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Tag: Boris Johnson

  • Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments on Public Sector Jobs

    Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments on Public Sector Jobs

    The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 2 January 2021.

    We have the very best public servants and I feel an enormous sense of admiration when I think about the care, fortitude and determination with which our doctors, nurses, teachers, police officers and prison workers have faced up to the challenges of the pandemic.

    There is light at the end of the Covid tunnel – the vaccine provides increasing hope of returning to normality by Easter and I am determined that we build back better from the pandemic and take advantage of the opportunities that are ahead. My commitment to recruit more teachers, nurses, police officers and other frontline workers is unwavering. We have made good progress this year, but 2021 will be a year of growth and renewal – and having the very best frontline workers will be a critical part of that.

  • Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments on UK Presidency of the G7

    Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments on UK Presidency of the G7

    The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 1 January 2021.

    Proud that the UK is taking over the 2021 Presidency of the G7 today. Hosting both the G7 Summit and
    COP26 will make this a hugely important year for Global Britain and I look forward to welcoming our friends and allies as we beat COVID and build back better from the pandemic.

  • Boris Johnson – 2020 New Year’s Eve Message

    Boris Johnson – 2020 New Year’s Eve Message

    The Prime Minister’s 2020 New Year’s Eve Message, issued on 31 December 2020.

    Well folks we are coming to the end of 2020.

    The year in which the Government was forced to tell people how to live their lives, how long to wash their hands, how many households could meet together.

    And a year in which we lost too many loved ones before their time.

    So I can imagine that there will be plenty of people who will be only too happy to say goodbye to the grimness of 2020.

    But just before we do, I want to remind you that this was also the year when we rediscovered a spirit of togetherness, of community.

    It was a year in which we banged saucepans to celebrate the courage and self-sacrifice of our NHS staff and care home workers

    A year in which working people pulled the stops out to keep the country moving in the biggest crisis we have faced for generations – shopworkers, transport staff, pharmacists, emergency services, everyone, you name it.

    We saw a renewed spirit of volunteering, as people delivered food to the elderly and vulnerable.

    And time after time as it became necessary to fight new waves of the virus, we saw people unite in their determination, our determination, to protect the NHS and to save lives.

    Putting their lives, your lives, on hold.

    Buying precious time for medicine to provide the answers, and it has.

    In 2020 we have seen British scientists not only produce the world’s first effective treatment of the disease, but just in the last few days a beacon of hope has been lit in the laboratories of Oxford.

    A new room temperature vaccine that can be produced cheaply and at scale,

    and that offers literally a new lease of life to people in this country and around the world.

    And with every jab that goes into the arm of every elderly or vulnerable person, we are changing the odds, in favour of humanity and against Covid.

    And we know that we have a hard struggle still ahead of us for weeks and months, because we face a new variant of the disease that requires a new vigilance.

    But as the sun rises tomorrow on 2021 we have the certainty of those vaccines.

    Pioneered in a UK that is also free to do things differently, and if necessary better, than our friends in the EU.

    Free to do trade deals around the world.

    And free to turbocharge our ambition to be a science superpower.

    From biosciences to artificial intelligence,

    and with our world-leading battery and wind technology we will work with partners around the world,

    not just to tackle climate change but to create the millions of high skilled jobs this country will need not just this year – 2021 – as we bounce back from Covid, but in the years to come.

    This is an amazing moment for this country.

    We have our freedom in our hands and it is up to us to make the most of it.

    And I think it will be the overwhelming instinct of the people of this country to come together as one United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland working together to express our values around the world.

    Leading both the G7 and the COP 26 climate change summit in Glasgow,

    And an open, generous, outward looking, internationalist and free trading global Britain, that campaigns for 12 years of quality education for every girl in the world.

    2021 is the year we can do it,

    and I believe 2021 is above all, the year when we will eventually do those everyday things that now seem lost in the past.

    Bathed in a rosy glow of nostalgia, going to the pub, concerts, theatres, restaurants, or simply holding hands with our loved ones in the normal way.

    We are still a way off from that, there are tough weeks and months ahead.

    But we can see that illuminated sign that marks the end of the journey, and even more important, we can see with growing clarity how we are going to get there.

    And that is what gives me such confidence about 2021.

    Happy New Year!

  • Boris Johnson – 2020 Statement on the Future Relationship with the EU Bill

    Boris Johnson – 2020 Statement on the Future Relationship with the EU Bill

    The statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, in the House of Commons on 30 December 2020.

    I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

    May I begin by thanking you, Mr Speaker, and the House authorities and all your staff for their hard work in allowing us to meet today? I also welcome the outstanding news that AstraZeneca is now rolling out a new UK-made vaccine, approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, that offers hope to millions in this country and around the world.

    Having taken back control of our money, our borders, our laws and our waters by leaving the European Union on 31 January, we now seize this moment to forge a fantastic new relationship with our European neighbours based on free trade and friendly co-operation.

    Ian Blackford (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (SNP)

    Will the Prime Minister give way?

    The Prime Minister

    In a minute. At the heart of this Bill is one of the biggest free trade agreements in the world: a comprehensive—

    Ian Blackford

    On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your clarification. I am just wondering how on earth the Prime Minister can talk about taking back control of waters when Scottish fishermen are going to have less access and less fish to catch as a consequence of his con deal.

    Mr Speaker

    May I just say, first of all, that that is not a point of order? We are very limited on time. Can we please try to keep to a tight agenda to allow everybody the time to contribute?

    The Prime Minister

    Although that was not a valid point of order, I must none the less correct the right hon. Gentleman. In fact, under this deal we have taken back control of our borders. Indeed, Scottish fishermen from the get-go will have access to bigger quotas of all the relevant stocks. From the end of the transition period, as he knows full well—

    Ian Blackford rose—

    Mr Speaker

    Order. I understand that this is an important day and it is important that we all get on the record. It is also important that I get to the leader of the SNP. What I would not like to do is run out of time because of the number of times he stands for interventions. If the Prime Minister gives way, he will give way straight away, but please let us try to get the debate under way. At least give yourself time to hear what the Prime Minister has to say before you disagree.

    The Prime Minister

    With great respect to the right hon. Gentleman, I feel I must correct him. Not only will we take back control of our waters, we will increase Scottish fishermen’s share of all the relevant stocks: cod, for instance, going up by 47% to 57%; North sea haddock going up by 70% to 84%. That is just next year, Mr Speaker. In five and a half years’ time, we take control of the entire spectacular marine wealth of Scotland. It is only the Scottish nationalist party that would, with spectacular hypocrisy, hand back control of the waters of this country to the UK.

    Ian Blackford

    On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Could you point out to the Prime Minister that the name of my party is the Scottish National party?

    Mr Speaker

    In fairness, I have pointed that out in the past. It is the Scottish National party.

    The Prime Minister

    Mr Speaker, I wish the right hon. Gentleman to know that I am using the word “nationalist” with a small “n”. I do not think he would disagree with that, which is semantically justifiable under the circumstances. Yet in spite of that nomenclature, they would hand back control of Scotland’s waters and go back into the common fisheries policy. What the Bill does is take back control—

    Ian Blackford

    Will the Prime Minister give way?

    The Prime Minister

    Absolutely not.

    What the Bill does is take back control of the spectacular marine wealth of Scotland and the rest of the UK.

    Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)

    Will my right hon. Friend give way?

    The Prime Minister

    In a moment.

    At the heart of the Bill is, as we have discussed in this Chamber many times, Mr Speaker, one of the biggest free trade agreements in the world: a comprehensive Canada-style deal worth over £660 billion, which, if anything, should allow companies to do even more business with our European friends, safeguarding millions of jobs and livelihoods in our UK and across the continent. In less than 48 hours we will leave the EU single market and the customs union as we promised. British exporters will not face a sudden thicket of trade barriers, but rather, for the first time in the history of EU agreements, zero tariffs and zero quotas. Just as we have avoided trade barriers—

    Several hon. Members rose—

    The Prime Minister

    Mr Speaker, I think that plenty of Members want to speak. I have already taken plenty of interventions and points of order. I am going to make some progress.

    Just as we have avoided trade barriers, so we have also ensured the UK’s full control of our laws and our regulations. There is a vital symmetry between those two achievements. The central purpose of the Bill is to accomplish something that the British people always knew in their hearts could be done, yet which we were continually told was impossible. We were told that we could not have our cake and eat it—do you remember how often we were told that, Mr Speaker?—namely, that we could trade and co-operate as we will with our European neighbours on the closest terms of friendship and good will, while retaining sovereign control of our laws and our national destiny. That unifying thread runs through every clause of the Bill, which embodies our vision, shared with our European neighbours, of a new relationship between Britain and the EU as sovereign equals, joined by friendship, commerce, history, interests and values, while respecting one another’s freedom of action and recognising that we have nothing to fear if we sometimes choose to do things differently.

    Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)

    The devil is in the detail in anything that is before us today. Can the Prime Minister confirm—I hope that this is the case—that we see the end of discrimination and that the Hague preference is away, in the bin? The Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation is expressing dismay from the Republic of Ireland. Will UK quotas be shared with Northern Ireland? Will there be tariffs for our ports of Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel landing the fish that they catch in Northern Ireland, and will the £100 million for fishing organisations be shared equally across the whole United Kingdom? Those are real, practical issues for us in Northern Ireland.

    The Prime Minister

    I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the entire UK will share in the programme of investment in our fishing industry. To get ourselves ready across the whole UK for the colossal uplift in fish that we will obtain, and even before the end of the transition period, the hon. Gentleman should know that we will fish about 130,000 tonnes more fish in the UK a year than we do at present. Currently, that is an opportunity that we must work to seize. [Interruption.] No.

    We have much to gain from the healthy stimulus of competition, and the Bill therefore demonstrates how Britain can be at once European and sovereign. You will agree, Mr Speaker, that our negotiators published their feat at astonishing speed. It took nearly eight years for the Uruguay round of world trade talks to produce a deal; five years for the EU to reach a trade agreement with Canada; and six for Japan. We have done this in less than a year, in the teeth of a pandemic, and we have pressed ahead with this task, resisting all the calls for delay, precisely because creating certainty about our future provides the best chance of beating covid and bouncing back even more strongly next year. That was our objective.

    I hope that the House joins me in commending my noble Friend Lord Frost and every member of his team for their skill, mastery and perseverance in translating our vision into a practical agreement. Let me also pay tribute to President Ursula von der Leyen, Michel Barnier and all our European friends for their pragmatism and foresight, and their understanding that it is profoundly in the interests of the EU to live alongside a prosperous, contented and sovereign United Kingdom. The House understands the significance of the fact that this agreement is not EU law, but international law, so there is no direct effect—EU law will no longer have any special status in the UK.

    Ian Blackford

    Will the Prime Minister give way?

    The Prime Minister

    I have already given way quite a few times to the right hon. Gentleman.

    There is no jurisdiction for the European Court of Justice.

    Ian Blackford

    On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I feel that I have to point out to the House the historic principle in Scotland, as established by law, is that it is the people of Scotland who are sovereign, and it is the people of Scotland who will determine to take them back into the European Union with independence.

    Mr Speaker

    As the leader of the SNP knows, that is not a point of order. I am desperate to hear what he has to say in his contribution. Rather than use it up now, why does he not save it so that others can get in? Prime Minister.

