Pompeo pushes to ban Tiktok, Wechat and other ‘untrusted’ Chinese apps August 6, 2020 The Trump administration is pushing to purge “untrusted” Chinese apps including Tiktok and Wechat from US app stores, amid increasing tensions across the Pacific. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo yesterday signalled that the US may soon order Apple and Google to remove certain Chinese apps over national security concerns. Pompeo said apps linked to [...]
Government wasted £150m on unusable face masks bought from banker August 6, 2020 The government is facing calls to investigate its procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, after it emerged ministers spent at least £150m on unusable face masks from a family investment firm. The face masks, which were part of a £252m government contract with investment firm Ayanda Capital signed in April, were deemed [...]
Ministers set to impose quarantine restrictions on Belgium August 6, 2020 The government is preparing to hit travellers from Belgium with mandatory quarantine restrictions after a spike in coronavirus cases in the country. The Daily Mail reported that ministers would sign off on the decision to impose 14-day self-isolation measures on all those travelling from Belgium to the UK at a meeting this evening. It added [...]
Twitter bans Donald Trump’s presidential campaign over coronavirus fake news August 6, 2020 Twitter last night banned Donald Trump’s presidential campaign from tweeting until it agreed to remove a video spouting fake news about coronavirus. In the most sweeping action taken by the social media platform in its 14-year history, Twitter last night temporarily froze the President’s Team Trump campaign account after it was found to breach company [...]
Spitting Image unveils puppets of PM and Cummings ahead of relaunch August 5, 2020 Spitting Image has unveiled its puppets of Boris Johnson and his chief adviser Dominic Cummings ahead of its return in the autumn. The show, which will relaunch after 24 years, was made famous in the 1980s for its mockery of politiians. Read more: Spitting Image to return after 24 years following Britbox commission It will [...]
Tory mayor candidate Shaun Bailey shows off his campaign makeover August 5, 2020 Shaun Bailey’s had a tough time of it as the Conservative mayor of London candidate. Chosen back in 2018, he has had two years to raise his profile and launch attacks on the mayor through his role as a London Assembly member. Despite ample opportunity, Bailey did not manage to lay a glove on Sadiq [...]
Tory mayor candidate Shaun Bailey calls Sadiq Khan a ‘con man’ August 5, 2020 Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has accused Sadiq Khan of being a “con man” and of “betraying” black working class communities as he tries to reposition his campaign. Bailey told City A.M. after a speech that Khan had pulled a “confidence trick” on Londoners and had been an habitual liar as mayor. The mayoral candidate [...]
Amazon to pass on UK digital tax to sellers in fees hike August 5, 2020 Amazon is to increase seller fees next month, saying it will no longer absorb the UK’s digital services tax after talks with the government failed to progress. The e-commerce giant said it had taken on the impact of the digital services tax — a two per cent levy on the firm’s annual revenues — since [...]
Coronavirus: MPs slam ‘serious mistake’ over UK border policy August 5, 2020 The spread of coronavirus in the UK could have been curbed if the government had not made the “serious mistake” of failing to impose quarantine restrictions on international arrivals, a group of MPs has said. The Home Affairs committee said ministers had underestimated the threat of importing the virus from Europe, as opposed to Asia, [...]
UK and Valneva agree to set up coronavirus vaccine facility in Scotland August 5, 2020 The UK government has struck a deal with biotech company Valneva to build facilities in Scotland to potentially develop a coronavirus vaccine. The deal would see a manufacturing facility built in Livingston, West Lothian, with the potential to produce 60m units of a vaccine. The government and the French biotech company struck an agreement last [...]