Inside Politics: Boris Johnson makes late U-turn on masks in schools

Returning to school? No big deal. Greta Thunberg strolled back into class in Sweden this week after her gap year changing the world of environmental activism. “So great to finally be back,” she tweeted. If only Boris Johnson and his ministers found the resumption of schooling quite so easy. As he adjusts to the end of his own gap fortnight, Johnson has been forced into a U-turn on face coverings for staff and pupils. The government is now facing calls for instructions on what to do if coronavirus outbreaks occur in schools – and is considering a “rota system” for those hit by local spikes.

Our political commentator Andrew Grice on what to look out for today:

Voting closes at 1pm in the Lib Dem leadership election. The party’s fifth leader in five years will be named tomorrow after a contest between Sir Ed Davey, the acting leader and former cabinet minister, and Layla Moran, a hyperactive MP elected in 2017 who is chairing a cross-party inquiry into coronavirus. The government is due to unveil plans to reform its advisory groups on trade deals, with trade unions worried their role will be downgraded.

SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS: Boris Johnson has performed so many bumpy U-turns they should have their own sub-categories. Mark the latest under ‘Scotland-inspired’. Secondary pupils in England will now have to wear masks in communal areas of schools under local lockdown. The reversal also means head teachers in all secondaries have the “flexibility” to bring in masks as they choose. It came just hours after the Scottish government said its students will have to wear them in communal areas. One “disgusted” Tory MP, sick of so many volte-faces, told The Times: “It’s an utter, utter s***show.” The government is now considering a plan to advise secondaries to operate a “rota system” to reduce pupil numbers if local Covid spikes lead to lockdown restrictions, The Independent understands. Head teachers said they want “clear rules” on how big an outbreak would have to be for a class or year group “bubble” to be sent home – or for the whole school to close.

OUT TO PASTURE? Boris Johnson was forced to deny he reports he could quit as PM within six months because of Covid-related health problems. The weird tittle-tattle came from none other than Dominic Cummings’ father-in-law. According to The Times, Sir Humphry Wakefield compared Johnson to a horse with a damaged fetlock, telling a visitor to his Chillingham Castle home: “If you put a horse back to work when it’s injured, it will never recover.” Anyway, the PM said it was “absolute nonsense”, telling reporters: “I am feeling, if anything, far better as I’ve lost some weight.” Johnson also piped up about the Proms, opposing the BBC’s decision to play instrumental versions of Land of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia. “I think it’s time we stopped our cringing embarrassment about our history.” The BBC insisted the decision was purely about the lack of a live audience this year – and nothing to do with “cringing” over the colonial-era lyrics.

USE YOUR PRIVILEGE: The alleged victim of a Conservative MP arrested on suspicion of rape is calling for his identity to be made public when parliament returns from its long summer break next week. The woman, a former Commons researcher in her 20s, is understood to want an MP or peer to use parliamentary privilege to name the suspect in the chamber. A friend of the woman told The Daily Mail that she believes her alleged attacker should be named in order to ensure his constituents are informed about the allegations against him. “It’s important he’s named so every constituent can take relevant precautions, it’s a public safety issue.” The Tory party has refused to suspend the MP, saying that the decision will be reviewed “once the police investigation has been concluded”.

MAKING A DEAL OF IT: Eat, drink and be merry, for on Monday we lose the 50 per cent off meals out discount. Ahead of the Eat Out to Help Out’s end-of-August closure, the Treasury released figures showing it’s been used 64 million times. The chancellor said it showed that “Brits are backing hospitality.” Meanwhile, new powers handed to the police in Birmingham mean restaurants, bars and pubs which fail to manage coronavirus risks could be shut down. The enforcement measures – which also give cops the authority to ban weddings and funerals – came amid fears of a building outbreak in England’s second largest city. Elsewhere, Labour is calling on the government to scrap its cap on benefits to avoid a wave of evictions for rent arrears. Official figures show a “shocking” 93 per cent rise in families hit by the cap during the pandemic.

SPOUSE IN THE HOUSE: Melania Trump offered her husband a tribute about as glowing as she could manage on the second night of the Republican National Convention. “Whether you like it or not, you always know what he’s thinking.” High praise indeed. The RNC’s madcap reality show also saw Trump pull some weird stunts – pardoning a former bank robber and presiding over a live naturalisation ceremony for immigrants. Elsewhere, Hillary Clinton caused a stir by urging Joe Biden not to concede November’s election “under any circumstances” – saying she believed the results are “going to drag out” because of mail-in voting. Clinton claimed the Republicans are attempting to “mess up” absentee balloting to gain advantage in the electoral college. Hmm. When Trump says stuff like this, the Democrats call him a conspiracy theorist.

JUST A SECOND: The big global news on the coronavirus comes from both Belgium and the Netherlands – where two patients are confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus for a second time. In the Belgian case, a woman in her 50s who had contracted Covid-19 for the first time in March was re-infected with a different strain in June. It follows a similar case in Hong Kong. The British Medical Association’s Dr David Strain (appropriate name) said the worrying cases suggest previous infection does not provide protection. It has huge implications for vaccine work too. “A potential vaccine is not going to be a vaccine that will last forever, for 10 years, probably not even five years. Just as for flu, this will have to be redesigned quite regularly,” said Belgian virologist Marc Van Ranst.

“We’d ask parents just to be really considerate … drop their children off and then get on with all the tasks of their day.”

Gavin Williamson asks parents not to gossip at school gate.

“The BBC needs to grow a pair & stop grovelling to such insane ‘woke’ cancel culture nonsense that most Britons find utterly absurd.”

Piers Morgan is livid over the Proms nonsense...

“The Blonde Bulls**ter has been more vocal about the Proms than the A-level, PPE and test and trace disasters put together – if you fall for this you’re a fool.”

…while rugby legend Brian Moore isn’t buying the pseudo-controversy.

Sean O’Grady, The Independent: Is Boris Johnson’s time as PM drawing to a close?

Vince Cable, The Independent: Disbanding Public Health England is the worst thing Johnson could do

Polly Toynbee, The Guardian: The Irish Sea border means chaos looms, even with a Brexit deal

Nancy Cook, Politico: Republicans revel in Trump’s primetime surprises