Inside Politics: David Frost offers marching season deadline for protocol deal

Boris Johnson’s Brexit minister thinks Northern Ireland’s mid-July marching season should focus minds in Brussels about the need for flexibility, writes Adam Forrest

UK's chief Brexit negotiator, Lord David Frost (PA)

A misplaced comment can make a lot of mischief. Elon Musk is now claiming his company has not sold its Bitcoin holdings – days after he caused huge market turbulence by hinting that he had ditched the cryptocurrency. Downing Street mischief maker David Frost has everyone on edge at the moment, after warning of “turbulence” ahead in Northern Ireland. The Brexit minister has hinted Boris Johnson’s government is ready to ditch protocol arrangements. Is Frost playing hardball again, or could No 10 suspend parts of the UK agreement with the EU?

Inside the bubble

Chief political commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for today:

Cabinet meets this morning, followed by questions in the Commons. Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has an urgent question to Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove about the enforcement of the ministerial code and the publication of the register of ministers’ interests. I assume Gove will want to answer it himself, in his first clash with his new shadow.

Daily briefing

ENDING IN TIERS? Boris Johnson and his team are said to be discussing whether a partial return to England’s tier system is needed to control the spread of the Indian Covid variant. Local lockdowns would be based on tier 4 measures, according to The Times – meaning strict stay-at-home measures and the closure of non-essential shops, pubs and restaurants. A delay to the 21 June lifting of lockdown is the alternative. No 10 admitted that the Indian variant “could pose a threat” to next month’s easing. Tory backbenchers are not happy. Mark Harper, head of the Covid Recovery Group, claimed “we can’t hold back wider society” because some are not getting their jabs. One unnamed MP told the Mail that pushing back the 21 June date could be Johnson’s “Theresa May moment”, explaining: “This freedom date is burned on people’s brains in the same way as her date for leaving the EU – when she missed it, she was finished.” The debate comes as Matt Hancock said there are now 86 local authorities with five or more cases of the Indian variant.

MR BUMP: David Frost has warned us that UK-EU relations will be “bumpy for a time”. The Brexit minister said talks on the Northern Ireland protocol have not been “hugely productive”. Any chance of an agreement? Frost ruled out an alignment with the EU on agri-food standards in order to reduce checks. “That doesn’t work for us and isn’t going to be the solution.” But Frost appears to be hoping that ratcheting up the rhetoric about violence will persuade the EU to drop its to-the-letter approach on checks outlined in the Brexit deal. Frost said there is a “real life timetable” in Northern Ireland – alluding to mid-July marching season – which should focus minds in Brussels about the need to be more flexible. Government officials in the Republic of Ireland are said to worried the UK could trigger Article 16 – suspending parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. One source told RTE that Frost’s recent remarks about the peace process being under threat were “irresponsible”.

JOKE ISN’T FUNNY ANYMORE: Dominic Cummings is back in the headlines – getting himself in shape for next week’s parliamentary inquiry appearance, perhaps. The ex-No 10 strategist took a swipe at his former underlings, accusing ministers of overseeing a “joke borders policy”. He also tweeted: “Pseudo lockdowns without serious enforcement are hopeless.” (This, remember, is the man who got away with travelled across the country during the first lockdown). Labour also kicked the government on borders, accusing ministers of “catastrophic misstep” by failing to stop travel from India until it was too late. Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the UK had borders “about as secure as a sieve”. Speaking of which, British tourists appear to be ignoring Hancock’s plea not to travel to “amber list” countries. Some were spotted taking advantage of at least 340 flights identified as destinations in the medium-risk category on Monday.

TINKERING IN THE DARK: Keir Starmer has survived his first encounter with Labour MPs since the disastrous local election results and botched reshuffle – telling the party it needs to “modernise” and “face outwards not inwards”. Addressing the PLP after the bruising losses, the Labour leader said: “I didn’t come into politics to tinker around edges. I came into it … to change lives and change Britain. This is a once in a generation moment. We need to build a post-austerity, post-Brexit, post-pandemic Britain.” Sounds easy enough. The nation’s top elections expert offered a scathing assessment of where Labour is at. Prof John Curtice suggested the party “seemingly has virtually nothing to say about anything … that’s not very attractive”. Speaking at a UK in a Changing Europe event, Prof Curtice said Labour has to stop being “so timid” and offer actual policies. “It’s not coming up with virtually anything in the way of alternative proposals.”

TRADING RACISMS: Tory MP Michael Fabricant has been accused of spreading “hateful racism” after he described pro-Palestine protesters in London as “primitives”. The MP for Lichfield tweeted a video of clashes with police outside the Israeli embassy and added: “These primitives are trying to bring to London what they do in the Middle East.” Meanwhile, communities secretary Robert Jenrick said there had been a big upsurge in antisemitism, telling MPs that incidents over the weekend were “intimidatory, racist and extremely serious crimes”. Jenrick condemned those who had posted content glorifying the militant group Hamas. “Every time the virus of antisemitism re-enters our society it masks itself as social justice.” The Community Security Trust said there had been a 320 per cent increase in reports of antisemitic incidents since the latest chapter in the long, sad history of violence in Gaza kicked off a week ago.

CODE BREAKERS? Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner will try to press Michael Gove on the ministerial code of conduct in the Commons today. Labour thinks it’s time for home secretary Priti Patel to face an investigation into an allegedly “flagrant” breach of the code (lobbying for a £20m PPE contract for a firm represented by a Tory donor). Meanwhile, the cabinet secretary Simon Case has defended Boris Johnson’s role as the ultimate arbitrator of the ministerial code – after critics argued the system means the PM is able to “mark his own homework”. Case argued that Britain’s unwritten constitution set out that “hiring and firing” powers must rest with the prime minister, even in situations where that might appear “odd”. With No 10’s ethics adviser Lord Geidt currently probing how Johnson’s flat makeover was paid for, it has emerged that the PM was initially told he could use a charitable trust to fund the refurb, before Whitehall officials changed their advice.

On the record

“Our borders have been about as secure as a sieve. The delay in adding India to the red list surely now stands as a catastrophic misstep.”

Labour shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth.

From the Twitterati

“It’s clear from his latest propaganda statements on the protocol that David Frost either totally failed to grasp the details & significance of the deal he supposedly negotiated – or now follows his master’s cue in lying about them.”

Prof Michael Dougan says Frost is either dissembling or scrambling…

“Lord Frost, invited by MPs in committee, to describe how Brexit will strengthen the Union … is ponderously ladling out a prolific volume of indigestible word porridge. Short version: no idea.”

…and Rafael Behr says Frost might just be talking porridge.

Essential reading

Victoria Richards, The Independent: Wanting to ‘free Palestine’ is no excuse for antisemitism

Sean O’Grady, The Independent: Allowing people inside pubs is foolish – and Matt Hancock knows it

Martin Fletcher, New Statesman: For Labour to have any hope, Starmer must champion electoral reform

Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times: Why Jared Kushner’s absurd peace plan failed

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