Face masks to be mandatory in French workplaces August 18, 2020 It will be compulsory to wear face masks in most French workplaces from 1 September, a government official has confirmed. The new rules will likely be implemented in shared indoor workspaces, such as offices and factories, as the country’s coronavirus rate continues to increase. The number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals in France remains low, [...]
Matt Hancock officially scraps Public Health England August 18, 2020 Health secretary Matt Hancock has officially axed Public Health England (PHE) and announced the formation of the National Institute for Health Protection. The new institute will be formed through a merger for NHS Test and Trace, the Joint Biosecurity Centre and parts of PHE, and will have a mission of “protecting people form external threats [...]
Brexit: City faces wait beyond 2020 for EU financial market access August 18, 2020 The City of London may not know whether it will gain post-Brexit access to EU markets until next year, according to Brussels’ financial services chief. European Commission executive vice president Valdis Dombrovskis warned yesterday that regulatory equivalence – which would give City firms access to the EU – could still take months to be granted. [...]
Tory backbencher says Gavin Williamson could be in line for autumn axeing August 17, 2020 Tory backbencher and former minister George Freeman has said the government’s A-levels U-turn has been a “total shambles” and that Gavin Williamson may be sacked in an autumn reshuffle. Williamson was forced today to scrap his emergency A-level grading system, after an uproar from parents, students and teachers about it being unfair. The algorithm used [...]
London advocacy groups call for Waterloo and City Tube line to reopen August 17, 2020 London lobby groups have called for the reopening of the Waterloo and City Tube line to help increase the number of people going back to their offices. The shuttle service – which travels between Bank and Waterloo stations – is the only Tube line still not operating, after Transport for London (TfL) restricted public transport [...]
Greece and Croatia could be next on UK quarantine list August 17, 2020 Popular holiday destinations Greece and Croatia may be the next two countries on the UK’s travel quarantine list, after increasing rates of coronavirus. Croatia has now passed the 20 cases per 100,000 threshold that the government has used as a benchmark as to whether a country has a high Covid-19 infection rate. Greece saw its [...]
Liz Truss blasts ‘unacceptable’ US tariffs on Scotch whisky August 17, 2020 International trade secretary Liz Truss has slammed the “unacceptable and unfair” US tariffs on British products, while also vowing to negotiate their end when the UK leaves the post-Brexit transition period. The US levelled tariffs on several European countries last year – after permission from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) – as a part of [...]
Belarus protests continue as Lukashenko claims Nato tanks are on the border August 16, 2020 Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Minsk again today to protest against the allegedly fixed election result that returned Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to power. The “March for Freedom” has seen Belarusian opponents of Lukashenko clash with police, after Lukashenko won last week’s electoin with 80 per cent of the [...]
Trade groups threaten legal action over post-Brexit customs system August 16, 2020 The government’s new post-Brexit customs system may face a legal challenge, after trade bodies have complained it will distort competition. The Sunday Telegraph reports that trade bodies clashed with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) at a meeting of its customs experts panel. Trade bodies expressed their concern that the new Trader Support Service, which will [...]
Sadiq Khan allies claim Number 10 is trying to weaken City Hall August 16, 2020 Allies of Sadiq Khan are worried the government is making a concerted attempt to transfer power away from City Hall. The mayor of London has had a series of conflicts with the government, beginning with a set of conditions placed on a £1.6bn TfL bailout from the government. The terms of the bailout saw Boris [...]
