Category Archives: Boris Johnson

Merkel among winners as Europeans give verdict on anti-Covid battles

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Satisfaction levels across the continent have risen and fallen, but nowhere have they plunged as for Boris Johnson’s government

All across the continent, most Europeans now trust their leaders generally, and how they have handled the coronavirus pandemic in particular, a little less than when the crisis began – but nowhere has public confidence fallen as far and as fast as in the UK.

Even leaders seen as having managed Covid-19 the most successfully, such as Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel and Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen, have suffered slight dips in popular satisfaction as the weeks have worn on.

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Business leaders demand delay to Irish Sea border checks

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Six months needed to prepare for Brexit border checks, warn Northern Ireland business groups

Northern Ireland business groups are calling for a six month delay to Brexit checks in the Irish Sea saying that Boris Johnson’s late admission that he is legally obliged to implement them has left them no time to prepare for the December cliff edge.

They have also hit out at Downing Street secrecy, saying they are refusing to discuss the plans with the very people that needed to implement them.

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Theresa May attacks Boris Johnson over Brexit and Covid quarantine plans

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Former PM warns of security implications of no deal and threat to trade from travel restrictions

Theresa May has launched a double attack on Boris Johnson’s government, speaking in the Commons to first warn about the security implications of a final no-deal Brexit, and then against the coronavirus quarantine plans.

May, who has largely kept a low profile since returning to the backbenches, used prime minister’s questions to express worry at a lack of possible lack of intelligence and data sharing if the Brexit transition period ends without a formal agreement.

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Boris Johnson lays out visa offer to nearly 3m Hong Kong citizens

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UK prime minister says all eligible for BNO passport can apply if China cuts freedoms

Boris Johnson has opened the path to what he called one of the “biggest changes” ever to the British visa system, stating he was ready to offer a right to live and work in the UK to any of the nearly 3 million Hong Kong citizens eligible for a British National Overseas passport.

Ministers have been ambivalent since last Thursday on whether the government’s offer of an extendable 12-month visa would be available only to the 350,000 current BNO passport holders in Hong Kong, or would also include the more than 2.5 million eligible to apply for the passport.

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Keir Starmer warns PM: get a grip or risk second wave of coronavirus

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Labour leader accuses Boris Johnson of ‘winging it’ in stinging attack

Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of causing a collapse in public confidence over the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, saying No 10 will be directly responsible if the infection rate starts to rise again.

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the Labour leader launched a stinging attack on the the prime minister, accusing him of “winging it” over the easing of the lockdown and making an already “difficult situation 10 times worse”.

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EU has no legal duty to give UK trade privileges, document says

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Paper concludes EU does not have to offer privileges given to others in previous deals

The EU has no legal duty to grant the UK privileges offered to other countries in trade deals, an internal European parliament paper has concluded ahead of a crucial round of Brexit talks this week.

The document, drawn up by officials for the parliament’s UK coordination group, is a short analysis of arguments made by the UK’s chief negotiator, David Frost, in a letter to his counterpart, Michel Barnier. Frost accused the EU of treating the UK as an “unworthy” negotiating partner by denying the UK “the kind of well-precedented arrangements commonplace in modern FTAs [free trade agreements]”.

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Northern Ireland faces ‘potent threat’ from Brexit and Covid-19

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Lords committee warns uncertainty over trading rules may add to economic damage of crisis

Northern Ireland faces a “potent threat” to its prosperity and stability if reduced business confidence due to uncertainty over post-Brexit trading rules compounds the economic damage from coronavirus, a Lords committee has warned.

A fourth round of talks between the UK and EU over a permanent deal begins this week, with little apparent progress made, and the looming deadline of 1 July for the UK to seek an extension to the transition period beyond this year.

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From rose garden to ridicule: how a week of disaster for Tories and Dominic Cummings unfolded

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Boris Johnson said it was time to move on – but the public, the press and scores of his own MPs didn’t agree

As she looked out of her kitchen window towards a farm in the distance owned by Dominic Cummings’ parents, an elderly woman described her reaction on Friday to the story that had caused shock not just in rural County Durham, but across the whole country.

“I have isolated for 10 weeks. I have not seen my children since before Christmas,” said the woman, who asked not to be named. She lives in a pretty village across the valley, with a pond and village green, where life normally passes quietly by with few disturbances.

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June Brexit summit on cards as talks head for deadlock

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PM and commission president likely to meet with progress unlikely in talks next week

Brexit talks are heading towards deadlock as senior advisers in Brussels and London concede a breakthrough in the final round of talks next week is unlikely.

It means a high-level political summit between Boris Johnson and the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in the middle of June is now almost certain as talks among officials on a trade deal and the future relationship hit the buffers.

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UK coronavirus live: groups of six people can meet outside in England from Monday; No 10 backs Cummings

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Johnson unveils lockdown relaxation measures; Durham police say they won’t take further against against Cummings; UK death toll rises by 377 to 37,837

Q. In Northern Ireland the R has been increasing and is barely below 1 – should that cause alarm?

Vallance says the R remains below 1 everywhere but may be very close to 1 in some places.

