Boris Johnson news – live: Donnez-moi un break, PM tells Macron, as UK downplays trade pact plan

Boris Johnson has told Emmanuel Macron to “get a grip” and “donnez-moi un break” after France’s furious reaction to the UK’s defence pact with the US and Australia.

In undiplomatic franglais, the prime minister said: “I just think it’s time for some of our dearest friends around the world to prenez un grip about this and donnez-moi un break. Because this is fundamentally a great step forward for global security.”

Meanwhile, the UK has distanced itself from an “unprofessional” and “frankly embarrassing” plan to try and join a North American trade pact just 24 hours after considering it.

Canadian and Mexican officials were left upset after the UK briefed that it wants to join the tripartite deal between the US and the two countries (USMCA), blindsiding them just as they prepare for fresh bilateral talks with London.

The briefing from a senior UK government figure on Tuesday, during a trip to the US, caught officials off guard amid sensitive preparations for renegotiating bilateral deals, according to people familiar with the talks on all sides of the table.

A source said: “It’s just unprofessional, if I were to say it straight.

“On one side, it’s laughable that the UK would try and join USMCA, on another, of course we have to weigh such statements in light of serious talks with Britain and work out if there’s anything behind it.”

Read More

Biden pours cold water on prospect of early US/UK trade deal

Boris Johnson attempts to clear up mystery over number of children

Matt Hancock to have personal WhatsApp and emails searched in court battle over Covid test contracts

Key Points

• Donnez-moi un break, PM tells Macron

• Government preparing for ‘longer-term’ high energy prices, admits Kwarteng

• US president ‘wrong’ over NI Brexit dispute, says minister

• Biden dashes hopes of a quick UK-US trade deal

• World should ‘grow up’ and tackle climate change, says PM

• Government deal with CO2 plant could cost taxpayers ‘tens of millions’, says Eustice

07:39 , Rory Sullivan

Good morning, and welcome to The Independent’s live UK politics coverage from Westminster and further afield.

Biden dashes hopes of a quick UK-US trade deal

07:44 , Rory Sullivan

Joe Biden has not committed to a post-Brexit free trade agreement with the UK, dashing British ministers hopes for a quick deal.

Instead, he said he would discuss trade “a little bit” with Boris Johnson at a meeting on Tuesday and that the issue would have to be “worked through”.

Mr Johnson had earlier admitted that a deal was not a priority for the US, as the Biden administration had “a lot of fish to fry”.

Biden pours cold water on prospect of early US/UK trade deal

World should ‘grow up’ and tackle climate change, says PM

08:04 , Rory Sullivan

The Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow must a “turning point for humanity”, Boris Johnson will tell world leaders on Wednesday.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, the British prime minister will say that the world needs “to grow up” to the scale of the climate crisis”.

“The world – this precious blue sphere with its eggshell crust and wisp of an atmosphere – is not some indestructible toy, some bouncy plastic romper room against which we can hurl ourselves to our heart’s content.

“Daily, weekly, we are doing such irreversible damage that long before a million years are up we will have made this beautiful planet effectively uninhabitable – not just for us but for many other species.”

Time for world to ‘grow up’ and tackle climate change, says Boris Johnson

UK will not put ‘timescales’ on US trade agreement, says Eustice

08:22 , Rory Sullivan

The UK will not put “timescales” on reaching a free trade agreement with the US, a cabinet minister has said.

Speaking to Sky News, environment secretary George Eustice admitted a deal was not a “a priority” for the White House.

“We still very much hope to be able to put together an agreement with the United States,” he said.

“We are not putting timescales on it.”

Truss to push Iran to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe after almost 2,000 days of imprisonment

08:41 , Rory Sullivan

Foreign secretary Liz Truss will push Iran to free Nazinin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other British detainees at a meeting in New York.

The latest push for a diplomatic solution comes a day ahead of Nazinin’s 2000th day of imprisonment.

To mark the day, her husband Richard Ratcliffe will stand outside Parliament on Thursday on top of a giant snakes and ladders board.

He said his family remains “caught in a game between governments”, adding that there have been five foreign secretaries since she was detained.

“We live the ups and downs of our lives, as they roll their dice, and make their diplomatic moves,” he said.

