TODAY: Boris Johnson to unveil largest military spending increase in decades November 19, 2020 Boris Johnson will today announce he is tripling a planned increase of the country’s military budget in what will be the largest defence investment in decades. The government will spend an extra £16.5bn on the UK’s military over the next four years, which will take the total increase over this time period to about £24.1bn. [...]
The British government must take a stand for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong November 19, 2020 The Chinese government’s disdain for what it calls “western values” is well-known. The one-party state has been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party for decades, and its litany of human rights abuses is long — and, sadly, growing. One of the few outposts of democracy has been in Hong Kong. But no more. Last week’s [...]
British PM defends COVID-19 procurement after “chumocracy” accusations November 18, 2020 By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his government’s handling of the procurement of protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday, after a spending watchdog said suppliers with political links had been fast-tracked. The National Audit Office (NAO) said there had been a lack of transparency and a failure [...]
Christmas relaxation of restrictions will likely spell January lockdown November 18, 2020 England could face a month-long lockdown in January in exchange for five days of relaxed restrictions over Christmas, the UK’s health chiefs have suggested. Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser to NHS Test and Trace, initially told a Downing Street briefing this morning that advice from Sage showed “for every day that we release [measures] we [...]
Ex-Australia PM Tony Abbott pushes for UK-Australia trade deal to be closed this year November 18, 2020 Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has today put pressure on the UK to wrap up a trade deal with his home nation before the end of the year. Abbott, who is now a top trade adviser to the UK government, said he wanted both sides to “put all their cards on the table” before [...]
Sir Keir Starmer will not restore Labour whip to Jeremy Corbyn November 18, 2020 Sir Keir Starmer is refusing to allow Jeremy Corbyn to sit as a Labour MP, despite being readmitted to the party yesterday, saying the former Labour leader had “undermined” efforts to restore trust with the Jewish community. Corbyn was reinstated to the party by its ruling NEC yesterday, after being suspended weeks ago, however Starmer [...]
Test and Trace boss Dido Harding told to self-isolate by her own app November 18, 2020 The head of the government’s troubled contact tracing programme has gone into self-isolation after being told to do so by her own app. Dido Harding, who leads the Track and Trace scheme, must self-isolate until midnight on 26 November. The Tory peer shared a screenshot of the notification on Twitter, joking: “Nothing like personal experience [...]
UK and EU ‘have made progress’ on Brexit talks, business secretary says November 18, 2020 Business secretary Alok Sharma said the EU and UK “have made progress” on a post-Brexit trade deal, amid chatter that an agreement could be reached next week.
Spending watchdog criticises government over £18bn Covid contracts November 18, 2020 The UK’s public spending watchdog has slapped the government on the wrist for failures of transparency when awarding lucrative private contracts worth around £18bn to companies during the coronavirus crisis, highlighting errors and potential conflicts of interest. The National Audit Office’s (NAO) report comes amid claims that the government has awarded contracts to businesses with [...]
Brexit to bring blow to UK Covid-19 recovery – KPMG November 18, 2020 Brexit could hamper the UK’s economic recovery from the coronavirus, with the UK economy not expected to reach pre-Covid levels until late 2022, according to KPMG forecasts. The manufacturing sectors hardest hit by Brexit, including textiles, chemicals and electrical manufacturing, could see output at the end of 2021 between 6% and 12% lower than in [...]