Q. Do you really have the capacity to trace all the contacts of infected people?

Q. Why is the UK still only listing three symptoms for the disease compared to other countries?

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Lockdown violators using Cummings as excuse, say police

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Police commissioner warns of public pushback over Covid-19 containment measures

Lockdown rule-breakers are using the controversial actions of the prime minister’s top adviser, Dominic Cummings, as an excuse, a police and crime commissioner has warned.

The West Midlands PCC, David Jamieson, revealed he had received intelligence that officers are getting “pushback” from members of the public breaching Covid-19 containment measures after Downing Street’s defence of Cummings’ 264-mile lockdown trip. 

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Dominic Cummings: Tory unrest increases pressure on PM to sack adviser

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Extraordinary party revolt and public criticisms reflect anger over aide’s lockdown breaches

Boris Johnson faced an extraordinary and growing revolt from within his own party on Tuesday over his refusal to sack his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, for breaching lockdown rules.

On a day of dramatic developments, a junior minister resigned and more than 30 other Conservative MPs called for Cummings to go, many citing inboxes overflowing with hundreds of angry messages from constituents.

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UK coronavirus live: Hancock hints at review of family lockdown fines as Tory revolt over Cummings grows

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Hancock announces anti-viral drug remdesivir will be given to some NHS Covid-19 patients; number of Tory MPs call on Cummings to resign as junior minister quits; official UK death toll passes 37,000

There are nearly 300 more confirmed cases of Covid-19 among prison staff than previously thought, the Ministry of Justice has revealed.

Due to a change in reporting of cases among prison staff, and an additional evaluation, there were 873 workers who had tested positive for the coronavirus as of 1pm on Tuesday, compared to 573 recorded as positive in the last update as of 5pm Thursday.

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Dominic Cummings refuses to resign or apologise for lockdown breach

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Press conference raises more questions but Boris Johnson gives full backing to adviser

The crisis that has engulfed the government over Dominic Cummings’ conduct continued to rage unabated after an unprecedented press conference in which the prime minister’s chief aide repeatedly refused to resign or apologise for breaking lockdown rules.

After an outpouring of public anger rattled No 10, he attempted to explain why he drove 264 miles from London to his parents’ estate in Durham despite suspecting that both he and his wife had coronavirus.

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Johnson’s defence of Cummings sparks anger from allies and opponents alike

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Possible police investigation of aide is latest in series of Guardian disclosures that have rocked the government

Boris Johnson has staked his political reputation on saving the career of Dominic Cummings, amid growing anger among Conservative MPs that the No 10 chief adviser has not been forced out for breaking lockdown rules.

Under intense pressure to explain why Cummings drove his wife, who was suffering coronavirus symptoms, and son 264 miles to his parents’ farm in Durham, the prime minister said on Sunday that Cummings had “acted responsibly, legally and with integrity”.

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Dominic Cummings clearly broke rules, says ex-police chief

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Former Durham chief says it is obvious aide broke lockdown rules as No 10 faces accusations of cover-up

The former chief constable of Durham has said it is clear that Dominic Cummings broke the lockdown rules with his trip from London to the north-east.

Mike Barton’s intervention comes as Downing Street faced accusations of a cover-up over the trip by the prime minister’s top aide to Durham at the height of the national lockdown, with reports that No 10 knew he had made the 264-mile journey after developing coronavirus symptoms.

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Boris Johnson forced to reduce Huawei’s role in UK’s 5G networks

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PM set to shrink Chinese firm’s involvement to zero by 2023 after caving to backbench pressure

Boris Johnson has been forced to cave into to Conservative backbench rebels opposed to the presence of Huawei in 5G networks and has drawn up plans to reduce the Chinese company’s involvement to zero by 2023.

The prime minister’s retreat is designed to stave off what could have been an embarrassing defeat when his existing proposal to reduce Huawei to a 35% market share was to be voted on in the Commons.

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Boris Johnson will not face criminal inquiry over Jennifer Arcuri

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IOPC says no further action required over businesswoman’s receipt of public money and access to trade trips

Boris Johnson has avoided a criminal investigation into his relationship with the US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri while he was mayor of London.

But he will face a further investigation into his conduct when he was mayor, after the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found evidence that officials were influenced by the close relationship between the pair.

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Police watchdog to announce decision on Johnson-Arcuri inquiry

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IOPC to reveal on Thursday whether PM will face criminal investigation into relationship

Boris Johnson will find out on Thursday if he faces a criminal investigation into his relationship with an American businesswoman while he was mayor of London.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is to reveal its long-delayed decision on whether to investigate him for possible criminal misconduct over his friendship with Jennifer Arcuri.

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Putin, Johnson, Bolsonaro and Trump: men too macho for masks

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Why leaders who want to be seen as strongmen are afraid to take Covid-19 safety precautions

With the news this week that Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, is in hospital with Covid-19, the virus has now penetrated the Kremlin, 10 Downing Street, the Palácio do Planalto and the White House.

Putin, Boris Johnson, Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump are all very different politicians. But all have had one thing in common in their responses to coronavirus: a belief or suggestion, at least in the early stages, that taking personal protective measures against the virus is somehow unseemly and at odds with their macho political brands.

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