Brexit

Express
MICHEL Barnier has warned there is a “very slim” chance of securing a Brexit trade and security deal in the coming days, according to EU sources. The Brussels diplomat delivered a “very negative” assessment of the wrangling with Britain to a video conference of European affairs, one insider said. The Frenchman urged member states to brace for a no-deal outcome and increase their contingency planning. According to an EU diplomat familiar with the discussions, Mr Barnier said: “We are close to the moment of needing urgent measures… a contingency plan for no deal.  “The foundation of our future cooperation with the UK is more important than the rush. We cannot sacrifice our long-term interests for short-term political goals.”

ITV News
A post-Brexit trade deal “may not be possible”, a UK government source has said. It came just hours after it was announced that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will travel to Brussels on Wednesday to meet with the European Commission president in a bid to try and salvage an agreement as negotiations appear to be making little headway. Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson said the PM will meet with Ursula von der Leyen for dinner to continue talks. Negotiations between the UK and EU appear to have made little ground in recent days and on Tuesday, Brussels’ chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned EU foreign ministers that he now believes a no-deal departure is more likely than a trade agreement being brokered in time, ITV News understands.

Guardian
The future of Britain’s relationship with the rest of Europe will hang on the success of a dinner between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Wednesday, it has emerged, as the EU’s chief negotiator warned the chance of a Brexit deal was now “very slim”. Downing Street said the prime minister would join the European commission president at its Berlaymont headquarters on Wednesday evening, where the leaders would seek to break the Brexit impasse over a three-course meal. Johnson will take prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons before flying from RAF Northolt to Brussels to dine with Von der Leyen, armed with a memo from his chief negotiator, David Frost, on the remaining obstacles to a historic trade and security deal with the EU.

BBC News
Boris Johnson will fly to Brussels later for talks on a post-Brexit deal with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Time is running out to reach a deal before 31 December, when the UK stops following EU trading rules. The pair will hold talks over dinner, after negotiations between officials ended in deadlock. Major disagreements remain on fishing rights, business competition rules and how a deal will be policed. At the dinner, Prime Minister Johnson will work through a list of the major sticking points with Mrs von der Leyen, who is representing the leaders of the 27 EU nations.

iNews
Boris Johnson will fly to Brussels in a final attempt to break the deadlock in negotiations over a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union.  He will meet European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, amid growing pessimism on both sides over the chance of reaching agreement before Britain leaves the transition period on 31 December.  The meeting has been hastily arranged after the two negotiating teams failed to resolve deep differences over EU trawlers’ access to UK waters, the “level playing field” measures to prevent the UK undercutting the EU on standards and state subsidies and the enforcement of any deal.  Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief negotiator, told ministers from the 27 EU states that he now believed a “no-deal” outcome was more likely than a trade agreement being struck.

Breitbart
The leaders of Britain and the European Union will meet in the next 24 hours for a final push at a Brexit deal, as the two sides warned that the chances of a post-Brexit trade deal by a year-end deadline is slipping away. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted Tuesday that “I look forward to welcoming UK Prime Minister @BorisJohnson tomorrow evening. We will continue our discussion on the Partnership Agreement.” Britain is due to leave the EU´s economic structures on Jan, 1, a rupture that could cause upheaval for businesses on both sides of the English Channel if there is no trade agreement.

Sun
BIG gun Boris Johnson will dash to Brussels for dinner tonight as he attempts to salvage a Brexit deal by New Year. Colleagues fear the Prime Minister will be served up a grim “menu of climb downs” by EU boss Ursula von der Leyen if he wants to kickstart deadlocked talks. Yesterday, Mr Johnson vowed to push talks “to the wire” – hinting they could still be going at Christmas but admitted it would be “tricky.” And a public spat broke out between EU chiefs about how long the negotiations could go.

Mail
Boris Johnson will fly to Brussels tonight in a last-ditch bid to salvage a Brexit trade deal. In a dramatic intervention, the Prime Minister will try to thrash out the framework of a deal over dinner with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. It comes on the eve of a crunch EU summit in the Belgian capital, which the bloc’s top negotiator Michel Barnier had said would mark the final deadline. Mr Barnier warned the chances of a deal are ‘very slim’, but Mr Johnson yesterday offered a significant olive branch by agreeing to scrap controversial legislation that broke part of the original Brexit deal relating to Northern Ireland. The EU had said it would not sign an agreement if the legislation remained.

EU

Express
BRITAIN must cut-off from the European Union’s police and security databases after Brexit, according to a leaked report – but a German MEP has warned the move could be a threat to bloc’s security. Senior MEPs want the UK locked out of the bloc’s Schengen Information System after the transition period expires on December 31. The draft European report, seen by Express.co.uk, says action should be “immediately” taken to ensure Britain can no longer access the database. But a German MEP insisted the bloc should carefully think about the consequences for its security ties with Britain instead of punishing the country for Brexit.

