Number 10 says there are ‘no plans’ for a cabinet reshuffle this week September 6, 2021 Downing Street has hosed down widespread rumours that a cabinet reshuffle will happen on Thursday. Boris Johnson’s official spokesman told journalists repeatedly today that “we have no plans for a reshuffle”. Multiple outlets reported yesterday that Johnson would make his long awaited reshuffle, the first since February 2020, on Thursday. Downing Street cleared his official [...]
Scottish independence would be ten times worse than Brexit, warns Sturgeon economic sage September 6, 2021 An influential economic adviser to Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned the damage inflicted on the country by independence could be “Brexit times ten”. Mark Blyth, professor of international economics at the Watson Institute of Brown University in Rhode Island, and a member of Sturgeon’s council of economic advisers, said in an interview with [...]
Merkel ‘deeply shocked’: Germany’s new ambassador to China dies suddenly September 6, 2021 Diplomatic circles across China and the wider APAC region are in shock as Germany’s brand new ambassador to China has suddenly died at the age of 54, the German foreign ministry said this morning. The ministry announced Jan Hecker’s “sudden death” in a short statement in the early hours of today. It did not give [...]
Northern Ireland: UK announces indefinite delay to new border checks September 6, 2021 The UK has announced indefinite delays to the implementation of new post-Brexit checks in Northern Ireland. Defacto Brexit minister Lord David Frost today announced the EU had agreed to an effective “standstill” to the Brexit treaty’s Northern Ireland Protocol, which will mean a delay to checks on things like meat, fish and dairy products going [...]
Boris Johnson to vow to ‘use every lever’ to keep UK safe from future terrorist attacks September 5, 2021 Boris Johnson will tomorrow vow to use “use every economic, political and diplomatic lever” to protect the UK from future terrorist attacks, after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban last month. The Prime Minister will use the statement in the House of Commons tomorrow to also announce a further £5m funding for military charities that offer [...]
Zahawi: Government ‘on track’ to roll out mandatory vaccine passports for night clubs September 5, 2021 The government is “absolutely on track” to roll out mandatory vaccine passports for night clubs and mass events at the end of this month, according to vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi. Zahawi said today that the government wants to “work with the [nightlife] industry to make sure they can open safely…in the long term” and that [...]
Leaked messages: Boris Johnson trying to cut Nicola Sturgeon out of Cop26 summit September 5, 2021 No10 is seeking to cut Nicola Sturgeon out of the Cop26 summit to prevent her using it as “an advert for an independence campaign”, according to leaked messages. Advisers at No 10 and the Cabinet Office have been seeking to side-line the role of Scotland’s First Minster in the global gathering, The Independent reported. According [...]
Labour urges Boris Johnson to create minister to handle supply chain crisis September 4, 2021 Labour has urged prime minister Boris Johnson to create a fresh ministerial post to handle the intensifying supply chain crisis. Ed Miliband, shadow business secretary, accused the government of “falling asleep at the wheel” over mounting problems of scarcity of materials prompting many sectors of the UK economy to snarl up. The minister would oversee [...]
Commons Speaker bans jeans and chinos: MPs told to smarten up their attire September 4, 2021 MPs returning to the Commons next week have been instructed to smarten up their attire by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, in a reminder the days of Zooming in to Parliament are over. In a possible bid to nip in the bud any slackening of post-Covid fashion, Sir Lindsay has updated the “Rules of behaviour and [...]
London pollution: The worse the air you breathe, the worse your Covid symptoms September 4, 2021 Exposure to air pollution increases the risk of more severe coronavirus symptoms and hospitalisation with the disease, according to a new report by Imperial College London researchers. In a review of the latest evidence available, the researchers found a strong link between a person’s exposure to air pollution before the pandemic and the worst cases [...]