Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended
4 years ago

Brexit news – live: Salmond will not appear at Holyrood committee and trade deal delay ‘prolongs uncertainty’

All the latest updates from UK politics as they happened

Conrad Duncan,Sam Hancock
Tuesday 23 February 2021 14:54 EST
0Comments
Too much Brexit 'red tape', says Keir Starmer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Alex Salmond will not appear before the Scottish Parliament committee on Wednesday, when it meets to investigate the Scottish government’s botched handling of harassment complaints against him.

It comes as the former first minister’s written evidence was removed from parliament’s website, and replaced with a redacted version, after the Crown Office wrote to Holyrood’s corporate body to request such a move over contempt of court fears.

“Mr Salmond has informed the committee that he will not be attending tomorrow’s meeting to give evidence,” a parliamentary spokeswoman said on Tuesday evening. “The committee will instead meet in private to discuss the implications of Mr Salmond’s response and the next steps for its work.”

Meanwhile, Michael Gove has admitted that the Brexit trade deal will not be fully approved until the end of April as the UK has agreed that the provisional application of the agreement should be extended.

Mr Gove said on Tuesday that extending the deadline for ratifying the deal, as the EU had requested, was “not the UK’s preferred outcome” and would “prolong uncertainty” for businesses and individuals.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

0Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in