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'Landing zone' for Brexit trade deal in sight, says Ireland's Taoiseach

Cat Neilan
·40-min read
Boris Johnson and Micheal Martin elbow bump at the start of their meeting today - PA
Boris Johnson and Micheal Martin elbow bump at the start of their meeting today - PA

There is"a landing zone" for the EU and UK to strike a trade deal before Brexit, Ireland's Taoiseach has said.

Micheal Martin, who met Boris Johnson for talks today in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, said both sides knew that they needed to avoid another economic shock following Covid-19.

"I think where there's a will, there's a way," he said. "It seems to me that there is a landing zone if that will is there on both sides and I think it is, on the European Union side and on the British side to find that landing zone.

"My own gut instinct is we both understand that we don't need another shock to the economic system that a no-deal Brexit would give or a sub-optimal trade agreement would give to our respective economies across Europe, Ireland and of course within Great Britain itself alongside the enormous shock that Covid has already given."

Mr Martin said he hoped for a "productive outcome" when Brexit negotiations resumed later this month.

This is their first meeting since Mr Martin took the reins as leader of the Republic. Last year Mr Johnson's meeting with his predecessor Leo Varadkar was critical to brokering a deal which led to the Withdrawal Agreement being passed.

Follow the latest updates below.

03:14 PM

And that's it for another day...

Boris Johnson might be in blue-skied Northern Ireland today - but a storm is brewing for his return to Westminster, and Gavin Williamson is in the centre of it. 

The Education Secretary has sought to convince people that the 11th hour changes to the exams assessment process have strengthened it so that no child is left behind. 

But with nearly 40 per cent of students being downgraded - and a pattern forming that suggests poorer areas have been disadvantaged, his argument failing to win people over. 

It's not surprising that Labour and the unions are gunning for him. And, with no lost love between the former whip and the Tory backbenchers, only the smallest indiscretion would have led to calls for him to resign. 

This, however, is not small and strikes to the heart of the Prime Minister's pledge to level up the country - although of course the argument that individuals should succeed on merit goes back rather longer than last December. 

It's not just Conservative MPs who think he should resign. A whopping 71 per cent of you think he should too. With another set of exams out next week, the pressure will be on. 

I'll be back tomorrow, when we are expecting to hear the long-awaited decisions on lockdown, quarantine and those last unopened sectors. 

02:54 PM

Tory MPs warn 'guillotine' is ready for 'incompetent' Gavin Williamson

Conservative MPs have warned that Downing Street is getting "the guillotine ready-made" for Gavin Williamson, amid the chaos over today's exam results. 

The Education Secretary today insisted the 11th hour changes introduced would ensure a robust system was in place for all students who wanted to appeal the assessment, with as many as 40 percent of teacher-submitted grades in England being adjusted, leading to expectations of chaos for appeals staff and the university clearing process.

But he stressed there would be no Scotland-style U-turn, telling Times Radio: "We're not going to be changing this system again."

However Tory MPs warned that if the chaos was not resolved, Mr Williamson's job could be at risk. 

One said: "Clearly they are getting the guillotine ready-made. However I think things depend on grades and appeals, and also school return in September... and whether it becomes a big mess. The mocks change came at lastminute.com and should have been done weeks ago."

A former minister said: "He's clearly seen the chaos in Scotland and is trying to move to prevent that scenario. Instead he's just made himself look panicky and incompetent.

"In short, he's justifying his own sacking... the question is how scared Boris Johnson is of him - he's bloody nasty when he's in a corner." 

A third backbencher added: "It’s a farce, it’s a disgrace and Gavin Williamson should hang his head in shame and resign. He was a useless Defence Secretary and even worse Education Secretary.

"You can forgive Track and Trace, you can forgive PPE, because we were dealing with things we have never dealt with before, but we deal with exams every single year... and we have had six months to get it right." 

02:53 PM

Scotland's education secretary 'failed' in his duty, opposition leader claims

In the Scottish parliament, education secretary John Swinney is currently undergoing a trial by MSPs as he endures the motion of no confidence debate. 

Labour leader Richard Leonard said Mr Swinney has "failed" to carry out his duty and "no longer commands the confidence of this chamber".

Mr Leonard added: "We decided that we have no choice but to table this motion of no confidence.

"This is not a decision that we took lightly, motions of no confidence have been laid only sparingly in the history of this parliament."

But Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described him as "one of the most decent and dedicated people in Scottish politics", as she gave him her full support.

