General election: Boris Johnson faces wider Arcuri investigation – live news

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The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and the Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson, are also speaking at the CBI conference.

Labour has promised to create a climate apprenticeship programme that will train an average of 80,000 people a year.

Under the plans, they said they will deliver 320,000 apprenticeships in England during their first term in government, with the programme creating 886,000 by 2030.

The conference comes after the CBI director general, Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, said Corbyn’s nationalisation plans would “freeze investment”, and called on Labour to work with business.

She told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “We look at the policies on the table and we have real concerns that they are going to crack the foundations of our economy.”

Boris Johnson will announce cuts to national insurance and business tax in a speech today.

The prime minister will tell leaders at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference on Monday that the Tories will put an end to Brexit “uncertainty and confusion” if they are returned to power on 12 December.

Johnson will increase the employment allowance from 3,000 to 4,000, providing a cut in NI of up to 1,000 for more than half a million businesses.

They have also promised to increase the structures and buildings allowance (SBA) from 2% to 3% to increase the tax relief on the purchase, building or leasing of a structure.

Johnson is expected to say:

Let’s not beat around the bush. Big business didn’t want Brexit. You made that clear in 2016 and this body said it louder than any other. But what is also clear is that what you want now – and have wanted for some time – is certainty. So that you can plan and invest, so you can grow and expand, so that you can create jobs and drive prosperity.

He is expected to add:

While you didn’t want it, the people did vote for it. And so it was for politicians to deliver it.

Mike Cherry, the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “These measures lay down a gauntlet to other parties, and we hope there will be more to come at this election.

“Actions to reduce the cost of employment and fix business rates should be complemented with clear commitments to tackle the scourge of late payments and help ensure the government is helping the self-employed.

“For example, through introducing a ‘self-employment legislative lock’ and measures to help the self-employed have better access to maternity, paternity and adoption support, and mortgages and pensions.”

That’s it from me, I am now handing over to my colleague Sarah Marsh, who will then pass the baton to Andrew Sparrow. Thanks for reading.

That’s the papers. Time for a little more on the latest from the Arcuri investigation from Matthew Weaver. The London assembly’s oversight committee is going to review a case stemming from 2010, when Johnson failed to declare an interest after having affair with the City Hall adviser Helen Macintyre, who later had a child with him.

At the time, Johnson acknowledged that a potential conflict of interest had not been disclosed and vowed to “bear in mind the definition of close associate for the future”.

Len Duvall, a Labour assembly member who chairs the committee, said: “I’m looking at the paperwork into Helen Macintyre. We need to understand that because he was advised to make those declarations in the future. The question is why did he hide the new relationship with Arcuri?”

You can read more here.

The Financial Times reports on the latest developments in the Saudi Aramco IPO and gives its picture slot to the unrest in Hong Kong at the weekend.

The Daily Express sticks to the election schedule, and gives Boris Johnson’s business boost top billing, but mentions Andrew’s widely derided TV interview in a blurb at the top.

The Daily Mirror has its own exclusive, quoting a former royal protection officer’s view of Andrew’s denials regarding Virginia Giuffre’s allegations that he had sex with her when she was 17.

The Daily Mail engages in damage limitation for Andrew, quoting the prince’s friends as saying he regretted not showing more sympathy for Epstein’s victims.

The Sun says Andrew told the Queen the interview was “a great success”, and reports on criticism of Jeremy Corbyn for saying he would be prepared to give up the UK’s Trident nuclear deterrent.

The Times says Prince Andrew is defiant despite the fallout, and pushes its exclusive about the encounter by Emily Maitlis. It gives its fifth column to Johnson’s attempt to heal the rift with business caused by Brexit.

Today’s newspapers are almost entirely taken up with the fallout from Prince Andrew’s Newsnight interview about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, variously described as a “car crash” or a “great success” on today’s front pages.

Today’s Guardian focuses on Epstein’s victims, with their lawyers demanding that Andrew speak to the FBI.

Happy Monday to you and welcome to today’s politics liveblog. I will be showing you the lie of the land for the first hour before handing over to my colleagues. Here’s what we can expect today …

At a glance:

• Investigators looking into Boris Johnson’s relationship with the US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri will also review an affair with an adviser that he failed to declare while mayor of London.
• On the campaign trail, he is preparing to woo business owners with a range of tax cuts at the Confederation of British Industry conference. He will promise tax relief for the construction and research industries, plus a tax cut for small employers by raising the allowance for their national insurance bills from £3,000 to £4,000. Jeremy Corbyn will also speak at the CBI.
• Labour will unveil a compromise position on immigration this week that would not commit fully to free movement after Brexit but would expand the rights of migrants to bring family members to the UK.
• The Liberal Democrats are challenging ITV in the high court this morning over its exclusion of leader, Jo Swinson, from its televised debate. Two judges in London will also hear a similar action by the SNP. Swinson will be in Hertfordshire this morning.

That’s enough chat for now – off we go!