Plans to keep vaccine passports in reserve are coming under fire from Conservative backbenchers, who fear the certification - and other restrictions - could still be brought forward this winter.
Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, gave a glimmer of hope that the controversial plan for mandatory certification had been ditched. But the proposal will be kept “in reserve” should there be a surge in Covid cases in the autumn and winter.
This morning Therese Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said the Government had "many tools in the toolbox... while it's not completely off the table, no decision has been taken now".
But Mark Harper, the chairman of the Covid Recovery Group, hit out saying: "They shouldn’t be kept in reserve – they are pointless, damaging and discriminatory."
Steve Baker, a CRG colleague. said: "Confusion abounds over whether lockdown is still possible under Govt's plans. Under Public Health Act 1984 powers, the risk remains of immediate lockdown by ministerial fiat."
Boris Johnson will set out his winter Covid plan, in which he will make clear he is "dead set" against another lockdown, tomorrow.
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The MP for Livingston is seeking answers from the Government, after the shock decision to pull its contract with Covid vaccine manufacturer Valneva.
Hannah Bardell, the SNP MP, has written to the Speaker of the Commons and tabled an urgent question , saying: "Everything crossed I get selected."
See 9:23am and 8:11am for more.
If you're suffering from a sense of deja vu, you can be forgiven.
Boris Johnson is preparing to give a statement tomorrow in which he will set out his Covid winter plan, with sources saying he is "dead set against future lockdowns".
But as we all know, the Prime Minister has been dead set against lockdowns in the past - just as he was dead set against tax rises. So do we need something more binding?
And does the same go for all manner of restrictions, from face masks to vaccine passports? Or is it right that they are kept in reserve?
Have your say in the poll below.
The politics of demography are giving way to a new politics of taxation, writes Nick Timothy. With growing numbers of pensioners – dependent on the taxpayer for health treatment, social care and pension payments – and a relative decline in working-age people paying taxes, change is on its way.
More recipients and fewer people to pay presents a problem. Ministers can put up taxes, hitting younger people already struggling to buy family homes and save for pensions. They can cut pensions and public services, hurting and impoverishing many older people. And they can force people to retire later.
But now the argument is that we need to change the parts of the welfare state and public services with the greatest demand: the payments and services used mostly by older people.
Read more from Nick here.
Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey has defended plans to end the ￡20 increase to Universal Credit.
The Cabinet minister, who is said to have personally fought to keep the benefit in place, told Sky News "it was a temporary measure", adding: "It was an element there to protect people, particularly those initially coming into benefits for the first time."
Asked if she was entirely happy with the end of the uplift, she said: "Yes." Ms Coffey stressed the need to "accelerate our plan for jobs".
Six former Conservative work and pension secretaries are among those to have urged Boris Johnson to keep the in-work benefit.
Sajid Javid said on Sunday there should be no new tax rises before the next election after a grassroots backlash over last week's tax raid.
The Health Secretary said that cuts to public spending should be considered before any new tax increases if more money had to be found in the coming years.
The move will be seen as a shot across the bows of Number 10 after Boris Johnson pushed through a manifesto-breaking National Insurance rise despite Cabinet disquiet.
The Telegraph has learned that backbench Conservative MPs still fuming at the Government's decision will launch a fresh attempt this week to change the policy.
Read more here.
The pandemic must be "successfully suppressed" before a Scottish independence referendum can take place, Scotland's deputy first minister has said.
Nicola Sturgeon is expected to use her conference speech today to agree to another Scottish independence referendum “in the spirit of co-operation”. But John Swinney told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the timing will depend on how successfully the pandemic can be managed.
He said: "Now, we're clearly not in that situation because we have particularly high case rates of the virus even though we have a very successful and effective vaccination programme.
"But we are optimistic that the more the vaccination programme continues, the more we take the measures that we are taking, we will find ourselves in a situation where we can see with justification that the Covid pandemic is under control, and we can then have a referendum."
The decision to pull a major contract with vaccine manufacturer Valneva is a "blow" for the facility in Livingston, Scotland's health secretary has said.
Some 100 million doses of the vaccine, which is being manufactured in Livingston, West Lothian, were put on order after the UK increased its request by 40 million in February.
Humza Yousaf told BBC Good Morning Scotland: "We are very keen, and will be reaching out to the company, to try to get security and secure a future for that facility in Livingston; we hope that would be with Valneva.
