Boris Johnson contacted over alleged parties that took place while the UK was under strict Covid curbs
Boris Johnson has been sent a questionnaire by Scotland Yard over alleged parties in Downing Street, in a move that could raise fresh concerns among Tory MPs about his leadership.
No 10 confirmed late on Friday night that the prime minister received the document, and vowed he would respond to it “as required”.
Continue reading...Mark Davison says he is ‘sorry and ashamed’ of his son Jake who who shot dead five people before killing himself
The father of a man who shot dead five people in Plymouth has said he told police he did not believe his son should have a shotgun because he was concerned about his mental health.
Mark Davison said he was ashamed of his son Jake, 22, who shot dead his mother and four other people before killing himself in August.
Continue reading...As the UK Treasury pushes for free tests to be scrapped, here’s how charges look in other countries
In Australia, a federal scheme introduced at the end of January allows pensioners and concession card holders to access up to 10 free rapid antigen tests over three months through their chemist. But the scheme got off to a difficult start, with supply issues hampering attempts to procure the tests. In January the competition regulator raised concerns that rapid antigen tests often cost between A$20 and A$30 (£15-£20) per test and sometimes more than A$70 a test through smaller retail outlets, despite wholesale costs ranging from A$3.95 to A$11.45.
In Belgium the price of an antigen self-test sold in pharmacies is around €6-€8 (£5-£7), more expensive than in neighbouring countries, such as France and the Netherlands, although they are available in Belgian supermarkets for about €3. Prices have come down and are expected to fall further: one big pharmacy chain announced this week they had begun selling tests for €1.99. While a PCR test, which costs about €41, is free for people with symptoms, or may be reimbursed by health insurance, self-tests usually have to be funded by individuals. The Belgian consumer association Test-Achats/Test Aankoop estimated this week that a family of four could spend €250 a month on Covid tests, hand sanitiser and face masks.
Continue reading...Exiles intend to plant Mauritian flag on land UK claims as part of British Indian Ocean Territory
For Olivier Bancoult, of the Chagos Refugee Group, it was the sight of two skuas gliding over the waves that heralded long-promised landfall on his native islands.
During the first three days of the voyage from Seychelles there had been remarkably few seabirds, until the Mauritian-chartered Bleu De Nîmes, a cruise ship converted from its former use as a British minesweeper, neared the Chagos Islands.
Continue reading...Political rather than scientific choices lie behind UK decision to be first nation to lift restrictions, say specialists
The UK’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, announced this week that he aimed to abolish all Covid regulations, including the requirement to isolate after testing positive, in England from 24 February. Here’s what experts around the world think of that plan, which would make Britain something of an outlier when it comes to coronavirus precautions.
Jon Henley in Paris
Philip Oltermann in Berlin
Sam Jones in Madrid
Angela Giuffrida in Rome
Helena Smith in Athens
Vincent Ni
Tess McClure in Auckland
Melissa Davey in Sydney
Continue reading...As director’s movie is nominated for seven Oscars, residents of Mountcollyer Street recall when the Troubles started
Little remains of the street where Kenneth Branagh was raised.
It is the day after the Oscar nominations and Branagh has professed he is “dazed and delighted” and in a “beautiful state of shock” over the seven Oscar nominations his film Belfast has received.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed
The Novavax Covid vaccine is available for Australians to receive, with the first person in the country getting the jab today.
Health minister Greg Hunt, giving a press conference at a medical centre in Melbourne, said with the new availability of Novavax there were “no excuses for anybody” not to get a Covid jab – alluding to people who had chosen to wait for this vaccine.
There are those that, for their own personal circumstances, have awaited or been unable to take the other vaccines. This is a new choice. It’s a protein vaccine ... a tried and tested vaccine platform.
I have preferred a traditional vaccine to be introduced into myself. I’m not anti-vax, I’m pro-choice, and this was my choice.
Continue reading...There was precedent for a commissioner determined to root out misbehaviour. Failure to follow it cost her the top job
When Robert Mark was appointed commissioner of the Metropolitan police in the 1970s he wryly suggested his ambition was to ensure the service arrested more criminals than it employed.
In the five years of his leadership (1972 to 1977) Mark’s success can be measured by the 50 criminal officers he put before a court, and the nearly 500 others who were swept out of the organisation as a result of his ruthless uncovering of the entrenched and institutionalised corruption which had protected them for too long.
Sandra Laville, a former Guardian crime correspondent, is now its environment correspondent
Continue reading...Exclusive: presiding officer Alison Johnstone says it will be disappointing if parliament cannot attract more female politicians
It will be “really disappointing” if the Scottish parliament cannot attract more female politicians within the next five years, says Holyrood’s presiding officer, as she launches Holyrood’s first women’s audit to investigate barriers to representation and participation.
Alison Johnstone, the former Scottish Green politician who was elected last May to the position of presiding officer – the Holyrood equivalent of the Commons speaker – also suggests that political parties are falling short in selecting female candidates. She signals that the hybrid working arrangements used during lockdown and which suited working women in particular could become permanent.
Continue reading...Chief to leave role two years early after London’s mayor accused her of failing to deal with misogyny and racism in the force
Cressida Dick has been forced out as head of the Metropolitan police after London’s mayor accused her of failing to deal with a culture of misogyny and racism within Britain’s biggest force.
Dick’s dramatic resignation was announced just hours after she told a radio phone in that she would stay in post and had a plan to rid the Met of its toxic culture. But when City Hall let her aides know the plan was inadequate, the commissioner decided to boycott a showdown meeting set for 4.30pm and quit instead.
Continue reading...Analysis: The letters have seemingly stopped but MPs may be keeping their pens dry for strategic reasons
As MPs wheeled their suitcases on to trains for a short recess, those with lingering doubts about Boris Johnson’s leadership tucked their letter-writing pens back into their pockets.
They seem unlikely to come out again until the Metropolitan police determine whether the prime minister committed any criminal offence by attending a number of Downing Street gatherings.
Continue reading...Bosses advised to dock 100% of pay for staff who work to rule as UCU members prepare strike action
A bitter dispute between university staff and their employers looks set to escalate after it emerged that university bosses have been advised to dock 100% of pay for staff who work to rule as part of industrial action which begins next week.
More than 1 million students at 68 UK universities are to be hit by further strike action by members of the University and College Union (UCU), with up to 10 days of campus walkouts starting on Monday as part of a long-running dispute over pensions, pay and conditions.
Continue reading...Surrey-based Pobjoy Mint accused of violating international law by producing fish-decorated currency
The directors of a British firm producing tropical fish-themed coins for the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) are being threatened with prosecution by Mauritius as the net tightens around the UK’s claim to sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.
The family-owned Pobjoy Mint, based in Kingswood, Surrey, has received a formal letter from Mauritius’s attorney general, Maneesh Gobin, telling its owners they are violating international law by manufacturing the currency without the correct legal permission.
Continue reading...Musician becomes latest big name to cash in on a long and successful career
Sting has sold his back catalogue, featuring hits including Roxanne, Every Breath You Take and Englishman in New York, to Universal Music in a deal thought to be worth up to $300m (£221m).
The 70-year old, who found global fame as a member of the Police in the late 1970s and early 80s before going solo, becomes the latest big name musician to cash in on a long and successful career.
Continue reading...Drugmaker’s total revenues increased by 41% last year with help from $4bn Covid jab income
AstraZeneca forecast higher 2022 sales and lifted its annual dividend for the first time in a decade after record revenues last year, but warned the boost from its Covid-19 products would decline.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said it made almost $4bn (£2.9bn) last year from the Covid jab it developed with Oxford University. It moved away from its not-for-profit pricing in November, when it signed new contracts in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. The shot, called Vaxzevria, has not yet been approved by the US regulator.
Continue reading...Foreign secretary issues warning as Sergei Lavrov describes UK’s contribution to talks as ‘just slogans’
The British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has personally warned Moscow of tough sanctions that are to be imposed if Russia attacks Ukraine, during tense talks that Russia’s top diplomat said were like a conversation of “the mute with the deaf”.
The British sanctions package remained under government review on Thursday, somewhat undermining Truss’s threat as she led a British diplomatic effort to head off a potential Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson has said the Ukraine crisis has entered 'the most dangerous moment' on a visit to Nato’s headquarters as Russia continues its military buildup on the borders of its southern neighbour.
Military analysts estimate Moscow has massed more than 135,000 troops on the borders of Ukraine, both in Russia and in Belarus – and some now believe nearly all the necessary elements are in place if Putin wanted to attack.
Nato's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said a political solution was still possible but warned Russia would 'pay a high price' if it chose confrontation
Continue reading...Former Tory PM fiercely attacks Johnson and issues barely veiled challenge to MPs to remove him
Boris Johnson broke lockdown laws, appears to believe rules do not apply to him and is creating an atmosphere of mistrust in politics that threatens the long-term democratic future of the UK, Sir John Major has said.
In a fierce and wide-ranging attack, Major said Johnson had regularly sent ministers out to “defend the indefensible”, with the truth seen as “optional”, and was badly tarnishing the UK’s reputation overseas with populist-style “megaphone diplomacy”.
Continue reading...Parliamentary report finds ‘compelling evidence’ of trafficking and highlights missed opportunities to protect vulnerable people later stripped of citizenship
There is “compelling evidence” that British women and children currently detained in camps in north-east Syria were trafficked to the country against their will, according to a new parliamentary report.
After a six-month inquiry by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on trafficked Britons in Syria, the report published on Thursday highlights how systemic failures by UK public bodies enabled Islamic State (IS) trafficking of vulnerable women and children as young as 12.
Continue reading...Foreign secretary told MPs laws would be in place by 10 February but nothing has been put to parliament
The British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, will meet her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Thursday with her plan to have put the UK’s “toughest sanctions regime against Russia” on the statute book in time for the trip having fallen through.
Truss told MPs the laws would be in place by 10 February, but nothing has been put to parliament, raising suspicions among opposition MPs that government lawyers are struggling to frame the sweeping and unprecedented new laws.
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