Yahoo News
EU leaders will order the European Commission to launch emergency no trade deal Brexit plans at their summit on Thursday, if talks between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen fail this week in Brussels. The prime minister and the president of the commission will meet in the Belgian capital this week in a bid to find a political solution to the problems that have deadlocked the EU-UK negotiations for much of this year.

Express
EUROPE will be “£80billion worse off” if no post-Brexit trade deal is agreed, according to a leading entrepreneur. Phones4U founder John Caudwell believes Angela Merkel’s Germany could be one of the worst hit countries by a no deal Brexit. The entrepreneur told BBC Newsnight the EU is “playing brinkmanship” and seems to “fear Britain having free trade arrangements”.  The billionaire businessman spoke to Emily Maitlis during a crucial week for Brexit. The Prime Minister will meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday in an attempt to secure a deal. Michel Barnier has told a meeting of the bloc’s ministers that he believed a no-deal scenario is now more likely.

Politico
Climate change and rule of law collide in Brussels this week, as EU leaders try to reach an agreement to slash emissions by 2030. To get the climate deal, the European Council summit will have to break a standoff caused by Poland and Hungary blocking the EU’S €1.8 trillion budget and recovery fund for 2021-2027. Budapest and Warsaw have objected to attempts to link payments to compliance with the rule of law. Hungary and Poland have a “good chance” of getting their way in the EU budget fight, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Tuesday.

Fisheries

iNews
The UK remains in a deadlock with the EU over fishing rights as control of the seas remains a perennial headache for ministers carrying out trade negotiations. For years now, Britain has demanded a higher share of fish from its seas, and becoming an independent coastal state was believed to be a way to force through “outdated” quota changes.  But much of the fish caught by British boats is exported to EU markets, and continental member states have threatened to block access if existing catch shares are altered. One prime example of why fishers in the British fleet feel hard done by is Channel cod, of which just nine per cent is allocated to Britain. France, meanwhile, enjoys a share of 84 per cent.

International trade

Express
BRITAIN has secured a monumental trade agreement with Norway and Iceland as talks between the UK and EU are yet to find a breakthrough to clinch a trade deal. Trade Secretary Liz Truss announced the trade in goods between Britain and Norway and Iceland was worth more than £20 billion last year. The agreement which was signed today also means the majority of trade in goods between the countries will remain tariff-free. Ms Truss tweeted: “Today we have secured continuity for businesses trading goods with Norway and Iceland, worth over £20 billion last year.

Northern Ireland

Telegraph
The EU will have officials stationed in Northern Ireland from January 1 in a major concession that rang alarm bells with Brexiteers ahead of Boris Johnson’s make or break trip to Brussels on Wednesday.  Britain has until now rebuffed EU demands for a permanent office in Northern Ireland, but backed down as part of a deal to settle outstanding disputes over the Brexit “divorce” deal. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said the move was “unnecessary” and “concerning”, while senior Brexiteers warned the Prime Minister they would be “watching” to make sure he does not give too much away when he meets the European Commission President.

Mail
Brussels will be allowed to have its officials permanently based in Northern Ireland to oversee checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea. Michael Gove agreed to the concession last night as part of a deal with the EU on how the province’s borders will operate from next month when the Brexit transition period ends. After the two sides finalised the plan yesterday, Downing Street confirmed that Boris Johnson would drop his threat to break international law. The Government said it would remove contentious clauses from the Internal Market Bill that would have given ministers the power to over-ride parts of the withdrawal agreement signed by the Prime Minister and EU leaders last year.

Deportations

Mail
The row over deporting foreign nationals deepened last night after more than 20 were pulled off a Home Office charter flight. Lawyers for 23 migrants who arrived in Britain on small boats across the Channel successfully blocked their removal from this country by submitting new legal challenges. The migrants had been due to be deported alongside a group of criminals, including rapists, on the flight to Poland. It came less than a week after 23 Jamaican criminals – including a murderer – avoided deportation by submitting similar legal challenges at the last moment. In the latest case of what Priti Patel has described as abuse of the system by ‘activist lawyers’, the lawyers claimed – for the first time – that their clients had human rights cases or were victims of ‘modern slavery’.

Lockdown

Mail
More questions were raised about the data used to send England into its second lockdown in November today after it emerged that official Covid-19 estimates were dramatically revised. In its October 30 report, the Office for National Statistics estimated that 9.52 people per 10,000 in England were catching the virus every day by October 17 – up from 4 per 10,000 at the start of that month. This was significant because it signalled infections were more than doubling every week and approaching levels seen during the darkest days of the first wave in spring. However, in its most recent report on December 4, the October estimate had been retrospectively changed to 4.89 per 10,000 – half its original prediction.

Vaccine

Telegraph
The Oxford vaccine may not be as useful as first thought, after published results showed that high efficacy rates cannot be substantiated. At the end of November, Oxford and AstraZeneca announced they had efficacy rates of 90 per cent when people were given a half dose, followed by a full dose several weeks later. However when people received two full doses, efficacy fell to just 62 per cent, far lower than the mid-90s results shown by Pfizer and Moderna.  The results leave regulators with a “dilemma”, scientists have warned. The Oxford data is currently being studied by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which will decide whether to approve the jab.

Mail
Oxford University scientists today published a study proving that their coronavirus vaccine is safe and 70 per cent effective in clinical trials.  The UK’s regulator now faces a ‘dilemma’ over whether to approve a one-and-a-half dose regimen that researchers accidentally discovered makes the experimental jab 90 per cent effective. The MHRA has been considering whether to approve the vaccine since November 27 and is expected to reach a decision before the end of the year. AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company producing the vaccine, said the 62 per cent effectiveness seen in people who received two full doses of the jab was good enough to hit regulators’ standards around the world.

Sky News
The Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective, independent analysis has confirmed. Researchers say the jab will have a “big impact” on the coronavirus pandemic. The study, published in the Lancet, is the first peer-reviewed analysis looking into phase 3 data from a vaccine trial. Scientists working on the vaccine stressed the importance of “transparency” and data sharing within the scientific community. They hope the vaccine will be approved for use in the UK “within the coming weeks”.

Times
The Oxford vaccine may stop asymptomatic infection in a crucial sign that it could provide herd immunity. The team behind the drug today became the first to provide preliminary evidence that theirs did more than just stop illness. But in a further dilemma for regulators, the strongest effect seems to come from the “half dose”, regimen that was discovered by chance. Scientists said the findings, published in The Lancet today, could further complicate the decision about which strategy to use, as the group given this apparently more effective dosing regimen was also smaller and did not include older adults.

Masks

Mail
Britons might still have to wear face masks next winter, Sir Patrick Vallance said today. The chief scientific adviser said the precaution – new to the UK but standard practice in some Asian countries – could be a long-term fix if coronavirus keeps circulating. Britain today became the first country in the world to start vaccinating citizens against Covid-19, but scientists still don’t know whether the jab can stop people spreading the virus. Trials proved that it can prevent the Covid-19 illness, at least temporarily, but only time will tell whether it stops people picking up the virus and giving it to others.

Sun
BRITS could be told to keep wearing face masks for a year despite the roll-out of coronavirus vaccines, the government’s chief scientific officer has warned. Sir Patrick Vallance hailed the beginning of the UK’s largest ever immunisation programme as a “tremendous day” but added life will not return to normal in the UK for several months. Sir Patrick said the public should be prepared to be wearing masks for the whole of next year as the effect of vaccines are monitored. He said: “It may be that next winter, even with vaccination, we need measures like masks in place. “We don’t know yet how good all the vaccines are going to be at preventing the transmission of the virus.”

Telegraph
The public may have to wear masks for another year, despite a “watershed moment” beginning Britain’s national vaccination programme, Sir Patrick Vallance has said. As hospitals across the country began administering jabs to the most vulnerable, the chief scientific adviser suggested that restrictions may remain in place long after its full rollout. On Tuesday, there were scenes of jubilation across the country, as the programme got underway.

Armed forces

Express
THE ARMED Forces are facing major cuts over the next year in a bid to save £1 billion with drill nights being temporarily halted. Changes to the military include the suspension of Navy Reservists for the first time until April next year, the Telegraph reported. The move has been brought into force by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a bid to cover the £13 billion “black hole” that was passed onto Defence Secretary Ben Wallace when he took over last year.  Mr Wallace highlighted the issue during a Conservative Home fringe event at the party’s online conference earlier this year.

Migrant camp

Breitbart
Local inhabitants of a small village in rural England have raised concerns after Home Office plans revealed that the government is considering the construction of a migrant camp outside the settlement. Amidst record-breaking waves of illegal boat migration across the English Channel, the British government has been forced to resort to tactics which hitherto have mainly been seen on continental Europe. According to the Daily Echo, the Home Office is planning to construct a camp of portacabins just outside the small Hampshire village of Barton Stacey on a Ministry of Defence property that would be capable of housing 500 alleged asylum seekers.

Scotland

Mail
All exams in Scotland have been cancelled because of the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on pupils, Education Secretary John Swinney has announced. Mr Swinney told the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday that Higher and Advanced Higher exams are being cancelled for the second year in a row after an earlier decision to scrap tests at National 5. He explained ‘the level of disruption to learners has not been equal’, with pupils from poorer backgrounds more likely to miss school to self-isolate.

Express
TENSIONS have erupted between Downing Street and the SNP on Tuesday evening after Nicola Sturgeon’s Brexit Secretary made a scathing attack at Boris Johnson’s Brexit plans and branding Brexiteer Tories “extremists”. Michael Russell provoked a furious response from Downing Street and Scottish opposition parties who dismissed Mr Russell and the SNP as “loonies”. Speaking in Holyrood earlier, Scotland’s Brexit Secretary also claimed any Brexit deal made by the UK Government would be “damaging and harmful”.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email