Boris Johnson news: PM accused of ‘stoking fear and division’ with criticism of Black Lives Matter protests as government makes U-turn on Brexit border checks
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Boris Johnson has said it is “absurd and shameful” the Winston Churchill national monument is at risk of attack by protesters this weekend, and warned Black Lives Matter supporters that the responsible thing to do is “stay away from these protests”.
The prime minister went further and claimed the tearing down of statues constitutes “lying about our history”, before claiming that the demonstrations had been “hijacked by extremists intent on violence”. Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson Christina Jardine responded by accusing Mr Johnson of “stoking division and fear in our communities.”
Full border controls with the EU won’t be ready until at least six months after the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December 2020, the government has announced. It comes as the latest GDP figures show the British economy shrank more than 20 per cent in April.
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Grant Shapps said he 'doesn't think' it is true that the chief nurse had been dropped from the briefings after she refused to defend Dominic Cummings.
It followed a question about the story by The Independent's health correspondent Shaun Lintern.
Video: Shapps denies chief nurse dropped from daily briefings
The transport secretary said he expected Ruth May would be appearing again at future briefings.
"I don't think it is true," he said. "She has attended them many times before. I notice that at the top of the No 10 Twitter feed I see one of her tweets pinned.
"I am absolutely sure she has been a regular contributor before and I am sure she will be back here again."
Grant Shapps says the blanket travel quarantine will remain until at least 29 June.
He says the idea of 'air bridges' was being considered but played down suggestions that talks with specific countries was already taking place.
Grant Shapps says he is "absolutely confident" there will be no shortage of medicines when the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December.
Nightingale hospitals may be kept in case of "second wave"
Professor Stephen Powis said the NHS has been working hard to prepare for a possible second wave of coronavirus in the winter.
"The Nightingale hospitals were built in case we need them and we are actively considering what we need to do with those going forward to ensure that if there is a second wave if we have capacity in place," he told the No 10 briefing.
'We don't hear enough of positive stuff', says PM
Boris Johnson has told Black Lives Matter protesters they should focus on the "positive stuff" around racial equality in the UK.
Speaking to broadcasters on Monday the prime minister said the UK had made "huge progress" on tackling racism, citing progress on education.
PM 'should be showing national leadership' against racism, says Labour
Labour has called on Boris Johnson to show "national leadership" by tackling racism in the wake of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests.
Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: "It is clear that the weekend ahead is likely to cause major challenges, with the risk of violence in our streets, not least as far-right extremists seek to exploit the situation and sow hate for their own divisive ends.
"I have no doubt that police across the country have the skills, experience and dedication to respond as well as possible to the challenge, and the vast majority of protesters intend to be peaceful.
"However, the Prime Minister should be showing national leadership, by co-ordinating the Government's response to the complex issues underpinning these protests.
"This means recognising the deep hurt so many black people in our country have spoken so powerfully about, and setting out steps for meaningful action against racism in our country.
"This is a powerful moment in our history and it is important the Prime Minister is not found to be wanting."
It came after Mr Johnson said it was "shameful" that the statue of the former prime minister, who helped lead Britain to victory against Hitler in the Second World War, was at "risk of attack by violent protesters".
'The jokes in parliament prove British leaders have no idea how bad slavery was'
Patrick Cockburn responds to the laughter of Conservative leaders at protesters seeking the removal of statues memorialising those whose fortunes came from the exploitation of slaves.
Scottish and Welsh ministers pull out of Brexit conference call
The Scottish and Welsh representatives on the Joint Ministerial Committee on European Negotiations refused to take part in a 6pm conference call with Penny Mordaunt in protest at Michael Gove's tweet earlier this afternoon.
Mr Gove announced he had "formally confirmed" the UK will not extend the Brexit transition period beyond 31 December.
It prompted a joint statement from counsel general for Wales Jeremy Miles, Scotland's constitutional relations secretary Mike Russell and Europe Minister Jenny Gilruth.
They said: "We cannot accept a way of working in which the views of the devolved Governments are simply dismissed before we have had a chance to discuss them.
"In reality, the meetings we have had have simply been an opportunity for the UK Government to inform us of their views, not to listen or respond to ours.
"We will be writing to Michael Gove to seek a complete reboot of these talks and meanwhile we want the EU 27 to know that the position being taken by the UK government with regard to an extension of the transition period runs counter to the views of our governments and, in our opinion, risks doing serious damage to the people of our countries."
BLM march ends with a dance in Trafalgar Square
Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters marched from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square this evening before ending their demonstration with a dance on the steps.
Leaders of the march urged those involved to make their demonstration "peaceful" and to not join any anti-racism rallies planned for the weekend.
The main BLM protest planned for Saturday afternoon has been postponed amid fears it would be targeted by far-right protesters such as the "Democratic Football Lads Alliance".
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