City figures worried about prospect of Brexit without trade deal July 23, 2020 City of London figures have expressed concern about the increasing likelihood of the UK leaving the post-Brexit transition period without a deal. The latest round of talks wrapped up today, with both sides saying no serious progress was made on the most contentious issues. The two largest areas of contention are still EU fishing access [...]
Face masks mandatory in English shops and supermarkets from Friday July 23, 2020 Face masks will be mandatory at all enclosed public spaces in England from tomorrow, including shops, supermarkets, shopping centres and transport hubs. The new laws will also count for people buying takeaway food and drink from cafes and shops, however you will be able to take your face covering off to eat at this type of venue [...]
Brexit: UK-EU free trade deal ‘now unlikely’ after last round of talks July 23, 2020 It is “now unlikely” the UK and EU will agree to a free trade deal before the 31 December deadline, according to the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier. UK chief negotiator David Frost also said a no trade deal exit from the EU’s single market and customs union was a real possibility now, but that [...]
Government announces £100m funding for new coronavirus vaccine centre July 23, 2020 The government has announced it will invest £100m into a new state-of-the-art centre to scale up a potential coronavirus vaccine currently being developed by the University of Oxford, amid mounting fears of a second wave of the virus in the winter. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) today announced it will plug [...]
US senators warn that UK digital sales tax could stop free trade deal July 23, 2020 Senior members of the US Senate’s finance committee have warned that the new UK digital sales tax could be a major barrier to a future free trade deal. Republican Chuck Grassley and Democrat Ron Wyden said the new levy “unnecessarily complicates the path forward for a US-UK trade deal”, while also calling for the UK [...]
Test and trace scheme misses 20 per cent of coronavirus patients July 23, 2020 The government’s coronavirus test and trace scheme failed to gather the contacts of 20 per cent of patients that tested positive for Covid-19, according to the latest official data. The Department of Health said this morning that 80 per cent of the 3,887 people that tested positive for Covid-19 were contacted by the scheme between [...]
Brexit: No progress expected in latest round of UK-EU trade talks July 23, 2020 UK and EU negotiators are expected to announce today that no significant progress had been made in the latest round of Brexit trade deal negotiations. Boris Johnson last month said he wanted the framework of free trade deal agreed between the UK and EU by July, however it looks like this deadline will pass with [...]
Phone masts as tall as Nelson’s Column will be allowed under new guidelines to speed up 5G rollout July 23, 2020 Mobile phone masts as tall as Nelson’s Column will be allowed without full planning permission, as the government last night ripped up guidelines in an effort to speed up the UK rollout of 5G and eliminate connectivity “not spots”. MPs yesterday scrapped rules requiring phone masts higher than 25 metres, or 20 metres in national [...]
Pompeo and Circumstance: The special relationship endures July 23, 2020 The visit of a US secretary of state to any country is always an eagerly anticipated affair. Short of a US presidential visit, there is little that can match the arrival of the global superpower’s leading diplomat onto any domestic stage, as can be testified by the extreme media and political interest these encounters provide. [...]
Rishi Sunak ‘turns his back on’ 1m in need of coronavirus support July 23, 2020 MPs today blasted chancellor Rishi Sunak’s coronavirus support measures, saying he has turned his back on 1m Brits during the coronavirus pandemic. The Treasury Select Committee (TSC) today said Sunak’s response has failed to convince members he had done enough to support Brits impacted by coronavirus. “The chancellor has effectively drawn a line under helping [...]