Boris Johnson asked to apologise for care home deaths comments July 7, 2020 Boris Johnson has come under fire for appearing to try to blame care homes for the high numbers of coronavirus deaths they have suffered. The Prime Minister has been asked to apologise for the comments, which were labelled as “clumsy and cowardly” by the head of a social care charity. Johnson made the comments yesterday [...]
Workers forced to pay extra tax for coronavirus tests July 7, 2020 Workers will be forced to pay income tax on coronavirus tests if their employers order them, it has been revealed. Newly released documents from the Treasury show that employees will face a “taxable benefit in kind” when their employers order the tests, meaning they are treated as extra workplace benefits. As workplaces will have to [...]
DEBATE: Do we need a government rescue plan to save UK universities? July 7, 2020 In light of the new IFS report, do we need a government rescue plan to save UK universities? Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, says YES. It has been months since our own research identified a funding black hole for universities of around £2.5bn in income lost from tuition fees and [...]
Brexit: David Frost and Michel Barnier to have Downing Street dinner July 7, 2020 The UK’s chief Brexit negotiator David Frost will have dinner with his EU counterpart Michel Barnier at 10 Downing Street tonight in the lead-up to the next round of trade talks. A Downing Street spokesperson said the two men would meet tonight in an informal setting to discuss some of the negotiations’ most difficult sticking [...]
Rishi Sunak to unveil £3bn green stimulus package July 7, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will tomorrow announce a £3bn green investment package to create jobs and upgrade buildings as he tries to kick-start the UK’s economic recovery from the coronavirus lockdown. The Treasury said £1bn of the package will be spent on improving the energy efficiency of public buildings such as schools and hospitals. Sunak is [...]
London’s City University scraps Cass name from business school over slavery links July 6, 2020 London’s City University has dropped the name of its Cass Business School over its 18th-century namesake’s links to the slave trade. The school, which frequently ranks in the world’s top MBA programmes, today said it will be renamed City’s Business School after a unanimous ruling from its shareholders found the name was “incompatible with City’s [...]
PM calls for driverless Tube trains in TfL bailout July 6, 2020 Boris Johnson has said that driverless Tube trains should be a condition of any future government bailout of Transport for London (TfL). The government gave TfL a £1.6bn support package in May following a slump in revenue as the coronavirus lockdown prevented commuters from using the service. The funding is due to expire in September. [...]
Magnitsky Act: Dominic Raab unveils first foreign citizens facing visa restrictions July 6, 2020 Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has unveiled the first 49 foreign citizens facing sanctions for alleged human rights abuses under the UK’s new Magnitsky Act. Speaking in the Commons today, the foreign secretary said the UK was taking action against the “thugs of despots and henchmen of dictators” and those trying to launder their “blood-stained ill-gotten [...]
Whatsapp and Telegram suspend user data review requests from Hong Kong authorities July 6, 2020 Encrypted messaging services Telegram and Facebook’s Whatsapp said today they had “paused” accepting requests from Hong Kong authorities to review user data. China’s parliament last week passed the national security law in Hong Kong, pushing the city state towards a more authoritarian approach to monitoring its citizens and internet censorship. Previously Hong Kong enjoyed relatively [...]
Greece to resume direct flights from UK next week July 6, 2020 Greece will resume direct flights from the UK on 15 July, after it last week extended a ban on travel from Britain over concerns the infection rate could spike. Greece is exempt from the Foreign Office’s advice against all but non-essential international travel, but the country last week signalled it was not ready to resume [...]