EU commissioner: There has been ‘positive movement’ on Northern Ireland Protocol talks June 21, 2021 One of Brussels’ top officials has said there has been recent “positive movement” in post-Brexit talks over Northern Ireland and that the UK will consider a negotiated delay to the so-called Great British sausage ban. European Commissioner for financial services Mairead McGuinness revealed today that the UK has formally written to the EU to say they [...]
England ‘looking good’ to shed Covid restrictions on 19 July, says Johnson June 21, 2021 Boris Johnson has said the prospects of shedding England’s Covid restrictions on 19 July are “looking good”. The Prime Minister said data showing the immense effectiveness of two jabs against the Delta variant, and the increasing rates of vaccination, should mean the easing of restrictions will go ahead. Data from PHE released last week revealed [...]
Boris Johnson says it will be a ‘difficult year’ for international travel June 21, 2021 Boris Johnson has warned it will be a “difficult year” for international travel as the government discusses exempting fully vaccinated people from quarantine when coming back from amber list countries. The Prime Minister said today that there will be “hassle, there will be delays” when it comes to international travel this year as “the priority [...]
Medical leaders pile pressure on Boris Johnson to slash legal air pollution levels June 21, 2021 Prime minister Boris Johnson has been urged to cut legal levels of air pollution in the UK by the country’s top medical organisations in a letter today. Following the death of London nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah, the first person in the UK to have pollution listed as a cause of death, the World Health Organisation (WHO) [...]
YouTube and Snapchat team up with government up to boost vaccine take-up among young Britons June 21, 2021 Youtube and Snapchat are among a group of social media platforms to sign up to help the government boost vaccine take-up among 18 to 29-year-olds in England. The new partnership will see the tech giants use things like stickers, filters and videos to encourage people to get the Covid-19 vaccine. The platforms involved are Snapchat, [...]
Commercial landlords threaten to sue government over eviction ban extension June 20, 2021 A raft of commercial landlords are considering launching legal action against the government after it extended its business eviction ban until March 2022. The British Property Federation, a lobby group for commercial landlords, is looking at all legal options as there is now an estimated £6bn in unpaid rents throughout Covid-19. Chief secretary of the [...]
France targets City of London firms in post-Brexit ‘Choose France’ push June 20, 2021 French President Emmanuel Macron has began a new push to bring City of London firms to Paris post-Brexit. JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon have been invited to Macron’s “Choose France” event at the Palace of Versailles on 28 June, where the President will try to make the case for investment in [...]
Minister: Reports that Matt Hancock kept PM in the dark over vaccine success ‘are wrong’ June 20, 2021 Reports that Matt Hancock withheld information from Boris Johnson about the success of vaccines against the Delta variant are incorrect, according to justice secretary Robert Buckland. Johnson and three senior ministers – Hancock, Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove – met last Sunday before making a decision the next day to delay the next step of [...]
Tensions rise between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak behind closed doors over spending June 20, 2021 Tensions are reportedly increasing between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak over the Prime Minister’s myriad of recent spending promises. Two recent major spending announcements – of a new Royal Yacht and a new G7 green infrastructure programme for developing countries – were reportedly announced by Johnson without even consulting Sunak or the Treasury. The green [...]
Ministers ‘mulling dropping self-isolation rules for those with two jabs’ June 19, 2021 The government is considering making those who have had two Covid-19 vaccines exempt from forced isolation. The idea, which is currently being discussed in Westminster, would see those with two jabs take daily tests instead of isolate, Sky News reported. If made into policy, it would come in later in the year once the adult [...]