Category Archives: Politics

More data needed before giving just one vaccine dose, says Covid adviser

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Tony Blair and others make argument for giving more people a single jab rather than two

A senior scientific adviser has said more data is needed before the government can adopt a proposal to give as many people as possible a single dose of a Covid vaccine rather than preserving stocks so there is enough for a second jab.

The former prime minister Tony Blair and Prof David Salisbury, a former director of immunisation at the Department of Health, backed the idea on Wednesday, saying second shots should be given only when more stock is available.

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Panic, paucity and pessimism: life on Plague Island UK | Zoe Williams

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With a mutant Covid variant out of control and lorries piling up in Kent, Britain feels like a country adrift and rudderless

The rest of the world is calling the UK Plague Island because it’s true: a mutant strain of the coronavirus is out of control, laying waste to fantasies that any region is out of the woods, or that the November lockdown had its desired effect, or that we might manage a “merry little Christmas”, in the words of the prime minister.

The plague phrase carries a lot of resonance, beyond being a reference to the high prevalence of infectious disease: it casts us as a far-flung place, isolated, chaotic, uncivilised, a place that wise and/or decent people stay well away from. But is that how it feels from the inside?

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Nicola Sturgeon apologises for Covid rule breach at funeral

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Scotland’s first minister was photographed breaking rules by taking her face mask off at a wake

Nicola Sturgeon has apologised for breaching Covid rules after she was photographed without a face covering at a wake.

The Scottish Sun published a picture of Scotland’s first minister standing talking to three people at a social distance, but with her face uncovered, while she was attending a wake after the funeral of a Scottish government civil servant who died with Covid.

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Scotland may enter full Covid lockdown, says Sturgeon

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First minister tells MSPs tough restrictions were ‘essential’ to suppress new strain of virus

Nicola Sturgeon has warned MSPs she may have to introduce full lockdown measures across Scotland in the coming days to contain the faster-spreading Covid variant, which has already led to Wales bringing forward a countrywide lockdown from last Sunday and Northern Ireland announcing a six-week lockdown from Boxing Day.

Sturgeon used her weekly coronavirus statement to the Scottish parliament to tighten level 4 measures – the strictest of Scotland’s five-tier system of Covid controls and which all of mainland Scotland will enter from 26 December.

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Covid: France to reopen UK border for French and lorry drivers, reports say

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Professionals and French nationals will have to provide negative Covid test before crossing

France is expected to reopen its border with the UK but only to its own nationals, French residents and professionals such as truck drivers, all of whom will have to provide a recent negative test, France’s public broadcaster has reported.

Britons or other non-French nationals with a permanent residence in France will be able to return, but the border is set to remain closed to all other non-French citizens in the UK, France Info said. It was not yet clear how long the measures would be in place.

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Von der Leyen takes control of Brexit talks in attempt to strike deal

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European commission president said to be in constant contact with Boris Johnson as fishing remains key issue

Ursula von der Leyen took personal control of Brexit negotiations in an attempt to strike a deal before Christmas as talks went to the wire over tens of millions of pounds worth of fish.

The European commission president is understood to be in constant contact through a series of unscheduled phone calls with Boris Johnson and the EU capitals as she battles to find a compromise.

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Brexit deadlock: EU members asked by Brussels to think again on fishing offer

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France and Denmark thought to be most cautious about budging from current demands on fish caught in British waters

EU member states with the largest fishing fleets are being asked by Ursula von der Leyen’s senior team to rethink their “final offer” after Downing Street made a significant move to break the Brexit deadlock.

France and Denmark are understood to be the most cautious about making a counter-proposal, budging from their current demand that their vessels lose only 25% by value of the fish they catch in British waters.

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No 10 fishing offer to EU raises hopes of Brexit deal before Christmas

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UK negotiators reduce demand for EU catch reduction, potentially unlocking sticking point in talks

Downing Street has made a major counter-offer on fishing access for EU fleets in British waters to break the Brexit trade talks deadlock, raising hopes of a deal before Christmas.

After a difficult period of negotiations, with both sides seemingly entrenched, the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, is understood to have tabled a proposal that could unlock the troubled talks.

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‘The coughing would not stop’: MP talks of ‘unbearable pain’ of Covid

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Labour shadow minister Yasmin Qureshi talks about the shock of being hospitalised and her slow recovery since

A shadow minister who became the first female MP to be hospitalised by Covid-19 has described the “unbearable pain” caused by coughing fits and pneumonia as the disease took hold.

Yasmin Qureshi, the Labour MP for Bolton South East and a shadow minister for international development, said she was left “anxious and concerned” after being rushed by ambulance to her local hospital in October.

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France’s ban on UK transport came as surprise, says Grant Shapps

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Transport secretary says UK aims to resolve issue ‘as soon as possible’ amid fears over new Covid strain

France’s 48-hour ban on freight hauliers from Britain was “surprising”, the UK transport secretary has said, amid expected chaos at British ports.

Although Grant Shapps said the disruption was not a “specific problem” in regards to food and medicine shortages in the short term, the government’s aim was to “get this resolved as soon as possible”.

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Firm with mystery investors wins £200m of PPE contracts via ‘high-priority lane’

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Exclusive: It’s unclear how PPE Medpro’s bids were processed through channel for firms referred by MPs and senior officials

A company with mystery investors and links to the Isle of Man was awarded government contracts worth £200m to supply the UK with personal protective equipment (PPE) after it was placed in a “high-priority lane” for well-connected firms, the Guardian can reveal.

PPE Medpro has not revealed the identities of the financiers and businessmen behind the venture, and it remains unclear how its offer to supply PPE came to be processed through a channel created for companies referred by politicians and senior officials.

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CPS pursuing Harry Dunn’s alleged killer despite diplomatic immunity, parents told

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Anne Sacoolas was charged with causing the teenager’s death by dangerous driving 12 months ago

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has told Harry Dunn‘s parents it will continue to pursue the prosecution of their son’s alleged killer, despite the high court ruling she had diplomatic immunity.

Anne Sacoolas was charged with causing the teenager’s death by dangerous driving 12 months ago after a fatal road crash outside a US military base in Northamptonshire on 27 August last year.

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Keir Starmer: Johnson is asking public to pay for his incompetence – video

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The Labour leader labels the decision on Saturday 19 December to cancel the planned Christmas relaxation of Covid restrictions an 'act of gross negligence by a prime minister who once again has been caught behind the curve'. Boris Johnson announced swaths of the south-east of England would be put in a new tier 4 to contain a new strain of the virus just days after he insisted Christmas plans could go ahead. 'We have a prime minister who is so scared of being unpopular that he is incapable of making tough decisions until it is too late,' Starmer says.

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Johnson U-turn leaves nation’s plans for Christmas in tatters

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Spread of new Covid strain forces lockdown with a ‘stay home’ alert for London and south-east

The nation’s Christmas plans were plunged into chaos last night after Boris Johnson dramatically abandoned his attempts to avoid tighter Covid restrictions, and instead placed millions of people under new lockdown measures to try to curb a highly infectious new strain of the virus.

In a major U-turn that prompted an immediate backlash from his party, the prime minister placed a third of England’s population under new tier 4 restrictions to counter a Covid strain believed to be up to 70% more transmissible than previous variants.

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Brexit trade talks may continue after MEPs’ deadline, says France

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European affairs minister, Clément Beaune, says Paris will not be rushed into deal over next 48 hours

The European parliament’s Sunday deadline may pass without agreement on a post-Brexit trade and security deal, France’s European affairs minister, Clément Beaune, has said, as British and EU negotiators continued to haggle over fishing rights.

MEPs have said they will stage a vote of consent on 28 December if terms are agreed by the two sides by midnight central European time on Sunday, raising the stakes for a weekend deal.

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Keir Starmer: Christmas relaxation of Covid rules is Boris Johnson’s ‘next big mistake’ – video

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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.

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Michel Barnier seeks to end Brexit deadlock with fresh fishing proposal

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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”.

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Covid: tough UK restrictions to last until February at least, say experts

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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.

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UK Covid live: tier 3 rules extended across southern England as secondary schools face staggered January return

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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.

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