Government announces plans to ensure new homes come with gigabit-speed broadband March 17, 2020 Digital secretary Oliver Dowden will today announce that the government will pass legislation to ensure new homes are built with gigabit-speed broadband. Currently, about one in five new homes is still built without gigabit-speed connections, but the new legislation will ensure developers are legally required to install digital infrastructure with internet speeds of over 1,000 [...]
‘Catastrophic’: Hospitality and leisure industries sound alarm over Johnson measures March 17, 2020 The UK’s hospitality industry issued a doom-laden warning last night after Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday told Brits to steer clear of pubs, eateries and theatres as the government escalated its coronavirus “fightback”. In a statement which Johnson acknowledged was unprecedented in peacetime, he urged Londoners in particular to “avoid all non-essential contact” with others [...]
Met Police confiscated just one e-scooter a week despite ban March 16, 2020 The Metropolitan Police confiscated just one e-scooter per week on average last year, despite a crackdown on the illegal road use of the vehicles. Of these, 25 confiscations came in the two weeks following the death of Emily Hartridge, who was hit by a lorry while riding an e-scooter in London in July 2019. In [...]
Pub industry warns Boris Johnson that lockdown measures put ‘hundreds and thousands of jobs’ at risk March 16, 2020 The UK pub industry has tonight written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson warning him that the government’s guidance that members of the public should avoid going to bars and pubs presents the sector with an “existential crisis”. In a letter from British Beer and Pub Association chief executive Emma McClarkin, the industry warned that “thousands [...]
Boris Johnson calls on UK businesses to make ventilators amid Covid-19 crisis March 16, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on the UK’s biggest manufacturers to help produce vital medical equipment like ventilators as the coronavirus crisis worsens. This evening Johnson, along with Michael Gove, spoke to more than 60 UK businesses, asking them both to share their expertise and make the components themselves. According to a Downing Street [...]
Emmanuel Macron says Schengen borders will close tomorrow at noon March 16, 2020 French president Emmanuel Macron has announced that the borders of the 26-country Schengen zone will be closed from midday tomorrow as the EU ramps up measures to limit the spread of coronavirus. In addition, French citizens will have to remain at home for 15 days, Macron announced in a televised address, with anyone caught flouting [...]
Coronavirus: UK death toll rises to 55 after Johnson implements new measures March 16, 2020 The total number of people to die of coronavirus in the UK has now risen to 55, health secretary Matt Hancock announced this afternoon. That means the death toll has risen by 21 in the past 24 hours, the largest rise yet recorded in a single day. Earlier today the Department of Health said that [...]
European carmakers shutting plants as coronavirus hammers demand March 16, 2020 Car makers across Europe are shutting their plants and slowing production across Europe in response to the growing coronavirus epidemic. Manufacturers including European giants Fiat Chrysler, Peugeot and Volkswagen are all implementing measures to ease output amid fears from workers about possible infection. Unions across the continent have demanded that stricter hygiene controls be put [...]
Heathrow boss to forego salary as coronavirus hammers airlines March 16, 2020 Senior executives at Heathrow Airport including boss John Holland-Kaye will take pay cuts over the next few months as the UK’s busiest airport tries to limit the damage done by the coronavirus outbreak. Sky News first reported that Holland-Kaye would forego his salary until June, making him the latest of a number of airline and [...]
European Commission proposes 30-day travel ban on people entering EU March 16, 2020 European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a 30-day ban on incoming foreign travel to the European Union as leaders battle to limit the spread of the coronavirous outbreak. Von der Leyen said: “The less travel, the more we can contain the virus. Therefore, I propose to the heads of state and government [...]
