Brexit news - live: UK and EU commit to ‘proper implementation’ of Northern Ireland protocol

A Plaid Cymru politician has been reprimanded in court for retweeting a message that could have caused the collapse a murder trial.

Before a verdict had been reached by the jury, Helen Mary Jones, a Welsh Parliament MS, shared a post which expressed “hope” that the defendant would be found guilty of murdering his wife.

The message related to the trial of Antony Williams, 70, who was sentenced on Thursday to five years in jail for the manslaughter of his wife Ruth, 67, on 27 March last year.

The verdict was reached by reason of diminished responsibility, after evidence suggested his mental state was “severely affected” by lockdown.

A judge said Ms Jones and the domestic violence campaigner Rachel Williams, who wrote the message, could have influenced the jury’s verdict if they had become aware of it.

“The reposting was done in genuine error, but I fully accept this in no way changes the seriousness of the matter,” Ms Jones said.

The Home Office breaches children’s welfare by charging a £1,012 fee for them to register as British citizens, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

The court threw out the department’s appeal against a 2019 High Court which judged the fee to be unlawful.

This case was brought by a 13-year-old girl, referred to as O, who was born in the UK. Her family was unable to afford the “exorbitant” registration fee, which only costs the Home Office £372 to process.

In the ruling, the presiding judge said the fees “have had a serious adverse impact on the ability of a significant number of children to apply successfully for registration”.

O’s solicitor, Solange Valdez-Symonds, said: “The Government’s priority ought to be to ensure every child with rights to British citizenship can have this confirmed, with all the security, opportunity and sense of belonging that comes with that.”

The UK and the EU have declared that they both remain committed to implementing the Northern Ireland protocol, after calls from unionists for it to be scrapped.

Cabinet office minister Michael Gove and European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic met with business and civic leaders in Northern Ireland on Thursday to discuss post-Brexit trade disruptions.

Both Mr Gove and Mr Sefcovic later tweeted identical statements, which described the meetings as “constructive”.

They added that both sides “were committed to the proper implementation of IE/NI Protocol and finding pragmatic solutions”.

A Northern Irish economic development agency has boasted of the region’s “unique” post-Brexit trade position, saying it has “unfettered” market access to both Great Britain and the EU.

Invest NI, which was founded in 2002, made the claim on a new webpage published this week.

The body hopes that through the Northern Ireland protocol the territory “can become a gateway for the sale of goods to two of the world’s largest markets”.

My colleague Matt Mathers reports:

The National Trust has warned that a potential overhaul of planning rules that would allow developers to turn empty high street buildings into flats risks creating “characterless” market districts across the country.

The government is holding a consultation on the expansion of permitted development rights, which could be extended to include conservation areas - which the National Trust said it believed would have a detrimental effect on “local distinctiveness” and residents’ “pride and identity”.

Read the full report by my colleague Jon Sharman:

Tory MPs from so-called “red wall’ seats won from Labour at the last election have declared their support for a controversial new coal mine in Cumbria.

The Northern Research Group MPs accused Labour of turning its back on northern communities by opposing the development at Whitehaven, which has split the county between some welcoming the prospect of skilled jobs and others fighting the proposal on environmental grounds.

Our Political Editor Andrew Woodcock reports:

The chief executives of the UK’s three largest gym chains have called on the government to prioritise the reopening of fitness facilities, warning that the nation’s physical and mental health could deteriorate.

UK Active data shared with the government earlier this week claims that gyms are “low risk” for spreading Covid-19 and should be prioritised.

It showed that of the 75 million visits to gyms and leisure centres between the reopening of facilities last July and the third national lockdown at the start of January, only 1,277 Covid-19 cases were reported.

By comparison, 2.3 million Covid-19 cases nationally were reported during the same period, with gym users recording an overall rate of 1.7 cases per 100,000 visits.

The case rate rose from 0.1 per 100,000 visits in the week starting 27 July to a high of 4.1 at the end of October. This had almost halved again by the final week of December, the data showed.

The chief executives of The Gym Group, David Lloyd and PureGym said reopening facilities is “vital” and that exercising outdoors during the winter months “has been even tougher.

Northern Ireland first minister Arlene Foster has said she was disappointed that European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic did not meet more unionists during his meetings with NI civic leaders and business leaders today, adding only one or two were present.

She said: “We shall wait and see whether Mr Sefcovic has listened to the concerns of unionism, from civic society and from concerns of business.

“We will only find out when we see what actions he takes.”

Sinn Fein finance minister Conor Murphy said those reservations were listened to, adding that bodies like the Joint Committee had been put in place in anticipation of difficulties with the NI Protocol.

He said the UK and EU should bring knowledge gleaned from meeting NI representatives to their meeting next week.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer “risks being outflanked by the Tories”, left-wingers in the Labour Party have warned, as Conservatives accused him of poaching their policies.

Following Sir Keir’s big policy speech earlier today, campaign group Momentum said his new proposals lacked substance and ambition, and were vulnerable to a Tory counter attack.

It comes as Tory MPs seized on the similarities between Labour’s plans and their party’s own, reports our Policy Correspondent Jon Stone.

Get the full story:

The Home Office has been accused of “grossly” misstating coronavirus rules after it said “all gatherings are currently against the law”.

The department posted a video on Twitter in which it said “meeting up is against the law” as it showed footage of police raiding house parties and warned people not to break lockdown rules.

The video did not clarify there were several exceptions to permit some gatherings.

Adam Wagner, a human rights barrister at Doughty Street Chambers who has been interpreting coronavirus laws for the public on social media, said: “Oh my goodness. I’m not sure where to start.

“This is the Home Office, the government department responsible for law and order. This tweet and video grossly misstate the law. All gatherings are *not* illegal. There are a huge number of gatherings which *are* legal.”

He described the post as “legally illiterate” and warned it could lead to misunderstandings and should be removed.

“I have no issue with the Home Office advertising that gatherings indoors for parties are currently illegal - but this isn’t the way to do it,” he added.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said the video referred to “illegal social gatherings which should not be taking place”, adding: “We make absolutely no apologies for encouraging people to follow the rules during a global pandemic.”

She declined to comment further about whether or not any changes would be made to the post and video.

Watch the video below:

PA