Category Archives: Politics

Brussels and UK at odds over proposed EU office in Belfast

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Clashes expected over plan which Britain says would sow division in Northern Ireland

Brussels and UK officials will clash over the increasingly fraught question of whether the European Union can open an office in Belfast.

At the inaugural meeting on Thursday of a special committee of officials charged with enforcing a de facto Irish Sea border, the European commission is expected to press the case to open “a technical office” in Belfast, three days after the government rejected an EU “mini-embassy” in the Northern Irish capital.

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Boris Johnson back at work at No 10 after Carrie Symonds gives birth

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After birth of boy Downing Street says PM intends to take paternity leave later this year

Boris Johnson is back at work in Downing Street and is not expected to take paternity leave at the moment, after the birth of his son in the early hours of Wednesday.

The prime minister’s press secretary said he would take paternity leave later in the year, after he and his fiancee, Carrie Symonds, welcomed their child at an NHS hospital in London.

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UK aid efforts to tackle gender equality marred by ‘inaccuracy’, says watchdog

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Whitehall auditor warns ‘ambitious aims’ will not be achieved without better oversight, planning and evaluation of programmes

Efforts by the UK government to achieve gender equality through its aid programmes need to be better managed and more transparent, according to the financial watchdog.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said the Department for International Development’s (DfID) 12-year gender equality strategy was wide-ranging, but did not have a long-term, costed, implementation plan, limiting “its ability to assess progress and consider value for money”.

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Where is the kit to protect NHS workers? – podcast

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As medics and carers report widespread shortages of protective equipment, the government is facing pressure to explain why it appears the UK went into a pandemic under-resourced. Daniel Boffey and Rob Davies unpick the strategy and its failures

With reports of medics using bin bags in place of personal protective equipment (PPE), the government is under growing pressure to explain its preparedness for a pandemic and its efforts since the crisis struck to protect frontline workers.

The Guardian’s Brussels bureau chief, Daniel Boffey, describes how the government declined to take part in a joint EU procurement scheme at the same time it was failing to secure enough equipment from other sources. Meanwhile Rob Davies has been investigating how British firms such as Burberry have switched from fashion to the production of PPE. And the government’s attempts to dramatically increase the stockpile of ventilators as manufacturers take up the challenge to produce established and new designs.

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Refuges from domestic violence running out of space, MPs hear

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Dame Vera Baird warns select committee Covid-19 lockdown is leading to ‘perfect storm’

Refuges providing sanctuary to victims of domestic violence are running out of space, with many full or effectively closed amid an “epidemic inside this pandemic”, the victims’ commissioner has told MPs.

A “perfect storm” of problems is in danger of overwhelming support services for those trying to escape violent and abusive partners, Dame Vera Baird QC warned members of the House of Commons justice select committee.

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Convicted terrorists less likely to reoffend than other criminals – study

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Research suggests 5% commit another terrorism offence after leaving prison

Convicted terrorists are extremely unlikely to reoffend compared with other prisoners, research by academics and security services in Europe has found.

The research shows that less than 5% of convicted terrorists commit a second terrorist offence after leaving prison. In England and Wales, around 45% of all prisoners will reoffend within a year of release.

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Boris Johnson: second Covid-19 peak will be disaster if lockdown lifted too early – video

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Boris Johnson says there are real signs the UK is 'passing through the peak' during his first public statement since recovering from coronavirus. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street on Monday, the prime minister says the lockdown should only be eased when the government is confident there will be no second peak


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Boris Johnson returns to face critics amid talk of the ‘new normal’

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PM back in No 10 as ministers warn physical distancing is here to stay after lockdown

Boris Johnson returned to Downing Street on Sunday night with his government under pressure over its handling of coronavirus, as ministers warned that physical distancing must become the “new normal” – even when the lockdown is eased.

With the prime minister pressed to explain how schools and businesses can reopen without putting lives at risk, the government has given the clearest signal yet of how it hopes to manage the next phase of the pandemic, including imposing quarantine restrictions on all arrivals at UK airports.

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Coronavirus: furloughed staff could pick fruit in June, says UK minister – video

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Environment secretary George Eustice said that furloughed staff could help with picking fruit in June when the British soft fruit season is at its peak. 

Eustice said that only around a third of the usual workforce is currently available, as the industry relies on migrant workers. 

He also said it was too early to talk about easing the lockdown during the UK government briefing, as daily hospital deaths fell to 413, the lowest daily number since March. 

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The key areas to look at in easing the UK coronavirus lockdown

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From schools to shops, with jobs at risk, the government must balance the interests of economy and public safety

As the prime minister, Boris Johnson, heads back to Downing Street, he faces calls from Labour to be clearer about how Britain might start lifting the coronavirus lockdown, now entering its fifth week. On Sunday, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, Dominic Raab, warned the outbreak remained at a “delicate and dangerous” stage and said it was irresponsible to speculate about steps to modify the rules underpinning government’s “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” strategy.

More than 20,000 people have died from Covid-19 in NHS hospitals and thousands more in care homes. But there are growing concerns about the economic impact of lockdown. Gerard Lyons, Johnson’s economics adviser when he was London mayor, warned on Sunday the UK could be the hardest-hit western economy if it does not unlock soon. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, also called on ministers to start talking to teachers, businesses, trade unions and town hall leaders and open “honest conversations with the public about what new arrangements might look like”. Unions insist worker safety must not be compromised by any changes and questions remain about public appetite for risking a new peak of contagion, but plans to modify restrictions are starting to emerge.

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No 10 advisers at Sage meetings: key questions that need answering

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How and why Ben Warner and Dominic Cummings contributed to Covid-19 meetings is unclear

The government has not disputed that this is the first time Downing Street political advisers have attended Sage meetings and asked questions at them. No 10 argues that the unprecedented scale of the coronavirus pandemic made it necessary. However, the government’s policies say scientific committees such as Sage should be politically neutral. Sage meetings are chaired by the government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance. However, a government spokesperson said Vallance “would not have to sign off” on observers or representatives from government departments. So who decided they should attend, and why and when was the decision made?

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UK will need to extend Brexit transition, Merkel ally warns Britain

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UK will need extension to agree Brexit deal as pandemic derails talks

Boris Johnson must extend the UK’s transition out of the EU for up to two years to avoid compounding the economic damage of the coronavirus pandemic with a hugely disruptive and disorderly Brexit, according to a close ally of Angela Merkel.

In an interview with the Observer, Norbert Röttgen, chair of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, said it was now impossible to see how the UK and other EU countries could agree even a minimal outline free trade agreement this year because the talks were so behind schedule.

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Johnson faces lockdown dilemma as scientists warn over grim virus data

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Prime minister returns to work on Monday to cabinet at odds over easing social distancing

The number of new cases of Covid-19 being diagnosed is still much too high to allow any easing of the lockdown soon, leading scientists have warned, as the virus death toll in UK hospitals passed 20,000 on Saturday.

The home secretary, Priti Patel, described the figure as a “terrible milestone” and a “deeply tragic and moving moment”. She said it showed the need for the British public to “stay strong” and remain at home for the foreseeable future.

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UK increases arms sales to repressive regimes

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Campaigners condemn government and defence exporters accused of selling weapons to states with poor human rights records

UK arms sales to repressive regimes increased by £1bn last year compared with 2018.

The increase, of more than 300%, has been condemned by arms control campaigners, who accuse the government of putting profits before human rights.

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Why do female leaders seem to be more successful at managing the coronavirus crisis?

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Plenty of countries with male leaders have also done well. But few with female leaders have done badly

On 1 April, the prime minister of Sint Maarten addressed her nation’s 41,500 people. Coronavirus cases were rising, and Silveria Jacobs knew the small island country, which welcomes 500,000 tourists a year, was at great risk: it had two ICU beds.

Jacobs did not want to impose a strict lockdown, but she did want physical distancing observed. So she spelled it out: “Simply. Stop. Moving,” she said. “If you don’t have the bread you like in your house, eat crackers. Eat cereal. Eat oats. Eat … sardines.”

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Blasphemy to be decriminalised in Scottish hate crime bill

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New law will also offer wider protection against race, sex, age and religious discrimination

The Scottish government has published a bill that would decriminalise blasphemy, more than 175 years after the last case was prosecuted.

The devolved administration in Edinburgh said the continued criminalisation of blasphemy, which falls under hate crime laws, “no longer reflects the kind of society in which we live”.

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UK government told not to use Zoom because of China fears

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Security services said last week that videoconferencing tool was vulnerable to surveillance

Government and parliament were told by the intelligence agencies last week not to use the videoconferencing service Zoom for confidential business, due to fears it could be vulnerable to Chinese surveillance.

The quiet warnings to limit the technology came after the cabinet had used Zoom to hold a well-publicised meeting at the end of March, a decision that was defended at the time as necessary in “unprecedented circumstances”.

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Matt Hancock can count on powerful support if not 100,000 tests a day

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NHS chiefs and No 10 endorse the health secretary as flaws emerge in the structure he leads

Matt Hancock sounded tetchy and exhausted on Friday morning as he took to the airwaves once again to explain the latest swerve in the government’s strategy for tackling coronavirus: recruiting an army of contact-tracers in an attempt to track its spread.

Asked whether his self-imposed target of testing 100,000 people a day by the end of next week would be met, he let out a self-deprecating laugh. The health secretary knows there’s a lot in the balance: the health of millions, his standing among the public and colleagues, perhaps even his career.

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Britain running down the clock in Brexit talks, says Michel Barnier

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EU negotiator expresses frustrations at UK refusal to discuss key issues of transition

Michel Barnier has suggested the UK is running down the clock in talks over the future trade and security relationship with the EU.

The claim by the bloc’s chief negotiator during a virtual press conference at the end of a difficult week of videoconference talks was swiftly denied by the government.

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What does the leaked report tell us about the UK’s pandemic preparations?

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Leaked National Security Risk Assessment describes threats posed by flu- and non-flu-type infectious diseases

Careful analysis of the National Security Risk Assessment document illustrates how the Covid-19 pandemic represents a hybrid of two of the major threats to the UK anticipated by the British government.

The first, an influenza-type disease pandemic, predicts waves of a novel flu virus striking several months apart. This type of threat represents the basis of the UK government’s blueprint for how it would respond to a pandemic.

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