No second Scottish independence referendum for 25 years, says minister

Thank you for joining me for today's politics live blog. 

I will be back early tomorrow morning.

Downing Street has refused to be drawn on Mark Spencer's suggestion that there should not be a second Scottish independence referendum for 25 years (see the post below at 14.59). 

No 10 just said that ministers are "united on our view that now is not the time" for a second vote. 

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said: "I think he was asked to give an opinion on what constitutes a generation. 

"Whilst I don't think there is a specific Government definition, I am sure we are united on our view that now is not the time to be talking about another referendum." 

The Supreme Court has rejected a last-minute appeal to halt the first flight of asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda, removing the last legal obstacle to the plane taking off.

However, it still remains unclear how many of the remaining seven migrants on the flight will go to Rwanda as their lawyers mounted final appeals to get them removed.

You can read the full story here. 

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the DUP, has said there is no timetable for his party to return to powersharing arrangements at Stormont. 

He said his party needs to see the UK Government legislation on the Northern Ireland Protocol make it onto the statute book before it can move. 

He said: "There’s a long way to go with this legislation. It will take months to pass through the Commons and the Lords unless the Government decides to escalate the timetable for the bill, and we haven’t heard that.

“So, we will consider what happens in the legislative process, but at this stage we haven’t come to a view as to when the institutions might be restored. We want that to happen but we need to be sure that this bill is moving forward, and that this bill will be enacted. That is fundamentally important for us. A solution can only work once the legislation is in place.”

Boris Johnson has said the Government may “very well” have to change the law to ensure it can deliver its policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Asked during a visit to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire if it was time for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, the Prime Minister said all options were under review.

“The legal world is very good at picking up ways of trying to stop the Government from upholding what we think is a sensible law,” he said in a pooled clip for broadcasters.

“Will it be necessary to change some rules to help us as we go along? It very well may be. All these option are under constant review.”

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, has said the Scottish people had already made their views known on Scottish independence at the 2014 referendum.

“I think the decision was taken by the Scottish people only a few years ago, in recent memory,” he told reporters in Staffordshire.

“I think we should respect that. I think we should also focus on what I think the people of the whole of the UK – Scotland, England, everybody – wants us to look at, which is the economic position we are in, the effect of Covid on the country and then the post-Covid issues that we’re grappling with.

“That’s the focus of the Government. We’re working with our friends in the Scottish Government, in the Scottish administration, on those issues. That’s what you’d expect the Government to do.”

A Cabinet minister has suggested there should be a 25 year gap between the first referendum on Scottish independence and the second vote being pushed for by the SNP. 

Mark Spencer, the Commons Leader, told MPs that he believes "once in a generation" - a phrase used to refer to the 2014 result - should mean a wait of something like a quarter of a century. 

Nicola Sturgeon's statement this morning on her renewed push for independence was raised in the Commons by SNP Commons leader Pete Wishart who was criticised by the Tory MP John Baron.

Mr Baron said the SNP "cannot be trusted because when we last had a referendum with regards the Union we were assured by the SNP that that would be a once in a lifetime, generational choice".

Mr Spencer said: “[Mr Baron] makes an interesting observation – once in a generation I think is certainly not five years, I think that would be more nearer to 25 years before it should be considered again.”

Lord Frost has previously suggested that he could quit the House of Lords in order to run to be an MP and in an interview with Conservative Home published today he has confirmed he is "mulling" the idea. 

He said that "if you aspire to shape opinion and make things happen I think it’s right that you should be in the Commons".

Asked if he was saying that he is "mulling the possibility", he said: "Yes, I think that’s fair.”

Lord Frost, the former Brexit minister, has given an interview to the Conservative Home website in which he detailed the abuse he has faced since entering frontline politics. 

He said: "Most people become ministers and do controversial things in politics after they’ve been an MP. For me it all came suddenly out of the blue, and having to get used to the public exposure suddenly, without any kind of prep, has been quite shocking in some ways to me.