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has more details:

Liz Truss to push Iran to free Nazanin in meeting in New York

UK must not threaten peace in Ireland, says Biden

09:00 , Rory Sullivan

Joe Biden might not have been forthcoming about a potential UK trade deal, but he was more assertive about Brexit.

Speaking on Tuesday, the US president said the US had made a “major bipartisan effort” to establish peace in Ireland.

“And I would not at all like to see, nor I might add would many of my Republican colleagues like to see, a change in the Irish accords, the end result having a closed border in Ireland,” he said.

His comments come as the British government considers whether to overrule aspects of its Brexit agreement with the EU, amid trade disruption between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Biden ‘wrong’ over NI Brexit dispute, says minister

09:10 , Rory Sullivan

Joe Biden is “wrong” to be worried about Britain and the EU’s disagreement over Northern Ireland’s Brexit trade deal, a minister has said.

The UK government has blames trade friction between Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the protocol it signed with the EU.

Referring to President Biden, environment secretary George Eustice told Sky News: “He is probably at the moment just reading the headlines, reading what the EU is saying, reading what Ireland might be saying, which is that they would like the Northern Ireland Protocol to work in the way the EU envisage.

Mr Eustice added that the issue was “very complicated”, suggesting Mr Biden does not “fully appreciate all of that”.

What does Starmer stand to gain from Labour leadership election change?

09:27 , Rory Sullivan

Keir Starmer has sparked a row within Labour over plans to change how the party elects its leader.

He wants to replace the one-member-one-vote approach with the “electoral college” system, which critics say puts more power in the hands of Labour MPs.

But what does the Labour leader stand to gain from the move? Sean O’Grady takes a look:

Why does Starmer want to change the way Labour elects its leader?

UK government should copy Biden’s economic strategy, says think tank

09:48 , Rory Sullivan

Boris Johnson should boost the economy by investing £47 billion in a similar move to the Biden administration, a think tank has suggested.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said the policy would help full employment levels and drive up earnings.

Carys Roberts, the organisation’s executive director, said “significant economic stimulus and long-term investment” should be prioritised.

“The UK suffers from concentrations and imbalances of power that are both a cause of some of our economy’s problems, and a barrier to solving them.

“The pandemic must mark the end of this era of growing inequality and the beginning of a new one, in which sharing opportunity across people and places is a core objective of economic and social policy.”

Ministers pursue injunction against environmental group over motorway demonstrations

10:08 , Rory Sullivan

The government has vowed to take legal action against a group of environmental activists whose protests have shut the M25 down multiple times in recent days.

Ministers seek an injunction which would give the police stronger powers to pre-emptively block these demonstrations.

Home secretary Priti Patel said: “We will not tolerate lives being put at risk.

“Those who continue to do so risk imprisonment.”

In a column for the Daily Mail, she and her ministerial colleague Grant Shapps condemned the “guerrilla tactics” of Insulate Britain.

Government deal with CO2 plant could cost taxpayers ‘tens of millions’

10:38 , Rory Sullivan

The government’s deal to subside a US-owned fertiliser farm producing carbon dioxide could cost taxpayers “tens of millions of pounds”, George Eustice has admitted.

The agreement, which will last for three weeks, follows concerns that a lack of carbon dioxide, which is used in food packaging and in the slaughtering process, could cause supermarket shortages. The problem arose after CF Fertilisers, which produces 60 per cent of the country’s CO2, suspended operations due to the rising costs of gas.

The environment secretary told Sky News: “It’s going to be into many millions, possibly the tens of millions, but it is to underpin some of those fixed costs”.

“It’s going to be temporary,” he added. “At the end of the day we need the market to adjust.”

Ashley Cowburn reports:

Government deal with Co2 plant could cost taxpayers ‘tens of millions’

DUP says White House has no say over NI protocol

10:58 , Rory Sullivan

The DUP has said the White House has no say on the future of the Northern Ireland protocol, after Joe Biden commented on it yesterday.

The US president said that peace in Ireland should not be put under threat by the UK’s disagreement with the EU over the Brexit agreement.

Speaking about the Biden administration, former DUP leader Edwin Poots, who is now the agriculture minister, told BBC Radio Ulster: “As far as we’re concerned, I think they need to actually understand what the Belfast Agreement actually does say and go and read it.

