Boris Johnson says there are real signs the UK is 'passing through the peak' during his first public statement since recovering from coronavirus. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street on Monday, the prime minister says the lockdown should only be eased when the government is confident there will be no second peak
Category Archives: UK news
Airbus warns it is ‘bleeding cash’ and may need more job cuts
Plane maker’s staff told it needs to take immediate action to survive coronavirus lockdown
Airbus has warned its 135,000 employees that it may not survive the coronavirus lockdown unless it takes immediate action that may involve deeper job cuts.
Its chief executive, Guillaume Faury, told staff in a letter on Friday that the plane maker was “bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed”, and was considering all options as it waited to see how badly demand would be affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson returns to face critics amid talk of the ‘new normal’
PM back in No 10 as ministers warn physical distancing is here to stay after lockdown
Boris Johnson returned to Downing Street on Sunday night with his government under pressure over its handling of coronavirus, as ministers warned that physical distancing must become the “new normal” – even when the lockdown is eased.
With the prime minister pressed to explain how schools and businesses can reopen without putting lives at risk, the government has given the clearest signal yet of how it hopes to manage the next phase of the pandemic, including imposing quarantine restrictions on all arrivals at UK airports.
Continue reading...Harry Dunn parents write to UK army chief after ‘near misses’ near base
Police investigate three incidents of Americans driving on wrong side of road near RAF Croughton
The parents of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn have pleaded with the head of the armed forces to set up a meeting with a US military base after claims of “three near misses” involving their staff.
Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn wrote to Gen Sir Nick Carter on Sunday to say they “bear our American friends no ill will”, but insisted RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire could not “practice splendid isolation” on safety issues.
Continue reading...Coronavirus: furloughed staff could pick fruit in June, says UK minister – video
Environment secretary George Eustice said that furloughed staff could help with picking fruit in June when the British soft fruit season is at its peak.
Eustice said that only around a third of the usual workforce is currently available, as the industry relies on migrant workers.
He also said it was too early to talk about easing the lockdown during the UK government briefing, as daily hospital deaths fell to 413, the lowest daily number since March.
Continue reading...The key areas to look at in easing the UK coronavirus lockdown
From schools to shops, with jobs at risk, the government must balance the interests of economy and public safety
As the prime minister, Boris Johnson, heads back to Downing Street, he faces calls from Labour to be clearer about how Britain might start lifting the coronavirus lockdown, now entering its fifth week. On Sunday, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, Dominic Raab, warned the outbreak remained at a “delicate and dangerous” stage and said it was irresponsible to speculate about steps to modify the rules underpinning government’s “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” strategy.
More than 20,000 people have died from Covid-19 in NHS hospitals and thousands more in care homes. But there are growing concerns about the economic impact of lockdown. Gerard Lyons, Johnson’s economics adviser when he was London mayor, warned on Sunday the UK could be the hardest-hit western economy if it does not unlock soon. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, also called on ministers to start talking to teachers, businesses, trade unions and town hall leaders and open “honest conversations with the public about what new arrangements might look like”. Unions insist worker safety must not be compromised by any changes and questions remain about public appetite for risking a new peak of contagion, but plans to modify restrictions are starting to emerge.
Continue reading...Stuntmen, Rolling Stones and Capt Tom at No1: the week’s most uplifting clips – video
With much of the world still in lockdown owing to coronavirus, people are finding new ways to keep each others' spirits up. From Captain Tom Moore becoming the oldest person to score a UK No 1 with his cover of You'll Never Walk Alone to small acts of kindness from the police, these are the week's most uplifting clips.
Continue reading...No 10 advisers at Sage meetings: key questions that need answering
How and why Ben Warner and Dominic Cummings contributed to Covid-19 meetings is unclear
- Sage attendees worried by Cummings’ presence
- No evidence No 10 advisers attended Sage in previous crises
- See all our coronavirus coverage
The government has not disputed that this is the first time Downing Street political advisers have attended Sage meetings and asked questions at them. No 10 argues that the unprecedented scale of the coronavirus pandemic made it necessary. However, the government’s policies say scientific committees such as Sage should be politically neutral. Sage meetings are chaired by the government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance. However, a government spokesperson said Vallance “would not have to sign off” on observers or representatives from government departments. So who decided they should attend, and why and when was the decision made?
Continue reading...Firm advised by ex-foreign secretary funding Russian fraudster’s legal case
17 Arm, advised by Malcolm Rifkind, Ken Macdonald and others, is financing claim by Alexander Tugushev
A firm advised by a former Conservative foreign secretary and a former chief prosecutor is funding a large-scale legal action in the English courts by a convicted Russian fraudster once banned from Britain.
The firm, 17 Arm, which is advised by Malcolm Rifkind, Ken Macdonald and other establishment figures, is financing the legal claim by Alexander Tugushev against a Russian billionaire in an expensive and lengthy court battle.
Continue reading...First wild stork chicks to hatch in UK in centuries poised to emerge
More than 100 birds have been living wild in England as part of conservation scheme
The first wild stork chicks to hatch in Britain for centuries are expected to emerge next month after three pairs of the huge white birds built nests in West Sussex.
