Category Archives: Politics

UK ‘weakening threat to Kremlin by failing to close property loophole’

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EU capitals concerned UK is not ensuring identity of real estate owners known in event of sanctions

Britain has frustrated its EU allies and weakened the west’s financial threat to the Kremlin by failing to close a loophole that will ensure London real estate remains a safe haven for Russian money, according to diplomatic sources in Brussels.

New legislation, described as the “toughest ever” by the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, gives the UK government powers to freeze the assets of individuals linked to the Russian state in the event of an invasion of Ukraine but fails to “capture” property owned via anonymous offshore structures.

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Australian rivals and Brexit barriers leave UK farmers on stony ground

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Talk at this week’s NFU conference will be alive with financial, labour and competition concerns

Swapping their pastures for the concrete jungle, hundreds of Britain’s farmers will take off their wellies this week and head to a conference centre in central Birmingham for the annual shindig of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).

Nearly 1,500 food producers will meet to discuss the “blueprint for the future” of British farming, against the backdrop of the biggest upheaval in a generation in agriculture, following the UK’s departure from the EU and the pandemic, and amid discussions about future land use in the face of the climate crisis.

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Johnson to end forced self-isolation after positive Covid test in England

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PM to announce end to legal duty to quarantine next week as part of ‘living with Covid’ measures

The prime minister is to announce the end of the legal duty to self-isolate after testing positive for Covid-19 next week.

Downing Street said Boris Johnson will lay out his intentions to repeal all pandemic regulations that restrict public freedoms in England as part of his “living with Covid” plan on Monday.

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Living with Covid: what are risks of England’s plan to lift restrictions?

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As the new plan is set to be announced, here’s what might change, from testing to shielding

As Britain emerges from the Omicron wave, ministers are thrashing out a “living safely with Covid” plan for England expected to be announced next week. The strategy should see freedoms expanded back towards pre-pandemic norms in an attempt to readjust people’s attitudes towards coronavirus.

The decisions taken this weekend in Whitehall will have major repercussions for public health across the country. While vaccines have drastically blunted Covid hospitalisations and deaths, and restrictions came with significant downsides, lifting further measures is unlikely to come without a cost – particularly for those in vulnerable groups.

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Ending all Covid restrictions ‘premature and not based on evidence’, says BMA

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Council chair says decision not guided by data or made in consultation with health profession

Ending all Covid restrictions is premature and “not based on current evidence”, the British Medical Association has said, as experts warned dropping testing and self-isolation could lead to a surge in cases.

Boris Johnson told MPs last week that he was preparing to lift the legal requirement in England to self-isolate on 24 February, a month earlier than originally planned, with a formal announcement expected on Monday.

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No 10 staff facing police over Partygate can see notes on their evidence

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Staff allowed ‘limited access’ before Sue Gray inquiry evidence passed to police

Downing Street staff being questioned by police about alleged lockdown breaches will be allowed to view notes on the evidence they gave to the Sue Gray inquiry.

Those spoken to as part of the Cabinet Office probe were told they could see the notes with a member of Gray’s team present but would not be allowed to bring a phone into the room, to be accompanied by a lawyer, or to request any changes.

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Met police admit tweet critical of Sadiq Khan was unacceptable

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London mayor denies claim he gave Cressida Dick ultimatum over Charing Cross officers

Scotland Yard has been forced to admit it was “unacceptable” for one of its official Twitter accounts to apparently criticise the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, leading him to accuse the force of amplifying misleading information.

Khan tackled the suggestion – made in a now-deleted tweet by the verified “Metropolitan Police taskforce” – that he did not understand the rules for disciplining officers.

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UK ministers plan to scrap ‘golden visa’ scheme amid Russia concerns

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System has previously been criticised as a ‘backdoor loophole’ to funnel dirty money into UK

Ministers are preparing to scrap the “golden visa” system that allows wealthy foreign investors a fast track to living in the UK, amid concerns over links with Russia.

Given concerns about how the system is being taken advantage of, and against a backdrop of souring relations with Moscow given its military buildup on the border with Ukraine, the home secretary, Priti Patel, is to axe the residence route.

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Cabinet splits emerge over ‘living with Covid’ strategy and free testing

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Sajid Javid expected to push to retain some free testing against Treasury demand to slash budget

Cabinet splits have emerged over the government’s “living with Covid” strategy, with Sajid Javid expected to push to retain some free testing and community surveillance of the virus in the face of a Treasury demand to slash the budget.

Ministers including the health secretary and the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, are expected to meet on Thursday to discuss the strategy before it is announced next week.

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Tragic consequences of repatriating asylum seekers | Letter

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Officials often underestimate the dangers faced by failed asylum seekers who are forcibly sent home, writes Jackie Fearnley

The recent Human Rights Watch report on the harm done to Cameroonian asylum seekers, both while they were trying to make their claims in the US and when repatriated in a blaze of publicity, should be required reading for all asylum decision-makers (African migrants deported in Trump era suffered abuse on return, 10 February).