“The degree of aggression, hostility on social media and beyond, has been quite striking to me. I’ve had people spit at me in the street, push me, shout at me on trains, this sort of thing.

“So I’m now a bit edgy about any kind of public interaction. That has been a real surprise and disappointment to me."

Michelle O'Neill, the vice president of Sinn Fein, has warned Boris Johnson's Northern Ireland Protocol Bill could put investment in the province at risk. 

She said the UK's plans to unilaterally override parts of the protocol are "reckless " and "dangerous". 

“If you were a local company who wants to sell into the European market for the future, that investor will think twice because of the uncertainty here," she said. 

“So Boris Johnson is jeopardising jobs here, all for what is going on within the Tory party. Boris Johnson and the Tories will never act in the interests of people here.”

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill has claimed the UK Government's plans to unilaterally make changes to post-Brexit border rules will create "more uncertainty" for businesses in Northern Ireland. 

Speaking during a visit to a factory in Co Tyrone, Ms O’Neill said: “The reality is that the actions of Boris Johnson, the actions to unilaterally disapply parts of the protocol will have a negative impact on businesses like this.

“It creates more uncertainty so that is not in the best interests of the people here, it is certainly not in the best interests of the business community here.

“There are ways to smooth the protocol but that needs to be done in an agreed fashion between the EU and the British Government."

SNP MP Patrick Grady has apologised for his behaviour after a report recommended he should be suspended from the House of Commons for sexual misconduct against a member of staff while drunk.

Delivering a personal statement in the Commons at lunchtime, Mr Grady said: “I am profoundly sorry for my behaviour and I deeply regret my actions and their consequences.

“Any breach of the behaviour code and associated policies risks bringing this House into disrepute and will cause distress and upset not just to the complainant but to the wider parliamentary community.

“Mr Speaker, I give you and this House my firm assurance that I have learned significant lessons through this process and a firm undertaking that such behaviour on my part will never happen again.

“I repeat my apology without reservation to the complainant and extend that apology to you, Mr Speaker, to this House and its staff, to the residents of Glasgow North, my constituency staff, local party members, family, friends and anyone else who has been affected by my behaviour in any way.”

A senior SNP politician should be suspended from the House of Commons for sexual misconduct against a member of staff while drunk, a parliamentary report has said.

Patrick Grady, the party’s chief whip in Westminster, was ordered to make a public apology in the chamber and say sorry to the complainant over the incident in 2016 at a work social event in a pub.

A report by the Independent Expert Panel recommended that he was suspended from the Commons for two days.

You can read the full story here.

The Government's first Rwanda charter flight is thought to be costing ministers approximately £250,000.

The fact that there may only be a handful of people on the flight when it is due to depart this evening has prompted questions about value for money. 

Downing Street has defended the cost of the policy, pointing out that the existing system for asylum seekers costs taxpayers more than £1 billion a year. 

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman told journalists at lunchtime: “The broader point is that you will know the cost of the current approach to the UK taxpayer is £1.5 billion every year already, we spend almost £5 million a day accommodating asylum seekers in hotels in this country, so this is about finding a long-term solution to a longstanding problem.”

Downing Street was unable to guarantee that its first Rwanda flight will take off as planned this evening. 

Asked if the flight is definitely going to happen, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman told journalists at lunchtime: "You'll know there are ongoing legal challenges in relation to this. So at this point, I can't be definitive.

"You've seen the courts have made judgments on sort of broad based injunctions, but I think they are now focusing on individuals... That's my understanding, but again, I'm not going to be speculating on what the courts may or may not say."

Boris Johnson’s independent adviser on ministerial ethics has refused to deny that he considered resigning over the Prime Minister’s response to being fined for attending a party in Downing Street during lockdown.

Lord Geidt told the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee that he had felt “frustration” and that the option of resignation was always “on the agenda”. However, he said that he did not believe there was ever “a single direct proposition” in his own mind.

