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UK Covid live: Johnson faces Starmer at PMQs amid concern over mask rule ending and self-isolation changes UK Covid live: Keir Starmer says England heading for ‘summer of chaos and confusion’
(32 minutes later)
Latest updates: PMQs after minister defends extending self-isolation for fully jabbed people until 16 August Latest updates: Labour leader condemns Johnson’s ‘reckless’ unlocking in England without precautions at PMQs
Starmer says if Johnson had been listening, he would have heard the answer. He wants to open up in a controlled way, he says. Isn’t it common sense to keep the rule on face masks? Tan Dhesi (Lab) recalls not being allowed to visit his grandmother while she was dying. He says people have had to follow the Covid guidance while “spineless, hypocritical” ministers defended Dominic Cummings when he broke lockdown rules. This was a “disgrace”, he says. He asks if the PM will finally apologise for not having the courage to sack Cummings.
Johnson says it is common sense for people to wear a face mask on the tube. But he is moving from legal diktat to personal responsibility. It is a long, angry passionate question. And it prompts a rare display of contrition from Johnson, who of course is famous for not apologising for anything.
If the only difference between them is face masks, that is good news. Johnson says no one who has not been through what Dhesi describes can imagine what it’s like. He says he takes Dhesi’s criticisms seriously. And he says he apologises for the suffering people of this country have gone through. He says he is “deeply, deeply sorry” about how people were not able to spent time with their loved ones as they were dying.
Starmer says the government is at risk of overwhelming its test and trace system. What will the government do to stop people deleting the test and trace app, because they can see that millions of people will be pinged this summer? Matt Western (Lab) asks why the Tory MP Rob Roberts is being allowed to return to the Commons, and not subject to a recall vote. Will the PM allow a vote tomorrow to close the loophole that meant Roberts avoided recall.
Johnson says he still cannot tell what Starmer wants. This is not like the law where people can attack from different positions, he says. Johnson says Roberts’ punishment has come to an end. He says Roberts is no longer a Tory MP.
Starmer says we should open up “in a controlled way”, keeping masks for public transport, having better ventilation and having better support for people who have to isolate. Caroline Nokes (Con) asks about a diesel spill into the river Test.
He quotes what the FT and the Daily Mail have said about how many people might have to isolate. What is the PM’s estimate? Johnson says the Environment Agency is working on this.
Johnson says he wants to thank everyone who has to isolate. We will move from isolation to testing over the next few days. Johnson says the government gives hospices £350m a year. And they have had an extra £257m to make up for what they have lost by not being able to fundraise, he says.
He says Starmer is trying to have it both ways. He is attacking the government for opening up too much, and then for still having isolation. Matthew Pennycook (Lab) says the building safety bill published this week will do little to protect leaseholders who face big bills to remove Grenfell-style cladding.
What is Starmer’s policy? Johnson does not accept that. He says the government has spent £5bn on this. He says people who have suffered as a result of Grenfell will continue to get government support.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, says it is not for the opposition leader to have to answer questions. To do that, standing orders would have to change, he says. Bim Afolami (Con) asks what the government is doing to improve road safety. It is an issue of growing concern, he says.
Starmer says rates are so high because the PM let the Delta variant, or the “Johnson variant”, into the country. Johnson says road deaths have been coming down for a long time. But the government is investing in road safety, he says.
Is the PM really comfortable with a plan for 100,000 people to catch this every day? Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Lab) asks why the government is backing the sale of NHS services.
Johnson says he will continue with a balanced and reasonable approach. The vaccines provide more than 90% protection against hospitalisation. By 19 July everyone over 40 will have been offered two vaccinations. Johnson says he cannot remember a question so wrong. The government is putting the NHS first, he says.
He says Starmer seemed to support opening up last week. Does he still support it? Angela Crawley (SNP) asks if the PM supports her private member’s bill to give paid leave to any woman who suffers a miscarriage before 24 weeks.
Sir Keir Starmer joins the PM in his remarks about the 7/7 anniversary, and about Fay Allen. Johnson says he feels very sorry for any woman who goes through this. He says the government offers bereavement leave to women who lose a baby after 24 weeks.
And he says the whole country will be cheering England - except perhaps the Tory MP Lee Anderson. David Jones ( Con) asks the PM to confirm that, unless the EU adapts a more proportionate approach to the Northern Ireland protocol, the government will do whatever is necessary to fix it. He says the three-month extension of the grace period for chilled meats was just a “stick plaster”.
He pays tribute to Kim Leadbeater, the new MP for Batley and Spen, who is sitting in the Commons below a plaque to her sister, the murdered MP Jo Cox. Johnson agrees. He says the protocol is being misapplied by the EU, which is following a purist approach.
Starmer asks what will happen to deaths when the government opens up in England. Tim Loughton (Con) asks if the PM will back calls for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.
Johnson says there are number of projections available from SPI-M. But he says deaths are down to a thirtieth from infections. Johnson says the UK has led the way in condemning human rights abuses in China. He will consider the idea, but he is instinctively against boycotts, he says.
Labour says opening up is reckless. Does that mean Starmer opposes it, Johnson asks. Neale Hanvey (Alba) asks why the government has spent money on discredited diagnostic tests to the tune of £3bn.
John McNally (SNP) asks about the retrospective loan charge. Johnson does not accept that.
Johnson says he is acutely aware of the pain some people are suffering. “Alas” people were misguided in joining these schemes. But the line taken by the Treasury is right, he says. Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, starts by wishing England luck in the football.
Boris Johnson starts by saying today is the 16th anniversary of the 7/7 bombings. He says the electoral integrity bill is anything but. Why is the government making it harder for people to vote.
He also sends his condolences to the relatives of Britain’s first black police officer. Johnson says they need to tackle voting fraud, as happened at Tower Hamlets.
Perhaps he has been reading Jeremy Corbyn’s tweets. Blackford says there have only been a small number of cases of voter fraud. The bill is tackling a problem that does not exist.
Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccine deployment minister, has also welcomed the latest antibody figures from the ONS. (See 10.01am.) Johnson says people will be able to get photo ID if they need it. He says he does not want to see elections tainted by suspicion of voter fraud.
PMQs is due to start soon. Starmer says it is obvious what is happening. Johnson is getting flak from his MPs. That is why he has announced this policy. We have been here before.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question. Johnson says if he had followed Labour’s advice, they would never have opened up schools. He repeats his usual claim about how Labour would have kept the UK in the European Medicines Agency, which would have made the vaccine rollout impossible (not true). He says the government vaccinates while the opposition vacillates. And he adds a new slogan. “We inoculate, they invertebrate.”
If you are looking for some positive news about Covid, Meaghan Kall, an epidemiologist at Public Health England, has a good round-up in a Twitter thread starting here.
She says the ONS antibody figures out today (see 10.01am) show the UK is close to achieving herd immunity for older adults.
And she says the figures also reinforce the case for vaccinating 16-and 17-year-olds.