Quarantine to be scrapped for vaccinated non-Brits ‘in weeks’ July 9, 2021 International travellers coming to the UK who have been fully vaccinated could be exempt from quarantine rules within weeks, Grant Shapps has said this morning. Speaking to Sky News a day after he announced an easing of travel restrictions for fully vaccinated Brits, the transport secretary said ministers were “actively looking” to do the same [...]
NHS app self-isolation tracker could change if Covid cases see a summer spiral July 8, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has hinted that the way the NHS app ‘pings’ people for self-isolation could change as Covid-19 cases are expected to rise over the summer. Businesses have become increasingly frustrated with high staff absences due to employees being told to self-isolate. “I’ve spoken to the Health Secretary about this and he’s aware of [...]
Government adviser says Test and Trace app usage “at all-time high” July 7, 2021 A Test and Trace adviser to the government has dismissed suggestions that people are deleting the app and instead said usage is at an “all-time high”. Epidemiologist professor Christophe Fraser, who advised the Department of Health on the programme, squashed suggestions that people were deleting the app because they were getting “pinged” too often as [...]
Most Dangerous Game: Waltz is excellent in bitesize TV thriller July 7, 2021 If you were to write a must-have list for action thrillers, TV show Most Dangerous Game would tick many of the boxes. You have a desperate hero with nowhere to turn, a villain with scary levels of omnipotence, and a concept that is easy to buy into. Liam Hemsworth is Dodge Tynes, an earnest hero [...]
Die Hart review: Short-form TV series highlights Kevin Hart’s strengths July 7, 2021 The empire of American comedy king Kevin Hart continues to grow with Die Hart, the bite-size action-comedy series that satirises both his reputation and the action movie genre as a whole. The show was originally part of the now-defunct Quibi platform, which was never released in the UK. However, failure of an app doesn’t mean [...]
Nuclear submarine steelmaker set for public ownership July 7, 2021 A key supplier to the UK’s nuclear submarine building programme is set to be taken into public ownership amid concerns over its financial situation. Sky News reported that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is finalising a move to nationalise Sheffield Forgemasters, one of the country’s oldest steelmakers. Talks over such a step have been going [...]
Kwarteng: Businesses “can’t have it both ways” with self-isolation rules July 7, 2021 Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has defended the government’s decision to keep self-isolation rules while other restrictions are dropped from 19 July. It comes after Conservative MPs and business leaders – especially in the hospitality industry – slammed the decision for the effect it would have on staff operating capacity. Kwarteng told Sky News: “You can’t [...]
British and Irish Lions tour plunged into more chaos as tour match is axed and Covid cases continue in South Africa camp July 7, 2021 Fears are growing over the British and Irish Lions’ Test series in South Africa after a spate of Covid-19 cases hit both teams’ warm-up matches. The Lions were due to play the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday in their third tour match but that has now been postponed indefinitely after five Covid cases in their opponents’ [...]
UK fiscal watchdog puts cost of reaching net zero at £1.4 trillion July 6, 2021 The cost of the UK reaching net zero by 2050 could be as high as £1.4 trillion, according to figures included in a report published by Britain’s fiscal watchdog today. The UK economy will require over £1 trillion in investment over the next three decades to hit the government’s target of making Britain carbon neutral, [...]
Sajid Javid says carrying a face mask after 19 July is ‘responsible thing to do’ July 6, 2021 The new health secretary said he would be carrying a face covering with him “for the forseeable future”, after the PM last night announced masks would become voluntary after 19 July. “For the foreseeable future I will be carrying a face mask with me, I think that’s a very responsible thing for anyone to do. [...]