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 [...]
UK vaccine passport app could become ‘honeypot’ for hackers, says former top government cyber adviser March 31, 2021 A potential UK vaccine passport is in danger of becoming a “honeypot” for hackers, rogue states and cyber criminal organisations, according to one of the government’s former top cyber security advisers. Peter Yapp, ex-deputy director of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), told City A.M. that a vaccine passport app could be an easy target [...]
UK tells G7 that it’s time to ‘get tough with China’ on trade March 31, 2021 The UK’s global partners need to “get tough with China” on its unfair trading practices, according to international trade secretary Liz Truss. Truss has called for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to be reformed and for China to stop designating as a developing country within the body, which means it benefits from looser rules on [...]
Malta to welcome vaccinated Brits from June March 31, 2021 Malta has become the latest country to announce that it will welcome the return of British holidaymakers this summer. The Mediterranean island, which usually attracts around 500,000 tourists from the UK each year, said British travellers who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine will be allowed to enter from 1 June. Passengers will [...]
Kent Covid variant ‘no more deadly’ than original coronavirus strain March 31, 2021 The Kent Covid variant, which is now the UK’s dominant version of coronavirus, is no more deadly than the original strain, research by Public Health England (PHE) has found. A PHE study matched 2,800 cases of the B117 variant first identified in Kent against the original Covid strain and found there was no significant difference in [...]
BBC journalist flees China amid Beijing’s criticism of ‘fabricated’ reporting March 31, 2021 BBC News has said this morning that one of its journalists based in China has relocated to Taiwan, as he revealed information China ‘did not want the world to know’. The move comes amid growing criticism from Beijing about the broadcaster’s reports on alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, which led to BBC World News [...]
France and Germany swoop to buy Russia’s Sputnik vaccine March 31, 2021 France and Germany held discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin last night to supply doses of the country’s Sputnik Covid vaccine as suspicions over the Astrazeneca jab continue to proliferate across the continent. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a video call with the Russian premier to discuss “co-operation” over vaccine [...]