“If they do that, they will recognise that the Northern Ireland protocol is actually damaging to the Belfast Agreement.

“It is creating a border where there shouldn’t be one and therefore the protocol has to go in order to meet the requirements of the Belfast Agreement.”

Watch live: Business secretary quizzed on high gas prices

11:06 , Rory Sullivan

Activists face jail over motorway protests, government says

11:22 , Rory Sullivan

Insulate Britain, the environmental group whose protests have repeatedly closed the M25, have hit out at the government after it emerged that activists could be jailed for staging such demonstrations.

“The government is reckless and is putting lives at risk with its inaction on insulation,” it tweeted.

From later today, activists face “possible imprisonment” if they flout the injunction, transport secretary Grant Shapps said.

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11:40 , Rory Sullivan

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Government was warned about potential energy crisis, says trade body leader

11:55 , Rory Sullivan

The government and Ofgem were told over a year ago that the energy sector is vulnerable, the head of trade body Energy UK has said.

Speaking to MPs on Wednesday, Emma Pinchbeck said: “I know that for a year or more before that my team have been making the case to the regulator and the government that the sector is fragile.”

“There’s a short-term crisis here, which is in some ways out of our control, it’s to do with the gas prices, but it’s been exacerbated and arguably caused by our regulatory design,” she added.

Raab and Rayner clash at PMQs

12:00 , Rory Sullivan

With Boris Johnson away in New York, his deputy Dominic Raab faces deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner at PMQs.

Watch them go head-to-head here:

PMQs

12:03 , Andrew Grice

With Boris Johnson on his travels, prime minister’s questions will see a tussle between a man with three jobs - Dominic Raab (deputy PM, lord chancellor and justice secretary) and a woman with four - Angela Rayner (deputy Labour leader, shadow first secretary of state, shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and shadow secretary of state for the future of work).

There won’t be much time for questions if the Speaker reads out all their titles.

Labour criticises PM over lack of movement on US free trade deal

12:07 , Rory Sullivan

Angela Rayner sent her “commiserations” to the prime minister for making no progress on securing a free trade deal with the US.

“Can I begin by offering my commiserations to the prime minister after he flew away to the US and made absolutely zero progress on the trade deal that he promised us. And can I ask the deputy prime minister does the deputy prime minister still believe that British workers are among the worst idlers in the world?” she said.

In response, deputy prime minister Mr Raab claimed Boris Johnson’s trip to the US had been a success.

Rayner takes aim at Raab’s holiday in Crete

12:09 , Rory Sullivan

Angela Rayner has taken aim at Dominic Raab’s expensive holiday in Crete earlier this summer, saying it would take a worker on minimum wage 50 days to afford a one night stay there.

Or “even more if the sea was open”, she quipped, referring to the denial used by the then foreign secretary, who was accused of paddleboarding as the Taliban approached Kabul.

‘Warm words don’t warm homes’, warns SNP politician

12:21 , Rory Sullivan

The government’s warm words on the energy crisis will not “warm homes”, an SNP politician has warned.

Kirsten Oswald’s comments come after ministers said they would not offer vulnerable households extra support to help cover rising energy costs.

She said that this would leave people having to choose between feeding their families and heating their homes this winter.

“You can’t level up by making people poorer,” she added.

More energy firms likely to go bust, warns regulator

12:31 , Rory Sullivan

More energy providers are likely to go into administration, the head of Ofgem has warned.

Jonathan Brearley, who runs the energy regulator, declined to give an estimate on numbers of firms that might go bust but said: “We do expect more [suppliers] not to be able to face the circumstances we’re in.”

“We do expect a large number of customers to be affected, we’ve already seen hundreds of thousands of customers affected, that may well go well above that,” he added.

More energy firms to go bust, regulator warns

Government must support high-risk workers, says Labour

12:40 , Rory Sullivan

Ministers must support people at work who are at high risk from coronavirus, the shadow secretary for women and equalities has said.

Anneliese Dodds noted that the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on black, Asian and ethnic minorities workers.

“They are more likely to be trapped in low-paid, precarious work, overlooked in decisions on workplace protections and struggling to self-isolate due to risk of financial loss.