“I am glad that the Prime Minister was able to respond to my report and in doing so addressed aspects of the things about which I was clearly frustrated,” he said. “Resignation is one of the blunt but few tools available to the adviser. I am glad that my frustrations were addressed in the way that they were.”

Pressed by Labour MP John McDonnell if he had threatened to resign after his advice was ignored, Lord Geidt said: “I haven’t given you a direct answer but I don’t think there was ever a single direct proposition in my own mind.”

Mr McDonnell replied: “I am going to take that answer as at least it was on the agenda.”

Downing Street has swiftly rejected Nicola Sturgeon's fresh calls for a second referendum on Scottish independence. 

The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said: “The UK Government’s position is that now is not the time to be talking about another referendum.

“We are confident that the people of Scotland want and expect their governments to be working together to focus on issues like the global cost-of-living challenges, like war in Europe and the issues that matter to their families and their communities.”

Nicola Sturgeon said that while independence "does not guarantee success for any country" she believes Scotland should be in control of the "levers that determine success".

She told a press conference at Bute House in Edinburgh: “Independence does not guarantee success for any country, and we should never pretend it does.

“But, for Scotland, independence will put the levers that determine success into our own hands.

“It will mean we can work in partnership with our friends in the rest of the UK, but not be subject to decisions of Westminster governments we don’t vote for which are taking us in the wrong direction.”

Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, claimed Boris Johnson has "no moral authority anywhere in the UK". 

Speaking about Scotland’s place in the UK, she said: “We have a Prime Minister with no democratic authority in Scotland and no moral authority anywhere in the UK.

“Brexit has ripped us out of the EU and the single market against our will, with massive damage to trade, living standards and public services.”

The issuing of a section 30 order under the Scotland Act 1998 has come to be used as shorthand in the independence debate for the UK Government granting permission for a vote to take place. 

But it is a bit more complicated than that. 

A section 30 order can be made by the UK Government to either increase or restrict the Scottish parliament's powers. This can be done on a temporary or permanent basis.

So in the case of independence, it would be used to grant Holyrood the powers it needs to organise and hold a referendum. 

The Scottish Government can request a section 30 order but ultimately it is up to the UK Government to decide whether to issue one. 

The Scottish Government did request one in March 2017 for the purposes of holding a second referendum but the request was denied. 

Nicola Sturgeon told journalists at a press conference in Edinburgh that the Scottish Government is looking at how a "lawful" second independence referendum could be held without the permission of the UK Government. 

She said: "This is a UK Government that has no respect for democracy and as we saw again yesterday, it has no regard for the rule of law either. 

“That means if we are to uphold democracy here in Scotland we must forge a way forward, if necessary, without a section 30 order. For the reasons I have set out already, however, we must do so in a lawful manner. 

“We know that in these circumstances the competence of the Scottish parliament to legislate is contested and that therefore is the situation we must navigate to give people the choice of independence. That work is well underway and while I do not intend to go further into the detail today, I can say that I do plan to give a significant update to parliament very soon indeed.”  

Nicola Sturgeon said she "stands ready" to discuss the issuing of a section 30 order with Boris Johnson - but she argued that if the UK Government "had any respect at all for democracy the issue of legality would be put beyond doubt, as in 2014" by the PM simply granting permission for the vote. 

She said: "I make clear to the Prime Minister again today that I stand ready to discuss the terms of such an order at any time. 

“But my duty as the democratically elected first minister is to the people of Scotland, it is not to Boris Johnson or to any Tory prime minister."

Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader, said the process for holding a referendum must be clear and lawful because "doubt" over the process would only benefit anti-independence parties. 

She told journalists: "It is the parties opposed to independence and only them who would benefit from doubt about the process. Those parties don’t want to engage on the substance of this debate because they know how increasingly threadbare there arguments are. Their only hope is to cast doubt on the process.

“Those of us who relish the opportunity to make and win the substantive case for independence mustn’t allow them to do so."

