Boris Johnson news live: PM defends plan to increase nuclear warheads

Senior police and crime commissioners have said new powers to crack down on protests are not needed and go “too far”.

MPs are to vote on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which would lower the threshold at which police can impose legally-binding restrictions on protests, and make it easier to prosecute people for violating them.

Our home affairs correspondent Lizzie Dearden has more details:

No targets will be set to assess if Boris Johnson’s “levelling up” pledge has been achieved, a minister has revealed – insisting voters will decide.

The allocations from the £4.8bn fund have provoked uproar, after the leafy North Yorkshire seat of Chancellor Rishi Sunak was given higher priority than struggling Barnsley.

Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has more details:

Ministers would have the power to veto the appointment of NHS chief executives and trust leaders under plans to reform the health service, it has emerged.

Health secretary Matt Hancock told MPs he wanted the ability to sign-off appointments of senior managers in the NHS, and that separately he was open to the idea of regulation for senior managers.

Our health correspondent Shaun Lintern explains:

Boris Johnson has been condemned for cutting aid spending while allowing the UK’s nuclear arsenal to increase.

The prime minister’s foreign policy review committed to returning to the target of spending 0.7 per cent of gross national income on aid when the public finances allow but did not give a firm date.

At the same time, the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy increased the number of nuclear warheads the UK may possess to 260. It had been due to fall to a maximum of 180 by the middle of the decade.

The 0.7 per cent commitment was abandoned in November, with the UK spending 0.5 per cent of its income on aid in 2021.

The Home Office is to end its use of a former military camp as accommodation for asylum seekers after months of criticism over unsuitable poor conditions.

Penally Barracks, in Pembrokeshire, is to be returned to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) by 21 March, The Independent understands.

Follow our breaking news story for more updates:

Campaigners have told The Independent the government’s controversial new policing bill disregards the “needs” of sexual and domestic violence victims.

Our women’s correspondent Maya Oppenheim has more details:

The shadow chancellor has claimed the UK is an “outlier compared to other countries” in its approach to rebuilding the economy in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Labour’s Anneliese Dodds criticised the management of public finances since 2010 and said this meant the UK was not in a “strong position” when the pandemic hit.

Appearing at a virtual event held by the Reform think tank this morning, she warned against ending the £20-per-week Universal Credit uplift and increases to council taxes, as these will hit household spending when the economy is “still building back up again”.

Justice secretary Robert Buckland said he is “annoyed” that Labour is not supporting the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill – claiming it would help “achieve a better society for women”.

The minister also claimed he does “not see what the fuss is about” over controversial new powers to curb protests.

Shadow justice secretary David Lammy warned Buckland not to get “annoyed” at the despatch box – as under his bill that is “something that you can go to prison for”.

Labour has claimed the bill does nothing to increase the protection of women and girls. “What does he have to say to all women who have suffered abuse and have given up hope of this government’s ability to deliver justice?” Lammy asked.

More now on the looming by-election in the north-east. Labour has confirmed Mike Hill has quit as MP for Hartlepool, setting up a test for Keir Starmer’s party in the “red wall” heartlands.

His resignation follows reports that he used taxpayers’ money to fight a staff member’s claim of unfair dismissal, sexual assault and harassment.

Hill was suspended by Labour in September 2019 over allegations he sexually harassed a woman – but had the whip restored to contest the general election two months later.

Labour won a majority of more than 3,500 votes last time – but the potential Tory vote was hampered by the Brexit Party, which is far less likely to be a force under its ‘Reform Party’ guise this time around.

Scotland’s justice secretary has said a planned increase to lift the cap on the UK’s stock of nuclear weapons is “completely unacceptable” to the Scottish government.

“Nuclear weapons are morally, strategically and economically wrong. Our opposition to Trident remains unequivocal,” Humza Yousaf said.

Nicola Sturgeon also took to Twitter to highlight what she sees as the difference between the UK and Scottish governments.

She said: “Today, the UK government will announce a massive increase in its stockpile of nuclear weapons. By contrast, the Scottish government will incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law.”

The UK reached agreement with Norway and the EU on catch limits for six jointly-managed fish stocks in the North Sea.

The agreement on cod, haddock, plaice, whiting, herring, and saithe stocks for 2021 are worth over £184m to the British fishing industry, according to the government.

Downing Street has failed to deny claims that Boris Johnson privately said the UK should simply “ignore” the spread of Covid when the virus first emerged.

The PM’s official spokesman was repeatedly pressed at aWestminster media briefing on the claims, in a BBC report drawn from anonymous interviews with government insiders. But four times, he did not contest the report.

Irish premier Micheal Martin has claimed the UK continues to indulge in “EU bashing” after Brexit, as he spoke to the US Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.

“Historically, EU bashing has been a feature of United Kingdom domestic politics,” Martin said. “I was hoping post-Brexit that that might ease somewhat. The signs are it’s still to a certain extent, alive and well.”

Martin has warned that the UK government’s decision to unilaterally extend post-Brexit grace periods in the protocol “exacerbates uncertainty and instability”.

Keir Starmer said Labour’s support of the nuclear deterrent was “non-negotiable” but made clear he did not support the government’s plan to lift the cap so the stockpile of warheads can be increased.

“This review breaks the goal of successive prime ministers and cross-party efforts to reduce our nuclear stockpile,” he said.

Starmer said the PM has not explained “when, why and for what strategic purpose” the number of warheads would be increased.

Green MP Caroline Lucas has accused foreign secretary Dominic Raab of “breathtaking hypocrisy” by saying he worried about weapons proliferation (after confirming the UK’s cap on nuclear warheads would be lifted).

Sir Keir Starmer added that there is “a very real risk” that the armed forces will be “stripped back even further”.

He told the Commons: “Britain should and could be a moral force for good in the world. After a decade of neglect, this review was the chance to turn a corner – but there is now a very real risk that our armed forces will be stripped back even further and that this review won’t end the era of retreat, in fact it will extend it.”

In response, Boris Johnson said the Labour was “weak on defence”. The PM told MPs: “Anybody listening to (Sir Keir) would not realise we are the second biggest international donor of aid in the G7.”

He added that it is “preposterous to hear the Labour leader calling for more investment in our armed forces when this is the biggest investment in our armed forces since the Cold War”.

Johnson continued: “It is ridiculous for (Sir Keir) to talk about our nuclear defences when the reality is that Labour is all over the place.”

Sir Keir Starmer questioned why the Russia review’s recommendations have not been implemented if the country remains the UK’s biggest threat.

The Labour leader told the Commons: “The review rightly concludes that Russia remains the most acute threat to our security – that is not new, 18 months ago the Russia review concluded that the threat was ‘urgent and immediate’ – so why have none of its recommendations been implemented?

“The Integrated Review talks about the importance of upholding international law, I agree, but from Europe to the Indian Ocean this Government now has a reputation for breaking international law, not defending it.”

He continued: “The review also talks of conflict resolution yet there is nothing about updating our arms export regime, in particular suspending sales (of) arms to Saudi Arabia.

“The Prime Minister’s statement didn’t mention international development once, and I wonder why – because he is cutting development spending for the first time in decades and denying this House a vote on it.

“If global Britain is to mean anything, it cannot mean selling arms to Saudi Arabia and cutting aid to Yemen.”

Boris Johnson said the UK will work with China where it is “consistent with our values and interests”, including building a “stronger and positive” economic relationship and in addressing climate change.

The PM told the Commons: “We shall stand up for our values as well as for our interests.”

He said the UK has led international condemnation of China’s “mass detention” of Uighur people in Xinjiang, to which Labour MPs could be heard shouting “genocide”, and its actions in Hong Kong.

Johnson went on: “There is no question China will pose a great challenge for an open society such as ours … But we will also work with China where that is consistent with our values and interests, including building a stronger and positive economic relationship and in addressing climate change.”

Boris Johnson said a new counter-terrorism operations centre would “bring together” the nation’s ability to thwart terrorists while also dealing with the actions of hostile states.

He added: “I can announce that the national cyber force which conducts offensive cyber operations against terrorists, hostile states and criminal gangs will in future be located in a cyber corridor in the north-west of England and we will also establish a cross-government situation centre in the Cabinet Office.”

“The first outcome of the Integrated Review was the Government’s decision to invest an extra £24 billion in defence, allowing the wholesale modernisation of our armed forces and taking forward the renewal of our nuclear deterrent.”

Boris Johnson is addressing the Commons on his integrated review, which he describes as the biggest assessment of the nation’s defence and foreign policy planning since the cold war.

He said he is determined that the UK will join in ensuring that free societies are able to flourish after the Covid-19 pandemic.

He told MPs: “For us, there are no far away countries of which we know little. Global Britain is not a reflection of old obligations, still less are they inglorious gesture, but a necessity for the safety and prosperity of the British people in the decades ahead.

“And I’m determined that the UK will join our friends to ensure that free societies flourish after the pandemic, sharing the risks and burdens of addressing the world’s toughest problems.”