Category Archives: UK news

What will coronavirus mean for the British economy?

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As the UK faces what may be its worst ever recession, we begin a monthly series exploring the financial shock to business and living standards

One month after a national lockdown was declared in an attempt to limit the spread of Covid-19, it is clear that Britain is heading for the deepest recession in living memory.

Boris Johnson’s government launched unprecedented restrictions on 23 March, telling the British public that they must stay at home and bringing life as the nation knew it to an abrupt halt.

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Welsh first minister to set out plans for lifting country’s lockdown

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Mark Drakeford will announce proposals to ease restrictions as number of new cases stabilises

The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, is due to set out plans on how the nation will aim to lift its coronavirus lockdown.

The Labour politician will announce on Friday a new framework for easing restrictions and seven questions that need to be addressed to help lead Wales out of the pandemic.

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The Rolling Stones release Living In a Ghost Town, first original music since 2012

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Mick Jagger says new single will ‘resonate through the times we’re living in’ and references coronavirus with the lyric: ‘Life was so beautiful, then we all got locked down’

The Rolling Stones have released their first original music since 2012, a new – and rather apocalyptic – single called Living in a Ghost Town.

Mick Jagger said the band were “recording some new material before the lockdown and there was one song we thought would resonate through the times that we’re living in right now. We’ve worked on it in isolation. And here it is.”

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Why the UK is finding it so hard to reach 100,000 Covid-19 tests a day

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A slow start, a top-down approach and long-term cuts to local services meant target was always going to be ambitious

On 2 April, the day he emerged from quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19, Matt Hancock stood at the Downing Street podium for the daily coronavirus press conference and made an announcement that was greeted in some quarters by a sharp intake of breath.

“I’m now setting the goal of 100,000 tests per day by the end of this month. That is the goal and I’m determined we’ll get there,” said the health secretary, who had tested positive around a week earlier.

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Coronavirus will cause ‘lasting changes’ to shopping habits, says Unilever boss

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Alan Jope predicts continued growth in online shopping and continued higher sales of cleaning products

The coronavirus pandemic will trigger “lasting changes” in shopping behaviour, according to one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of grocery brands.

Unilever’s chief executive, Alan Jope, said the health crisis would accelerate the growth of online food shopping. He also predicted a permanent increase in demand for soap and other cleaning supplies as improved hygiene became a priority for households.

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Scotland publishes framework for coping with ‘new normal’ of Covid-19 – video

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Scotland must adjust to the 'new normal' of living with Covid-19, which may include moving in and out of strict lockdowns at short notice, according to a document published on Thursday by the Scottish government, which sets out its framework for progressing beyond the current lockdown restrictions

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‘Diplomatic car’ crashes at site of fatal Harry Dunn collision

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Car hits wall close to where car driven by US diplomat’s wife collided with 19-year-old

A car driven by an active duty airman has crashed close to the scene of the death of Harry Dunn, the 19-year-old motorcyclist who died after a collision with a car driven on the wrong side of the road by the wife of a US diplomat.

The report of the new crash highlights concerns that overseas personnel are not trained sufficiently about UK driving laws, especially driving on the left.

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UK making ‘impossible demands’ over Europol database in EU talks

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Leaked German government report shows Britain has been requesting special access

The British government is making impossible demands over access to Europol databases in the negotiations over the future relationship with the EU, according to a leaked assessment of the UK’s position drawn up by the German government.

As talks between the two sides resumed via video calls this week, Britain’s negotiators not only refused to extend the transition period because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also stated the UK side’s eagerness to continue taking part in EU-wide data-sharing arrangements and even expanding their reach.

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Coronavirus live news: US may never restore funding to World Health Organization, says Mike Pompeo

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Unemployment in US up by 4.4 million to a total of over 26 million; world has ‘a long way to go’, warns WHO chief; Iran reports lowest new daily infections for a month

Peru’s reported coronavirus cases have rapidly increased this week, reaching 20,914 on Thursday. The country has the second highest number of cases in South America after Brazil despite introducing tough lockdown measures.

The health ministry says it expects patient numbers to peak within the following week, as hospitals strain to deal with the sharp rise in infections. Reuters reports cases of bodies being kept in hallways, masks being reused, and protests from medical workers concerned about their safety.

Hello, I’ll be taking over the live blog for the next few hours. As always, tips and suggestions are most welcome. You can reach me via Twitter DM @cleaskopeliti or by email at clea.skopeliti.casual@guardian.co.uk. Thanks in advance.

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Harry Dunn death: diplomatic immunity for Anne Sacoolas ‘illogical’

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Foreign Office accepted US claim that as the wife of a CIA agent Sacoolas had immunity

Britain agreed to let Anne Sacoolas, the driver charged with killing 19-year-old motorcyclist Harry Dunn, return to the US on the basis of an “apparently illogical” interpretation of the law on diplomatic immunity, according to the most senior civil servant at the Foreign Office.

The description of this interpretation given to the foreign affairs select committee by Sir Simon McDonald, the permanent under-secretary and head of the diplomatic service, will add fuel to the efforts of the Dunn family to mount a judicial review of the Foreign Office’s decision-making in the case.

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Coronavirus: UK will need social distancing until at least end of year, says Chris Whitty – video

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Social distancing will be needed until at least the end of the year to prevent fresh outbreaks of coronavirus, the government’s chief medical officer has said. Prof Chris Whitty said it was important to be realistic that 'highly disruptive' social distancing would need to be in place for 'really quite a long period of time'.

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UK will need social distancing until at least end of year, says Whitty

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Government’s chief medical officer says return to normal in short term is ‘wholly unrealistic’

Social distancing will be needed until at least the end of the year to prevent fresh outbreaks of coronavirus even though the UK has reached the peak of the current epidemic, the government’s chief medical officer has said.

Prof Chris Whitty, the UK’s most senior medic, said it was important to be realistic that “highly disruptive” social distancing would need to be in place for “really quite a long period of time”.

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Welsh minister’s mic mistake broadcasts sweary rant to assembly

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Vaughan Gething heard decrying Labour colleague after leaving his audio live on video call

Wales’s health minister, Vaughan Gething, has learned the hard way about one of the risks of videoconferencing after he accidentally broadcast a sweary rant about one of his colleagues during a virtual session of Welsh assembly.

Having apparently left his microphone live after addressing the assembly, the minister could be heard loudly decrying his fellow Labour assembly member Jenny Rathbone.

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What the EU procurement furore tells us about Johnson’s real priorities | Martin Kettle

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It’s clear that the coronavirus pandemic is not the first thing on the prime minister’s mind

On one level, the argument about what Sir Simon McDonald said to the foreign affairs select committee this week can be dismissed as a storm in a Whitehall teacup. Hours after the head of the foreign office had called Britain’s refusal to join the European Union’s procurement efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic a “political decision”, McDonald retracted his words. Whitehall-watchers are fascinated. The wider world has bigger things to worry about.

But on another level, this week’s row is political dynamite – and for two main reasons.

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Glasgow asylum seekers moved into hotels where distancing is ‘impossible’

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Firm stops allowances of hundreds of people after telling them to pack up their flats with an hour’s notice

Hundreds of asylum seekers in Glasgow have been given less than an hour’s notice to pack up their flats before being moved into city centre hotels, where they claim social distancing is “impossible”.

They have also had all financial support withdrawn, apparently because the hotels provide three meals a day, basic toiletries and a laundry service, in a move condemned by campaigners.

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Matt Hancock says ‘we are at the peak’ of Covid outbreak – video

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The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has told MPs: ‘We are at the peak’ of the pandemic. ‘But before we relax any social distancing rules or make changes to them we have set out the five tests that have to be met.’

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‘Something’s going wrong’: Starmer grills Raab over government’s coronavirus response – video

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In his first prime minister's questions in parliament as Labour leader, Keir Starmer criticised the government's response to the coronavirus outbreak: 'There's a pattern emerging here. We were slow into lockdown, slow on testing, slow on protective equipment, and now slow to take up [PPE] offers from British firms.' Answering on behalf of Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab said he didn't accept the accusation: 'We have been guided by the scientific advice, the chief scientific adviser, the chief medical officer, at every step along this way'

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EU turns up pressure on Matt Hancock over Covid-19 PPE scheme

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Brussels says UK was briefed on bulk-buying plan and given ‘ample opportunity’ to join

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, is facing fresh pressure over the protection offered to NHS staff after the European commission said the UK had been given “ample opportunity” to join an EU scheme bulk-buying masks, gowns, gloves and goggles.

After a day of confusion in Westminster over the UK’s lack of involvement in the EU’s joint procurement of equipment, a spokesman for the commission appeared to bolster the claim that ministers had taken a “political decision” to opt out.

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What is the EU medical equipment scheme and why did UK opt out?

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British government is facing criticism for not taking part in joint purchase of supplies amid the coronavirus pandemic

The British government is coming under fire for failing to join the EU’s procurement scheme for medical equipment, including masks, gloves, goggles, gowns, testing kits and ventilators, at a time when NHS health workers across the country are crying out for more supplies. In the latest twist, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, was forced to deny claims, later retracted, by the government’s senior diplomat that it had been a “political decision” to opt out of the scheme.

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