theresa Villiers, as well as Mr Elphicke's estranged wife Natalie, who succeeded him as MP for Dover MP.
Labour accused the group of seeking special treatment.
Tory politicians accused of seeking ‘one rule for them’ in case involving disgraced ex-MP
Labour has accused a group of Conservative politicians of seeking special treatment after they were criticised in a case involving a disgraced former MP.
The BBC’s Nick Robinson points out a significant aspect of the new Christmas rules for those planning to – in the words of Chris Whitty – “go wild” over the festive period.
Meanwhile, Stephen Bush of the New Statesman is curious as to how the three-household rule will be enforced.
Dozens of Tory MPs tell Ipsa to ‘scrap pay rise’ and ‘freeze’ their salaries
More than 50 Conservative MPs have sent a letter to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) to push for their salaries to be frozen next year, Sam Hancock reports.
In the document, sent to Ipsa’s interim chairman, Richard Lloyd, MPs said they rejected the body’s recommendation for their pay to rise by £3,300 in April, and called for it to “scrap” the plans altogether.
The move comes after Boris Johnson made it clear yesterday that, as a result of the hardships many face due to the coronavirus crisis, he believed parliamentarians should not receive the pay increase. The prime minister has already announced that ministers will not receive a rise in their salaries, which he controls, next year — but only Ipsa can make decisions about MPs’ pay.
In the letter, which was signed by 52 Tories, MPs said that “with the whole nation making huge sacrifices to control the coronavirus”, it was neither “appropriate nor justifiable to be awarding MPs pay rises”.
More than 50 Tory MPs tell Ipsa to freeze their pay
‘It is neither appropriate nor justifiable to be awarding MPs pay rises,’ 52 Conservatives write in letter
Michael Gove is doing the media rounds after a four-nation Cobra meeting found agreement on plans to allow families to celebrate Christmas together.
Chancellor promises to make jobs ‘number one priority’ in package for economic recovery from pandemic
Ahead of tomorrow’s spending review, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has promised to make jobs and livelihoods his “number one priority” in a bid to inject momentum into the economic recovery from coronavirus, our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports.
Mr Sunak will unveil a new £2.9bn Restart scheme to help 1m long-term jobless look for work, along with a £1.4bn of new funding for JobCentre Plus and funding for continued support for apprenticeship and skills.
But he was coming under intense pressure to ditch his planned pay freeze for 5m public sector employees outside the NHS, which was denounced by the Unite union as “economic madness” at a time when consumer spending is needed to revive the pandemic-battered High Street.
Rishi Sunak promises to make jobs ‘number one priority’ in spending review
Calls for chancellor to ditch ‘economic madness’ of public sector pay freeze
The prime minister has repeated his ode to Live Aid as he addressed the newly agreed plans for Christmas, and appeared to reference the contradictions between his government’s approach to Christmas compared with other religious celebrations, such as Eid and Diwali.a
“This year Christmas will be different,” Boris Johnson said. “Many of us will be longing to spend time with family and friends, irrespective of our faith and background.
“And yet we can’t afford to throw caution to the wind. The virus doesn’t know it’s Christmas and we must all be careful.”
‘Nightmare before Christmas’: Hospitality industry accuses government of ‘muddled thinking’
Trade association UKHospitality has accused the government of "muddled thinking" over the exclusion of hospitality businesses from relaxed Christmas rules.
“This is rapidly turning into the nightmare before Christmas for hospitality. While no-one begrudges families getting together over the festive season, the safest place to do so would be in well-managed and controlled hospitality venues,” said chief executive Kate Nicholls.
"It is also surely better for hotels to be open and providing a place to stay than multiple households being cramped in a single house."
She added: “For the government to exclude these businesses in these new rules demonstrates muddled thinking and will cause the sector yet more harm coming so soon after the announcement of the new tier restrictions.
“Hospitality venues should be considered part of the solution for providing people a well-deserved safe and enjoyable Christmas, especially given that allowing multiple households to mix in the confines of private homes presents an exponentially greater risk.”
Undercover security agents risk torture and death to save thousands of lives, former MI5 chief says
As the House of Lords gears up to scrutinise a new bill which would allow so-called “covert human intelligence sources” to break the law in the course of their work – with immunity from prosecution – a former MI5 chief has rejected suggestions that undercover agents are motivated by money or involved in criminal activity.
Baroness Manningham-Buller hailed “brave” undercover operatives who she said risk torture and death to obtain vital intelligence, thus saving thousands of lives.
The independent crossbencher, who served for more than three decades in the Security Service including five as director general, also argued they should not face prosecution for the work they did on behalf of the state.
The Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill, which has already been through the Commons, will cover 13 law enforcement and government agencies, including the police, the National Crime Agency, the intelligence services and the armed forces.
Scotland to become first country in the world to end period poverty
Scotland has become the first country in the world to pass legislation making period products freely available to all.
MSPs at the Scottish Parliament unanimously approved a bill brought forward by Labour health spokesperson Monica Lennon, bringing in legal right of free access to items such as tampons and sanitary pads.
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