Despite support from Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems, the motion is expected to fall at decision time.

02:50 PM

Introducing Generation Asterisk – the cohort of students forever marked by Covid

It is celebrated, or feared, as a moment of truth. For whether they are received in joy or trepidation, at least exam results usually feel like that: the truth. A yardstick. An assessment whose rules, for all their knots and warps, were known at the outset, not just of the school year, but of every student’s school career from the moment they toddled into reception.

Not this year. This year there is not one yardstick, but three. 

This year the moment of truth has been replaced by a miasma of doubt; the distilling of hopes and dreams, of university and career, has been replaced by uncertainty and the prospect of snide comments for ever more. 

Not so much A star as A asterisk.

02:37 PM

'Landing zone' for Brexit trade deal in sight, says Ireland's Taoiseach

Ireland's Taoiseach has said he believes "a landing zone" still exists for the EU and UK to strike a trade deal before Brexit. 

Micheal Martin, who met Boris Johnson for talks in Hillsborough, said both sides knew that they needed to avoid another economic shock following Covid-19.

"I think where there's a will, there's a way," he said.

"It seems to me that there is a landing zone if that will is there on both sides and I think it is, on the European Union side and on the British side to find that landing zone.

"My own gut instinct is we both understand that we don't need another shock to the economic system that a no-deal Brexit would give or a sub-optimal trade agreement would give to our respective economies across Europe, Ireland and of course within Great Britain itself alongside the enormous shock that Covid has already given."

Mr Martin said he hoped for a "productive outcome" when Brexit negotiations resumed later this month.

02:24 PM

Scottish Tories double-down on criticism over exams

New Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross insisted he was not afraid to criticise his own party after suggestions the UK Government's controversial handling of A-level results put him in an awkward position.

Mr Ross, who became party leader only last week, had been heavily critical of the Scottish Government as they were forced to perform a U-turn over moderated grades which left more than 124,000 results downgraded.

 Scottish Tories also hit back at suggestions it had deleted a tweet that was critical of the SNP's handling of the equivalent row for fear of looking hypocritical. 

02:19 PM

Too soon to say whether cutbacks led to fatal Stonehaven crash, says Grant Shapps

Grant Shapps has claimed it is "far too soon" to say whether cutbacks to Network Rail contributed to the fatal Aberdeenshire train crash.

Three people died and six were injured when carriages went off the track amid heavy rainfall on Wednesday morning.

When cost-cutting plans for the infrastructure operator were announced in 2017, TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes warned it will "endanger passengers' lives".

But the Transport Secretary said: "I think it's far too soon to jump to conclusions about what's happened here. My observation is that a flash flood seems to wreaked havoc at the scene behind us.

"Rail, in general, has an enormous budget - £46 billion - over what's called a controlled period. It's record sums of money, we've never spent more on our railways. But I don't want to get into speculation, let's find the facts."

Network Rail was warned about its resilience to severe weather just four weeks before the Aberdeenshire derailment. A health and safety report by the Office of Rail and Road noted a spike in landslips, demonstrating the "vulnerability" of the railways.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has launched a probe into the incident.

02:05 PM

Andy Burnham urges Government to avoid full lockdown in Oldham

The mayor of Greater Manchester has urged the Government not to bring in "knee-jerk measures" as coronavirus cases continue to rise in some boroughs.

Andy Burnham said he did not want to see a full lockdown in Oldham, where the rate of infections is the highest in the country.

But he has written to Health Secretary Matt Hancock to pause the easing of restrictions in the city region this weekend.

Speaking at a weekly media briefing on Thursday, Mr Burnham said: "I think we're going to have to have a very considered approach to this rather than crude measures which become further divisive among different communities and different boroughs. We need to be proportionate, targeted and focus on measures that are going to work.

"That is the thrust of the letter we have sent to Government today - no knee-jerk measures but work with us to get whatever interventions we do right and obviously make them as effective as possible."

He said a full lockdown could cause "serious difficulties" for people living in the region.

Mr Burnham also said there would be targeted enforcement against pubs, restaurants and supermarkets not following guidance.

01:53 PM

Public health director warns about 'huge issues' over Eat Out to Help Out scheme

Leicester's director of public health has said he has "huge issues" with the Government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme, warning that it sends out the wrong message to people. 

Addressing experts at a Covid-19 webinar hosted by the Royal Society of Medicine, Ivan Browne, urged ministers to change the narrative when it comes to easing restrictions.  

