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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out any form of electoral pact with the SNP on “constitutional” issues ahead of the UK’s next general election.Sir Keir rejected speculation that his party could consider offering a second referendum on Scottish independence in the event SNP support was required to form a coalition or minority Labour government.“Look, I will meet Nicola Sturgeon, if she wants to, to talk through the challenges of the day,” he told Scotland’s Daily Record. “But on the constitution … we’ve been absolutely clear that the focus right now is on the recovery and on the climate challenge.”The Labour leader suggested his party’s stance on Scottish independence referendum would not soften – even after the expected recovery from the Covid crisis.Sir Keir said the big issues for the whole of the UK going into the next general election would be “generational questions” about the health service, economy and climate emergency.“They can only be answered, in my view, by a strong Labour government in Westminster,” he said. “The central issue will be if you want a Labour government you have to vote Labour.”“You can’t vote for another party and get a Labour government in Westminster. That will be our strategic approach to those elections, and there’ll be no coalition going into those elections and no coalition coming out of it.”Sir Keir accused the SNP of a “huge failure on the climate crisis” ahead of the crucial COP26 climate conference in Glasgow this November – claiming that only one in 20 of the offshore win jobs promised by the Scottish government a decade ago have happened.“A test of how progressive you are is what you’re doing on climate change and they’ve manifestly failed on that. The SNP has failed to live up to the promises it made the people of Scotland,” he said.The Labour leader also rejected criticisms about climate crisis targets from some in his own party, and committed to achieving the “substantial majority” of greenhouse gas emission cuts by 2030.In an interview with The Independent, Sir Keir said the party’s commitment to the promise – effectively putting the UK on the path to net zero 20 years ahead of Boris Johnson’s 2050 target – was as strong now as ever.The Labour leader’s previous reluctance publicly to reaffirm the pledge inherited from Jeremy Corbyn had sparked fears among activists that he was backing away from radical action on global warming.But Sir Keir said the pledge was “exactly the same as was in our 2019 manifesto”, adding: “The ambition – and not just the ambition, the determination and the commitment – of the Labour Party on the Green New Deal is just as strong now.”The Labour leader said Boris Johnson had been “missing in action” on climate change ahead of the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow this November.Both the prime minister and Sir Keir will be in Scotland today. The Labour leader is in Glasgow discussing climate change with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and local youth forum. More

Ministers have been accused of an “unforgivable” failure to use the experience of Covid-19’s first wave to create contingency plans for future school closures and exam disruption, which led to chaos for millions of children in the second.The Institute for Government (IfG) claimed in a new report that the government had actively avoided creating such plans, citing a Downing Street source as saying officials were told that doing so would make schools more likely to close because administrators would “take the easy way out”.The independent think tank further claimed, among other things, that:Downing Street constantly feared Gavin Williamson’s education department was on the brink of crisis early last summer, and the education secretary had been shut out of key meetings before schools closed in March that yearDepartment for Education (DfE) ministers were hostile to local governments that ran schools and tried to impose “one-size-fits-all” solutions, creating mistrust. The complex, multi-layered structure of England’s school system may have contributed to thisMr Williamson and No 10 believed the furore over last year’s initial calculated exam results, which eventually forced one of many U-turns in this period, would be “rideable”The DfE initially struggled to understand the roles of local directors of public health, in part because the Department of Health did not have a list of all their names and contact detailsThe IfG did, however, praise ministers for ensuring vulnerable children and the offspring of key workers could attend classes in person during lockdown despite very little notice, and for providing more than a million laptops for disadvantaged children.In response to the document, teachers have demanded a clearer approach ahead of coronavirus disruption expected later this year.Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT union, said: “Lessons have not been learnt, as the government was late in putting in place contingency plans for this year and has not yet confirmed any mitigations to ensure that next year’s exam cohorts will be assessed fairly and not disadvantaged.”And Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told The Independent: “We have to agree with the IfG’s conclusion that the government’s refusals to put plans in place is unforgivable, but this is scant comfort to the senior leaders who were expected to maintain learning for their students or to the young people whose educations have been badly affected.“With further disruption in our schools and colleges almost an inevitability when the autumn term begins, the government needs to learn fast from its previous mistakes and act decisively, beginning with a commitment to make meaningful sums of money available for education recovery.”Robert Halfon, the Conservative chair of the Commons education committee, told The Independent that failures in the government’s approach to education – which he called “a huge shambles” earlier this year – should be included in the long-awaited Covid-19 public inquiry.He added: “The last year has been a national disaster for children, pupils and students. What is needed now, for the future, is a long-term plan for education and skills, a secure funding settlement and contingency planning to ensure that we do not close schools and colleges to our young people again. Otherwise we risk an epidemic of education underachievement.”Meanwhile, Labour’s Kate Green denounced Mr Williamson as “failing”, and accused Boris Johnson’s Conservatives of “chaotic decision-making and systematic refusal to learn lessons from their previous mistakes”.The shadow education secretary also demanded a guarantee of support for children receiving their exam results next week “to ensure no young person loses out on future opportunities due to [the PM’s] failed pandemic response”.The IfG report, published a week before this year’s exam results are due out, analyses the period after English schools were closed in March last year.All children bar the most vulnerable and those whose parents were key workers had to learn from home from mid-March until some were allowed to return to classrooms in June. Exams were cancelled and pupils graded based on an Ofqual algorithm – but Mr Williamson was forced to U-turn on this after uproar when many results were marked down.In late August Mr Johnson pleaded with parents to send their children back to school when they reopened fully in September, though Covid-19 still caused many absences as the second wave surged and a national lockdown was imposed in October.Eventually, schools closed in January despite Mr Williamson having insisted two weeks earlier that there was no plan for that to happen. Exams were cancelled for a second year and it took until the end of February for Ofqual to announce how pupils would be graded.Dr Roach, of NASUWT, described the effect of the past 18 months on teachers by saying: “While schools have done a tremendous job in picking up the pieces left of the government’s last-minute decision-making, many teachers were running on empty, and teacher workload was at breaking point at the end of last term. Ministers cannot expect teachers simply to soldier on.“Urgent lessons need to be learnt about how to secure a more resilient and sustainable qualifications system next year and for the future that will give confidence to pupils, parents and teachers.”The DfE disputes much of the report’s contents. It insists it first published contingency plans for the academic year just ended last August, when the government set out how its lockdown tier structure would work, and it added that a separate “independent contingency framework” for education was published in November.The department said it did everything possible to keep schools open until they closed again on 4 January. Asked to explain the chaos that took place despite the contingency plans it said it had prepared, a spokesperson said ministers had been forced to take decisions quickly due to the fast-moving nature of the pandemic. One of those interventions, mentioned prominently in the IfG’s report, included threatening legal action against schools in London that wanted to close because of rising infections.Responding to the claim of poor communications, a DfE spokesperson said Mr Williamson had regularly met union representatives, council leaders and others, while the department made “significant” efforts to engage with people on the ground.Regarding the suggestion by IfG sources that Mr Williamson had been shut out of high-level meetings before schools closed, the spokesperson said: “All government decisions of this nature are taken with collective cabinet responsibility.” More

