Boris Johnson news: PM under attack for 'schmoozing Tory donors while ignoring flood victims', as Sajid Javid issues public warning to leader

Homelessness five times worse in UK than government admits

The trues scale of homelessness across the UK has been revealed in figures showing more than 28,000 people were recorded sleeping rough in a year. This is five times worse in the UK than the government admits.

Campaigners and opposition MPs have accused ministers of misleading the public by providing an “unreliable undercount” of people sleeping on the streets.

The latest official rough sleeping figures, which the government calculates based on a one-night snapshot, show 4,677 people were sleeping on the streets in England in 2018.

But council responses to a freedom of information (FoI) request show nearly 25,000 people were recorded sleeping rough at least once in England during the latest year on record.

Shadow housing minister John Healey said the data showed the government’s statistics were “seriously misleading” and demanded an investigation into the “flaws” in the government data.

“These figures expose the shameful scale of rough sleeping on our country’s streets. The Conservatives can’t begin to fix the problem when they won’t admit the scale of it,” he said.

Nothing left for Corbyn to give up for Lent

Jeremy Corbyn has given up “so many things” already that he is not likely to cut anything out for Lent, his spokesman has said.

The Labour leader, a teetotaler, rarely has the heating on in his office and there’s “not a lot of meat available”, according to his aides.

Asked what the abstemious outgoing leader would give up for Lent, which begins on Wednesday, Corbyn’s spokesman told journalists: “He’s given so many things up already that there’s very little left.

“If you work with Jeremy you will know that the heating is rarely turned on, there’s not a lot of meat available - so he’s a bit short of things to give up. “Certainly the booze is a bit skimpy.”

Downing Street has been silent about whether Boris Johnson intends to give anything up for the six-week period leading up to Easter.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (Getty)

Long-Bailey publishes donor list

Labour leadership candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey has shared a list of everyone who has donated more than £1500 to her campaign.

Earlier this week Long-Bailey’s allies called on Keir Starmer’s campaign to publish its full list of donors. Party chairman Ian Lavery said candidates “should be comfortable disclosing the source of campaign donations”.

Small towns in Midlands and North will suffer most from PM’s post-Brexit deal

Small towns in many of the so-called “red wall” seats which gave Boris Johnson his election victory are among the areas likely to suffer most from the bare-bones trade agreement the PM is seeking with the EU, according to a respected think tank.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said there could be long-lasting damage to incomes and well-being in areas which rely on manufacturing for well-paid jobs, many of which are still feeling the blow from the de-industrialisation of the 1980s.

Our political editor has the details:

EU not a prison, says Barnier

Brussels’ chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Brexit “shows the EU is not a prison”. He said: “You can leave. But there are consequences.”

Speaking at ESCP Business School in Brussels, he repeated his claim Britain would have to accept some “level playing field” rules and regulations to forge a free trade agreement – but the deal could not be like the one struck between the EU and Canada.

“The UK says it wants Canada, but the problem with that is that the UK is not Canada.”

Barnier also said: “We are ready to offer to the UK super-preferential access to our markets - a level of access that would be unprecedented for a third country.

“Is this something we can do without firm guarantees that the UK will respect the level playing field and avoid unfair competitive advantages? The answer, I’m afraid, is simple. We cannot.

“We want competition in future but it must be fair - fair and free.”

Police forces worst hit by violence to share extra cash

Forces in areas of the country blighted by serious violence will receive an extra boost of cash, the home secretary has promised.

Priti Patel announced an additional £41.5m for forces in the 18 areas – Metropolitan Police, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and Merseyside – she described as “worst affected by serious violence to help drive down crime”.

The money will go towards extra measures like stepping up officer patrols and builds on funding provided last year, the Home Office said.

‘We probably do trust less’, says Kuenssberg

The BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg has been talking about her upcoming documentary on mistrust in politics.

She said the financial crisis of 2008-09 and the Iraq war “had a real impact on how people see politicians”.

Kuenssberg said: “Something was stirring from a long time before people now talk about … whether now we can’t trust what people say because spin and social media have gone out of control.”

“We probably know more now, but we probably do trust less.”

‘Clear fiscal framework’ will be set out at budget, says No 10

The government will confirm at the 11 March budget what fiscal rules will govern spending and borrowing, Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on Wednesday

The spokesman was responding to a plea from former finance minister Sajid Javid not to ditch an existing framework.

“As set out in the manifesto, we will continue to have a clear fiscal framework, and the detail of that is for the chancellor to confirm at the budget,” the spokesman said.

Javid, who resigned earlier this month, urged the government to keep spending under control.

Rishi Sunak's best chance of reducing inequality is to up taxes for the rich – we all know how likely that is 

'For all the talk of ending austerity, the Tories will have to reverse some of the cuts they have made since 2010 to make a real impact in the poorest regions. I won't hold my breath,' writes The Independent's Andrew Grice.

Read his column here:

Downing Street defends decision for joint No 10/Treasury adviser unit

"The new unit will ensure that the government works more effectively to deliver the prime minister and chancellor's shared ambition to level up the economy across the UK," a No 10 spokesman said.

Downing Street would not commit to keep the same fiscal rules which Sajid Javid had insisted were of critical importance.

The prime minister's official spokesman said: "As set out in the manifesto, we will continue to have a clear fiscal framework.

"The detail of that is for the chancellor to confirm at the Budget."

See the background to this row here.