US riots: Fires burn near the White House as George Floyd protests turn violent June 1, 2020 Fires broke out near the White House and police clashed with demonstrators across the US last night as riots sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody raged on. Troops were deployed in 15 US states and Washington DC as thousands defied curfew and took to the streets amid rising anger about race [...]
Coronavirus: 2m ‘shielding’ in UK allowed outside from Monday May 31, 2020 Over 2m people in England who have been “shielding” from the coronavirus pandemic due to being deemed extremely vulnerable will be allowed outside for the first time in 10 weeks from Monday. Yesterday the government announced that those who have been following the protocols will be able to go out with members of their family, [...]
Coronavirus: UK death toll rises by 113 to hit 38,489 May 31, 2020 A further 113 people have died of coronavirus in the UK, the Department of Health announced this afternoon. In total, that means as of 5pm yesterday, 38,489 people have been killed by the disease in this country. A further 1,936 people have tested positive for the disease, taking the total number of positive cases to [...]
Jim O’Neill: Project Birch must come with conditions attached May 31, 2020 Former Treasury minister and architect of the Northern Powerhouse project Jim O’Neill has said the government’s Project Birch bailout plan must come with conditions attached for the businesses involved. Speaking to the Telegraph, O’Neill also called for “great conditionality” to be attached to the scheme, which is expected to provide support for strategically key firms [...]
Governors call on ministers to drop plans to bring back all primary school children before summer holidays May 31, 2020 School governors have called on the government to drop its plans for all primary school children to return to school before the summer holidays, a day before some pupils are due to return. At the moment, the government’s intention is that all primary school age students will return for the final four weeks of term [...]
Sunak: Employers to contribute to furlough scheme from August May 29, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak this afternoon announced that firms will have to begin contributing towards the government’s furlough scheme from August. Speaking at today’s coronavirus press conference, Sunak laid out a raft of changes to the Treasury’s job retention programme, the cornerstone of the government’s economic response to the crisis. In August, firms will only be [...]
Sunak set to tell employers to contribute to furlough scheme payments May 29, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to tell employers today that they will have to start contributing to the government’s massive furlough scheme which is paying the wages of millions of UK workers. Sunak will say companies must pay between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of the costs of the programme – the centrepiece [...]
More than 100 MPs call for extension to self-employed relief package May 29, 2020 A group of 113 MPs have signed a letter urging chancellor Rishi Sunak to extend the £6.8bn coronavirus relief package for self-employed workers. The letter, written by Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh, said people across the country would be “left without work and without support” if the scheme is not extended past its current June end [...]
Coronavirus: People in England can meet in groups of six outside from Monday May 28, 2020 People in England will be able to meet up to five friends or family members from outside their household from Monday. Boris Johnson announced today that meetings can happen either in public spaces or in backyards and other private outdoor spaces, but a two-metre distance must always be kept. “These changes mean that friends and [...]
UK, US, Australia and Canada hit out against new Hong Kong security legislation May 28, 2020 China’s new security legislation will “dramatically erode Hong Kong’s autonomy” and impinge on its citizens civil liberties, according to a joint statement from the UK, US, Australia and Canada. A letter signed by foreign ministers of the four nations said the new clampdown by China was a breach of “the legally-binding, UN-registered Sino-British Joint Declaration” [...]