Nicola Sturgeon told a press conference in Edinburgh that any second referendum on independence "must be lawful". 

She said: "I was reelected as First Minister just over one year ago on a clear commitment to give the people of Scotland the choice of becoming an independent country. 

“And the people of Scotland elected a Scottish parliament with a decisive majority in favour of both independence and the right to choose. 

“The Scottish parliament therefore has an indisputable democratic mandate and we intend to honour that.

“A referendum though, if it is to be deliverable, command confidence and achieve its objective, must be lawful."

Nicola Sturgeon has suggested the Scottish Government could hold a second referendum on independence without securing the formal permission of the UK Government. 

Ms Sturgeon said she had been reelected on a clear commitment to give the people of Scotland the choice on how they are governed. 

The SNP leader said she believes the Scottish Parliament has an "indisputable democratic mandate" to hold a re-run of the 2014 vote and "we intend to honour that”. 

Ms Sturgeon said any referendum "must be lawful” and she "stands ready" to discuss the matter of permission with Boris Johnson. 

But she suggested the Scottish Government could pursue an alternative route to holding a lawful vote if no agreement can be made with the UK Government.

Nicola Sturgeon is holding a press conference in Edinburgh as she renews her push for Scottish independence. 

Ms Sturgeon is unveiling the first of a number of position papers to make the case for a split from the UK. 

She said Scotland is facing "significant challenges but we also have huge advantages and immense potential”. 

She said Scotland faces a choice between sticking with a UK model which “consigns us to relatively poor economic and social outcomes… or do we instead lift our eyes with hope and optimism and take inspiration from comparable countries across Europe". 

The SNP leader said it is "time now to set out and debate that case” and "it is time to talk about independence”. 

Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser last month demanded an explanation from the Prime Minister over partygate as he said there were “legitimate” questions about whether he broke the ministerial code (you can read that story here).

Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, has been giving evidence to the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee this morning and he told MPs it is “reasonable” to suggest the Prime Minister being fined over partygate could be a breach of the ministerial code.

He told the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee: “If I am to take the view of say the ordinary man or woman in the language as it were on the face of the code then I think it’s reasonable that some, and indeed many people have written to me making this point, it’s reasonable to say that perhaps a fixed-penalty notice and the Prime Minister paying for it may have constituted not meeting the overarching duty of the ministerial code of complying with the law.”

The peer said he now believes he has the power to initiate investigations into the Prime Minister after the rules relating to his role were updated.

“I’m glad to get the new power and I’m not going to be restrained from using it where necessary but my powers were less clear in the previous period,” he said.

Boris Johnson has defended his Rwanda policy and insisted the Government represents the tradition of "welcoming people" to the UK. 

The Prime Minster said there were many around the Cabinet table “whose immediate ancestors came to this country to seek a new life here”, often “in fear of their lives and fleeing persecution”.

He said: “And this is a Government really unlike many others in the way that we represent that tradition of this country, that tradition of welcoming people, that tradition of allowing talent to come to this country”.

Boris Johnson told his Cabinet that the Government will not be “deterred or abashed” by criticism of the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

He also appeared to make a reference to criticism from the Church of England (see the post below at 08.19) and the reported criticism from Prince Charles as he said some criticism of the policy has come from "slightly unexpected quarters". 

He said: “We are not going to be in any way deterred or abashed by some of the criticism that is being directed upon this policy, some of it from slightly unexpected quarters. We are going to get on and deliver.

“The objective, the objective is to ensure that we make that clear distinction that I think everybody can see is fair and reasonable between legal immigration to this country by safe and legal routes, which we support and uphold and protect because we all understand the benefits that it brings, and distinguishing that from dangerous and illegal cross-Channel migration which we intend to stop”.

Boris Johnson has criticised the “huge amount of attack” the Government’s policy to send asylum seekers to Rwanda has received and said critics are undermining legal migration.

Speaking at a meeting of his Cabinet this morning, the PM said: “What is happening with the attempt to undermine the Rwanda policy is that they are, I’m afraid, undermining everything that we’re trying to do to support safe and legal routes for people to come to the UK and to oppose the illegal and dangerous routes.

“That is what we are trying to do, that is the essence of our policy. And I think that what the criminal gangs are doing and what those who effectively are abetting the work of the criminal gangs are doing is undermining people’s confidence in the safe and legal system, undermining people’s general acceptance of immigration”.

Micheal Martin, the Irish Taoiseach, said European Union leaders will now be questioning if they can trust the UK after the Government published its plans to unilaterally make changes to post-Brexit border rules in Northern Ireland.

Speaking this morning, Mr Martin said: “The fundamental issue is one of trust because the EU did enter into an international agreement with the United Kingdom Government which has now essentially been reneged upon. 

“So a lot of European Union leaders are going to say ‘well, how can we trust you again, if we do a further deal, how do we know you will adhere to that deal?’. That is a fairly fundamental issue that now has to be overcome.” 

Mr Martin said the EU wants to avoid “acrimony or real difficulty” but the UK's decision to press ahead with “ill-thought out” legislation means there is likely to be "very difficult times ahead”.

The ousting of Margaret Thatcher should serve as a warning to Tory MPs not to get rid of Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg has suggested.

Baroness Thatcher resigned in between confidence votes in 1990 to be replaced by Sir John Major — who won the 1992 election, but fell to a landslide defeat in 1997.

“In the ensuing years the Tory party did nothing but argue with itself and therefore there is the very high risk of internal dissent being very bad news for the Conservative Party,” the Brexit opportunities minister told Conservative Home’s Moggcast podcast.

Mr Rees-Mogg said many of the 148 Tory MPs who voted against Mr Johnson last week had “never really accepted Brexit” or been “very supportive of the leadership”.

Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Fein's Stormont leader, has criticised the UK's move on the Northern Ireland Protocol as “disgraceful and utterly reckless”.

“It’s a straight up, slam dunk breach of an international agreement,” she told RTE Morning Ireland.

“It undermines the Good Friday Agreement, and their actions will have huge economic consequences because the reality is, and everybody bar the DUP and bar Boris Johnson knows, that the protocol is working.

“It’s given us an economic advantage. Our economy is outperforming that of Britain and that’s I think what they want to hide in this.

“Boris Johnson’s action yesterday is just completely reckless, and serves to create more instability and serves to create more uncertainty for businesses for planning for the future.”

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the DUP, has said the Irish Government needs to “get real” about the problems being caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol.

He told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme: “Simon Coveney (Irish foreign minister) fails to recognise the extent of the problems that the protocol is causing for Northern Ireland.

“It is not just about trade, it is not just about the difficulties it is creating for business, it is not just about the impact this is having on the cost of living for every consumer in Northern Ireland, it is also about our political institutions.

“It is about stability. Not a single unionist MLA elected to the Assembly last month supports the protocol and without that cross-community consensus the political institutions cannot operate.

“I think the Irish Government need to get real, they need to understand the extent of the problem here and stop deluding themselves that it is some kind of minor issue."

There will be “significant” numbers of asylum seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda by the end of the year, Liz Truss has said.

The Foreign Secretary would not predict what the numbers will be by the end of 2022 but told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “They will be significant.”

Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, argued that talks on the Northern Ireland Protocol hit a “dead end” because the EU would not re-negotiate the text of the post-Brexit agreement.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What we need is the EU to agree to change the text of the protocol, otherwise the negotiation simply won’t succeed.

“They’ve reached a dead end because we can’t change those core issues around customs and around VAT that are losing us the consent of the unionist community in Northern Ireland.”

Simon Coveney, the Irish Foreign Affairs Minister, said the controversial plans to override the Northern Ireland Protocol were a “new low” for British-Irish relations.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “I think this is not consistent with international law and the British government’s obligations under international law and I think that will be shown in time.

“But more concerningly this, I think, is really a new low in in British-Irish relations, certainly, I think in the last 25 years or so.”

He added: “So this is, unfortunately, if the British government proceeds with this course of action, and turns this draft legislation into law in the months ahead, effectively what they will be doing is collapsing the protocol."

The DUP has warned it will not give into "blackmail" and return to Stormont until the Government’s bill to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol is passed by Parliament (you can read the full story here). 

Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, today "strongly encouraged" the party to return to powersharing as soon as possible as she said the people of Northern Ireland "deserve to have a government". 

She told Times Radio:  “I think for the sake of the people of Northern Ireland, we need a government that's operating in Northern Ireland, and we need both the Assembly and the Executive established so that governance can take place.

“We've laid the legislation yesterday, we've been very clear about our intentions, it delivers for all communities in Northern Ireland, we continue to protect the north south relationship as well as the east west relationship. 

“And I strongly encourage progress to be made on the political front. The people of Northern Ireland deserve to have a government.”

The EU has warned the UK's proposals to unilaterally tear up post-Brexit border rules in Northern Ireland could trigger a trade war. 

Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, was asked why the UK is risking a trade dispute with Brussels at a time when the price of goods is already increasing amid the cost-of-living crisis. 

She told Times Radio: "Our solution doesn't make the EU any worse off. We continue to protect the single market we're supplying the EU with data, we've got strong enforcement to make sure companies aren't violating the rules.

"So there is absolutely no reason why the EU should react in a negative way to what we're doing.

"I've been very clear my preference is for a negotiated solution. But in the absence of that we simply cannot allow the situation to drift."

Labour said "real wages are plummeting" (see the post below at 08.48) and accused the Government of showing "utter complacency" on the state of the economy. 

Jonathan Ashworth, shadow work and pensions secretary, said: "Work should be the best defence from the rising cost of living yet millions in work are in poverty, real wages are plummeting, the numbers in overall employment are below pre-pandemic levels, and the numbers on out of work benefits not looking for work is higher than pre-pandemic.

"With record vacancies in the labour market and inflation at the highest level for 40 years, ministers have shown utter complacency about the huge levels of economic inactivity."

Christine Jardine, the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokeswoman, said today's ONS numbers showing wages are falling at their fastest rate in more than two decades (see the post below at 08.48) should be a "wake up call" for ministers. 

She said: "This must be a wake up call for the Government to slash taxes now. Millions of squeezed-middle families are being dragged into financial despair because Rishi Sunak decided to clobber them with record tax hikes just as inflation spirals.

"This is now a cost-of-living emergency and the Government has no time to waste in cutting taxes. Every day of dither and delay heaps yet more pressure on household budgets."

Responding to the latest employment numbers (see the post below at 08.50), Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, said: "Today’s stats show our jobs market remains robust with redundancies at an all time low. Helping people into work is the best way to support families in the long term, and we are continuing to support people into new and better jobs.

“We are also providing immediate help with rising prices - 8 million of the most vulnerable families will receive at least £1,200 of direct payments this year, with all families receiving £400.”

The number of UK workers on payrolls rose by another 90,000 or 0.3 per cent between April and May to 29.6 million, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics.

The unemployment rate edged up slightly to 3.8 per cent in the three months to April, from 3.7 per cent in the previous three months, though it remained close to 50-year lows.

Job vacancies also rose to a new record of 1.3 million despite a further slowdown in the rate of growth. The redundancies rate hit a new low of 2 per cent in the three months to April.

UK wages are falling at their fastest rate in more than two decades as pay packets fail to keep pace with soaring prices.

Adjusted for inflation, pay excluding bonuses slumped 3.4 per cent year on year in April, according to the Office for National Statistics. That is the biggest decline since records began in 2001.

Between February and April, real-terms pay fell 2.2 per cent – the biggest fall since 2011.

The figures highlight the cost-of-living squeeze for British workers as pay increases are eaten up by the highest inflation in decades.

