Production will begin slowly with UK plants remaining shut until later in the spring
Ford said it would restart its main European car factories on Monday 4 May, but its UK plants in Dagenham and Bridgend will stay closed until later in the spring.
The US car giant, which closed its European and North American factories at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, said production would begin slowly with strict standards on social distancing and safety precautions.
Continue reading...Kristina Kubiliene can ‘barely open her handbag’, allegedly as a result of working long hours
Victoria Beckham’s clothing brand is being sued by a pattern cutter who claims to have developed a serious hand injury that required surgery after working for up to 15 hours a day in the run-up to New York fashion week.
Kristina Kubiliene, 54, worked for Victoria Beckham Ltd at its London studio for nearly eight years and left last year after developing carpal tunnel syndrome, which left her barely able to open her handbag, her lawyer said.
Continue reading...The British ambassador to Portugal, who has been posting videos of himself playing the piano in honour of health workers in the UK and Portugal, has become something of an internet sensation. Chris Sainty began sharing his performances on Twitter during the Covid-19 lockdown. In a video where is he is playing the tune of You’ll Never Walk Alone, he wrote: 'It is for the bravest of the brave: the nurses, carers and doctors of the NHS and the SNS’
Continue reading...Research suggests 5% commit another terrorism offence after leaving prison
Convicted terrorists are extremely unlikely to reoffend compared with other prisoners, research by academics and security services in Europe has found.
The research shows that less than 5% of convicted terrorists commit a second terrorist offence after leaving prison. In England and Wales, around 45% of all prisoners will reoffend within a year of release.
Continue reading...Jonathan Philip Clayton found guilty of 13 sexual assaults at North Yorkshire school in 2019
A supply teacher has been jailed for eight and a half years for sexually assaulting six girls at a primary school in North Yorkshire, two years after similar allegations were dropped.
Jonathan Philip Clayton was convicted of 13 counts of sexually touching girls aged between seven and 11 over a period of six weeks last year.
Continue reading...Iran reports 96 more deaths; Spain’s death toll shows slight rise; Germany calls for ‘very careful’ easing of lockdown; New Zealand says ‘worst is over’
Formula One plans to start the season in Austria on 5 July and stage between 15 and 18 grands prix this year with the opening races behind closed doors.
The announcement came immediately after the French Grand Prix was cancelled and the news the British Grand Prix will be held without spectators if it goes ahead.
Preparatory work has begun on restarting repairs to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Continue reading...Hayden Prince, 24, fell to his death when large rock to which rope was tied became dislodged
A British man fell to his death in the Swiss Alps when a rock holding his abseiling rope toppled over as he descended a mountain, an inquest has heard.
L/Cpl Hayden Prince, 24, was on a private trip with two mountaineering friends while on annual leave from the British army. The group set out from the Hornli hut at the base camp of the Matterhorn at 6am on 2 June last year with a plan of turning around and descending by 2pm regardless of whether they had reached the summit.
Continue reading...Doctors alerted to possibly fatal syndrome, which gives the small number of sufferers stomach pain and inflamed heart
Children are falling ill with a new and potentially fatal combination of symptoms apparently linked to Covid-19, including a sore stomach and heart problems.
The children affected appear to have been struck by a form of toxic shock syndrome. Some have been left so seriously unwell that they have had to be treated in intensive care. At least one has undergone extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment, which is used when someone’s life is at risk because they can no longer breathe for themselves.
Continue reading...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
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...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...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...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...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...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...How and why Ben Warner and Dominic Cummings contributed to Covid-19 meetings is unclear
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...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...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 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...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.
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