Top story: ‘Humble address’ motion demands Sue Gray findings
Hello – great that you could join me, Warren Murray, for today’s briefing.
A new attempt will be made to force publication of the full Sue Gray report on whether No 10 parties broke Covid laws. If passed, the “humble address” motion tabled in the House of Commons by the Lib Dems would compel ministers to release the documents within two days of the Met concluding its investigation. A vote could take place next week, with Tory MPs urged to give their support.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said Johnson “can’t be trusted to admit whether he or any other Conservative ministers end up being fined by the police … If Johnson is found to have broken the law, he must fess up and resign.” The papers demanded include an unredacted version of Sue Gray’s report, all accompanying evidence collected by the Cabinet Office, and a list of Downing Street staff issued with a fixed penalty notice. Despite the prime minister having attended some of the events under scrutiny, he has continued to deny any wrongdoing and has avoided a no-confidence vote.
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‘Ending free testing a mistake’ – Cabinet splits have emerged over the “living with Covid” strategy, with the health secretary, Sajid Javid, expected to push to retain some free testing and community surveillance in the face of Treasury demands to slash the Covid budget by up to 90%. Javid and the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, are expected to meet over it today. Whitehall sources say Javid’s health department wants enough free testing to ensure the survival of the Panoramic antiviral drugs trial. Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said on Wednesday that “ending free testing is a mistake, [as] Covid isn’t going away”. Javid is also expected to argue to keep a scaled-back version of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) infection survey, which shows the prevalence of Covid and is considered a gold standard in the world.
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UK-Australia defence deal – Boris Johnson has signed off on a £25m security package with Australia as the UK looks to build on its defence pact with Canberra. The UK investment will see £25m committed to projects in the Indo-Pacific designed to “strengthen resilience in cyberspace, state threats and maritime security”, Downing Street has said. Australia, the UK and the US have already signed up to a pact, dubbed Aukus, to develop nuclear-powered submarines for Australia.
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‘Political’ warning fraught for schools – New government guidance on political impartiality in the classroom is likely to scare teachers in England away from tackling important subjects, according to education unions. The guidance says recent “particularly contentious and disputed” historical events, such as “many topics relating to empire and imperialism” should be taught “in a balanced manner”. In teaching of scientific facts around climate change, teachers are told potential solutions “may constitute a political issue”. The guidance says Black Lives Matter is a movement whose campaigning goes beyond the “basic shared principle that racism is unacceptable”. Mary Bousted from the National Education Union suggested the guidance could see hugely important issues such as the climate crisis, racism and world poverty cordoned off from discussion as too political. The Association of School and College Leaders said it would study the guidance carefully.
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‘If you’re black, assimilate’ – A reporter has told how he infiltrated the French far-right presidential candidate Éric Zemmour’s election team for more than three months. Vincent Bresson, 27, said he became part of “Génération Z” – Zemmour’s young supporters group – where he witnessed multiple racist remarks from both volunteers and senior staff. “Officially, if you’re black or of Arab origin, Zemmour believes in ‘assimilation’: work hard, adapt to ‘French culture’, and you can be French ‘like the rest’,” said Bresson.
Zemmour denies he is racist but has two convictions for racist hate speech and is appealing against a third. He is vying for third place in the polls with the rightwing Les Républicains candidate Valérie Pécresse, behind the far-right National Rally leader, Marine Le Pen, and the incumbent president, Emmanuel Macron.
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Quick diagnosis for brain disorders – A simple test could end years of uncertainty for people with relatively common neurological conditions such as Huntington’s disease and frontal lobe dementia. Researchers say whole genome sequencing (WGS) can quickly and accurately detect the most common inherited neurological disorders, and could be implemented with immediate effect. It is already offered to people in England with rare disorders or childhood cancers. The new test uses an algorithm to compare a healthy genome with a damaged one, shortening diagnostic processes that sometimes take years. “Here in a single test, we have the capacity to diagnose the most common neurological diseases,” said Prof Sir Mark Caulfield from Queen Mary University of London.
Today in Focus podcast: Prince Andrew over and out
The Duke of York faces a bill of millions of pounds after settling a sexual assault case with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre. This, in effect, ends his career in public life, says royal reporter Caroline Davies.
Lunchtime read: ‘Horrors done in secret’
Mazar-i-Sherif was once the most secular and liberal of Afghan cities. But 20 years of corruption and misrule left it ripe for retaking by the Taliban. Will anything be different this time? Ghaith Abdul-Ahad goes inside the Taliban’s return to power.
Sport
Jürgen Klopp insists Liverpool still have work to do in the second leg of their Champions League tie with Internazionale despite taking a significant step towards the quarter‑finals with a 2-0 victory at San Siro. IOC president Thomas Bach offered US figure skaters Olympic torches as holdover gifts while they await a resolution of the Russian doping case that is preventing them from receiving their silver medals. South Africa have told the southern hemisphere’s governing body they are exploring their option of joining the Six Nations after 2025 as plans for a major overhaul of the global calendar gather pace.
Andy Murray crashed out of the Qatar Open as Roberto Bautista Agut strolled to a 6-0, 6-1 win in Doha. New Zealand Rugby finally has its much-craved cash injection after reaching a deal with the players union to sell a minority stake in the governing body. Repeated heading and accidental head impacts in football cause changes to blood patterns in the brain, potentially interfering with signalling pathways, according to a study of players in Norway. After the FIA failed to share the full findings of its investigation into the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, the integrity of Formula One hangs in the balance, writes Giles Richards. And the Dallas Cowboys paid a multimillion dollar settlement to members of their cheerleading squad after allegations that a senior team executive filmed them in the locker rooms, according to documents obtained by ESPN.
Business
The booming crypto assets market could pose a serious threat to financial stability if regulators fail to take action, a global watchdog has said. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is worried that the scale and nature of crypto markets poses the sort of risk that sub-prime mortgages contained and which sparked the financial crisis of 2007-8. Crypto assets grew 3.5 times in 2021 to a value of $2.6tn (£1.9tn). The FTSE100 is down 0.3% in futures trade while the pound is on $1.358 and €1.196.
The papers
The Guardian front page this morning says “Covid jab programme extended to cover all children aged five to 11”. The rollout is set to begin in April in pharmacies, GP surgeries and vaccination centres, using Pfizer/BioNTech doses. It is in line with a recommendation by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation. The Telegraph’s lead story is about the Ukraine crisis – “Truss: Putin could drag out crisis for months”.
The latter paper also carries a front-page picture of the Queen back at work, accompanying its report about police investigating an alleged “cash for honours” scheme involving an aide to Prince Charles. Other papers wrap that together with the House of Windsor’s other problems stemming from Prince Andrew. “Plutonium Jubilee” says the Metro. The Sun has “Thank God for the Queen” and “Frail monarch soldiers on”.
The Mirror goes with “Royals in crisis” and “Reign storm”. The Daily Mail headline explains: “Charles facing police quiz over cash for honours”. The theme continues – the Express says “Queen faces new anguish” and the Times has “Cash for honours inquiry deepens crisis for royals”. The Financial Times offers something else on page one: “France seeks security shake-up to head off Russian threat in Europe”.
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