"This (the virus) has not gone away," he warned. "It's still here.

"So, when we start talking about easements and it's all going to be OK, we've got to stop that narrative.

"I have huge issues with things like Eat Out To Help Out ... when I'm walking up my road and seeing people queuing up, it's a concern.

"We've got to get a clear narrative of where we are, being in control and being cautious, and make sure we are not giving this virus the opportunity to pass on, because it will."

01:44 PM

EHRC issues warning over exams impact on racial minorities

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has warned the exams regulator for England that it must consider the "equality impacts" of its actions in any decisions it takes concerning A-levels.

EHRC chief executive Rebecca Hilsenrath said it would consider "all our powers" to ensure those such as ethnic minority and disabled children were treated fairly by Ofqual.

"The pandemic has hit the younger generation hard. Education has been particularly disrupted, with potentially life-changing consequences for young people, particularly ethnic minority and disabled children," she said.

"Many of these children come from disadvantaged backgrounds. If we are going to build back better and not make things worse, it needs to start with our children's future.

"We have been clear with Ofqual that they must consider the equality impacts of all their actions and mitigate against any potential negative effect on these groups.

"We will continue to discuss this with Ofqual and consider all our powers so that ethnic minority and disabled children, for example, are treated fairly in this process."

01:35 PM

UK has 'nowhere near' enough immunity to prevent second wave

A health expert has warned there is not enough immunity within the population to prevent a second wave of infection.

Dr Lilith Whittles, postdoctoral researcher in infectious disease epidemiology at Imperial College London, said calculating the infection rate - known as R - on a regional level is going to be "our best signifier that we have entered a second wave".

At a Covid-19 webinar hosted by the Royal Society of Medicine on Thursday, she agreed that if local outbreaks were not managed correctly they could potentially lead to a second wave.

Speaking on the results of the largest study on home coronavirus antibody testing, led by Imperial College London, Dr Whittles said: "We're nowhere near the level of population immunity that we would need to prevent the occurrence of a second wave.

"In a worst-case scenario of a second wave we could see a peak of a similar size to the first."

01:31 PM

Further 13 people die with coronavirus in England

A further 13 people who have tested positive for coronavirus have died, with all four regions registering at least one fatality. 

There were five deaths in both North East & Yorkshire and the North West, two in the Midlands and one in London, NHS England said. That brings the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 29,444.

Patients were aged between 49 and 90 years old. All had known underlying health conditions except one (86 years old). 

01:11 PM

Allister Heath: Sweden’s success shows the true cost of our arrogant, failed establishment

So now we know: Sweden got it largely right, and the British establishment catastrophically wrong. Anders Tegnell, Stockholm’s epidemiologist-king, has pulled off a remarkable triple whammy: far fewer deaths per capita than Britain, a maintenance of basic freedoms and opportunities, including schooling, and, most strikingly, a recession less than half as severe as our own.

As Allister Heath argues, our arrogant quangocrats and state “experts” should hang their heads in shame.

01:02 PM

Prime Minister and Taoiseach elbow bump in first official meeting

The Prime Minister and Taoiseach Micheal Martin have met for the first time since the Fianna Fail leader was elected to the position in June.

The men greeted each other with an elbow bump outside Hillsborough Castle.

Boris Johnson said: "It's great to see you Taoiseach, it's great to be here in Northern Ireland and we look forward to developing our relationship in all sorts of ways - east-west, north-south, you name it."

Mr Martin said the relationship between him and Boris Johnson would work "very warmly".

"It is important for us both in terms of the British-Irish relationship which has been the cornerstone of much progress on the island of Ireland and between our two countries for well over two to three decades, and we want to maintain that.

He added: "It is challenging times ahead with Covid, Brexit, all of that."

Mr Martin said it was particularly fitting the engagement was taking place so soon after the death of former SDLP leader John Hume. 

12:56 PM

Watch: Keir Starmer blame exams chaos on 'fundamental lack of planning'

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has attacked Gavin Williamson's plan for assessing exams today, saying the "approach has failed".

He called on the Government to "reset, rethink and it should not rule anything else out, including the sort of U-turn that was forced on the Scottish Government". 

Sir Keir also attacked "a fundamental lack of planning", saying: "This is not something that has come up in the last day or two."

Watch the video below.

12:49 PM

Stonehaven crash site 'harrowing', says Grant Shapps

The crash site around the train that derailed in Stonehaven yesterday is "absolutely harrowing", Grant Shapps has said. 

