Brexit

Telegraph
Boris Johnson will head to Brussels for last-ditch talks to try personally to salvage a Brexit deal after negotiators failed to make any “tangible progress” on Monday. The Prime Minister will meet Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, for a summit that could define not only his premiership but Britain’s place in the world for decades to come. Both sides said that “significant differences” remain, and British officials said that while Mr Johnson would not be making the trip if he did not think a deal could be agreed, “things are looking very tricky”. EU sources speculated that while Mr Johnson’s trip could end in a deal, it might also be intended purely to show that he tried everything he could to get a deal even if he expects to come home empty-handed. Mr Johnson could travel to Brussels as early as Wednesday, ahead of a summit of EU leaders on Thursday.

Guardian
Boris Johnson will travel to Brussels for a face-to-face summit with the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in an 11th-hour attempt to break the impasse in the Brexit negotiations. A long-awaited crunch meeting will be held in the “coming days”, the two leaders said in a joint statement following a phone call lasting over an hour, keeping hopes alive of agreement on a trade and security deal. Sources on both sides pointed to Wednesday or Thursday as the most likely dates. Both EU and UK insiders said there was no certainty that a historic trade and security deal would be secured when the leaders meet, however.

Independent
Boris Johnson will go to Brussels in the “coming days” in a final bid to avoid a no-deal Brexit, as talks remain deadlocked. The announcement came on Monday after a 90-minute phone call between the prime minister and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, suggesting hopes of a deal were fading fast. No date was announced for the meeting, but an EU summit begins on Thursday – and an agenda of outstanding differences must be drawn up first – suggesting Wednesday is the most likely day. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator – who was described as “very downbeat, very gloomy” by the Irish government – told MEPs earlier on Monday that the negotiations would not carry on beyond Wednesday.

City AM
Brexit talks will continue this week in Brussels after Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen agreed to give negotiations a final shot. Johnson and von der Leyen are believed to have spoken for about an hour last night to discuss if a deal can be finally agreed before the 31 December deadline. They will now meet in Brussels in the coming days to try to salvage a last minute deal. In a joint statement, the pair said: “As agreed on Saturday, we took stock today of the ongoing negotiations. “We agreed that the conditions for finalising an agreement are not there due to the remaining significant differences on three critical issues – level playing field, governance and fisheries.

ITV News
A senior government source has said there is “every chance” a Brexit trade deal between the UK and EU will not be reached. It comes after “no tangible progress” was made in talks over the weekend, the source said. Following a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday afternoon, it was also announced that Boris Johnson will travel to Brussels later this week in a last ditch attempt to get a deal. The pair said they had “taken stock” of ongoing negotiations but “significant differences” remain. The senior government source said: “Talks are in the same position now as they were on Friday. We have made no tangible progress. It’s clear this must now continue politically.

Breitbart
With just weeks left on the clock until Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union for good, both sides in the ongoing negotiations pointed to a potential no-deal outcome on Monday. European negotiators floated yet another deadline — this coming Wednesday — in an apparent attempt to introduce fresh urgency to talks, as Britain signalled it would be willing to climb down on key measures taken to protect the integrity of the United Kingdom after Brexit. While talks remain apparently unproductive, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen released a joint statement after a telephone call between the leaders on Monday evening, revealing that the British premiere would indeed be travelling to Brussels in the coming days for further talks.

Mail
Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen kept hopes of a Brexit trade deal on life support tonight despite government sources warning that the collapse of talks is now the most likely outcome. The PM and the EU commission chief ‘took stock’ of the fraught negotiations in a 40-minute call, agreeing to meet in person in Brussels ‘in the coming days’. In a joint statement, they said: ‘We agreed that the conditions for finalising an agreement are not there due to the remaining significant differences on three critical issues: level playing field, governance and fisheries. ‘We asked our Chief Negotiators and their teams to prepare an overview of the remaining differences to be discussed in a physical meeting in Brussels in the coming days.’

Sun
BORIS Johnson will jet to Brussels “in the coming days” in one last ditch bid to get a Brexit trade deal over the line. The Prime Minister’s offer to dash across the Channel came after a “difficult” forty minute call with EU boss Ursula von der Leyen where both sides admitted their negotiation teams had reached the “end of the road.” Last night insiders described the call as “difficult at times” but insisted it remained “perfectly courteous” despite gaping differences remaining between the two sides. A senior Government source claimed there had been no movement at all since Friday in the testy standoff over fishing waters and binding Britain to EU red tape forever.

Times
The announcement of a last ditch emergency Brexit summit between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen has its roots in a breakdown of trust between the British and European negotiating teams who less than a week ago had seen a deal within their grasp. As recently as Thursday morning the UK side was hopeful that any summit would only be necessary to formally sign off on an agreement forged between teams of officials in the unprepossessing basement of the business department in London.  But it was not to be as a few hours later Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, performed a volte face that was both unexpected and unwelcome.

EU

Telegraph
Emmanuel Macron’s threat of vetoing a post-Brexit trade deal is a “dangerous game” that could punish France and scupper EU unity, a top French farming official has warned.  French farmers and fishermen are “deeply concerned” about Mr Macron pushing the bloc towards a no-deal over fishing and a “level playing field” on trade rules, said Thierry Pouch, chief economist of the French Chambers of Agriculture. Speaking to the Telegraph, he said Mr Macron’s threat of vetoing talks, mooted by his Europe minister Clément Beaune, could hurt hard-fought EU unity at a perilous moment.  “Each country reacts in its own interests as always but I get the impression that France has overstepped the mark by threatening a possible veto because that goes against the strategy of showing a united front among the 27 towards London,” said Mr Pouch.

Yahoo News
European trade unions are worried that the UK will be able to undercut EU workers’ rights under Brexit concessions being considered by Michel Barnier, The Independent has learned. A letter from the general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) to Michel Barnier warns of “concern” that compromises on the so-called “level playing field” mean they are not “sufficiently robust” to protect workers. The warning comes just 48 hours before the end of talks, with the possibility of a deal still unclear but both sides closing in on a common text. Trade union officials in Brussels with their ear to the ground believe Mr Barnier’s team has dropped insistence on a so-called “ratchet clause” that would ensure the UK keeps its labour, product, and environmental standards at the same level as the EU.

Express
BORIS JOHNSON “doesn’t stand a chance” in last-ditch Brexit talks with the EU, he has been warned, as faltering negotiations reach their final days. Former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said previous British Prime Ministers have been “ambushed” during previous meetings with the Brussels bloc and the UK “lost every time”. Mr Farage tweeted: “Thatcher, Major, Blair, Cameron and May were ambushed by going to EU meetings, we lost every time.  “Boris doesn’t stand a chance.” His warning comes after it emerged the Prime Minister will meet for face-to-face talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen this week in a bid to salvage a post-Brexit trade deal after further negotiations failed to break the deadlock.

Breitbart
The European Union won’t offer the UK “anything”, warns Brexit leader Nigel Farage, who predicted on Monday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will ultimately cave to EU demands in favour of securing a trade deal. As the end of the Brexit transition period quickly approaches, Nigel Farage said that French President Emmanuel Macron and EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier will offer “nothing” but forecast that Mr Johnson will ultimately sign a deal with the bloc regardless. Speaking on talkRadio, Mr Farage said that “the signs are not good” for securing a proper Brexit, claiming that the UK has already agreed to remain bound by the European Rights regime, including the European Convention on Human Rights which would be able to overrule UK courts. “But perhaps even more significantly, the Government has agreed that we’ll stay part of the European arrest warrant,” Mr Farage said.

Internal Markets Bill

iNews
Boris Johnson offered Brussels a last-minute olive branch by pledging to drop his threat to break international law if a trade deal is struck. The Prime Minister vowed to remove several highly contentious clauses contained within legislation that would have breached parts of the Withdrawal Agreement that he signed last year.  Under provisions contained within the Internal Markets Bill, Mr Johnson had threatened to tear up parts of the Northern Irish protocol agreed between Brussels and London in a bid to ensure unfettered trade continued between Britain and Northern Ireland. The move had enraged EU leaders, who warned Mr Johnson he had sown significant mistrust with his actions, potentially bringing an end to the Brexit negotiations. But in a significant concession, the Prime Minister agreed to remove the offending clauses in what is hoped could clear the way for the broader talks.

Politico
British MPs voted tonight to reinsert the most controversial clauses in the government’s draft Internal Market Bill, on the same day the U.K. appeared to concede on the same clauses as an olive branch to Brussels. The bill — which breaks international law by allowing ministers to unilaterally override the Northern Ireland protocol agreed with Brussels as part of last year’s Brexit Withdrawal Agreement — was heavily amended in November by the U.K.’s second chamber, the unelected House of Lords. Peers defeated the government on multiple occasions to remove the clauses that allow the U.K. to undermine the Withdrawal Agreement.

Deportations

Mail
The Home Office is set to deport dozens of Channel migrants to France, Germany and Spain this week, reports suggest. Three flights containing asylum seekers who entered Britain by crossing the Channel in small boats will depart in the coming days – and could make stops in other countries. Under EU rules migrants who have already claimed refugee status in another EU country can be returned there.  The Home Office is facing a fresh row over the deportations – as lawyers seek to block the planes from flying, The Sun reports.  Last month, Home Secretary Priti Patel hailed a £28million new agreement with her French counterpart aimed at curbing the number of migrants reaching the UK in small boats.

Hospitality

Telegraph
Pubs are encouraging drinkers to purchase tickets for their live music nights, in order to exploit a loophole which means customers do not have to order a ‘substantial meal’ when buying alcohol. In Tier 2 areas, live music venues are allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity and serve alcohol to ticket holders at the bar, without them having to order a main meal as well. Now, a number of venues across the country are taking to social media to drum up support, telling customers not to “nurse half a lager all night” as they look to kickstart their businesses after a punishing second lockdown.

