Prime Ministers spokesman says checks on goods arriving at NI ports from GB are going ahead as usual today. Agriculture and Environment Sec George Eustice to meet Edwin Poots to discuss situation - commons statement later today. No 10 Spokesman - PM “We were certainly not aware that this was an approach the DUP would take”

Starmer - message to Conservatives: theirs is the party of Churchill, we stood shoulder to shoulder against Fascism: now the PM is using extreme Fascist messages in his attacks (ref to Jimmy Saville jibe on Monday) Johnson doubles down on Saville line, saying he understands in 2013 he (Starmer) apologised for his actions in Saville case, and says that was right thing to do

Urgent Question on operation of the NI protocol up next from Labour’s NI spox @LouHaigh Mark Francois and Theresa Villiers arrive to populate govt benches... Brandon Lewis says govt committed to protocol in pragmatic and proportional way. Steps announced last week because businesses need time to implement changes

Jeffrey Donaldson disputed Michael Gove's claim that Northern Ireland supermarkets are not experiencing serious supply chain disruption or shortages Gove tells John Redwood that if further legal steps are needed to ensure free flow of goods then they would be (another reference to Art 16 of NI protocol)

Ian Wright of Food and Drink Federation says transport will get worse - trucks corssing short straits now about 2,000 - normally 10,000. Also Irish sea volumes very light, system not stressed but will be Was Covid crisis a dress rehearsal for Brexit? Supply chais for food and medicines kept running. No, says Ian Wright, because there was no paperwork. Says Covid health checks at Dover was more of a dress rehearsal. Says backlog from that was still being cleared on NYE

Prof Valsamis Mitsilegas tells NI committee that the agreement on JHA is dynamic, as EU values UK inputs, and EU law will evolve over time, and value of system to UK will mean adaptation Prof Steve Peers of Esssex Uni. Tells NI cttee that deal keeps 3/4 of previous arrangement, missing quarter is SIS II and some other capabilities in data exchange. Says quite a lot has been preserved by two sides, esp compared to no deal situation

London has the best medical services in the UK. Today the Mayor of London declared a "major incident" fearing the health service will be overwhelmed by a surge in Covid cases. He says the virus is out of control. In some parts of the city 1 in 20 are infected. Sadiq Khan says he wants to see compulsory wearing of face masks, including outdoors

Whitty says risk of “escaped mutant” virus increases with pressure from more widespread vaccination programme (i.e. not giving second dose 3 weeks after first, but 12 weeks - to double numbers getting first dose of vaccine) Says the risk of the escaped mutant is sufficiently small when weighed against the benefit of vaccinating twice as many people asap. Vallance says all vaccination programmes put pressure on virus, and mutations increase as numbers vaccinated increases