The Transport Secretary travelled to the Aberdeen site today, having been under quarantine after his trip to Spain was cut short a fortnight ago. Three people were killed in the crash, including the driver, conductor and one passenger. 

He told reporters: "This is an absolutely horrendous accident and we need to get to the bottom of exactly how it happened.

"It looks like probably related to landslip of some form," he added, but noted that an investigation was taking place to look into all possible causes, including what speed the train was travelling at. A report is due in the autumn, with Mr Shapps saying he was "keen to learn the lessons" about what happened. 

Speaking at the site of the Stonehaven crash, he added: "One thing I can say having been here today and met people involved and seen the scene for myself is we absolutely must make sure we learn every possible lesson from a tragedy like this."

12:34 PM

Government attacked over private school bias in exam assessment process

Ed Balls has attacked the Government's handling of the A-level assessment process, saying it is "beyond belief" that ministers would not have realised it would enhance private school results at the expense of those in more deprived environments. 

The former minister was responding to a comment from IFS director Paul Johnson, who noted that there had been a "big boost" for private schools while further education and sixth form colleges seem to have lost out

". Presumably because more weight given to teacher predictions in small sixth forms," he said. "Not obviously fair."

12:06 PM

Have your say: Should Gavin Williamson go?

Conservative MPs have been pretty clear: they think Gavin Williamson should resign, or be sacked, from his role as Education Secretary as a result of the exams chaos this morning, with one telling me "he sticks out like a sore thumb - it's time to cut that thumb off". 

Nearly 40 per cent of teachers' marks have been downgraded as a result of the algorithm being used.  

But with more chaos looming this autumn, is now the right time to be shuffling the deck - or should Mr Williamson be given the opportunity to redeem himself? 

Have your say in the poll below:

12:05 PM

Unions call on Government to use Scotland-style exam grading

More unions have called for the Government to adopt Scotland's approach to using teachers' marks after Ofqual revealed nearly 40 per cent of A-level grades were downgraded after moderation.

Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said: "The Government needs to accept it has got this badly wrong, stop trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat and keep things simple by using teacher predictions - as happened in Scotland."

Larissa Kennedy, president of the National Union of Students (NUS), said: "England must follow Scotland's lead and scrap moderated grades, moving to give all students their teacher assessed grades.

"We must look at what this will mean for individual students without such action, many of whom will miss out on opportunities to attend the university of their choice because of this process.

"For three per cent of students to have had their results downgraded by two grades means that there will be thousands of students receiving results that are no reflection of their true ability."

11:30 AM

School union raises questions over double downgrades

A union has said it will be querying the process by which results have been lowered for some students by two grades or more.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said he was "concerned "about the "significant" drop for some pupils. 

Figures from Ofqual show that 3.3 per cent of entries in England were brought down by two grades and 0.2 per cent came down by three grades after moderation. Overall, nearly 40 per cent of marks have been downgraded. 

He said: "Schools used a wide range of evidence to submit grades for their students and we would question how a change this significant could be fair to those students.

"It is vital that these students get the results that they deserve and not the results which fit a school or college's past-performance profile."

11:23 AM

Scotland's R-rate could be as high as 1.3, Nicola Sturgeon warns

Nicola Sturgeon has warned that figures published later today will show the R-rate was above one in Scotland last week. 

The upper estimate could be as high as 1.3, she said, in part because of the outbreaks in Aberdeen. 

Stressing that the R-rate becomes less accurate as overall numbers decline, the First Minister said it would be confirmed later this afternoon. It is a reminder of "the fragility of our position", she added. 

The report will also set out 250 people who could have been infectious with the virus, which reflects the low levels of transmission overall, Ms Sturgeon said. 

11:21 AM

Boris Johnson pressed on Brexit during Northern Ireland talks

Arlene Foster has said she had "a good engagement with the Prime Minister this morning" during Boris Johnson's first trip to Northern Ireland since January, when a deal was struck to restore power-sharing.

Speaking after talks today, the First Minister said they had "covered a wide range of issues", including "obviously Brexit and the need for those promises in the command paper and protocol to be followed up on". 

The DUP leader said she also pressed him on an aviation strategy,calling for "an intervention, to help all of our companies who are really suffering" as a result of the pandemic. 

They also discussed plans to mark Northern Ireland's centenary year in 2021, with Mr Johnson setting up a centenary forum and historical advisory panel.

