Rishi Sunak to hand £750m in assistance to UK’s charities April 8, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a £750m package to assist the country’s frontline charities during the coronavirus pandemic. Charities providing essential services and supporting vulnerable people will be eligible to receive direct funding from the government out of a £360m pool. These will include hospices, St Johns Ambulance, victims charities, vulnerable children charities and citizens [...]
Boris Johnson’s condition is ‘improving’ as he battles coronavirus April 8, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in intensive care in St Thomas’ hospital, but his condition is “improving”, chancellor Rishi Sunak has said. Speaking at this afternoon’s press conference, Sunak added that Johnson has “been sitting up in bed and engaging positively with his clinical team”. The chancellor said that the Prime Minister’s hospitalisation was a [...]
UK coronavirus death toll jumps by 938 to pass 7,000 April 8, 2020 The UK coronavirus death toll has jumped by 938 to hit 7,097, the Department of Health has confirmed. The figure marks an increase on the 786 fatalities recorded yesterday, as the daily death toll continues to grow ahead of the Easter weekend. Health officials have warned that the long weekend could see the peak of [...]
Airlines set to save millions as air traffic control payments deferred April 8, 2020 The UK’s airlines could save tens of millions of pounds a month after European governments took steps to allow them to defer payments for using UK and European airspace for 14 months. The new measures, which were agreed by air traffic body Eurocontrol’s member states, will cover the period between February and May 2020. In [...]
Boris Johnson stable after second night in intensive care April 8, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a second night in intensive care but is in a stable condition after receiving oxygen support. Johnson tested positive for coronavirus nearly two weeks ago and was admitted to St Thomas’ hospital in London on Sunday night. On Monday evening he was admitted into intensive care after his condition deteriorated. [...]
Coronavirus loan scheme risks ‘wall of redundancies and defaults’ say critics April 7, 2020 The failure of the coronavirus loan programme to help struggling small and medium-sized businesses risks triggering a “wall of redundancies and defaults” say critics.
Exclusive: Just 2,000 UK firms given coronavirus business loans April 7, 2020 Just 2,022 loans have been made to the UK’s small and medium-sized firms through the government’s coronavirus business lending scheme. There have been around 300,000 enquiries so far, meaning a paltry 0.65 per cent have resulted in coronavirus business loans. The latest figures, which were compiled by industry body UK Finance but obtained independently by [...]
Dominic Raab says ‘fighter’ Boris Johnson will beat coronavirus April 7, 2020 Dominic Raab has paid tribute to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, saying “he’s a fighter” and will beat his coronavirus diagnosis. Raab, who is now deputising for Johnson, said at today’s press briefing that the Prime Minister would be “back at the helm” in “short order”. Johnson went into intensive care last night after his coronavirus [...]
Coronavirus: Rishi Sunak to run government if Dominic Raab becomes incapacitated April 7, 2020 Rishi Sunak will take over prime ministerial duties if Dominic Raab becomes incapacitated while Boris Johnson is unable to lead government. Raab, as first secretary of state, is deputising while the Prime Minister is intensive care with coronavirus. A Downing Street spokesman today said that next in the “order of precedence” is chancellor Rishi Sunak [...]
Pub companies urged to help tenants amid coronavirus crisis April 7, 2020 Pub companies have been ordered to do more to support tenants during the coronavirus crisis, after it was revealed that most regulated firms have not offered to waive rents. The Pubs Code Adjudicator, which regulates companies that own 500 or more tenanted pubs in England and Wales, said five out of six firms had not [...]