You can follow live updates on the state of the economy here.

Nicola Sturgeon will require the permission of Boris Johnson and the UK Government to hold a formal re-run of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. 

Mr Johnson has so far rejected calls for a second vote, arguing that the first was supposed to settle the matter for a generation.

Ms Sturgeon was asked if she intends to submit a so-called section 30 order to the Government to request the necessary powers to hold the referendum. 

She told the BBC: "That request is well known. I think I have made it formally in the past, if I need to renew that I will happily do that. 

"We have to work out, and this work is underway, how we navigate our way towards a lawful process with a UK Government that doesn't respect democracy."

Nicola Sturgeon will today renew her battle for Scottish independence as she unveils the first in a series of policy and position papers that she says will form an "updated independence prospectus”.

The SNP leader will hold a press conference later this morning. Last night she said she will not be setting out a firm timetable for tabling the legislation to make the vote a reality just yet. 

She told the BBC: "Not tomorrow but I will say more about that in the weeks to come. There is two issues, two principles in fact, that are really important in this. Democracy is the first. The Scottish people gave my party, my government, a mandate for an independence referendum in the election last year. I intend to honour that. 

"The second principle that is really important is rule of law. Any process has to be lawful and legal." 

Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, said the Government's preference is still to negotiate a compromise deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol. 

She told Sky News: “We would rather have a negotiated agreement with the EU and this is what I said to the EU yesterday. 

“What we need is changes to the protocol that are causing real problems in Northern Ireland, raising costs but also making people feel like they are not part of the [United Kingdom].”

The Government yesterday publish its controversial Northern Ireland Protocol Bill which will allow ministers to make unilateral changes to post-Brexit border rules in the province. 

The publication of the draft legislation is expected to result in the EU restarting legal action against the UK (you can read the full story here). 

Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, said this morning that the UK has been forced to take unilateral action on the protocol because the EU has refused to renegotiate the text of what was agreed in the original Brexit deal.

She told Sky News: "The fundamental point is that the EU won’t change the text of the protocol and it is the text of the protocol that is causing problems. So it is difficult to negotiate with somebody who won’t change the thing that you want to negotiate. That is the issue.”

The entire leadership of the Church of England has united to condemn the Government's plan to deport migrants to Rwanda as an “immoral policy that shames Britain” (you can read the story here). 

Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, hit back at Church leaders this morning as she rejected the claim that the policy is "immoral". She also challenged them to come up with an alternative.

She told Sky News: “I don’t agree with that. The people who are immoral in this case are the people traffickers trading on human misery.

“Those people need to suggest an alternative policy that will work to deal with these illegal people traffickers.”

Liz Truss was asked if it is possible that this evening's flight to Rwanda will take off with no one on it. 

The Foreign Secretary told Sky News: "There will be people on the flight and if they are not on this flight they will be on the next flight because we are determined to break the model of the appalling people traffickers and sort this issue out which has caused untold misery, including people dying in the English Channel.”

Ms Truss suggested that even if there is only one person on the flight it would still represent "value for money". 

Just seven out of 130 migrants originally notified that they would be deported to Rwanda remain on this evening's flight (you can read the original story here) but it is thought that number could fall amid further individual legal challenges. 

Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, was unable to say this morning how many people will be on the flight but she insisted it is important the plane takes off - likely at 9.30pm - in order to establish the "principle" of the journeys taking place. 

She told Sky News: “We are expecting to send the flight later today. I can’t say exactly how many people will be on the flight but the really important thing is that we establish the principle and we start to break the model, the business model, of these appalling people traffickers who are trading in misery.

“That is why we are doing this policy and that is why it is important that we get the flight out today.”

Good morning and welcome to today's politics live blog. 

There are two main issues in Westminster today: The Government's first flight to Rwanda which is due to take off this evening and the ongoing Brexit row over the Northern Ireland Protocol. 

Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, is on the morning media round for the Government so I'll start by guiding you through her key comments.