11:06 AM

Starmer calls on Government to 'rethink' exams as he claims students have been 'fundamentally failed'

The schools system has "fundamentally failed" students, parents and teachers this exams year, Sir Keir Starmer has said, and called on the Government to "rethink" its approach. 

After it transpired that around 40 per cent of students' marks have been downgraded, the Labour leader said "Something has obviously gone horribly wrong with this year’s exam results."

He added: "Parents, teachers and young people are rightly upset, frustrated and angry about this injustice."

10:56 AM

Colleges call on Gavin Williamson to conduct urgent review into exams process

The Association of Colleges (AoC) has written to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to call for an urgent review into the standardisation process used for A-level results.

David Hughes, chief executive of the AoC, said he has heard from a number of colleges that more than half of their grades have been adjusted downwards.

He said: "We are deeply concerned that the adjustment process may have disadvantaged larger centres such as colleges and those with historically strong value-added data.

"Colleges with large cohorts and very stable and predictable results over time are seeing their lowest grade profile ever, particularly at the higher grades, A to C."

The letter to the Government and Ofqual says: "A technical review now could examine that and would avert hundreds of colleges from having to make individual appeals. It would show that you are being transparent and taking the concerns seriously."

It adds: "We cannot stand by when the evidence suggests that many thousands of students may have missed out on their grades because of a systemic bias."

10:44 AM

Uptick in contacts reached through NHS Test and Trace

There has been an uptick in the number of people being contacted through Test and Trace - although the figures remain far off the high watermark of the first week. 

Since the launch of NHS Test and Trace, 214,890 close contacts of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 have been reached through the tracing system and asked to self-isolate.

This is 81.5 per cent out of a total of 263,515 people identified as close contacts.

The remaining 48,625 people (18.5 per cent) were identified as close contacts, but were not reached.

The weekly figures show that 74.2 per cent of close contacts were reached in the week ending August 5, up from 72.4 per cent in the previous week, but down on the 90.7 per cent reached in the first week of Test and Trace (week ending June 3).

10:35 AM

Boris Johnson arrives for talks with Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill

Boris Johnson has just arrived in Northern Ireland, where he will be holding talks with First Minister Arlene Foster and Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, the deputy first minister. 

It is his first trip to Northern Ireland since January, when a deal was struck to restore power-sharing.

The Prime Minister, along with Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, to discuss how Westminster and Stormont have tackled Covid-19 as he seeks to emphasis the strength of the union.

Ahead of the trip, Mr Johnson said he recognised that "close working" had helped during the pandemic.

"I cannot overstate how important the close co-operation that we have seen between central and devolved government will continue to be to this," he added.

"Together, we will make sure Northern Ireland is ready to take full advantage of the many opportunities that lie ahead and that no part of Northern Ireland is left behind."

10:26 AM

More than 2m EU citizens get post-Brexit settled status

More than two million people have been granted the right to carry on living and working in the UK permanently after Brexit, figures suggest.

Some 2,041,200 people have received settled status after applying to the EU Settlement Scheme, in order to carry on living and working in the UK when freedom of movement ends, according to provisional Home Office statistics to the end of July.

A further 1,475,500 were granted pre-settled status, where they would need to reapply again after living in the country for five years to gain permanent residence.

But 4,600 applications were refused, 36,500 were withdrawn or void and 34,900 were invalid - where the Home Office decides someone is not eligible to apply or has failed to provide sufficient proof of residence.

More than 3.8 million (3,805,200) applications have been received in total so far, with some 3.5 million (3,516,700) of those concluded.

After a drop in the number of applications being submitted and processed during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, the department said it received 92,000 in July and dealt with 133,100 during the month.

10:10 AM

Scotland's education secretary faces no-confidence motion

It is not just Gavin Williamson who is under pressure today. His Scottish counterpart John Swinney faces a no-confidence motion at Holyrood later over the exams controversy - although the vote is expected to be defeated.

The Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour and the Lib Dems are calling on him to resign after thousands of teacher estimates were downgraded.

But the Scottish Greens have said they will not support the motion, following a government U-turn.

After an outcry and protests by students, when it emerged that those from deprived areas were being disproportionately marked down, Mr Swinney said he would direct the SQA to reissue grades "based solely on teacher or lecturer judgement".

09:55 AM

Government must stop China and Russia using pandemic to their advantage, urge MPs

The UK Government must stop hostile states such as China and Russia using the pandemic to their global advantage, a group of MPs have warned.

