HSBC and Standard Chartered slammed for supporting China’s Hong Kong security law June 4, 2020 HSBC and Standard Chartered have today been critcised for their support of China’s new security law for Hong Kong. HSBC’s Asia-Pacific chief executive Peter Wong signed a petition backing the law, the bank said. HSBC said in a statement: “We respect and support laws and regulations that will enable Hong Kong to recover and rebuild [...]
Alok Sharma self-isolates while awaiting coronavirus test result June 4, 2020 Business secretary Alok Sharma has been tested for coronavirus after he was visibly unwell in the House of Commons chamber yesterday. Sharma is currently self-isolating as he awaits his test result, with Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis saying today that it was hopefully just severe hayfever. The business secretary was visibly uncomfortable during a House [...]
Sterling will weaken if Britain fails to ask for Brexit transition extension June 4, 2020 Sterling will lose recent gains against the dollar and weaken further if the UK does not ask for an extension of its Brexit transition period, according to a Reuters survey. The pound has strengthened this week, trading at a one-month high of $1.26 yesterday as the UK suggested it may compromise on some contentious issues [...]
Coronavirus: Public confidence in UK handling of crisis slumps June 4, 2020 Public confidence in their governments’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic has slumped the most in UK, a survey showed today. In May, in the Group of Seven nations as a whole, 48 per cent of respondents approved of how authorities had handled the pandemic, down from 50 per cent in April and 54 per cent [...]
Boris Johnson tells UK to brace for mass unemployment June 3, 2020 Boris Johnson has warned of “many, many job losses” after the coronavirus crisis and has pledged to invest in retraining the UK’s young people. The Prime Minister said high levels of unemployment, as a result of the crisis, was “inevitable” and that his government would be “activist and interventionist” in dealing with job losses. The [...]
UK quarantine: Boris Johnson says UK will ‘certainly develop’ air bridges June 3, 2020 The government “will certainly be developing” air bridges with other European countries to ensure quarantine-free travel, according to Boris Johnson. The Prime Minister said at the daily press briefing that work was underway to create exemptions for the 14-day quarantine for inbound travellers, which will begin next Monday. Home secretary Priti Patel today unveiled the [...]
Coronavirus loans: George Osborne calls for future government ‘debt forgiveness’ programme June 3, 2020 The government should implement a future “debt forgiveness” programme for companies borrowing through its coroanvirus loan schemes, according to former chancellor George Osborne. Osborne said small and micro businesses “who are engines of growth” should have their debts written off in several years’ time if they are still carrying debt burdens from the government’s emergency [...]
George Floyd London protests: Thousands gather in Hyde Park June 3, 2020 Thousands of people descended on Hyde Park this afternoon to take part in protests organised by Black Lives Matter London in response to the killing of George Floyd. The peaceful protest began at 1pm, with crowds chanting “no justice, no peace” and waving signs in solidarity with demonstrators in the US. Jessie, 22, told the [...]
Boris Johnson says ‘shielded’ MPs will be able to vote by proxy in parliament June 3, 2020 Boris Johnson has said that vulnerable MPs who have been forced to shield away during the coronavirus lockdown will be able to vote in the House of Commons by proxy in an apparent U-turn. Johnson said at today’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) that MPs who “have particular difficulties, because they are shielded or they are [...]
Architect of Sweden’s no lockdown coronavirus strategy says country should have done more to protect citizens June 3, 2020 The man behind Sweden’s no lockdown coronavirus response today said the country could have done more to lessen the country’s death rate. Nearly 4,500 Swedes have died during the pandemic, a higher mortality rate than in neighbouring Finland, Norway and Denmark, and criticism has been growing over the government’s decision not to impose a strict [...]