Boris Johnson news: Brexit ‘crisis talks’ held in Berlin, as PM’s father again breaks facemask rule

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Boris Johnson says 'tough times' lie ahead for UK job market

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has met German chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin for talks on the Brexit crisis, as Germany urges the UK to agree a compromise trade deal. Goldman Sachs said a deal was still “likely” in early November – but warned a breakdown in negotiations could not be ruled out.

It comes as chancellor Rishi Sunak defended his Eat Out to Help Out scheme – despite Mr Johnson’s suggestion it may have helped spread the coronavirus. Following his Tory conference speech, Mr Sunak claimed he did not want to be PM. “This is a hard enough job for me to do.”

Meanwhile Britain’s former ambassador to the US said Mr Johnson is unlikely to get a “warm welcome” from the White House if Joe Biden wins the election because of resentment over the PM’s remarks about Barack Obama’s “ancestral dislike of the British Empire”.

Key Points

• Government defeated in Lords on immigration bill
• PM’s dad caught breaking mask rule once again
• Rishi Sunak denies wanting to be prime minister
• PM ‘more likely to get trade deal from Trump than Biden’
• No-deal Brexit would be ‘highly irresponsible’, says Germany
• Black Lives Matter ‘not a force for good’, says Sajid Javid

[5 October 2020 16:48 · Peter Stubley]

Matt Hancock says that errors in the Covid data occurred in the old “legacy system” and that a new upgraded data system is already on the way.

He says contracts were awarded in August - though he does not say when it will be fully installed.

[5 October 2020 16:50 · Peter Stubley]

PM’s father breaks facemask rule again

Boris Johnson’s father has been criticised for breaking coronavirus rules on face coverings again, after he was photographed wearing his mask under his nose at a London Underground station.

Stanley Johnson admitted he “slipped up” but insisted he was unaware that the rules about face coverings – which must cover the nose and mouth – also applies when standing on the platform. He was photographed wearing the mask incorrectly at a Bakerloo line station on Monday.

[5 October 2020 16:56 · Peter Stubley]

‘Why should we feel shame about singling Rule Britannia?’

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has continued the Tory attack on the BBC and the Black Lives Matter movement by saying the UK should be proud of its history rather than "trashing" it.

Mr Dowden told the Conservative Party conference: "We should stand up for our cultural values. Why on earth should we feel shame about singing Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory at the Proms?

"Clearly slavery was a terrible stain on the British Empire, but it is equally true that we abolished slavery - we were one of the first nations to abolish slavery - and actually it is the case that the Royal Navy spent huge amounts of our national wealth, according to some estimates up to 2% of our national wealth every year, patrolling the North Atlantic to stop the evils of the slave trade.

"If you look at our values, like the rule of law, like a free and open press, they defined the enlightenment and made our lives as rich as they are now."

Referring to the removal of statues of slave traders, Mr Dowden said he was worried about a culture of "looking back in shame on our history", 

"I'm sending this message out very clearly to our cultural institutions: of course they should be talking about their history, I always say 'keep stuff in place, keep your monuments in place and use them to explain our history, don't hide it away'.

"Weak nations try and obliterate their history, we should look our history in the eye, confront it and celebrate our strengths as well."

He said the BBC needed to “stand up for the values of impartiality” before referring to the culture war controversy over the singing of Rule, Britannia!

“I think they have got it wrong in the past because they have allowed themselves to be driven by those values instead of the values of the entire country,” Mr Dowden said.

"We saw that with the extraordinary situation of not being able to sing Rule, Britannia! and Land Of Hope And Glory at the Proms.

"Any normal person thinks that's a complete outrage."

[5 October 2020 17:33 · Peter Stubley]

Government accused of ‘shocking betrayal’ over Grenfell-style cladding

A Tory MP has criticised the government’s failure to help residents who cannot sell their homes because of concerns over cladding in the wake of the Grenfell fire.

Stephen McPartland, representing Stevenage, spoke out during questions to housing minister Robert Jenrick in the Commons, after it emerged that a £1bn fund to replace dangerous cladding on high-rise buildings would only meet around a third of the total cost.

Mr McPartland said: "The Secretary of State has overseen a shocking betrayal of millions of people who are trapped in flats they cannot sell because of cladding, irrespective of the height.

"Mortgage companies are refusing to remortgage. Shared ownership tenants that only own 10% are being forced to pay 100% of the costs.

"When is the Secretary of State going to get out of his ivory tower, stop talking and start actually helping our constituents?"

Responding for the Government, Mr Jenrick told the Commons: "I don't agree with that analysis of the actions we have taken as a government. We're bringing forward the biggest change to building safety regulation in a generation.

"We've outlined plans for our £1.6 billion fund. Of course, there's more that we could do. This is one of the most challenging and difficult issues faced by the government today or indeed any government built up over many generations. But we intend to tackle it and to provide support for those in need."

[5 October 2020 17:45 · Peter Stubley]

Labour MP throws hands up during Hancock questions

This exchange between Matt Hancock and Labour MP Stella Creasy is getting a lot of attention on social media.

Ms Creasy threw up her hands in apparent despair as the health secretary said her criticisms were not “sensible” and suggested she should not pick on “small cogs in the wheel” over the Covid data glitch.

[5 October 2020 17:59 · Peter Stubley]

Government defeated on child refugees

Peers have overwhelmingly backed a cross-party call to continue existing arrangements for unaccompanied child refugees to be reunited with close relatives in the UK.

The amendment, proposed by Lord Dubs, who fled the Nazis as a child on the Kindertransport, was passed by 317 votes to 223, majority 94.

It follows a series of votes in which peers backed amendments to the proposed legislation, as Whitehall editor Kate Devin explains:

[5 October 2020 18:33 · Peter Stubley]

Government should rethink immigration policy, says Lord Dubs

Labour peer Lord Dubs, whose amendment to the government’s flagship immigration bill was passed by the House of Lords today, has called on ministers to rethink their proposals.

He added: “The government defeat today demonstrates the strength of feeling that we should not abandon our humanity and compassion by removing the right of children to be reunited with relatives here in the UK.”

[5 October 2020 18:49 · Peter Stubley]

Davis criticises government’s ‘rush’ to pass undercover agents bill

Former Tory minister David Davis has accused the Government of trying to rush through a law which would protect undercover operatives from prosecution.

The government hopes to push the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill through the Commons in a single day next week. It is debated today at second reading.

In a point of order, Mr Davis told the Commons: "This bill is described in the House of Commons briefing document, and I quote ,'as raising one of the most profound issues which can face a democratic society governed by the rule of law'.

"They weren't quoting some left-wing NGO, they are quoting the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. The last time the government rushed a security bill through in this way, I and others had a challenge in the court of law.

"The government lost and had to rewrite the bill. We don't want to do that again. So what can we do to ensure that these profound issues are debated before we allow the government to break our laws whenever it chooses?"

Deputy Commons speaker Nigel Evans replied it was not a matter for the Speaker and said Mr Davis could vote against the programme motion "should he wish to do so".

[5 October 2020 19:15 · Peter Stubley]

Half of missed coronavirus cases contacted by test and trace, says Hancock

Here’s Matt Hancock’s attempt to reassure MPs that he was on top of the Covid data ‘glitch’ that failed to count nearly 16,000 positive tests.

He said that Test and Trace staff had already contacted 51 per cent of the ‘missing cases’, which date back to between 25 September and 2 October.

You can follow the latest coronavirus developments over on our live blog:

[5 October 2020 19:42 · Peter Stubley]

Covid-Brexit combo ‘could cost UK £134bn a year’ in GDP

A no-deal Brexit on top of the coronavirus pandemic could cost the UK more than £134bn a year in lost GDP for over a decade, according to new research.

The COVID-19 outbreak will cut Britain's GDP by 2.2 per cent below the levels anticipated before the outbreak, the law firm Baker McKenzie said in a report titled "The Future of UK Trade: Merged Realities of Brexit and COVID-19."

On top of that, Brexit, even with a trade deal, would cut GDP by 3.1 per cent in the long-run relative to a hypothetical scenario where the UK remained in the EU, while exports of goods would be 6.3 per cent lower.

But without a trade deal, the cost of Brexit would increase to 3.9 per cent of GDP in the long run, Baker McKenzie said.

"Despite businesses taking steps to offset the added costs of Brexit by reconfiguring supply chains, the decline in export revenues for UK manufacturers will be substantial," Baker McKenzie said.

“With the costs of the UK’s departure from the EU likely to be very high, the government will need to use all the tools at its disposal to help mitigate the economic damage.”