Sunak plans emergency Budget to save two million jobs “Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is working on an emergency budget statement in an effort to save the economy, after warning MPs last week that two million jobs would be lost unless pubs and restaurants reopened soon. Plans to save millions of furloughed workers from the scrap […]
Whistleblower ‘exposes ‘test and trace’ shambles’ “With great fanfare, Boris Johnson last week announced a ‘world beating’ army of contact tracers whose job is to stop coronavirus in its tracks. No fewer than 25,000 have been hired. Their mission – to combat coronavirus by sleuthing down every person in danger of contracting Covid from each new […]
UK offers Hong Kong residents escape from China crackdown “Britain will give greater visa rights to the people of Hong Kong unless China suspends new security laws in the territory, the foreign secretary has said. The National People’s Congress of China yesterday formally announced its decision to impose the legislation, which makes it a crime to […]
Local coronavirus lockdowns aim to stamp out infection with ‘whack-a-mole tactics’ “The test-and-trace programme will use “whack-a-mole tactics” to crack down on local outbreaks, with councils shutting offices, schools and wider areas where outbreaks flare, the prime minister said yesterday. The programme will not be “world class”, however, until later in the summer and testing needs […]
39 Tories call for Cummings to resign – as Johnson suffers poll slump “Boris Johnson was struggling last night to contain a growing party revolt over Dominic Cummings as 39 Tory MPs demanded his resignation. With public opinion hardening against the senior adviser accused of repeated breaches of the lockdown, a new poll reveals the […]
High street shops to reopen to customers “Shops, department stores and shopping centres are set to reopen on June 15 in the biggest easing of the lockdown since coronavirus hit Britain, Boris Johnson announced on Monday night. The Prime Minister said outdoor markets and car showrooms would be the first to open no earlier than […]
Cummings 1) The Mail calls for Cummings to go… “Boris Johnson was facing a furious Tory backlash at all levels of his party last night after he attempted to mount an extraordinary defence of Dominic Cummings. At a dramatic press conference in Downing Street, the Prime Minister claimed his chief aide had acted ‘responsibly, legally […]
Cummings 1) The PM will not throw his senior aide “to the dogs” “Boris Johnson has declared he will not throw Dominic Cummings “to the dogs” as the prime minister’s most senior aide was accused of breaking the lockdown not once but three times. The prime minister is facing three separate calls for a formal […]
Opposition MPs call for Cummings to resign over claims he broke lockdown guidance “Opposition MPs are calling for Dominic Cummings to resign if he is found to have broken the lockdown guidance after travelling 250 miles from London to Durham when he had Covid-19 symptoms. The prime minister’s chief aide and his wife, who was […]
MPs to be asked to back quarantine for new arrivals “MPs will be asked to support new quarantine measures for all international arrivals which will give police the power to carry out spot checks at homes and impose £1,000 fines. The Government is on Friday expected to unveil its long-awaited quarantine plans which will require all […]
Ministers ‘push back’ launch of trace-and-track… “The PM said the key new programme would be up and running by June 1. The Sun has learned that Downing Street delayed its rollout this week amid fears it has just one shot to gain the public’s trust over the vital plan. The 18,000-strong contact tracing force was due to […]
BMA ‘drops opposition to schools reopening’ “The British Medical Association has said schools can reopen on June 1, or earlier, as long as it is “safe to do so”. In an apparent softening of its stance regarding pupils returning to the classroom, the doctors’ union admitted there was “growing evidence that the risk to individual children […]
Evidence from Europe indicates reopening schools is safe “Reopening schools across Europe has not caused a spike in coronavirus cases. Evidence from 22 EU states that have restored classes suggests little or no risk to pupils, teachers or families. The revelation piles pressure on unions resisting plans to send younger children back from June 1. […]
Contact tracing jobs almost filled, Gove claims “Only 800 more people need to be recruited to meet a target of 18,000 contact tracers by the end of the week, Michael Gove has said. A full national launch of the “test, track and isolate” system is promised by the beginning of next month. The system, backed […]
Johnson: We need to trust in the good sense of the British people “If 2020 has taught us anything, it is truly that the worst of times bring out the best in humanity. Every day brings heartbreaking news as more lives are lost before their time to this vicious coronavirus. Every victim leaves behind family, […]