"Clearly, when it comes to their supposed alleged failure to meet their contract obligations, we obviously are looking for more information from the UK Government and would expect that shortly."
See 8:11am for more.
The Work and Pensions Secretary has admitted not being aware of a Government report warning that the rise in National Insurance could increase the likelihood of family breakdown.
Therese Coffey said she "absolutely" backs the rise of 1.25 percentage points to tackle the NHS backlog and reform social care before acknowledging she had not seen the warning from HM Revenue and Customs.
The analysis prepared for the Government and released after MPs had approved the rise said the impact would be "significant" on economic factors such as earnings, inflation and company profits. It also warned there "may be an impact on family formation, stability or breakdown" as individuals who are currently just about managing "will see their disposable income reduce".
Asked if she was happy about the prospect of families breaking up, she told LBC: "I'm not sure where that comes in on your questioning... I have not seen that report. I expect it's an unquoted source and we don't look into elements like that."
But told that the analysis came from the HMRC, she said: "I'm not aware of it; thank you for bringing it to my attention. I'm not sure I agree with the assertion that is made."
Angela Rayner has refused to say whether she would have written a 1,400-word treatise on Labour's future, after Sir Keir Starmer was ridiculed for doing so.
Asked if she would have done the same as the party leader, his deputy told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have got significant ideas about what we think should happen next.
"We have got the conference in a couple of weeks, which will be Keir's first opportunity to address a large crowd of our membership. It will also be televised, so people can watch that.
"It's a real opportunity to set out the values and vision that we have, which is that people who can afford to pay a little bit more paying more while also supporting working families so that work actually pays and our public services have the valuable funds they need."
Angela Rayner has defended Labour's refusal to put forward an alternative plan for social care, despite criticising the Government's approach.
The party's deputy leader and shadow chancellor told Radio 4's Today programme that the Conservative approach was "completely unfair" and meant care workers would be hit with a "double whammy" of a tax hike and the removal of Universal Credit uplift.
"Not only should there be a plan that includes more home care, and people getting more care quickly because that stops the bottle neck in the system when it comes to the NHS. We have also said people with the broadest shoulders should pay more," she said.
Challenged about the details, she insisted Labour's stance was "far more than a slogan", but repeatedly refused to set out what the solution was, including whether the levy would be reversed.
"We would have to look at that once we are in the position of putting our manifesto forward at a general election," Ms Rayner said.
Scotland's Government has no immediate plans to introduce vaccination passports for access to cafes and restaurants, the deputy first minister has said.
John Swinney told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that they would also not be used in "any public services whatsoever, under any circumstances".
But certificates will be required "across a limited number of sectors", including nightclubs and "some larger gatherings".
Mr Swinney added: "We're now going through a process of dialogue with a range of key affected sectors to make sure we can take the practical steps to implementation, which we want to put in place by October 1 to give us another measure to help us to deal with the challenges that the virus is posing to us."
The Government should use tax to "go for growth" in the long-term, the head of the Confederation of British Industry has said.
Tony Danker, director-general of the CBI, said it was "a mistake to keep believing we can raise taxes without consequences", noting that last week's levy came on top of other tax rises announced in the Budget.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We did not protest - we and most business leaders I know believe the business world should be paying alongside citizens the cost of what we all had to go through in the crisis. But the problem is that if we keep looking to business taxes, believing frankly that is something you can get away with politically, the economic cost is not being accounted for."
When it comes to growth the Government is relying too much on consumer spending bouncing back, which will eventually peter out.
Instead the system should be used to encourage investment, which "lags the world", he argued. "We should be using a tax system that rewards businesses that invest in the stuff we need to grow," Mr Danker said. "
"Let's not go back to become a tax and spend government, let's be a 'going for growth' government."
Sir Keir Starmer has been ridiculed by his own MPs after it was revealed he is writing a 14,000 word essay for a Westminster think tank that would put an end to Labour’s “navel-gazing”.
The Labour leader has reportedly written the treatise for the Fabian Society in an attempt to reshape his own leadership ahead of the party’s conference later this month.
But Jon Trickett, the MP for Hemsworth in West Yorkshire, told The Telegraph: “I don’t think the ex-miners at the miners’ welfare club in my area are going to be reading 14,000 words, and I don’t think many people in the country are, to be honest."
Read more here.
Sajid Javid put the cat among the pigeons with his interview round yesterday.
