Inside Politics: Euro agony for England and ‘freedom day’ with a health warning

It had to be penalties, didn’t it? Despite a gallant performance, it’s agony for England and ecstasy for Italy. But Gareth Southgate and his players can be proud of all they’ve achieved this summer. Back at Westminster, Boris Johnson is expected to confirm “freedom day” - but it’s coming with a health warning. And a group of northern Tories is piling pressure on No 10 not to cut a universal credit uplift.

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Inside the bubble

Academics and lawyers give evidence to the European scrutiny committee at 2.30pm as an inquiry begins into the bodies responsible for overseeing the EU-UK trade deal.

What to watch out for

-NERVTAG member Robert Dingwall on Nick Ferrari at Breakfast at 9.10am

-Former England footballer Sol Campbell on Times Radio at 8.35am

HEARTBREAK: An early goal by Luke Shaw. Wembley Stadium rocking. It was the perfect start for England. But then the rain got heavier and the Italians slowly and methodically worked their way into the match. Before it even got to extra-time, there was an overwhelming sense that this one was going all the way to penalties. And then the inevitable. How cruel it was that the last kick fell to Bukayo Saka, whose personality – as well as his football – helped light up the England camp and the tournament. Talented, smart, hard-working and always humble: the young Arsenal midfielder is a role model to young people everywhere and will no doubt be back on the big stage in no time.

BEST AND WORST: As you might expect, most of the papers are splashing on last night’s defeat. “Lions did us proud,” says the Metro. “Penalty curse denies England their dream,” saysThe Times while thei goes with simply “heartbreak”. Football tends to bring out the best and worst in people, and we saw that in equal measure yesterday. Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford were subjected to racist abuse online after missing penalties, sparking calls for social media companies to do more to combat online hate. There were also a number of arrests made in central London for violent behaviour. Before the match, the stadium had to be briefly locked down after hordes of ticketless fans had breached sections of the stadium and stormed the concourse.

‘FREEDOM DAY’ CONFIRMED: Boris Johnson will address the nation on Monday to announce whether the government will lift the vast majority of legal restrictions in England on 19 July amid surging daily cases of Covid and rising hospital admissions. Despite the concerns of some scientists, who have recently called for a delay, the expectation is that the prime minister will rubber-stamp a decision to discard large swathes of the measures that have governed people’s lives since the onset of the pandemic.

...BUT WITH A HEALTH WARNING: First, they were being scrapped, now they’re not. Well, they kind of are, but not really. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi says new guidance issued today will tell the public they are “expected” to wear face coverings indoors and in enclosed places – despite a string of other ministers recently saying they will no longer wear them. The government mantra on the lifting of restrictions has been all about “personal choice”. But at what point does one person’s liberty infringe on the freedoms of another? That’s the question some have been asking when it comes to public transport in particular. Requiring people to continue wearing a face covering in confined spaces seems sensible; it is arguably the least onerous of all Covid restrictions we’ve had to live with throughout this pandemic. But is just guidance – not a legal requirement – enough from the government? Labour says removing the mask mandate is “irresponsible”. Expect this one to rumble on through the week. Elsewhere, Public Health England is urging people to continue working from home for at least the next four to six weeks amid surging infections.

NORTHERN REBELLION: Rishi Sunak faced a barrage of criticism after announcing plans to cut the £20-per-week universal credit uplift. And a group of northern Tories continues to pile on the pressure. The Northern Research Group (NRG), representing around 50 MPs, has again called on ministers to keep the increase in place. “This uplift has been a life-saver for many people during the pandemic,” one told The Independent. “Keeping the uplift is not a zero-sum game for the government. Many people on universal credit are in work or want to be in work and we shouldn’t pull the rug from under their feet”. The NRG, many of whose members are from ‘red wall’ seats won at the 2019 general election, wields considerable influence within the Conservative Party and has been successful in extracting concessions – and money from Downing Street for northern constituencies. It also counts some Tory big beasts among its ranks, including former Brexit secretary David Davis. But it remains to be seen if it can strongarm the chancellor on universal credit. Labour says it will “use every parliamentary mechanism available” to force a vote on the issue.

“It’s going to hurt for a while, but we’re on the right track and we’re building and hopefully we can progress from this next year.”

England captain Harry Kane following his side’s defeat to Italy.

“I would also advise them on public transport. Because that is often the private space where you don’t have any idea who you’re in contact with. They prevent the infection that you may have unknowingly spreading to others”.

Infectious diseases expert and Public Health England adviser Dr Susan Hopkins on face masks.

“And then predictably this happens. Social media companies must be forced to take responsibility and silence the accounts of racists.”

Daily Mirror associate editor and New Statesman columnist Kevin Maguire on racist abuse of England players.

“Fun game. Try not to admit Boris Johnson was wrong to say the link between cases and hospitalisations has been broken when confronted with footage of Boris Johnson saying the link has been broken. #marr.”

Actor and writer David Schneider on Zahawi dodging questions on whether or not his boss was wrong to claim vaccines had completely “severed” the link between Covid cases, serious illness and death.

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