“Britain and the European Union have struck a customs deal that could pave the way to ending years of post-Brexit wrangling over Northern Ireland. The Times understands that Brussels has accepted a proposal that would avoid the need for routine checks on products destined for the province. Separately, the EU has conceded for the first time that the European Court of Justice could rule on issues relating to the province only if a case was referred by the Northern Irish courts. Previously Brussels had insisted that [it] should be able to take cases straight to the court… The Times understands that the customs element of the deal had been due to be announced in January…Sunak wanted the whole deal ready to sign rather than announcing it in parts.” – The Times
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“Boris Johnson insisted that “we should have no fear of escalation” in providing weapons to Ukraine, as Rishi Sunak ruled out sending UK fighter jets to Kyiv. During a surprise visit to Washington, the former prime minister said there was “no case for delay” in helping Ukrainian forces. Meanwhile in London, Mr Sunak said it was “not practical” to send the advanced fighter jets that Kyiv has requested. Downing Street said training Ukrainian forces to fly Britain’s “extremely sophisticated” fighter jets would take months. “Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine,” the Prime Minister’s spokesman said. However, there was no opposition to allies sending their own jets.” – The Daily Telegraph
“No 10 was warned about concerns over Dominic Raab’s behaviour before Rishi Sunak appointed him deputy prime minister in the autumn. Civil servants flagged that there had been “issues” with Raab in his previous departments before Sunak decided to bring him back into government. Downing Street sources insisted that the prime minister was not “directly told” and that officials never advised against appointing Raab. It came as one minister who worked alongside the deputy prime minister said they had witnessed his “bullying and intimidation” of officials, while the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice acknowledged there had been “challenges” and “pressures” for staff.” – The Times
“Jeremy Hunt has opened the door to freezing fuel duty for another year as he was grilled on tax cuts by backbenchers. The Chancellor said any decision to take such a move, which would save motorists billions of pounds, would depend on “what the finances are at the time”. Drivers already hit by high prices at the pumps are currently facing the prospect of fuel duty rising by 12p a litre in March, unless the Government decides to impose a freeze. Although the duty is meant to increase in line with inflation, the rise has been repeatedly cancelled by ministers to spare motorists from higher costs. Jonathan Gullis, the MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, said he quizzed the Chancellor on the matter at a meeting of the 1922 Committee…on Tuesday afternoon.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Jeremy Hunt has faced down Tory MPs demanding tax cuts in the March Budget, against a backdrop of more gloomy news about…the British economy. The chancellor joked that he had endured a “punishing” encounter with Tory MPs at a private meeting at Westminster where some warned him not to wait until a pre-election Budget in 2024 before cutting taxes. But Hunt insisted that halving inflation to 5 per cent by the end of the year was his priority, and warned that cutting taxes now would make that task harder. “Jeremy doesn’t think it’s a foregone conclusion that inflation will come down that sharply,” said one ally… On Tuesday, the IMF forecast that Britain was the only leading economy likely to slide into recession this year…” – The Financial Times
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“Defence chiefs have ordered an investigation after workers used glue to repair broken bolts on one of the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarines. Inspectors discovered the reactor chamber defect on HMS Vanguard, a 16,000-tonne vessel armed with “Britain’s ultimate deterrent and weapon” — Trident D5 ballistic missiles. At least seven bolts securing insulation foam to the submarine’s cooling pipes are understood to have been sheared off during its refurbishment…Instead of boring out the broken shafts, civilian staff at Babcock, one of the UK’s biggest defence contractors, glued the heads back on… Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, demanded a meeting with David Lockwood, the chief executive of Babcock, to “seek assurances about future work”…” – The Times
“The Treasury has held up submissions to next year’s pay review bodies, Steve Barclay has said – despite promises to speed up the process that could help break the deadlock with the unions. The Health Secretary said that recommendations for next year’s deal have been delayed by attempts to form a “co-ordinated” approach across departments, insisting that the health submission was completed some time ago. On Tuesday, it emerged that several departments – including the Department of Health and Social Care – have missed the Jan 11 deadline for submitting evidence on next year’s pay award. The chairman of the House of Commons health select committee said he was “astonished” by the three-week delay…” – The Daily Telegraph