Pressure is mounting on Boris Johnson to liberalise travel restrictions, with the CBI warning that the international travel sector is in “the last chance saloon” and risks losing its lucrative summer season altogether unless rules are relaxed in the coming days.And the prime minister was facing calls from his own Conservative backbenchers for the demand of a costly PCR check on arrival in the UK – branded a “£100-a ticket tax on flights” by the industry – to be downgraded to the cheaper lateral flow test.Transport secretary Grant Shapps is set to unveil a simplification of restrictions in the latest three-weekly review of the government’s traffic light system, which is expected on Thursday – though his Department for Transport refused to confirm the date, saying only it would come “by the end of this week”.The announcement comes with warnings from the sector of tens of thousands of job losses if rules are not relaxed this week in time to give holiday-makers a final opportunity for a summer getaway.The prime minister has already indicated that he has scrapped plans for an “amber watchlist” category of countries which could be switched without notice to the restrictive “red list”, after airlines complained that it would deter all but the least risk-averse travellers from flying.And speculation is mounting that he will effectively ditch the “amber-plus” rating currently occupied only by France, relieving UK visitors from the requirement to self-isolate for 10 days on return by moving it to the “amber” category alongside most other popular European destinations.It comes as Mr Johnson has decided not to travel abroad for his summer holidays, according toThe Telegraph. Hopes were riding high that as many as 17 countries, including Germany, Poland and Canada, could be moved onto the quarantine-free green list, while falling cases in amber-listed Spain and Greece fuelled expectations that they will avoid a move up to harsher restrictions.But Whitehall sources were playing down suggestions that the PCR test – required within two days of arrival from green and amber-list countries and after two and eight days for amber-plus and red nations – could be replaced by lateral flow for fully-vaccinated adults.In a “New Settlement for Living with the Virus”, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI urged ministers to take a “truly risk-based approach” to international travel rules, adding more countries to the green list “as soon as possible”.Exemptions from self-isolation should be extended to cover all travellers with UK-approved vaccines, rather than just those who received vaccines through the NHS, said the business organisation.And they said that Covid documentation checks should be conducted pre-flight, or by recruiting university students to check passengers’ smartphone apps before they reach border control, in order to cut queues in airports.CBI policy director John Foster said: “The international travel sector is in the last-chance saloon for its the summer season. Restrictions must be relaxed if beleaguered businesses are to salvage any opportunity to trade their way towards recovery this year.“The UK’s successful vaccine rollout, coupled with lessons learned throughout the pandemic, offer genuine opportunity for more travel to resume safely. The UK urgently needs to widen the list of those able to avoid self-isolation on their return, to include individuals who have received UK-approved vaccines, rather than just those who received NHS vaccines.“Rebuilding passenger confidence will be key. Establishing simple, consistent rules and communicating them clearly is essential. The decision to abandon publication of an amber watchlist is a sensible step towards that goal, but the government must get back to consulting industry first, thus creating better policy and enabling improved implementation.“In addition to lifting restrictions, government should prioritise the creation of an efficient pre-travel system of assessing passengers’ Covid-status to prevent congestion at airports.“Meanwhile, further economic support for the sector will also be needed until passenger numbers recover. This will be vital to protect jobs and skills, and ensure the UK’s travel sector remains competitive with global peers.”Conservative MP Henry Smith, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the future of aviation, said it was time for a “lighter touch for green list countries”, with double-vaccinated passengers able to take lateral flow tests and only subjected to PCR confirmation if they test positive.Mr Smith, whose Crawley constituency is home to many Gatwick Airport workers, told The Independent: “A system graded depending on risk and recognising the protection offered by vaccination is what we all hope for and what the public deserve.“I hope that the dropping of the amber watchlist bodes well for a more pragmatic approach. I am more optimistic now than I was, but the reality is that we are already into August and there is not much of the summer travel season left. Easing restrictions now will hopefully save some jobs in the aviation industry which are under threat, particularly with furlough ending in September.” More

Sir Keir Starmer has committed Labour to the ambitious climate crisis target of achieving the “substantial majority” of greenhouse gas emission cuts by 2030.The Labour leader’s previous reluctance publicly to reaffirm the pledge inherited from Jeremy Corbyn had sparked fears among climate activists that he was backing away from radical action on global warming, with 20 leftist MPs writing last year to urge him to readopt the Green New Deal approved by the party in 2019.But in an exclusive interview with The Independent, Starmer said the party’s commitment to the promise – effectively putting the UK on the path to net zero 20 years ahead of Boris Johnson’s 2050 target – was as strong now as ever.Asked if he stood by the pledge to complete the substantial majority of carbon reductions by 2030, he replied firmly: “Absolutely. Exactly the same as was in our 2019 manifesto.“So the ambition – and not just the ambition, the determination and the commitment – of the Labour Party on the Green New Deal is just as strong now.”Starmer’s announcement, which came on the eve of a two-day visit to Glasgow to highlight Labour’s climate plans ahead of November’s crucial COP26 global warming summit in the city, was welcomed by Green New Deal campaigners within the party.But they cautioned that the promise must be backed by commitments to concrete action of the kind detailed in Corbyn’s manifesto, which pledged to ensure that the cost of transition to a green economy was born mostly by polluters and the wealthy, including by a windfall tax on oil companies, energy renationalisation, a ban on fracking and stock exchange delisting for climate-unfriendly businesses. Sir Keir made clear that the detailed policy backing up the pledge was subject to Labour’s ongoing review, which will not report until nearer the next election.His comments came as Labour warned that the government’s decision to scrap the Green Homes Grant has cost 90,000 jobs.The grant was a central plank of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 2020 plan for jobs, which promised a green recovery to improve 600,000 homes and support 100,000 green jobs. But by the time it was closed in March 2021, just 63,000 households had benefited and new Labour analysis has found that only 10,000 jobs were delivered.Shadow housing secretary Lucy Powell described the scheme as “a shambles from the start”.“Once again the government are over-promising and under-delivering, with their failures damaging our Covid recovery and costing vital jobs,” she said.“We urgently need to de-carbonise our homes, to create green jobs, reduce emissions and save people money on their bills and heating. Rather than scrapping the scheme and clawing back this vital funding, the government should invest in making homes warm, dry, cheaper to run and fit for the future.”Labour’s 2030 emissions target was the subject of bitter wrangling after the 2019 party conference backed a motion to “work towards a path to net zero carbon emissions by 2030” in the face of resistance from unions who warned that an inflexible target of zero could lead to mass job losses.No precise figure has been put on what a “substantial majority” of cuts would mean, though it is generally accepted it would be considerably more than the 68 per cent reductions on 1990 levels promised by Mr Johnson. Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said in December that the 68 per cent figure was the “minimum we should aim for”.A spokesperson for the Labour for a Green New Deal (LGND) campaign told The Independent it should mean “as close to net zero as possible”.“A motion backing net zero by 2030 was passed at Labour Party conference, giving the leadership a clear mandate to achieve this,” said the spokesperson. “The party should respect the spirit of this commitment, and work to deliver it as closely as possible.” The LGND spokesperson said: “We welcome Keir Starmer recommitting to cut carbon emissions by 2030, but it’s urgent that he shows how he will achieve this. Meeting this goal will require bold, decisive action, and Labour’s 2019 manifesto offered a clear plan for how to do this.“Only a Labour government can tackle the climate crisis while building a fairer, more equal society. But this will only be possible if the leadership commits to a transformative Green New Deal, built around public ownership and state investment on a huge scale.“If the public are to have faith that Keir Starmer’s Labour Party can deliver decisive and drastic change for the sake of our climate, he must demonstrate this by committing to these policies now, not in 2024.”One of the signatories to last year’s letter, Corbyn-era shadow cabinet member Clive Lewis, told The Independent: “Keir’s comment is welcome, but he needs to be going further and faster. The 2019 commitments are two years out of date now. Times have moved on and we can see for ourselves what is happening, with the wildfires and floods.“Committing to the ‘substantial majority’ of emissions cuts by 2030 is the least we can expect. Joe Biden has been talking about making the corporations pay, and we really need to be out ahead of the Democrats on that sort of issue if Keir wants to have something to say at COP26 that will really show Boris Johnson up for the tin-pot climate leader he is.” More

Today’s daily politics briefingBoris Johnson has used a Downing Street meeting with Belarus’ exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya to assure her that the UK government is “very much on your side” and is “committed to supporting human rights and civil society” in the eastern European nation.Ahead of the meeting, Ms Tikhanovskaya spoke to the BBC about the plight of Olympian Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, saying that Alexander Lukashenko’s dictatorial regime was similar to Joseph Stalin’s. She said: “You have to play for your country but when you understand that country doesn’t take care about you, it’s difficult.”As pro-democracy demonstrators gathered in central London, Ms Tikhanovskaya added that her aim was for “the British government to keep Belarus on the agenda, taking into consideration all the violence that’s going on inside the country and the threat that the regime now is for the international community”.Show latest update

1628002321More under-18s could be cleared for Covid vaccines within days, says Nicola Sturgeon“Invitations for vaccines are now going out to 12 to 17 years olds, with specific health conditions that make them more vulterable to Covid,” said Ms Sturgeon in her address. More under-18s could be cleared for Covid vaccines within days, says Nicola SturgeonEleanor Sly3 August 2021 15:521628001741Scotland to lift most coronavirus restrictions next Monday, Nicola Sturgeon announcesIn the wake of Boris Johnson’s decision to axe nearly all Covid restrictions in England, Nicola Sturgeon has said that most measures will be lifted in Scotland next Monday, as the country moves “beyond Level 0”.Notably, the first minister diverges from Westminster in saying that face masks will continue to be mandated in indoor settings, with a move to free double-jabbed people from isolation requirements coming sooner than in England, somewhat in line with Sir Keir Starmer’s proposals.Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has the details here:Andy Gregory3 August 2021 15:421628000396As highlighted by our chief political commentator John Rentoul, polling from Redfield & Wilton shines a light on a number of hypothetical prime ministerial races.With Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham thrown into a number of two-horse races, the current prime minister appears to emerge victorious, comfortable defeating all three opponents.The prime minister’s greatest chance of victory looks to be against the Greater Manchester mayor, while the polling sees chancellor Rishi Sunak clinch a win over the current Labour leader.Andy Gregory3 August 2021 15:191627999739Non-piracy ‘incident’ underway in the Gulf, UK saysWith the UK, US and Israel currently accusing Iran of carrying out a fatal drone strike on an oil tanker in the Gulf, an offshoot of the Royal Navy has now warned of an ongoing non-piracy “incident” off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. The warning notice from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations – based on a third party source – advised vessels in the area to exercise extreme caution.You can refresh our breaking story below for live updates:Andy Gregory3 August 2021 15:081627998725With Gavin Williamson’s proposal that Latin be added to the state school curriculum sparking debate, LBC decided to test Jacob Rees-Mogg on his Latin skills.While the Tory Commons leader manages to interpret the Etonian school motto, he fares less well in other questions – and admits that his various public uses of the language have been aided by a dictionary of quotations.Jacob Rees-Mogg did a Latin test on live radio and it didn’t go wellWhile the proposals sparked ridicule in some corners, Jordan Tyldesley offers this robust defence of the idea:Andy Gregory3 August 2021 14:521627997668Public has been consistently ahead of the government on Covid, scientist claimsThe British public has consistently been ahead of the government in terms of their awareness of the dangers of Covid-19, a leading behavioural scientist has claimed.Stephen Reicher, a member of the government’s Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (Spi-B), told Sky News: “The remarkable thing when you look at the data is that people have always been ahead of the government in being aware of the dangers.“The problem, to some extent, is that the government is not matching the public with its own responsibilities.”Prof Reicher cited YouGov polling which suggests the majority of the public support mandatory face coverings in indoor settings despite the government scrapping the measure a fortnight ago – and suggested that recently stabilising case rates can be attributed to public caution.“If the government showed the same responsibility the public is showing, I think we’d be in a far better place in the autumn,” Prof Reicher added.Andy Gregory3 August 2021 14:341627996936Following Boris Johnson’s meeting with Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanovskaya, a Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister had outlined the steps the UK has taken to hold Alexander Lukashenko’s regime to account, including placing sanctions on the dictatorial president himself.