Labour leader uses first address on foreign policy since taking office to build bridges with US and EU
Sir Keir Starmer has set out his “optimistic” vision for a wide-ranging new relationship with the US under Joe Biden.
Speaking before Biden’s inauguration on 20 January, Starmer said he was “incredibly optimistic about the new relationship we can build” and that Britain must once again be “the bridge between the US and the rest of Europe”.
Continue reading...Postmortem found son of Only Fools and Horses actor Nicholas Lyndhurst had ‘numerous bleeds’ on the brain
The CBBC actor Archie Lyndhurst, the son of the Only Fools and Horses actor Nicholas Lyndhurst, died from a brain haemorrhage, his mother has said.
Lucy Smith, a former ballet dancer, said a postmortem found his death was due to natural causes. Her 19-year-old son had had “numerous bleeds” on the brain and would have died painlessly in his sleep, the doctor confirmed to her, at his home in Fulham, west London, on 22 September.
Continue reading...As the rich and famous isolate on the seas, a new catamaran is designed to keep the virus out
It is a problem not many us have to consider: how to ensure your multimillion dollar superyacht remains a coronavirus-free zone despite taking on board crew from around the world.
But for the billionaire owners of floating luxury homes there is now a solution – a very expensive one, naturally. An Australian naval architecture firm is launching a new double-hulled support vessel, in which new crew and guests can isolate while they await coronavirus test results from onboard medical staff.
Continue reading...Conductor laments impact on UK musicians’ careers and describes application as ‘absolute necessity’
The conductor Simon Rattle, who announced this week that he was cutting short his tenure at Britain’s leading orchestra to return to Germany, has applied for German citizenship after Brexit.
The Liverpool-born musician lamented the barriers thrown up by Britain’s departure from the European Union to the careers of young musicians who had grown used to performing freely to the continent’s music-hungry public.
Continue reading...Vouchers and money to buy food bring families the dignity everyone deserves, as the World Food Programme has shown
Dignity is not a word that you would normally associate with your weekly supermarket shop, or with planning how you might be going to feed your children each night.
But right now, when families are under intense pressure to find enough money to keep food on the table and ensure their children have access to a healthy and nutritious diet, dignity is something we should all be demanding for those who depend on others for the means to feed their loved ones.
Continue reading...Error message greets visitors to site registered in name of Irish businessman who claims he does not know campaign group
Leave.EU has been forced to “Internexit” after the group’s EU domain name was temporarily suspended. It comes after the Irish businessman in whose name the pro-Brexit campaign group’s domain name is registered denied having any involvement with the organisation.
Now visitors to the site are greeted with an error message, and the EU’s online registry marks the domain as under a server hold, meaning it is “temporarily inactive and under investigation”.
Continue reading...The prime minister announced a dramatic tightening of the UK’s borders, with all international arrivals to be forced to quarantine as well as demonstrate they have had a negative Covid test. The new restrictions will come into force at 4am on 18 January. The closure of travel corridors was to protect the UK from the risk of 'vaccine-busting' Covid variants coming into the country, Johnson added.
Analysis: poor implementation ends another week of shifting Covid policy by the government
The announced closure of all international travel corridors to the UK marks the end of another week of changing policy, with the timing and implementation dismaying many.
Travel corridors will be axed in effect from Monday morning. The corridors, which exempted inbound travellers from the requirement to quarantine for 10 days, may make little practical difference to the airline and travel industry in the current context.
Continue reading...A further 55,761 people have tested positive in the UK; experts say latest number shows need to remain vigilant; Wales unveils new measures
The UK government said a further 1,280 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Friday, bringing the UK total to 87,295.
Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 102,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.
A further 807 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 59,519, NHS England said on Friday. Patients were aged between 32 and 101. All except 51, aged between 40 and 97, had known underlying health conditions. The deaths were between 18 November and 14 January. There were 31 other deaths reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.
Continue reading...Exclusive: number of Covid patients could be twice that of April 2020 peak within weeks
Two-thirds of all NHS trusts across England were treating more coronavirus patients last week than they did at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic, a Guardian analysis reveals.
Figures show that in 18 trusts the number of people suffering from coronavirus outnumbered all other patients.
Continue reading...David Perry faces accusations of ‘making the wrong choice’ after applying despite local objections
David Perry, the British QC under fire for agreeing to prosecute pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, had to go to court himself to win permission to take the controversial case.
The nine activists facing a potential seven-year jail sentence for alleged unlawful assembly in 2019 include Jimmy Lai, the independently minded newspaper proprietor, and Martin Lee, the so-called father of Hong Kong democracy.
Continue reading...Appeal court adds six years to prison term of Andy Anokye, 33, who performed under the name Solo 45
A man who held four women against their will and repeatedly raped them has had his sentence increased by the court of appeal.
Victims of Andy Anokye, 33, who performed as a grime artist under the stage name Solo 45, told how he beat and threatened them with weapons, held a cloth with bleach over their faces and waterboarded them, recording much of the abuse on his mobile phone.
Continue reading...Disparity with white women shows need for action, doctors say, despite slight improvement in mortality rate
Black women are still four times more likely than white women to die in pregnancy or childbirth in the UK, and women from Asian ethnic backgrounds face twice the risk, according to a new report.
The data shows a slight narrowing of the divide – last year’s report found black women were five times more likely to die – but experts say that is statistically insignificant and not a sign of progress.
Continue reading...Grim milestone comes as Joe Biden’s incoming chief of staff says 500,000 could die in US next month; EU states raise concerns about Pfizer slowdown. This blog is now closed. You can follow our new live blog here
This liveblog has now closed. Our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic continues on our new live blog.
Pfizer’s reduction of its COVID-19 vaccine shipments will not delay Canada’s goal of getting most people inoculated by the end of September, the country’s procurement minister said as the country battled a second surge in infections.
“This is a temporary delay and we remain on track to have enough approved vaccines for everyone who wishes to get vaccinated by the end of September 2021,” Procurement Minister Anita Anand said.
Continue reading...A timeline of what was promised and what has been delivered so far
In mid-March, the World Health Organization had a simple message to countries on how to tackle the spread of coronavirus: test, test, test. In the chaotic months of mixed messaging and policy U-turns that followed, the UK government developed a chronic habit of over-promising and under-delivering, not least when it came to testing.
We look back at the major events in the buildup of the UK’s testing regime, what was promised and what has happened since.
Continue reading...Analysis: some say lateral flow tests could help cut outbreaks, but others argue they offer false reassurance
The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, has put mass testing for coronavirus at the heart of his strategy to reopen schools after the lockdown. It is a controversial strategy that has divided scientists. Some believe mass testing can help reduce outbreaks at schools, while others argue it could make matters worse by giving teachers and pupils false reassurance.
Mass testing relies on lateral flow tests, or LFTs, which contain antibodies that bind to the virus. When a nasal swab is tested in an LFT, any virus present in the sample sticks to the antibodies and produces a dark band, a bit like a pregnancy test’s indicator. LFTs are not as accurate as the standard NHS lab-based PCR tests, but they are cheap and produce results fast – within 30 minutes.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Boris Johnson’s plan to test millions of pupils a week in disarray after concerns raised
Boris Johnson’s plans to test millions of schoolchildren for coronavirus every week appear to be in disarray after the UK regulator refused to formally approve the daily testing of pupils in England, the Guardian has learned.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told the government on Tuesday it had not authorised the daily use of 30-minute tests due to concerns that they give people false reassurance if they test negative.
Continue reading...Allegations of poor conditions, poor food quality and mental health crises at RAF Coltishall in Norfolk
A third former military site being used as temporary housing for asylum seekers is facing allegations of poor conditions, poor food quality and mental health crises, it has emerged.
The Home Office has been housing asylum seekers in a former officers’ mess at RAF Coltishall, north of Norwich, since April last year. The Norfolk site has not received as much scrutiny as two similar facilities, Napier Barracks in Kent and Penally Barracks in Pembrokeshire, which have been dogged by allegations of cover-ups, poor access to healthcare and legal advice, and crowded conditions.
Continue reading...Prison, care home and mental health institution visit limitations failing to consider impact on family life, campaigners say
Children with parents in prison have been forgotten during lockdown, campaigners have told MPs.
The cross-party human rights committee is looking at the impact on the right to family life, with a focus on people in institutional settings including prisons, care homes and mental health facilities.
Continue reading...MPs say sexual exploitation still rife despite series of scandals and call for more effective measures
The sexual abuse and exploitation of local women by international aid workers remains “rife”, say MPs, describing the sector as the “last safe haven” for perpetrators.
A parliamentary inquiry found evidence of widespread abuse of beneficiaries, ineffective investigations and whistleblowers forced out of jobs, despite a series of recent scandals that had prompted some reforms.
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