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

A submission from former first minister Alex Salmond in which he alleged his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon broke the ministerial code can be published, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) has ruled.

The Holyrood body concluded “on balance” it would be “possible” for the document to be published.

The decision could open the door for the former first minister to give evidence to the Holyrood committee which is probing the Scottish government’s botched handling of harassment allegations against him.

The case at the Court of Session in Edinburgh saw Mr Salmod win a £512,000 payout.

MSPs previously decided against publishing the submission by Mr Salmond, which was made to a separate inquiry.

Ms Sturgeon has always insisted that she did not breach the ministerial code, which sets out how government ministers should behave.

Mr Salmond’s claims in his submission that the “Parliament has been repeatedly misled on a number of occasions about the nature of the meeting” he had with Ms Sturgeon at her home on 2 April 2018.

According to his submission, while Ms Sturgeon had told MSPs she first learned of the allegations against him at that meting, this was “untrue and a breach of the ministerial code”.

The prime minister will put up to 1 million jobs at risk by failing to name a date for the reopening of pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues when he unveils his roadmap out of lockdown on on Monday, industry sources have warned.

Trade body UK Hospitality said it had received indications from the government that Boris Johnson will not even commit to an indicative date for reopening in a particular month.

Kate Nicholls, the group’s chief executive, told The Independent that businesses were “hamstrung” by the lack of clarity and the uncertainty was “crippling” investment and confidence.

Our Political Editor Andrew Woodcock reports:

A journalist who was arrested while photographing a protest was then handed a £200 fine for breaching Covid rules, prompting an outcry.

Freelance photographer Andy Aitchison, 46, was arrested on 28 January under suspicion of criminal damage after taking and sharing photographs of a demonstration outside Napier Barracks, a controversial military site where asylum seekers are being held.

The protest came amid mounting concerns about conditions at the Ministry of Defence site, where residents were banned from leaving due to a Covid outbreak.

Our Social Affairs Correspondent May Bulman has the full story:

The chief executive of Next has said that business rates for high street retailers should be cut by 35 per cent, while the commercial property tax for online rival warehouses should be increased instead.

Lord Simon Wolfson said the current system places an unfair burden on physical stores and that the tax, which is calculated on the value of each commercial premises, has failed to consider falling property prices in shopping destinations during the pandemic.

Speaking to BBC News, Lord Wolfson said he was against an online tax, but said an increased tax on warehouse could be a solution.

However, Next has a large online presence and would be hurt by the proposed online levy of around 2 per cent. His idea to increase tax for warehouses also risks backfiring on thousands of other warehouse users, including manufacturers.

Retailers have called for an extension to a business rates tax holiday that was put in place during the pandemic to help them survive multiple lockdowns and restrictions - but chancellor Rishi Sunak has resisted those calls.

Business rates tax specialist, Robert Hayton, UK president of property tax at the real estate adviser Altus Group, said Lord Wolfson’s idea to tax warehouses was a misreading of the data.

He said: “If this move is intended to push the rates burden onto online retailers then it is deeply misguided. Online retailers represent only a small part of the warehouse occupier base. These proposals will be devastating for UK manufacturing.”

The care minister has hinted that rules on visiting care homes could be relaxed within weeks, allowing more contact with elderly relatives who have received a first dose of a Covid vaccine.

Helen Whately said she “really, really wanted to open up” residential homes when England exits the national lockdown, and insisted this could be done before those vulnerable to the disease have had their second jab.

Our Political Correspondent Ashley Cowburn reports:

The appointment of Britain’s chief EU negotiator as a minister shows that Brexit talks are not over, an eminent former diplomat has said.

Ivan Rogers said on Thursday that David Frost’s elevation to the House of Lords and subsequent government job was an indication of an “ongoing and permanent negotiation”.

Jon Stone has the full story:

An MP has warned that Facebook’s “irresponsible” news ban in Australia is a message to the world about any country that tries to limit the social media platform’s power.

The tech giant is pulling news content from its platform in Australia over a new law proposal that compels internet firms to pay news organisations.

Julian Knight, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee, told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: “This is a crass move, a bullying move ... I think it’s staggeringly irresponsible - at a time when we are facing a plethora of fake news and disinformation in relation to the Covid vaccine.

“This is not just about Australia. This is Facebook putting a marker down, saying to the world that ‘if you do wish to limit our powers... we can remove what is for many people a utility’.”

Mr Knight said there needs to be a competition role across the whole social media sector in the UK.

“The problem that I see is that these platforms make enormous sums of money from other peoples’ work, and they aren’t returning any equitable value to them,” he continued.

“I don’t think they [Facebook] are being a good citizen, not just in Australia, but elsewhere ... To pull the plug overnight represents the worst type of corporate culture.”

MSPs have been told that hauliers have been forced to become “their own customs agents” due to shortages in the aftermath of Brexit.

Martin Reid, the Scotland and Northern Ireland director for the Road Haulage Association, said his members have had to recruit and train administrative staff due to a lack of qualified customs officers able to help exports move swiftly.

Speaking to the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee at Holyrood, Mr Reid said: “There’s a lack of qualified customs agents, something that the Government deny.

“But we have seen that is definitely the case, so hauliers are now having to become their own customs clerks.

“They’re having to take on admin people, train them up on systems that are still in their infancy and that we’re still learning in order to deal with the additional paperwork that’s required.

“Nobody is saying that it’s an easy time for the Government but it’s not an easy time for anyone in this current environment.”

Mr Reid also said that, given the changes to export systems brought on by leaving the EU, hauliers and other exporters were being forced to start again.

“Come 1 January, any mistakes that were going to be made, or any system errors that were going to be made, were being made in real time which has a knock-on effect throughout the supply chain,” he told the committee.

“Effectively, we had a supply chain from top to bottom that was having to re-learn how to do the basics in moving goods.

“It’s taken quite some time to get even the simplest of steps in place.”

The ban on new petrol and diesel cars and vans will come into force in the UK in nine years’ time, but there is no such timescale i place for heavy goods vehicles.

Now the National Infrastructure Commission, which advises ministers, has said sales of diesel lorries should be banned from 2040 - 10 years later than their smaller road-using counterpart.

My colleague Harry Cockburn reports:

Following a meeting with his counterparts in France, Germany and the US, the foreign secretary “condemned” the military coup in Myanmar on Thursday.

Dominic Raab and the respective foreign ministers called on military leaders to “immediately end the state of emergency, restore power to the democratically elected government, refrain from violence, release all those unjustly detained, and respect human rights and the rule of law”.

The ministers also used the meeting to tackle “shared concerns over Iran and its nuclear programme”, said Mr Raab in a tweet.

They also “reiterated their condemnation” of the rocket attack that took place in Erbil, Iraq, on 15 February, and agreed to coordinate closely to “address the global challenges posed by China” and other issues, including climate change.