Brexit Bill

Telegraph
Boris Johnson has signalled a possible compromise with Tory rebels after a minister suggested that elements of the Brexit legislation that triggered a revolt could be rewritten. The Prime Minister met senior MPs shortly before a vote on the Internal Market Bill on Monday evening, during which he assured them that he would act on their concerns.  Among them was Sir Bob Neill, the chairman of the Commons justice committee, who has tabled an amendment that seeks to bar the Government from breaching international law without Parliament’s support.

Guardian
Boris Johnson has privately sought to calm angry MPs who plan to back an amendment to dilute his bill that unpicks the EU withdrawal agreement. His intervention raises expectations that the government will do a deal with backbenchers at a parliamentary showdown next week. More Conservative MPs have said they could join a rebellion against the government to block a breach of international law, unless an agreement is reached. However, the Guardian understands Johnson has spoken to a number of key MPs behind an amendment that would put a “parliamentary lock” on using the controversial powers in the internal market bill and given reassurances that a deal can be done over the clauses that override parts of the withdrawal agreement.

Mirror
Boris Johnson is understood to have told ministers to “head off” the growing Tory rebellion over his plans to rip up key parts of his own Brexit plan. Government insiders admitted there could yet be changes to the Internal Markets Bill, with one saying there was already “engagement” with MPs across the Commons.  Cabinet minister Michael Gove told Tory rebel Bob Neill MP on Monday night that he might be “onto something” with his plan to give MPs an extra vote before the measures came into force.

Independent
The rule of law is “under attack” from Boris Johnson’s internal markets plan for Brexit, according to the Law Society. The solicitors’ body said “we have a choice about what sort of country we want to be and what we want to be known for around the world”. The controversial proposal to tear up part of the Brexit treaty with the European Union passed its second reading in the Commons on Monday by a majority of 77 despite a rebellion among Tory MPs.

Times
Boris Johnson has signalled to rebel Tory MPs that he is prepared to compromise over plans to breach international law. The prime minister is understood to have met with Conservative opponents shortly before Monday night’s vote. He assured them that he was willing to act on their concerns before detailed debates on the proposals next week. As they stand these would give ministers the power to override key parts of his Brexit deal with the European Union.

Guido
On the Kay Burley Show this morning (Tuesday), Priti Patel appeared to contradict Brandon Lewis’ famous admission that the Internal Market Bill “does break international law in a specific and limited way”. The Home Secretary instead claimed that “we are absolutely not doing that”. To compound matters, the Internal Market Bill rebel Bob Neill, who originally asked Brandon the question that started this mess, yesterday himself intervened on Ed Miliband to argue the Bill itself does not break international law until the provisions “come into force”. Got that?

EU

Express
MICHEL BARNIER has launched an incredible attack on UK politicians, claiming Boris Johnson is attempting to shift focus away from the coronavirus pandemic by causing uproar over Brexit. Amid the rising scrutiny over the Government’s handling of the crisis, Mr Barnier indicated to EU diplomats Mr Johnson was using the Internal Markets Bill to shift the focus away from the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Barnier met with officials from eight Eastern Europe countries on Monday night. The EU negotiator also told diplomats in the meeting, he believed the UK is ready for a no deal scenario.

Yahoo News
The president of the European Commission is expected to say that a UK-EU trade deal is still possible but not at any price in her annual flagship speech on Wednesday. Ursula von der Leyen is expected to use her State of the Union address in the European Parliament in Brussels to double down on her warning that Britain must drop plans to renege on the Withdrawal Agreement. Backsliding on the Brexit treaty would seriously damage the trust needed to finalise the agreement, she has previously warned.

Telegraph
The president of the European Commission is expected to say that a UK-EU trade deal is still possible but not at any price in her annual flagship speech on Wednesday. Ursula von der Leyen is expected to use her State of the Union address in the European Parliament in Brussels to double down on her warning that Britain must drop plans to renege on the Withdrawal Agreement. Backsliding on the Brexit treaty would seriously damage the trust needed to finalise the agreement, she has previously warned.

Sun
PANICKING Brussels will let European banks trade trillions through the City of London until 2022 — even if there is No Deal. The UK is the global leader in money ­market infrastructure with our firms acting as the middlemen for buyers and sellers. But EU banks face being cut off from these vital “clearing houses” at the end of the year if Brexit trade talks collapse. Those banks currently “clear” £670trillion a year — with the vast majority going through London.

Express
THE European Union has extended vital access for its bankers to London’s financial markets amid fears of a catastrophic blow to a €735 trillion (£676 trillion) industry. Commission officials have proposed access to UK-based clearing houses should remain in place until the middle of 2022. Eurocrats are current consulting EU capitals on the plans that would maintain the City of London as the Continent’s leading financial services market. Without special dispensation, London-based clearing houses, which act as the middle man in financial trades, would be blocked from handling euro-denominated derivatives after the post-Brexit transition period expires at the end the of year.