    The Prime Minister

    I am grateful, Mr Speaker. Of course, it was the people of Scotland who took the sovereign decision, quite rightly, to remain in the UK—a once-in-a-generation decision. I think it highly unlikely that the people of Scotland will take a decision to cast away their new-found freedoms and new-found opportunities, not least over the marine wealth of Scotland.

    We will be able to design our own standards and regulations, and the laws that the House of Commons passes will be interpreted—I know that this is a keen interest of hon. and right hon. Members—solely by British judges sitting in British courts. We will have the opportunity to devise new ways to spur and encourage flourishing sectors in which this country leads the world, from green energy and life sciences to synthetic biology.

    Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con)

    Some of us had different views on Brexit, but those debates are now for the history books. Everyone in the House and the country should recognise the benefits of an agreement that goes beyond free trade, from science to energy to security. However, will the Prime Minister capitalise on the excellent news that we have had today on the vaccine by pursuing an industrial strategy that puts science and technology at its heart, so that we can grasp the opportunities that come as the world bounces back from covid during the year ahead?

    Mr Speaker

    Can I just help people and say that those who are high up on the speaking list will understandably get put down if they make continuous interventions? I want to get as many people in as possible, so please—

    Sir Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) (Con)

    Including the Prime Minister.

    Mr Speaker

    Thank you, Sir Bernard. Prime Minister.

    The Prime Minister

    I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark). I remember well working with him on his industrial strategy and his ideas for championing green technology and biosciences, and I can tell him that those ideas remain at the heart of this Government’s agenda. We will certainly be using our new-found legislative freedom to drive progress in those sciences and those investments across the whole UK. We will be free of EU state aid rules; we will be able to decide where and how we level up across our country, with new jobs and new hope, including free ports and new green industrial zones of a kind I am sure my right hon. Friend would approve of.

    I must make an important point. If, in using our new freedoms, either Britain or the EU believes it is somehow being unfairly undercut, then, subject to independent third-party arbitration, and provided the measures are proportionate, either of us can decide, as sovereign equals, to protect our consumers, but this treaty explicitly envisages that any such action should be infrequent.

    Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab) rose—

    The Prime Minister

    However, the treaty banishes the old concepts of uniformity and harmonisation, in favour of the right to make our own regulatory choices and deal with the consequences. Every modern free trade agreement includes reciprocal commitments designed to prevent distortions of trade. The true significance of the agreement embodied in the Bill is that there is no role for the European Court of Justice, no ratchet clause on labour or environmental standards, and no dynamic alignment with the EU state aid regime or, indeed, any other aspect of EU law. In every respect, we have recovered our freedom of action.

    Mr Dhesi rose—

    The Prime Minister

    I give way with pleasure to the hon. Gentleman, who has been up and down many times.

    Mr Dhesi

    Many hon. Members will face a dire dilemma because they will feel that our country has been sold short. On the one hand, we have the Prime Minister’s thin, terrible, burnt oven-ready deal. On the other hand, we face the prospect of an even more damaging and destructive no-deal Brexit. Can the Prime Minister advise us why, given that services account for almost 80% of our economy, there is so little for that sector in this deal? In particular, why could he not negotiate equivalence and passporting rights for the all-important financial services sector?

    The Prime Minister

    It was not quite clear from that intervention which way the Labour party is going to go on this—whether the hon. Gentleman is going to go with the leader of the Labour party and vote for the deal, or whether he is going to join other members of the Labour party and continue to dither and delay. We on the Government Benches are going to get on; we will be free of the strictures of the common agricultural policy, and we will be able to conserve our landscapes and support our farmers exactly as we choose.

    On Friday—I am coming to a point that has been raised several times, but I will repeat it because it is a wonderful point—for the first time in 50 years, the UK will once again be recognised as an independent coastal state, regaining control of our waters and righting the wrong that was done by the common fisheries policy throughout our EU membership. Of course I have always recognised—

    Several hon. Members rose—

    The Prime Minister

    I have answered the point from Opposition Members quite a lot. I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Anthony Mangnall).

    Anthony Mangnall

    The Prime Minister will know that Brixham, the most valuable fishing port in England, wants to see our waters regained, with access and control, and a rebuilding of the fishing industry in the UK. This deal delivers that. Can he assure my fishermen and fishermen around the country that that is what this Government are delivering on?

    The Prime Minister

    That is absolutely right, and the voice of Brixham should be heard up and down the country because that point is entirely correct and might be registered with advantage by the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford).

    I have always recognised that this was going to be a difficult period for our European friends and partners, because they have been fishing in these waters for decades, if not centuries. At first, as the House will know, they sought an adjustment period of 14 years, but our negotiators whittled that down to five and a half years, during which the UK’s share—[Interruption.] In that five and a half years, the UK’s share of our fish in our waters will rise from over half today, to around two-thirds. Of course we would like to have done that more quickly, but it is also true that once the adjustment period comes to an end there will be no limit, other than limits that are placed by the needs of science and conservation, on our ability to make use of our marine wealth.

    Fifteen per cent. of the EU’s historic catch from our waters will be returned to this country next year alone. To prepare our fishing communities for that moment, we will invest £100 million in a programme to modernise their fleets and the fish processing industry—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Glasgow East (David Linden) should listen to this, because we will be restoring a great British industry to the eminence that it deserves, levelling up communities across the UK, particularly and including Scotland where, in my view, those interests have been neglected for too long.

    I find it extraordinary that on the eve of this great opportunity, the declared position of the Scottish National national/nationalist party—with a small “n”—is to hand control of the very waters we have just reclaimed straight back to the EU. That is its policy. It plans to ensnare Scotland’s fishing fleet in the dragnets of the common fisheries policy all over again. In the meantime, guess what SNP Members will do today, Mr Speaker. They are going to vote today for a no-deal Brexit! [Interruption.] Perhaps the hon. Member for Glasgow East will tell me that he is going to vote for the deal.