Disdaining platforms constructed especially for them, the storks have created their stick nests in the heights of oak trees on the Knepp estate, the centre for a reintroduction project.
Continue reading...UK will need to extend Brexit transition, Merkel ally warns Britain
UK will need extension to agree Brexit deal as pandemic derails talks
Boris Johnson must extend the UK’s transition out of the EU for up to two years to avoid compounding the economic damage of the coronavirus pandemic with a hugely disruptive and disorderly Brexit, according to a close ally of Angela Merkel.
In an interview with the Observer, Norbert Röttgen, chair of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, said it was now impossible to see how the UK and other EU countries could agree even a minimal outline free trade agreement this year because the talks were so behind schedule.
Continue reading...Why Britain’s 2.5 billion paper coffee cups are an eco disaster
With only one in 400 cups recycled, and even those barely ‘green’, the hunt is on for an alternative
Britain gets through 2.5 billion of them every year, and the number is set to increase. But despite a growing clamour for coffee chains to make their cups more environment-friendly, the vast majority are used only once, which critics say is a considerable waste of natural resources.
One company vying to produce a truly recyclable alternative claims that the UK’s caffeine addiction is responsible for the felling of a million trees a year. An independent study it commissioned suggests that almost 1.5 billion litres of water go into making the cups the UK uses annually.
Continue reading...Alone and disconnected: the woman left unable to call her dying partner
Problems with internet and phone service were once just an inconvenience. Now they can prove to be catastrophic
Cut off by telecoms company, pensioner missed call as partner died of Covid-19
Barbara Parry* arranged to switch her phone and broadband account from Sky to Now TV in March, a week before lockdown. Instead, she was left incommunicado as her line was cancelled and her phone number reallocated.
During the following four weeks, as she pleaded in vain to be reconnected, her partner contracted Covid-19. He died four days later in hospital. Due to the blunders by Now TV, he was unable to call Parry from his deathbed and she was unable to say goodbye. The news was broken by a relative as the hospital could not get through on her cancelled number.
Continue reading...Spain’s daily death toll drops below 300 as children allowed out for first time in weeks – as it happened
WHO clarifies ‘immunity passport’ advice; global deaths pass 200,000; Russia case tally passes 80,000; Sweden’s deputy prime-minster admits problems with strategy. This blog is now closed.
- Follow the latest global coronavirus blog here for live news and updates
- Trump says briefings ‘not worth the effort’ after disinfectant debacle
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Here a few key developments of the past few hours at a glance:
Continue reading...Johnson faces lockdown dilemma as scientists warn over grim virus data
Prime minister returns to work on Monday to cabinet at odds over easing social distancing
The number of new cases of Covid-19 being diagnosed is still much too high to allow any easing of the lockdown soon, leading scientists have warned, as the virus death toll in UK hospitals passed 20,000 on Saturday.
The home secretary, Priti Patel, described the figure as a “terrible milestone” and a “deeply tragic and moving moment”. She said it showed the need for the British public to “stay strong” and remain at home for the foreseeable future.
Continue reading...Top Tories join calls to bar Cummings from scientific advisory group
Cross-party demand for transparency after chief adviser is revealed as attending meetings of Sage
Boris Johnson is facing cross-party calls to stop his chief adviser from attending meetings of the secret scientific group advising him on the coronavirus pandemic, as demands grow for the committee’s deliberations to be made public.
The former Brexit secretary, David Davis, is among those calling for Dominic Cummings and Ben Warner, an adviser who ran the Tories’ private election computer model, to be prevented from attending future meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).
Continue reading...UK increases arms sales to repressive regimes
Campaigners condemn government and defence exporters accused of selling weapons to states with poor human rights records
UK arms sales to repressive regimes increased by £1bn last year compared with 2018.
The increase, of more than 300%, has been condemned by arms control campaigners, who accuse the government of putting profits before human rights.
Continue reading...Man arrested after gun fired at Manchester funeral
Police let hundreds gather at ceremony for convicted criminal Clive Pinnock in ‘interests of public safety’
A man has been arrested after a gun was fired as hundreds of mourners gathered for the Manchester funeral of a criminal known as “Mr Ibiza”, despite social distancing rules.
Armed police scrambled to Gorton Cemetery in Manchester on Thursday after chaos broke out during the funeral of Clive Pinnock, 38, from Longsight, south Manchester, who died in a road crash earlier this month.
Continue reading...Blasphemy to be decriminalised in Scottish hate crime bill
New law will also offer wider protection against race, sex, age and religious discrimination
The Scottish government has published a bill that would decriminalise blasphemy, more than 175 years after the last case was prosecuted.
The devolved administration in Edinburgh said the continued criminalisation of blasphemy, which falls under hate crime laws, “no longer reflects the kind of society in which we live”.
Continue reading...UK government told not to use Zoom because of China fears
Security services said last week that videoconferencing tool was vulnerable to surveillance
Government and parliament were told by the intelligence agencies last week not to use the videoconferencing service Zoom for confidential business, due to fears it could be vulnerable to Chinese surveillance.
The quiet warnings to limit the technology came after the cabinet had used Zoom to hold a well-publicised meeting at the end of March, a decision that was defended at the time as necessary in “unprecedented circumstances”.
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