From my experience of helping Cameroonian torture survivors over the past 14 years, I have noted that Home Office decision-makers, and many judges, can fatally underestimate the degree of risk attached to the forcible return process, particularly as failed asylum seekers are viewed as having brought the country into disrepute and can be punished with imprisonment.

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‘The pleasure of a chancer unmasked’: why we are living in the age of schadenfreude

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Watching the misfortunes of Boris Johnson or Novak Djokovic is deliciously satisfying – and unmistakably human. But is it wrong to submit to our basest instincts?

No one is especially shy about the anger they feel about the partygate shambles in Downing Street, nor should they be. We are all a bit more discreet, though, about how enjoyable it is to watch the prime minister’s downfall. It hits every base of funny, from the slapstick to the surreal; a comedy home run. But there is something delicious here that is richer than humour. To see a chancer unmasked is a very particular pleasure.

Likewise, I would happily give you my thoughts on the international tennis elite and their stance on vaccination. But why it was so droll to see Novak Djokovic detained in and then deported from Australia I would struggle to say; I never had anything against the man.

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Truss tells Iran she hopes UK will soon be able to repay £400m debt

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Tehran is keen to see Britain do more to help with Afghan refugee crisis

Liz Truss has said she hopes Britain will soon be in a position to pay the £400m debt overdue to Iran, according to an Iranian account of the phone call between the foreign secretary and her Tehran counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

UK government officials have been exploring legal ways to pay Britain’s historical debt, although international economic sanctions on Iran have made it difficult.

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Brexit: huge jump in trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland

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Official Irish data suggests boost in trade on island of Ireland, but imports from Great Britain fell €2.3bn

The impact of the first year of Brexit on Ireland has been revealed after official data showed cross-border trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland jumped by €2.8bn (£2.3bn) in 2021.

Full-year figures from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office show that imports to Ireland from Northern Ireland were up 65% to €3.9bn, a rise of €1.5bn compared with 2020.

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Russia-Ukraine crisis a ‘dangerous moment for the world’, warns Truss

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UK foreign secretary says invasion by Putin could embolden Iran and China to expand their ambitions

The UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has warned of a “dangerous moment for the world” as the “highly likely” prospect of a Russian invasion of Ukraine could embolden other countries such as Iran and China to expand their ambitions.

Speaking on Sky News, Truss said “we could be on the brink of a war in Europe, which would have severe consequences not just for the people of Russian and Ukraine but for the broader security in Europe”, adding she was “very worried”.

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Long-term refugee targets ‘would help west regain moral purpose’

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Under former Tory MP Rory Stewart’s plans, countries would take in an agreed number of refugees annually

Liberal democracies can regain their lost sense of shared moral purpose by agreeing to set a long-term internationally agreed target for the number of refugees they are each prepared to take each year, Rory Stewart, a former Conservative cabinet minister, has proposed.

Unveiling his plan to the Guardian, Stewart said: “Reforming the international resettlement coalition around the Afghan crisis presents a rare opportunity for key liberal democracies to restore their moral authority, form a workable international coalition, and deliver rapid, concrete, ethical results.”

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Plans to delay Covid jabs for UK children aged five to 11 criticised

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JCVI advised vaccinating the age group last week, but government is still ‘reviewing’ the evidence

Plans to offer Covid vaccinations to all children aged five to 11 have been delayed by the government because the jabs have not been deemed urgent.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) decided more than a week ago to expand the vaccination programme to all that age group and handed its advice to ministers.

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UK and Scottish government agree deal on freeports in Scotland

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Plan proposes two ‘green freeports’ based around low-emission industries

UK ministers and the Scottish government have reached a deal over proposed freeports in Scotland, after months of disagreement over what No 10 has billed as one of the main economic benefits of Brexit.

The Scottish government had resisted the idea of freeports – specific areas that offer tax breaks and other incentives to investors – which are intended to revitalise deprived areas but have been accused of encouraging tax avoidance and lower regulation.

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Met investigates death threats against Keir Starmer in wake of Johnson’s Savile slur

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Telegram posts show far-right groups ‘emboldened’ by physical attack on Labour leader

The Metropolitan Police is investigating death threats against Keir Starmer made in the wake of Boris Johnson’s accusation that he “failed to prosecute” Jimmy Savile.

A cache of evidence documenting the threats was sent to Scotland Yard on Friday afternoon, including a number of apparently identifiable users on the messaging app Telegram who called for the Labour party leader to be hanged or “executed”.

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The UK’s homegrown conspiracy groups with links to QAnon

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The British anti-vax community is small – but well organised

The most comprehensive analysis of the UK’s anti-vax community reveals that just 0.32% of the population is active in the movement, contradicting its claim to represent “the 99%”.

The first analysis of its kind shows that the anti-vax movement is far smaller than expected, with about 220,000 unique active users identified within a network of 427 groups on the messaging app Telegram, its preferred platform.

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