Boris Johnson news: Keir Starmer condemns top civil servant’s exit as PM dismisses claims replacement must be Brexiteer

Follow all the latest developments

PM says top civil servant 'wants to move on'

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has criticised Boris Johnson for “focusing on reshuffles” in the midst of the coronavirus crisis following the announcement Sir Mark Sedwill will step aside as cabinet secretary.

Mr Johnson was said to be keen on a Brexiteer as Sir Mark’s replacement – but he dismissed those reports on Monday and hailed Britain’s “impartial” civil service as the best in the world. It follows a call from Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove for government to be “closer to the 52 per cent who voted to Leave”.

Mr Johnson said he wanted a “Rooseveltian” rebuilding of the economy as he set out plans for an infrastructure spending blitz. It comes as the mayor of Leicester said the government wants to extend lockdown in the city for two weeks beyond 4 July to deal with a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Key Points

• Keir Starmer condemns Sir Mark Sedwill’s exit from No 10
• PM ‘wants Brexiteer to replace Sir Mark Sedwill’
• Government keen to extend Leicester lockdown for two weeks, says mayor
• Education secretary promises ‘detailed’ plan for schools this week
• ‘Intensified’ Brexit trade deal talks under way in Brussels

[29 June 2020 16:17 · Peter Stubley]

Chris Philp also defended the decision to move asylum seekers in Glasgow into hotels, saying it was done for public health reasons during the pandemic.

He said there has not been a single confirmed case of coronavirus in respect of asylum seekers staying in hotels.

Mr Philp added: "We are working at pace to increase the available accommodation so we can, as quickly as we can, move asylum seekers from hotels into more permanent accommodation, which I think we all agree is more suitable, and efforts are currently under way to do exactly that."

He said that people were moved into hotels because "the serviced apartments were not appropriate and not safe" during the coronavirus pandemic, adding: "It was done for safety reasons and has been entirely borne out by the subsequent statistics."

However Glasgow MP Stuart McDonald, of the SNP, criticised Mr Philp's response to questions as "tone deaf" and suggested he should try living in a hotel room for seven weeks.

[29 June 2020 16:22 · Peter Stubley]

Academics criticise PM's inaction on child poverty

"To see the prime minister abuse and ignore official data without apparent concern for repercussions demeans his office and undermines the authority of national statistics across the board. It also distracts from the real issue – the urgent need to tackle and prevent child poverty. We would like to see the prime minister spend less time searching for an elusive indicator which paints the government in a better light, and more time focusing on how to address a scourge which blights children’s lives, limits their opportunities, and for which there are known and effective policy solutions."

[29 June 2020 16:39 · Peter Stubley]

In the Commons, Iain Duncan Smith is now raising reports of China's suppression of birth rates of Uighurs and other minorities as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population.

Here's the full story:

[29 June 2020 16:51 · Peter Stubley]

Foriegn Office minister Nigel Adams says: "We will continue to call on China to respect its obligations on human rights."

He adds that Dominic Raab will be making a statement on the UK's new "Magnitsky-style" sanctions regime before the summer recess.

[29 June 2020 17:06 · Peter Stubley]

'It is possible you may have heard of us'

Brexiteer Mark Francois, chairman of the ERG, a group of eurosceptic Conservative MPs, has written to the EU's chief negotiator to urge him to "change some of the unreasonable demands".

He headlines it: "A missive from a free country".

[29 June 2020 17:21 · Peter Stubley]

Sturgeon not ruling out quarantine for travel from England

Nicola Sturgeon will not rule out quarantining people from other parts of the UK as she warned that England does not appear to be trying to eradicate coronavirus, reports Press Association.

Scotland's first minister said she was not currently planning to force people arriving from England, Wales and Northern Ireland to quarantine but would consider doing so "if it is required from a public health perspective".

Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish Government's daily coronavirus briefing "we have to be on our guard against cases coming into Scotland from elsewhere".

She explained her government's coronavirus strategy was to "get as close to elimination as possible" but suggested the UK Government was "letting it circulate at higher levels".

Asked about whether further quarantine measures could come into force for travellers to Scotland from other parts of the UK, she added: "We have no plans to introduce any measures like this right now, but I'm not ruling anything out."

"We are taking the time to consider the UK Government's proposals around air bridges for the arrangements between parts of the UK and other countries," she said.

Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw responded: "The first minister needs to rule out any attempt to close off Scotland from the rest of the UK.

"While it may be that localised lockdowns will be needed to deal with individual flare-ups over the months ahead, they should be handled as such."

[29 June 2020 17:26 · Peter Stubley]

Health secretary Matt Hancock's statement to the House of Commons on the situation in Leicester has now apparently been delayed until 9pm.

Business minister Alok Sharma in currently introducing the Business and Planning Bill.

[29 June 2020 17:35 · Peter Stubley]

'It looks like the start of a rolling coup'

"The Boris Johnson-Dominic Cummings "hard rain" war against the civil service is deeply troubling," writes former Downing Street chief of staff Jonathan Powell.

[29 June 2020 17:49 · Peter Stubley]

List of travel quarantine exemptions coming 'later this week'

Meanwhile we are still waiting on the list of countries which will be exempt from the UK's travel quarantine.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has released a statement, but it adds little to what was announced on Friday.

[29 June 2020 18:02 · Peter Stubley]

'Gove is part of the disease himself' - sketch

"He is, of course, right that the world is in a mess, but it is in a mess because it has allowed itself to become in the grip of populist leaders who have worked out that there is now a clear path to power through sowing anger and division, rather than unity and consensus; who have worked out that the easiest way to deal with a problem is to lie about it, or just ignore it, rather than solve it."

Political sketch writer Tom Peck dissects Michael Gove's latest undergraduate essay: