Hospitality industry slams vaccine passports as ‘Hobson’s choice’ April 6, 2021 The hospitality industry has slammed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s suggestion that vaccine passports are on the horizon as a “Hobson’s choice” that will severely restrict businesses within the sector. Announcing the next stages of lifting lockdown yesterday, Johnson said vaccine certifications were a “sensible” principle for reopening the economy. Government documents released last night revealed the [...]
Nadhim Zahawi refuses to rule out vaccine passports for pubs later in the year April 6, 2021 The vaccines deployment minister has refused to rule out introducing Covid jab certifications for indoor pints later in the year, despite admitting they raise “difficult ethical problems”. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Nadhim Zahawi insisted that there would be no vaccine passport requirements when pubs reopen their doors for outdoor service on Monday. [...]
Boris Johnson confirms England’s pubs and non-essential retail will open Monday as vaccine passports given green light April 5, 2021 Boris Johnson has today confirmed pubs, restaurants and non-essential retail across England will reopen on 12 April as a large section of the country’s economy is released from Covid-19 restrictions. The government also confirmed that retail and hospitality businesses will be allowed to use new Covid vaccine certificates to determine whether people can enter their [...]
Boris Johnson to urge everyone in England to take two Covid-19 tests a week April 5, 2021 Boris Johnson will today urge people in England to take two rapid Covid-19 tests a week so that “we can get back to seeing the people we love”. The government is planning on making two rapid Covid tests available to everyone in the country on a weekly basis, regardless of whether people have symptoms or [...]
Screenshot: Will London ever be ready for tech IPOs? April 2, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Volkswagen’s awkward U-turn **Will London ever be ready for tech IPOs? **Amazon goes bonkers for bots Media Moment of the Week: Volkswagen’s awkward U-turn There are few things as grating as the forced joviality of April Fool’s Day and it should, in this writer’s opinion, be cancelled. That [...]
Boris Johnson faces growing rebellion on Covid vaccine passports as 41 Tory MPs hit out April 2, 2021 A Tory revolt against Covid vaccine passports for pubs and restaurants has grown to 41 MPs, putting Boris Johnson at risk of an embarrassing parliamentary defeat. More than 70 MPs from across the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats have today signed up to a campaign, launched by civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, against the [...]
Covid: All customers must sign in at pubs under new rules April 1, 2021 All customers will be required to sign in when pubs, restaurants and cafes reopen in England as part of new rules for lockdown easing. Hospitality venues are set to reopen for outside service only from 12 April in the second stage of the government’s roadmap. However, every visitor aged 16 or over will be required [...]
Podcasts that helped us survive lockdown April 1, 2021 Podcasts have been one of the defining mediums of recent years, evolving from an online alternative to live radio to a thing all of its own, intimate and confessional, beamed into bedrooms, gyms and underground carriages across the world. In the last year we’ve relied more than ever on our favourite hosts talking quietly into [...]
Best of travel: Mauritius is paradise, but not as you know it April 1, 2021 While we wait for the world of international travel to reopen, we’re reposting classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Steve Dinneen’s journey to Mauritius, the most unusual of tropical paradises. ••• Mauritius offers the cliched white sands and blue seas, but there’s more to discover at this most unusual of holiday destinations. [...]
Vaccine passports would go against ‘British instinct’, says Keir Starmer April 1, 2021 Vaccine passports for entry to pubs, bars and restaurants would go against the “British instinct”, Sir Keir Starmer has said. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the Labour leader said he would only decide his party’s official stance on the scheme once he had studied detailed proposals. “I think this is really difficult and [...]