Coronavirus: Cobra and Sage committees sidelined, says Matt Hancock July 21, 2020 The government’s crisis committees Cobra and Sage are no longer leading the UK’s coronavirus response, according to health secretary Matt Hancock. Hancock told a parliamentary committee today that new coronavirus committees have been set up across government, with the new Joint Biosecurity Centre taking charge on major decisions. Sage (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) [...]
Facebook flags Trump post on mail-in voting July 21, 2020 Facebook today placed a so-called voting info disclaimer on US President Donald Trump’s post on mail-in voting, following criticism of the social network’s relaxed approach to regulating the President’s content. “Mail-In Voting, unless changed by the courts, will lead to the most CORRUPT ELECTION in our Nation’s History! #RIGGEDELECTION,” Trump wrote in the post. Nearly [...]
Rishi Sunak launches spending review and warns of ‘tough choices’ July 21, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned that “tough choices” will have to be made over government spending from 2021 onwards as he launched a comprehensive review of public sector budgets. The spending review comes as Sunak revises the overall spending plans made in the March Budget to reflect the huge impact coronavirus has had on the [...]
Mike Pompeo calls for global coalition to ‘push back’ against China July 21, 2020 US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has called for “every nation” to form a coalition to “push back” against China at a press conference today in London. Pompeo took aim at Chinese leader Xi Jinping, saying that his government’s “exploitation of [the coronavirus] disaster to further its own interests has been disgraceful”, while also calling [...]
Boris Johnson tells Mike Pompeo ‘justice must be done’ on Harry Dunn death July 21, 2020 Boris Johnson has told US secretary of state Mike Pompeo about the “need for justice to be done” in regards to the death of Harry Dunn and that his killer should be extradited to the UK. Dunn, 19, was killed in a traffic collision in Northamptonshire when former CIA operative Anne Sacoolas hit him while [...]
Tory MPs vote against protecting the NHS from a post-Brexit trade deal July 21, 2020 Tory MPs last night voted down an amendment to the government’s Trade Bill intended to protect the NHS from any form of control from outside the UK, in a major blow to Britain’s health service as it grapples with the aftermath of the pandemic. Labour proposed an amendment to the Trade Bill which would have [...]
Russia report: What were the key findings? July 21, 2020 A long-awited and long-delayed parliamentary report into Russia’s interference in UK politics was finally released today by Westminster’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC). The report was presented at a press conference by new committee chair, and now independent MP, Julian Lewis, Labour MP Kevan Jones and SNP MP Stewart Hosie. While the report did not [...]
Social licence: How financial markets can switch focus and help solve humanity’s greatest challenges July 21, 2020 If there was ever any question as to whether we value human life more than money, the coronavirus pandemic has surely answered it. The protection of ordinary people, in this country and indeed in almost every country in the world, has come at an extraordinary economic cost. Yet only a minority of people have dared [...]
Russia report: Russian influence in UK politics is ‘new normal’ July 21, 2020 Russian influence in UK politics has been described as the “new normal” in Westminster’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC)’s long-awaited Russia report. The report said that successive governments “welcomed the oligarchs and their money with open arms, providing them with a means of recycling illicit finance through the London ‘laundromat’” and “connections at the highest [...]
Russia ‘interfered with Scottish referendum’, report to say July 21, 2020 A forthcoming report into Russia’s influence on British politics is set to conclude the Kremlin attempted to influence the result of the Scottish independence referendum, it is reported. Russia tried to split the UK in the 2014 referendum, the Daily Telegraph reported ahead of the official publication later this morning. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin [...]