The Commons Defence Committee, chaired by Conservative Tobias Ellwood, has called for a "robust assessment" of the threat Moscow and Beijing pose to UK interests at home and abroad.

The MPs also want greater transparency around who is leading the Government's integrated review of foreign, defence, security and international development policy - the first for five years - and to clarify the role of the Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers and advisers, following reports that Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister's chief adviser, was closely involved. 

Mr Ellwood said: "As we re-orient ourselves on the world stage, and react to significant geopolitical shifts in power, we must make an honest assessment of our country’s strengths and weaknesses, using this to inform our strategy going forward.... 

“Number 10 has described the Integrated Review as the most comprehensive policy review since the end of the Cold War, however we are concerned that the gap between this expectation and reality is widening."

09:40 AM

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: It's time to go for growth before Covid destroys the economy

It is official. The UK has ended up in a super-league of its own, with the highest level of excess deaths in Europe and the deepest economic contraction in Europe as well. 

This, writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, is the worst failure of British state policy in a lifetime, a domestic Suez, for which nobody has yet been held to account.

Nevertheless, he argues, we cannot purge the original sin of early March by draconian purity five months later. 

09:25 AM

Coronavirus hits cancer referrals as numbers drop by a fifth

The pandemic has seen a drop of more than a fifth in the number of urgent cancer referrals, as the waiting list for routine hospital treatments climbs to a record high. 

Some 153,134 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in England in June 2020, down from 194,047 in June 2019 - a drop of 21 per cent. Urgent breast cancer referrals showed an even bigger drop: down from 14,885 in June 2019 to 8,495 in June 2020, a fall of 43 per cent. 

The number of people waiting longer than 18 weeks for routine hospital treatment in England was more than 1.85 million in June - the highest since records began in August 2007.

The number of patients admitted for routine treatment in hospitals in England was down 67 per cent in June compared to a year ago.

09:21 AM

Ministers must 'correct the injustice' on exams, says Labour

Shadow education secretary Kate Green has called on ministers to act to end the "injustice" suffered by A-level students in England who had had their results downgraded.

"It is a huge injustice that pupils will see their results downgraded just because of their postcode," she said.

"Ministers must act urgently to correct the injustice faced by so many young people today. Students must be able to lodge their own appeals if they haven't got the grade they deserved and admissions teams must be forced to be more flexible.

"No student should see their dreams slip away because of this Government's inaction."

09:07 AM

Liz Truss pledges to 'step up' talks with US over punitive whisky tariffs

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss has pledged to step up efforts to persuade the US to lift punitive tariffs imposed on UK goods such as single malt Scotch whisky as part of a long-running trade dispute with the EU over Airbus.

US trade representative Robert Lighthizer yesterday that Washington would not go ahead with a threatened extension of the tariff regime, and confirmed a "modest" easing of tariffs on products such as shortbread.

However, Ms Truss - who met Mr Lighthizer last week in Washington - said she would now be urging the Americans to go further to end the economic damage the levies were causing to both sides.

"I am pleased that the US has not applied these additional tariffs, and welcome the decision to lift tariffs on shortbread," she said in a statement.

"However, the announcement does not address tariffs that already exist on goods like single malt Scotch whisky.

"These tariffs damage industry and livelihoods on both sides of the Atlantic and are in nobody's interests. I am therefore stepping up talks with the US to remove them as soon as possible."

Mr Lighthizer, however, warned that the EU still had not done enough for the US to consider any further easing of the tariffs, which cover 7.5 billion dollars (£5.75 billion) worth of European and UK products.

09:00 AM

Have your say: Should Gavin Williamson go?

Conservative MPs have been pretty clear: they think Gavin Williamson should resign, or be sacked, from his role as Education Secretary as a result of the exams chaos this morning, with one telling me "he sticks out like a sore thumb - it's time to cut that thumb off". 

Nearly 40 per cent of teachers' marks have been downgraded as a result of the algorithm being used.  

But with more chaos looming this autumn, is now the right time to be shuffling the deck - or should Mr Williamson be given the opportunity to redeem himself? 

Have your say in the poll below:

08:47 AM

Gavin Williamson praises A-level students ' in difficult circumstances'

Gavin Williamson has congratulated A-level students receiving their results today, saying they "should feel proud of everything you’ve achieved in these difficult circumstances". 

The Education Secretary is currently in the midst of a storm over his handling of the exams assessment process, with Tory MPs calling for him to resign.

