Brexit news – live: ‘Emergency’ plan for ports over food shortages and Starmer urges apology to fish industry

Downing Street has signalled that Boris Johnson has not yet read the full text of his Brexit trade deal with the EU. His official spokesman has told reporters only that the prime minister was “fully aware” of its contents.

The PM’s spokesman told a Westminster media briefing: “The prime minister is fully aware of the deal that we agreed.” Pressed on whether Johnson expected his cabinet colleagues to read the agreement text, the spokesman said: “The prime minister and other ministerial colleagues are fully aware of the deal we agreed with the EU.”

The Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said he believes fish are “better and happier” at being fully “British” now the Brexit process is complete. “The key is we’ve got our fish back – they’re now British fish!  And better and happier for it!” he exclaimed.

Environment secretary George Eustice has parroted a phrase used by the prime minister, saying that the delayed export of Scottish seafood to the EU this month is down to “teething problems”. 

In response to a question from Alistair Carmichael, the Lib Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, Mr Eustice said: “We are looking very closely with industry on this matter. We are having twice a week meetings with all the key stake holders, all of the key sectors to help them understand these issues.

“Yesterday we had a meeting with the Dutch officials, earlier this week we had a meeting with the French, on Friday we had a meeting with the Irish to try to iron out some of these teething problems.”

On Wednesday, Boris Johnson admitted there were “teething problems” with the new Great Britain-Northern Ireland trade rules.

Hundreds of trucks could be fast-tracked at UK ports as part of “emergency” measures designed to prevent food shortages in British supermarkets, a government document shows. 

This comes amid growing concerns in Whitehall about the disruption to food supply chains caused by Brexit. 

“We are proposing an emergency contingency measure . . . to expedite the return of empty food lorries from the UK to the EU where they can be restocked with supplies,” the document says.

Our deputy politics editor Rob Merrick has the details: 

Keir Starmer has said the government should apologise to Scottish fishing communities for the problems they face from the UK’s post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.  

The Labour leader said he had “a lot of sympathy” for these communities because “they’ve been left high and dry” by ministers. 

He added: “The Government left the signing of the agreement to the 11th hour.

“Those communities have been through a hell of a lot already and we owe them a better way of working with this, and I think the Government owes them an apology.” 

The chief executive of Tesco, Britain’s largest retailer, has said the firm has experienced “limited disruption” to its supply chain in Northern Ireland since a post-Brexit trade deal was signed last month. 

Ken Murphy said: “We have seen some limited disruption into the Republic of Ireland and into the north of Ireland, but we’re working very closely with government on both sides of the Irish Sea to smooth the flow of product.” 

He added that this had affected items such as short shelf life ready meals, but that overall product availability “remains strong”. 

Mr Murphy also said there had been “teething problems” with the flow of goods from continental Europe to the UK. 

Northern Ireland’s agriculture minister Edwin Poots has warned that Boris Johnson’s government must act now to avert “a major crisis” in food supplies.

A grace period that limits the level of red tape required to move retail food products from GB to NI runs out at the end of March. With some empty supermarket shelves already in evidence, the DUP politician said things could turn drastic from the beginning of April.

“Whenever it comes to the supermarket side of things it was made very clear to us by the suppliers to both hospitals and schools that if the current arrangement for supermarkets isn’t extended in a few months; time that they will not be able to supply our hospitals and schools with food,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.

“That is a major crisis and I have raised this with [Cabinet Office minister] Michael Gove.”

But the Alliance party’s deputy leader Stephen Farry accused Poots of “scaremongering on steroids”.

Conservative MP John Lamont said US tariffs will cost “many jobs” in Scotland unless financial compensation is given to affected businesses.

He told the Commons: “I want to reiterate the huge financial strain that the tariffs are having on the textile and cashmere industry in my own constituency in the Scottish borders. I fear it is going to cost us many local jobs.”

International trade secretary Liz Truss replied: “We are looking at supporting industry including the BEIS fund that will invest £10m to help distilleries go green. And no doubt the Treasury are also looking at other affected industries as well.

The Trump administration hit EU countries on around $7.5bn (£5.5bn) worth of goods in 2019, but the UK opted to drop Brussels’ retaliatory tariffs against the US in the hope of getting a free trade deal at some point.

Owners of artworks worth millions of pounds have been working hard to get them out of the UK and avoid Brexit costs, it has emerged.

A painting by Henri Matisse was on the last lorries out of Britain before the end of the transition period, according to Bloomberg. Some galleries and collectors decided that keeping valuable works in the EU was a better option because of the tax and customs red tape involved in moving them in and out of the UK in future.

One London-based gallery owner said several clients had moved their collections to EU countries.

Home secretary Priti Patel also suggested action could be taken against catering provider Chartwells after images of their meagre free school meal parcels were widely shared on social media.

She told This Morning: “Those were just appalling in every way. The voucher scheme is coming back in place on January 18, so that scheme is coming. Quite frankly that scheme is just so, so important.

“I do think the company that were involved with that appalling display of food parcels should be ashamed of themselves quite frankly – it was thoroughly unacceptable and it is right that the government are investigating them … I personally think some action should be taken against that company.”