Irish PM Micheál Martin calls for ‘reset’ of relations with the UK April 1, 2021 Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin has called for a “reset” of relations with the UK in a bid to cool tensions between the countries over Northern Ireland post-Brexit. Martin today said he and the EU were “concerned” about the UK’s tougher stance toward issues on Northern Ireland in the past few months, which has seen [...]
EU seeks 10m Astrazeneca vaccines from India to plug jab shortfall April 1, 2021 The EU has asked India to supply 10m doses of Astrazeneca’s Covid vaccine, as the bloc scrambles to plug a shortfall in jab supplies. EU officials have approached the Serum Institute of India — the world’s largest vaccine maker — to ship doses of the Covid jab, according to Reuters. It marks the latest signal that [...]
EU warns ‘zero’ Covid vaccines will be shipped to UK unless Astrazeneca meets targets April 1, 2021 Brussels has warned that “zero” Covid vaccines made in the bloc will be exported to the UK unless Astrazeneca meets its dose delivery commitments with the EU. Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, hinted at the bloc’s plans to use European-made vaccines as bargaining power with Astrazeneca in an ongoing dispute about vaccine shortages [...]
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai and six others found guilty of ‘unauthorised assembly’ April 1, 2021 Seven high profile democracy supporters, including media tycoon Jimmy Lai and barrister Martin Lee, have been found guilty today of unauthorised assembly charges by a Hong Kong court. The 73-year-old media tycoon was arrested in late February for his ‘unauthorised assembly’ at the former British colony’s 2019 pro-democracy protests and for allegedly intimidating a reporter, [...]
More than one in 10 mid-sized businesses found errors in their furlough claims April 1, 2021 Mid-sized businesses that have reviewed their initial furlough claim and found it to be incorrect have been urged to go to HMRC to address the problem and lessen any penalties faced. More than one in 10 (13%) mid-sized businesses that have reviewed their initial furlough claim found it to be incorrect, new research by Grant [...]
Government’s ethnic minority adviser quits after race report April 1, 2021 The Prime Minister’s most senior adviser on ethnic minorities is set to step down from his role at Number 10, it has emerged. Samuel Kasumu will leave his post as special adviser for civil society and communities and May, Politico first revealed. In February, Kasumu wrote to the Boris Johnson saying he was considering leaving [...]
Vaccine passports would go against ‘British instinct’, says Keir Starmer April 1, 2021 Vaccine passports for entry to pubs, bars and restaurants would go against the “British instinct”, Sir Keir Starmer has said. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the Labour leader said he would only decide his party’s official stance on the scheme once he had studied detailed proposals. “I think this is really difficult and [...]
Test and Trace: Impact of £37bn scheme ‘limited’ as Brits shun self-isolation April 1, 2021 The Government has responded to a damnig report which found the effectiveness of the UK’s £37bn Test and Trace programme is “limited” due to the widespread failure of Brits to recognise Covid symptoms and self-isolate. A large study examining the NHS system found that fewer than one in five people request a Covid-19 test if [...]
Government denies reports that Cop26 climate summit could be postponed March 31, 2021 The government has denied reports today that the UN Cop26 climate summit in the UK could be postponed past November. A report from Sky News today suggested that Boris Johnson was trying to keep the Glasgow summit on-track for November, but that options were being considered to postpone it or conduct it virtually in the [...]
Exclusive: Royals recruited to help fight post-Brexit rivalry with Emmanuel Macron March 31, 2021 The Royal Family have been drafted in by the government to help attract more firms to the UK post-Brexit and to help fight a growing rivalry with Emmanuel Macron, after the French President put on a series of events aimed to steal investment away from the UK. The Royals will co-host a green investment summit [...]