Brexit news: PM’s Northern Ireland tunnel plan dropped as EU imports delayed to July

Boris Johnson’s plan for what a former aide described as “the world’s most stupid tunnel” between Scotland and Northern Ireland has been ditched as the Treasury clamps down on spending.

The prime minister initially proposed a 28-mile bridge connecting Stranraer in Scotland to Larne in Northern Ireland in 2018, but the £15bn project was widely derided by engineers because of the practical obstacles to construction in a stretch of water which is more than 1,000 feet deep in places.

An unnamed government official with knowledge of Treasury spending negotiations told the Financial Times the plans are “dead, at least for now”.

Elsewhere, the government will push back a number of post-Brexit border controls from October and January next year until July 2022, David Frost has confirmed.

It came after the Brexit minister issued a fresh warning to the EU that Britain is not afraid to unilaterally suspend the Northern Ireland (NI) protocol agreed by Mr Johnson last year if officials continue to dismiss renegotiations.

Read More

Revealed: Michael Gove’s sexist jibes, racist jokes and homophobic slurs

What do the revelations mean for Michael Gove?

Boris Johnson’s mother Charlotte Johnson Wahl dies aged 79

Key points

• Commons health and social care levy debate underway

• Government delays key border checks on EU imports – again

• Here’s a list of what has been pushed back

• Johnson’s tunnel to Ireland ‘ditched on cost grounds’

• ‘Renegotiate or we’ll abandon the Protocol,’ Frost warns EU

• PM discusses mother’s death in Cabinet meeting

08:03 , Sam Hancock

Good morning, and welcome to The Independent’s rolling UK politics coverage. Stay tuned as we bring you the latest Brexit fallout and goings-on from inside Parliament.

‘Take renegotiations seriously or we will abandon Protocol,’ Frost warns EU

08:17 , Sam Hancock

The row over Brexit and Northern Ireland (NI) has escalated after Britain warned last night it is prepared to unilaterally suspend the NI protocol trading agreement with the EU.

Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, told the House of Lords on Monday night that his July command paper had set out the tests the UK would apply to trigger Article 16 of the Protocol, which allows either side to suspend the Protocol if it is deemed as having a significant impact on everyday life.

“I urge the EU to take this seriously. They would be making a significant mistake if they thought that we were not ready to use Article 16 safeguards, if that is our only choice to deal with the situation in front of us. If we are to avoid Article 16, there must be a real negotiation between us and the EU.”

It is not the first time the government has issued such a warning. Back in June, while the G7 summit was underway in Cornwall, Boris Johnson told Sky News he would do “whatever it takes” to make things right for Northern Ireland - including invoking Article 16.

The EU has repeatedly responded to such claims by saying it will not be “bullied” into changing its mind. “We will not agree to a renegotiation of the Protocol,” said Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission’s vice president, in an official statement in July.

Britain’s demands include abandoning full Irish Sea trade checks – due to start later this year, when “grace periods” expire – and for Brussels to shelve legal action for non-implementation of existing terms.

PM’s mother dies ‘suddenly and peacefully’ aged 79

08:24 , Sam Hancock

Boris Johnson is mourning the loss of his mother, the artist Charlotte Johnson Wahl, who has died at the age of 79.

She was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 40 and later became president of the European Commission for Human Rights.

The prime minister once described her as the “supreme authority” in his family, reports our deputy news editor Alastair Jamieson.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was among the first politicians to offer his condolences. “I’m very sorry to learn of the prime minister’s loss. My condolences to him and his family,” he tweeted.

Boris Johnson’s mother dies aged 79

Ocado to spend £5m on pay rises for HGV drivers due to Brexit shortages

08:38 , Sam Hancock

Online grocer Ocado is set to spend an additional £5m this year in pay rises, recruitment and signing-on bonuses for HGV drivers.

The shortage, caused by Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, has become “an increasingly important issue for the industry” and that it will try to mitigate costs where possible, the company said.

Bosses also revealed they will face a further £10m hit this year due to a fire at the company’s warehouse in Erith, southeast London, in the summer which led to around 300,000 customer orders worth £35m being cancelled.