Having initially told one broadcaster he did not like the idea of vaccine passports, but no decision was taken, he subsequently ruled it out, telling a separate interview: “I’m pleased to say we will not be going ahead with plans for vaccine passports.”
But did the Health Secretary jump the gun with his backbench-pleasing disavowal of the plan? Since he spoke, we have since been told that such proposals remain on the table.
Cabinet ministers must be "transparent" about who they meet, the Work and Pensions Secretary has said, amid fresh allegations facing colleague Priti Patel.
The Home Secretary held meetings with a Conservative donor Surinder Arora and executives from Dubai Airports and British Airways without any officials present, in breach of the ministerial code, the Sunday Mirror reported yesterday.
Therese Coffey told Sky News she did not know the details, but suggested it could have been "by accident".
Told it was not an accident, she said: "As long as you pass on the information, that's what matters to make sure that the civil servants have the record and they can declare that in the appropriate way.
"I don't have the details of Priti but it's important we just make sure it's transparent in that regard with our civil servants and they can use the information accordingly."
The use of mandatory vaccine passports has not been "ruled out forever", Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey has said.
She told BBC Breakfast: "As Sajid Javid set out yesterday, although the formal decision is still to be made, but having reflected and looked at the details of the proposal that it's not deemed necessary at this moment in time.
"But they haven't been ruled out forever. It's reflecting the fact that a lot of young people have come forward and got their vaccinations over the summer."
Masks and working from home guidance could return under plans to combat a possible surge in coronavirus during the winter, a Cabinet minister has said.
Asked about the prospect of the guidance being dusted off, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey told BBC Breakfast that some regulations may still be needed.
"Whether that's with what you just mentioned or making sure statutory sick pay can be paid from day one rather than day four, as tends to happen in more regular times," she said. "These are the sensible measures I think that we're going to keep."
Asked about masks, she said: The Prime Minister will be setting out the Covid winter plan tomorrow. I think my approach, and I see that with a lot of employers organisations, is about having a situation-specific approach."
The UK Government has served notice to terminate its contract with Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer Valneva over allegations of a breach of the agreement, the company said.
The firm, which is manufacturing the jab at its site in Livingston, West Lothian, in Scotland, said it "strenuously" denies the allegations.
In a statement, the French biotech company said it had "received a termination notice from the UK Government" for the supply of the vaccine candidate, which is expected to receive MHRA approval later this year.
"HMG has alleged that the company is in breach of its obligations under the Supply Agreement, but the company strenuously denies this," the statement said.
"Valneva has worked tirelessly, and to its best efforts, on the collaboration with HMG including investing significant resources and effort to respond to HMG's requests for variant-derived vaccines. Valneva continues to be committed to the development of VLA2001 and will increase its efforts with other potential customers to ensure that its inactivated vaccine can be used in the fight against the pandemic."
Boris Johnson will detail his plan for combating coronavirus this winter on Tuesday, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey has confirmed.
She told Sky News: "When we had a variety of regulations we said we'd go back to Parliament every six months to see if those regulations were still necessary, but also some of the ideas that we wanted to consider, and are still part of the toolbox, like vaccine passports.
"Again we said we were considering bringing these items in but it's important that we look at exactly what benefits that will bring, and right now the Health Secretary indicated - although we haven't made a formal decision - that he does not think it is necessary for the vaccine passports to be introduced by the end of the month.
"But the Prime Minister will be setting out tomorrow a lot more of the detail of the road map ahead, preparing for winter."
Boris Johnson will make clear this week he is “dead set” against another national lockdown as he rips up the old system of Covid rules and adopts a new approach for winter.
The Prime Minister is expected to argue to Parliament and in a press conference that the UK must learn to live with Covid-19 now that all adults have been offered a vaccine.
Covid laws that are no longer required will be ditched and plans for vaccine passports for nightclubs and other large crowd venues have been shelved.
The travel traffic lights system will be scrapped, PCR tests will not be required for fully vaccinated travellers and, The Telegraph understands, the red list will be significantly reduced.
But some restrictions, such as new face mask mandates and guidance urging people to once again work from home, will remain as options should the virus surge in the months ahead.
Could we be on the cusp of a return to normality?
In what is being billed as a bonfire of restrictions, Boris Johnson will this week rip up the old system of Covid rules and adopt a new approach for winter.
But there are grumblings from backbenchers that his plans do not go far enough.
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