UK ministers accused of ‘shocking lack of knowledge about Northern Ireland protocol’ – follow live

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has said the government would consider whether further reform of governance at the BBC was needed after the broadcaster was pilloried by an inquiry into Martin Bashir’s 1995 interview with Diana.

“We will now reflect on Lord Dyson’s thorough report and consider whether further governance reforms at the BBC are needed in the mid-term Charter review,” Dowden said on Twitter.

“I welcome the fact that the new leadership launched this independent inquiry and expect them to ensure that this can never happen again.”

Boris Johnson has apparently ended the row among ministers over a zero-tariff trade deal with Australia, making clear he wants the agreement struck soon.

The PM is understood to have backed international trade secretary Liz Truss’s goal of inking a deal by the G7 summit in Cornwall.

“Johnson made clear he was with Liz on this,” a government official told The Times on Thursday’s cabinet showdown meeting. Truss is expected to speak to her Aussie counterpart Dan Tehan today about pushing it through in the next few weeks.

It seems environment secretary George Eustice’s concerns have been overruled. Michael Gove is also believed to be concerned it will boost support for Scottish independence, since farmers north of the border could be hardest hit.

The government will ensure British farmers are “not undercut” in any free trade agreement with Australia, cabinet minister Robert Buckland has claimed.

The justice secretary said any deal “will of course take into account the very high welfare standards we apply here the UK”.

He also told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the government would “make sure that British farming and British farmers are not undercut, are not put at a disadvantage”.

British farmers don’t see it that way. Neil Shand, chief executive of the UK’s National Beef Association, told The Independent that cheap imports deal could cause “a slow, painful death” to the domestic sector.

UK ministers have been accused of having a “shocking” lack of knowledge about the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland following Brexit.

Labour MP Karin Smyth said ministers had been “really quite ignorant” about protocol arrangements.

She told the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee: “It was perhaps surprising that Lord Frost said last week that the government and ministers perhaps didn’t understand the protocol that they had indeed drafted.

“I agree with Lord Frost; the level of ignorance amongst many ministers speaking at the despatch box about the UK not understanding the very different situation of Northern Ireland has really been quite shocking.”

It follows an admission by Brexit minister David Frost that No 10 had failed to secure the agreement it wanted for Northern Ireland.

Boris Johnson has said he welcomes news of a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza.

The prime minister tweeted: “Leaders in the region must now work to find a durable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that prevents terrorism, ends the cycle of violence and delivers a sustainable and just peace.”