Brexit news: EU talks resume as Andy Burnham and councils support Marcus Rashford free school meals campaign
Follow the day’s updates as they happened
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Your support makes all the difference.Post-Brexit trade talks between the UK and European Union continued in London as the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned both sides have a “common responsibility” to strike a deal.
No10 said “intensive talks” would continue over the weekend, as the deadline for an agreement loomed.
Friday’s talks came as footballer Marcus Rashford's campaign to provide free school meals to poor children over the holidays gathered pace.
Councils, restaurants and other bodies around England have pledged their support, offering free meals, vouchers and financial help to those in need.
Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, said the city would hand out 1,000 food vouchers.
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of UK politics today.
‘Every day counts’: Barnier in London for new round of Brexit talks
Post-Brexit trade talks between the UK and European Union will continue in London today following a warning that there was a “common responsibility” for both sides to strike a deal.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, is expected to continue discussions with his UK counterpart Lord Frost on Friday as the deadline for an agreement looms.
“I think we have a huge common responsibility,” Mr Barnier told reporters as he arrived in London on Thursday evening.
“Every day counts.”
Talks have been in limbo since Boris Johnson’s deadline for a deal passed last week but both sides have suggested they are willing to compromise to find an agreement.
The main stumbling blocks are understood to be fishing rights, the governance of any deal and the so-called “level playing field” aimed at preventing unfair competition.
Downing Street acknowledged this week that “significant gaps” remained between the two sides and it was “entirely possible that negotiations will not succeed”.
Our reporter, Vincent Wood, has more details below on Michel Barnier’s trip to London for the latest round of Brexit talks:
Barnier arrives in London as ‘intensified’ Brexit talks resume with clock ticking on no-deal
‘Entirely possible that negotiations will not succeed’, Downing Street warns
UK signs free trade agreement with Japan
International trade secretary Liz Truss has signed a free trade agreement with Japan, hailing it as the dawn of a new era of free trade for the UK.
The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) was agreed in principle last month, when Labour warned that the net benefit of the deal would amount to just 0.07 per cent of GDP.
In a statement, Ms Truss said the deal was a “landmark moment for Britain”.
“It shows what we can do as an independent trading nation, as we secure modern and bespoke provisions in areas like tech and services that are critical to the future of our country and the reshaping of our economy,” she said.
“Trade is a powerful way to deliver the things people really care about.”
Marcus Rashford visits food charity after government blocks free school meals plan
England footballer Marcus Rashford and his mother have visited a food charity which is naming a new warehouse in her honour following his campaign to secure access to free schools meals for children.
The pair's visit to FareShare Greater Manchester came a day after a Labour motion for the free school meals scheme to be extended over school holidays until Easter 2021 was defeated by the government in the House of Commons.
The campaign has been championed by Mr Rashford, who called for people to “unite” to protect the most vulnerable children in the UK.
“When we stumble, there will always be a community to wrap their arms around us and pick us back up,” he said, adding that for many people this help would come from food banks staffed by volunteers.
The Manchester United striker, who is an ambassador for the national food redistribution charity FareShare, previously forced a government U-turn on free school meal vouchers over the summer holidays.
“We are disappointed with the outcome of the vote, which would have been the first step on the road to providing some peace of mind to the millions of struggling UK families,” Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of FareShare UK, said.
"FareShare continues to provide over two million meals each week to vulnerable communities across the UK and we stand ready to provide all the food we can obtain, so we can continue supporting those families and children that seek help to access good, healthy food."
Labour calls on government to clear up ‘confusion’ over new financial support
Labour has called on the government to clear up “confusion” over new plans to help businesses deal with coronavirus restrictions, with shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds pushing for clarity on how long elements of the package will be in place for.
“The chancellor suggested that a number of these measures will apply, he stated, for six months…” Ms Dodds told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“He has set out that approach for some elements of his plan, but there is a lot of confusion around other elements, whether they're short term, long term, what, exactly the score is.”
The Labour minister also told BBC Breakfast earlier today that the government’s refusal to back a circuit-break lockdown meant the next few months would be difficult for the country.
“The tier system so far has not worked to reduce infections,” she said.
“What we are looking at unfortunately - given the government doesn't seem to be willing to shift on this when half-term holidays are coming up - what we are looking up to Christmas is an increasingly difficult situation in lots of parts of the country.”
You can find Marcus Rashford’s reaction to the government’s rejection of his campaign to extend free school meals for children this winter below:
Labour MP broke rules by using Commons stationery for Brexit campaigning
A Labour MP broke parliamentary rules by using House of Commons stationery for political campaigning on Brexit, the parliamentary standards commissioner has found.
Dr Rosina Allin-Khan, Labour’s shadow minister for mental health, was told to apologise for the breaches and to reimburse the full £1,142.52 cost of the stationery.
Our policy correspondent, Jon Stone, has the full story below:
Labour MP broke rules by using Commons stationary for Brexit campaigning
Dr Rosina Allin-Khan is MP for Tooting
Billions of pounds lost to fraudsters in chancellor’s furlough scheme
Fraudsters took billions of pounds from chancellor Rishi Sunak’s furlough scheme and it is unlikely that most of the money will be recovered, a spending watchdog has said.
Almost one in 10 of those put on furlough admitted to working during lockdown at their employer’s request, the National Audit Office found following a report on the scheme.
HM Revenue and Customs has estimated that the scale of money lost to fraud and error could be as much as £3.9bn.
Our political editor, Andrew Woodcock, has the full story below:
Billions of pounds lost to fraudsters in coronavirus furlough scheme
Almost one-tenth of furloughed staff say bosses told them to work
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