Tories and Labour tied for first time since 2019 as Starmer demands Covid Cobra meeting

Amal Clooney condemns Boris Johnson’s ‘lamentable’ willingness to break international law over Brexit

Government could tighten national lockdown measures

Labour have pulled level with the Conservatives in polling for the first time since 2019, according to YouGov research, amid mutiple crises over Brexit and coronavirus. 

The new poll showed both Labour and the Tories on 40 per cent, with the Lib Dems on 6 per cent, after a series of chaotic weeks for the government.

It came as Sir Keir Starmer and Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon called on Boris Johnson to hold a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee over the recent spike in coronavirus cases.

Please see below for how the news happened.

[19 September 2020 14:37 · Conrad Duncan]

Nicola Sturgeon calls again for emergency Cobra meeting with UK government

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has called again for Boris Johnson to hold an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss the rising number of coronavirus cases in the UK.

“Given [the] serious situation across [the] UK, I have also asked again that a 4 nations COBR meeting takes place over [the] next 48 hours,” Ms Sturgeon said in a tweet.

“While each of the four UK nations will reach our own decisions - rightly and properly - it makes sense to seek as much coordination and alignment as possible."

[19 September 2020 15:08 · Conrad Duncan]

EU Brexit group chairman still 'deeply concerned' by Internal Market Bill

A key figure in the Brexit talks between the UK government and the EU has said he is “deeply concerned” over the state of the negotiations.

David McAllister, a German MEP and chairman of the UK Co-ordination Group in the European Parliament, said trust in the UK had been “damaged” by the introduction of the Internal Market Bill, which seeks to override key parts of the Withdrawal Agreement.

“This bill came out of the blue and, across party lines in the European Parliament, we are deeply concerned,” Mr McAllister told Sky News on Friday.

“Not just about the lack of progress in negotiations, but also about this bill. It clearly breaches the withdrawal agreement, including on the very sensitive protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.”

He added: “We will not ratify a future deal with the United Kingdom if there is a threat to the Withdrawal Agreement. This has to be withdrawn.”

The MEP also indicated that the EU would not be satisfied by the amendment put forward by Conservative MP Sir Bob Neill, which would require a Commons vote before allowing the government to break international law with the agreement.

[19 September 2020 15:32 · Conrad Duncan]

Opinion: ‘Politicians are using ‘strategic lies’ to grab attention – and it’s working’

Politicians are using so-called “strategic lies” to shift discussion onto favourable territory and promote their policy goals, a professor of political journalism has said.

Writing for The Independent, Ivor Gaber says politicians have been using lies which can be easily rebutted to get helpful subject matters onto the news agenda.

Mr Gaber writes:

“The effectiveness of the strategic lie is greatly enhanced by the fact that all the political psychology research indicates that once an idea is planted in the public mind in an impactful way, it is difficult to shift it. Being forced to accept facts that run against our prejudices induces cognitive dissonance, something we all seek to avoid.

“Indeed, among partisans the more rebuttals they encounter, the more they are reinforced in their belief in the original claim – the so-called Backfire Effect.”

You can find his full article below:

[19 September 2020 15:56 · Conrad Duncan]

Exclusive: Pilots’ union furious as Dominic Raab shuns BA in favour of United Airlines

The head of the leading pilots’ union has criticised Dominic Raab’s choice of airline after the foreign secretary flew from Washington to the UK with United Airlines rather than British Airways.

Attention was drawn to Mr Raab’s trip when it was revealed that his police protection officer had been suspended from duties after leaving his gun on a plane at Heathrow.

“Maybe it’s too much to expect but I would like to see our foreign secretary travelling with a British airline rather than spending taxpayers money on an American one,” Brian Strutton, general secretary of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa), told The Independent.

“There were alternative British flights available so what’s the excuse? It’s about time the UK government started showing a bit of support for UK aviation.”

Our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, has the full story below:

[19 September 2020 16:14 · Jane Dalton]

Our reporter Clea Skopeliti has more details below on Boris Johnson’s urgent talks this weekend over potential new coronavirus restrictions:

[19 September 2020 16:28 · Conrad Duncan]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has been in Walsall today in the West Midlands, where he has called for a plan to help football clubs survive the coronavirus crisis.

[19 September 2020 16:56 · Conrad Duncan]

More Afghan interpreters who served alongside British troops can apply to relocate to UK

More Afghan interpreters who were the “eyes and ears” of British troops in the Middle East will be allowed to move to the UK, the government has announced.

The Ministry of Defence said it was expanding a scheme which offers interpreters the option of relocating to the UK with their families, or five years’ training and a monthly stipend, or the equivalent of 18 months’ salary.

The department had previously been accused of failing to protect former civilian employees from Taliban reprisals following the withdrawal of British combat troops in 2014.

Our home affairs correspondent, Lizzie Dearden, has the full story below: