The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has welcomed the 'promising news' on Oxford University's coronavirus vaccine.
Researchers working on the experimental vaccine said it was safe and generated a strong immune response in the people who volunteered to help trial it, raising hopes it could contribute to ending the pandemic.
'Very encouraging news. We have already ordered 100m doses of this vaccine, should it succeed,' Hancock said
Continue reading...Government accused of hypocrisy for backing scheme while claiming to be leading on climate
The UK government could face a legal battle after offering more than $1bn in financial support to help build a gas project in Mozambique despite its commitment to tackling the climate crisis.
Under the deal, UK taxpayer funds will be used to help develop and export Mozambique’s gas reserves, in one of the largest single financing packages ever offered by a UK credit agency to a foreign fossil fuel project.
Continue reading...Foreign secretary also bans export of riot control kit in response to security crackdown
The UK is to immediately suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and also bar the export of riot control equipment following Beijing’s imposition of a sweeping national security law on the territory, Dominic Raab has announced.
Speaking to the Commons on Monday, the UK foreign secretary said that while Britain sought cooperative ties with China, it was deeply worried at both events in Hong Kong and the repression of the Uighur population in China’s Xinjiang province.
Continue reading...Document on Russian interference into UK politics blocked by Boris Johnson before election
The long-awaited Russia report from the UK parliament’s intelligence and security committee is due to be released on Tuesday morning, nine months after its publication was blocked by Boris Johnson before the general election.
An examination of the reach of the Kremlin into UK politics and public life, the document is the product of 18 months’ work by a cross-party committee taking evidence in secret from British intelligence and independent experts.
Continue reading...Confrontation between ‘frugals’ and countries dubious over rule of law highlights acrimony at heart of union
Bad-tempered, late-running EU summits have hardly been unusual over the last decade of eurozone crisis and endless rows over migration. But the latest gathering of EU leaders, now in its fourth day with no end in sight, may be one of the most acrimonious yet.
With a €1.8tn (£1.6tn) financial plan on the table, the stakes are huge. Nobody expected talks to be easy, but expectations of a historic step towards EU fiscal union had risen since Angela Merkel abandoned Germany’s long-standing opposition to shared debt – reversing the position she took during the eurozone crisis.
Continue reading...Blackburn with Darwen’s public health director says only half those at risk in north-west being contacted
Failures of the government’s test-and-trace system are risking an exponential growth of coronavirus in hotspots across England, a director of public health has warned.
Dominic Harrison, the director of public health in Blackburn with Darwen, said the national tracing system was only managing to reach half of those who had been in close contact with a coronavirus patient in towns with high infection rates in the north-west.
Continue reading...Government launches multimillion pound campaign to reach 1m British citizens in EU
The UK government is launching a multimillion pound communications campaign to reach the estimated 1 million British citizens living in the EU to ensure they know what steps to take if they wish to remain in their host countries after Brexit.
And it is urging all EU member states to accelerate the process to enable British nationals to secure their rights amid concern among campaigners that some countries have not yet even opened schemes for UK citizens.
Continue reading...‘Geopolitical’ factors were behind the move, the company was told, with hints that the decision could be reversed in future
The British government privately told the Chinese technology giant Huawei that it was being banned from Britain’s 5G telecoms network partly for “geopolitical” reasons following huge pressure from President Donald Trump, the Observer has learned.
In the days leading up to the controversial announcement on Tuesday last week, intensive discussions were held and confidential communications exchanged between the government and Whitehall officials on one side and Huawei executives on the other.
Continue reading...After last week’s Shamima Begum ruling, Home Office stays silent on rescue of minors from camps in the north-west of the country
The Home Office has been accused of “alarming inaction” after making no apparent attempt to bring back any British children from Syria for the past eight months despite pledges of help from ministers.
The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, announced last October that “unaccompanied minors or orphans” in Syria could be returned to Britain. After three orphans returned in November, he hailed the move as “the right thing to do”. He added: “These innocent, orphaned children should never have been subjected to the horrors of war.”
Continue reading...Government confirms PHE set no cut-off between time of testing and date of death
Daily updates on the coronavirus death toll in England have been paused amid growing concern that the numbers could have been exaggerated.
A message on the government’s website on Saturday said: “Currently the daily deaths measure counts all people who have tested positive for coronavirus and since died, with no cut-off between time of testing and date of death.
Continue reading...The prime minister says he is hoping for the best but planning for the worst. We look at key areas of concern
Boris Johnson’s approach to a winter wave of Covid-19 is to hope for the best but plan for the worst, he said on Friday. The worst-case scenario was spelled out earlier in the week by the Academy of Medical Sciences: as many as 120,000 hospital patients dead. Avoiding that will depend on the state of preparations in many areas.
Continue reading...As airline moves to cut 12,000 jobs, senior crew told they will get 80% of current basic pay
British Airways has started carrying out its threat to fire and rehire thousands of workers – days after unions joined talks with a plan to save jobs.
Long-serving cabin crew were served notice this week to either accept an enhanced redundancy package within three weeks, or risk losing it by reapplying for a similar job at much lower pay.
Continue reading...From Nicola Sturgeon’s tartan to Michael Gove’s fog, politicians find masks to match their personality
Nicola Sturgeon set the template for face mask diplomacy almost three weeks ago with a £10 tartan mask, which raised money for Shelter Scotland. Her endorsement sparked staggering sales and promoted Scottish culture, charity and business in one photo op, while making a clear message about public health. In other words, she played a blinder.
Sturgeon also sparkled a trend of sorts, with Jackson Carlaw, the leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party, wearing an even toastier-looking tartan face mask to pour himself a patriotic pint a few weeks later.
Continue reading...Commons committee chair warns of ‘damage beyond repair’ over abolition of overseas aid department
A cross-party committee of MPs has said Boris Johnson’s “rushed and impulsive” merger of the Foreign Office and Department for International Development will “severely impact the UK’s superpower status”.
Attacking the prime minister’s decision as “coming out of the blue”, a report published on Thursday from the Commons international development committee (IDC) said it was likely it would be disruptive and “incredibly costly”.
Continue reading...Foreign secretary accuses Russia of seeking to interfere in last year’s general election by amplifying an illegally acquired NHS dossier that was seized upon by Labour during the campaign. Raab also confirms reports that Russian state-sponsored hackers are targeting UK, US and Canadian organisations involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine, describing it as ‘completely unacceptable’.
British foreign secretary says Russia amplified an illicitly acquired NHS dossier on social media
Russian actors “sought to interfere” in last winter’s general election by amplifying an illicitly acquired NHS dossier that was seized upon by Labour during the campaign, the foreign secretary has said.
Related: Russian state-sponsored hackers target Covid-19 vaccine researchers
Continue reading...Care homes and members of public told to immediately stop using kits produced by firm
Care homes and members of the public have been instructed by the government to immediately stop using coronavirus testing kits produced by a healthcare firm after safety problems were discovered.
Randox was awarded a £133m contract in March to produce the testing kits for England, Wales and Northern Ireland without any other firms being given the opportunity to bid for the work.
Continue reading...Twenty-year-old has won right to return to UK from Syria to challenge citizenship decision
The case of Shamima Begum, the now 20-year-old woman who fled to Syria to join Islamic State as a child, has sparked fierce debate over how the UK should deal with “foreign fighters”.
Opponents of her return say she is a threat to the country’s security and must live with the consequences of her actions, while critics of her exile say greater human rights principles are at play, and the UK must not shirk its responsibility to administer justice for any alleged crimes she may have committed.
Continue reading...PM says city should be in frame if Commons or Lords have to move during restoration work
Boris Johnson has confirmed that Downing Street is thinking of setting up a “government hub” in York, telling officials drawing up restoration plans for the Palace of Westminster that they should consider the city if the Commons or Lords have to be moved.
Restoration of the parliamentary estate, which is crumbling in many places and viewed as a significant fire risk, could cost an estimated £6bn, and the plans are still being debated.
Continue reading...Julian Lewis kicked out of parliamentary party after beating Boris Johnson’s pick
Boris Johnson was humiliated tonight after Chris Grayling, his pick to lead parliament’s powerful intelligence and security committee, was unexpectedly rejected in an ambush by MPs.
The former cabinet minister was defeated by fellow Conservative Julian Lewis – prompting an embarrassed Downing Street to kick the victor, who was accused of duplicitous behaviour, out of the parliamentary party.
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