Inside Politics: Boris Johnson smooths over damage to special relationship

Sign up here to receive this daily briefing in your email inbox every morning

It’s never too late. Just ask the 80-year-old woman from Weston-super-Mare who shocked the nation by talking about her KY Jelly-fuelled exploits with a 35-year-old Egyptian tomboy. The “saddle sore” pensioner told Holly and Phillip on ITV she felt “like a virgin again”. Boris Johnson may feel likes he’s aged considerably since the controversy over Huawei began. But the PM is planning to turn the clocks back and put the some spark into the special relationship when the US secretary of state arrives in town today. Johnson is hoping Mike Pompeo will believe he’s as innocent as a virgin over this whole 5G business – and there’s no reason not to jump back in the saddle and strike a trade deal. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing.

Inside the bubble

Our political commentator Andrew Grice on what to look out for today:

The scale of the US backlash against the government’s decision to give Huawei a role in the UK’s 5G network will likely emerge when Dominic Raab hosts talks at the Foreign Office with the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Boris Johnson can expect to come under pressure at PMQs from both opposition and Tory MPs unhappy at the Chinese firm’s involvement. Meanwhile MPs will hold a ballot for the chairmanship of select committees. Jeremy Hunt is hoping to head the health committee, while others up for grabs include foreign affairs, defence, and work and pensions.

Daily briefing

I DID IT HUAWEI: No matter how weird things get with our telecoms system, good friends will still be able to call each other up for a natter. Boris Johnson spoke to Donald Trump over the phone to explain why Huawei will be allowed to build “non-core” parts of Britain’s 5G infrastructure, with market share capped at 35 per cent. It’s highly doubtful the president bothered listening to the technical details. The White House is officially “disappointed”, but Trump hasn’t tweeted about it. A good sign? According to The Times, defence secretary Ben Wallace wasn’t happy about the decision and described China as a “friend of no one” during Tuesday’s 90-minute National Security Council meeting. Backbench Tories are openly furious. Iain Duncan Smith said it “beggars belief” the firm was approved when we have “a cyber war going on with China”. US politicians are also angry. Republican senator Tom Cotton told The Telegraph it was “like allowing the KGB to build its telephone network during the cold war”. Ouch!

SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, ADIEU: Get our you handkerchiefs. This next bit gets maudlin. The 751 representatives in the European parliament are set to give their backing to the Brexit withdrawal treaty today, before exploding into an orgy of grief at the departure of the Brits. There will be speeches, there will be tears – and there will be music. A German MEP has planned a sing-a-long to Auld Lang Syne, while SNP folk have arranged for a piper. Green MEP Molly Scott Cato said it was like “a redundancy and a bereavement at the same time”. Bah! Sentimental hogwash, said the Brexit Party. Hard-hearted MEP Ben Habib said he won’t give the parliament “a second thought” after leaving. What about Nigel Farage? The bete noire of Brussels told his LBC listeners he has a twisted kind of love for the place. Farage said he will actually miss being “shouted at by Guy Verhofstadt” and “mocked by hundreds many times over”. Don’t worry Nigel – we can arrange for you to be mocked many times over back home in Britain.

HISTORY FOR LOSERS: Labour has decided it must be a difficult time for defeated candidates – six weeks on from the general election loss. The party has written to them all advising they call 999 or the Samaritans if they feel distressed or suicidal. It’s been mocked as both over-the-top and after-the-fact. An official post-election briefing heard by the National Executive Committee (NEC) has also been ridiculed for the absurdly positively spin it put on the campaign. Greg Cook, former head of strategy for Labour, called it “the most worthless and disingenuous piece of electoral analysis I’ve ever seen”. MP Wes Streeting said “history has been rewritten by the losers”. Elsewhere, leadership candidates got themselves in a muddle over Scottish independence. Long-Bailey said a second referendum was up to “Scottish people” and the “Scottish parliament” (even though these aren’t the same thing). And Keir Starmer seemed to accidentally suggest a majority win for the SNP at the 2021 Holyrood election would be a mandate for indyref2. They’re in dire need of a decent briefing.

BESIDE THE POINTS: Boris Johnson and his ministers have been banging on about an “Australian-style” points-based immigration system for so long, it came as some surprise when experts actually called them out on it. The head of the Migration Advisory Committee dismissed all the Aussie-points stuff as simply “a soundbite”. The independent committee said a points-based system was only really relevant and appropriate for highly-skilled migrants, and also recommended the government cut the salary threshold by more than £4,000. Elsewhere, the Foreign Office has advised Brits not to travel to anywhere in mainland China while the risk of the coronavirus spreading remains high. And it looks as though the first flights bringing British citizens stuck in Wuhan back home will begin on Thursday – despite British Airways suspending all flights to and from China.

FRANCOIS VS CHRISTIAN: Anyone who thinks political interviews should aspire to the scrutinous intensity of Frost vs Nixon will be disappointed by the latest remarks from the BBC’s departing director-general. Lord Hall said too many interviewers were trying to “catch out” and embarrass politicians live on air. Andrew Neil won’t be sorry to see Hall go. For those interested in bear pit telly shenanigans, it’s worth catching up with Tory MP Mark Francois’ clash with the once-notable broadcaster Terry Christian on Good Morning Britain. It began with the former presenter of The Word attempting to defend himself, having called people who voted for Brexit “pitiable saps” who might soon be selling The Big Issue. It soon descended into a bad-natured farce in which no-one emerged with any credit. “Terry, we’ve heard enough!” Susanna Reid shouted at one point. Frost vs Nixon it was not.

On the record

“I’m afraid the only way to protect our safety is to ban it.”

Tory MP David Davis takes a hard line on Huawei.

From the Twitterati

“Our Brexit bulldog will answer your questions. What would you like to know about Brexit?”

BBC London shares a photo of a green-coloured bulldog, and promises the mutt will clear up any mysteries...

“Why does the brexit bulldog look radioactive?”

...prompting writer Jenny Constance to ask the all-important question.

Essential reading

Caroline Lucas, The Independent: Most Britons actually support free movement – but the government’s misleading messages won’t tell you that

Tom Peck, The Independent: If Huawei proves to be a disaster, Boris Johnson already knows it will be someone else’s problem

Chris Deerin, New Statesman: How internal divisions are threatening the SNP’s drive towards independence

Mary Louise Kelly, The New York Times: Pompeo called me a ‘liar’. That’s not what bothers me

Sign up here to receive this daily briefing in your email inbox every morning