Sun
EUROPEAN capitals will hit back at Boris Johnson’s bid to rip up last year’s Brexit pact by ramping up their No Deal planning this week. Brussels has issued a call to arms to Member States to ready themselves for the economic fallout from the trade talks failing. In a note to EU envoys, seen by The Sun, eurocrats have called on countries to submit requests for possible bailouts of their most vulnerable sectors. Diplomats from the 27 states will meet in Brussels on Friday to discuss escalating their “preparedness” measures.

Times
Angela Merkel’s government has bowed to pressure from her Social Democrat coalition partners, opposition politicians and churches and agreed to take in 1,553 refugees stranded on Greek islands. The German chancellor acted after more than 12,000 migrants at Moria Camp on Lesbos were left without shelter when the camp was burnt down in a suspected arson attack last week, government sources said. Images of migrants living rough since then have triggered urgent calls for action in Germany, with the mayors of several cities saying they have capacity to take more in.

Migrants

Telegraph
An army barracks will be transformed into the UK’s first “migrant camp” following a surge in Channel crossings, as the local council complains it was not consulted on the plans. Around 400 people who are having their asylum claims processed will be moved to Napier Barracks in Folkestone from next week, with the Home Office looking at using other MoD sites around the country to house more people. The move has angered local officials, who say that they “cannot support” the decision and have “great concerns” about the impact on the local community.

Times
Proposals to turn a disused barracks on the Kent coast into a camp for hundreds of migrants have prompted a backlash from politicians. Napier Barracks near Folkestone will temporarily house about 400 migrants from next week while their asylum claims are processed, according to Damian Collins, the area’s MP. The plans emerged as dozens more migrant arrivals were recorded on Kent beaches yesterday. The Home Office was accused locally of “exceptionally poor communication” over the plans.

Testing

Guardian
People with Covid symptoms are being advised to “hack” the testing system by using faraway postcodes to secure tests locally, several have told the Guardian. Pressure has been growing on the government as people across the UK reported being unable to secure tests locally, with some forced to make round trips of more than four hours and others not getting swabbed at all after only being offered sites more than 400 miles away. Even in England’s 10 worst-hit coronavirus hotspots, many people reported being unable to get a test.

Telegraph
Children face being turned away from coronavirus testing centres after Matt Hancock introduced rationing and said the country’s testing crisis could take “weeks” to sort out. The Health Secretary said there would be “prioritisation” of tests for people with acute clinical needs – such as hospital patients – and those in social care, as he acknowledged “operational challenges” in the system. Until now, the Government has stressed that anyone who needs a test can get one, but Mr Hancock made it clear that, for the first time in months, tests would be rationed “once again”.

Mail
Parents, teachers and children face being put to the back of the queue for Covid tests as Matt Hancock admitted yesterday swabs will have to be rationed. In a humiliating climbdown, the Health Secretary said a ‘priority list’ would ensure environments such as care homes and hospitals would have enough. However, it comes at the expense of millions of others, with warnings issued that the UK was being put into ‘lockdown by default’ as a result of the shortage of tests.

Guardian
Britain’s testing crisis could take weeks to resolve, the health secretary has admitted as it emerged that Covid tests from hospitals are being deployed for use in the community to plug holes in the system. People with Covid symptoms in Rochdale, one of the worst-hit parts of the country, have been turning up at A&E hospital departments and calling 111 desperately seeking tests, the council’s chief executive said. In Bolton, which was confirmed to have one of the highest infection rates in Europe outside of Spain after a sharp rise in cases, the chair of the local NHS foundation trust, Prof Donna Hall, also reported a “very busy” emergency department.

Independent
The shortage of coronavirus test slots hitting outbreak hotspots across the UK is expected to last for weeks, the health secretary has admitted. Matt Hancock was responding to an urgent question in parliament on Tuesday, amid reports people are being told to travel to the other side of the country to get checked, or that no test is available at all. When Jeremy Hunt, the chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, asked whether the secretary of state was still confident that the problem could be solved next week, Mr Hancock replied: “I think we will be able to solve this problem in a matter of weeks … we are managing to deliver record capacity, but as he well knows demand is also high.”

Sun
CRIPPLING Covid test shortages across the country have left the Operation Moonshot plan for ten million swabs a day in chaos. Huge queues formed at testing centres as MPs branded the system a “bloody mess”. Swabs for many were rationed as Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted the crisis will last into winter. No tests were available in 46 out of 48 of the nation’s worst hotspots as the fiasco spiralled. Sites in Southend, Bury, Birmingham and Manchester were overwhelmed with families desperately trying to get tests to allow them to get back to work or school.

Times
There were no coronavirus tests available in England at points yesterday and only a handful of slots free at centres in Scotland and Wales, analysis by The Times suggests. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is planning rationing for tests after accepting that shortages will continue for weeks. He told MPs that he would not “shirk from decisions about prioritisation”, with NHS patients and staff top of the list, followed by care homes. Plans are being drawn up to reserve laboratory capacity for these groups, which could make it harder for other people with symptoms to get tests.

