Inside Politics: Boris Johnson admits to test and trace failures

Why is it that today’s political leaders struggle so badly with technology? A Dutch researcher has claimed he managed to hack Donald Trump’s Twitter account by correctly guessing his password: maga2020! Boris Johnson isn’t doing too well with tech systems either – despite his claims Britain would soon have world-beating tools to defeat the coronavirus. The PM been forced to admit Britain’s test and trace is in dire need of improvement, while his “Operation Moonshot” plan for mass testing has been quietly ditched. Just as well Johnson’s not in charge of his own Twitter account.

Inside the bubble

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock on what to look out for today:

With parliament breaking up today for its October half-term break, all eyes are turning to the “intensified” EU trade talks as David Frost and Michel Barnier meet again in London. Elsewhere, Labour leader Keir Starmer will hold virtual town hall meetings with voters in Scotland’s central belt. Meanwhile his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn’s brother Piers will appear in court charged with involvement in an anti-lockdown protest breaching social distancing rules.

Daily briefing

BAD TO WORSE: Boris Johnson couldn’t hide from the facts, as the latest test and trace figures showed only 15 per cent of people received their test result within 24 hours – the lowest since the whole thing began. The PM said he shared “people’s frustrations” and admitted: “We need to improve it.” His chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said the effectiveness of the system was now “diminishing” – and suggested 90,000 people per day could be contracting Covid. It comes as a letter from Whitehall lawyers has revealed that the “Operation Moonshot” to create mass testing for millions of people has been “subsumed” into the test and trace, and the government has quietly abandoned plans to spend up to £100bn on the plan. Barrister Jolyon Maugham of the Good Law Project said it was “a far cry from Boris Johnson’s grandstanding just a matter of weeks ago”.

SONG AND PRANCE ROUTINE: As Greater Manchester wakes up to life in tier 3 this morning, mayor Andy Burnham is back in the headlines. He said he was left “open-mouthed” by the extra financial help for tier 2 areas after getting such resistance to his own pleas for support. Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg accused Burnham of a “most ridiculous prancing” and “party politics of the cheapest and most disagreeable kind”. Meanwhile, Slough, Stoke-on-Trent and Coventry are to move into tier 2 restrictions on Saturday, health secretary Matt Hancock announced – with talks about moving Nottingham and Warrington to tier 3 under way. Scots were told to “get their digital Christmas ready” by the national clinical director – who said the idea of a normal holiday was “fiction”. Nicola Sturgeon kept up the fiction of Father Christmas, however, saying “Santa is a key worker and has lots of magic powers” to deliver presents despite Covid curbs.

FINAL COUNTDOWN: Tick tock. Or as the French say: tic tac. Michel Barnier turned up for Brexit talks in London wearing his nifty EU flag face mask, saying “every day counts”. No 10 also acknowledged the sense of urgency – “time is now very short” – for a trade deal to be done. The initial phase of face-to-face talks will run until Sunday, before a final push to finalise a text in time for ratification at sessions in both Brussels and London. One EU diplomat claimed to be “cautiously optimistic about fish,” but another said the issue remained “politically difficult” to resolve. It comes as major UK business figures put pressure on Downing Street to get a deal done. In a letter sent to cabinet ministers, the leaders of 39 good and drink industry bodies warned companies could pull out of Northern Ireland because of “the added cost, complexity and trade friction” of doing business after Brexit.

ROUGH PATCH: Rishi Sunak big announcement on extra support for businesses turned out to be tinkering at the edges. He unveiled grants for hospitality firms in tier 2 areas worth up to £2,100 a month. The government will now fund 62 per cent of the wages for hours not worked by affected employees in those areas. Impressed? Labour’s shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds was not, claiming it amounted to “a patchwork of poor ideas”. Sunak was accused of “adding to the confusion” over Covid rules by holding a meeting inside a Franco Manca pizza joint in central London. It’s true that people are allowed to hold “business meetings” in hospitality settings in tier 2 area – but only if they are freelancers or lack office space. Meanwhile, the National Audit Office said fraudulently-claimed furlough money may have cost up to £3.9bn – with more than half of that going to organised crime.

IT’S NICE UP NORTH: It looks like the PM is pretty worried about losing those hard-won red wall seats in the north of England. Johnson told northern business leaders about his plan to send thousands of civil servants – and some government ministers – to work in the “great northern cities”. His plan would reportedly see about 25 per cent of the 92,000 civil servants in Whitehall to relocate up the M6 by the end of the decade. Perhaps policing minister Kit Malthouse fancies a change of scene? The Tory MP failed to answer Kay Burley’s questions on whether gyms would still be allowed to open in Manchester under tier 3 rules (they will). Malthouse said: “There’s plenty of information out there on the internet.” Reassuring. When the minister started talking about his own gym membership, the Sky News host rather rudely laughed and suggested he might want to “ask for a refund”.

DOG-WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK: Racist? Who, him? Donald Trump claimed “I am the least racist person in this room” during last night’s final presidential election debate with Joe Biden. But the Democratic challenger said Trump was “one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history – he pours fuel on every single racist fire,” memorably adding: “This guy’s dog whistle is about as big as a fog horn.” The Republican predictably brought up the purported leaked emails showing Hunter Biden’s business dealings in China. “The emails, the horrible emails!” Trump cried. The Democrat said: “I have not taken a single penny from any country whatsoever – ever,” before referring to The New York Times’ report showing the president has a bank account in China. According to three snap polls, from CNN, Data Progress and US Politics, Biden “won” the debate, with roughly a 10-point margin each time. Will many hearts and minds have been swayed? Probably not.

On the record

“I share people’s frustrations and I understand totally why we do need to see faster turnaround times and we need to improve it.”

Boris Johnson admits test and trace is not good enough.

From the Twitterati

“It’s one thing to be resented by the people you’re supporting financially. But for them to be self-righteously looking down their noses at you as they sweep your money into their pockets is a bit much.”

Toby Young explains why he’s become an ‘English nationalist’ and resents the Scots and the Welsh…

“The logical assumption is that Toby Young must secretly be on the SNP payroll, but I fear he is actually happy to work for them for free.”

...Spectator colleague Alex Massie thinks Young’s doing a fine job for the Scottish nationalist cause.

Essential reading

Kuba Shand-Baptiste, The Independent: The government isn’t tackling racism – it uses MPs of colour to defy critics

Mark Steel, The Independent: Marcus Rashford should set up a faulty test and trace system to get more funding

Chris Deerin, New Statesman: Conservatives have lost the argument about the size of the state

Bill McKibben, The New Yorker: Joe Biden and the possibility of a remarkable presidency

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