Brexit news: Irish PM says still possible to find ‘sensible solutions’ to NI Protocol issues

Boris Johnson was asked today whether the £20 uplift to Universal Credit would remain after Tory MPs Peter Aldous and John Stevenson said the increase should be made permanent.

Speaking to Sky and the BBC, the PM said: “The key focus for this government is on making sure that we come out of Covid strongly, with a jobs-led recovery, and I’m very pleased to see the way the unemployment numbers, the unemployment rate has been falling, employment has been rising, but also wages have been rising.

“That’s a crucial thing.”

Boris Johnson’s government will continue to hold migrants at a former army barracks in Kent in defiance of a court ruling which deemed the facility “unsafe” and “squalid”, according to reports first published in The Sun.

The Home Office has decided to carry on using the Napier Barracks for asylum seekers despite a High Court judge deciding that the facility failed to meet the “minimum standard” for accommodation, writes Adam Forrest.

According to the tabloid, ministers are set to agree a deal which would see the former army barracks used to house migrants for another four years, until at 2025.

Our comment editor Chris Stevenson has weighed in on the food shortage crisis, writing:

The list of companies going public about facing supply chain issues just keeps getting longer - Greggs, Iceland, the Co-op, Nandos, KFC. We are now fully in “crisis” territory, with many across the food industry expecting problems to stretch towards Christmas and beyond.

There is certainly safety in numbers; the brands can line up behind each other to put pressure on the government. With last Christmas having been disrupted by Covid – another factor, alongside Brexit, in the lorry driver shortages that are helping create the shortages – the government can ill afford more nationwide issues this year.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats are also lining up to tell Boris Johnson to do something. Ministers should not ignore the fears over Christmas shortages, even if some Brexiteers might look to play them down as summer fears that should have little impact come winter.

Read the full piece:

Supermarkets and hauliers have said shoppers could face long-term higher prices for food as result of shortages, caused by an arrange of issues including changes to the supply chain.

Bosses at the Road Haulage Association told the PA news agency the “substantial” pay rises offered by firms in need of new drivers could force supermarket bosses to pass the costs on to customers.

Hauliers have warned that there is a shortfall of around 100,000 drivers. This has been driven by thousands of European drivers leaving during the pandemic and not returning, as well as “high numbers” of workers retiring.

The average age of an HGV driver in the UK is 55.

The government introduced a seasonal worker visa scheme in December for 30,000 workers, primarily for the summer fruit picking season, but meat processors were excluded.

Rod McKenzie, managing director of policy and public affairs at the Road Haulage Association, told PA that the shortage of drivers needs urgent Government action and firms have offered better incentives and pay deals to secure potential recruits.

“Certainly drivers’ pay is increasing, often by quite substantial amounts,” he said. “This in turn is a cost that will need to be passed on, and given the tight profit margins of most haulage operators that means their rates to customers will have to go up. In turn, this may mean more of us paying higher prices for goods, services and shopping - including food prices - going forward.”

Meanwhile, a supermarket boss also told the news agency that increasing wages for drivers will result in inflationary pressure for retailers.

They said: “Paying drivers more, in itself isn’t the solution as it is resulting in them making choices about the level of working hours and balancing reduced hours along with weekend working ... To ease the pressure we need the government to quickly allow us to access the EU labour market, whilst the industry must also play its part in increasing the driver pool through fast-track driver programmes and apprenticeships.”

Many retailers will allegedly be forced to abandon the annual Black Friday sales due to rocketing shipping costs and major delays to orders and a nationwide lorry driver shortage.

Shops face too many challenges to complete the stocking and restocking necessary for the late-November event, an according to an exclusive report by the i newspaper.

Logistics experts predict more businesses will bypass the promotional frenzy this winter - retailers such as Marks & Spencer backed out years ago - because of the massive disruption it causes to operations, increased costs of recruiting extra warehouse workers and equipment, and diminished product availability across all sectors importing goods from South East Asia, the newspaper states.

Emile Naus, a partner at consultancy firm BearingPoint and formerly head of logistics strategy at M&S, said: “You need more people in warehouses but for a very short amount of time. You either bring them in early and train them and they’re standing round doing nothing or you bring them in late and they don’t know what they’re doing, they make mistakes and that has an impact on consumers.”

He added to i: “I suspect we will not see so many promotions this year. [Businesses] have got wise to cost of operations,” he added.

While online retailers, such as Amazon, will likely continue its allegiance to the pre-Christmas tradition, it is believed many others will back out in a devastating blow to bargain-hungry shoppers.

A Conservative benefactor provided more than £52,000 to cover some of the costs of Boris Johnson’s renovations to his Downing Street residence, party accounts, seen by PA, have revealed.

The refurbishments to the flat in No 11 sparked nationwide criticism of Mr Johnson’s finances, with the works far exceeding the £30,000 annual limit afforded to the prime minister.

Tory accounts published on Thursday said its central office provided a “bridging loan” of £52,802 to cover the works after being invoiced by the Cabinet Office in June last year.

The party was “reimbursed in full” by Lord Brownlow in October, before Mr Johnson “settled the costs” incurred by the Conservative peer in March.

“These latest revelations prove that the Prime Minister appears to be allergic to telling the truth about the dodgy dealings and the web of conflicts of interests, secret loans and cover-ups that hang over him like a bad smell,” Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said of the news.

Over to Scotland. Nicola Sturgeon has urged SNP members to back a deal with the Scottish Greens to “cement the pro-independence majority at Holyrood”.

The SNP’s national executive committee has already rubber stamped the deal but members are being given the chance for a consultative vote on the matter.

In a video to members launching the survey, the FM put the push for another independence referendum front and centre.

“I’m asking you to vote yes [on the deal with the Greens]. By doing so, you will help me cement the pro-independence majority at Holyrood,” she said.

“With your support, the SNP and the Greens will work together to accelerate progress towards independence, address the climate emergency, tackle poverty and reform public services.”

Ms Sturgeon added: “This is about doing politics better - working together to build a greener, fairer independent Scotland, so let’s get on with that job.”

The Labour Party has accused Boris Johnson of being “allergic to the truth” after the Conservatives finally revealed the complex process used to pay for lavish renovations at his Downing Street flat.

A Tory donor provided more than £52,000 to cover some of the costs in refurbishing the prime minister’s residence, according to party accounts published on Thursday. Tory HQ said it initially provided a “bridging loan” of £52,802 to cover the works after being invoiced by the Cabinet Office last June, reports Adam Forrest.

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner responded: “These latest revelations prove that the prime minister appears to be allergic to telling the truth about the dodgy dealings and the web of conflicts of interests, secret loans and cover-ups that hang over him like a bad smell.”

It’s still possible for leaders to find “sensible solutions” to the issues caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol, Micheál Martin has said.

The Irish prime minister was speaking following a meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron.

The post-Brexit legislation has caused major trade issues for the island of Ireland, which resulted in the EU extending a grace period for chilled meat imports to allow officials time to work out a solution.

Campaigning group Best for Britain has organised an emergency session of the cross-party UK trade and business commission next week to examine Britain’s food shortage issue.

“As secretariat for the Commission we’re calling for witnesses to share their experiences of the supply issues and advice for potential solutions. We hope to hear from big brands and household names” the alliance said on Thursday.

In the special session of the UK Trade and Business Commission, Best for Britain said it will seek clarity on what is happening to supply chains, why Britain seems to be particularly badly affected, if this is a long-term problem, and how the situation can be improved.

This session will be chaired by UK Trade and Business commissioner Aodhán Connolly, the director of Northern Ireland Retail Consortium.

It is scheduled to take place on 2 September between 11.30am and 1pm.