Brexit

Express
BREXIT has and will deliver for the UK, one industry has boasted despite the fuel crisis hitting the country.
Although some Rejoiners have criticised Brexit for creating shortages across the UK, one industry insider has revealed Britain’s departure from the EU has given the country instant benefits. Speaking to Express.co.uk, Alex Veitch of Logistics UK praised what he called a “brilliant story” of how the UK has transformed its supply chains so quickly thanks to Brexit. Indeed, he also claimed the UK had been “brilliant” in adapting its supply chains with the EU in such a short time.
He added: “You know, we have moved from our busy partner having reasonably light controls at the border to by next time, our biggest trade partner having the kind of trade procedures that we’ve had with the rest of the world forever, you know, we’ve done that with the government in what will be five years.
“So we and the Government delivered a sort of almost a high speed, miniaturised version of all the trade procedures that we have to do to trade with China in about two years. It’s incredible.
“It’s a brilliant story.

Sausage wars

Telegraph
Britain may have won the sausage war with the EU after Brussels offered surrender terms to keep the British banger being sold in Northern Ireland after Brexit.
The European Commission plans to offer a sausage clause to bring lasting peace to the banger battles over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Commission is willing to make an exception allowing “national identity goods” such as sausage to enter Northern Ireland, despite EU rules restricting chilled meats from non-EU countries.
“Well, we do have the Sausage King on the EU team,” an EU official said, referring to European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, who was given his nickname by Lord Frost’s predecessor Michael Gove.

Express
BRUSSELS has backed down over blocking the sale of British sausages in Northern Ireland following Brexit.
Despite the EU’s stern stance over chilled meats, the Commission is now willing to allow “national identity goods” such as sausages to enter Northern Ireland. Such is the massive back down from Brussels, former Brexit Secretary David Davis, was a resounding victory for the UK. He said it had now “vindicated” Lord Frost’s threat to invoke Article 16.
He told The Daily Telegraph: “It is a vindication of David Frost and his strategy.”
Emmanuel Macron’s closest aide has launched a furious attack against the UK and warned French fishermen must not pay the failure of Britain’s departure from the EU.
French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune told BFM TV: “They failed on Brexit. It was a bad choice. Threatening us, threatening our fishermen, will not settle their supply of turkey at Christmas.”

The Times, Mail, Independent also run the story.

Army

Mail
The Army is to make huge cuts to its infantry – its main body of fighting troops – in a move that critics fear will leave the UK unable to fight lengthy military campaigns.
Reductions in personnel will see the military send smaller-sized forces on shorter missions, rather than bigger and longer deployments such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
The controversial move will be overseen by the new Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.
In one case the Rifles Regiment is expected to lose more than 900 troops, falling in strength from around 2,500 regular soldiers to 1,600 by 2025.
The plans are set out in a memo circulated among Rifles officers that has been obtained by the Daily Mail.
The proposals are yet to be confirmed but, if approved, could see the infantry shrink by as much as one regular soldier in three, from around 16,500 to 11,000.

Health

Mail
Desperate patients are turning up at overwhelmed A&E units after finding it ‘impossible’ to get a face-to-face GP appointment, health leaders have warned.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said difficulties in seeing a GP means patients are going to emergency or walk-in services instead.
Record numbers of patients attended Accident and Emergency units over June, July and August, NHS data shows.
Last night the RCEM said this was causing ‘dangerous crowding’ in A&Es which is ‘unsafe and unconscionable and threatens patient safety’.
And in a major report, the RCEM suggested a ‘lack of access to primary care’ and shift to virtual consultations is a major factor behind the unprecedented demand. It said many patients had ‘described getting an appointment to be ‘impossible’ and instead found emergency or walk-in services to be a better option for them’.
It added: ‘Small deteriorations in the number of people accessing appropriate GP consultations have the potential to put great pressure on the urgent and emergency care system.’
The report was published in August but has now emerged as the issue of face-to-face GP access has become one of major public and political concern.

Police

Guardian
The former Whitehall troubleshooter Louise Casey has been brought in by the Metropolitan police to root out misogyny and lax standards, as it battles to dig itself out of a crisis caused by its mishandling of the Wayne Couzens scandal.
Lady Casey has been appointed by the Met commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick, to lead the review which came after harrowing details of the rape, kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard by Couzens while a police officer were made public.
Dick has accepted the case has dealt a hammer blow to public trust after it was revealed Couzens used his police warrant card to stop Everard, his training and powers to trick her into a car, his handcuffs to restrain her, and then his police belt to strangle her.
The Met then stoked extra anger on itself by suggesting people, especially women, nervous that an officer stopping them was a threat, could flag down a bus.
The review will examine issues including vetting, recruitment, leadership, and training in Britain’s biggest force, which has left ministers concerned as it lurches from regular crisis to crisis.

The Evening Standard and BBC News also have the story.

‘Walk me home’

Sky News
A phone service to help protect women as they walk home is reportedly being backed by Home Secretary Priti Patel.
The proposed service would allow people to use an app or dial/text 888 to trigger GPS tracking.
It would give an expected journey time, with automatic alerts sent to emergency contacts such as friends and family if the person fails to reach home by the given time.
The idea is being pioneered by BT chief executive Philip Jansen after he said he was filled with “outrage and disgust” at the murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa.
He hopes it could be up and running by Christmas and indicated it would be available to anyone who felt vulnerable – not just women and girls.
It could also be used for taxi or public transport journeys, while another feature would allow users to send a one touch alert to police.

Several media also have the story including Independent, Mirror, Evening Standard, ITV News, Mail.

France

Mail
A French minister today threatened to cut off supplies of Christmas turkeys unless continental fishermen are allowed to work in British waters.
Paris’s noisy European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune lashed out at the UK’s Brexit ‘failures’ and said that France’s trawlermen would not ‘pay the price’ for the UK’s decision to leave.
It is the latest threat from across the channel in a dispute over access to rich fishing grounds from next year.
French fishing barons earlier this week gave Britain two weeks to grant them more access to its waters or face being cut off from crucial Christmas supplies.
They handed down the ultimatum a day after skippers vowed to block the port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel unless their demands were met.
Speaking to BFM TV in France today Mr Baume – one of Emmanuel Macron’s most outspoken ministers, vented on the subject again.
‘They failed on Brexit. It was a bad choice. Threatening us, threatening our fishermen, will not settle their supply of turkey at Christmas,’ he said.
‘We will hold firm. The Brits need us to sell their products.’

See also Yahoo News

Express
MORE tension has arisen over Franco-British military relations as an anti-ship and cruise missile partnership between London and Paris cannot be agreed upon, with one French-language news website claiming the situation between the historic allies is “in turmoil”.
It comes as while France is still licking its wounds over Boris Johnson and Joe Biden entering the AUKUS agreement with Australia. The deal to produce eight nuclear-powered submarines with the US and UK came at France’s expense. It means Australia will not proceed with an earlier $40billion deal with France’s Naval Group.
The discord between the two military partners comes at a time when the idea of sovereign autonomy in Europe clashes with one of unity and partnership within remaining EU members. Consequences of the AUKUS deal fall wider than just France.
French publication 20 Minutes suggests “the submarine crisis is just the latest episode in the Franco-British military turmoil”.

The Times has more.

Energy

Mail
The cost of some fixed-rate energy deals hit almost £3,000 yesterday as the regulator warned of a ‘significant’ increase in bills when the price cap is reviewed.
Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley warned some of the ‘unprecedented’ rise in wholesale gas prices would have to be ‘passed through’ to consumers.
Households should expect a large increase in their bills when the energy cap – currently at £1,277 – is next reviewed in April, he said.
But Mr Brearley also suggested the regulator could adjust the cap more regularly in future to prevent energy providers going out of business when there is a sudden surge in costs.
Asked about a rise in bills in April, he said the shift in prices had been ‘phenomenal and unprecedented’.
‘The wholesale market has gone up and down extremely quickly so we can’t predict fully what that will be,’ he added. ‘But looking at the costs that are in the system, we are expecting a significant rise in April.’
With gas prices so unstable, there are now only a handful of fixed deals available. The most expensive one-year tariffs from Together and Bristol Energy, which are ‘green’ deals, would cost the average household £2,991 – an incredible £1,714 more than the price cap.

More details can be found in the Times, ITV News, iNews.

Covid tests

Telegraph
Mass free Covid-19 tests must end because of the huge costs to the taxpayer, senior ministers believe.
Discussions are under way in the Government to scale back the arrangements that allow everyone to get a lateral flow test and some people to get PCR tests without paying, The Telegraph can reveal.
The new system could see free tests provided only in high-risk settings such as care homes, hospitals and schools, as well as for people with symptoms, though details are not yet agreed.
The UK is an international outlier on the issue, with Germany and France moving to end universal free testing this month
Britain also carries out many more tests than other countries, 4,022 per 1,000 people at the end of last month compared to 1,268 in Spain and 885 in Germany, according to Our World in Data.
The costs are sizable, with one insider citing it as the equivalent of 1p on income tax, and there are fears taxes would have to rise were the scheme to continue.

The Mail and BBC News also have the story.

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