08:37 AM

Top grades drop by 40 per cent as Government under pressure to U-turn

Close to 40 per cent of A-level grades were downgraded, figures show, amid calls for the Government to U-turn on its grading system.

A total of 39.1 per cent of grades in England were lowered from teachers’ predictions, data from the exam regulator Ofqual showed.

The majority of grades (35.6 per cent) were lowered by one grade, while 3.3 per cent were pulled down by two grades and 0.2 per cent were bought down by three grades.

Read the full story here.

08:26 AM

Migrants arrive in Dover for 10th day in a row as Calais mayor blasts Navy plan

Migrants have arrived in Dover for the 10th day in a row, as the mayor of Calais branded UK plans to send in the Royal Navy a "declaration of maritime war".

People in lifejackets and masks were brought into the harbour aboard a Border Force patrol boat before being taken ashore by officials this morning.

Favourable weather in the English Channel has made the crossing possible for hundreds of migrants over the last 10 days, despite Home Secretary Priti Patel's vow to make the route "unviable". More than 4,000 people have made the journey since the start of the year. 

But Natacha Bouchart told France 3: "The British Government should take care of its own responsibilities.

"I am waiting for [French interior minister] Gerald Darmanin to make the British stop this vacuum and to push the British Government to make decisions on its migration policy in its own territory.

"We in Calais no longer want to be permanent hostages enduring the lectures of British leaders."

08:00 AM

Imperial study suggests 3.4m English have caught Covid already

Some 3.4 million people in England have been infected with Covid-19, a figure far higher than previous estimates, a study suggests.

The results come from the world's largest home testing programme to find antibodies for the coronavirus, a study involving more than 100,000 volunteers and carried out by Imperial College London.

The programme estimated that six per cent of England's population had already been infected with Covid-19 by July 13. People living in London were most likely to have been infected, along with those working in care homes and health care, people from black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups, and people living in larger households.

The programme suggested a total of 13 per cent of people living in London had Covid-19 antibodies, compared with less than three per cent in the South West of England.

Health minister Edward Argar said: “We don’t yet know that antibodies provide immunity to coronavirus, but the more information we can gather on this virus, and the easier we can make it for people to participate in these studies, the better equipped we will be to respond."

07:56 AM

Contact tracing app trial begins in Isle of Wight (again)

England's revamped coronavirus contact-tracing app is set to begin public trials from today -but with limited fanfare, as the Government still does not know when a national rollout will happen. 

The Isle of Wight will be involved again, along with one other area and a volunteer group. 

The new software will be based on Apple and Google's privacy-centric method of one smartphone detecting another.

Engineers are still trying to reduce how often the Bluetooth-based tech wrongly flags people as being within 2m (6.6ft) of each other.

Officials are concerned about people wrongly going into quarantine as a consequence.

07:48 AM

Triple-lock designed to protect 'outliers' from being disadvantaged by exam algorithm, says Gavin Williamson

Gavin Williamson's former politics lecturer has said algorithm systems are "not a very good idea" as they tend to disadvantage high-achieving pupils in low-performing schools.

Asked on LBC whether Peter Ashton was right, the Education Secretary said: "Mr Ashton is always correct.

"There is sometimes a danger where you have an exceptionally high-performing child in a low-performing school to be in a situation where they don't get the grades that they want to.

"What we've asked the exam boards is, where they think there may be outliers, is actually to be contacting the schools to talk with them to make sure that appeals are put forward.

"The reason we've got the appeals process that we have is to ensure if there is a situation where a child is in that place that they get the grades that they deserve.

"There is no system that is as good as the exams system, and any of the system that is put in its place will have weaknesses compared to the exams system."

07:43 AM

Which countries are at risk of being dropped from the travel corridor this week?

While all the talk is of France, a clutch of other destinations are at risk of being taken off the UK’s quarantine-free list this week.

An analysis of the latest data by The Telegraph shows that while new cases in France rose to 18.1 per 100,000 for the period August 6-12, a figure that will have alarm bells ringing in Westminster and up from 13.1 for the previous seven days, several other countries with “travel corridors” have a higher case rate.

They are the Netherlands (23.1 per 100,000), Gibraltar (35.6), Monaco (38.2), Malta (46.7), San Marino (53.0), the Faroe Islands (198.5), Turks and Caicos (278.9) and Aruba (547.9).

A decision is expected tomorrow. 