Remembrance

Guido
A couple of weeks ago, before the latest restrictions were announced, Tory MPs had been privately voicing their concern about when the traditional Tory press would realise the restrictive laws will mean national celebrations such as Remembrance Sunday and Bonfire Night could no longer go ahead as usual. It seems the mainstream press are still yet to notice… Guido’s been in touch with the British Legion who organise the Cenotaph Remembrance parade and who were supposed to release details of the COVID-secure event a month ago.

Deaths

Mail
The UK today recorded another 3,105 cases of the coronavirus as the outbreak continues to grow, while separate figures show the number of Covid-19 deaths has dropped to a six-month low.  Government statistics show the UK’s rolling seven-day average of daily infections has tipped 3,000, after doubling in a fortnight following a sudden spike in cases. Some 2,621 infections were recorded yesterday. Cases had dropped to record lows at the start of July when national restrictions were lifted, and slowly climbed throughout August.

Second wave

Mail
A second wave of Covid-19 in Britain would not be nearly as bad as the first because we are better at containing and treating the virus now, Government officials have claimed. The experts believe a combination of local lockdowns, social distancing measures and medical breakthroughs would substantially reduce both the death rate and number of cases. Hopes are also high that vaccines could be available as early as next spring, with a ‘long pipeline’ of promising jabs being trialled.  In addition, early signs from the southern hemisphere indicate that any flu outbreak will be less severe than in previous years.

iNews
A second wave of coronavirus this winter could lead to thousands more deaths, with senior government figures warning of a “pretty tricky” few months ahead. The rise in cases that has occurred among mainly younger age groups over the past few weeks is now spreading to older, more vulnerable parts of the population. In the first week of September, the rate of cases per 100,000 people doubled for all age groups – with the under thirties seeing the highest numbers. While the actual numbers currently remain small for older sections of the population, Whitehall figures are concerned that coronavirus is starting to infect more vulnerable people and that hospitalisations and deaths could increase in a matter of weeks.

Social care

Mail
Charities reacted with fury last night after a minister confirmed Boris Johnson‘s much-vaunted social care plan will not be released until next year.  Lord Bethell, a health minister in the Lords, said he could not commit to a plan by the end of 2020.  When he became Prime Minister in July last year, Mr Johnson said he had a plan to end the social care scandal ‘once and for all’.  But the latest delay means older people will have waited for at least 18 months for the plan before it is released.

Mirror
Thousands of home carers could receive a pay boost after a tribunal ruling on payments for travelling between appointments. Unions have long called for workers not to lose out on wages when they are driving from one patient another. An employment tribunal found contractors commissioned by Haringey Council in North London breached pay rules. The Government’s National Living Wage is £8.72 an hour, falling to £8.20 for those aged between 21 and 24, and only £6.45 for those aged 18 to 20.

Education

Times
Hundreds of thousands of children did not return to school in England at the start of term, national figures show. While more than 99 per cent of schools reopened at least partially, only 88 per cent of children were at school last Thursday. This equates to about 960,000 not attending – the usual attendance rate is about 95 per cent. Which means about 400,000 fewer children than usual were at school. The government said the figures were not directly comparable.

Eat Out to Help Out

Sun
A WINTER version of Eat Out to Help Out could be launched after the scheme’s success this summer. The initiative, launched to boost the economy and rescue the flailing hospitality sector, is being kept “under review” for round two. But there are fears that the approaching winter season will further decimate restaurants, bars and pubs after they were already left devastated blow the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Some restaurants have even extended their own versions of the scheme into this month in order to entice customers as industry heads also call on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to extend the initiative.

TV Licence

Times
TV licence sales have collapsed by 250,000 as evasion and younger viewers’ preference for streaming services hit BBC revenues. Households bought 25.671 million licences in the past year, down from 25.927 million a year earlier. It was the sharpest drop in recent history. Sales dipped by 37,000 in 2018-19 after years of steady increases. The number of people not paying has wiped out much of the boost that the broadcaster had hoped to receive by raising the annual levy in line with inflation. A TV licence costs £157.50.

Jail terms

Telegraph
Killers jailed for life will no longer be allowed out halfway through their sentence under a crackdown on “soft” justice unveiled by Robert Buckland. Announcing the shake-up in an article for The Telegraph, the Justice Secretary proposes criminals jailed for life should in future serve a minimum two-thirds of their sentences in jail before they are even considered for parole. It means the killers of Stephen Lawrence – Gary Dobson and David Norris – would have had to serve at least three more years before they could even apply for release beyond their current respective sentences of 15 years and 14 years and three months.

BBC News
Sexual and violent offenders will serve at least two-thirds of jail terms, rather than half, as part of changes to the criminal justice system in England and Wales. An overhaul of sentencing laws is being formally announced on Wednesday by the Justice Secretary Robert Buckland. Whole-life orders will also be extended to 18 to 20-year-olds convicted of terrorism causing mass loss of life. Mr Buckland said it marked the end of “complex and confusing” laws.

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