“So why is the government still refusing to require employers to report occupational Covid infections and to publish their risk assessments to keep these workers safe?”

In response, work and pensions minister Guy Opperman told the Commons that people should get their vaccine booster.

Government preparing for ‘longer-term’ high energy prices, admits Kwarteng

12:45 , Rory Sullivan

The government is preparing for energy costs to remain high for some time, despite earlier calling the problem “temporary”.

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng told MPs on Wednesday that “we have to prepare for longer-term high prices”.

In August, wholesale gas prices leaped by 70 per cent due to a combination of factors, including greater global demand.

UK in ‘unprecedented territory’, says Ofgem boss

13:03 , Rory Sullivan

The energy regulator has rejected the government’s previous claim that the energy crisis will be a “short-term problem”.

Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem’s chief executive, said the UK was in “unprecedented territory” .

“It’s very, very hard to predict how long that will last,” he added.

Energy regulator rejects Boris Johnson’s claim of ‘short-term’ gas supply crisis

Marcus Rashford to be studied by GCSE media studies pupils

13:32 , Jane Dalton

GCSE media studies pupils will learn about footballer Marcus Rashford’s use of social media after his influential campaigning on child poverty and racism in sport. The Manchester United and England star has been added to the course by exam board AQA, writes Joe Middleton:

Marcus Rashford to be studied by GCSE media studies students

Donnez-moi un break, PM tells Macron

13:40 , Jane Dalton

Boris Johnson has told French president Emmanuel Macron to “donnez moi un break” and get over his anger about the new military pact forged between the UK, US and Australia.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, the Prime Minister said: “I just think it’s time for some of our dearest friends around the world to prenez un grip about this and donnez moi un break.

“Because this is fundamentally a great step forward for global security. It’s three very like-minded allies standing shoulder to shoulder creating a new partnership for the sharing of technology.

“It’s not exclusive. It’s not trying to shoulder anybody out. It’s not adversarial towards China, for instance.”

Boris Johnson tells Emmanuel Macron to ‘get a grip’ and ‘donnez-moi un break’

Johnson plays down fears of panic-buying

13:48 , Jane Dalton

Boris Johnson has dismissed suggestions that rising gas prices could lead to panic-buying in supermarkets.

The Prime Minister said: “I don’t think that will happen. I think we’ve got very good supply chains, as I’ve been saying over the last few days, and what we’re seeing is the growing pains of a global economy recovering rapidly from Covid.”

Asked whether taxpayer bailouts should be going to a firm owned by a US millionaire, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “This is an exceptional short-term arrangement given what we have seen over the course over the last week or so in terms of the issues the lack of CO2 is causing to the industry.

“It is a unique circumstance where we have seen other companies that provide the same product be in maintenance, so we will take three weeks to find a market solution.”

Pressed on why the Government had not disclosed the exact amount of financial support promised to the fertiliser manufacturer, the spokesman said: “These matters are commercially sensitive. We will obviously set out any details as we always do under transparency laws.”

On why CF Fertilisers was only restarting operations at one of its two closed plants, the official said: “We believe the Billingham plant will provide enough CO2 to supply our needs.

“My understanding is workers were on site and start-up has commenced, and we would expect it to take 48 hours to produce CO2 for the market.”

Downing Street said it had stepped in to assist CF Fertilisers due to the “unique situation” surrounding CO2 production.

Bonfire Night at risk as fireworks supplies hit by Brexit

13:59 , Jane Dalton

Fireworks have become the latest item hit by Brexit supply chain shortages, with one company predicting a 70 per cent plunge in the industry-wide stock. One company blamed the problems within the industry on changes to product certification post-Brexit, a shortage of labour and increased checks on imports, reports Holly Bancroft:

Fireworks hit by Brexit supply issues ahead of Bonfire Night

Government eyes windfall tax on companies profiting from gas price rises

14:18 , Rory Sullivan

The government is considering whether to impose a windfall tax on companies that profit from increases in gas prices, the business and energy secretary has said.

Pushed on the issue, Kwasi Kwarteng added: “I’m not a fan of windfall taxes, let me just get that straight – but of course it’s an entire system and we have to think of how we can get the whole system to help itself.”