London

Telegraph
The Government must consider placing London in Tier 3 restrictions, scientists have said, after 21 out of the 32 boroughs showed worrying rises in cases. The capital is now the second worst region in the country, just behind the West Midlands, with more than 15,000 people testing positive in the past week, a rate of 169.6 per 100,000 people, up from 150.9 a month ago. It means London is now higher than many of the Tier 3 areas, such as the North East where case rates have halved from 330.2 per 100,000 to 160.4 since the beginning of November.  The case rate in the capital is higher than all but five of the current Tier 3 regions with the borough of Haringey seeing rises of 46 per cent since last week, Bromley 40 per cent and Kingston 33 per cent.

Sun
LONDONERS could be plunged into Tier 3 a WEEK before Christmas as infections continue to rise across the capital. The capital is now higher than many Tier 3 areas with more than 15,000 people testing positive in the past week and cases growing in 21 of the city’s 32 boroughs. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said plunging into the most extreme tier would be “catastrophic” to businesses already struggling under the Covid pandemic. London’s director for PHE, Prof Kevin Fenton today urged people to stick to social distancing rules as the capital enters the first weekend since restrictions eased. Prof Fenton warned that the situation in the capital is “delicate” and said decisions made now would impact the situation over Christmas and the New Year.

Mail
London could find itself facing a Tier Three lockdown just a week before Christmas as data shows infections are rising in two thirds of the city’s boroughs. Government officials are set to meet on December 16 to review the tiered lockdown rules they set out when England’s national shutdown ended last week.  And the numbers in the capital are moving in the wrong direction, with cases per person up by half in the worst affected corners of the city and chaotic photos from the weekend showing shopping streets packed with people. In Haringey, positive coronavirus tests surged by 47 per cent in the week ending December 2, despite a national lockdown still being in place.

Scotland

Express
TENSIONS are brewing between No 10 and Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP after the Scottish First Minister dismissed Boris Johnson’s Brexit plans, saying any trade deal secured would be “bare-bone” and “minimalistic”. Ms Sturgeon and her Constitution Secretary sparked a furious response from Scottish Tories as well as insiders close to Boris Johnson who branded her comments “wholly inappropriate”. Earlier the First Minister of Scotland cast doubt over the UK Government’s prospect of securing a Brexit trade deal by the end of the transition period.  Ms Sturgeon during Monday’s coronavirus briefing said she was “increasingly concerned” about the prospect of the transition period ending on December 31 with “no trade deal agreed between the UK and EU”.

Telegraph
Nicola Sturgeon said it was intended to be a “helpful” guide to dealing with awkward social situations brought about by the pandemic. But Scotland’s First Minister has faced accusations that she is treating Scots like infants – while wasting taxpayers’ money – after SNP ministers published a coronavirus “etiquette guide” that was condemned as “the definition of patronising”. The eight-page document, published on Monday, includes advice on how to politely turn down an invitation for birthday drinks, what to do if a colleague takes off their mask while talking, or if a fellow shopper stands too close in a supermarket.

Mail
Furious Tories have today hit back at Nicola Sturgeon’s ‘swipe’ at Prince William and Kate Middleton over their whistle-stop tour to Scotland.  The Scottish leader revealed at a daily briefing today that the country’s government had reminded the Palace of the strict Covid restrictions north of the border ahead of the couple’s morale boosting tour. But while a Tory MP today slammed the reminder as ‘unsubtle’ and ‘rude’, and another described it as ‘petty’, one Scottish scientist called for police to look into the visit, raising questions over whether it had breached the country’s travel ban. Crossing the Scottish border was made illegal from the end of November and anyone caught entering or leaving Scotland without a reasonable excuse could be slapped with a £60 fine.

BLM

Sun
THE Vicar of Dibley returned tonight on BBC One for its hotly-anticipated ‘in lockdown’ episodes. The premiere came amid news the show would pay tribute to Black Lives Matter, with Geraldine leading her congregation in showing solidarity by taking the knee. While tonight’s episode was not centered on BLM, Dawn, who lives in Cornwall, has dismissed criticism over the forthcoming scene in an “ironic” tweet. She wrote on Twitter “A lovely calm day, full of humanity and support all round.” The comment came after actor Laurence Fox raged: “A sermon from the high altar of the church of moral superiority, the BBC.

Yahoo News
The Black Lives Matter movement and the BBC are the two prime targets of the anti-woke culture warriors. A few thousand Millwall supporters got the argument going and the two issues then joined up in the unlikely figure of the Reverend Geraldine Kennedy, the Vicar of Dibley. At every football match since the resumption of play in June, the teams have taken the knee, to symbolise their solidarity with the Black Lives matter campaign. On Saturday a small contingent of supporters was permitted into the grounds for the first time since lockdown. The taking of the knee passed without incident or comment at every ground except The Den, where the Millwall fans booed the gesture by their own players and those of the visitors Derby County.

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