Milestone reached on Wednesday after a further 595 people died, bringing total to 50,365
The UK’s Covid-19 death toll has surpassed 50,000, government figures have revealed, as the nation struggles to deal with a deadly second wave.
The news served as a sobering reminder of the severity of the crisis after hopes were raised on Monday that an end may be in sight with announcement that a vaccine had been shown to be effective.
Continue reading...Overwritten image suggests No 10 was uncertain about US presidential election victor until late in the process
Downing Street’s congratulatory message to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on winning the US presidential election contains a hidden message congratulating Donald Trump for winning a second term in office.
The message, posted on Twitter as an image a few hours after the US TV networks called the election for Biden, congratulates the president-elect on his election, and Harris “on her historic achievement”.
Continue reading...Britain risks isolation as the president-elect prioritises relations with the EU. The government must understand the signs of the new times
The Irish question has played havoc with the best-laid plans of hardline Brexiters. Since 2016, successive Conservative governments have struggled to square the circle of keeping the United Kingdom intact, while avoiding the reimposition of a hard border on the island of Ireland. The border issue has been the achilles heel of Brexit, the thorn in the side of true believers in a “clean break” with the EU. So the prospect of an Irish-American politician on his way to the White House, just as Boris Johnson attempts to finagle his way round the problem, is an 11th-hour plot twist to savour.
Joe Biden’s views on Brexit are well known. The president-elect judges it to be a damaging act of self-isolation; strategically unwise for Britain and unhelpful to American interests in Europe. But it is the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU on Ireland that concerns Mr Biden most. This autumn, he was forthright on the subject of the government’s controversial internal market bill, which was again debated on Monday in the House of Lords. The proposed legislation effectively reneges on a legally binding protocol signed with the EU, which would impose customs checks on goods travelling between Britain and Northern Ireland. In doing so, it summons up the spectre of a hard border on the island of Ireland, undermining the Good Friday agreement. Mr Biden is adamant that the GFA must not “become a casualty of Brexit”. He is expected to convey that message, in forceful terms, when his first telephone conversation with Mr Johnson eventually takes place.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson has welcomed the promising news about the BioNTech/Pfizer coronavirus vaccine and said the UK was at 'the front of the pack' if and when it becomes available. At a Downing Street briefing, however, the prime minister also cautioned that it was 'very early days'. He said the vaccine still needed to be peer reviewed and clear any potential safety hurdles. 'We cannot rely on this news as a solution,' he said. 'The biggest mistake we could make now would be to slacken our resolve at a critical moment'
UK rollout of Covid vaccine could start before Christmas
Continue reading...The UK prime minister insisted there is scope for cooperation with the incoming Biden administration as he congratulated the Democrat and his running mate Kamala Harris.
Biden, who has Irish ancestry, has made it clear there will be no agreement on a post-Brexit UK-US trade deal if a no-deal outcome threatens the Good Friday agreement.
‘There is far more that unites the government of this country and governments in Washington at any stage than divides us,’ Johnson said.
‘Large differences remain’ after call between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen
The Brexit negotiations remained stuck after a call between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen before a decisive week of talks.
The European commission president and the prime minister both highlighted in their post-call statements the contentious issues of EU access to British waters and agreement on future rules to ensure fair competition.
Continue reading...Phonecall with Ursula von der Leyen could be final chance for PM to avert no-deal Brexit
Boris Johnson and the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, will hold talks on Saturday before a potentially decisive week in the Brexit negotiations, amid growing concern in Brussels at the lack of progress.
UK sources played down expectations of a breakthrough moment but with time short for parliamentary ratification the phonecall may prove to be the final chance for a political intervention in the troubled talks.
Continue reading...Latest updates: ONS figures represent around 1.13% of population; Operation Moonshot trial launches in Liverpool on Friday
A coronavirus passport app promoted by the Olympian Zara Tindall has been reported to a health regulator over concerns it is mis-selling antibody tests.
The V-Health Passport was touted as a “game changer” to get sports fans back into stadiums and major events. It involves spectators getting a rapid antibody test prior to attending an event, with results uploaded on a health passport on an app.
In the advert, Zara and Mike Tindall were being told they don’t have the virus – you can’t say that. This could do harm, with people getting into sporting events with negative results while they are infectious.
I have no problem with the app, it’s the use of the app. A lot of health professionals have seen it with their head in their hands.
Some schools may be sending children home “too readily” amid the pandemic, the chief inspector of Ofsted has said.
Parents of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have been told that schools cannot accommodate their children due to Covid-19 risk assessments, according to Amanda Spielman.
And here, many parents haven’t made an active decision to keep their child at home – they’ve been told that schools can’t accommodate them. Because it’s too difficult, because Covid risk assessments won’t allow it. It’s deeply concerning and, understandably, many parents feel cut adrift.
For the children with SEND that have been able to get back into education, it hasn’t been plain sailing either. We’re hearing that many have suffered setbacks in their communication skills – probably down to having reduced social interaction for such a long time.
Continue reading...No 10 has admitted an ‘error’ in the way data was presented to make case for second lockdown
The UK Statistics Authority has rebuked the government over its lack of transparency around projected Covid-19 deaths and hospital admissions, saying it could cast doubt over official figures.
A range of estimates were used to make the case for a second English lockdown in a press conference on 31 October. However, the UKSA said “the data and assumptions for this model had not been shared transparently”, potentially undermining confidence in official figures.
Continue reading...Latest updates: PM gives televised address after Sunak extends furlough until end of March
Q: What is your response to concerns about the data presented by government? (See 4.11pm.)
Johnson says the government is happy to share the data it has.
Q: Won’t we have to live with restrictions for some time?
Stevens says the NHS is prepared for coronavirus.
Continue reading...Latest updates: PM tells MPs he makes no apology for trying to avoid a nationwide lockdown
Ruth Davidson, the former Scottish Conservative leader, and current Tory leader in the Scottish parliament, is confident that Boris Johnson was making a concession to Scotland (and the other devolved administrations too, presumably) on furlough. See 5.34pm.
Under questioning from @Douglas4Moray, PM gives reassurance that furlough is available to devolved administrations now and in the future https://t.co/2aE8rEtEDj
In the Commons Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, asked if Scotland could access the furlough scheme beyond November.
Johnson said the furlough scheme was a UK-wide scheme.
Continue reading...‘No alternative’ to measures given threat from Covid second wave, PM will tell Commons
Boris Johnson will insist there is “no alternative” to a nationwide lockdown as he addresses the House of Commons on Monday amid mounting fury among Tory MPs, after ministers conceded the new “stay at home” order could be extended beyond 2 December.
The prime minister will tell parliament that without the draconian new measures, which will come into force across England on Thursday, deaths from coronavirus over the winter could be “twice as bad or even worse” than in the first wave.
Continue reading...Opposition of Sunak melted away during quad meeting and PM sided with Gove and Hancock
Morgues in converted ice rinks, security guards outside overwhelmed hospitals to turn patients away, even municipal mass graves.
When Boris Johnson’s “quad” of senior ministers met on Friday, they were presented with a chilling prognosis of what would happen if they failed to take draconian action.
Continue reading...Which businesses will have to close, how many people can meet and more key questions answered
Boris Johnson has announced a four-week lockdown in England, following weeks of pressure from his own scientific advisers and opposition parties to introduce tougher measures to tackle coronavirus. The full details of the restrictions will be published early this week before a vote in parliament on Wednesday.
This is what we know so far.
Continue reading...Latest updates: Cabinet Office minister says easing depends on R value coming down; Labour leader says schools should stay open
Sir Desmond Swayne, one of the Conservative MPs most opposed to a second lockdown, told Sky News that the policy announced by the PM yesterday would have “disastrous consequences”. He said:
I’m worried about the disastrous consequences for unemployment, for wrecked businesses, for years of under-investment while we try and pay this off, when the reality is that the number of deaths for the time of year is normal and expected.
It is very difficult to believe scientists who tell you that there is a deadly pandemic taking place when there are no excess deaths beyond the normal five-year average.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has called for schools in his region to close for a period during the lockdown to help drive down the virus. He was speaking at a joint conference with Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool city region, who also backed the proposal. Burnham said:
It’s my view, and it’s shared by Steve, that we do need to see a period of closure in our schools if we are to get those cases right down, and if we are to avoid a scenario where large parts of the north-west are simply put back in tier 3 coming out of this.
Continue reading...Michael Gove has said the new coronavirus lockdown in England could be extended beyond four weeks if the number of infections does not fall far enough. Gove told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday show that measures would be reviewed on 2 December and could last longer if the virus has not been contained
Rules will shut pubs, cafes and non-vital shops, while local reviews will take place after a four-week period
Boris Johnson performed an extraordinary U-turn on Saturday as he unveiled new month-long national lockdown measures across England, amid accusations that government indecision and delay will cost lives and livelihoods across the country.
With immediate warnings of the grave economic fallout and a mounting backlash among Tory MPs, the prime minister announced that a series of measures would come into force on Thursday to combat growing Covid infections. They will remain in place until 2 December.
Continue reading...The catastrophe facing the UK is a direct result of our government’s obsession with libertarian issues. Now we must avoid repeating the same mistakes
Six weeks ago, the government was given a stark warning that the nation faced a “very large epidemic with catastrophic consequences”. Only by imposing an immediate two-week “circuit breaker” lockdown could it hope to reduce the spread of coronavirus, the Sage group of scientific advisers told ministers.
“As over 90% of the population remain susceptible, not acting now to reduce cases will result in a very large epidemic with catastrophic consequences in terms of direct Covid-related deaths and the ability of the health service to meet needs,” the group warned.
Continue reading...Cross-party group files claim to force inquiry into Russian interference in UK elections
A cross-party group of MPs and peers including a former national security adviser are taking legal action against Boris Johnson over his government’s refusal to order an inquiry into Russian interference in UK elections.
The group filed a claim in the high court in an attempt to force the prime minister to carry out an independent investigation or public inquiry. It is the first legal action of its kind over alleged national security failures.
Continue reading...UK government is pinning hopes on mass testing but public health directors find flaws in thinking
Operation Moonshot, the government’s mass testing mission to screen millions of asymptomatic people every week, is having a bumpy lift-off.
The project only emerged because of a leak last month and such was the stated ambition – £100bn to deliver 10m tests a day – that MPs laughed when Matt Hancock talked about it in parliament.
Continue reading...