    David Linden (Glasgow East) (SNP)

    I am immensely grateful to the Prime Minister for briefly pausing that monologue that was designed for the European Research Group. On fish, he is waxing lyrical about how amazing this deal is, but I would like to read him a quote from Andrew Locker, chair of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, who says:

    “I am angry, disappointed and betrayed. Boris Johnson promised us the rights to all the fish that swim in our exclusive economic zone and we have got a fraction of that.”

    Is he wrong?

    The Prime Minister

    I am afraid that yes, he is. We will take back control not only by becoming an independent coastal state from 1 January, but in five and a half years’ time, we will be able to fish every single fish in our waters, if we so choose. That is the reality. In the meantime, as I say, and the hon. Gentleman did not deny it—I don’t think I heard him deny it—the Scottish National party is going to vote against the deal. It is effectively going to vote for no deal, which it campaigned against and denounced, proving once and for all, that the interests of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland are best served by a one-nation party serving one United Kingdom.

    This deal was negotiated—the hon. Gentleman should know this—by a big team from every part of our United Kingdom, and it serves the whole of the UK, not least by protecting the integrity of the United Kingdom single internal market, and Northern Ireland’s place within it. Our points-based immigration system will end free movement and give us full control over who enters the country. By the way, on that point I want to thank my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for all he did to protect the interests of Northern Ireland.

    At the same time, the deal provides certainty for airlines and hauliers who have suffered grievously during this pandemic. It guarantees the freedom of British citizens to travel to and from the EU and retain access to healthcare. It provides certainty for our police, our border forces, and our security agencies to work alongside our European friends to keep our people safe, and the SNP are going to vote against that, Mr Speaker. The deal provides certainty for our partnerships on scientific research, because we want our country to be a science superpower, but also a collaborative science superpower. It provides certainty for business, from financial services to our world-leading manufacturers, including our car industry, safeguarding highly skilled jobs and investment across our country.

    As for the Leader of the Opposition, I am delighted that he has found yet another position on Brexit, and, having plunged down every blind alley and exhausted every possible alternative, he has come to the right conclusion—namely, to vote for this agreement, which this Government have secured.

    Peter Kyle (Hove) (Lab) rose—

    The Prime Minister

    I hope very much that the hon. Gentleman is going to tell us that he, too, is going to join his right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) and vote for this agreement. Is that the case?

    Peter Kyle

    I am very happy to confirm for the Prime Minister that I will be voting for this agreement. He mentioned several times his levelling-up agenda, but financial services and those working in the sector have been left entirely out of it, so does he not agree that every city and every town that is dependent on financial services, from Leeds to Manchester to Edinburgh, and many in between, have been levelled down and left out of this deal?

    The Prime Minister

    It is great to hear a member of the Labour party not only backing the bankers and backing financial services—a fantastic development—but also backing this deal. The hon. Gentleman is quite right because, actually, this deal does a great deal for services, for financial services, for the legal profession and many other professions. But, alas, the good news about the Labour party stops there, because I am told that the right hon. and learned Gentleman intends to ask the British people for a mandate to rewrite the deal in 2024—that is what he wants to do. I think, frankly, we got Brexit done; let’s keep Brexit done. And let’s press ahead with this Government’s mission to unite and level up across our whole country and grasp the opportunities before us, because I have always said—

    Several hon. Members rose—

    The Prime Minister

    I am going to make some progress because many Members want to speak. I have always said that Brexit is not an end but a beginning, and the responsibility now rests with all of us to make the best use of the powers that we have regained and the tools that we have taken back into our hands. We are going to begin by fulfilling our manifesto promise to maintain the highest standards of labour and environmental regulation, because no caricature can be more inaccurate than the idea of some bargain-basement Dickensian Britain, as if enlightened EU regulation has been our only salvation from Dickensian squalor. Our national standards have always been among the very best in the world, and this House can be trusted to use its new freedom to keep them that way without any outside invigilation.

    We are going to open a new chapter in our national story, striking free trade deals around the world, adding to the agreements with 63 countries we have already achieved and reasserting global Britain as a liberal, outward-looking force for good. Detaching ourselves from the EU is only a prelude to the greater task of establishing our new role, and this country is contributing more than any other to vaccinate people across the world against covid, leading the way in preventing future pandemics. We will continue to campaign for 12 years of quality education for every girl in the world, and I thank my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary for what he is doing on that. We will continue to lead the drive towards global net zero as we host COP26 in Glasgow next year.

    I hope and believe—and I think, actually, the tone this morning has given me encouragement in this belief; the mood in the House this morning seems on the whole to be positive—[Interruption.] In spite of the as-usual synthetic and confected indignation that we hear from some on the Benches opposite, I hope and believe that this agreement will also serve to end some of the rancour and recrimination that we have had in recent years and allow us to come together as a country to leave old arguments—old, desiccated, tired, super-masticated arguments—behind, move on and build a new and great future for our country, because those of us who campaigned for Britain to leave the EU never sought a rupture with our closest neighbours. We never wanted to sever ourselves from our fellow democracies, beneath whose soil lie British war graves in tranquil cemeteries, often tended by local schoolchildren, testament to our shared struggle for freedom and everything we cherish in common. What we wanted was not a rupture but a resolution—a resolution of the old, tired, vexed question of Britain’s political relations with Europe, which has bedevilled our post-war history. First we stood aloof, then we became a half-hearted, sometimes obstructive member of the EU. Now, with this Bill, we are going to become a friendly neighbour—the best friend and ally the EU could have, working hand in glove whenever our values and interests coincide, while fulfilling the sovereign wish of the British people to live under their own laws, made by their own elected Parliament. That is the historic resolution delivered by this Bill. I commend it to the House.

  • Boris Johnson – 2020 Statement on Gibraltar

    Boris Johnson – 2020 Statement on Gibraltar

    A statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, and the Foreign Office, on 24 December 2020.

    The UK, side by side with the Government of Gibraltar, has held constructive discussions with Spain regarding future relationship issues relating to Gibraltar. All sides acknowledged the challenging nature of this process at the outset of talks. Although an agreement has not yet been reached on Gibraltar’s future relationship with the EU, we will continue our discussions with Spain to safeguard Gibraltar’s interests, and those of the surrounding region.

    In addition, we are also working closely with the Government of Gibraltar, in discussion with Spain and the EU, to mitigate the effects of the end of the Transition Period on Gibraltar. We are totally committed to protecting Gibraltar’s interests. That includes ensuring border fluidity, which is clearly in the best interests of the communities that live on both sides.

     

  • Boris Johnson – 2020 Statement on UK/EU Trade Deal

    Boris Johnson – 2020 Statement on UK/EU Trade Deal

    The statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 24 December 2020.

    It is four and a half years since the British people voted to take back control of their money, their borders, their laws, and their waters and to leave the European Union.

    And earlier this year we fulfilled that promise and we left on Jan 31 with that oven-ready deal.

    Since that time we have been getting on with our agenda.

    Enacting the points based immigration system that you voted for and that will come into force on Jan 1.

    And doing free trade deals with 58 countries around the world.

    And preparing the new relationship with the EU.

    And there have been plenty of people who have told us that the challenges of the Covid pandemic have made this work impossible.

    And that we should extend the transition period.

    And incur yet more delay.

    And I rejected that approach precisely because beating Covid is our number one national priority and I wanted to end any extra uncertainty and to give this country the best possible chance of bouncing back strongly next year.

    And so I am very pleased that this afternoon that we have completed the biggest trade deal yet, worth £660 billion.

    A comprehensive Canada style free trade deal between the UK and the EU, a deal that will protect jobs across this country.

    A deal that will allow UK goods and components to be sold without tariffs and without quotas in the EU market.

    A deal which will if anything should allow our companies and our exporters to do even more business with our European friends.

    And yet which achieves something that the people of this country instinctively knew was doable.

    But which they were told was impossible.

    We have taken back control of laws and our destiny.

    We have taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation.

    In a way that is complete and unfettered.

    From Jan 1 we are outside the customs union, and outside the single market.

    British laws will be made solely by the British Parliament.

    Interpreted by UK judges sitting in UK courts.

    And the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice will come to an end.

    We will be able to set our own standards, to innovate in the way that we want, to originate new frameworks for the sectors in which this country leads the world, from biosciences to financial services, artificial intelligence and beyond.

    We will be able to decide how and where we are going to stimulate new jobs and new hope.

    With freeports and new green industrial zones.

    We will be able to cherish our landscape and our environment in the way we choose.

    Backing our farmers and backing British food and agricultural production.

    And for the first time since 1973 we will be an independent coastal state with full control of our waters with the UK’s share of fish in our waters rising substantially from roughly half today to closer to 2/3 in five and a half years’ time after which there is no theoretical limit beyond those placed by science or conservation on the quantity of our own fish that we can fish in our waters.

    And to get ready for that moment those fishing communities we will be helped with a big £100m programme to modernise their fleets and the fish processing industry.

    And I want to stress that although of course the arguments with our European friends and partners were sometimes fierce this is, I believe a good deal for the whole of Europe and for our friends and partners as well.

    Because it will not be a bad thing for the EU to have a prosperous and dynamic and contented UK on your doorstep.

    And it will be a good thing – it will drive jobs and prosperity across the whole continent.

    And I don’t think it will be a bad thing if we in the UK do things differently, or a take a different approach to legislation.

    Because in so many ways our basic goals are the same.

    And in the context of this giant free trade zone that we’re jointly creating the stimulus of regulatory competition will I think benefit us both.

    And if one side believes it is somehow being unfairly undercut by the other, then subject to independent third party arbitration and provided the measures are proportionate, we can either of us decide – as sovereign equals – to protect our consumers.

    But this treaty explicitly envisages that such action should only happen infrequently and the concepts of uniformity and harmonisation are banished in favour of mutual respect and mutual recognition and free trade.

    And for squaring that circle, for finding the philosopher’s stone that’s enabled us to do this I want to thank President von der Leyen of the European Commission and our brilliant negotiators led by Lord Frost and Michel Barnier, on the EU side Stephanie Rousseau as well as Oliver Lewis, Tim Barrow, Lindsay Appleby and many others.

    Their work will be available for scrutiny, followed by a parliamentary vote I hope on Dec 30.

    This agreement, this deal above all means certainty.

    It means certainty for the aviation industry and the hauliers who have suffered so much in the Covid pandemic.

    It means certainty for the police and the border forces and the security services and all those that we rely on across Europe to keep us safe.

    It means certainty for our scientists who will be able to continue to work together on great collective projects.

    Because although we want the UK to be a science superpower, we also want to be a collaborative science superpower.

    And above all it means certainty for business from financial services to our world-leading manufacturers – our car industry – certainty for those working in high skilled jobs in firms and factories across the whole country.

    Because there will be no palisade of tariffs on Jan 1.

    And there will be no non-tariff barriers to trade.

    And instead there will be a giant free trade zone of which we will at once be a member.

    And at the same time be able to do our own free trade deals as one UK, whole and entire, England, NI, Scotland and Wales together.

    And I should stress this deal was done by a huge negotiating team from every part of the UK, and it will benefit every part of our United Kingdom, helping to unite and level up across the country.

    And so I say again directly to our EU friends and partners, I think this deal means a new stability and a new certainty in what has sometimes been a fractious and difficult relationship.

    We will be your friend, your ally, your supporter and indeed – never let it be forgotten – your number one market.

    Because although we have left the EU this country will remain culturally, emotionally, historically, strategically and geologically attached to Europe, not least through the four million EU nationals who have requested to settle in the UK over the last four years and who make an enormous contribution to our country and to our lives.

    And I say to all of you at home.

    At the end of this toughest of years.

    That our focus in the weeks ahead is of course on defeating the pandemic.

    And on beating coronavirus and rebuilding our economy.

    And delivering jobs across the country.

    And I am utterly confident that we can and will do it.

    By today we have vaccinated almost 800,000 people and we have also today resolved a question that has bedevilled our politics for decades.

    And it is up to us all together.

    As a newly and truly independent nation.

    To realise the immensity of this moment and to make the most of it.

    Happy Christmas to you all.

    That’s the good news from Brussels – now for the sprouts.

  • Boris Johnson – 2020 Response to New York Times Article on Government Negligence and Cronyism

    Boris Johnson – 2020 Response to New York Times Article on Government Negligence and Cronyism

    A statement issued by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, and the Cabinet Office, on 23 December 2020.

    At the height of the crisis in April, health services around the world faced an unprecedented urgent situation where demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical equipment, including testing supplies and ventilators, far exceeded supply, and global production and supply chains were under severe pressure. The government pledged to do whatever it took to protect the people who protect us, deploying hundreds of officials to work night and day, at great speed, to source as much PPE as quickly as possible to protect the NHS and care sector and save lives. We also mobilised huge resources to increase testing capacity and deliver other important medical equipment.

    On 17 December, the New York Times published an article, “Waste, Negligence and Cronyism: Inside Britain’s Pandemic Spending.” The article makes a number of incorrect claims, uses poor methodology and excludes important context about the challenges faced by the UK Government and other public authorities during the unprecedented global pandemic.

    Claim: “The government handed out thousands of contracts to fight the virus, some of them in a secretive “V.I.P. lane.”

    Response: At the peak of the pandemic, UK Government officials were inundated with approaches from companies and other commercial actors with offers to procure or provide PPE and other relevant equipment. To help establish a mechanism for handling the approaches, as well as increase the speed at which they could be dealt with, an inbox was created for referrals. This inbox was available across government and to parliamentarians from all parties. In total, the UK government received over 15,000 offers of support from businesses to help with PPE, and MPs were inundated with offers of help from their constituents. MPs rightly were keen to pass on offers.

    The government remains hugely grateful for the outpouring of offers of help and the high priority mailbox allowed procurement officials to assess more quickly offers from more credible sources, such as large companies with established contacts and those more capable of supplying at speed.

    The government also ensured that offers of support raised by Opposition MPs were dealt with expeditiously. As the National Audit Office report notes, all PPE offers, no matter from where they came, went through the same eight step official assurance process, including quality checks, price controls and other due diligence. This eight step process has been published in the NAO’s report.

    Claim: The New York Times “analyzed a large segment of it (government spending), the roughly 1200 central government contracts that have been made public, together worth nearly $22 billion. Of that, about $11 billion went to companies either run by friends and associates of politicians in the Conservative Party, or with no prior experience or a history of controversy”.

    Response: The New York Time’s definition of ‘politically connected’ is misleading. As the article sets out, they defined this as ‘companies with political connections were defined as those with current or former government officials and advisers on staff, as party donors or who have received a British honors system award, such as a knighthood or peerage’.

    This definition fundamentally misunderstands the British state. government officials – or civil servants – are politically neutral and therefore it is simply wrong to infer that they have political connections. The New York Times also considers those who received a state honour as having a political connection. Again it is either a misrepresentation or a misunderstanding of the honours system to assert that someone receiving an honour automatically has a ‘political connection’. In fact, the honours system operates independently of government, with the vast majority of honours recommended by independent honours committees.

    Finally, this implies that any company with a ‘connection’ to the government got a contract as a result of that connection. The National Audit Office examined a series of contracts and “found that the ministers had properly declared their interests, and … found no evidence of their involvement in procurement decisions or contract management”. This was not reflected by the New York Times.

    Claim: “Smaller firms without political clout got nowhere”.

    Response: This is again factually untrue. ‘Political clout’ played no part in the official procurement process. For example, all PPE procurement went through the same eight checks, including quality checks, price controls and other due diligence, and was assessed against the same standards.

    It is untrue to suggest that smaller firms, SMEs, did not receive contracts.

    Claim: “The government had license to act fast because it was a pandemic, but we didn’t give them permission to act fast and loose with public money”.

    Response: This is not true. The eight step official process assessed and scruitinsed PPE offers. While prices were higher, due to a surge in global demand and constraints of supply, the government put in place stringent checks to ensure that we were paying in line with market rates. Officials with procurement expertise ran this process. Governments across the world and devolved administrations and local authorities in different parts of the UK faced similar challenges. Indeed, OECD analysis shows that direct awards were used by countries across the world in order to increase PPE supply, such as some EU countries, Japan and New Zealand.

    Claim: “The procurement system was ‘cobbled together”.

    Response: This is untrue. Our system was established and run by experienced procurement experts. The system enabled us to act quickly to ensure that we saved lives.

    Claim: “The government cast aside the usual transparency rules and awarded contracts worth billions of dollars without competitive bidding”.

    Response: This is untrue. Pre-existing regulations (the Public Contracts Regulations 2015) allow public authorities to award contracts without competitive tender in circumstances of extreme urgency. An unprecedented global pandemic, with global demand pressures on PPE, was clearly an emergency. It was right that the government acted quickly – and within the existing regulations – to increase PPE available to the NHS front line. Direct awards were made by public administrations across the UK and various local authorities. Similar approaches were adopted by many other countries, including Japan, Finland and New Zealand. It is absurd to imply that the government ought to have run a full public procurement competition for PPE contracts at the height of the pandemic. The minimum number of days a competitive award could take place in under the current rules is 25 days. This would have hugely slowed down the buying of vital PPE supplies.

