Sunak ‘to extend furlough’ until September – follow budget news live

Responding to calls for the first minister to resign, a spokesperson for Nicola Sturgeon said: “The first minister will address all of the issues raised – and much more besides – at the committee tomorrow, while the independent adviser on the ministerial code will report in due course.

“But to call a vote of no confidence in the middle of a pandemic, before hearing a single word of the first minister’s evidence, is utterly irresponsible.

“It is for the public to decide who they want to govern Scotland and – while we continue to fight the Covid pandemic – with the election campaign starting in just 20 days, that is precisely what they will be able to do.”

The Scottish Conservatives are calling on first minister Nicola Sturgeon to resign after legal advice related to the botched investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by Alex Salmond was published by the Scottish government.

Deputy first minister John Swinney agreed to hand over legal advice under threat of a no-confidence vote, and acknowledged “reservations were raised” by government lawyers about the way allegations about Mr Salmond were investigated.

The Scottish government launched an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by the former first minister, but it was found to be unlawful, unfair and “tainted by apparent bias” because of prior contact between the investigating officer and two of the women who complained.

Redacted legal advice published by the Scottish government on Tuesday evening showed that lawyers advised them in September 2018 that there “is a real risk that the court may be persuaded by the petitioner’s case in respect of the ground of challenge based on ‘procedural unfairness’.”

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has now said: “Credible witnesses have now backed up Alex Salmond’s claims and the legal advice shows the Government knew months in advance that the judicial review was doomed, but they still went on to waste more than £500,000 of taxpayers’ money.

“There is no longer any doubt that Nicola Sturgeon lied to the Scottish parliament and broke the ministerial code on numerous counts.”

He added: “The weight of the evidence is overwhelming. Nicola Sturgeon must resign. We will be submitting a vote of no confidence in the First Minister.”

Small fishing businesses will “probably” go under due to the increased costs of complying with Brexit red tape when sending their catch to Europe, industry experts have warned MPs.

Politicians were told that some fishing firms are even looking at relocating parts of their operation to the EU in order to bypass costs and bureaucracy, with Brexit changes expected to hit profits by as much as £500,000 per year.

Some businesses have reported requiring more than 70 pages of paperwork to transport one lorry of fish into the EU.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee heard that the combination of Brexit and Covid-19 had caused the “perfect storm”.

“You just could not have written it any worse if you had wanted to for the industry,” said Sarah Horsfall, co-chief executive of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain.

Martyn Youell, a senior manager at southwest England fishing company Waterdance, said: “Sadly, there are some extreme forces operating on the supply chain and we probably will see some forced consolidation or business failure and that is impacting the fishing industry.

“We are struggling to find markets for some of the products we previously had very good markets for through small-scale exporters.

“Those at the more medium size, their costs have increased dramatically.”

The former civil servant added Brexit was in danger of causing UK fisheries jobs to move elsewhere: “The exporters we deal with are seriously considering relocating part of their processing business to the EU because of the difficulties we face at the moment.”

Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, Michelle O’Neill, has insisted Gordon Lyons required Executive approval to halt construction on permanent checkpoints along the Irish Sea border – and that he had made no formal proposal to fellow ministers.

“The Executive’s position remains that it’s our duty to implement the protocol, it’s clear that any move to change that position would require an Executive decision,” she said.

“The agriculture minister has yet to bring a proposal to the Executive to change the status quo. And if he does so then clearly we will engage in that.

“But as things stand, the protocol’s here to stay, that’s been rehearsed now repeatedly by the British government and the EU side and what we need to get on with now is actually providing stability and certainty to our local businesses, to be looking at how the protocol can be made simpler where it can, where we can achieve flexibilities where we can and that’s where all efforts should be.”

Ms O’Neill added: “I am yet to understand if anything has happened apart from an instruction being given by a minister. I don’t believe that any action has changed in terms of the current workings of what’s happening at the ports.”

The Independent’s Sean O’Grady presents his take on the chancellor’s Budget, set to be announced on Wednesday:

Foreign office minister James Cleverly has repeatedly refused to say whether MPs will be given a vote on a multi-billion pound cut to the UK’s aid budget after being grilled by senior Tories.

The row follows the government’s decision to renege on a manifesto commitment to maintain overseas aid spending at 0.7 per cent of national income, cutting the budget to 0.5 per cent – around £4bn per year.

Dominic Raab last year told MPs that legislation would be required if the government “cannot see a path back to 0.7 per cent in the foreseeable, immediate future”.

Political correspondent Ashley Cowburn has the full report:

DUP leader Arlene Foster has insisted the decision of her party colleague, agriculture minister Gordon Lyons, to stop work on permanent Irish Sea trade inspection facilities can only be overturned by a court.

Mrs Foster rejected the suggestion that Mr Lyons could be overruled by the wider Stormont Executive on the issue.

“Gordon has taken the decision based on evidence and law that he has looked at and the decision still stands until it is overturned by a court,” she said on Tuesday.

“I know that others take contrary views in relation to that, but that has been the position when other decisions have been taken by ministers in the past which have had to be taken to court and given the determination there.

“The decision still stands until it is overruled by a court.”

It comes after Mr Lyons was grilled by MLAs in Stormont on Monday – with one labelling the entire situation a “farce”.

Northern Ireland has outlined “tentative” preparatory steps towards the lifting of coronavirus restrictions, with Stormont deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill saying it was time to look forward in a hopeful way while recognising the huge risks which remained.

“Great care is still needed,” she said earlier.

“That is why the executive has agreed today a careful, cautious and hopeful approach to existing restrictions and we will be publishing that later today for everyone to see.”

The BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg reports the following about tomorrow’s Budget announcement:

England is on course to end all social distancing in mid-June, Matt Hancock says – even though a review is not due to conclude until then.

Asked if the pace of vaccinations and falling hospitalisation and death rates offered “real hope” of hitting that target, an excited health secretary replied: “Yes.”

The comment goes much further than the government ‘roadmap’, though, which merely sets out the intention to end all legal limits – but not guidance – on distancing by 21 June.

Deputy political editor Rob Merrick reports: