Sunak confirms he won"t be talking about US-UK free trade deal with Biden, implying this is no longer goal Rishi Sunak has explicitly accepted that a formal post-Brexit trade deal with the US is not on the table ahead of talks in Washington DC with President Biden, even hinting that the whole idea was one he was not especially invested in. In a wide-ranging chat to reporters on the plane to the US, Sunak also – when pressed three times – said he has had a mortgage, while giving no details about it. Although No 10 has previously conceded that a trade deal is not being discussed, Sunak’s comments were notable for the implication that he now views a trade deal as a legacy obsession belonging to the Boris Johnson and Liz Truss era. He said: For a while now, that has not been a priority for either the US or UK. What we’re both focused on is making sure that our economic partnership reflects the particular challenges and opportunities of the time that we’re in right now. And that is the conversation that I will be having with President Biden. Asked if the pledge to reach a rapid deal – as repeatedly made by various Conservative ministers and prime ministers before and after the Brexit referendum – had been unrealistic, Sunak said: Since I’ve been prime minister, we’ve been focused, as have the US, on making sure that our economic partnership reflects the opportunities and challenges of the time that we face now. Later in the chat, asked about people struggling with rising mortgage rates, Sunak gave a fairly standard answer about needing to reduce inflation. The journalist also asked Sunak if he had ever personally ever had a mortgage – which the PM ignored. Pressed on this, he said: “My mortgage is not the big focus.” Asked one more time, Sunak finally said: “Yes.” We still do not know what the mortgage was for – or why someone so well off even needed one. Early evening summary Rishi Sunak has confirmed that he will not be talking about a US-UK free trade deal when he meets Joe Biden tomorrow, implying that he no longer views this as an ambition. (See 5.04pm.) Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, has accused the Conservatives of spending hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money on “loophole lawyers” in an attempt to obstruct the Covid inquiry. Lisa Nandy, the shadow levelling up secretary, has said the review announced today into allegations about the Teesworks freeport scheme will be “an utter whitewash”. (See 5.29pm.) The Scottish government is delaying its deposit return scheme for more than two years after accusing UK government ministers of deliberately sabotaging its plans. Labour"s Anneliese Dodds suggests Equality Act not safe under Tories Anneliese Dodds, the Labour party chair and shadow secretary of state for women and equalities, has suggested the Equality Act is not safe under the Conservatives. In a speech to the UK in a Changing Europe conference today, she said: Thirteen years after Labour passed that landmark legislation, it is still protecting people in countless ways every day. The legal framework it provides against discrimination by employers, businesses, schools, public bodies and many other institutions is one that many other countries still lack and look to learn from. This was a legislative achievement that cemented our country’s reputation as a beacon of equality at the time, and of which my party is still rightly proud 13 years on. Perhaps this is why Conservative ministers have started to take aim at the Equality Act with increasing regularity. From criticising protected characteristics to describing the Act itself as a “Trojan horse”, what started out as a few political pot shots against this groundbreaking law is in danger of becoming a creeping barrage, with worrying consequences for the future of equality in the UK. Sunak says no other country outside US has UK"s strength in artificial intelligence In his BBC interview Rishi Sunak also insisted that the UK was well placed to be a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI). When it was put to him that the EU might make a better partner for the US on this than the UK, because it was bigger, he replied: I think we should have confidence in our country in being a leader when it comes to AI because that’s what the facts demonstrate. If you look at the number of companies, the amount invested the quality of our research, other than the US there’s no other democratic country that has that strength in AI. Talk to the companies themselves. They would all agree with everything I’ve said. They’ve also demonstrated that because the only place they’ve opened an international office is the UK, outside of the US, the only country that has managed to bring them all together to have a conversation about this is the UK, other than the US, so I think that people can look at that and say actually, yes, we can have confidence in the UK to lead this conversation. Nandy says review into Teesworks freeport allegations announced by Gove "an utter whitewash" In the Commons, as Lisa Nandy was concluding her speech on Teesworks, and the review into claims that public money and assets have been squandered in the freeport development, a Labour MP put it to her that the way the government was handling this “smacks of a cover-up”. Nandy said, having seen the terms of reference of the review (see 4.56pm), she agreed. She went on: I think to many people in this country this will look like, what increasingly it appears it is, an utter whitewash. Sunak says he is not worried about Covid inquiry seeing messages that would be embarrassing to him Rishi Sunak has said that he is not worried about the Covid inquiry seeing messages that would worry him personally. Asked about the government’s legal action against the inquiry over its demand to see unredacted messages, and if he was worried about something coming out that would embarrass him personally, he told the BBC’s Chris Mason: No, not at all. I as well am co-operating and providing information to the inquiry. It’s actually taking a lot of my own time, and that’s right that I do that. Sunak confirms he won"t be talking about US-UK free trade deal with Biden, implying this is no longer goal Rishi Sunak has explicitly accepted that a formal post-Brexit trade deal with the US is not on the table ahead of talks in Washington DC with President Biden, even hinting that the whole idea was one he was not especially invested in. In a wide-ranging chat to reporters on the plane to the US, Sunak also – when pressed three times – said he has had a mortgage, while giving no details about it. Although No 10 has previously conceded that a trade deal is not being discussed, Sunak’s comments were notable for the implication that he now views a trade deal as a legacy obsession belonging to the Boris Johnson and Liz Truss era. He said: For a while now, that has not been a priority for either the US or UK. What we’re both focused on is making sure that our economic partnership reflects the particular challenges and opportunities of the time that we’re in right now. And that is the conversation that I will be having with President Biden. Asked if the pledge to reach a rapid deal – as repeatedly made by various Conservative ministers and prime ministers before and after the Brexit referendum – had been unrealistic, Sunak said: Since I’ve been prime minister, we’ve been focused, as have the US, on making sure that our economic partnership reflects the opportunities and challenges of the time that we face now. Later in the chat, asked about people struggling with rising mortgage rates, Sunak gave a fairly standard answer about needing to reduce inflation. The journalist also asked Sunak if he had ever personally ever had a mortgage – which the PM ignored. Pressed on this, he said: “My mortgage is not the big focus.” Asked one more time, Sunak finally said: “Yes.” We still do not know what the mortgage was for – or why someone so well off even needed one. Here are the terms of reference for the review of Teesworks announced by Michael Gove. Gove appoints former business department official to head review of Teesworks In the Commons Lisa Nandy said that Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, only sent her details of the panel being set up to review the Teesworks project shortly before the debate was starting. She also complained about Gove not being in the chamber to respond to the debate. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has just published details of the panel. It says Angie Ridgwell, a council chief executive and former business department official, will be in charge. It says: Angie Ridgwell, chief executive of Lancashire county council, and previously a director general at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, has been appointed as lead reviewer, bringing 30 years of experience across local government, central government and the private sector. She will be supported by Quentin Baker, who is a qualified solicitor and the director of law and governance at Hertfordshire county council and by Richard Paver, who brings significant financial experience and knowledge of combined authorities from a previous role as first treasurer of the Greater Manchester combined authority. The independent panel will review the Tees Valley combined authority’s oversight of the South Tees development corporation (STDC) and Teesworks joint venture. This will include consideration of specific allegations made in relation to the Joint Venture. As set out in the published terms of reference, as well as considering the specific allegations of corruption, illegality and wrongdoing that have been raised, the panel will also look at governance and financial management, reflecting the government’s existing approach to external assurance reviews of local authorities. Labour says voters need answers about "murky" Teesworks funding claims - but declines to allege corruption In the Commons Lisa Nandy, the shadow levelling up secretary, is opening the Labour debate on Teesworks. Labour has tabled a “humble address” motion saying the government should publish its correspondence relating to the decision to set up a review of the funding of the Teesworks project in the Teesside freeport area. Nandy started by saying that, in all her time as an MP, she had never seen such serious allegations raised about a project. Simon Clarke, the former Tory business secretary, intervened to ask if Nandy was prepared to say that what happened amounted to corruption. He said Andy McDonald, the Labour MP for Middlesbrough, has used this word in the chamber, where he is protected by parliamentary privilege from being sued for libel. But he has not said that outside the chamber, Clarke said. In reply, Nandy would not use the word corruption. She said the whole point was that “people on Teesside simply don’t know the answer to that question”. And later she said: The Labour frontbench hasn’t made allegations against Teeswork … and we will not do so before any investigation reports back. What we have asked for is honesty, transparency and clarity about what appears on the face of it to be an incredibly murky situation. Labour has called for the National Audit Office to investigate what happened. Ben Houchen, the Tory mayor of Tees Valley, has also called for an NAO inquiry. But Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, has just committed to a review of the scheme by a panel. Micheál Martin, the tánaiste (Irish deputy PM) and foreign minster, has called for power sharing to be restored in Northern Ireland urgently. Speaking in Belfast, after meetings with party leaders from Northern Ireland, he said: It’s very clear from all of the parties that there’s a genuine desire to get the executive back up and running. We’re now past the local elections. It is, in my view, imperative that the mandate that the people of Northern Ireland have given to their political parties is reflected and manifested in the restoration of the assembly and the executive. What was clear from our discussions today was the degree to which the situation has been compounded now by the budgetary situation – that came up in all of our discussions, that the situation is very serious from a financial perspective and the impact on public services and the impact that that is having on the people. And any delay in restoring the executive will make the challenge even greater subsequently. That is why the need to move quickly and we want that sense of urgency transferred into the restoration of the executive and the assembly. Asked if he had asked Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, if he would lift his party’s boycott of power sharing, Martin replied: First of all he was adamant, as he has been with me consistently since the election, that he wants to go back, he wants the DUP back in the executive and back in the assembly. He says he has outstanding issues to deal with in respect of the wider issues that have been under discussion for quite some time. My view is that this needs to be attended to with some degree of urgency now in terms of both the budgetary situation but also the need to have the mandate of the people reflected in the executive and the assembly coming back. Scottish government again delays deposit return scheme, until October 2025 at earliest, blaming Westminster The Scottish government has said it is delaying the introduction of its deposit return scheme until October 2025 because the UK government is refusing to allow it to include glass. The scheme would involve a 20p charge being added to drinks containers, with the money repaid once they were returned for recycling. The Scottish parliament legislated for a scheme in 2000. It was originally due to come into force in August this year, but Humza Yousaf delayed the start date until 2024 when he became first minister in March. Since then the UK government has in effect vetoed the scheme as originally planned by the Scottish government. Under the Internal Market Act it has the final say on regulations affecting UK trade, and it has refused to allow Scotland to go ahead with a scheme including glass. In a statement at Holyrood, Lorna Slater, the Scottish Green MSP who serves as the Scottish government’s circular economy minister, said: As of today, it is now clear that we have been left with no other option than to delay the launch of Scotland’s DRS, until October 2025 at the earliest based on the UK government’s current stated aspirations. I remain committed to interoperable DRS schemes across the UK provided that we can work in a spirit of collaboration not imposition. I wrote again last night to the UK government, to urge ministers to reset a climate of trust and good faith to galvanise and retain the knowledge that has been built in Circularity Scotland and DRS partners in Scotland. This parliament voted for a deposit return scheme. I am committed to a deposit return scheme. Scotland will have a deposit return scheme. It will come later than need be. It will be more limited than it should be. More limited than parliament voted for. These delays and dilutions lie squarely in the hands of UK government that has sadly seemed so far more intent on sabotaging this parliament than protecting our environment. This is the second time this year the UK government has blocked a legislative move by the Scottish government. Using a different process, it also stopped the gender recognition reform bill becoming law. Leftwing Labour MP Beth Winter attacks "unjust" process after being defeated in selection contest by Starmer loyalist The leftwing Labour Beth Winter has complained that “unacceptable obstacles” led to her losing the battle to be her party’s candidate in a new seat. Winter was defeated by Gerald Jones in the contest to be Labour’s candidate in Merthyr Tydfil and Upper Cynon. Jones, a shadow Welsh Office minister, is seen as much more loyal to Keir Starmer than Winter, a member of the Corbynite Socialist Campaign Group. Some MPs in all main parties are having to compete against each other for the right to represent new constituencies because new boundaries are coming into force at the next election. But Wales, which is losing eight of its 40 current seats, is affected particularly severely. The new Merthyr Tydfil and Upper Cynon seat takes in most of Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Jones’s current seat, but it also includes more than half of Winter’s seat. According to a report for LabourList, it has been claimed Jones won by 231 votes to 215. In a statement following the selection result, Winter said: I’m disappointed by this result and by the unjust manner in which it came about, which leaves major questions outstanding … Unacceptable obstacles were placed in the way of this grassroots campaign, undermining the democratic process. The online-only process was bulldozed through in just two weeks, with no face-to-face hustings. This was not a fair contest, and I will be taking advice and soundings in the days ahead about my next steps. Under Starmer, Labour has repeatedly been accused of organising selection processes in such a way as to exclude or disadvantage leftwingers, and to promote “centrists” aligned with Starmer’s politics. Momentum, the leftwing Labour group, said: Once again a Labour party selection is shrouded in controversy. Whether it’s Jamie Driscoll in the north-east or Beth Winter in Cynon Valley, the Labour leadership is taking a sledgehammer to the democratic rights of local Labour members in order to purge socialists and install his loyalists. Sadly, we have witnessed more irregularities in this selection contest.