Inside Politics: Gavin Williamson ‘warned of exam flaws weeks ago’

The almighty kerfuffle over this year’s exam results has prompted a deluge of commentary about “Mickey Mouse” degrees. One Daily Mail pundit claimed our college and universities are pumping out graduates with “few practical skills”, leaving them “horribly unprepared” for the real world. Step forward Gavin Williamson. The education secretary, a social sciences graduate, may wish he had studied law instead. Labour is claiming that using the dreaded algorithm to downgrade results was “unlawful” – and Williamson knew he was breaching the rules.

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

GCSE results are due today, and it’s not just teenagers who are being tested: if anything goes too wrong, it’s Gavin Williamson the education secretary who might be needing a bit of careers advice. He’s resisted calls to resign over the A-level fiasco, but is still clinging on. If things don’t go to plan, he’ll surely come under more pressure to quit. The NUS has organised protests for 1pm today outside Department for Education buildings across the country.

FOOL DISCLOSURE: Gavin Williamson probably thought he could focus on GCSEs today, but the A-level mess is still causing him problems. Labour claims the use of the algorithm which saw marks downgraded was “unlawful” – arguing that both the education secretary and regulator Ofqual would have been “fully in the knowledge” it breached anti-discrimination rules. The tricky part for Williamson is Labour’s call for all legal advice to be published. A senior source at the Department for Education told The Times that Sir Jon Coles, ex-director-general there, wrote to Williamson in July to warn him about the risks of the algorithm. Meanwhile, close to 500,000 pupils won’t be getting their results as expected today. Exam board Pearson told schools it needed more time to publish BTec results. The Lib Dems’ Layla Moran called it “yet another shambles”.

VANISHING ACT: Might Boris Johnson, who has disappeared on holiday during the exams mayhem, be tempted to take a peek at the latest polls? The Tory lead over Labour has shrunk to just two points following the A-levels farrago, according to YouGov. The Conservatives are down four on 40 per cent, while Keir Starmer’s party is up three on 38 per cent. The pollster also found Starmer leading Johnson on its “best prime minister” question for the very first time. Calling for the government to extend the ban on evictions, Starmer told The Independent that Johnson has his “head in the sand” – with thousands facing possible eviction homes when it expires in four days’ time. Elsewhere, support for Scottish independence has reached a record high. A Panelbase survey shows 55 per cent of Scots in favour of breaking away, with 45 per cent against – an exact reversal of the 2014 referendum.

BLAME GAME: The government has been blamed for the death of a 16-year-old Sudanese boy who drowned in the English Channel when trying to reach the UK in a small boat. French MP Pierre-Henri Dumont said: “How many more tragedies will it take for the British to regain an ounce of humanity?” The Detention Action group pointed the finger at Priti Patel in particular, blaming her “failure to create a safe and legal route” for the tragedy. The home secretary blamed the boy’s death on “criminal gangs”, and called on France to work with the UK on stopping “abhorrent people smugglers”. It follows grim “vigilante” violence in Kent. A migrant was attacked on a beach near Deal only minutes after arriving in the UK in a rubber dinghy. The man in his 20s was set upon by someone watching his boat arrive.

FLY ME TO THE MOON: Matt Hancock said the government is hoping to achieve the “moonshot” of population-wide testing for coronavirus – but wouldn’t give any timescale on when it might be implemented. The health secretary said a top-secret lab in Porton Down was currently evaluating “new technologies” that would enable people to self-administer tests at home and get rapid results. Hancock said there were no plans in place to make face coverings compulsory at work. Having one of his busier days, he also announced the Covid infection survey – which provides a snapshot of positive cases in the UK – will increase from regularly testing 28,000 people per fortnight to 150,000 from October. Elsewhere, Nicola Sturgeon said it’s still not safe to lift restrictions in Aberdeen after two weeks of local lockdown.

DON VS SLICK WILLY AND THE DEMS: Kamala Harris said Donald Trump’s “failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods”, as she formally accepted the Democrats’ vice-presidential nomination. Barack Obama also stuck the boot in during a DNC video endorsement of his old pal Joe Biden. He said Trump has “no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show”. Bill Clinton joined in too, saying Trump spends “hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media”. The president took it all with good grace and humility, of course. He said Clinton was the last person who should be “lecturing” people on how to behave, and accused Obama of spying on his campaign. He also zapped the Democrats on Twitter: “See you on the field of battle!”

NO-ONE’S FORCING YOU: Australian prime minister Scott Morrison was forced to backtrack after saying any coronavirus vaccine should be “as mandatory as you can possibly make it”. The PM later told reporters: “Can I be really clear to everyone? It’s not going to be compulsory to have the vaccine, OK? … We can’t hold someone down and make them take it.” Morrison said his government had secured access to a promising Covid-19 vaccine (developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University in the UK) and would offer free doses if and when it became available. Elsewhere, Pope Francis said it was vital that the world’s poorest people get access to a vaccine if and when one becomes available.

“After the results fiasco, the government is yet again ignoring warnings of a looming crisis.”

Keir Starmer urges the PM to pay attention to the end of the evictions ban.

“You’re responsible @pritipatel.”

Momentum blames the home secretary for the death of the 16-year-old boy…

“So not the migrants, who know the risks of such a perilous journey? Not the traffickers, who encourage and facilitate this risk-taking, for huge fees from vulnerable people? But the British Home Secretary?!”

…but Andrew Neil is having none of it.

Andrew Grice, The Independent: Boris Johnson can’t hide behind experts forever

Diana Young, The Independent: I’m a Tory voter, and I’ve never felt so let down by the government

Frances Ryan, The Guardian: The real problem is that England’s education system rewards the rich

Alex Ward, Vox: Joe Biden’s plan to fix the damage done to America’s reputation