Government eyes windfall tax on energy companies that profit from gas price hikes

Energy company collapse leaves 250,000 people in limbo

14:32 , Rory Sullivan

Energy company Green has announced it will stop trading, meaning that a quarter of a million customers will be left in limbo.

In a swipe at the government, the firm claimed the government and Ofgem think “smaller suppliers should be left to fail”.

“Green fears that smaller energy suppliers are being left behind by the government, with rescue packages being put in place for larger suppliers and for private discussions to be held with the business secretary,” it said.

Energy supplier Green ceases trading leaving 250,000 customers in limbo

What are CPTPP and USMCA pacts?

14:52 , Rory Sullivan

Now that a free trade agreement with the US is looking unlikely in the short-term, ministers are reportedly exploring other possibilities.

Joining the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) are two options, with the former seen by experts as highly unrealistic.

My colleague Chiara Giordano takes a closer look at both pacts:

What are CPTPP and USMCA pacts UK is flirting with trying to join?

US ban on British lamb to end, says Johnson

15:12 , Rory Sullivan

A two-decade US ban on British lamb will soon end, Boris Johnson has said.

Speaking from Washington, the prime minister said: “I can tell you today that what we’re going to get from the United States now is a lifting of the decades-old ban, totally unjustified, discriminating on British farmers and British lamb.”

British beef exports to the US were also banned until last year.

Decades-old US ban on British lamb to be lifted, says Boris Johnson

Unite leader to miss Labour conference

15:34 , Rory Sullivan

Unite’s new leader Sharon Graham will not be attending the upcoming Labour Party conference, insisting that her absence is not a snub to Keir Starmer.

She said she would instead be prioritising ongoing industrial disputes, having been elected on a vow to take the union “back to the workplace”.

Ashley Cowburn reports:

Unite union leader Sharon Graham to miss Labour conference

Rayner claims minimum wage worker needs ‘50 days’ pay’ to stay a night at Raab’s luxury Crete hotel

15:42 , Rory Sullivan

As mentioned earlier, Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner used PMQs to accuse Dominic Raab of being out of touch with the public.

“[Mr Raab] speaks of the economy, but he doesn’t even know how much his own holiday costs – so let me tell him,” she said.

“A worker on the minimum wage would need to work an extra 50 days to pay for a single night at his favourite resort.”

Rayner says minimum wage workers need 50 days’ pay to stay at Raab’s Crete hotel

Migrant boat pushbacks could be used in ‘limited circumstances’, says Home Office official

15:57 , Rory Sullivan

A “small proportion” of migrant boats crossing the Channel could be “pushed back”, according to a senior Home Office official.

Matthew Rycroft, the department’s permanent secretary, did not say when or if Priti Patel’s policy would be implemented, but told MPs on Wednesday there was a “legal bases” for the action in “certain limited circumstances”.

He refused to give more specific details when asked how many crossings in the last six months would have fulfilled these criteria.

£1 billion in pensions unpaid due to DWP mistakes

16:16 , Lamiat Sabin

Thousands of pensioners are owed an average of £8,900 after being underpaid due to repeated human errors, complex rules and outdated IT systems, spending watchdog National Audit Office has ruled.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates it underpaid 134,000 pensioners – to a total of £1 billion – and that most of those are likely to have been women.

Joe Middleton reports

Thousands entitled to £8,900 pay out after DWP pension blunders

Starmer backs exclusion of trans women in ‘specific’ spaces

16:35 , Lamiat Sabin

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is sticking to a policy that could exclude trans women from certain single-sex spaces, such as prisons and domestic violence refuges.

His spokesman said he is not going to change the policy in the party’s 2019 manifesto – and that there was “no reason to expect it is going to change”.

Deputy political editor Rob Merrick has the full report

Keir Starmer backs ‘women-only spaces’ in ‘specific circumstances’, amid Labour row

PM shook hands with Brazilian minister who is Covid positive

16:50 , Lamiat Sabin

Boris Johnson’s contact with Brazil’s health minister Marcelo Queiroga has come under scrutiny after the latter later tested positive for the coronavirus.

Downing Street was questioned over whether the PM would have to undergo extra Covid tests after meeting the minister in New York on Monday.

Mr Queiroga has announced on Twitter that he has tested positive for Covid and is in isolation only 24 hours after being filmed shaking hands with Mr Johnson.

