Category Archives: UK news

Boris Johnson’s senior adviser refuses to apologise for lockdown breach – as it happened

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Dominic Cummings will not resign; WHO drops hydroxychloroquine from global study into experimental coronavirus treatments. This blog is now closed

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Related: Coronavirus live news: WHO drops hydroxychloroquine trial as Mexico death toll questioned

The White House on Monday issued a statement amending the timing of the start of new restrictions on travel from Brazil to the United States to 11.59pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, 26 May.

The White House announced on Sunday that it was restricting travel from Brazil to the United States, two days after the South American nation became the world’s No. 2 hotspot for coronavirus cases.

In its original announcement, it said the restrictions would come into force on 28 May.

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Lockdown gives asylum seekers reprieve and hope for change in policy

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After Covid 19 pauses threat of detention and deportation, campaigners call for rethink on UK immigration

As Britain takes its first small steps out of lockdown, there is one group of people quietly wishing that it wouldn’t.

For many asylum seekers, the two-month hiatus has meant reprieve. Freed from detention centres, liberated from the threat of imminent deportation and no longer obliged to report to the Home Office, many have welcomed the relief. And all this at a time when the general population have learned something of what it is like to live with severe curbs on civil liberties.

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Johnson’s defence of Cummings sparks anger from allies and opponents alike

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Possible police investigation of aide is latest in series of Guardian disclosures that have rocked the government

Boris Johnson has staked his political reputation on saving the career of Dominic Cummings, amid growing anger among Conservative MPs that the No 10 chief adviser has not been forced out for breaking lockdown rules.

Under intense pressure to explain why Cummings drove his wife, who was suffering coronavirus symptoms, and son 264 miles to his parents’ farm in Durham, the prime minister said on Sunday that Cummings had “acted responsibly, legally and with integrity”.

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Sixth person charged with murder of teenager Aya Hachem

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Ayaz Hussain becomes sixth person charged with the murder of law student killed in drive-by shooting

A sixth person has been charged with the murder of a 19-year-old law student who was killed in a drive-by shooting.

Four men and a woman have already been charged with the murder of Aya Hachem, who was gunned down as she walked to a supermarket near her home in Blackburn on Sunday 17 May, and the attempted murder of Pashar Khan, who police believe was their intended target.

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Spotify podcast deal could make Joe Rogan world’s highest paid broadcaster

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Streaming service must convince podcast listeners to switch from their favourite app

Joe Rogan, the comedian, MMA commentator and podcaster, may seem an unlikely prospect for becoming the world’s highest paid broadcaster. But after signing an exclusive deal with Spotify, that is what he may have become, marking a new era for podcasting in the process.

To much of the world, Rogan’s name is most associated with the periodic furores that erupt from the marathon interviews around which his podcast is structured.

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Coronavirus live news: Austria’s president apologises for curfew breach

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France asks citizens to avoid foreign trips; US likely to impose travel restrictions on Brazil; Afghanistan cases top 10,000

The Daily Mail - usually one of Boris Johnson’s supporters in the press - has called on the prime minister to sack Dominic Cummings, trailing its headline with the following:

In the clearest way, Dominic Cummings has violated the spirit and letter of the lockdown. Boris Johnson says he ‘totally gets’ how the public feels about this. Clearly he totally doesn’t. Neither man has displayed a scintilla of contrition for this breach of trust. Do they think we are fools? For the good of the government and the nation, Mr Cummings must resign. Or the prime minister must sack him. No ifs. No buts.

The White House has announced it is prohibiting foreigners from traveling to the US if they had been in Brazil in the last two weeks, two days after the South American nation became the world No. 2 hot spot for coronavirus cases.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the new restrictions would help ensure foreign nationals do not bring additional infections to the US, but would not apply to the flow of commerce between the new countries.

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Transport network to get £283m for Covid-19 protection measures

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Roads, rail and buses receive funds to increase capacity and ensure space for social distancing

Roads, railways, buses and trams are to receive a £283m funding package to improve public safety and protect services, the transport secretary has announced.

Grant Shapps said the funding – £254m for buses and £29m for trams and light rail – would increase both frequency and capacity of services while ensuring there is enough space on vehicles to allow for social distancing.

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Dominic Cummings clearly broke rules, says ex-police chief

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Former Durham chief says it is obvious aide broke lockdown rules as No 10 faces accusations of cover-up

The former chief constable of Durham has said it is clear that Dominic Cummings broke the lockdown rules with his trip from London to the north-east.

Mike Barton’s intervention comes as Downing Street faced accusations of a cover-up over the trip by the prime minister’s top aide to Durham at the height of the national lockdown, with reports that No 10 knew he had made the 264-mile journey after developing coronavirus symptoms.

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Johnson’s promised Brexit border in Irish Sea ‘will not be ready in time’

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Influential thinktank warns that UK will need to extend transition period in wake of coronavirus or risk very hard border

A new Brexit border in the Irish Sea will not be ready by Boris Johnson’s end-of-year deadline, according to a new analysis that warns more than 60 administrations, government departments and public bodies will be involved in overseeing the new system.

Ministers finally admitted last week that there would be some checks on certain goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK from next January, when the Brexit transition period comes to an end.

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Chris Patten: China’s security laws a betrayal of Hong Kong people

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Last governor of former British colony says UK must stand up to Beijing rather than kowtow

China has betrayed the people of Hong Kong and the UK has a moral, economic and legal duty to stand up for them, Chris Patten, the last governor of the former British colony, has said.

Beijing is set to impose new national security legislation on Hong Kong after a sustained campaign of pro-democracy protests last year in the city, which enjoys many freedoms not allowed on mainland China.

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Community mourns ‘brilliant student’ Aya Hachem as five charged with murder

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Islamic prayer said near scene where law student, who fled Lebanon as a child, died

The family of a “remarkable and inspirational” law student killed in a botched drive-by shooting have said their only comfort is that she died during the holy month of Ramadan, as tributes flowed in for a teenager whose “whole ethos was to commit everything to this country”.

Aya Hachem, 19, was fatally shot from a passing car as she shopped for groceries near her home in Blackburn on Sunday afternoon. She was not the intended victim, police said.

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Boris Johnson forced to reduce Huawei’s role in UK’s 5G networks

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PM set to shrink Chinese firm’s involvement to zero by 2023 after caving to backbench pressure

Boris Johnson has been forced to cave into to Conservative backbench rebels opposed to the presence of Huawei in 5G networks and has drawn up plans to reduce the Chinese company’s involvement to zero by 2023.

The prime minister’s retreat is designed to stave off what could have been an embarrassing defeat when his existing proposal to reduce Huawei to a 35% market share was to be voted on in the Commons.

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Police spoke to Dominic Cummings after Durham trip in lockdown

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Exclusive: PM’s adviser was with parents away from London home when he had coronavirus symptoms

Police spoke to Dominic Cummings about breaching the government’s lockdown rules after he was seen in Durham, 264 miles from his London home, despite having had symptoms of coronavirus, the Guardian can reveal.

Officers approached Boris Johnson’s key adviser days after he was seen rushing out of Downing Street when the prime minister tested positive for the virus at the end of March, a joint investigation by the Guardian and the Mirror has found.

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Plan to open mosque in Trocadero in London sparks objections

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Foundation seeks to convert part of historic building into mosque and community centre

A plan to convert part of the famous Trocadero building in Piccadilly Circus in London into a mosque has sparked objections from people who say a place of worship in an area noted for its bars and nightlife is inappropriate.

The Aziz Foundation, a charity that offers educational grants and scholarships to Muslims, has applied to Westminster city council for permission to convert the basement and ground floor of the Trocadero into a place of worship and a community centre.

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Business groups brand UK’s quarantine plan for arrivals ‘isolationist’

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All incomers – including British citizens – must disclose where they will be staying, Priti Patel says

Business groups have accused the government of pursuing an “isolationist” policy after the home secretary, Priti Patel, confirmed that arrivals in the UK will have to quarantine themselves for a fortnight or face a £1,000 fine.

From 8 June, almost everyone arriving at ports and airports, including UK citizens, will be required to travel directly to an address they provide to the authorities, where they must then self-isolate for a fortnight. The French interior ministry expressed its “regret” that it would not be exempt from the quarantine plan, after assurances this month that the country would be.

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Priti Patel announces 14-day quarantine for travellers to UK – video

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From 8 June people arriving in the UK will have to tell the authorities where they will be staying and face spot checks to ensure they self-isolate for 14 days, the home secretary, Priti Patel, has confirmed. Anyone failing to comply could face a fine of £1,000


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UK approval for biggest gas power station in Europe ruled legal

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High court rejects challenge after ministers overruled climate objections of planning officials

The UK government’s approval of a large new gas-fired power plant has been ruled legal by the high court. A legal challenge was brought after ministers overruled climate change objections from planning authorities.

The plant, which is being developed by Drax in North Yorkshire, would be the biggest gas power station in Europe, and could account for 75% of the UK’s power sector emissions when fully operational, according to lawyers for ClientEarth, which brought the judicial review.

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Gloria Steinem says TV drama of 1970s feminist history ‘ridiculous’

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In interview for Hay festival feminist writer says Mrs America misrepresents equal rights movement

It stars Cate Blanchett and Rose Byrne in a glossy, big-budget TV account of 1970s feminist history but one key player who was there, Gloria Steinem, is withering: it is ridiculous, undermining and just not very good, she said on Friday.

Steinem, arguably the world’s most famous feminist, has revealed she is not a fan of the new Hulu TV show Mrs America, which premiered in the US last month and is coming to BBC2 in the UK later in the year.

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Llama deliveries, ice cream by drone and a penguin field trip: this week’s uplifting clips – video

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With rising uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic and most of the world still practising physical distancing, people are finding new ways to keep each others' spirits up. From a llama delivering essentials to older people, drive-in concerts and Capt Tom Moore's reaction to a knighthood, these are the week's most uplifting clips

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UK and EU clash over crime-fighting database in Brexit talks

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UK set to lose access to Schengen Information System that police across continent use to stop criminals

EU officials have accused the British government of threatening to weaken security cooperation with the bloc unless the UK gets an equivalent to a major crime-fighting database.

The UK is set to lose access to the Schengen Information System (SIS II), a massive EU database, where police across the continent share millions of pieces of information on criminal suspects, at the end of the year.

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