Sales fell 10.6 per cent to £517.5m in the 13 weeks to 29 August, in part due to the fire but also because of strong comparisons last year at the height of the pandemic.

However, bosses are confident the company can continue its “strong growth”.

Tim Steiner, chairman of Ocado Retail, said: “Despite the challenges we faced in the period, I am delighted to report that Ocado Retail is performing well, improving the customer experience even further and continuing to grow the business in a post-lockdown environment.”

Additional reporting by PA

Minister criticised for telling MPs government ‘can’t help stranded Afghans’

08:50 , Sam Hancock

The minister for Afghan resettlement has told MPs to stop asking for help on behalf of people stranded in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan – as the government will not be able to respond to their requests.

In a letter to MPs, seen by The Independent, Victoria Atkins told her parliamentary colleagues instead to tell desperate people seeking their help to visit the government website, reports Andy Gregory.

Describing the move as “utterly disgraceful”, the Liberal Democrats warned that Afghans trapped in their homes in fear of the Taliban had “lost one of their last lifelines”.

But the Home Office minister said that Britain’s lack of troops or an embassy in Afghanistan represent a “new reality”, meaning the government now “cannot provide to MPs assessments or updates on those individuals who remain in Afghanistan and whose cases they have raised”.

Minister tells MPs to stop raising cases of stranded Afghans

UK government threatens to suspend NI protocol

09:09 , Sam Hancock

Boris Johnson hailed the signing of the Northern Ireland protocol and withdrawal agreement as a “fantastic moment” for the UK in January last year, but now says it is not working and that it must be changed.

Speaking in the House of Lords on Monday evening, David Frost, the government’s Brexit minister, said the EU should come to the table to make changes to the accord.

Lord Frost, who negotiated the agreement as a special advisor with wide ranging executive powers but who has since been appointed to the legislature and made a government minister, said: “A real negotiation does not mean the EU coming up with its own plans for solutions, within the framework of the existing Protocol, and presenting them to us as ‘take it or leave it’.”

Here’s our policy correspondent Jon Stone with more on Britain’s warning to the EU.

UK government threatens to suspend Brexit Northern Ireland deal

Post-Covid employment boom sees worker numbers at pre-pandemic levels

09:31 , Sam Hancock

UK worker numbers have returned to pre-pandemic levels after the “biggest jump in employment since 2014,” according to figures analysed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Jonathan Athow, ONS deputy national statistician for economic statistics, said: “Early estimates from payroll data suggest that in August the total number of employees is around the same level as before the pandemic, though our surveys show well over a million are still on furlough.

“However, this recovery isn’t even: in hard-hit areas such as London, and sectors such as hospitality and arts and leisure, the numbers of workers remain well down on pre-pandemic levels.

“The overall employment rate continues to recover, particularly among groups such as young workers who were hard hit at the outset of the pandemic, while unemployment has fallen.

“Vacancies reached a new record high.

“Not surprisingly, this is driven above all by hospitality, the sector with the highest proportion of employers reporting their job openings are hard to fill.”

Welfare and immigration policies driving racial disparity in housing - study

09:49 , Sam Hancock

Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are more likely to face unaffordable housing costs because of poverty, the benefit cap, immigration policies such as ‘No Recourse To Public Funds’ (NRPF) and racism in the labour market, new research has revealed.

One quarter of these groups, excluding Indian employees who are overrepresented as homeowners, are paying housing costs that are unaffordable (25 per cent), compared with 10 per cent of white workers, the study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has shown.

Khem Rogaly, one of the report’s authors, said: “Our research lays bare the shameful reality that people from ethnic minority communities are much more likely to be living in unaffordable housing that has a detrimental impact on their living standards.”

Our race correspondent Nadine White reports:

Welfare and immigration policies driving racial disparity in housing, new study shows

Watch: Border Force carries out ‘pushback drills’ using jet skis

10:00 , Sam Hancock

Recap: Footage shows officials practicing ‘pushback drills’ to divert migrant boats

10:15 , Sam Hancock

In case you missed this yesterday, Border Force staff were spotted using jet skis to turn around dinghies in the English Channel as part of a training exercise.

