PM calls face-to-face cabinet meeting since lockdown – without masks July 20, 2020 Boris Johnson will summon his first in-person cabinet meeting tomorrow for the first time since March, with members due to meet without masks despite current social distancing guidelines. The Prime Minister’s usual Tuesday morning cabinet meetings in Downing Street have convened virtually for the last five months using video conferencing software, due to the nationwide [...]
Test and trace programme breaks GDPR laws, government admits July 20, 2020 The NHS Test and Trace scheme that collects contact details of those who have been in close proximity to Covid-19 breaks data protection laws, the Department for Health and Social Care has admitted. Campaigners from the Open Rights Group (ORG) earlier this month threatened legal action against the department over claims the NHS programme has [...]
Kanye West launches presidential campaign with unorthodox rally July 20, 2020 Kanye West officially launched his campaign for 2020 US presidential election last night with an unorthodox rally in Charleston, South Carolina, that saw the rapper deliver an address on theology, abortion and international trade. West, who took to the stage in a bulletproof vest with “2020” shaved into his head, said abortion should be legal [...]
M&S set to announce hundreds of UK job cuts this week July 20, 2020 Supermarket giant Marks and Spencer (M&S) is set to announce plans for hundreds of job cuts later this week, according to reports, as the retailer undergoes a wide-scale restructure in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. M&S will begin announcing redundancy plans over the next few days, which are expected to run into their thousands [...]
UK secures supply for potential German coronavirus vaccine July 20, 2020 The UK has secured a supply of 30m doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by German firm BioNTech and US drugmaker Pfizer over the next two years, making it the first country to sign up for the drug. BioNTech and Pfizer said they have the capacity to produce 100m doses by the end [...]
Privacy Shield ban ‘hurts’ UK’s chances of post-Brexit data deal July 16, 2020 Industry figures have warned that a decision today to ban Privacy Shield, a data-sharing deal between the EU and the US, will compromise the UK’s hopes of securing its own data-sharing agreement at the end of the Brexit transition period. Judges at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) today banned the Privacy Shield data-sharing agreement [...]
Shamima Begum wins right to return to the UK July 16, 2020 Shamima Begum has won the right to return to the UK to challenge the Home Office’s decision to revoke her British citizenship in person. Begum, who left East London in 2015 to join the Islamic State (Isis) in Syria, won an appeal against a ruling by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) earlier this year that [...]
Pizza Express draws up plans to close 75 restaurants July 16, 2020 Pizza Express is drawing up plans to close up to 75 restaurants around the UK as the pizza chain undergoes a wide-scale financial restructure as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The company is mulling the closure of “around 75” of its 470 UK outlets through a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), Pizza Express said today. [...]
Guardian to close weekend supplements as coronavirus batters newspaper July 16, 2020 The Guardian is planning to close its weekend supplements, after the firm yesterday announced 180 job cuts as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to hammer the newspaper’s finances. The Guardian is considering closing its Weekend, The Guide, Review and Travel print supplements, with further shake-ups to the newspaper’s size also expected. The newspaper is also mulling [...]
Southbank Centre to slash 400 jobs as coronavirus hammers the arts July 16, 2020 The Southbank Centre, has confirmed 400 jobs are at risk as it enters into talks with staff in an attempt to reduce losses caused by the coronavirus crisis. The UK’s largest arts complex, situated on the River Thames in Waterloo, said that it will make around two thirds of its staff redundant, after months of [...]