Trucks arriving at GB ports lack paperwork needed to enter region, business leaders say
Northern Ireland is facing disruptions to its food supply because suppliers in Great Britain are unaware of the Brexit-related paperwork needed to send goods to the region, business leaders have said.
Trucks are arriving at GB ports with incorrect or absent documentation that delays their passage across the Irish Sea, they told MPs on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Latest updates: PM says people should be ‘extremely cautious’ about timetable of return to classrooms after February half-term
The Metropolitan police have said Londoners are “increasingly likely” to face fines in the new lockdown. In a statement explaining its intention to adopt a slightly stricter approach to enforcing the rules than has applied in the past, it says:
Although officers will still apply the 4 Es approach of engaging, explaining, and encouraging – only then enforcing, the Met has issued refreshed instructions to officers to issue fines more quickly to anyone committing obvious, wilful and serious breaches.
In practice this will mean that all those attending parties, unlicensed music events or large illegal gatherings, can expect to be fined – not just the organisers of such events. Similarly, those not wearing masks where they should be and without good reason can expect to be fined - not reasoned with.
Johnson says some of the individual parts of the lockdown package are not susceptible to “iron logic”. But cumulatively they are there to protect the public.
Continue reading...The prime minister’s first Downing Street press conference kept up his veneer of acting as if he knew what he was doing
Let’s take the positives first. There have been no changes in government policy on coronavirus in the past 24 hours. After the confusion of the past few days, weeks and months, that is in itself cause for celebration. A sign of some much needed stability in Westminster.
Boris Johnson’s narcissism is an open secret. What’s less clear is whether he is at heart just deeply cynical: a politician who is aware of his own failings and goes out of his way to conceal them. Or whether he is a man who is merely the product of his own imagination: bending reality to suit his personality. It’s hard to know which is the more disturbing prospect. But then maybe it’s a bit of both.
Continue reading...PM says lifting lockdown is subject to ‘lots of caveats’ as figures show 1m people in England have Covid
Britain could face harsh restrictions for many months to come, Boris Johnson and his chief scientists warned as figures suggested more than 1 million people in England are infected with coronavirus, or one in every 50.
The prime minister said the plan to emerge from a newly-imposed national lockdown in mid-February was subject to “lots of caveats, lot of ifs”. He refused to guarantee that children would be fully back at school before the summer, calling this a “fundamental hope”.
Continue reading...The prime minister said 1.3 million people across the UK have been vaccinated against Covid-19. More than 650,000 people over 80 – 23% of the cohort - have received their jab, he added. Johnson also pledged that 1,000 more vaccination stations would be open by the end of the week
Minister says time needed for vaccine to take effect means restrictions cannot definitely be lifted in mid-February
The third national lockdown imposed in England to try to deal with the huge increase in Covid-19 cases is likely to remain in place into March at least, with some measures lasting even longer, the government has indicated.
The cabinet secretary, Michael Gove, said he hoped the gradual lifting of restrictions could begin in mid-February, but that the time it took for the vaccines to take effect meant it was likely to be at least another couple of weeks before measures could start to be eased.
Continue reading...The high commissioner in London offers sharp observations on the dispute between Canberra and Beijing
Australia is “not for turning” in its dispute with China and must cut its reliance on supply chains “over which we had little to no sovereign control”, the country’s top envoy to the UK has said.
George Brandis, Australia’s high commissioner in London, argued the situation “must change” as he called for a trade deal between Australia and Britain to be completed by the end of this year.
Continue reading...Business secretary should focus on making Glasgow climate summit a success, say experts
Ministers are facing calls to make the business secretary, Alok Sharma, the full-time president of the Cop26 UN climate talks to be hosted in Glasgow in November.
Amber Rudd, who as energy and climate secretary led the UK delegation to the successful Paris climate talks in 2015, said: “Alok could do this and do it well. But it will take 100% of his time, energy and persuasion to make it a success.”
Continue reading...From finally seeing the back of Donald Trump to being in a football stadium – the new year is full of promise
You probably found a few things to enjoy about last year: you rediscovered your bicycle, perhaps, or your family, or even both, and learned to love trees. And don’t forget the clapping. Plus some brilliant scientists figured out how to make a safe and effective vaccine for a brand new virus in record time.
Continue reading...November lockdown decision has been followed by a series of flip-flops and 11th-hour announcements
The government’s coronavirus strategy for England has changed a number of times since the start of the November lockdown, as infections soared and a new variant of the virus emerged.
14 October 2020: Johnson dismisses calls from the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, for a “circuit-breaker” lockdown, telling MPs: “Opportunism is the name of the game for the party opposite.”
Continue reading...Boris Johnson to make TV announcement on Monday night after pressure to tackle soaring infection rate
The government is expected to announce new steps to control the spread of coronavirus, as the chief medical officers recommended that the UK move to the highest coronavirus alert level.
Boris Johnson is due to make a TV address on Monday evening where he is set to announce mass school closures and tight lockdown restrictions. MPs will be recalled to parliament from Wednesday.
Continue reading...As coronavirus spreads rapidly, what are the options for the government?
Pressure is building on the government to move rapidly to curb the currently rapid spread of coronavirus, with ministers indicating tougher rules for England could be imminent. So what new restrictions might be considered?
Continue reading...Readers respond to an article by Larry Elliott calling for those on the left to see the UK’s departure from the EU as an opportunity to rebalance the economy
Larry Elliott is consistent in his criticism of the EU (The left must stop mourning Brexit – and start seeing its huge potential, 31 December). He points out the neoliberalism inherent in the core EU policies of free movement of goods, services, capital and people. He then extols the advantages for the UK of being freed from EU shackles to pursue its own destiny in the world.
But aren’t we committed to chasing the same neoliberalism on a broader canvas? He says nothing of the EU’s social and political projects – health and safety, employment protection, social welfare, retirement rights and other programmes. He ignores the ambitions of a gradual rapprochement between nations that engaged in monstrous wars in the recent past. Brexit UK is moving backwards, self-condemned to continued national decline, as other countries find ways of developing at least some elements of a progressive agenda in a harsh and divided world.
Peter Taylor-Gooby
Professor of social policy, University of Kent
Stephen Greenhalgh said executives should not ‘hide behind’ rarely used French law
The UK government has demanded that executives who supplied combustible cladding to Grenfell Tower “step up to the plate” after their refusal to give evidence to the public inquiry into the disaster provoked anger among the bereaved and survivors.
On Sunday, Stephen Greenhalgh, the building safety minister, escalated a legal and diplomatic dispute over the position taken by three current and former executives at the French division of the US company Arconic. He told them to stop hiding behind an arcane French law.
Continue reading...Labour leader urges prime minister to impose new nationwide restrictions within next 24 hours
The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has urged Boris Johnson to avoid delay by imposing new nationwide restrictions in England within the next 24 hours to tackle the “out of control” virus.
After the prime minister earlier on Sunday raised the prospect of tougher Covid-19 restrictions amid concerns over pressure on the NHS, Starmer intervened to argue action must be taken immediately and that it was no good hinting at curbs to come in future.
Continue reading...Official figures have missed £800bn of private assets, says thinktank, amid calls for wealth tax to fund Covid recovery
Almost a quarter of all household wealth in the UK is held by the richest 1% of the population, according to alarming new research that reveals a historic underestimation of inequality in the country.
The study found that the top 1% had almost £800bn more wealth than suggested by official statistics, meaning that inequality has been far higher than previously thought. Researchers said the extra billions was a conservative estimate and could well be more.
Continue reading...Results suggest public are deeply unhappy with the government’s handling of Covid and Brexit
The public are deeply unhappy with the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the Brexit negotiations, a damning new poll suggests.
The poll predicts that if a general election were held tomorrow neither the Conservatives nor Labour would win an outright majority. Disturbingly for Boris Johnson, the survey says the Conservatives would lose 81 seats, wiping out the 80-seat majority they won in December 2019.
Continue reading...Amid confusion for lorry drivers in Kent, logistics firms call for greater transparency to help lessen disruption
Ministers are facing demands for more honesty and transparency over any logjams at the UK border in the wake of Britain’s exit from the EU, amid concerns that waves of disruption will last for six months.
Several lorry drivers are understood to have been turned away at Dover for not having the right paperwork following the end of the Brexit transition period last week. It has caused concern among logistics and manufacturing companies that more severe problems could occur as trade flows increase later this month.
Continue reading...Unions advise teachers to stay away from schools and warn reopening plan is an ‘utter shambles’
The planned reopening of schools in England has descended into disarray, as unions advised teachers not to return to the classroom, heads took legal action over the government’s plans and senior Tories warned that school gates may have to remain shut for weeks to come.
With warnings that some primary heads would arrive at work on Monday morning unsure about whether they would be able to reopen to pupils, teachers accused the government of making an “utter shambles” of school reopening and demanded a last-minute delay. Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, was also facing renewed calls to resign over the chaos.
Continue reading...One of four men found liable for the 1998 Omagh bombing, though he always denied being involved
The former Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt has died following a battle with cancer.
McKevitt, who was one of four men found liable for the Omagh bomb, had been diagnosed with terminal cancer a number of years ago. He was released from prison in 2016 after serving a 20-year sentence for directing terrorism and membership of an illegal organisation.
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