Boris Johnson news – live: PM announces cinemas and museums to reopen, as Japan gives UK six weeks to strike post-Brexit trade deal
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Boris Johnson has set out plans to allow pubs, restaurants, cinemas, museums and galleries to re-open on 4 July in a major easing of the coronavirus lockdown in England. The prime minister said “our long national hibernation is beginning to come to an end”.
Mr Johnson also announced that the two-metre social distancing rule will be relaxed – saying it would be changed to a minimum of “one metre-plus” wherever a two-metre distance was not possible.
Elsewhere, Japan has given the UK just six weeks to strike a post-Brexit deal, putting the government under pressure to agree one of the fastest trade negotiations in history. “We must complete negotiations by the end of July,” said Tokyo’s chief negotiator.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of events at Westminster and beyond, ahead of Boris Johnson’s big announcement in the Commons on the next phase in lockdown easing.
PM to reveal reopening of cinemas and museums
Boris Johnson is all set to announce pubs, restaurants and hotels in England can reopen on 4 July – and cinemas, museums and galleries can resume business on the same date.
The two-metre rule in England is set to be halved to one (with some conditions), and the PM is also expected to reveal some expansion in “support bubbles” when he speaks in the Commons at 12.30pm.
The British Beer and Pub Association said ditching the two-metre rule would be “a phenomenal move”, while one government official told the Financial Times that “ministers might take the lead by heading to the pub”.
But some scientists have condemned the imminent moves as risky – with the independent SAGE group warning that the rate of infection is still “far too high” to go ahead with such widespread easing of the rules.
Shielding measures in England to be lifted in August
Health secretary Matt Hancock announced that advice for clinically extremely vulnerable people in England to “shield” themselves by staying at home will be lifted from 1 August.
They will be able to visit shops and places of worship and return to their workplace if they cannot do their job at home, but will be advised to stick to social distancing rules.
There will be new freedoms for the 2.2 million people from 6 July, when they will be able to meet up outdoors with up to five others and form support bubbles with other households.
All the details here:
Sajid Javid backs VAT cut as ‘one-off fiscal hit’
Former chancellor Sajid Javid has called temporary cuts to national insurance and VAT to help the country bounce back from the economic devastation caused by Covid-19.
In a new joint report with the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) think tank, Javid recommended a reduction in VAT as “a one-off fiscal hit to give consumers more bang for their buck”.
Javid also warned against any return to austerity, and said emergency spending measures should carry on until April 2021.
Russia report committee ‘close to returning’
The government is close to re-establishing the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), according to the BBC.
No 10 still needs to approve the new members of the powerful committee, which has not met for over six months and is due to publish the long-delayed report into alleged Russian meddling in the UK.
A source “close to the process” told the broadcaster the committee members would be confirmed by Downing Street “imminently” following criticism the government was dragging its heels.
The report in alleged interference from Moscow has not been published eight months after it was completed.
Japan gives UK six weeks to strike a post-Brexit trade deal
Japan has given the UK just six weeks to strike a post-Brexit deal, putting Boris Johnson’s government under pressure to agree one of the fastest trade negotiations in history, the Financial Times has reported.
Tokyo is keen to conclude a deal the summer to give the Japanese parliament the chance to ratify it this Autumn.
“To avoid a gap in January, we must pass this in the autumn session of the Diet [the Japanese parliament],” Hiroshi Matsuura, Tokyo’s chief negotiator, told the newspaper. “That means we must complete negotiations by the end of July.”
Sturgeon and her husband among Salmond inquiry witnesses
Nicola Sturgeon and her husband will be called to give evidence before a Holyrood committee investigating the Scottish government’s handling of complaints made against Alex Salmond, it has been confirmed.
Sturgeon, the current first minister, is on the initial witness list produced by MSPs, along with the chief executive of the SNP, her husband Peter Murrell.
The Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints will also take evidence from Salmond and his former chief of staff Geoff Aberdein, as well as Sturgeon’s chief of staff Liz Lloyd.
Permanent secretary Leslie Evans will be the first witness to be questioned by the committee, while her predecessors in the job Sir John Elvidge and Sir Muir Russell are also included, along with “a number of senior civil servants” and the Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC.
Another witness will be deputy first minister John Swinney, while staff trade unions could also be called to give evidence to the Holyrood committee.
Nicola Sturgeon speaking at Holyrood (PA)
UK has ‘done well’ to bring down coronavirus cases, says WHO expert
The UK has to be careful as lockdown measures are eased, but the country has done well in bringing the number of coronavirus infections down, a World Health Organisation (WHO) expert has said.
Dr Margaret Harries told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The lesson is for people to understand this is the year of living differently.
“Not, ‘okay, it’s over’. You haven’t just been let out of school.
“You have done well. You have really brought down your numbers. The UK has brought a very difficult outbreak right down.
“Very good news in the last couple of days about the limitation in cases, and far, far fewer people dying. So, now is the moment to celebrate that by being super careful.”
Pubs and other businesses will get clear ‘guidelines’ for reopening, says minister
Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis has been speaking about the planned reopening of pubs. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I appreciate many people do want to see things starting to get back to whatever that new normal will be."
Pressed on how social distancing would be enforced, Lewis said: “If we are able to say to pubs, and other establishments, that they are able to open in the near future, we will be issuing guidelines as well.
“So that they can have some confidence about what is expected of them to create a safe environment.”
He added: “One of the things we will be issuing, once we make these decisions today, and the prime minister makes his announcement, will be guidelines for all of us as individuals, and as employers, to look at how we act and practise in a safe and healthy environment as we go forward.”
Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis (PA)
Foster care in ‘state of emergency’, charity warns
Foster care is in a “state of emergency” as the number of referrals rockets while the number of people looking to take children in has halved during the pandemic, a charity has warned.
Barnardo’s, one of the UK’s largest fostering agencies, recorded a 44 per cent rise in foster referrals to its service during the crisis.
Over the same period, the number of enquiries from people looking to become foster parents for the charity fell 47 per cent – sparking fears that hundreds of children referred to Barnardo’s will not be placed with a family.
Our social affairs correspondent May Bulman has the details:
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