Government criticised for its communications strategy on coronavirus March 15, 2020 The government has been criticised for its communication strategy over the coronavirus pandemic, after news of new quarantine measures were leaked to the press before they were formally announced. ITV reported news of the government’s plan to force over-70s into isolation for up to four months came this morning. ITV was briefed on the measure [...]
HS2: Transport department defends top civil servant over transparency row March 15, 2020 The Department for Transport (DfT) has denied its top civil servant broke the civil service code of conduct as she faces accusations she withheld information on HS2’s budget blowouts. City A.M. reported earlier this month that DfT permanent secretary Bernadette Kelly admitted she did not tell parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) she knew HS2 was [...]
US and Germany scrap over coronavirus vaccine company March 15, 2020 Berlin is trying to prevent Washington from persuading a German company working on a coronavirus vaccine to move to the US. German government sources told news agency Reuters that the US was looking into how it could gain access to a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by German pharmaceuticals company Curevac. German newspaper the Welt [...]
Coronavirus: Germany to close major land borders March 15, 2020 Germany is said to be preparing to close its borders with Austria, France and Switzerland in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus. Chancellor Angela Merkel and her interior ministers have agreed the closures with the leaders of the three countries, Germany’s Bild newspaper reported. The borders will be shut down from 8am local [...]
Heathrow Airport expansion in a ‘deep freeze’ after court decision and coronavirus March 15, 2020 Heathrow Airport’s planned expansion is now in a “deep freeze”, with the aviation industry expecting the project to fall off the agenda during the coronavirus pandemic. Airlines have been told an impending coronavirus recession will likely delay the third runway a further two years to 2030 at the earliest and could require job cuts, according [...]
UK backs facial recognition project that helps Beijing catch masked protesters March 15, 2020 The government has partnered with Beijing to back a project aimed at developing facial recognition technology that can identify people wearing masks. The Home Office and the Metropolitan Police are both involved in a programme that carries out research jointly funded by the Chinese state — despite the country’s reported use of surveillance technology to [...]
Coronavirus: Foreign Office advises against travel to the US March 15, 2020 The Foreign Office has advised against “all but essential travel” to the US, after Donald Trump extended the country’s travel ban to include the UK and Ireland. Travel from the UK to the US will be banned from 4am on Tuesday amidst increasing numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases. Responding to the ban, the Foreign and [...]
Coronavirus: Over-70s to be told to isolate for up to four months March 15, 2020 The government is preparing to tell over-70s to isolate for up to four months as it gets on war footing to cope with the spread of coronavirus. Health secretary Matt Hancock confirmed reports this morning that people over the age of 70 would be told to quarantine themselves even if they do not show any [...]
London mayoral election delayed for one year over coronavirus March 13, 2020 The London mayoral election and all local and mayoral elections in England have been postponed for a year because of the coronavirus outbreak. The Electoral Commission yesterday called for local and mayoral UK elections to be delayed until the autumn to “mitigate” the spread of coronavirus. The London election was due to take place on [...]
This week: GBP / EUR Update March 13, 2020 | City Talk Brexit concerns faded into the background this week as the market focused on the coronavirus pandemic. At the beginning of the week, UK equities opened around 9% below Friday’s closing levels, putting pressure on sterling. The emergency rate cut from the Bank of England midweek had an immediate effect, pushing the pound lower before it [...]