PMQs At Top Of Hour, PM Under Pressure On COVID Restrictions, Brexit Talks

Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces prime minister's questions in the House of Commons at the top of the hour. Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer likely to focus on the ongoing difficulties the UK gov't has had in imposing the strictest Tier 3 COVID-19 restrictions in Greater Manchester.

• Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUtFNCI7WKU
• Earlier today, Times Radio reported that Chief Medical Officer Prof. Chris Whitty may have advised the gov't that a full 'circuit breaker' lockdown could be required in Tier 2 and Tier 3 areas in November to curtail the spread of the virus. Would almost certainly require the Treasury to step in and offer significant support to workers in sectors hit.
• PM could also face difficult questions on the status of FTA negotiations with the EU, following statements from Johnson and ministers late last week/early this week saying that talks had effectively come to an end.
• Gov't has also just been on the end of the largest defeat for a gov't in the House of Lords since the reforms of the upper chamber in 1999. Defeat saw a 'motion of regret' attached to the UK Internal Market bill, the legislation that threatens to override international law and has caused significant concern in the EU at the UK's intentions after it leaves the Brexit transition period.