07:37 AM

Number of EU students accepted at UK universities falls 15pc

The number of EU students accepted on UK degree courses has fallen by more than 15 per cent year on year, Ucas figures show. 

Just 22,430 students from inside the EU will be joining universities this academic year. However the number of international students coming from outside the EU has risen two per cent, to 34,310. 

In total, 358,860 people from across the UK have had places confirmed, up 2.9 per cent on the same point last year, according to data published by the university admissions service.

A total of 415,600 students have a confirmed place on an undergraduate course in the UK. This is a 1.6 per cent increase on results day last year.

07:33 AM

Number of students accepted on UK degree courses rise 2.9pc, says Ucas

The total number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has risen with 358,860 taking up places so far, up 2.9 per cent on the same point last year, initial Ucas figures show.

Writing in The Telegraph, Gavin Williamson said he would refuse to follow Scotland in an about-turn allowing students to be awarded grades predicted by their teachers.

Mr Williamson said that, if teachers' grades were used, "we would have seen them shoot up, which would devalue the results for the class of 2020 and would clearly not be fair on the classes of 2019 and 2021", adding: "But worse than that, it would mean that students this year would lose out twice over, both in their education and their future prospects."

Read his column here.

07:28 AM

Gavin Williamson: I would have liked England to have AS-levels

Gavin Williamson has said he would have "liked" to keep the AS-level system for England, but said there is "no point" talking about that in the current situation. 

Students in Wales, where that system is still in place, are able to fall back on those results this year, however they were scrapped in England by former education secretary Michael Gove. 

Asked if his Cabinet colleague had made a mistake in getting rid of this system, Mr Williamson told LBC: "No, not at all.

"I would probably rather have liked the AS (level) system, sort of what they've got in Wales today, but there's no point in chatting about what you would maybe like.

"In truth, none of us would have wanted to be in this situation in where we've had to have exams cancelled in the first place.

"But what we saw in Republic of Ireland, where they tried to proceed with an exam process they ended up having to drop that."

07:20 AM

Delaying exams would have disadvantaged poorer students, says Education Secretary

Pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds would have been at "high risk" of losing out compared to their more middle-class counterparts if exams had been delayed rather than cancelled, according to the Education Secretary.

Gavin Williamson was asked if he regretted not pushing for exams to be delayed until June.

He replied on Times Radio: "If we'd been in a situation where we tried to delay the exams - and this is what happened in Ireland - what became apparent is that children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, who maybe hadn't had the same level of support and help, would have been at a maybe high risk of not either turning up to those exams or not having had the same level of support in the run-up to those exams as children from more middle-class backgrounds."

Mr Williamson said there have been "very few examples" where delaying exams was a "feasible" route to go down.

07:11 AM

Students will not find out about appeals chances today because of 11th hour change, says Education Secretary

Students will not find out whether they will be able to appeal their grades today, because of the last minute nature of the changes, Gavin Williamson has said. 

The Education Secretary was asked why England's exams regulator Ofqual had announced it has cancelled its press conference on Thursday.

Speaking to Sky News, he said: "The reason Ofqual hadn't got it ready for today is because it's obviously a decision that was made sort of later on in the process, and that they are working to make sure that information is shared with schools and colleges over the next few days."

06:51 AM

Gavin Williamson rules out Scotland-style exams U-turn

Gavin Williamson has said there will be no Scotland-style U-turn on the way exams are being assessed this year, despite concerns that around 40 per cent of student will have their marks downgraded. 

The Education Secretary told Sky News: "Absolutely, when we've consulted widely, when Ofqual consulted widely (on) the whole system of awarding, this is the message that we got from everyone - this is the right approach to go forward.

"You've got to have a system that has checks and balances, that looks at the whole performance and making sure you maintain standards within the exam system, to ensure those results carry credibility."

06:44 AM

Grade inflation 'would devalue A-level results of Covid generation', says Gavin Williamson

Inflating the grades of the Covid generation risks devaluing their exam results and harming their future career prospects, the Education Secretary has said.

Writing in The Telegraph, Gavin Williamson said he would refuse to follow Scotland in an about-turn allowing students to be awarded grades predicted by their teachers.

On Thursday, thousands of A-level students in England will be given marks calculated by a statistical model which takes into account a range of factors including their performance in earlier tests and previous exam results at their school.

However, on Wednesday ministers admitted this will mean that 40 per cent of students are awarded a lower grade than predicted by teachers.