    Claim: “To date, just over half of all of the contracts awarded in the first seven months remain concealed from the public.” “The British central government published data on pandemic-related contracts worth $22 billion awarded from January through November. Many more contracts remain secret”.

    Response: It is misleading to suggest that the contracts which are yet to be published through routine transparency are ‘secret’. The Government has already stated that we will publish all contract award notices as part our commitment to transparency. We regret that some contracts have not been uploaded in a timely fashion as a result of prioritising staff’s time on securing life saving PPE and other equipment for the NHS. All contracts will be published as soon as possible. All contract awards for PPE have now been published.

    Claim: “Around $6 billion went to companies that had no prior experience in supplying medical personal protective equipment. Fashion designers, pest controllers and jewelers won lucrative contracts”.

    Response: Finding new suppliers, who may not necessarily have direct prior experience of supplying PPE, was a deliberate policy – alongside exhausting existing supply routes. Clothing companies, for example, were an obvious route to new PPE supplies. As the article later acknowledges, many companies, such as the fashion brand Burberry, did create new production lines and successfully produce critical supplies. It is unclear if the New York Times thinks it was wrong for the government to contract with these companies which successfully produced PPE for the NHS frontline.

    More importantly, analysis showed that the vast majority of the PPE procured by the government during the coronavirus crisis met the required clinical safety standards, which is especially impressive given the supply chain issues, the urgency of the situation, the speed at which staff had to work and the need to explore novel routes. We found that only 0.5% of products tested to date cannot be used. The point has been made above on why many companies repurposed their activities in order to supply PPE during increased global demand.

    Claim: “There is ample evidence of cronyism, waste and poor due diligence”.

    Response: The National Audit Office report last month recognised that the government ‘needed to procure with extreme urgency’ and ‘secured unprecedented volumes of essential supplies necessary to protect front-line workers’. As set out above, the government does recognise that at a time of unprecedented global demand, prices were inflated for typical levels, but does not accept that process was not followed. It is untrue to say there is ample evidence of waste. We found that only 0.5% of products tested to date cannot be used. We have outlined above the stringent due diligence which took place.

    Claim: “The crisis gave way to a system that was neither fair nor equitable”.

    Response: This is not the case. All offers of PPE, no matter where they came from, were assessed against the same criteria and went through the same eight step checks. This meant that potential suppliers were assessed against the same standards, such as whether their product met our high PPE standards and whether they could supply PPE at an adequate scale.

    Claim: “Junior staffers reviewed thousands of proposals and passed on a chosen few to their bosses, who often had only a day to sign off on contracts.”

    Response: This reflects the speed at which the PPE market was moving at the time, and is why it was not possible to run even accelerated public tendering processes, which take a minimum of 25 days. It was right that we put in place the processes needed quickly to take up offers of support. Contracts were only agreed once due diligence and price checks took place, through the process detailed above. We needed to act quickly to ensure that we ordered life saving PPE for the NHS front line.

    Claim: “Still, conflict of interest questions remain” (around Lord Deighton).

    Response: Lord Deighton had no role in approving PPE contracts and no role in the COVID19 response beyond PPE. We have robust rules and processes in place in order to ensure that conflicts of interest do not occur. All conflicts of interest for Lords are declared on the House of Lords Register. Following Lord Deighton’s offer to support the government in any way he could, he was appointed an advisor on PPE to the SOS on 19 April. Lord Deighton’s role initially was to help set up U.K. manufacturing of PPE. Over the next few weeks this developed into a broader advisory role across the PPE programme.

  • Boris Johnson – 2020 Letter to Lord Bew Overriding Decision on Peter Cruddas

    Boris Johnson – 2020 Letter to Lord Bew Overriding Decision on Peter Cruddas

    The letter sent by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, to Lord Bew on 22 December 2020.

    Text of letter (in .pdf format)

  • Boris Johnson – 2020 Statement on Covid-19

    Boris Johnson – 2020 Statement on Covid-19

    The statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 21 December 2020.

    Good afternoon,

    I want to update everyone on one thing and that’s what’s happening at our borders and especially at Dover.

    Last night at 11pm the French Government imposed restrictions on UK freight crossing to France when accompanied by a driver.

    And so today I chaired a meeting of the Government’s emergency, COBR committee

    in order to co-ordinate a UK-wide response.

    And it is vital first to stress that these delays

    – which are only occurring at Dover –

    only affect human-handled freight,

    and that is only 20 per cent of the total arriving from or departing to the European continent,

    which means the vast majority of food, medicines and other supplies are coming and going as normal.

    You may also be aware – in fact I’d be amazed if you weren’t –

    that the government has been preparing for a long time for this exactly kind of event.

    So working with the Kent Resilience Forum, Kent County Council and Highways England,

    we’ve activated our long-prepared plans,

    with the result that we have already been able to reduce the number of lorries waiting on the M20 from 500 to 170.

    The site at Manston Airfield is ready to cope with any overflow.

    And, of course, we are working with our friends across the Channel to unblock the flow of trade as fast as possible.

    The Government at all levels is communicating with our friends in Paris

    I have just spoken to President Macron – we had a very good call – we both understand each other’s positions and want to resolve these problems as fast as possible.

    I know that Grant is also speaking to his counterpart and we are working to a solution, as I say, as fast as we can

    to allow freight traffic to resume between the UK and France,

    and ensure that lorries can travel in both directions in a Covid-secure way.

    I want to stress that we in the UK fully understand the anxieties of our friends about Covid, their anxieties about the new variant,

    but it is also true that we believe the risks of transmission by a solitary driver sitting alone in the cab are really very low.

    And so we hope to make progress as fast as we possibly can.

