Brexit: Gove says he hopes PM’s Brussels dinner with Von der Leyen will create ‘political momentum’ for deal
Gove #Gove
8.24am EST 08:24
Gove confirms some businesses in Northern Ireland will still be bound by EU law under new plan
Liam Fox, the Conservative former international trade secretary, if the new agreement will allow for any direct application of EU law in Northern Ireland.
Gove says, under the agreement, there will be a requirement on some businesses in Northern Ireland to follow the “acquis” (the body of EU law). He says this is necessary to prevent a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
8.18am EST 08:18
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader at Westminster, says the Act of Union says there should be no barrier to trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. He says safeguarding the union is not a three-month or six-month project. It is an enduring commitment, he says. If the government has to legislate to protect this, will it do so?
Gove says the government was criticised for the provisions in the internal market bill that would have given it the sort of power Donaldson is asking for. He says those powers are no longer needed. If there are any further problems, he says he hopes they can be resolved in an “patient and pragmatic” way.
8.13am EST 08:13
In the Commons Hilary Benn, the Labour chair of the Brexit committee, says the new agreement is full of “grace periods”. What will happen after they lapse?
Gove says he thinks three months will allow time for supermarkets to prepare for the new arrangements.
On chilled meats, he says the EU originally wanted the six-month grace period to be non-renewable. But it could be renewed, he says.
8.01am EST 08:01
Michael Gove’s statement to MPs about Northern Ireland protocol
Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, is making a statement to MPs now about the agreement reached with the EU yesterday about how to implement the Northern Ireland protocol, part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Gove says the deal will protect “unfettered access” for Northern Ireland businesses to the GB market.
He says the EU has also given up plans for a default tariff regime for all goods going to Northern Ireland. If that had been implemented, there would have been a 58% tariff on a pint of milk. But that has been dropped, he says.
He says there will be a grace period for supermarket supplies, and the supply of sausages to Northern Ireland should continue.
He says there will be reciprocal agreements for agrifoods.
On state aid, he says the agreement prevents the risk of “reach back” – state aid for firms in Britain being affected by the state aid rules applying to Northern Ireland.
There will be no mini EU embassy in Belfast, he says. Instead there will be “sensible” practical arrangements for cooperation and reciprocal data sharing.
He confirms that, as a result of this agreement, the government is dropping the clauses from the internal market bill that would have allowed the government to over-rule the withdrawal agreement (in breach of international law).
Updated at 8.20am EST
7.46am EST 07:46
Welsh chief medical officer urges people to rethink Christmas plans as Covid cases rise 
The chief medical officer for Wales has called for people to think again about how they intend to celebrate Christmas as the number of cases continues to “accelerate”.
Dr Frank Atherton said despite the UK four-nation approach to the festive period, Welsh citizens should make personal choices. “We all need to think about our plans and perhaps re-think our plans,” he said.
Atherton said he had planned to visit relatives in England and Northern Ireland but now intended to stay at home and have a “small, quiet Christmas” with his own household. He said he would not be visiting pubs, restaurants, shops or Christmas fairs. “This Christmas has to be different,” he said.
Atherton said: “We are facing a very serious situation. Coronavirus is accelerating.”
He said the virus is spreading faster than “we could have anticipated”, with an increase in 21 of 22 of Wales’ local authority areas.
The rate for Wales is now almost 350 cases per 100,000 people with 10 areas having rates over 400. Atherton said there was “widespread community transmission” and “huge pressure on the system.”
He denied the Welsh government had “lost control” of the situation and said the government alone could not tackle the situation. “Everyone has to think about what their role is,” he said.
He said Wales was not reconsidering changing the rules around Christmas. “That would just confuse everybody.”
Updated at 8.04am EST
7.44am EST 07:44
Johnson claims Brussels wants to be able to ‘punish’ UK if it does not implement future EU laws
This is what Boris Johnson said at the start of PMQs about the trade talks with the EU. (See 12.06pm.) He said:
Our friends in the EU are currently insisting that if they pass a new law in the future with which we in this country do not comply or don’t follow suit, then they want the automatic right to punish us and to retaliate.
Secondly, they are saying that the UK should be the only country in the world not to have sovereign control over its fishing waters.
I don’t believe that those are terms that any prime minister of this country should accept.
Updated at 8.07am EST
7.44am EST 07:44
The total number of deaths in Scotland linked to Covid-19 has edged closer to 6,000 after the National Records of Scotland disclosed that 5,868 people have died with Covid mentioned on their death certificate.
NRS said 232 Covid-linked deaths were registered last week, 20 fewer than the previous week, with nearly 75% of those deaths amongst people aged 75 or over and only 9% under 65. There have been an average of 243 deaths a week in Scotland over the last five weeks, suggested the total will surpass 6,000 in next week’s figures.
Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, announced that another 39 people with positive Covid tests had died over the last 24 hours. That was 11 fewer than Tuesday’s figure but meant the total number of fatalities under that measure was 3,989, with 972 people in hospital.
She said 897 people had tested positive, taking the Scottish total to 102,372.
7.43am EST 07:43
At the end of PMQs Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, tells Boris Johnson he will expect an update on the inquiry into who leaked details of the second lockdown (given to the media before parliament) next week at the last PMQs of the year.
7.40am EST 07:40
Richard Burgon (Lab) says the government wants to pay for this crisis on the backs of the working class. Wouldn’t a windfall tax on the rich be fairer, including on people who have won contracts from Tory links?
Johnson does not accept this. He cites policies like the national living wage.
7.38am EST 07:38
Stephen McCabe (Lab) asks why tier 3 Birmingham is not a priority area for getting the vaccine.
Johnson says he does not accept that. Birmingham will of course get the vaccine.
7.36am EST 07:36
Derek Twigg (Lab) says fishing exports from the Falkland Islands could be subject to EU tariffs. That would be a serious problem for its economy. Will the PM raise this with Ursula von der Leyen?
Johnson says he will raise this.
7.34am EST 07:34
Feryal Clark (Lab) says the government is at risk of failing a generation of children. Why are we in this dire situation?
Johnson says he is worried about the impact of differential learning. He says it is essential to keep children in schools, even if that leads to restrictions on other areas of the economy.
7.32am EST 07:32
Pete Wishart (SNP) says Johnson did not answer David Linden’s question earlier. (See 12.28pm.) He says it is Johnson himself who has helped increase support for Scottish independence.
Johnson says the SNP has failed to explain what independence would mean.
(It was Linden who asked the earlier question, no Wishart. I have corrected the earlier post.)
Updated at 7.37am EST
7.28am EST 07:28
David Linden (SNP) asks why polls show a consistent support for independence.
Johnson says he thinks, if there were another vote, people would vote to stay in the UK. But it was a once in a generation vote, he says.
Updated at 7.30am EST
7.26am EST 07:26
Johnson says he was “astounded” to see that 42 Labour MPs wrote to the home secretary opposing the deportation of foreign dangerous criminals. Sir Keir Starmer maintained his “Delphic silence” on the matter, he says.