Photographs and video footage taken by charity Channel Rescue on Monday morning shows large Border Force vessels with what appears to be three jet skis trying to turn around rubber boats.

“We saw the jet skis either side and at the rear of the boat and then collide with the vessel to actually spin it around. It looked dangerous,” Channel Rescue coordinator Steven, who recorded the video off the coast of Kingsdown, in Dover, told The Independent.

Read our social correspondent May Bulman’s report in full here:

Border Force carries out ‘pushback drills’ using jet skis to ‘turn around dinghies’

Government again delays key border checks on EU imports

10:17 , Sam Hancock

The government has announced that it will delay a host of border red tape for EU imports from October and January next year until July 2022.

These include physical checks on food and other animal-related products which were due in January next year. It comes after the Independent reported that the necessary infrastructure would not be ready in time.

Follow this breaking story here:

Government delays key Brexit border checks

List of delayed border checks

10:22 , Sam Hancock

Our economics editor Anna Isaac reports the following:

Frost says govt will ‘help devolved administrations with new timetable’

10:34 , Sam Hancock

David Frost has spoken out about the border check delays. The Brexit minister said the delays applied mainly to “sanitary and phytosanitary goods” coming from EU member states.

After outlining the new timetable, as detailed in my previous post, Lord Frost said: “The government will work closely with the devolved administrations on the implementation of this new timetable, given their devolved responsibilities for agri-food controls.”

CBI asks govt to relax immigration rules to resolve supply chain issues

11:03 , Sam Hancock

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has urged the government to relax immigration rules, which the trade body said is “within its gift”, to help alleviate supply chain issues, following ministers’ decision to delay bringing in post-Brexit border checks.

Sean McGuire, CBI Europe director, said additional time “could help to relieve pressure” on supply chains ahead of the traditionally busy Christmas period for retailers, “especially given current headwinds”.

“But the impact will be fleeting unless that extra time delivers progress on the challenges firms are facing,” he said.

“That includes both sides giving fresh consideration to business’ suggestion for a bespoke veterinary agreement, which could avoid the majority of checks and reflect the unique nature of trade between the UK and the EU. And where supply bottlenecks are caused by labour shortages, the UK should use the immigration levers within its gift to alleviate short-term pressures.”

It comes after online grocery giant Ocado announced it was going to have to spend £5m on bonuses and pay-packets for HGV drivers due to Brexit-caused shortages.

PM’s tunnel to Ireland ‘ditched on cost grounds’

11:10 , Sam Hancock

Boris Johnson’s plan for what a former aide described as “the world’s most stupid tunnel” between Scotland and Northern Ireland has been ditched as the Treasury clamps down on spending.

The proposed link joining Northern Ireland to the British mainland is being considered by a transport connectivity review led by the Network Rail chair Sir Peter Hendy, with a feasibility study looking into the options of a bridge or tunnel.

However, the FT today reported that the project has fallen victim to Rishi Sunak’s crackdown on expenditure commitments ahead of next month’s spending review, with an unnamed government official telling the newspaper the plans are “dead”.

Boris Johnson’s tunnel to Ireland ‘ditched on cost grounds’

Parliamentary schedule for Tuesday

11:25 , Sam Hancock

Here’s a list of the debates planned around Westminster today.

House of Commons

11.30am Justice questions

12.30pm A statement on Covid-19

2pm: A 10-minute rule motion on non-disclosure agreements

Health and Social Care Levy Bill - all stages

A short debate on the theory test centre in Scunthorpe

Westminster Hall

2.30pm: Reducing fire risk in high-rise social housing

4pm: Role of shipping emissions in decarbonising the UK

4.30pm: Real fur sales in the UK

House of Lords

2.30pm: Oral questions

3.10pm: Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill - third reading

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill - second reading

New issues show UK ‘was not ready for no-deal Brexit’

11:37 , Sam Hancock

Tim Durrant, the associate director of think-tank Institute for Gov, reminds his followers of what the British public was promised in 2019 amid more Brexit drama.

Starmer attacks PM and promises better future for workers under Labour

11:47 , Sam Hancock

Increased sick pay and stronger workers’ rights would form part of a “new deal” for employment under Labour, Sir Keir Starmer has claimed.

In a speech on Tuesday morning, he attacked Boris Johnson’s decision to hike national insurance, saying the Tories were “raising taxes on working families” as he continues to fight for voters who deserted Labour for the Conservatives in 2019.

The address, to a TUC conference being held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic, comes at a crucial time for Sir Keir ahead of his first in-person Labour conference as leader later in September.

In a speech which drew heavily on his personal experience as the son of a toolmaker, Sir Keir said his father worked from 8am to 5pm, came home for tea and then went back to work from 6pm until 10pm “to provide for our family”. He restated Labour’s commitment to increase the minimum wage to £10 an hour.

“A job you can raise a family on must offer a solid foundation on which you can build your life, not worrying about how many hours you’ll be given the next week or how you’ll pay the bills if you fall ill,” Sir Keir added.

He also pledged to increase England’s sick pay, saying it was currently one of the “lowest rates” in Europe.

Watch: Home Office refuses to provide clarity for Afghans in UK asylum system

12:02 , Sam Hancock

Labour pledges higher minimum wage and stronger workers’ rights

12:23 , Sam Hancock

Following my earlier post, here’s our deputy political editor Rob Merrick with more on what Sir Keir Starmer promised should he get into office.

Keir Starmer pledges higher minimum wage and stronger workers’ rights

No. of people who would stop voting if ID needed ‘unknown’ - minister

12:40 , Sam Hancock

A minister has admitted that the number of people who will choose not to vote if required to produce ID at polling stations is “unknowable”, and that it is not known how many people have voted under the pretence of being somebody else.

Chloe Smith, minister for the constitution and devolution, told the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee that recent pilots had seen 0.4 per cent of voters turned away for lacking photographic ID.

But, she said, the reasons people chose not to vote were ultimately “unknowable” given voting is not compulsory, adding: “The largest reason people gave for not voting was they didn’t have time.”

Ms Smith was appearing in front of the committee during its inquiry on the Elections Bill, which introduces requirements for voter ID that critics fear will disenfranchise people who lack the right form of identification.

The committee had previously heard that the introduction of voter ID in Northern Ireland may have deterred 25,000 people from voting in the 2003 election, equivalent to 3.5 per cent of the electorate. But while Ms Smith denied that anyone would be “disenfranchised”, she said in response to questions on how many people would not vote: “We have some research on this, but fundamentally you are asking me for an unknowable number.”

Ms Smith also told the committee that it was not possible to know how many cases of “personation” - where someone pretends to be another person in order to vote - had occurred, as not every case would be detected or reported to the police.

Additional reporting by PA

Some find UK being independent trading nation ‘unsettling,’ claims Truss

12:55 , Sam Hancock

PoliticsHome’s Adam Payne reports the following:

One in four families to lose out from £1,000-a-year UC cut

13:10 , Sam Hancock

Almost a quarter of families in England’s biggest cities are facing a £1,000-a-year hit to their incomes at the end of this month due to Boris Johnson’s plan to cut Universal Credit (UC) payments, mayors from some of the countries’ major urban areas have warned.

The eight Labour metro mayors - representing areas including London, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, the West of England and West and South Yorkshire - wrote a joint letter to the PM urging him to cancel the removal of the £20-a-week UC “uplift” introduced at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The letter comes a day ahead of a House of Commons debate on Wednesday called by Labour to preserve the uplift.

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has more:

One in four families in England’s cities to lose out from £1,000-a-year benefit cut

Starmer made ‘backroom deal to reinstate Corbyn and then broke it’

13:22 , Sam Hancock

Keir Starmer agreed a backroom deal to lift Jeremy Corbyn’s suspension from Labour but then rowed back on it following a backlash, Len McCluskey has claimed.

The former Unite chief warned the Labour leader “risks becoming fixed in the public’s mind as someone who can’t be trusted” – citing both the episode and Sir Keir’s decision to abandon some leadership election pledges, writes our policy correspondent Jon Stone.

Writing in the Guardian Mr McCluskey said an “agreed form of words” had been negotiated with Sir Keir’s office for Mr Corbyn’s clarification, after which it was agreed he would be reinstated. Mr McCluskey also said Sir Keir indicated on the telephone to him that he had personally suspended Mr Corbyn, rather than the party’s disciplinary apparatus acting independently.

Read the full report here:

Keir Starmer ‘made backroom deal to reinstate Jeremy Corbyn and then broke it’

We’re doing a bad job of pretending it’s back to politics as normal while we wait for a possible third wave

13:47 , Matt Mathers

Everything in Westminster feels slightly static and off-kilter at the moment – we are all, to different extents, terrified that things will soon take a turn for the worse again, writes Marie Le Conte.

Read Marie’s full piece here:

We’re doing a bad job of pretending it’s back to politics as normal

Commons health and social care levy debate underway

14:10 , Sam Hancock

The Commons debate on the health and social levy is underway, with ITV’s deputy political editor Anushka Asthana reporting the following:

PM discusses mother’s death in Cabinet meeting

14:28 , Sam Hancock

Boris Johnson mentioned his mother’s death and the support he had received during the meeting of his Cabinet on Tuesday.

Charlotte Johnson Wahl died at the age of 79 on Monday at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, according to a death notice by the family in The Times.

Downing Street, in a readout of the Cabinet meeting, said: “The prime minister opened Cabinet by thanking colleagues for their messages of condolence following the death of his mother.”

Health secretary Sajid Javid also paid tribute to the artist while updating MPs on the government’s plans for dealing with coronavirus this winter.

Starmer discusses father during workers’ right speech

14:32 , Sam Hancock

Tory MP calls for Whitty’s resignation over 12 to 15-year-old jabs

14:50 , Sam Hancock

England‘s chief medical officer (CMO) should resign over his decision to roll out Covid vaccinations to children “without good clinical reason”, a backbench Tory MP has claimed.

A row broke out on Monday after the government announced 12 to 15-year-olds will be offered one Pfizer jab from next week, following a decision made by the CMOs of each of the UK’s four nations, including England’s Professor Chris Whitty, reports Matt Mathers.

Speaking in the House of Commons earlier, Marcus Fysh, the Conservative MP for Yeovil, said he had “grave concerns about this policy and the fact that the chief medical officers have made their decision on the basis of the educational impact rather than the health of the children at clinical level.”

Tory MP calls for Whitty to resign after Covid jabs approved for 12 to 15-year-olds

14:52 , Sam Hancock

Before he spoke in the Commons today, Tory MP Marcus Fysh tweeted the following about Prof Chris Whitty last night:

De Cordova quites Starmer’s shadow Cabinet

15:03 , Sam Hancock

Marsha de Cordova has quit her role as shadow women and equalities secretary in Sir Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet to “focus more of my time” on her marginal constituency.

The Labour MP tweeted the job had been an “immense privilege” but said she wanted to spend more time helping the people of her constituency, Battersea.

Starmer thanks De Cordova for her ‘service’ after she quits

15:15 , Sam Hancock

Responding to Marsha de Cordova’s resignation from his shadow Cabinet, Sir Keir Starmer said: “I would like to thank Marsha de Cordova for her service and in particular her work highlighting the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on black, Asian, minority ethnic and disabled people.

“Marsha has also laid the foundations for a new Race Equality Act that Labour would introduce to tackle the structural inequalities which have existed in our society for too long.”

The timing of her departure will no doubt raise eyebrows in Westminster, with Labour’s autumn conference due to begin in less than two weeks.

15:33 , Sam Hancock

That’s it from us on the politics blog for today, thanks for following along. For all the latest updates on Boris Johnson’s winter coronavirus announcement, head over to our Covid blog. See you tomorrow!