Home secretary says mayor has ‘thrown senior officer under bus to save his own skin’
The home secretary has attacked the mayor of Greater Manchester as the area’s chief constable stepped down after the force was placed in special measures.
Ian Hopkins said he was bringing forward his retirement in the wake of a damning report by inspectors that found the force had failed to record 80,000 crimes, a fifth of all offences, in the year to 30 June.
Continue reading...Plans to relax Covid restrictions over Christmas are an error, says the Labour leader, as swathes of England have either entered or will enter tier 3 this week, and with mounting cases and hospitalisations. But Boris Johnson has resisted calls to reverse the five-day relaxation, instead urging the public to take individual responsibility. 'The prime minister should take the hard decisions, not hand them over to individuals,' says Starmer.
Continue reading...EU chief responds in final hours to Boris Johnson’s request for Brussels to seal deal
Michel Barnier has sought to break the deadlock in what he described as the final “few hours” of the post-Brexit trade talks with a new proposal on EU fishing access in British waters, after Boris Johnson called on Brussels to move to seal a deal.
After meetings with aides to the EU’s heads of state and government and fisheries ministers, Barnier was locked in late-night discussions with the UK negotiators led by David Frost, at what Barnier described as a “moment of truth”.
Continue reading...The post-first world war flu outbreak also came in waves and led to school closures and face-mask rows
This is not the first time that a pandemic has gripped the holiday season. In December 1918, preparations for the first Christmas without war in four years took place in the midst of the worst pandemic since the Black Death.
The 1918-19 influenza, like Covid-19, came in waves. The deadliest began in autumn, peaked in late November and continued through the first weeks of December. It struck hundreds of millions and killed tens of millions worldwide.
Continue reading...Michel Barnier has said the main obstacle to a deal in the final ‘few hours’ of the post-Brexit trade negotiation is whether Brussels will be able to hit British goods with tariffs if the government closes UK waters to EU fishing fleets.
The European parliament has requested a deal by midnight on Sunday. Barnier added that sooner or later the UK and EU would have to have a strong alliance even if an agreement is not reached by the deadline
Continue reading...English performer played bounty hunter Boba Fett in original trilogy
Star Wars actor Jeremy Bulloch, who played Boba Fett in the original films, has died aged 75.
The English actor died in hospital on Thursday from “health complications following his many years living with Parkinson’s disease”, according to his agent.
Continue reading...Inspectors had expressed ‘serious cause for concern’ after force failed to record a fifth of all reported crimes
Greater Manchester police (GMP) are to be placed in special measures after inspectors expressed “serious cause for concern” when the force failed to record a fifth of all reported crimes.
Last week Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) criticised GMP for failing to report 80,000 crimes in the year to 30 June.
Continue reading...With 35,300 more cases recorded on Thursday, scientists say next two to three months will be harsh
Tough coronavirus restrictions are expected to be in place across much of the UK until at least February, experts have said, as they warned of a “harsh” two to three months ahead.
More than 35,300 positive cases were recorded on Thursday – including a backlog of 11,000 from Wales - with infection rates increasing in many parts of the country, while rising Covid hospital numbers stand at more than 18,000. In the first wave the peak for UK hospitalisations was 21,683.
Continue reading...Latest updates: ‘vast majority’ of areas currently in tier 3 will remain there; secondary school pupils’ return to class in England will be staggered
The Department of Health has released a written ministerial statement giving the reasons for the decisions taken today about why areas in England are staying in, or moving from, particular tiers. It’s here - although the version up at the moment only covers the north-west, the north-east and London.
The government is to provide interim cover for EU holiday healthcare costs for people who require routine hospital treatment such as dialysis and chemotherapy in the event there is no Brexit deal to replace the current European Health Care Insurance Scheme (EHIC).
In a written ministerial statement Edward Argar, a health minister, said:
This government will introduce the scheme with the intention that it is used by individuals who are certain to require treatment while abroad, such as regular dialysis, oxygen therapy or certain types of chemotherapy. The government recognises that these ongoing, routine treatment costs can be expensive, and makes travelling abroad extremely challenging for many people.
Continue reading...French PM Castex to self-isolate after Macron tests positive; EU will stat with the BioNTech vaccine; Biden’s swearing in to have reduced capacity
Poland will enter a national quarantine from 28 December to 17 January, during which all hotels, ski slopes and shopping malls will close, the health minister, Adam Niedzielski, said on Thursday.
“I call on every Pole to be responsible for themselves and their loved ones. But I know that calls won’t help,” Niedzielski told a news conference.
One of Ukraine’s best known veteran politicians, Gennady Kernes, died in Germany early on Thursday from Covid-19 complications, local authorities and members of his family said.
Mayor of the largest eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Kernes, 61, went into politics after making his fortune in the post-communist 1990s.
Continue reading...The Guardian’s picture editors select highlights from around the world
Continue reading...Member states blame uncertainty over Brexit as reason for breach of next year’s limits
Fish populations will continue to be over-exploited in EU waters, partly as a result of Brexit, after a decision on next year’s fishing quotas among EU countries fell well short of scientific advice.
Fishing limits are set to exceed scientific advice for about a third of EU fish stocks, after EU ministers met on Thursday morning, with EU member states citing the uncertainty regarding fishing rights after Brexit as a reason for breaching limits on sustainable catches.
Continue reading...Limit suspended for two weeks including last day of Hanukah and New Year’s Day
Zoom is lifting limits on the free version of its videoconferencing software over the festive season to help families around the world socialise safely in the midst of the pandemic.
Normally, free accounts are limited to 40-minute-long calls, which abruptly end at the time limit. Zoom has announced that those limits will be removed for two weeks including the last day of Hanukah, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Continue reading...PM says no deal is ‘very likely’ after speaking to Ursula von der Leyen
Boris Johnson claimed the Brexit talks were in a “serious situation” after a call with Ursula von der Leyen, even as the EU’s chief negotiator raised hopes of a weekend Brexit agreement by persuading the European parliament to delay its deal deadline to Sunday.
In a statement released after a short stock-take telephone call on Thursday evening with the European commission president, the prime minister repeated his suggestion that it was “very likely” that an agreement would not be reached, with fisheries the standout issue.
Continue reading...Software could be used to identify videos filmed and uploaded by Uighur person, says IPVM
The Chinese tech company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd offered facial recognition software to clients which can identify the face of a Uighur person, according to a report.
The US-based surveillance industry research firm IPVM said on Thursday it had found the detection technology in Alibaba’s Cloud Shield service, which offers content moderation for websites.
Continue reading...Talks on reducing charges on items such as Scotch whisky follow UK move to drop levy on Boeing
The UK and the United States are hoping to reach an agreement on reducing trade tariffs, according to Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative in Donald Trump’s outgoing administration.
In an interview with the BBC, Lighthizer said he was in talks with the UK’s international trade secretary, Liz Truss, which could remove hefty tariffs imposed by the US on goods including Scotch whisky.
Continue reading...Retailers and manufactures demand action after delays caused by pandemic and Brexit
Retailers and food and drinks companies have called for MPs to launch an urgent inquiry into disruption at British ports, with delays to goods deliveries possibly set to last for months.
The delays mean consumers may have to pay higher Christmas prices and companies may be unable to build up stockpiles of goods to see them through Brexit disruption, the retail and food and drinks industry warned, in a letter to the chairs of parliament’s transport and international trade committees.
Continue reading...Move seen as political theatre as talks in Brussels continue, but may not preclude recall of MPs and peers
MPs and peers will begin their Christmas break on Thursday evening, the government has announced, amid waning hopes that a Brexit deal will be struck in time to be approved in parliament next week.
With talks on trade and security continuing in Brussels amid signs of progress and compromise, ministers had considered stipulating that parliament should sit on Monday and Tuesday to allow legislation implementing a deal to be passed rapidly.
Continue reading...UN agency will help fund food parcels for those affected by coronavirus crisis in Southwark, south London
Unicef has launched a domestic emergency response in the UK for the first time in its more than 70-year history to help feed children hit by the Covid-19 crisis.
The UN agency, which is responsible for providing humanitarian aid to children worldwide, said the coronavirus pandemic was the most urgent crisis affecting children since the second world war.
Continue reading...The UK prime minister insists he will not change plans to relax Covid rules around Christmas, despite a sharp rise in cases. Johnson instead urges Britons to exercise personal responsibility, minimise social contacts, and consider delaying seeing elderly relatives until they have been vaccinated