As it happened: Prime Minister's Questions 23 September

Summary

Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer faced each other at this week's PMQs
Furlough featured heavily, with Labour and the SNP calling for an extension to the scheme
Johnson said the government would “bring forward creative and imaginative schemes to keep the economy going” - but no extension
Sir Keir also accused the prime minister of “losing control of testing” and “losing control of the virus”
On Tuesday, the PM gave a televised address on new coronavirus restrictions
Johnson called on the public to "summon the discipline and the resolve" to follow the new rules
In Tuesday's TV broadcast, he warned the government may go further if people don't stick to the restrictions

Live Reporting

Jennifer Scott and Kate Whannel

Watch: PM calls attacks on Dido Harding 'unseemly and unjustified'published at 12:19 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
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Watch: Starmer challenges Johnson on test and tracepublished at 12:19 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
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Starmer calls on PM to act over furloughpublished at 12:19 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
House of Commons
Parliament
Image source, HoC
In his final question, Sir Keir says he is "not asking about support in the past... I am asking about the support that is needed now".
After pointing to the organisations calling for an extension to furlough - including the CBI and the governor of the Bank of England - he asks "when is the prime minister finally going to act?"
Johnson says he recognises it is "tough times" for businesses, and the government will do its "level best to protect them through this period".
But he takes one last swipe at the Labour leader, pointing to comments made by shadow education secretary Kate Green about not letting a "good crisis" go to waste.
"The reality of this opposition has been exposed and the cat's out of the bag," he said.
"They are seeking to create political opportunity out of a crisis whilst we are taking the tough decisions."
Health measures and economic measures 'out of sync' - Starmerpublished at 12:17 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
House of Commons
Parliament
Sir Keir Starmer says the PM is "out of touch" with the reality of parents with kids in school.
"Losing control of testing is major reason why PM is losing control of virus," he says.
He says that while the government is phasing in health measures, economic measures are being phased out.
"Health measures and economic measures are dangerously out of sync," he says, and asks the PM how he will support workers impacted by virus restrictions.
Boris Johnson says the work the government has done to protect the economy has been "unexampled anywhere else in the world".
"We will go forward with further creative and imaginative schemes to keep the economy working," he says.
Image source, HoC
Starmer: No effective testing system for school returnpublished at 12:13 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
House of Commons
Parliament
Image source, HoC
After a brief interruption from the Speaker trying to calm down the MPs in the Commons, Sir Keir says his complaint is "not with the NHS it is with the government".
He moves onto testing capacity, saying the "inevitable" happened when children returned to school this month - they got coughs, bugs and flu.
"But there was no effective system to deal with it," adds Sir Keir.
"How on earth did we get in this mess?"
Johnson says the Labour leader knows "perfectly well there is an exceptionally small risk" to young children.
The PM adds: "He also knows we are doing our level best to get every child a test who has symptoms and 99.9% of schools are back in spite of all his attempts to sow doubt in the summer".
PM accuses Starmer of 'unjustified' attackspublished at 12:11 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
House of Commons
Parliament
Image source, HoC
Sir Keir Starmer asks whether the problems with testing are caused by a lack of capacity "because no one predicted a rise in demand" or because people "are being unreasonable" in asking for tests when they don't have symptoms.
Boris Johnson says the Labour leader's "continual attacks" on head of test and trace Dido Harding are "unjustified".
He says he wants to hear "more of a spirit of togetherness" from the Labour leader.
Johnson: Test and trace 'gives us greater detail'published at 12:08 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
House of Commons
Parliament
Image source, HoC
It is a short second question from Sir Keir - he asks again why the PM said testing or tracing had "very little or nothing" to do with the spread of the disease?
Johnson accuses the Labour leader of not listening to his previous "simple" answer.
"It is simply and sadly epidemiological fact that transmission takes place via human contact person to person," he adds.
And test and trace allows the government to "isolate cases of the virus in every greater deal".
Starmer opens questioning on testingpublished at 12:07 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
House of Commons
Parliament
Image source, HoC
Leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer opens his questioning on testing.
He reads out a quote from the prime minister from three months ago that "test and trace can be a real game changer for us".
He adds that yesterday the PM said the "complete opposite" - that testing and tracing "has very little to do with the spread and transmission of the disease".
Which one is right, he asks.
Boris Johnson replies it is an "obvious fact that the disease is transmitted by human or aerosol contact.
He says testing has allowed government to see "in granular detail where the epidemic is breaking out".
Johnson: We will protect lives and livelihoodspublished at 12:04 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
Conservative Lee Rowley is the first to ask the PM about his announcement last night.
