Limited supply of chocolate eggs launched by former Sinn Féin president only available in Belfast
Gerry Adams has launched his latest bid for Irish unity, this time in the form of a chocolate egg.
In a video shared on Twitter, the former Sinn Féin president unveiled a “very, very, very special package that we have put together at considerable expense” – a chocolate egg wrapped in a sheet of paper that says #Time4Unity.
Continue reading...Charles Oti should be in his NHS job fighting the virus. Instead, the Home Office wants to send him to Nigeria
An infection control specialist who has been offered a job as a senior NHS biomedical scientist to help tackle the pandemic is facing deportation by the Home Office, prompting fresh calls for a more “humane” approach to skilled migrants.
The government has refused Charles Oti, 46, from Nigeria the right to remain in the UK even though the job he was offered is among the government’s most sought-after skilled positions.
Continue reading...Duke writes about his mother’s death in book for bereaved children as part of National Day of Reflection
The Duke of Sussex has reflected on the pain of his mother’s death in a foreword to a book for children of health workers who have died in the coronavirus pandemic.
Prince Harry wrote that the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 when he was 12 had left “a huge hole inside of me” but that it was eventually filled with “love and support”, according to the Times.
Continue reading...Children’s writer who nearly died from virus joins Joan Bakewell and other public figures in demanding investigation
Michael Rosen, the poet and children’s writer who survived Covid after six weeks on a ventilator, has backed calls for a public inquiry into the UK’s handling of the pandemic amid rising pressure on Boris Johnson to announce a timetable.
The author spoke out as several other prominent figures urged the government to launch a statutory investigation into the UK’s Covid-19 experience, including the broadcaster Joan Bakewell, the film director Stephen Frears and the music producer and composer Talvin Singh.
Continue reading...Electoral Commission wants to find out whether payment relating to renovation should have been declared
The official elections watchdog has contacted the Tory party over a reported payment made for the refurbishment of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat, it has been disclosed.
The Electoral Commission said it was in touch to establish whether any sums relating to the renovation works should have been declared under the law on party political donations.
Continue reading...Analysis: Foreign secretary’s robust response to the EU contrasted with the PM’s emollience towards India
Boris Johnson went out of his way this week not to blame Delhi for the later-than-expected arrival of 5m doses of the Oxford vaccine from India, which is contributing to a significant dip in supplies in April.
“No, no, no,” he said, when asked by a reporter whether Delhi had blocked the export of the vaccines, as the country battles a resurgence in Covid cases.
Continue reading...Read the list of super-rich claimants, from Saudi princes to Dubai monarchs, tax exiles to the UK’s richest
Glympton Park is a sprawling, 2,000-acre estate featuring an 18th-century stately home, nestled in the verdant Oxfordshire countryside near Woodstock.
It was bought for £8m in 1992, by Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, the senior Saudi royal whose past roles include ambassador to the US. He is said to have spent £42m on renovations, including a pheasant shoot and bullet-proof glass on the driveway to thwart would-be assassins.
Continue reading...Qatari owners of Harrods and the Ritz claimed £3m alongside payouts to Saudi royals and British National party from Covid job support scheme
Billionaire tax exiles, the British National party, Saudi royals and oil-rich Gulf states have claimed millions of pounds in taxpayer-funded furlough money, the Guardian can disclose.
The revelations, based on analysis of government information, have sparked dismay among MPs at the use of a scheme designed to support struggling businesses and prevent mass unemployment, with one complaining of public money being scattered “like confetti”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Bust in Holy Trinity church was modelled by tomb-maker Nicholas Johnson, research finds
They say you should never meet your heroes, which has been just as well for literature fans who for centuries have been told they would never see an accurate likeness of William Shakespeare.
Until recently, there were only two definitive portraits of the playwright widely regarded to be the greatest writer in the English language and both were thought to have been painted posthumously. Art critics have even argued that the most famous – the Cobbe portrait – was more likely to have been a painting of courtier Sir Thomas Overbury, not the Bard at all.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Lords committee chair highlights concern EU parliament may delay trade deal ratification
The Brexit deal signed in December has been thrown into jeopardy because of the recent breakdown of relations with the EU, an influential House of Lords committee is warning.
The European Union committee says “the threat of no deal remains”, with the European parliament now declining to set a date for its vote on the trade agreement sealed on Christmas Eve.
Continue reading...As we exit a third national lockdown, analysis shows how infections surged again after the first two
When the UK went into coronavirus lockdown a year ago, few people thought it would need to bounce in and out of the strictest curtailment of freedoms in memory several more times.
Now a Guardian data analysis shows how, while all three national lockdowns were successful in reducing infection rates, each was lifted when cases in at least some areas were too high, leading to rebounds.
Continue reading...Culture secretary Oliver Dowden says government is piloting different methods while review is under way
Coronavirus “certificates” that would show whether people have had a vaccine or a negative test are being considered by the government as a way of getting people back to larger events, the culture secretary has said.
Oliver Dowden told Sky News that he hoped people would be able to return “in significant numbers” from 21 June if “all goes to plan”.
Continue reading...More than 350 clinicians report suspicions of Covid-induced diabetes, both type 1 and type 2
A cohort of scientists from across the world believe that there is a growing body of evidence that Covid-19 can cause diabetes in some patients.
Prof Francesco Rubino, from King’s College London, is leading the call for a full investigation into a possible link between the two diseases. Having seen a rise in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in people who have caught coronavirus, some doctors are even considering the possibility that the virus ‒ by disrupting sugar metabolism ‒ could be inducing an entirely new form of diabetes.
Continue reading...List of historical cleaning methods includes using milk on flagstones but advises against rubbing potatoes on paintings
Do consider using skimmed milk on a flagstone floor, or fresh white bread on wallpaper, heritage experts confidently advise. But please do not follow the advice of housekeepers who used potatoes to clean oil paintings, or Worcestershire sauce to polish the silver.
As some people prepare for a spring clean, English Heritage has revealed some of its best historical cleaning tips – and the worst.
Continue reading...Dan Hanks claims he compiled 90-page report about actor early in her relationship with Prince Harry
A private investigator employed by the Sun has said he illegally accessed the Duchess of Sussex’s private information shortly after she met Prince Harry.
Dan Hanks, who lives in Los Angeles, told the website Byline Investigates that he compiled a 90-page report on the future member of the royal family in October 2016, shortly after the tabloid newspaper first became aware of her relationship with the prince.
Continue reading...PM welcomes vaccine safety vow, then spots new offshore home for folk trafficked here under false pretence – of getting a welcome
After a morning spent painting flowers at a primary school in his Uxbridge constituency, Britain’s prize clot returned to Downing Street to lead a press conference on clots. Blood clots to be precise.
Following the decision of some countries to suspend their Oxford AstraZeneca vaccination programmes over concerns of blood clot side-effects, Boris Johnson was happy to report that the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency had declared the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to be absolutely safe.
Continue reading...London housing block residents choose location-led name, having rejected option to reflect black historical figures
Cecil Rhodes House, which overlooks St Pancras rail station in London, is to be renamed after decades of unsuccessful attempts to rid the property of its association with the Victorian imperialist.
But to the disappointment of some local historians, residents rejected renaming the building after a black historical figure, opting instead for Park View House.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson has said delays in vaccine supplies will not affect the government’s roadmap out of lockdown. ‘We’ve always said that in a vaccination programme of this pace and scale, some interruptions in supply are inevitable,’ he said. ‘The progress along the road to freedom remains unchecked.’
Most side-effects are mild and short-lived, and some groups are more likely to get them than others
According to Public Health England, most side-effects from the Covid vaccines – Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca – are mild and short-lived. These include soreness where the jab was given, feeling tired or achy and headaches. Uncommon side-effects include having swollen lymph nodes.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Brandon Lewis to take new powers to make executive act, as more than 100 women cross Irish Sea for help
The UK government is to take unprecedented action to force Northern Ireland to speed up abortion services, using parliament to give the secretary of state new powers amid concern many women are still being forced to seek help in England.
New figures suggest that more than 100 women have still sought abortions in England from Northern Ireland, despite the risks of the pandemic, including those seeking later-term abortions for significant foetal complications or health risks.
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