Inside Politics: Covid travel rules overhaul and AUKUS row escalates

Boris Johnson’s new top team meets at cabinet for the first time this morning as the PM seeks to re-set his premiership and outline priorities for a difficult autumn ahead. Elsewhere, the fallout over Britain’s signing of a security pact with Australia and the US to counter China rumbles on, and a new report calls for the police to treat domestic violence on the same level as counter-terrorism.

Ministers meet at 9am this morning following the PM’s top jobs reshuffle. A few more junior appointments are expected later.

Coming up:

-Environment secretary George Eustice on LBC at 7.50am

-HM Inspector of Constabulary Zoë Billingham on BBC Radio 4 Today at 8.10am

LET’S FLY AWAY: Ministers are today set to announce an overhaul of Britain’s Covid travel rules. It’s expected that the requirement for those who have been double-jabbed to take a PCR test on their return home will be scrapped. Reports this morning say that dozens of red list countries will be opened up to tourists in time for the half-term holidays, with the traffic light system more broadly set to be simplified. According to The Times, Turkey is among those countries set to be taken off the red list. Simon Calder, The Independent’s top travel correspondent, has an in-depth look at what the new rules might look like.

AUKUS ROW: The fallout from Britain’s AUKUS defence pact with the US and Australia rumbles on today with fears Britain could be dragged into war with China in the event of an act of aggression by Beijing. When former prime minister Theresa May challenged her successor over the signing of the deal in the Commons yesterday, Johnson appeared not to rule out the prospect. “The United Kingdom remains determined to defend international law and that is the strong advice we would give to our friends across the world, and the strong advice that we would give to the government in Beijing,” he told MPs. France is furious that it has been blindsided by the deal. Beijing has also hit back, saying Australia could become the target of a nuclear strike.

RADICAL CHANGE: The police are being urged to implement “radical” change to stop an epidemic of violence against women and girls in Britain. A review sparked by the killing of Sarah Everard, who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a serving police officer, said police must prioritise protecting women as highly as counter-terrorism. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary called for “fundamental cross-system change”, including a “radical refocus” on crimes that disproportionately affect female victims including domestic abuse, rape, sexual grooming and stalking. “We can’t just police our way out of this, these offences are deep-rooted, pervasive and prevalent across our society and if that is to change a whole-system approach is needed,” inspector Zoë Billingham told a press conference.

HEAVY STUFF: Shops are to be allowed to sell products in pounds and ounces again after the government pledged to review a ban on marking and selling products in imperial units as part of post-Brexit changes to EU laws. Brexit minister Lord Frost set out plans on Thursday to ditch EU rules that no longer suit the UK following its departure from the bloc last year. The government intends to review the content of retained EU law - which was preserved in UK law for continuity after the transition period ended in December 2020.A document titled “Brexit opportunities: regulatory reforms” includes plans to permit the voluntary printing of the crown stamp on pint glasses and review the EU ban on markings and sales in pounds and ounces, with the legislation set to come “in due course”. Other reforms include introducing digital driving licences, test certificates and MOT processes.

CLIMATE DENIER?: Johnson’s new international trade secretary has been accused of climate emergency denial after a series of tweets came to light in which she insisted the world was not getting hotter and dismissed global warming campaigners as “fanatics”. In the messages, sent between 2010 and 2012, Anne-Marie Trevelyan approvingly quoted the work of groups that have rejected the mainstream scientific consensus that human activity is driving climate change. And she stated that one such group had provided “clear evidence that the ice caps aren’t melting after all, to counter those gloom-mongers and global warming fanatics”.

“A lot of things haven’t happened that the gloom-mongers said would happen and I don’t think are going to happen.”

Lord Frost on the impact (or lack of impact) Brexit has had on UK.

“Won’t go unnoticed that a lot of Sunak’s team, seen to have been successful, have moved or been shown the door... conspiracists may ponder, Truss on a plane a lot of the time, Sunak losing his ministers.. what might they have in common?”

BBC politics editor Laura Kuenssberg on cabinet reshuffle.