Boris Johnson’s car involved in minor collision outside parliament June 17, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s convoy was involved in a minor collision outside the Houses of Parliament today following Prime Minister’s Questions. One of the cars in the convoy was forced to suddenly brake by a protester, meaning the vehicle behind shunted the back of the lead car. The BBC reported that a dent was visible [...]
Boris Johnson’s plane paint job to cost taxpayer £900,000 June 17, 2020 The cost of Boris Johnson’s plane’s makeover is set to cost British taxpayers £900,000. The RAF Voyager – which is painted grey currently – will have a red, white and blue repaint so it can match the colours of the Union Jack. The Prime Minister’s spokesman told journalists today that the change was needed to [...]
DEBATE: Was Boris Johnson right to merge DFID and the Foreign Office? June 17, 2020 Was Boris Johnson right to merge the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)? Lauren McEvatt, managing director of Morpeth Consulting and a former government adviser, says YES. The merger of DFID and the FCO is overdue. For too long the UK government has been operating too many strands of [...]
French President Emmanuel Macron to get Red Arrows flypast on UK visit June 17, 2020 Emmanuel Macron, the French President, will be welcomed to London tomorrow with a flypast of the Red Arrows. Macron visits the UK tomorrow, marking 80 years since Second World War French resistance leader Charles de Gaulle made a historic broadcast to occupied France from British shores. The Red Arrows, the RAF’s iconic aerobatics unit, will [...]
Brexit: Germany says UK-EU trade talks will enter ‘hot phase’ in September June 17, 2020 The German government is expecting post-Brexit UK-EU trade talks to enter a “hot phase” in September, despite British negotiators claiming they want a deal wrapped up before autumn. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that talks needed “a bit of oomph” and that a deal in July was the aim for UK negotiators. However, [...]
‘Best news so far’: Matt Hancock hails steroid drug that can combat coronavirus June 17, 2020 Health secretary Matt Hancock today hailed the use of a steroid drug called dexamethasone for treating coronavirus patients as the best news so far of the outbreak. Trial results announced on Tuesday showed dexamethasone, which is used to reduce inflammation in other diseases such as arthritis, reduced death rates by around a third among the [...]
Trump signs executive order to reform US police June 16, 2020 US President Donald Trump has today signed an executive order pledging to reform the police, aimed at improving law enforcement practices amid widespread backlash. Federal grants will be offered to states to improve police practices, including the creation of a database to track abuses by officers and improved information sharing so that officers with poor [...]
Boris Johnson: Too early to ease two-metre social distancing rule June 16, 2020 Boris Johnson has shot down hopes for an imminent change to England’s two-metre social distancing rule, despite pleas from the hospitality sector. Johnson said the rate of coronavirus incidents had not come down enough to make the change, but to “watch this space”. The news will come as a disappointment for hospitality businesses across England, [...]
Brexit: UK ‘ready to be flexible’ to strike a trade deal in July June 16, 2020 The UK is “ready to be flexible” in post-Brexit trade negotiations with the EU in an attempt to secure a deal by next month, according to Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove. Gove, the defacto Brexit minister, told MPs today that there was enough time to “bring a deal home” before the 31 December deadline, despite [...]
David Cameron hits out at Boris Johnson’s DFID-Foreign Office merger plan June 16, 2020 Former Prime Minister David Cameron has hit out against Boris Johnson’s plans to merge the Department for International Development with the Foreign Office, calling the decision a “mistake”. Writing on Twitter, Cameron said: “The Prime Minister is right to maintain the commitment to 0.7 (the percentage of national income spent on global aid) – it [...]