Border checks cost council £5m – follow Brexit news live

The majority of Britons believe Brexit has been bad for the UK economy and trade, according to new polling for The Independent which offers the first indication that the damage caused by leaving the EU’s single market and customs union in January is cutting through with voters.

The polling by Savanta ComRes, which was conducted before it was confirmed that a precipitous 40.7 per cent fall in goods sales to the EU in January took place, may fuel anxieties further.

It showed that 39 per cent thought Brexit had so far been bad for trade, against just 18 per cent who said it had been good, while 37 per cent rated it bad for the UK economy, compared to 25 per cent who said its effects have been beneficial.

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock looks at the data in full here:

Hundreds of civil servants will move to Scotland under plans to open a secondary headquarters of the Cabinet Office in Glasgow.

At least 500 officials in Michael Gove’s department are expected to be relocated by 2024, the Financial Times reported.

The paper said Alex Chisholm, permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office, told staff: “As a department with a key responsibility for the union, it is particularly appropriate that we move to strengthen our presence and commitment in Scotland.”

It is the latest Whitehall department to see staff moved out of London under the Government’s bid to “level up” opportunity and jobs across the UK.

The PM said he had not read a letter sent to him last week by an umbrella body representing loyalist paramilitaries which they said they were temporarily withdrawing support for the Good Friday Agreement in protest at the protocol.

“I haven’t personally seen the letters but I’m sure the relevant people will have received them and will be responding to them,” the Prime Minister said.

Asked about the groups’ decision to withdraw support from the 1998 peace accord, Mr Johnson said he hoped they would not follow through.

“I very much hope that they won’t and our objective is to uphold the Good Friday Agreement and to restore the symmetry that that agreement relies on,” he said.

Mr Johnson said he understood the concerns of loyalists.

“As for members of the loyalist community or people who feel undermined by the protocol, well that’s exactly the issue that I intend to resolve because I want to keep the interests of both communities in balance and to make sure that we look after everybody in Northern Ireland.

“It is the centenary year of Northern Ireland, I think we should be championing all the people of Northern Ireland, and that is what I what I want to do.”

Boris Johnson has said the Northern Ireland Protocol is not operating in the way he envisaged.

The Prime Minister said he did not think the arrangements he agreed with the EU would involve restrictions on the movements of food products such as sausages, on parcel deliveries and on GB soil entering Northern Ireland.

He said the protocol was operating in an imbalanced way and was causing irritation to the loyalist and unionist community in Northern Ireland as a consequence.

In a virtual press conference on a visit to the region, Mr Johnson said: “It needs to be corrected, you can’t have a situation in which soil or parcels or tractors with mud on their tyres or whatever are prevented from moving easily from one part of the UK to another – it’s all one United Kingdom.”

He said the protocol was as an act of “good neighbourliness” by the UK towards Ireland and the EU to stop goods moving into the single market in an “uncontrolled way”.

The Sinn Fein Party’s president has criticised the “most unfortunate” manner of Boris Johnson’s visit to Belfast on Friday.

Speaking to reporters earlier, Mary Lou McDonald said: “I have to say that the manner in which this visit was planned and conducted was really most unfortunate.

“We have for some time now been seeking a meeting with Boris Johnson. We have very substantial and important matters to discuss with him.

“The British government is in default in respect of key commitments that it has made.

“Unfortunately he has not facilitated that meeting.”

She added: “He did meet with the leader of the DUP, who suggested that we might cooperate in a photo-op in Belfast, but that was never going to happen.

“We have serious business to transact with Boris Johnson, so we will be reaching out to Downing Street again, and seeking that meeting without further delay.”

Boris Johnson faces backlash after Downing Street urged members of the public not to breach lockdown restrictions by attending planned vigils for London woman Sarah Everard, whose body was found in woodland after she disappeared last week.

The Reclaim These Streets events are scheduled to go ahead across the UK on Saturday, including on Clapham Common, which Everard is believed to have walked through before her suspected kidnap and murder.

As well as marking the death of the 33-year-old, the vigils are intended tipped to call for a broader national conversation about the safety of women and girls in public areas. But organisers have said the Metropolitan Police is trying to ban the London event, citing laws against gathering during coronavirus.

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports:

Boris Johnson has said the UK will not return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, arguing they had been “legally acquired” and are rightfully owned by the British Museum.

The 2,500-year-old sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, were removed from the Acropolis more than 200 years ago and have long been the subject of dispute.

“I understand the strong feelings of the Greek people – and indeed prime minister Mitsotakis – on the issue,” Mr Johnson told Greek newspaper Ta Nea.

“But the UK government has a firm longstanding position on the sculptures which is that they were legally acquired by Lord Elgin under the appropriate laws of the time and have been legally owned by the British Museum’s Trustees since their acquisition.”

The marbles were once in the ancient Greek Parthenon temple and other buildings on the Acropolis but around half were taken to Britain in the early 19th century by staff working for the Earl of Elgin, Thomas Bruce.

Greek culture minister Lina Mendoni previously branded Elgin a “serial thief” and accused him of using illegal tactics to take the marbles.

Boris Johnson has said he will end the “abhorrent” practice of conversion therapy, adding he was sorry that three of the government’s LGBT+ advisers had resigned while issuing damning criticism.

During a visit to Queen’s University Belfast, the PM told reporters: “I think this practice is repulsive and I think it’s abhorrent, and I’m sorry these advisers have gone, but be in no doubt that we will deal with this issue.

“It is technically complex to deal with but we’re determined to take further steps to stamp it out.”

Jayne Ozanne resigned from the LGBT+ advisory panel on Wednesday, accusing women and equalities minister Liz Truss and equalities minister Kemi Badenoch of vilifying the trans community.

She was followed by James Morton, who had reportedly been concerned for several months that Ms Truss was not committed to LGBT+ equality, and Ellen Murray who wrote on Twitter that she decided to leave “due to the government’s persistent and worsening hostility towards our community in myriad areas”.

Ms Badenoch is now under pressure to resign.

Boris Johnson has said the Northern Ireland protocol should guarantee the peace process and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Loyalists have expressed growing discontent at what they see as measures threatening NI’s place in the UK.

The government has unilaterally extended until October some grace periods of light-touch regulation on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain, which had been due to end at the end of this month.

During a trip to Belfast to discuss growing tensions around the Brexit measure, Mr Johnson said: “We are taking some lawful, technical measures to build up confidence in the east-west operation as well.

“We think it is lawful, indeed we think it is right, in view of the impact on the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement and the need to have consent from both communities.”

Most non-essential retail will remain shut in Wales until 12 April 12, first minister Mark Drakeford has said.

The announcement comes as a blow to parts of the industry that were expecting an earlier reopening date, with Mr Drakeford previously saying the restart would be considered for this week’s review of coronavirus restrictions.

Businesses said the Welsh government had left them with “the impression of being marched to the top of the hill, only to be asked to walk back down again”, while the Welsh Conservatives claimed the move was a “U-turn” and Plaid Cymru accused Mr Drakeford of offering “false hope”.

It came as Mr Drakeford confirmed Wales would move to a “stay local” period from Saturday for a fortnight ahead of a further easing of travel rules in time for Easter, with self-contained holiday accommodation to be reopened from 27 March. Lockdown rules in England will prevent people from travelling over the border for a holiday.

Boris Johnson has sparked a major political row on a trip to Belfast by refusing to hold talks with Sinn Fein leaders, despite the turmoil caused by Brexit.

The prime minister was accused of “superficial PR stunt” after joining Democratic Unionist Party leaders on a trip to vaccine centre – while snubbing the Nationalist party’s leadership call for a meeting.

Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick explains:

Mike Starkie, Conservative mayor of Copeland in Cumbria, said the government’s decision to hold a public inquiry into the coal mine was “disappointing and regrettable” but that there was “a certain inevitability about this”.

Referring to concerns raised by climate campaigners, Mr Starkie told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “I think the message is being distorted around this project.

“We’re going to need steel to drive forward the green agenda – if you’re wanting to build wind farms, nuclear power stations, they all need steel.

“And the demand for coking coal is going to be there right through to 2050.”

Proposals to help make school uniforms more affordable have moved closer to becoming law.

The Education (Guidance About Costs of School Uniform) Bill, which would make guidance given to schools about the cost of uniform policies legally binding, cleared its final stages in the House of Commons after a lengthy debate.

The proposed legislation aims to keep branded items, such as blazers, to a minimum in order to cut the cost of school uniforms for parents.

Prime minister Boris Johnson has held “frank” conversations with the DUP on the Northern Ireland Protocol as he visited the region.

Extra checks on goods passing through its ports from the rest of the UK following Brexit have angered unionists.

Mr Johnson toured a mass vaccination centre in Arlene Foster’s Co Fermanagh constituency.

Ms Foster urged him to “stand up for Northern Ireland” and ditch the “intolerable” Protocol governing Irish Sea trade post-Brexit.

She said he had been in “listening mode” and “alive to the issues”.

The first minister also told Mr Johnson a school in Fermanagh was unable to order trees from England due to red tape surrounding the transport of soil.

Boris Johnson has been snubbed by deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill, who refused to greet him during a visit to Northern Ireland.

Ms O’Neill, Sinn Fein’s deputy leader, refused to welcome the prime minister to Belfast today in her Stormont role after a request for a meeting with her and Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald was turned down.

Mr Johnson is, however, to hold a meeting with first minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster during the trip, tied to the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Goods sales to the EU plunged by 40.7 per cent in January – and imports slumped by 28.8 per cent – the largest declines since comparable records began in 1997.

But David Frost, picked by Boris Johnson to negotiate the Christmas Eve agreement, pointed to pre-Christmas “stockpiling” and “Covid lockdowns across Europe” as explanations for the slump.

Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has the full report:

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, in Northern Ireland, has said it could cost up to £5m for workers to deliver post-Brexit food standards checks at a Northern Irish harbour once full regulation is introduced.

Each shift at Larne Port would require 17 officers if 100 per cent checks are required following the end of soft-touch grace periods.

A council spokesman said: “Mid and East Antrim Borough Council understands it could be required to provide 72 full-time staff at a cost of almost £5m to deliver on its obligations at Larne Port for 100 per cent checks to be completed at the end of the grace period.

“Data has been provided to council by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), and assuming there are no changes, they have advised council that potentially each shift at Larne Port would require a total of 17 officers.

“Council is currently operating four shifts with three staff per shift, so the total staff complement could rise to 17 staff across four shifts – meaning 68 staff would be required.”

The government has unilaterally extended grace periods limiting bureaucracy linked to the Northern Ireland protocol until October. They had been due to expire at the end of March.

It seems Rishi Sunak likes more than the odd sweet treat.

The chancellor has admitted he remains “very bad on sugar,” consuming a cinnamon bun, muffins, cokes and cake every day.

“I’m very bad on sugar. I eat a lot of sugar,” Mr Sunak told Politico’s Westminster Insider podcast. “I have cinnamon bun in the morning, chocolate chip muffins for breakfast, cookies and cake in the afternoon. So I eat quite a lot of sugar.”

My colleague Adam Forrest has more:

The Institute of Directors (IoD) and Labour Party have each given their verdict on the mass EU export slump caused by Brexit.

The IoD’s senior policy adviser Allie Renison said: “The fact that services trade was far less affected and goods exports to non-EU rose marginally all in the same period reflects the particular impact that disruption from new Brexit changes has had.”

Meanwhile, Labour’s Rachel Reeves said: “Businesses have been appealing to the government to start listening to the problems they’ve been facing, but they’ve been left out in the cold.

“The government must up their ambition here, and take practical action, hand-in-hand with businesses, to build on the limited deal they negotiated with the EU.”

Because the value of imports fell more than exports in January, the trade deficit for the month narrowed by £3.7bn to £1.9bn.

Companies had been stockpiling ahead of the end of the transition period and may also have been using their stock instead of buying new goods in January.

Labour has criticised the £4.8bn fund for disproportionately directing regeneration cash to wealthier Tory-voting areas above ex-industrial and mining towns, prompting the government to publish its methodology for allocating cash.

It appears to explain why areas like leafy Richmondshire and Newark are ranked above Barnsley and Salford as a priority for money. The former two areas’ MPs are chancellor Rishi Sunak and communities secretary Robert Jenrick, respectively.

Our policy correspondent Jon Stone reports: