Coronavirus 1) Johnson ‘begins top secret planning to ease UK lockdown at Easter’

“Boris Johnson has begun top secret planning for millions to meet loved ones this Easter – but cracked the whip amid lagging vaccine numbers. The Sun has learnt Cabinet Office civil servants have begun building a detailed “unlocking framework” to gradually ease Covid restrictions area by area. Although publicly Ministers say it’s too soon to say when freedoms can be restored, the PM has tasked No10 officials with building the plans with his eye on early April mingling joy for millions – even if for many its only outside. Amid mounting backbench pressure to set out a route out of lockdown, a senior Government source told The Sun: “It’s way too soon to start talking about when, but the work is being done quietly on the how.”” – The Sun

• Public against rush to reopen after Covid lockdown, say ministers – Daily Telegraph

Coronavirus 2) Fears over vaccine supplies as rate drops

“Ministers are increasingly concerned about the pace of the coronavirus vaccine rollout after a reduction in the supply of Pfizer-Biontech jabs. The number of people receiving their first dose on Monday fell for the third day in a row to 204,076 from a high of 324,000 on Friday. Pfizer said supplies of vaccine would be lower this month and next as it was upgrading its factory in Belgium before increasing production in March. A government source said that the supply had become “very constrained” with ministers concerned about meeting the target to vaccinate 15 million people in the four most vulnerable groups by mid-February. “It’s going to be very, very tight,” the source said.” – The Times

• NHS under fire as elderly sent to distant coronavirus vaccination centres – The Times
• Coronavirus vaccine passports will leave bosses on shaky legal ground – The Times
• Widespread coronavirus vaccination risks ‘day before Armistice’ wave of infections, experts warn – The Times
• No10 hires PR firm to boost Covid vaccine uptake among BAME groups – Daily Mail
• Germans are told to wear better masks – The Times
• Maskless chats indoors spread coronavirus more than coughing – The Times

Analysis

• Will we need more Covid vaccinations in the autumn? – The Times
• Vaccine nationalism helps no one – The Times

Comment:

• Give us a road map out of this madness, Sarah Vine – Daily Mail
• I certainly would not begrudge the elderly a little post jab freedom, Olivia Utley – Daily Telegraph
• How Covid kids can become Generation Grit, Alice Thomson – The Times
• No individual glorification for today’s scientists… it’s about team effort, Karol Sikora – Daily Express

America 1) Biden inauguration: Democrat to be sworn in as Trump leaves office

“President Trump called on Americans to “pray for the success” of Joe Biden’s administration in a farewell address in which he refused to mention his successor by name or retract claims of election fraud. Mr Trump, who has not been seen in public for a week, issued a video message vowing that his “Make America Great Again” movement was “only just beginning” as he prepared to leave Washington this morning before Mr Biden’s inauguration. The outgoing Republican president defiantly insisted that “we did what we came here to do and so much more” in an indication that he may be thinking again about running in 2024. He may not have that choice, however. After he became the first president to be impeached twice, the prospect of his disqualification from public office increased when the most senior Republican in Congress, Mitch McConnell, accused him of provoking the mob that stormed the Capitol.” – The Times

• … as he pardons Steve Bannon, among 143 people who received clemency – The Guardian

America 3) May – Britain threatened to break the law. We abandoned our global moral leadership… we did not raise our credibility in the eyes of the world

“This week America inaugurates a new president, and the free world gains a new leader. In Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, I believe Britain has partners for positive action to make our world a safer place. The US and the UK share enduring values: respect for human dignity and human rights, freedom of speech and thought, representative democracy, equality and the rule of law. These values have shaped our societies. In the past, we have had common cause to defend them. Today, those values are under threat once again – and once again, the UK has a responsibility to play its part in defending them. The threat does not just come from countries which reject our democratic values – nations like China, which continues to persecute the Uighur people and infringe the rights of people in Hong Kong, or Russia, where opposition leader Alexei Navalny recently survived poisoning only to face imprisonment. On January 6, those values came under attack in that bastion of democracy the United States Capitol.” – Daily Mail

• Good luck Biden. America’s problems are also Britain’s, Liam Fox – Daily Telegraph
• Biden will see Brexit Britain for what it really is: his closest partner in defending the international order, Sajid Javid – Daily Telegraph
• Has Biden got what it takes to be president? Daniel Finkelstein – The Times
• What now for the Republican Party? Telegraph View
• President Biden must revive the Gulf War spirit if he is to reunite a divided West, Con Coughlin – Daily Telegraph
• President Biden must stay true to his word and unify the American people or face ‘catastrophe’, Douglas Murray – The Sun
• Biden unleashes a fiscal bazooka, but Britain has no such weapon, Jeremy Warner – Daily Telegraph
• Biden’s celebrity-packed inauguration is an embarrassing start to his presidency, Ella Whelan – Daily Telegraph

More comment:

• Exiles need our help to overthrow tyrants, Roger Boyes – The Times
• Tories didn’t start the culture war, but they have found a way to win it, Andrew Roberts – Daily Telegraph
• Government can’t solve musicians’ Brexit problems, Richard Morrison – The Times
• Wild camels would love a night out on the toon, Matthew Parris – The Times

Shapps’ smart motorway roll-out criticised for being too slow

“Only 37 miles of smart motorway have been fitted with vital technology used to detect broken-down vehicles, prompting more concerns over safety. The radar system, which can spot stationary cars in 20 seconds, has been installed on four of the 24 sections of English motorway with no hard shoulder. Transport Focus, the roads watchdog, has said that drivers feel safer with a hard shoulder. Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, demanded the rapid introduction of the technology in March last year as part of a sweeping review of smart motorways designed to improve safety… Sir Mike Penning, the Conservative MP for Hemel Hempstead and a former roads minister, called for faster roll-out.” – The Times

Comment:

• The critics of smart motorways were right all along, Ross Clark – Daily Telegraph

News in brief: