WTO boss plays down chances of UK-EU trade war over Northern Ireland June 12, 2021 World Trade Organisation boss Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has played down the chances of a UK-EU trade war over Northern Ireland, saying she would be a “little surprised” if it came to that. The WTO director general told journalists today that a trade war would be “too costly for both sides”. The UK and EU are in [...]
Boris Johnson threatens to rip up Northern Ireland Protocol if EU does not relax checks June 12, 2021 Boris Johnson has threatened to unilaterally suspend the post-Brexit Northern Ireland treaty if Brussels does not relax customs checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea. Johnson warned that he would “obviously not hesitate to invoke Article 16” if “the protocol continues to be applied in this way”. The UK and EU both have the right [...]
G7: EU leaders to heap pressure on Boris Johnson over Northern Ireland row June 11, 2021 Boris Johnson is set to face pressure from EU leaders in a series of G7 summit meetings tomorrow over how to manage the post-Brexit situation in Northern Ireland. Negotiations about the future of checks on goods going between Northern Ireland and Great Britain are deadlocked, after Johnson refused a Brussels proposal for the UK to [...]
Boris Johnson set to delay 21 June end of lockdown for up to one month June 11, 2021 Boris Johnson is set to scrap plans to shed England’s Covid restrictions on 21 June, with the new “freedom day” set to be pushed back to as late as 19 July. Johnson is reportedly preparing to say on Monday that there will be an initial two-week delay to the 21 June unlocking, which will be [...]
G7 exclusive: Boris Johnson to push for mental health to be on final communique June 11, 2021 Boris Johnson is set to push G7 leaders to include a statement on making mental health a priority during the Covid recovery in the summit’s final communique. The Prime Minister told a collection of political pressure groups that he “pretty much promises” it will be in there. Johnson told delegates from the Youth G7 UK [...]
UK pledges £430m of new foreign aid in first day of Cornwall G7 summit June 11, 2021 Boris Johnson has today pledged to spend £430m extra in foreign aid at the G7 summit in Cornwall today, with funding set to go to boosting education in the world’s poorest countries. Today’s first joint meeting of the summit saw leaders discuss the post-Covid global economic recovery, with Downing Street saying “all girls get a [...]
G7 2021: Boris Johnson welcomes leaders as they take ‘family photo’ June 11, 2021 Boris Johnson has officially welcomed other G7 leaders to the 2021 summit in Cornwall, before taking a socially distanced “family photo”. The seven leaders, who were joined by EU chiefs, and their spouses met with the Prime Minister and Carrie Johnson on Carbis Bay one-by-one before convening for a group photo. Bloomberg reports Dr Jill [...]
G7 2021: Boris Johnson warns against ‘repeating mistakes’ of the post-2008 recovery June 11, 2021 Boris Johnson has called on G7 leaders to not “repeat the mistakes” of the post-2008 financial crisis economic recovery, saying the post-pandemic recovery needs to be “uniform across all parts of societies”. Johnson’s opening remarks before the first joint session of the G7 summit in Cornwall also saw him emphasise the need for the world’s [...]
G7: UK spends £8m to lengthen Newquay runway for Biden’s Air Force One June 11, 2021 The UK has reportedly spent over £7.8m to extend the runway at Newquay airport to allow US aircraft to land for the G7 summit. The runway had to be extended to allow US President Joe Biden to land on Air Force One amid concerns about the existing infrastructure being able to handle the large aircraft, it has [...]
Pharma executives study whether mix and match vaccines creater stronger Covid immunity June 11, 2021 Some pharmaceutical executives are starting to believe that mixing and matching different types of vaccines may provide stronger immunity against Covid-19. Pierre Morgon, who sits on the boards of Vaccitech and Univercells, said that he is now convinced that one dose of an Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine matched with one Pfizer or Moderna jab is the most [...]