Face coverings to be made compulsory in shops in England July 14, 2020 Face coverings are to be made compulsory in all shops in England from 24 July, with a fine of up to £100 for those who do not comply, the government is expected to announce today. Since May, the public have been advised to wear face coverings in enclosed meeting spaces, but they have only been [...]
My son needs medical cannabis — but the UK approach remains a national disgrace July 14, 2020 For any parent to hear a child’s horrific scream as they have a seizure, not breathing or responding, is a rude wakeup call that life will be far from normal. Alfie was just eight months old and diagnosed as suffering from a rare form of epilepsy. For us as a family, every day became crisis [...]
Government dragging its feet on audit reform, says business committee July 14, 2020 The business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee has accused the government of dragging its feet on proposed audit reforms. The government has today published its response to the committee’s inquiry into the collapse of Thomas Cook last year. In the original findings from the inquiry last October, the committee expressed disappointment that the government [...]
Brexit: UK completes assessments for City of London to retain EU access July 13, 2020 The UK has now submitted all paperwork necessary for the City of London to potentially retain access to the EU, after missing the original deadline two weeks ago. The 28 assessments were due on 1 July, however Downing Street previously blamed the EU for missing the deadline as they received much of the paperwork, which [...]
Major UK mobile networks vow not to reintroduce roaming charges after Brexit July 13, 2020 The UK’s four major phone networks — EE, Three, Vodafone and O2 — have vowed not to reintroduce roaming charges when Britain leaves the bloc in January, after the government today urged Brits to check with their mobile carriers for price changes ahead of the Brexit transition period deadline. The UK government today called on the [...]
Huawei: Will the government ban the Chinese vendor tomorrow? July 13, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to decide whether to ban Huawei from the UK’s 5G infrastructure tomorrow, following intense pressure from MPs and US President Donald Trump to U-turn on a deal with the Chinese vendor over national security fears. In January, Johnson struck a deal with Huawei to build technology for the UK’s [...]
Brexit: Social care workers not included in new healthcare visa July 13, 2020 The vast majority of social care workers will not be able to get priority access to the UK as a part of a post-Brexit fast track visa for the healthcare sector, the government has confirmed. The UK’s post-Brexit plans were set out in detail today, confirming that there will be no special exceptions for most [...]
Priti Patel scraps freedom of movement in new immigration rules July 13, 2020 Home Secretary Priti Patel today unveiled plans for a post-Brexit immigration system for the UK, which will see freedom of movement scrapped in favour of a points-based scheme and a crackdown on illegal Channel crossings. A new 130-page document presented by Patel in the House of Commons today abolishes the freedom of movement into the [...]
China retaliates with sanctions in US row over Uighur Muslims July 13, 2020 China will levy “corresponding sanctions” against the US, it said today, after Washington penalised senior Chinese officials over the treatment of minority Uighur Muslims. The sanctions targeted US senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, US representative Chris Smith, ambassador at large for international religious freedom Sam Brownback and the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Rubio and Cruz [...]
Boris Johnson: People should wear face masks in shops July 13, 2020 The Prime Minister has said people should wear face masks in shops and will decide whether to make them mandatory in the next few days. Last week Boris Johnson indicated the government was looking at toughening up the rules and went further today to say a decision “in the next few days.” Speaking to Sky [...]