Brexit news: Britain raises terror threat to severe, and UK misses EU deadline

No detail from Treasury on furlough for Scots, says Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon has had more to say on the furlough issue for Scottish businesses, after mixed messages from UK ministers and Downing Street spokespeople.  

“The prime minister appears to have agreed yesterday that access to the furlough scheme at the higher level of 80% of wages will be available to Scotland after 2 December if that is required,” she said at her lunchtime briefing. “I welcome that commitment, though I do so with a necessary degree of caution.

“We haven’t yet seen any detail of what that commitment means … we have not yet had confirmation from the Treasury that continuation of furlough in Scotland beyond 2 December would be at the 80% level.”

GB-NI trade will involve 30 million annual customs declarations

The new GB-NI border created at the end of the Brexit transition period will involve as many as 30 million customs declarations each year.

Government adviser Frank Dunsmuir gave the figure during a briefing to businesses in Northern Ireland on Monday.

Dunsmuir works for a consortium offering Trader Support Service (TSS) to businesses in Northern Ireland – which has now opened for registration.

‘I see the light ahead’, says PM amid gloom

Boris Johnson has promised “better days before us” ahead of this Thursday’s second lockdown for England.

Speaking to his cabinet meeting, the PM said the city-wide trial of rapid testing in Liverpool could be “possibly decisive” in defeating the virus. The government hopes regular mass testing can begin being rolled out if the trial is successful.

“Amid the uncertain gloom of November, I see light ahead and I’m absolutely certain that we will have better days before us,” he told his ministers.

No 10: Councils will get their money, despite lockdown

Local authorities which negotiated financial packages to support the move into tier 3 will get their money, even though the whole of England is now being placed under tougher lockdown measures, Downing Street has said.

The PM’s official spokesman said today: “In terms of councils that went into tier 3, they will continue to receive the payments that they were promised.”

The package was worth around £59m in West Yorkshire, £44m in Merseyside, £42m in Lancashire, £41m in South Yorkshire, £23m in Nottinghamshire and £6m in Warrington.

Greater Manchester was given £22m for testing and enforcement before its councils were then offered a further £60m for businesses after the PM failed to reach agreement with mayor Andy Burnham on a more generous scheme.

‘Incompetent’: Reactions to Johnson missing EU deadline come flooding in

Reactions to Boris Johnson missing today’s deadline - to explain to the EU why he is planning to break international law over Northern Ireland - have begun pouring in. 

The European Commission confirmed on Tuesday that the deadline for the UK to respond to its letter of formal notice over the PM’s planned Internal Market Bill, which breaches the Brexit agreement signed earlier this year, had now come and gone.

Reacting to The Independent’s news of the failure by Mr Johnson, one angry Briton took to Twitter to say the move was yet “another nail in the coffin of British values”. Another called Mr Johnson “useless” and “incompetent”. 

Mr Johnson now faces further legal action as the EU looks to take its court proceedings against the UK to the next phase.

PM to Cabinet: 2 December is ‘deadline and target’ for new solutions to coronavirus

Boris Johnson told ministers today that by the time the next national lockdown in England finishes, on 2 December, there must be new solutions as to how Covid can be controlled. The date should be seen as a “deadline and target,” he said. 

The prime minister told those present at a Cabinet meeting: "These measures – the crucial thing to understand is that they expire on 2 December. They come to an end. And we therefore, as a government and indeed as a country, have a deadline and a target to develop solutions which previously … did not exist."

The statement by Mr Johnson comes as mass testing has been announced in Liverpool. The scheme will see some 2,000 troops deployed in a bid to offer almost half a million rapid-turn-around tests in the space of just a couple of weeks.

If successful, it could be rolled out more widely so people found negative in regular tests can carry on about their normal lives.

‘I’m confident our countries can get this done no matter what happens today’

Here’s the US ambassador to the UK’s article about a trade deal between the two countries amid election:

Terror threat level raised

The UK’s terror threat level has been raised to severe, meaning attacks are highly likely.

Lizzie Dearden, our home affairs and security correspondent, has the full story: 

Threat level raised day after Vienna attack

The UK’s terror threat has been raised one day after a gunman attacked people in the Austrian capital.

You can find more about Vienna’s terror attack on Monday evening here:

‘Precautionary measure’

The UK head of Counter Terrorism Policing said there was "no intelligence" to link the attacks in Austria and France to the UK.

“Today, the threat level from terrorism has changed from substantial to severe as a precautionary measure in response to the events in France and Austria,” Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said.

"This threat level moving to severe means it is highly likely that a terrorist attack could happen in the UK, but I want to stress that the change is not based on a specific threat."

PA