Government in ‘denial’ over Brexit problems facing exporters – follow live

Boris Johnson’s chief adviser on the union has been sacked, following reports of a “furious dispute” over strategy after the prime minister’s visit to Scotland last week.

Downing Street confirmed that the former Tory MP Luke Graham has been removed from his post. Oliver Lewis, a leading figure in the Brexit negotiations, is tipped to take his place.

Contrary to polls which indicate that the majority of Scots favour independence, No 10 made the bold claim on Thursday that Mr Johnson is the “voice of the majority of the Scottish people” who reject it.

Northern Ireland’s chief constable has warned of a “febrile” atmosphere in the country, amid rising tensions about trade disruption over the Irish Sea from Great Britain.

Simon Byrne said that 26 graffiti incidents have been identified across the country in recent days, with police increasing their intelligence gathering.

This comes after custom checks officials in Belfast and Larne withdrew after threats were made against them.

Mr Byrne told the Policing Board in Belfast: “It is now time for wise words and calm heads.

“We need to work together to look at a route map to normality because that seems to be the opportunity before us, to step back from the brink in terms of community tension.”

Boris Johnson insists Brexit is “done”, despite his government’s request to the EU that it extends the “grace periods” in the Northern Ireland Protocol to 2023.

A spokesperson for the prime minister admitted there were still issues “we need to resolve as part of the protocol”.

This comes the day after cabinet office minister Michael Gove said concerns need to be remedied quickly, with talks with the EU due to continue next week.

Eric Mamer, a spokesperson for the European Commission, said that grace periods “were always meant to be of a temporary nature”, adding that it was up to Mr Gove and his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic “to see what is the way forward”.

Nicola Sturgeon has praised the public for coming forward en masse to have the coronavirus vaccine, describing the uptake as “beyond anything I could ever have believed would be possible”.

Scotland’s first minister said on Thursday that 98 per cent of older care home residents had been inoculated, while more than 90 per cent of over-80s had also received their first jab.

Ms Sturgeon said: “The uptake rates we’re seeing, and I hope this continues as we get into the younger population groups, are way beyond anything I could ever have believed would be possible – way beyond what we see in the flu vaccine programme.

“That’s testament to the willingness and the enthusiasm of people to come forward and be vaccinated for their own safety but also to be part of that collective effort that we need to have to beat this virus.”

James Withers, chief executive at Scottish Food and Drink, has told MPs that the biggest problem facing exporting businesses after Brexit is “denial…of the scale of the problem”.

He told the Scottish Affairs Committee that issues such as “the sheer weight of paperwork” and “IT systems crashing” were not as bad as the government’s refusal to acknowledge the gravity of the situation.

Mr Withers said: “I think the biggest single challenge we have just now is denial. I think it is denial, from the UK Government in particular, of the scale of the problem.

“We can’t accept that this is short-term issues, that it is teething problems, or even the statement from Defra this week that trade continues to flow smoothly, because it doesn’t.”

Boris Johnson must climbdown and accept an an amendment seeking to prevent trade deals with countries ruled by British courts to be guilty of genocide, MPs have urged.

In the wake of a new report detailing human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority people in China’s Xinjiang province, the former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith called on ministers to stop blocking the measure.

The amendment to the post-Brexit Trade Bill devised by the crossbench peer Lord Alton would allow the High Court to decide if another signatory to a trade agreement had committed genocide, with the findings presented to parliament for debate.

“Our nation is getting safer every day,” the vaccines minister has said in a statement on the rollout, with almost one in five adults having now received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

Almost nine in ten over-80s have been vaccinated, almost nine in ten over 75s and almost half of people in their 70s, Nadhim Zahawi said.

Every eligible care home has been offered vaccines, and the UK is on track to have offered vaccines to the four most vulnerable groups by mid-February.

He thanked everyone involved in the vaccine deployment – “a combination of the best of the UK”.

Mr Zahawi said the level of infection is still “alarmingly high” and everyone must remain vigilant.

The minister announced that 39 new vaccination sites have opened this week, along with 62 more pharmacy-led sites.

There are now 89 large centres and 194 run by high street pharmacies along with 1,000 GP-led services and 250 hospital hubs.

He said he was “pleased” to see the results showing sustained protection offered by the AstraZeneca vaccine published in the Lancet medical journal this week.

Mr Zahawi also announced a new trial to look at whether different vaccines can be safely used for “a two-dose regime in the future to support a more flexible programme” while adding that it is a year-long study, and there are “no current plans” to change the existing vaccine programme.

Boris Johnson is facing mounting pressure to make “meaningful” changes to ban trade deals with countries that are committing genocide.

Conservative former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith urged the government to “stop this nonsense” and accept Trade Bill amendments that would force ministers to pull out of free trade agreements with any country the High Court rules is committing genocide.

The House of Lords reinserted the amendment into the legislation after the prime minister was able to narrowly defeat it in the Commons, meaning it will return to be voted on again on Tuesday.

Many Conservative MPs are calling for the government to take action, particularly in light of fresh reports of abuses being carried out against the Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province.

The shadow foreign office minister, Stephen Kinnock, has also said the time for “tangible action” against China “has now come” and urged the government to amend the bill.

The shadow leader of the House of Commons has called for a select committee on Brexit and the European Union to be reinstated, following disruption at the border despite Boris Johnson’s promises to the contrary.

Valerie Vaz told the Commons: “Remember the prime minister’s promise to businesses in Northern Ireland – no forms, no checks, no barriers of any kind, you will have unfettered access?

“Can (Mr Rees-Mogg) look at restoring the select committee along the same lines that they have in the other place, unless the Leader thinks that they are more accountable than we are in this place?”

Jacob Rees-Mogg replied that “anything relating to Northern Ireland can be looked at by the Northern Ireland Committee”, adding that there “are plenty of opportunities for scrutiny”.

Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat has asked the government to help British institutions ensure they are “not complicit with any genocidal regime”.

His comments in the Commons on Thursday come after Manchester University broke ties with CETC, once it realised that the company was linked to the surveillance of Uighurs in China’s Xinjiang province.

Mr Tugendhat, who chairs the foreign affrairs committee, urged the Foreign Office to assist companies because “they can’t always know” the connections themselves.