He was part of the delegation when Mr Johnson met with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on the fringes of the United Nations general assembly (UNGA).

Asked whether Mr Johnson had taken a Covid test or any other precautions since Mr Queiroga’s result, a spokesman for the PM stressed that the meeting had “strict Covid measures in place” and that the PM is “double jabbed”.

Brazil health minister who shook hands with Boris Johnson tests positive for Covid

Scottish police advised to issue drug possession warnings

17:10 , Lamiat Sabin

Police officers are being advised to issue warnings to anyone in possession of drugs, the Lord Advocate announced today.

Dorothy Bain QC said in Holyrood that it is “appropriate” that a scheme whereby Police Scotland officers can give those in possession of Class B or Class C drugs an official warning be extended to include Class A substances.

She stressed that it would apply only to possession, and not supply, and that individual officers would be free to seek prosecution.

Ms Bain also rejected the assertion by the Scottish Tories that the move would be “de facto de-criminalisation”.

The change in Scotland, which has had the worst drug-death rates in Europe, came following a review ordered by previous lord advocate James Wolffe QC.

Labour MSP Clare Baker welcomed the change, and asked if the announcement would help with establishing safe consumption rooms.

These types of facilities, where users have a clean and safe place to go to take drugs and potentially be supplied with them, have been available in a number of European countries for decades.

Decades-old US ban on British lamb to be lifted, PM says

17:30 , Lamiat Sabin

British lamb exports to the US will soon resume after a ban stretching back more than 20 years to the Mad Cow Disease epidemic, Boris Johnson has said.

Political editor Andrew Woodcock reports

Decades-old US ban on British lamb to be lifted, says Boris Johnson

M25 blockers say ‘campaign goes on’ despite threat of prison

17:50 , Lamiat Sabin

Environmental activists have indicated they will continue blocking the M25 despite a new High Court injunction which could see them face up to two years in prison or pay an unlimited fine.

Insulate Britain said in a statement that “right now our campaign goes on” after their actions saw the motorway shut down five times in just over a week.

More than 200 people have been arrested, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).

The government successfully applied to the High Court for an order that came into force earlier today.

Sam Hancock reports

Activists risk prison after injunction granted against M25 protesters

Sir Keir Starmer faces resistance over plans to end OMOV

18:10 , Lamiat Sabin

Sir Keir Starmer has failed to secure trade union support for his plans to change Labour’s leadership rules.

The Labour leader has set out plans to end the one member, one vote (OMOV) system – which came into force under Ed Miliband’s leadership and enabled the election of Jeremy Corbyn as his successor.

Sir Keir wants a return to an electoral college to give MPs and unions a greater say.

But sources have said that the party’s affiliated unions are opposed to putting the measures to Labour conference, which starts on Saturday, and want more time to consult their members.

The proposal to remove OMOV sparked anger on Labour’s left, with Momentum warning of a new “civil war”.

Corbyn ally and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has backed calls for a leadership election if Sir Keir changes the rules.

Policy correspondent Jon Stone reports

Keir Starmer faces defeat over Labour rule changes after frosty reception from unions

Tesco called on government to allow visas for HGV drivers

18:30 , Lamiat Sabin

Tesco has called on the government to temporarily make it easier to bring in workers from abroad to ease the shortage of lorry drivers.

It told ministers that it has a shortfall of 800 drivers, and that it is concerned about panic-buying in the run up to Christmas as a result of the lack of goods on shop shelves.

The warning, which was first reported by ITV News, came in a meeting organised by the Cabinet Office last Thursday.

Andrew Woolfenden, Tesco’s UK distribution and fulfilment director, said it has only managed to attract as many drivers as it has lost to rival businesses over the summer, despite offering £1,000 recruitment bonuses since July.

The Road Haulage Association has warned that there is a shortage of around 100,000 drivers across the UK, which has particularly impacted the food and drink supply chain.

A government spokesperson said ministers are “streamlining the process for new HGV drivers and increasing the number of driving tests”, as well as progress being made on “improving pay, working conditions and diversity.”

PM tests negative for Covid after shaking hands with Brazilian minister

18:50 , Lamiat Sabin

Boris Johnson tested negative for Covid after coming into contact with a positive case during his US trip, No 10 has said.