“Striking teachers will be paid, officials fear, with unions set to force the closure of classrooms at the vast majority of schools on Wednesday. More than 100,000 members of the National Education Union are expected to walk out in the most disruptive teachers’ strike in more than a decade… However, schools have made the decision to close without knowing which teachers will actually be on strike because of laws that mean union members cannot be forced to tell their bosses. On Tuesday night, concerns were raised that this could enable striking teachers to claim that they are working and therefore be paid. In a letter to all schools, Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, told head teachers that any striking staff must not be paid.” – The Daily Telegraph
“The environment secretary has insisted that she does “give a shit” about water pollution as she laid out a five-year plan for cleaning up the natural environment. Thérèse Coffey was criticised last year for saying that she would not prioritise sewage pollution and delegating the issue to other ministers, despite what she called “really difficult situations with the water companies”. However, Coffey said as she launched the government’s environmental improvement plan that safeguarding England’s rivers was important to her. “I want to tell people that I do care about the sewage in our waters,” she said at Camley Street Natural Park in north London… Coffey admitted that no river in England meets good standards for…pollution, but…the situation was the same in Germany.” – The Times
“Several Conservative MPs suggested that Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, should be stripped of the power to appoint Nadhim Zahawi’s replacement, with the choice devolved to the party membership. But one former Tory chairman backing the idea warned that it would not happen, because Mr Sunak would not want to risk a victor emerging with “a bigger mandate than he has”. Priti Patel, a former home secretary, is also understood to back the move, while another ex-Cabinet…told The Telegraph: “I think the members need to be more empowered. The party is nothing without its membership, so I totally support the ideas of members being involved.” Greg Smith, a backbencher, agreed that electing the chairman would be a “good idea”…” – The Daily Telegraph
“Offenders on probation are committing three murders or serious sex crimes a week, new figures have revealed. Known criminals have been convicted of nearly 700 murders while on probation since 2010, the equivalent of one a week. Over the same period, there have been a further 950 convictions for rape, attempted rape or serious sex assaults – including attacks on young children – carried out by known offenders who were on probation. The disclosures follow two cases in which the probation service wrongly assessed two killers on probation as medium risk, which meant they were supervised by inexperienced staff without the necessary security measures to protect the public.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Labour will use the local elections in May to sharpen its campaign machine ahead of next year’s expected general election with new regional organisers, a bigger digital operation and the slogan “Build a Better Britain”. Shadow cabinet ministers were given a presentation on their local election prospects by the party’s campaign director, Morgan McSweeney, on Tuesday as Labour attempts to turn its 20-point poll lead into votes. With councils in England and 8,000 council seats up for grabs, the party sees the 4 May poll as an opportunity to road-test some its policy ideas on NHS waiting lists and safer streets, as well as the cost of living crisis, rather than just going on the attack. In the next couple of months…Keir Starmer, is set to unveil a handful of key “missions”…” – The Guardian
“The British ambassador to Iran should be an ethnic minority woman and not a “white colonial” man, according to a Labour frontbencher. At a Fabian Society conference earlier this month, Catherine West, the shadow foreign minister for Asia and the Pacific, was asked how a Labour government under Sir Keir Starmer would diversify the UK’s diplomatic relations with Iran. “Let’s change it. Let’s see if we can have an impact by sending a woman, maybe an ethnic minority woman, somebody who’s got a lot of charisma, rather than the sort of people who it looks like we were sending back when there were tobacco concessions in the 1800s,” she told the conference in comments leaked to The Telegraph.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Scottish ministers did not know about the decision to assess a transgender woman convicted of double rape last week at a women’s prison, according to the Holyrood justice secretary, prompting the Scottish Conservatives to demand a “detailed timeline” after a succession of U-turns. Keith Brown’s statement to MSPs on Tuesday afternoon followed his announcement on Sunday that no transgender prisoner with a history of violence against women will be accommodated in a women’s prison pending an urgent review of all transgender inmates, and after heavy criticism from opposition parties of the government’s “botched” and “chaotic” handling of the case. On Monday…Nicola Sturgeon…said her government has nothing to apologise for…” – The Guardian