Category Archives: UK news

‘I’ve lost who I was’: UK pauses to reflect on year of Covid

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Twelve months after the first lockdown, bereaved relatives and long Covid survivors on how things can never be the same

A year to the day since the UK went into a historic lockdown to combat a frightening and deadly new pandemic, the nation looks back in disbelief and horror. One hundred and twenty six thousand dead. A decimated economy. The reckoning will take decades to pick over.

Tuesday’s day of reflection, organised by the cancer charity Marie Curie and backed by over 110 organisations, will be observed across the nation. A minute’s silence at midday is followed by a doorstep vigil at 8pm. Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer, Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford are expected to mark the occasion. Prominent buildings and national landmarks will be illuminated in yellow, to commemorate the dead.

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Dexamethasone hailed as lifesaver for up to a million Covid patients worldwide

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Results of Recovery drug trial also credited with successful treatment of 22,000 people in the UK, says NHS England

Dexamethasone – the inexpensive steroid that quickly emerged as a highly effective Covid therapy thanks to a large drug testing programme pioneered by UK scientists – has so far saved the lives of an estimated million people globally, including 22,000 in the UK, according to NHS England.

Called Recovery, the world’s largest randomised Covid-19 drug trial commenced in March 2020 to evaluate the suitability of a suite of different drugs to help hospitalised Covid patients. The study has since been carried out by thousands of doctors and nurses on tens of thousands of patients in hospitals across Britain.

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Sturgeon welcomes ‘official, definitive, independent’ ruling she did not breach ministerial code – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For more on this story, you read the news report here

The army’s increased deployability and technological advantage will mean that greater effect can be delivered by fewer people. I’ve therefore taken the decision to reduce the size of the army from today’s current strength of 76,500 trade trained personnel to 72,500 by 2025.

The army has not been at its established strength of 82,000 since the middle of last decade.

Related: Coronavirus live news: Germany extends partial lockdown; Irish PM speaks out against vaccine export ban

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, has said that Nicola Sturgeon is not “free and clear”, despite being exonerated by the independent adviser on the ministerial code, because the Scottish parliament’s committee has not yet published its report on her. In a statement he said:

The first minister has been given a pass because it has been judged her ‘failure of recollection’ was ‘not deliberate’.

I respect Mr Hamilton and his judgment but we cannot agree with that assessment. Nicola Sturgeon did not suddenly turn forgetful.

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Attacker punches pregnant woman in stomach in north London

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Man throws pillowcase over woman’s head before beating her in Orthodox Jewish area of Stamford Hill

A pregnant woman has had a pillowcase thrown over her head before being punched repeatedly in the stomach during an attack in north London.

The victim, 20, who is said to be a 27-weeks-pregnant Jewish woman, fled the scene but was taken to hospital for treatment for minor injuries after the assault, the Metropolitan police said.

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US and Canada follow EU and UK to sanction Chinese officials over Xinjiang

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It is the first time for three decades UK or EU has punished China for human rights abuses

Britain and the EU have taken joint action with the US and Canada to impose parallel sanctions on a senior Chinese officials involved in the mass internment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province in the first such western action against Beijing since Joe Biden took office.

The move also marked the first time for three decades the UK or the EU had punished China for human rights abuses, and both will now be working hard to contain the potential political and economic fallout. China hit back immediately, blacklisting MEPs, European diplomats and thinktanks.

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Data shows collapse of UK food and drink exports post-Brexit

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HMRC figures reveal huge year-on-year falls in trade, with whisky, cheese and chocolate worst hit

Whisky, cheese and chocolate producers have suffered the biggest post-Brexit export losses in the food and drink sector, new figures from HMRC have shown.

Analysis of the figures by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) shows that cheese exports in January plummeted from £45m to £7m year on year, while whisky exports nosedived from £105m to £40m. Chocolate exports went from £41.4m to just £13m, a decline of 68%.

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Kenyan police officers to go on trial accused of British aristocrat’s murder

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Alexander Monson, son of Lord Monson, died in 2012 after allegedly being beaten in a police cell

Four Kenyan police officers will stand trial for murder after a judge ruled they had a case to answer in the death of the British aristocrat Alexander Monson, who died in 2012 a day after allegedly being beaten in a police cell.

The ruling, handed down by a high court judge in Mombasa, follows a years-long legal battle by his family after the 28-year-old died after he was arrested outside a nightclub at the Diani beach resort on suspicion of smoking cannabis.

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UK considers Covid traffic light system for international travel

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Countries could be rated red, green and amber based on vaccine passport arrangements

A traffic light system is being considered by ministers for when international travel restarts, which could rate countries green, amber and red depending on the state of vaccine passport agreements.

The Guardian has been told the scheme could come into operation from August, with hotel quarantining continuing until at least 21 June for UK nationals and residents returning to England from countries with high prevalence of coronavirus variants of concern.

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‘Selfish, self-indulgent’: Bristol mayor condemns ‘kill the bill’ protest violence – video

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Bristol's mayor, Marvin Rees, has said violence that broke out during demonstrations in the city against the government's anti-protest bill was counterproductive and may be used as evidence of why the legislation is necessary.

Rees said the perpetrators were 'living out their fantasies of being revolutionaries' and had made no contribution to furthering justice for marginalised communities.

He added: 'It goes against everything we have been doing in the city these recent years to build partnership and collective action'

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Allowing summer holidays abroad risks another lockdown, Johnson is warned

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Sage experts are worried about overseas breaks leading to rise in vaccine-resistant variants in UK

Lifting the ban on foreign holidays in the coming months could risk another lockdown next winter, Boris Johnson is being warned, amid mounting alarm about a third wave of infections sweeping continental Europe.

Scientific experts and opposition politicians are urging the government to be extremely cautious before loosening travel restrictions, with their concerns about the prevalence of new variants of the virus overseas increasingly shared by Whitehall.

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EU export ban would delay UK Covid vaccine drive by two months

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Exclusive: Halting distribution would hit Britain badly but not significantly help EU, analysis finds

Britain’s Covid vaccine programme faces a two-month delay in the event of an EU export ban, derailing the government’s plans to reopen the economy this summer, an analysis for the Guardian reveals.

A ban, due to be debated by leaders of the 27 EU member states on Thursday, would badly stall the UK vaccination effort, and would be likely to force the government to extend restrictions on people’s lives.

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Royal family consider diversity tsar under modernisation plans

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Buckingham Palace acknowledges ‘more needs to be done’ after reviewing policies and procedures

The royal family are considering appointing a diversity tsar under new plans to modernise the monarchy.

The move comes after Buckingham Palace conducted a review of policies, procedures and programmes currently in place and found that not enough progress had been made, with an acknowledgement that “more needs to be done”.

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UK aid budget cut unlawful, legal advice to Tory rebels says

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Government could face judicial review if it does not reinstate its spending commitment, advice adds

The government will be in clear breach of the law and exposed to a judicial review if it presses ahead with a multibillion-pound cut in the UK’s foreign aid programme, according to legal advice given to Tory backbenchers.

Advice issued by the QC and peer Ken Macdonald said No 10 had acted outside the law when it abandoned its commitment to spend 0.7% of national income on aid.

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Covid: why has the fall in UK infection rate stalled despite vaccinations?

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Hospital admissions and deaths are declining as priority groups vaccinated but number of new diagnoses has stabilised

The UK’s Covid-19 statistics remain encouraging despite continuing rows over vaccine deliveries in Europe. Admissions to hospital and daily deaths from the disease continue to decline with numbers in the latter category now down to double digits while the former have dropped to around a 10th of their total two months ago.

However, one other category – numbers of new diagnoses a day – has reached a plateau with cases, having plunged from 60,000, stabilising at around 5,000 to 6,000. So why has this figure apparently stalled while deaths and hospitalisations continue to decline?

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The wannabe food influencer who’s wanted by the FBI

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When a man calling himself Gavin Ambani tried to make his mark on the London food scene, the story of a fraud hunt stretching from Hollywood to Indonesia followed in his wake

When a man calling himself Gavin Ambani contacted Pål Hansen out of the blue one day in 2018, the highly regarded portrait photographer wasn’t sure what to make of him. Hansen has built his reputation on photographing the likes of Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton and Sir Lewis Hamilton, as well as some of the world’s best known chefs for Observer Food Monthly. But Ambani, a loquacious character with a high-pitched voice, wanted him to do some work for his Instagram account.

“I said it doesn’t sound like something I’m interested in,” recalls Hansen.

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Nine in 10 councils in England see rise in people using food banks

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Local authorities reveal devastating toll of coronavirus on households who have struggled to keep a roof over their heads

A rise in the use of food banks and an increase in family disputes requiring mediation has been seen across most of England, according to new research that uncovers the pressures on families during the Covid crisis.

Most local councils in England have also reported increased numbers of people needing help for homelessness, with warnings that many poorer households will face “disaster” unless emergency support is extended well beyond the pandemic.

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Tory MPs warn Johnson not to extend Covid curbs

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The prime minister is under pressure to resist an ‘excess of caution’ as a third wave of infections grips Europe

Boris Johnson faces mounting pressure from senior Tories to resist attempts to extend the blanket ban on overseas travel or delay the loosening of UK restrictions, amid new warnings over rising Covid cases in Europe.

With scientific advisers warning of the risks of overseas holidays in the late spring and summer, figures from across the Conservative party demanded that the prime minister reject an “excess of caution” in reacting to an apparent third Covid wave across the continent.

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Unmasked: man behind cult set to replace QAnon

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The creator of the rapidly growing ‘Sabmyk Network’ is said to be a Berlin art dealer with a record of media manipulation

The mysterious individual behind a new and rapidly growing online disinformation network targeting followers of QAnon, the far-right cult, can be revealed as a Berlin-based artist with a history of social media manipulation, a prominent anti-racism group claims.

Since Donald Trump left the White House, QAnon’s vast online community has been in a state of flux as it comes to terms with the reality that its conspiracy theories – such as the former US president being destined to defeat a cabal of Satan-worshipping paedophiles – amount to nothing.

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13 protesters arrested at march against Covid lockdown in London

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Thousands of demonstrators gather in Hyde Park for Piers Corbyn as police urge crowd to disperse

Thousands marched under a heavy police presence through central London in protest against lockdown on Saturday, with at least 13 arrested.

Demonstrators gathered at Speakers’ Corner by Hyde Park at about midday, where anti-lockdown figurehead Piers Corbyn gave a speech saying he would “never take a vaccine” and falsely claiming that the scale of deaths from Covid was not dissimilar to those from flu each year.

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