Inside Politics: EU urges UK to consider agrifood deal to ease checks

Congrats to Boris and Carrie! Well done guys. Thanks for giving us the most meme-able event at the No 10 Rose Garden since Dominic Cummings’ fold-up-table press conference. Those cruel meme-makers have compared the happy couple – snapped at their boho chic wedding party with hale bays, bunting and bare feet – to Worzel Gummidge and Aunt Sally. Questions have been raised about the special arrangements which saw the PM wed in a Catholic ceremony. But there are more pressing special arrangements for Johnson to focus on when he returns to work. Should children get the Covid vaccine? And should the jab be made mandatory for NHS staff?

Inside the bubble

Whitehall editor Kate Devlin on what to look out for today:

With parliament in recess, Boris Johnson gets to enjoy post-wedding bank holiday bliss. But chancellor Rishi Sunak will be working hard preparing to host G7 finance ministers’ later this week. England’s eviction ban comes today, with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation warning that around one million renters fear evictions.

Daily briefing

TWISTING THEIR ARMS: Decisions, decisions! Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said it would be “irresponsible” not to consider mandatory jabs for NHS staff. But Labour said staff should not have to face compulsory vaccination, arguing it was more important to work with NHS staff “than against them”. Another huge decision ahead is whether to extend the roll-out to children. Zahawi claimed the government would “be ready” to begin vaccinating 12 to 15-year-olds – but doctors would make “that final decision”. But scientist advisers will insist Boris Johnson makes the final decision on such a big, political move, according to weekend reports. With the 21 June lockdown lifting still undecided, Zahawi revealed that the government wants all-50s to have received a second jab before the big easing. It’s now a “race between the vaccine and the virus,” he said. It looks like one big thing has been decided. Plans for the use of Covid passports as entry requirement to big events are set to be ditched. A government source told The Telegraph certification is now “dead”.

PLAY IT AGAIN, EDWIN: The new DUP leader Edwin Poots has accused the EU of treating Northern Ireland as its “plaything”. Attacking the protocol once again, he claimed leaders Brussels were harming the peace process – suggesting on Marr that anger over trade arrangements could spill onto the streets this summer. “This is the EU seeking to punish the UK and, as a consequence, Northern Ireland is being used as a plaything.” European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said Brussels’ officials were working “flat out” to make sure the protocol worked as “smoothly” as possible. Sefcovic claimed a temporary veterinary agreement would remove 80 per cent of the checks – calling for the UK “to get over … ideology into pragmatism”. It comes as residents living next to the Brexit lorry park in Kent claim the floodlights have “destroyed” the night sky. One said it was like “living next to Gatwick Airport”. The Department for Transport said it was working on ways to reduce the light pollution.

I’M ALL RITES JACK: No 10 finally confirmed Saturday’s secretly-planned marriage of Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds, prompting some smiles and plenty of raised eyebrows. Congregants at Westminster Cathedral have asked how the twice-divorced PM was allowed to remarry in Catholic church. Technically, the Catholic church can allow divorcees to remarry if their previous marriages were outside the church. But members of the clergy shared their own unease. Father Mark Drew of St Joseph’s Church in Warrington said it looks “as if the Church is applying double standards.” Father Paul Butler, rector of St Paul’s in Deptford, added: “Always one canon law for the rich and one for the poor.” Labour MPs were sceptical about the timing. Tonia Antoniazzi claimed the “emergency marriage plan” was an effort to “deflect from negative press” over Dominic Cummings. Has Cummings’ testimony knocked Johnson? The PM’s net approval rating plunged 12 points to -6 per cent in an Opinium survey conducted after last week’s seven-hour evidence session.

WISHY RISHI: Big week ahead for Rishi Sunak. The chancellor wishes to secure a global agreement on taxing Silicon Valley’s tech giants when he welcomes the G7 finance ministers to the UK on Friday. “The right companies aren’t paying the right tax in the right places,” he told the Mail on Sunday. Will he win US support? Washington is said to want a global minimum corporation tax rate – possibly set at 15 per cent – in return for backing over the tech tax. “We understand why an agreement on global corporation tax is important for our American friends,” Sunak said. “We need them to understand why fair taxation of tech companies is important to us … There’s a big prize here, but we need to stick to our guns to get it over the line.” Sunak was typically diplomatic when asked about Dominic Cummings’ criticisms of Johnson – and his unexpected praise for the chancellor. “I haven’t spoken to Dominic Cummings since he left government whenever.”

FOLLOWING THE MONEY? Opposition parties have raised questions about the SNP’s finances, after MP Douglas Chapman quit unexpectedly as national treasurer. The SNP’s deputy first minister John Swinney denied claims the police were investigating what happened to £600,000 raised by activists. Asked if detectives were looking at the books, Swinney responded: “Not to my knowledge, no”. A Police Scotland spokeswoman said a complaint about the money had been received by police in March, but added: “The complaint is still being assessed to determine if an investigation is required.” Scottish Labour said the SNP must be “open” about “the growing number of questions about their finances”. It comes as questions were raised about how a Conservative-run council in the north of England is splashing taxpayers’ cash. Labour said a plan to spend £200,000 turning Darlington Borough Council’s town hall blue – to match the ruling group’s colours – sets a “dangerous precedent”.

On the record

“We all want to unlock on June 21 but the single biggest threat to that is the government’s incompetence.”

Keir Starmer kicks out at border policy and failed local guidance.

From the Twitterati

“Can anyone explain to me how Boris Johnson, who left the Catholic Church while at Eaton and is twice divorced, can be married at Westminster Cathedral, while I have to tell practicing Catholics in good faith who want a second marriage in Church that it’s not possible?”

Father Mark Drew is puzzled by the PM’s Catholic ceremony…

“In a turn of events no-one could foresee, Henry VIII left the Catholic Church so he could re-marry, while Boris Johnson joined it.”

…while Bettina Ross is stunned at the historic development.

Essential reading

Sean O’Grady, The Independent: Andrew Neil – the ‘outsider’ vowing to take on the establishment

Jess Phillips, The Independent: Matt Hancock’s ‘protection’ of care homes was a joke

Marina Hyde, The Guardian: A dangerous cult now runs Britain – worshippers at the temple of Johnson

Robert Colls, New Statesman: Labour in crisis: When red walls come tumbling down

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