Inside Politics: Johnson U-turns on nightclub mask mandate as Cummings launches fresh attack

As Britons sweltered in temperatures of more than 30C in some parts of the country yesterday, the Met Office issued its first ever extreme heat weather warning. Is Boris Johnson beginning to wilt in the scorching conditions? Following a PR disaster over the weekend on self-isolation, the PM performed another U-turn on vaccine passports for nightclubs. Elsewhere, his former aide Dominic Cummings has given an explosive interview to the BBC, and ministers are said to be mulling plans to increase National Insurance contributions to fund social care reforms.

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Chief political commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for today:

The prime minister will chair cabinet virtually from Chequers. The House of Commons sits from 11.30am, starting with Foreign Office questions. The Education Committee is looking at children’s homes and will take evidence from Andrew Adonis, who was in care as a child. Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, will be in Scotland on a two-day visit to launch a report on green trade.

Coming up shortly:

-NHS employers chief executive Danny Mortimer on Sky News’s Kay Burley at Breakfast at 8.20am

-Small business minister Paul Scully on ITV’s GMB at 8.30am

NO JABS NO ENTRY: The wonky shopping trolley is back. Less than a day after nightclubs resumed business Johnson said that, from September, only those who’ve been double-vaccinated will be allowed to enter them and other large venues. Announcing another major U-turn, the PM said he is “concerned” about the risk posed by nightclubs in particular. Perhaps he’ll be even more worried when he remembers who gave them the unchecked green light to press ahead in the first place. Labour has slammed the lifting of most restrictions in one go. Party leader Keir Starmer said “Boris Johnson’s recklessness means we’re going to have an NHS summer crisis. The Johnson Variant is already out of control – and we’re heading to 100,000 cases a day.”

MAJOR QUESTIONS: Understandably, the decision sparked an immediate backlash among owners whose incomes have been decimated and who will have to get organised for the new system with just over a month’s notice, which raises two fundamental questions: why was the policy announced a mere 17 hours after “freedom day” had dawned, and after thousands had already piled into clubs across the country? Secondly, if the government is so concerned about transmission in such venues, why is it waiting until September to bring in the measure? Several of this morning’s papers splash on the update, with a few suggesting the policy forms part of a drive to vaccinate young people, among whom uptake is low – an issue that has been known for months now. Is it simply the case that Johnson panicked after seeing footage from venues across the UK? Any move to bring in vaccine passes will need parliamentary approval, setting the government up for another clash with lockdown sceptics.

PINGED OUT: More key workers will be granted exemptions from the requirement to self-isolate if they are suspected of having Covid as the UK battles its raging “pingdemic”. During his self-isolation press conference from Chequers, the PM announced that key workers in transport, food and medicine supply, the power grid, and other utilities like water won’t have to quarantine after getting contacted by the NHS app – if they have been double-vaccinated. But the government is not budging on changing the rules for other sectors of the economy before 16 August – despite cancelled trains, pubs pulling down the shutters and supermarkets warning they may have to adjust opening hours to deal with staff shortages. “There isn’t any movement on it,” business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said.“It’s going to be 16th August.” In other Covid updates, clinically vulnerable children who face an increased risk from Covid-19 are to be vaccinated, the government has confirmed – though health officials have decided against a universal rollout for all under-18s.

DOMSHELL: Dominic Cummings’s war on Johnson continues, with the former Downing Street aide giving an explosive interview to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg. The main claim from Cummings is that the PM resisted an autumn lockdown because the majority of those dying with Covid were over the age of 80. “No, no no, no, no, I’m not doing it,” Cummings alleges the PM responded when he, the UK’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty pushed for tougher restrictions from mid-September. Another extraordinary claim is that Johnson tried to meet with the Queen face-to-face on 18 March as the pandemic was beginning to take hold in the UK. Downing Street denies the claims. The full interview airs on BBC Two at 7pm this evening. Until then, here’s a write-up.

SOCIAL CARE FUNDING: An increase in National Insurance contributions is being considered to raise cash to help reform social care, reports suggest. According toThe Sun, the PM and Rishi Sunak, the chancellor“are close” to agreeing the plan. Meanwhile, The Times, which has the story on its front page, says the plan has been agreed by Johnson and “senior ministers”. Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, criticised the plan. He said: “Tax rises will be needed to deliver decent social care, but a national insurance rise is a terrible way to raise the funds required. It’s a tax disproportionately loaded on to younger and lower-paid workers, compared to a fairer rise in income tax. Why we would target a tax rise on the groups who have been hardest hit by the economic impact of this pandemic, while exempting older and wealthy individuals, is completely beyond me.”

HARD FROST: Britain’s Brexit chief has said the agreement he negotiated with the EU to resolve the Northern Ireland problem contains a serious “contradiction”. Speaking at a parliamentary committee on Monday afternoon Lord Frost said it was a “matter for debate” what key parts of the agreement actually meant. And he claimed the EU was already “arguably” letting the UK breach parts of the deal. Elsewhere, Rishi Sunak should have told David Cameron to stop trying to lobby him via text message and instead use more formal channels, a cross-party committee of MPs has suggested. In a report published on Monday,the influential Treasury Select Committee said the Greensill scandal showed that the rules around lobbying were too weak and needed to be overhauled. The committee said the former prime minister should have been “encouraged” into “more formal methods” at “the initial stage of his lobbying”.

“Boris Johnson is a bare-faced liar. Apparently he always opposed booing England players, ‘briefly considered’ joining the pilot scheme to avoid isolation and the roadmap being irreversible was just a ‘hope.’ Alright mate have a day off and stop embarrassing yourself in public.”

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner pulls no punches in her criticism of Johnson.

“Vaccine passports are another U-turn. Pandemics are unpredictable by nature but Johnson is a wonky supermarket trolley, veering all over the place.”

Daily Mirror associate editor Kevin Maguire on Johnson’s press conference.

“During lockdown, I expected things like clubs reopening to be a moment of joy. Instead, because we have no plan for what we are doing nor any responsibility in how we are doing it, they are a moment of trepidation.”

Politic.co.uk editor-at-large Ian Dunt on nightclubs re-opening.

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