Brazil’s health minister, Marcelo Queiroga, confirmed on Twitter that he has tested positive for Covid and is in isolation, only 24 hours after being filmed shaking hands with the PM in New York on Monday.

He was part of the delegation when Mr Johnson met Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro – who is not vaccinated against Covid – on the fringes of the United Nations general assembly (UNGA).

Downing Street saying that Mr Johnson has since tested negative comes after a spokesman had only stressed earlier today that the PM “is double jabbed”.

Asked if he had been tested since the meeting on Monday, the spokesman said: “Yes, and it was negative.”

Post-Brexit subsidies Bill to be debated by MPs

19:27 , Lamiat Sabin

Moves to replace EU state aid rules have cleared their first Commons hurdle, amid devolved nations’ fear of a Westminster “power grab”.

MPs gave the Subsidy Control Bill a second reading by 287 votes to 50. It will undergo debate and scrutiny at a later date.

The Bill sets out how central government, devolved administrations, local authorities and other public bodies should make decisions to award subsidies.

Subsidies – usually cash payments or tax reductions from public resources – can be used to help an industry or business keep prices low, but the expectation is that they will not distort trade.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the Bill “promotes autonomy, transparency and accountability” and will “empower hundreds of local authorities, the devolved administrations as well, and other public authorities, to take control as well”.

The SNP warned the Bill allows Westminster to reserve control over subsidies at the expense of Wales and Scotland.

Shadow business minister Seema Malhotra said Labour will not oppose the Bill but has insisted there are significant gaps of concern that need to be addressed, such as support of “net zero” plans.

Welsh minister rejects call to declare ambulance ‘emergency’

19:50 , Lamiat Sabin

The Welsh Government has rejected calls for an emergency to be declared in the Welsh Ambulance Service.

The Conservatives had used a Senedd debate to demand a government plan to tackle response times and deal with the impact of rising pressure on primary and social care.

A request from the Welsh Ambulance Service for military support has already been rubber-stamped by the Labour-run Welsh Government and sent to the Ministry of Defence for approval.

Eluned Morgan, health and social services minister, said: “I don’t think it would be appropriate for the Welsh Government to declare an emergency in the Welsh Ambulance Service but of course we accept there is a problem here that needs to be resolved.”

It came after Welsh Conservative health spokesman Russell George said: “You can’t resolve a problem unless you accept that there is a problem. The ambulance service is in crisis.”

Mike Hedges, Welsh Labour MS for Swansea East, called for the ambulance service to be split up and run by individual health boards.

He said queues of ambulances outside hospitals were caused by bottlenecks in A&E departments, as “too many people” go to A&E even though their medical need is not urgent because “it’s the only place you can guarantee to see a doctor.”

Climate change aid taken out of general aid budget - Raab

20:10 , Lamiat Sabin

Billions of pounds pledged by the UK to help poorer countries meet the climate emergency is being funded from the shrunken overseas aid budget, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has confirmed.

Deputy political editor Rob Merrick has the full report

Climate cash for poor countries is taken from aid budget, Dominic Raab confirms

Government fails to meet its own Windrush compensation target

20:30 , Lamiat Sabin

The Home Office has been accused of failing Windrush victims “twice” as its top civil servant admitted the department is yet to meet its own target on compensation payouts.

Permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft was questioned today by MPs about the progress being made to hit the Home Office’s target to conclude 90 per cent of cases by 31 August.

He said: “We got to 66 per cent.”

Commons Home Affairs Committee chairman Yvette Coope said 23 people, who died since submitting their claim, have been “wronged twice”.

Mr Rycroft responded: “I totally agree and we are determined to do as good a job as we can for the whole of that generation”, adding that the estates of the deceased will receive what was intended for them.

The latest figures show the Home Office had paid nearly £30.6 million to 837 people by the end of August, out of a total 2,891 claims submitted so far.

Some 187 claims have been made for people who have already died, but only six have currently resulted in payments.

Appeals have been made against decisions in more than 300 cases, while 374 eligible applicants were told they were not entitled to any money because their claims did not demonstrate they had been adversely affected by the scandal.

There have been 138 claims rejected on eligibility grounds.