Boris Johnson news – live: UK won’t bow to threats of trade war with EU, says Kwarteng

The UK will not be deterred from taking action to maintain political stability in Northern Ireland by “irresponsible” threats of a trade war with the European Union, Kwasi Kwarteng said.

Boris Johnson will meet DUP leaders tomorrow to urge a return to powersharing in Northern Ireland as the government seeks to calm a dispute over post-Brexit trade rules with Brussels.

EU leaders have warned of retaliatory measures if the UK acts unilaterally to suspend or change the Northern Ireland protocol of the Brexit agreement in the face of Unionist opposition.

But Mr Kwarteng, the business secretary, said that under Article 16 of the protocol the government was entitled to act unilaterally to protect political stability. A trade war with the EU over any measures the UK decides to take would be “completely self-defeating”, he said.

The prime minster will visit Belfast for the first time since the Stormont elections earlier this month where Sinn Fein made history by becoming the first nationalist party to win power in the assembly.

Key Points

• Trade war talk 'won’t stop UK acting over NI’

• Boris Johnson honest? Hunt won’t say

• PM to urge return to powersharing

• Thatcher statue egged within hours of going up

Boris Johnson to press DUP as ministers try to dial down Brexit war of words with the EU

07:41 , Liam James

Boris Johnson will put pressure on the DUP to re-enter powersharing in Northern Ireland as the government seeks to ease an escalating war of words with the European Union over Brexit (Kate Devlin writes).

Government sources suggested ministers want to take some of the heat out of the debate, which in recent days has led to claims the UK is heading for a trade war with the EU.

But they also made clear no decision has yet been taken on whether or not the UK will unilaterally tear up part of its Brexit deal with the EU.

The idea is expected to be discussed at a meeting of ministers next week.

The prime minster will make his call on Monday when he visits Belfast for the first time since the Stormont elections earlier this month.

Johnson to press DUP as ministers try to dial down Brexit war of words with the EU

Jeremy Hunt says NHS was ‘rogue system’ in his time as health secretary

08:00 , Liam James

Jeremy Hunt has described sitting at the top of a “rogue system” when he was health secretary and said he was “shocked to his core” by failures in care.

A fear of transparency and honesty in the NHS when it comes to avoidable deaths and mistakes is a “major structural problem” that must be addressed, the current chair of the Health and Social Care Committee said in an excerpt from his new book published in The Sunday Times.

In the book, Zero: Eliminating Unnecessary Deaths in A Post-Pandemic NHS, Mr Hunt said the “corrosive consequences of such thinking” were cover-ups that the Department of Health and NHS “were complicit” in.

“Too often managers who had failed were recycled to jobs in a different part of the country, where they continued to make the same mistakes. And because of the secrecy, the wheels of change ground slowly,” he said.

“It was not about rogue staff or a rogue hospital. It was about a rogue system. A rogue system that I, as health secretary, sat at the top of.”

Mr Hunt said he was “shocked to his core” by failures in care, including avoidable deaths.

Thatcher statue will be put up today despite egg-throwing threats

08:25 , Liam James

A statue of Baroness Margaret Thatcher is finally set to be lowered into place in her home town today.

In February 2019, a planning committee unanimously voted in favour of the £300,000 statue – which was originally intended for Parliament Square in Westminster.

Despite its unveiling being delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the statue is set to be erected on a 10ft-high granite plinth in Baroness Thatcher’s home town of Grantham, Lincolnshire.

Reports originally presented to South Kesteven District Council showed the statue was moved to the area due to fears of a “motivated far-left movement... who may be committed to public activism”.

But after a large-scale £100,000 unveiling ceremony was approved by the council in 2020, a Facebook group proposing an “egg-throwing contest” at the event attracted interest from more than 13,000 people.

Around 2,400 others visited the Facebook page to say they would go to the event including “egg throwing ... and potentially graffiti art”.

Revealed: UK fails to deliver £240m in net zero projects

08:50 , Liam James

Britain failed to deliver almost a quarter of a billion pounds in green projects aimed at reaching net zero even as Boris Johnson urged governments around the world to drastically raise their investment in tackling the climate crisis, The Independent can reveal (Anna Isaac writes).

Some £241m earmarked for cancelling out UK carbon emissions by 2050 was handed back to the Treasury in the last financial year by the business department, papers show. It is understood the money had been linked to the green homes grant scheme, set up to boost the energy efficiency of homes.

Labour said the investment could have helped tackle the rise in household bills that have helped drive the cost of living to a 30-year high.

UK fails to deliver £240m in net zero projects

Minister ‘unclear’ whether overriding NI protocol is illegal

09:12 , Liam James

Kwasi Kwarteng said he is “unclear” about whether or not unilateral action on the Northern Ireland protocol would break international law.

The Business Secretarty speaks at the end of a week of high tension between Britain and the EU.

The government has threatened to override the protocol, which it views as unworkable, without the approval of Brussels.

EU representatives have warned against unilateral action and told Britain that blackmail is not acceptable.

Cabinet ministers ‘criticise Bank of England over rising inflation’

09:32 , Liam James

Cabinet ministers have reportedly criticised the Bank of England over rising inflation and urged Rishi Sunak to do more to hold the institution’s Governor, Andrew Bailey, to account.

Boris Johnson’s party is currently under pressure to to help struggling families as the cost of living crisis worsens and now in an unprecedented move government figures are taking aim at the BoE for failing to keep inflation down.

A senior minister told The Telegraph: “It has one job to do – to keep inflation at around two per cent – and it’s hard to remember the last time it achieved its target.”

Other government insiders are keen for the chancellor to do more to hold Mr Bailey accountable as keeping inflation under control is one of the core functions of the BoE.

Cabinet ministers ‘criticise Bank of England over rising inflation’

Jeremy Hunt declines to say Boris Johnson is an honest man

09:56 , Liam James

Former Conservative leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt has declined to say that Boris Johnson is an honest man in the wake of the partygate scandal.

Mr Hunt was asked the question on the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme with Sophie Raworth.

In response he twice replied that “talking about personalities is not a helpful thing to do”, despite being told by Ms Raworth that it was a “simple question”.

On the issue of whether Mr Johnson was the best person for the job, Mr Hunt said: “I hope he can turn things around.” He did say, however, that he thought that Tory MPs should support the prime minister “in the situation we are now in” with the war in Ukraine.

And asked if Mr Johnson would take his party into the next general election, he said that he “hopes so”.

Thatcher statue in place

10:20 , Liam James

A statue of Margaret Thatcher has now been erected in her home town of Grantham,

The statue was originally planned to go up in Parliament Square in London but was moved for fear of vandalism.

However, thousands of people online have showed interest in an “egg-throwing competition” at the Grantham site.

Kwarteng echoes Ukraine’s eurovision hopes

10:38 , Liam James

Kwasi Kwarteng echoed Ukraine’s statement saying it believes it can hold the Eurovision contest next year – and adds “I look forward to watching it there”.

Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest last night with folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the win he hopes to one day host the contest in Mariupol, a Ukrainian city destroyed by the Russian invasion.

He said: “Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers Europe! Next year Ukraine will host Eurovision!

“We will do our best to one day host the participants and guests of Eurovision in Ukrainian Mariupol. Free, peaceful, rebuilt! I am sure our victorious chord in the battle with the enemy is not far off.”

UK would meet consequence if NI protocol scrapped – Coveney

10:58 , Liam James

Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said there would be a “consequence” if the UK moved to override the Northern Ireland protocol – though he insisted the EU was not issuing threats.

“The EU isn’t threatening anything,” he said. “I think for us to focus on how the EU would respond to the British government deliberately breaching international law is probably where we shouldn’t be right now.

“Instead, we need to be trying to avoid that situation. But I think everybody understands if the British government decides to set aside international law to create significant uncertainty on the island of Ireland in terms of single market membership, and a whole range of other things, ... of course there’s a consequence, the EU is forced to respond, but that is not where we want to be.

“Where we want to be is good neighbours, good friends and solving problems together. I would encourage the influencers within the British government to ensure that that’s the course that they decide to take.”

Britain has been threatening to “tear up” the protocol over trade concerns but the EU has criticised the approach of ministers in London as unconstructive.

Coveney says Lord Frost Ukraine comments not helpful

11:06 , Liam James

Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney criticised former Brexit minister Lord Frost last week for referencing Boris Johnson’s actions on Ukraine and urging him to demonstrate similar “leadership” to rip up the protocol.

“What we are getting there is a senior figure in the Conservative Party calling on his prime minister to break international law and to create huge problems for Britain’s neighbour here in Ireland, and, of course, unnecessary tension with the EU at a time when we all need to be working together to solve problems,” said Mr Coveney.

He said the conflict in Ukraine made it more important for the EU and UK to work together.

“We have huge challenges to overcome together,” he said.

Windfall tax refusal ‘shameful’, says Miliband

11:22 , Liam James

It is “shameful” the government refuses to put a windfall tax on oil and gas companies, Ed Miliband has said.

On Tuesday, Labour will put forward an amendment to the Queen’s Speech for a one-off windfall tax to help families with the cost-of-living crisis.

Mr Miliband, shadow secretary of state for climate change and net zero, told Sunday Morning on BBC One: “We are going to give Conservative MPs, the whole House of Commons, a chance to vote on Tuesday on the windfall tax.

“I talked about the social emergency in this country. I think it is obscene, frankly, that we have as a result of soaring energy bills, oil and gas companies making billions of pounds in our country, and the government refuses to put a windfall tax on them.

“It is shameful, it should shame them.”

The government has not commited to introducing a windfall tax but Rishi Sunak said such a measure was being considered.

Mr Miliband was also asked if Labour would re-nationalise energy if in power. He said the party would not buy the big six energy companies.

Finland to apply for Nato membership

11:38 , Liam James

Finland’s president and government announced Sunday that the Nordic country intends to apply for membership in Nato , paving the way for the 30-member western military alliance to expand amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

President Sauli Niinisto and prime minister Sanna Marin made the announcement at a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki.

The Finnish Parliament is expected to endorse the decision in coming days, but it is considered a formality.

Boris Johnson visited Finland and Sweden, which also plans to join, this week to show Britain’s support.

Finland to apply for Nato membership

Watch: Finland announces ‘historic’ decision to join Nato

11:40 , Liam James

Here’s Finnish president Sauli Niinisto and prime minister Sanna Marin making the announcement in Helsinki:

Thatcher statue egged within hours

11:54 , Liam James

A statue of Margaret Thatcher has been egged less than two hours after it was installed in her home town.

A protester threw eggs from behind a temporary fence surrounding the memorial, with a cry of “oi” heard after one hit part of the monument.

Thousands of people online had threatened to egg the statue ahead of its installation in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

Michael Gove ‘tells Lords to leave London during refurbishment’

12:20 , Liam James

The House of Lords should relocate outside of London rather than moving to a building nearby during refurbishment works, Michael Gove has reportedly told the Lord Speaker.

The Levelling Up Secretary is said to have written to Lord McFall of Alcluith suggesting locations including Stoke-on-Trent, Burnley and Sunderland.

In the letter, reported in the Sunday Times, Mr Gove said he knows “cities and towns across the United Kingdom would be pleased to extend their hospitality to peers”.

He is reported to have written: “As the minister responsible for levelling up, it is clear to me that the House of Lords moving elsewhere, even for a temporary period, would be widely welcomed.

Adding: “I propose to establish dedicated liaison points for you in my department to support you in identifying a suitable location for the House of Lords in the north, midlands, southwest, Scotland or Wales. I would, of course, be happy to meet you to discuss this.”

Hunt blames lack of ‘workforce planning' for NHS pressures

12:45 , Liam James

Jeremy Hunt said tackling the “chronic failure of workforce planning” is the most important task in relieving pressure on NHS frontline services.

The former health secretary and current chair of the Health and Social Care Committee told Sunday Morning on BBC One: “I think that would be the biggest single thing that could relieve pressure for people on the front line who are so stressed at the moment, will be to sort out that workforce planning.”

He denied that Brexit has made it harder to staff the health service, saying: “We have an NHS visa which means that it’s very easy for any doctors who want to come here to do so.”

Mr Hunt said that in his new book, Zero: Eliminating Unnecessary Deaths in A Post-Pandemic NHS, he addressed his own failures as health secretary, including securing long-term funding for the social care system.

Referring to reports of people waiting an hour for an ambulance when they have had a heart attack, he said: “Obviously if you can’t discharge people from hospitals into the care system, then hospitals don’t have the capacity to deal with people who come in in an emergency, and that remains an unsolved problem.”

Civil service cuts mark return to austerity, says TUC

13:10 , Liam James

Boris Johnson’s plan to cut 90,000 civil service jobs marks a return to austerity and will damage public services, a trade union leader has said.

The prime minister recently tasked his Cabinet with shrinking the size of the service by one-fifth, using the savings for tax cuts to ease the cost-of-living crisis.

However, Frances O’Grady, head of the Trades Union Congress, argued the move would provoke widespread anger.

Speaking to Sky News’s Sophy Ridge, she said: “This is back to austerity – and we saw how austerity failed not only ordinary people, families, but it failed the country in the end by holding back growth.

“How on earth the government expects to be able to shed 90,000 (jobs) at a stroke and for it not to damage communities in the country, I really don’t know.

“Communities will be extremely angry if they’re looking to get hit again in terms of key public services.”

UK won’t bow to EU threats of trade war – Kwarteng

13:45 , Liam James

The UK will not be deterred from taking action to maintain political stability in Northern Ireland by “irresponsible” threats of a trade war with the EU, Kwasi Kwarteng said.

EU leaders have warned of retaliatory measures if the UK acts unilaterally to suspend or change the agreement, which governs post-Brexit trading arrangements, in the face of Unionist opposition.

But Mr Kwarteng, the business secretary, said that under Article 16 of the protocol – which forms part of the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement with the EU – the government was entitled to act unilaterally to protect political stability.

“There has been a lot of talk, a lot of threats, about what the EU will or won’t do. That is up to them,” he told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme.

“As far as I am concerned, our primary duty as the British government is to look after political stability in Northern Ireland. If that means relooking at the protocol, we absolutely have to do that.

“I think this talk of a trade war is irresponsible and I think it is completely getting ahead of ourselves.

“It is up to the EU. We think it would be completely self-defeating if they went into a trade war, but that is up to them.”

Hunt accepts his mistakes fuelled ambulance delays

13:59 , Liam James

Jeremy Hunt has admitted that his own failings as health secretary have contributed to people waiting hours for an ambulance or in A&E departments.

The ex-Cabinet minister has also described sitting at the top of a “rogue system” during his stint as health secretary from 2012 to 2018, and criticised a “blame culture” in the NHS.

He told Sunday Morning on BBC One that in his new book, he “tried to be honest about the things I succeeded in doing and the things I wasn’t successful in”.

Referring to reports of heart attack or stroke victims having to wait an hour for an ambulance, Mr Hunt said: “One of the root causes of that was something I didn’t manage to do, which was to get a long-term plan or long-term funding for the social care system.

“In a way I did succeed for the NHS, but obviously if you can’t discharge people from hospitals into the care system, then hospitals don’t have the capacity to deal with people who come in in an emergency, and that remains an unsolved problem.”

Mr Hunt, the current chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, denied the NHS is on the brink of collapse, but said the situation is “very, very serious” with doctors and nurses “run ragged by the intensity of work”.

No one will believe UK didn’t understand Brexit deal, says Tory NI chair

14:22 , Liam James

The government cannot expect anybody to believe that it did not understand the Northern Ireland protocol when it agreed to it, the Conservative chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has said.

Simon Hoare told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend programme the protocol was not “perfect” but unilateral action by Britain was not the way to fix it.

It is through the dispute resolution mechanisms within the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) that things should be sorted out, he said.

He said: “I think the first thing the government has got to do is stop rattling the sabre, get around the table and have grown-up, meaningful conversations.

The Tory MP for North Dorset insisted it is “frankly naive nonsense for the government to ask anybody to believe, one, that it didn’t understand what it signed up to” and “to ask us to believe that people thought, or ministers thought, that one signatory to it, ie the EU, would behave in a way entirely different to that which was stipulated within the agreement, or indeed that we would be allowed to as well”.

The prime minister’s planned visit to Belfast tomorrow is welcome and might prove effective in defusing the tension, he added.

Bank of England’s inflation woes ‘clearly an issue’ – Kwarteng

14:45 , Liam James

Kwasi Kwarteng said it is clearly “an issue” that the Bank of England is failing to meet its inflation target.

By the Bank’s most recent forecast, inflation is set to rise above 10 per cent against a target set by the government of 2 per cent.

Mr Kwarteng said he believed the governor, Andrew Bailey, was doing a “reasonable job” in difficult circumstances, but the 2 per cent target was part of the Bank’s mandate “and they have to keep it to 2 per cent”.

“Inflation is running into almost double digits now. That is an issue, clearly,” he told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme.

The troubling economic outlook, cost of living crisis and sharp increase in inflation, has rankled Tory MPs and caused unexpected criticism of the bank, which was made independent of government in 1997.

Earlier, The Sunday Telegraph reported some Cabinet ministers were unhappy with the bank’s performance and questioning its independence.

Police make no arrests over Thatcher statue egging

15:08 , Liam James

Lincolnshire Police said no arrests have been made in connection with the egging of the statue of Margaret Thatcher that was installed today in Grantham.

A man threw eggs at the statue within two hours of it being installed – police said they received a report of criminal damage shortly after 10am.

The statue was originally planned to be installed in Parliament Square in Westminster but the location was moved to Thatcher’s Lincolnshire home town due to fears of vandalism.

Sunak will ultimately bring in windfall tax, suggests Miliband

15:35 , Liam James

Rishi Sunak will ultimately decide to impose a windfall tax on energy giants to help families deal with the cost-of-living crisis, Ed Miliband has suggested.

Labour will put forward an amendment to the Queen’s Speech in the House of Commons on Tuesday for a one-off windfall tax on oil and gas firms’ bumper profits.

There have been mixed messages from the Government on such a levy. Mr Sunak said he was “not naturally attracted” to the idea but “no option is off the table” while Boris Johnson said he did not think it was “the right way forward” and Kwasi Kwarteng, the business and energy secretary, said he was opposed.

Speaking to Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday, Mr Miliband, the shadow secretary of state for climate change and net-zero, said he believes the chancellor will ultimately impose a windfall tax because it is “an unanswerable case”.

Chancellor will impose windfall tax on energy giants’ profits, insists Miliband

‘Severe risk’ of UK ‘heading into trade war with EU’

16:02 , Lamiat Sabin

There is a “severe risk that we are heading into a trade war” with Brussels, Britain’s former ambassador to the EU has said.

Sir Ivan Rogers resigned as ambassador and from the civil service in January 2020.

Today, he told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend programme: “I think there’s a severe risk that we are heading into a trade war.

“Obviously, it’s a time like this with the worst conflict on European soil since the Second World War and the real risk of recession in both the eurozone and the UK, I would have thought in the second half of the year and into next year, this may feel like madness, but I think there is a severe risk of it happening.”

MoD: ‘Russia may have lost third of troops Putin sent to Ukraine’

16:30 , Lamiat Sabin

Russia may have lost a third of troops it sent into Ukraine as its offensive continues to struggle in the face of stiff resistance, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

Vladimir Putin’s campaign in the east of Ukraine had “lost momentum” and was now “significantly behind schedule”, the MoD said in its latest assessment.

At a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Berlin, foreign secretary Liz Truss said it was essential to maintain support for Ukrainian government to help it “push Russia out” of Ukraine.

She said in a statement: “Putin must face a sustained defeat in Ukraine, Russia must be contained and such aggression must never happen again.

“Ukraine’s security must come from it being able to defend itself. Allies must support Ukraine’s move to Nato-standard equipment, immediately providing artillery, training and the required expertise.”

Nato deputy secretary-general Mircea Geoana said the Ukrainians were now in a position to defeat the Russians and win the war.

“The brutal invasion of Russia is losing momentum,” he told reporters.

“With significant support from allies and partners in billions of dollars, in military support, in financial support, humanitarian support, we know that with the bravery of the Ukrainian people and army and with our help, Ukraine can win this war.”

Gove’s idea to move Lords out of London ‘bonkeroony'

17:00 , Lamiat Sabin

A former Lords speaker has dismissed Michael Gove’s suggestion of moving peers out of London while the House of Lords undergoes resortation work.

Baroness Hayman said the communities secretary’s idea to temporarily relocate the peers would not make sense if the House of Commons remained in the capital.

Mr Gove has reportedly suggested that the Lords could move to the North, to places such as Stoke, Burnley and Sunderland.

Baroness Hayman echoed his use of the word “bonkeroony” to describe his suggestion. He used it earlier this week to dismiss calls for PM Boris Johnson to resign over the partygate scandal.

“I think it’s – what did Michael Gove say – bonkeroony?” she told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend.

Lady Hayman said she believed ministers wanted to punish the Lords for challenging the government over important legislation in the last parliamentary session.

“I think they are really quite angry with the House of Lords at the moment and, therefore, kick them out. It’s punishment.”

Protest over Sizewell C as ministers defer decision by six weeks

17:30 , Lamiat Sabin

Hundreds of people protested in east Suffolk today over the building of the Sizewell C nuclear power station.

The crowd marched from Leiston to Sizewell beach carrying banners that had slogans such as “chaos coast coming soon”, “EDF-off” and “we don’t want to be beside the C”.

It comes after ministers earlier this deferred a decision by six weeks on whether to grant development consent for the plant.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has set a new deadline of 8 July to wait for information on issues such as water supply.

Negotiations between the Government and French project developer EDF started last year.

Campaigners say the delay is a recognition of the project’s problems including water supply, transport, coastal erosion and biodiversity.

Alison Downes of Stop Sizewell C said: “A decision to go ahead with Sizewell C would be a wrong decision.

“EDF has clearly not taken this community with them, and the Government has totally betrayed the faith of local people in due process by repeated commitments to Sizewell C when it doesn’t have planning consent, let alone a final investment decision.”

If built, Sizewell C would power the equivalent of about six million homes, as well as support up to 10,000 jobs in Suffolk and across the UK.

Its construction is expected to cost around £20 billion and it would be a near-identical replica of Hinkley Point C, the plant currently under construction in Somerset.

Labour chooses NHS worker as candidate for Wakefield by-election

17:45 , Lamiat Sabin

Labour has chosen a NHS worker and member of the party’s national policy forum to fight the forthcoming Wakefield by-election.

Simon Lightwood was selected from a shortlist of two after the entire executive committee of the local constituency party resigned in protest at the lack of a local candidate.

Mr Lightwood is a trade unionist who has worked as head of communications for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.

In a statement, he said it was an honour to have been chosen and promised “to fight tooth and nail” for the West Yorkshire city.

“Twenty years ago I joined the Labour Party here in Wakefield, and for 10 years I lived, studied and worked in this great city,” he said.

“We have a lot to be proud of in Wakefield, and a huge amount of strength and resilience in our communities.”

The by-election follows the resignation of ex-Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan after his conviction for sexually assaulting a boy.

18:00 , Lamiat Sabin

That’s it for today’s coverage of UK politics. Thanks for following.