Afternoon summary
- Government whips are trying to decide what Tory MPs should do when the Commons votes tomorrow on a motion calling for a privileges committee inquiry into claims Boris Johnson misled parliament about Partygate. (See 1.07pm.) The government had been expected to order its MPs to vote it down, but Labour - and the six other opposition parties supporting the amendment (see 1.14pm) - have drafted it in such a way as to make it hard for Conservatives to vote against. First, the motion does not explicity accuse Johnson of intentionally misleading MPs. And, second, the motion says the inquiry should not start until the police inquiry into Partygate is over. In another move that should make the motion more acceptable to Tories, Chris Bryant, the Labour chair of the committee, and an outspoken critic of Johnson, has agreed to recuse himself from any inquiry. (See 4.14pm.) Tory MPs are wary of voting down the motion because that would lead to them to being accused by Labour of covering up Johnson’s lying. Government whips also know that, if they order MPs to vote against, many backbenchers might ignore them and abstain - which could see the opposition winning. No 10 is thought to be considering a ploy that would involve Tories voting for an amendment that might water down the potential threat posed by any inquiry, but details are not expected to be announced until later tonight.
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Jacob Rees-Mogg, the minister for Brexit opportunities has told the EU scrutiny committee the UK will “reform” the NI protocol unilaterally if the EU does not. As my colleague Lisa O’Carroll reports, this raises the spectre of some dramatic move after the Northern Ireland assembly elections on 5 May. He said:
We signed it on the basis that it would be reformed and there comes a point at which you say, well, you haven’t reformed it and therefore we are reforming it ourselves. And the United Kingdom is much more important than any agreement that we have with any foreign power.
UK signed NI protocol on the basis "it would be reformed". If EU doesn't reform it, we will, Rees Mogg warns.
— Lisa O'Carroll (@lisaocarroll) April 20, 2022
"That is really imp to understand..A lot of commentary says, we signed it and therefore surely we should accept it lock stock and barrel. That's absolute nonsense" 1/2
We signed it on the basis that it would be reformed. And there comes a point at which you say, well, you haven't reformed it and therefore we are reforming it ourselves. And the United Kingdom is much more important than any agreement that we have with any foreign power"
— Lisa O'Carroll (@lisaocarroll) April 20, 2022
Updated
Fire safety works on low rise buildings must be proportionate, government says
Stuart Andrew, housing minister, told parliament the government does not believe extensive safety works are needed for buildings below 11m, but said the government will examine buildings on a case-by case basis where they have been commissioned. The move follows pressure from MPs and campaigners concerned that potentially hazardous homes, including care homes and some residential schools, had not been not covered by existing funding.
The government is keen not to add more to post-Grenfell costs to be shared by developers, taxpayers and leaseholders that MPs have estimated at £15bn.
UK Cladding Action Group said it already knew of at least 10 buildings below 11m where residents have been landed with bills as high as £20,000 each which would not have been covered by the government’s previous plan.
Last week Michael Gove, secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, announced he had secured £2bn in pledges from 36 developers towards fixing “life critical safety works” in high-rise buildings above 11m in England developed in the last 30 years.
Andrew stressed officials believe there was “no systematic risk of fire with buildings below 11m”, but “we will deal with those as a department on a case by case basis”. He pledged: “If the building safety regulator assesses … further work needs to be done we will make sure we do that.”
The move to tackle the potential rising cost of the building safety crisis almost five years after the Grenfell Tower fire claimed 72 lives, came as residents of high rise buildings warned they face years of uncertainty despite progress by Gove in persuading developers to pay for some fixes.
Leaseholders rallied in Westminster as MPs finalised new building safety laws which look likely to pass within weeks without guaranteeing universal immunity.
Campaigners fear the stress on “life critical” works could cause disputes.
“Unless there is an independent body to arbitrate we see these issues dragging on for years,” said Rituparna Saha, co-founder of the UK Cladding Action Group. “Even where developers have [already] said they will pay works have not yet started.”
This entry has been edited after the government clarified its intentions about buildings under 11m.
Updated
