Swift vaccine approval is a British success story December 4, 2020 It was wonderful to wake up on Wednesday to some good news. Yes, the UK Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19. The first doses of the vaccine could be delivered as early as next week. The MHRA’s swift approval makes it the first agency in a western [...]
Climate change: UK sets new 2030 carbon emissions target December 3, 2020 Boris Johnson has set a drastic new climate change target in a bid to reach its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The government’s new target will see the UK try to cut CO2 emissions by 68 per cent by 2030, compared to 1990. The UK’s previous 2030 climate change target was to [...]
Exclusive: Government offshoring customs jobs to prep UK firms for Brexit December 3, 2020 A government grant programme is paying for overseas workers to help British logistics firms prepare for Brexit. A loophole in the HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) £50m grant programme means taxpayer funds can be given to train overseas workers as long as their company has a UK base. The Customs Grants Scheme, which is being [...]
Dr Fauci joins EU leaders in slamming Britain for swift vaccine approval December 3, 2020 American chief medical adviser has joined the EU in slamming Britain’s swift approval of the Pfizer/Biontech coronavirus vaccine. “If you go quickly and you do it superficially, people are not going to want to get vaccinated,” America’s top immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci told Fox News. “We have the gold standard of a regulatory approach with [...]
EU wants Brexit trade deal wrapped up with the UK by Friday December 3, 2020 Brussels officials are reportedly pushing for a UK-EU trade deal to be completed by tomorrow to avoid significant disruption when the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December. Talks between UK and EU negotiators are still deadlocked, with Brussels now warning that the European parliament will find it hard to ratify a deal before the [...]
Nicola Sturgeon is no Mother Christmas December 3, 2020 If there is one political certainty I would bet my house on, it’s that when politicians are in serious trouble they will suddenly make a major announcement to push the damaging story off the news agenda. There is no better exponent of this trait than the media operation of Nicola Sturgeon and her Scottish government, [...]
France pushes EU to go for no-deal Brexit if UK does not make late concessions December 2, 2020 France is reportedly pushing the EU to go for a no-deal Brexit, before restarting trade talks next year, if the UK does not make significant concessions in the coming days. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier is in London today for in-person negotiations with UK Brexit negotiator Lord David Frost and his team. Barnier also held [...]
Pfizer vaccine to be rolled out across 50 hospital hubs from next week December 2, 2020 Around 50 hospital hubs around England will start offering the Pfizer vaccine to patients and staff in care homes from next week, the chief executive of the NHS has announced. Speaking at this evening’s Downing Street press conference, Simon Stephens said the NHS would also start sending letters out next week inviting vulnerable members of [...]
Exclusive: Capital gains tax on French properties to soar for UK residents post-Brexit December 2, 2020 UK residents with a second home in France will have to pay substantially more capital gains tax on property sales starting from next year when Britain leaves the Brexit transition period. French tax authorities confirmed today that UK residents will no longer benefit from the EU exemption from a social levies tax and will need [...]
Pfizer vaccine: Matt Hancock green-lights 800,000 doses for rollout next week December 2, 2020 The NHS will start vaccinating the most vulnerable next week, after 800,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine passed batch testing this morning, the health secretary has said. Announcing the UK’s approval of the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine in the Commons this morning, Matt Hancock said: “I can confirm that batch testing has been completed this morning for [...]