    I want to repeat that these delays only apply to a very small percentage of food entering the UK,

    and as British supermarkets have said, their supply chains are strong and robust,

    so everyone can continue to shop normally.

    And to our international friends and partners I want to say very frankly:

    We understand your concerns,

    And I hope that everybody can see that as soon as we were briefed as a government of the fast transmissibility of this new strain at about 3.15pm on Friday afternoon,

    We lodged all the necessary information with the World Health Organisation

    And we took prompt and decisive action the very next day to curb the spread of the variant within the UK.

    And we want to work with our colleagues, with our friends around the world, as we have from the beginning to develop new treatments and new vaccines.

    And today I can announce that half a million people in the UK have now received their first dose.

    As we’ve seen throughout this pandemic, this virus alas can move all too swiftly from one nation to another,

    But it is steadily being defeated by an international response

    An international response that is bringing the hope of vaccines to the entire world,

    And in that the UK will continue to play our full part.

    I’ll now handover to our Secretary of State, Grant.

  • Boris Johnson – 2020 Emergency Statement on Covid-19 and Christmas

    Boris Johnson – 2020 Emergency Statement on Covid-19 and Christmas

    The statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 19 December 2020.

    Good afternoon,

    I am sorry to report that the situation has deteriorated since I last spoke to you three days ago.

    Yesterday afternoon, I was briefed on the latest data showing the virus spreading more rapidly in London, the South East and the East of England than would be expected given the tough restrictions which are already in place.

    I also received an explanation for why the virus is spreading more rapidly in these areas. It appears this spread is now being driven by the new variant of the virus, which we first learned about earlier this week.

    Our advisory group on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats – NERVTAG – has spent the last few days analysing the new variant.

    There is no evidence the variant causes more severe illness or higher mortality, but it does appear to be passed on significantly more easily.

    NERVTAG’s early analysis suggests the new variant could increase R by 0.4 or greater. Although there is considerable uncertainty, it may be up to 70% more transmissible than the old variant.

    This is early data. It is subject to review. It is the best we have at the moment, and we have to act on information as we have it because this is now spreading very fast.

    The U.K. has by far the best genomic sequencing ability in the world, which means we are better able to identify new strains like this than any other country.

    The Chief Medical Officer last night submitted our findings so far to the World Health Organisation and we will continue to be totally transparent with our global partners.

    There is still much we don’t know. While we are fairly certain the variant is transmitted more quickly, there is no evidence to suggest that it is more lethal or causes more severe illness. Equally there is no evidence to suggest the vaccine will be any less effective against the new variant.

    Our experts will continue their work to improve our understanding of the variant.

    So we are learning more about this variant as we go.

    But we know enough already to be sure that we must act now.

    I met ministers on the Covid Operations Committee last night and again first thing this morning, and Cabinet met at lunchtime to agree the following actions.

    First, we will introduce new restrictions in the most affected areas – specifically those parts of London, the South East and the East of England which are currently in tier 3.

    These areas will enter a new tier 4, which will be broadly equivalent to the national restrictions which were in place in England in November.

    That means:

    Residents in those areas must stay at home, apart from limited exemptions set out in law. Non-essential retail, indoor gyms and leisure facilities, and personal care services must close. People must work from home if they can, but may travel to work if this is not possible, for example in the construction and manufacturing sectors. People should not enter or leave tier 4 areas, and tier 4 residents must not stay overnight away from home. Individuals can only meet one person from another household in an outdoor public space.

    Unlike the November national restrictions, communal worship can continue to take place in tier 4 areas.

    These measures will take effect from tomorrow morning.

    All tiers will continue to be regularly reviewed in line with the approach previously set out, with the next formal review point taking place on 30 December.

    Second, we are issuing new advice on travel.

    Although the new variant is concentrated in tier 4 areas, it is nonetheless present at lower levels around the country.

    We are asking everyone, in all tiers, to stay local.

    People should carefully consider whether they need to travel abroad and follow the rules in their tier.

    Those in tier 4 areas will not be permitted to travel abroad apart from limited exceptions, such as for work purposes.

    Third, we must, I am afraid, look again at Christmas.

    As Prime Minister, it is my duty to take the difficult decisions, to do what is right to protect the people of this country.

    Given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus, and the potential risk it poses, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned.

    In England, those living in tier 4 areas should not mix with anyone outside their own household at Christmas, though support bubbles will remain in place for those at particular risk of loneliness or isolation.

    Across the rest of the country, the Christmas rules allowing up to three households to meet will now be limited to Christmas Day only, rather than the five days as previously set out.

    As before, there will be no relaxation on 31 December, so people must not break the rules at New Year.

    I know how much emotion people invest in this time of year, and how important it is for grandparents to see their grandchildren, and for families to be together.

    So I know how disappointing this will be, but we have said throughout this pandemic that we must and we will be guided by the science.

    When the science changes, we must change our response.

    When the virus changes its method of attack, we must change our method of defence.

    As your Prime Minister, I sincerely believe there is no alternative open to me. Without action, the evidence suggests infections would soar, hospitals would become overwhelmed and many thousands more would lose their lives.

    I want to stress we are not alone in this fight – many of our European friends and neighbours are being forced to take similar action.

    We are working closely with the devolved administrations to protect people in every part of the UK.

    Of course there is now hope – real hope – that we will soon be rid of this virus.

    That prospect is growing with every day that passes and every vaccine dose administered.

    The UK was the first country in the western world to start using a clinically approve vaccine.

    So please, if the NHS contacts you then get your vaccine – and join the 350,000 people across the UK who have already had their first dose.

    Yes, Christmas this year will be very different, but we must be realistic.

    We are sacrificing our chance to see loved ones this Christmas, so we have a better chance of protecting their lives so we can see them at future Christmases.

    As sure as night follows day, we will beat back this virus.

    We will defeat it.

    And we will reclaim our lives.