He says it was a "series of changes that none of us ever wanted to see".
And he asks his leader to reassure people the "primary focus of the government is both on lives and livelihoods".
Johnson says they can be reassured and the "purpose of the package" is to do both.
Image source, HoC
PMQs begins...published at 12:00 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
House of Commons
Parliament
Boris Johnson has taken to the despatch box for this week's Prime Minister's Questions.
We will bring you all the updates here.
Boris Johnson on his way for PMQspublished at 11:55 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
Image source, Reuters
As the PM leaves No 10 for the Commons, it's our cue to start warming up for our live rolling coverage of this week's PMQs...
Watch: Johnson's address to nation in fullpublished at 11:51 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
Around 10 minutes now until PMQs kicks off in the Commons.
As we have said, coronavirus and the new restrictions is sure to get top billing.
But did you catch Boris Johnson's address to the nation last night?
You have just enough time to get clued up and watch it in full here below...
Media caption,
Coronavirus: UK PM Boris Johnson's address in full
Coronavirus debate is only going to get more heatedpublished at 11:48 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent
The debate about what is the right thing to do is just going to get more heated in the coming days and weeks.
Cases are rising - and most experts agree the steps taken by the government, certainly in England, are only going to having a minimum effect on curbing an increase in infection rates.
What no one knows is how quickly cases will go up - and what impact that will have on hospital admissions and deaths.
If the government is determined to suppress the virus - to get the R below one as the prime minister said - more draconian measures will surely follow.
But if it was definitely going for this approach, it would surely have gone further with the restrictions it announced on Tuesday. Lockdown-style measures have a greater impact when they are taken earlier.
Brexit letter warns of 7,000-truck queuespublished at 11:40 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
Image source, Reuters
Although we expect coronavirus to be the main focus of today's PMQs, Brexit could make an appearance after the latest headlines...
A leaked letter from Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has warned exporters to the EU could face 7,000-truck-long queues in Kent and two-day delays after the Brexit transition period ends later this year.
It also raises the prospect of a winter spike in Covid-19 leading to absences of port and border staff.
Mr Gove will be speaking about the scenario in the Commons later, but here is what we know so far.
Starmer fresh from conferencepublished at 11:38 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
Media caption,
Labour Connected: Starmer’s speech on a return to power
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will take part in PMQs straight off the back of his first conference speech as leader of the party yesterday.
OK, it wasn't your normal affair, with the whole event taking place online, and him speaking to an empty room in Doncaster.
He set out his approach to leading the party, and winning back some voters who gave Boris Johnson his 80-strong majority in the Commons last December.
Read more about his pledges to Labour here.
Ministers balance science and politics in latest rulespublished at 11:26 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
Laura Kuenssberg
Political editor
Today, it will be six months exactly since Boris Johnson told the nation to stay at home.
Last night, he stopped well short of slamming the country's doors shut.
But what really stood out in his long statement was his message that the limits put in place today will last another six months.
Even if you are very fond of your own company, lucky enough to have a secure job you enjoy and a comfy spare room where you can do it, it is quite something to contemplate.
The government now expects that all our lives will be subject to restrictions of one kind or another for a whole year - March 2020 to March 2021.
And as each month ticks by, it becomes harder to imagine a return to anything like normal political life, or, more importantly, the way we all live.
We may not be waiting for a return to life as we knew it, but grinding through a moment of change.
Read more from Laura here.
What are the new coronavirus restrictions?published at 11:24 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
Image source, Getty Images
As we mentioned - and as you may have watched - Boris Johnson made an address to the nation last night, explaining why he was putting in tougher restrictions across England.
But what are the new rules?
- Pubs, bars and restaurants will need to close at 22:00 BST and will be restricted to table service only
- People should work from home wherever possible
- Face masks will be compulsory for bar staff and non-seated customers, shop workers and waiters
- There will be a new limit on wedding guests, reduced from 30 to 15
- Plans to allow fans to return to sporting events will be paused
- The "rule of six" now applies to indoor team sports
- And fines for not wearing masks or following rules will increase to £200 for first offence
Read more about the restrictions across all four nations of the UK here.
Good morningpublished at 10:41 British Summer Time 23 September 2020
BBC Politics
Image caption,
Boris Johnson gave a televised address from Downing Street on Tuesday evening.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of this week's PMQs.
The fallout of the PM's televised broadcast last night, continues to dominate the agenda in Westminster today.
So we expect the coronavirus restrictions be the main focus at question time again at 12:00 BST (11:00 GMT).
Oh, and there may be a bit of Brexit too.
We'll bring you all the details - live as it happens - with analysis from our political correspondents and the fact-checking gurus at BBC Reality Check.