Category Archives: Sajid Javid

Parliament to vote on bill to ban child marriage in England and Wales

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Marriage of under-18s associated with risk of domestic, sexual and ‘honour’-based violence, say MPs, who will vote on Friday

A bill that would ban child marriage in England and Wales will be presented to parliament for its second reading this week and has been welcomed by campaigners as a “huge stride” forward.

Currently, marriage and civil partnerships are legal at 16 and 17 with parental consent. This is not just out of step with international legislation but also a loophole that is “more often used as a mechanism for abuse”, according to Pauline Latham, MP, who will present her bill on Friday.

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Covid vaccine to be compulsory for all NHS England staff by April

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Sajid Javid set to confirm to MPs decision to press ahead despite oppositions of unions and some doctors’ organisations

All 1.4 million NHS staff in England will have to be vaccinated against Covid by next spring if they want to keep their jobs, Sajid Javid will confirm to MPs on Tuesday.

The health secretary has decided to press ahead with making jabs compulsory despite health unions and some doctors’ organisations voicing strong opposition.

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GPs in England threaten industrial action over in-person appointments

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Family doctors reject plan to force them to see any patient who wants face-to-face appointment

GPs in England are threatening to take industrial action in protest at the government’s bid to force them to see any patient who wants a face-to-face appointment.

The British Medical Association’s GPs committee voted unanimously to reject the plan by the health secretary, Sajid Javid, that included “naming and shaming” surgeries that see too few patients in person.

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MPs should set example with masks in battle against Covid, says Javid

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Health secretary rejects calls for ‘plan B’ measures despite predicting infections could hit 100,000 a day

Politicians have a responsibility to set an example in the battle against Covid, including wearing masks in crowded spaces, Sajid Javid has suggested as he predicted new infections could hit a record 100,000 a day.

With the government under mounting pressure to impose measures to control the virus, Javid warned “this pandemic is not over” and insisted he would do “what it takes” to protect the health service. But he said: “We don’t believe that the pressures currently faced by the NHS are unsustainable.”

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Why is it business as usual in England while Covid infections rise?

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Analysis: a winter plan has been set out but implementing it could be hampered by political squeamishness

More than 20 months into the Covid pandemic and with a tough winter looming, the public could be excused for having a distinct sense of deja vu.

Infection rates are rising sharply, scientists and senior NHS figures are sounding the alarm – but the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, was touring the broadcast studios on Wednesday morning ruling out a lockdown in England and telling people “absolutely” to book their Christmas parties.

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Javid sorry for Covid losses but says he has not read Commons report in detail

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Health secretary falls short of apologising for government decision to delay first lockdown but says ‘there are lessons to learn’

The health secretary has said he is sorry for the losses that have occurred due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but fell short of apologising for the government’s decision to delay lockdown last March.

Sajid Javid’s comments came in response to the publication on Tuesday of a damning health select committee report on lessons learned from the pandemic, which found the government’s management of the outbreak was one of the worst public health failures in British history.

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NHS staff face rising tide of abuse from patients provoked by long waits

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Chronic underfunding, Covid and staff shortages blamed for increase in physical and verbal assaults

NHS staff across the UK are facing a “growing tide of abuse” including assaults from patients, which they say is being caused by frustration at long waits for care.

In a strongly worded joint statement, which has been shared with the Guardian, six key medical bodies and staff groups blame patients’ increasingly long delays in receiving treatment on years of successive governments underinvesting in the NHS and not fixing severe workforce shortages.

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Labour says PPE contracts must not go to Xinjiang firms that use forced workers

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Exclusive: Emily Thornberry appeals to Sajid Javid to tackle issue of forced labour in Chinese province

Labour has written to the health secretary, Sajid Javid, urging him to ensure a new £5bn contract for NHS protective equipment including gowns and masks is not awarded to companies implicated in forced labour in China’s Xinjiang region.

Following up earlier concerns about medical gloves for the NHS being produced in Malaysia, where there have been consistent reports of forced labour in factories, Emily Thornberry called for an urgent response.

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UK regulator approves ‘first of its kind’ Covid antibody treatment

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Sajid Javid says green light for Ronapreve – which was used to treat Donald Trump – is ‘fantastic news’

The antibody cocktail used to treat Donald Trump for Covid has been approved by the UK’s medicines regulator, becoming the first treatment in Britain using artificial antibodies to tackle the virus.

The drug, developed by the US biotech company Regeneron, has received the backing of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Clinical trials showed it helped to prevent Covid infection as well as to reduce the risk of hospitalisation or symptoms in severe cases, when given soon after exposure.

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UK competition watchdog to look into pricing of Covid tests for travel

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CMA to investigate PCR tests market after concerns about vastly different prices being charged

The competition watchdog is to look into fees for the Covid-19 tests required for international travel after concerns about the vastly different prices being charged for them.

The Competition and Markets Authority will provide advice and intelligence on the market in PCR tests to the health secretary, Sajid Javid, to enable the government to act.

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Sajid Javid admits UK Covid rates unpredictable as cases rise again

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Health secretary’s comments came after a week of declining cases ended with 4,000 increase in one day

Sajid Javid has said “no one really knows” what trajectory the Covid pandemic will take in the weeks ahead, as new cases across the UK rose after seven days of consecutive declines.

The latest Covid data, published on Wednesday, showed 27,734 people testing positive across the UK – up by 4,000 from a day earlier.

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Sajid Javid’s advice to not ‘cower’ from Covid provokes backlash

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Bereaved families, Labour and Lib Dems all condemn health secretary, accusing him of insensitivity


Sajid Javid has provoked a wave of anger from families of the victims of Covid after he said people must no longer “cower” from the virus.

The health secretary announced on Saturday that he had made a “full recovery” from Covid-19 after falling ill eight days ago, and said: “Please, if you haven’t yet, get your jab, as we learn to live with, rather than cower from, this virus.”

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France fiasco to pingdemic U-turn: Boris Johnson’s week of chaos

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In the last seven days the UK government has flailed from one controversy or misstep to the next

Often, the political week heading into the Commons summer recess can feel almost soporific, with the thoughts of ministers and MPs geared more towards holiday sunbeds than rows. But the last seven days has been different, and not only because of the ongoing political flux of coronavirus, with the government seeming to flail from one controversy, U-turn or misstep to the next, day after day.

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Sajid Javid tests positive as health chiefs tell PM: don’t let Covid rip

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Boris Johnson may be forced to self-isolate after meeting health secretary, who confirms he has virus

Sajid Javid was self-isolating on Saturday after testing positive for Covid, as senior public health leaders from across the UK accused Boris Johnson today of “letting Covid rip” by relaxing legal restrictions.

The health secretary, who is fully vaccinated, said he had mild symptoms and confirmed the result of a lateral flow test with a positive PCR test. “I will continue to isolate and work from home,” he tweeted.

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Sajid Javid posts message saying he has tested positive for Covid – video

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The health secretary for England, Sajid Javid, has announced in a video on Twitter that he has tested positive for coronavirus and has mild symptoms. 

In a video, Javid said: “This morning I tested positive for Covid. I’m waiting for my PCR result, but thankfully I have had my jabs and symptoms are mild.”

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Summer chaos predicted as 1.6m in England told to isolate in a week

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Government says its Covid app is unlikely to be adjusted to make it less sensitive for weeks

Up to 1.6 million people in England have been told to isolate in a single week, Guardian analysis has found as the government said the Covid app is unlikely to be changed for weeks.

The number of new UK coronavirus cases climbed to 48,553 on Thursday – the highest since mid-January and the start of the third lockdown – with the upward curve showing no signs of abating, raising fears of a summer of chaos as businesses and households are hit by self-isolation. Sixty-three people were reported on Thursday to have died from the virus.

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Why ministers stuck to 19 July for lifting England’s Covid rules

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Analysis: a further delay in a bid to contain the rapid rise in the infection rate would present its own problems

“Freedom is in our sights once again!” Sajid Javid told Conservative MPs on Tuesday, as he announced that double-jabbed people will not be required to quarantine from 16 August if they come in contact with a Covid sufferer.

That mid-August date was the one concession to caution in a package of measures for “freedom day” that was more liberal than many at Westminster had expected, and has led Labour to accuse the government of being reckless.

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England’s ‘freedom day’ to be day of fear for elderly people, charities warn

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Vulnerable and immunocompromised people anxious about 19 July end to Covid rules

Boris Johnson’s “freedom day” will be a day of fear for elderly and vulnerable people and those with compromised or suppressed immune systems, for whom the efficacy of vaccines is much reduced, charities have warned.

Citing the statement by the new health secretary, Sajid Javid, that Covid infections could surge to a record 100,000 a day in a few weeks after all social distancing and mask-wearing regulations are removed in England, Blood Cancer UK has said that 19 July “will be the day that it feels like freedoms are being taken away from” many people.

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Javid: no need for fully vaccinated Covid contacts to self-isolate from 16 August – video

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Close contacts of people in England who have tested positive for Covid will not need to self-isolate if they have received both Covid jabs, or if they are under 18, the health secretary, Sajid Javid, has told the Commons. People will still need to self-isolate if they test positive for the virus. 'This new approach means we can manage the virus in a way that's proportionate to the pandemic while maintaining the freedoms that are so important to us all,' he said

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