Boris Johnson news – live: Protests on Orkney as PM makes case for union and Nicola Sturgeon accuses him of politicising pandemic

Jeremy Corbyn supporters raise more than £22,000 for legal fund

More than £22,000 has been raised by Jeremy Corbyn's supporters to cover his legal costs if libel action is taken against him.

The GoFundMe page was set up on Wednesday evening after it was reported that John Ware, a BBC journalist, was pursuing legal action against Mr Corbyn.

Mr Ware worked on a Panorama programme in 2019 which investigated anti-semitism within the Labour party. 

His decision to take legal action came after Mr Corbyn said on Wednesday that it was "disappointing" that Labour had apologised to seven whistleblowers and Mr Ware for comments it had made against them in connection with the programme. 

China to block UK's citizenship offer to Hong Kong residents

Beijing has moved to prevent the UK's offer of citizenship to almost three million Hong Kong residents, saying it may not recognise the validity of their passports. 

China was responding to the UK government's announcement that it would "warmly welcome" any of the 2.9 million Hong Kongers with British National Overseas (BNO) status. 

Home secretary Priti Patel said on Wednesday that the application process would begin in early 2021, and that the residents would have access to the UK job market regardless of their skill level. 

Anticipating China's response, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said last weekend that "there would be little we could do" if Beijing blocked the move. 

PM arrives in Scotland

Boris Johnson arrived in Orkney earlier this morning on his first visit to Scotland since his general election victory in December. 

After touching down at Kirkwall Airport, he headed to the first in a series of engagements.

Foreign Office and DfID merger must not lead to reduction in 'expertise', MPs warn

MPs have warned that the merger between the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development (DfID) must not result in a weakening of "expertise". 

The Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee said the new department, which will be called the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), "risks weakening the cultures of each department".

In a study responding to the government's announcement of the merger last month, MPs said the decision should not lead to the loss of highly skilled staff who have established the UK's reputation in the aid sector.

MP Tom Tugendhat, the Tory chairman of the committee said: "Co-operation will determine the success of the merger."

"Urgent responses are needed to global challenges from dealing with the departure from the Covid emergency, the need to build new alliances, and the response to climate change, so the new department will have no time to settle in," he added. 

Mayor of London says it's 'astonishing' PM hasn't spoken to him in months 

Sadiq Khan has claimed that Boris Johnson has not spoken to him in around two and a half months, writes Jon Stone. 

The mayor of London said he last spoke to the prime minister at a Cobra meeting in early May, labelling Mr Johnson's silence since then as "astonishing". 

Mr Khan told the Press Association news agency: "I find it astonishing the Prime Minister of a country during a pandemic isn't holding Cobra.

"I find it equally astonishing that the Prime Minister isn't engaging with the mayor of the capital city." 

Starmer tells Johnson not to 'lecture' Scotland

Keir Starmer has warned the prime minister that he should listen and not lecture Scotland during his visit on Thursday. 

"The Prime Minister in Scotland needs to listen not lecture. And so he should listen to the communities in Scotland, not go up there delivering lectures for them," the Labour leader said. 

He added that it was important that Scotland and the rest of the UK had worked together on their health and economic responses during the pandemic.

"It's an example of why we shouldn't be pulling apart the United Kingdom," Mr Starmer said. 

Senior SNP politician says Scotland has 'many questions' for PM

Ian Blackford, the leader of the SNP in the Commons, has said that Scotland has many questions for Boris Johnson to answer. 

His remark came after the prime minister arrived in Orkney on Thursday morning for his first visit to Scotland since last year's general election.

In a tweet, Mr Blackford said he hoped Mr Johnson would be "brave enough" to respond to Scotland's concerns. 

He also suggested that the Conservative leader was guilty of "inflicting policies on us which we don't want". 

PM says UK should be vigilant against Covid-19 threat in colder months   

During his visit to Scotland, Boris Johnson has called on the public to remain alert to the coronavirus threat the UK still faces. 

"It is not the end of the story and we've got to be very, very vigilant as we go forward into the colder months," the prime minister said in Orkney.  

Johnson downplays calls for Scottish independence 

The prime minister has claimed that the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence was "a once-in-a-generation event", while praising the UK's collective response to the pandemic.

Speaking in Orkney on Thursday morning, Boris Johnson said: "We had a referendum in 2014. It was decisive, it was I think by common consent a once-in-a-generation event."

After brushing away calls for independence, he implied that Scotland would be stronger if it remained in the union.

He also mentioned that the NHS in Scotland had been given £250 million in preparation for a possible second wave of coronavirus later this year.

Barnier tells Johnson post-Brexit trade deal 'unlikely'

The EU's chief negotiator has said that a post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and the EU is looking 'unlikely' because of Britain's lack of flexibility. 

After finishing a round of negotiations in London, Michel Barnier said on Thursday that "the time for answers is quickly running out".

He added that there would be serious economic repercussions if a deal was not reached by October, stressing that "we should not waste time".