“He stressed the UK’s commitment to the Belarusian people, in particular through tripling our financial support to Belarusian civil society this year,” the spokesperson said.“The prime minister and Mrs Tsikhanovskaya agreed that the British and Belarusian people share fundamental values such as a belief in democracy, human rights and rule of law. The prime minister said the UK stands in solidarity of the people of Belarus and will continue to take action to support them.”Andy Gregory3 August 2021 14:221627994440Politics Explained: Should we be concerned about lobbying within parliamentary groups?In The Independent’s latest ‘Politics Explained’ article, our associate editor Sean O’Grady writes of the latest twist in the lobbying allegations saga:“Given that they are one of the few places where MPs and peers from different parties and with radically different philosophies can learn to work together, it seems a bit of a shame that the system of All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) is the latest institution to be brushed with the taint of sleaze.“However, the current inquiry by the standards committee suggests that something rather more serious than the occasional complimentary bottle of single malt may be at stake.”Read more of his analysis with Independent Premium:Andy Gregory3 August 2021 13:401627993598Iran ‘must end its destabilising actions immediately’, Raab saysDominic Raab has welcomed Nato criticism of Iran, amid allegations that the Middle Eastern nation is responsible for a fatal drone strike on an oil tanker near Oman – which Tehran denies.Echoing the language used earlier by Nato, the UK foreign secretary said: “We believe this was a deliberate, targeted attack by Iran – it must end its destabilising actions immediately.”European Commission spokeswoman Nabila Massrali was somewhat more cautious in blaming Tehran outright, telling reporters: “The exact circumstances of this attack have to be clarified and we take note of investigations carried out by the United States, the UK and Israel – this is an action that was against freedom of navigation in this area, and of course unacceptable.“We oppose any action that would be detrimental to peace and stability in this area and the EU will continue to follow developments closely.” Here’s some more detail on this story:Andy Gregory3 August 2021 13:261627992698SNP and Greens ‘close to cooperation agreement’The SNP and the Scottish Greens are close to a cooperation agreement, reports suggest.Both parties had ruled out a formal coalition after the SNP fell just one seat short of an overall majority at the Holyrood elections, but have been locked in negotiations over a cooperation agreement since May – which could even see some Green MSPs appointed as ministers in Nicola Sturgeon’s government,First reported by the Daily Record, a source familiar with the negotiations has now told the PA news agency that there has been “good progress” made, with a deal “95%” done.An announcement could come as early as the end of this week, the source reportedly claimed.Andy Gregory3 August 2021 13:11 More

Clearance for more under-18s to be inoculated against coronavirus is expected from the government’s official vaccination advisers “within the next few days”, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.There has been increasing pressure from medical experts for teenagers to be given the chance to receive jabs, after the MHRA medicines regulator ruled in June that they are safe for use on over-12s.But the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation last month announced that it was advising inoculation only for 12-17 year-olds with certain medical conditions, as well as those within three months of their 18th birthday.In a statement to the Scottish Parliament today, Ms Sturgeon made clear that she is expecting clearance for jabs for further groups of teenagers within days.She told MSPs that invitations for 12-17 year-olds with health conditions were now going out and first doses were expected to be offered to this group north of the border by the end of August.And she added: “I can advise parliament that we are hoping to receive in the next few days updated advice from the JCVI on possible vaccination of others in the younger age groups.“We stand ready to implement any recommendations as soon as possible.”She said the Scottish authorities were also preparing to offer booster jabs to those already vaccinated during the autumn, if that is the JCVI’s recommendation. More

Most legal coronavirus restrictions in Scotland are to be lifted on 9 August, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has told the Scottish Parliament.Ms Sturgeon made the announcement of Scotland’s “Freedom Day” in a video statement to the Holyrood assembly, which has been virtually recalled from its summer break.From Monday, legal requirements for social distancing and limits on the size of social gatherings and access to venues will be removed, said the first minister.But, unlike in England, face-coverings will still be required in all the indoor settings where they are currently used, and are likely to be legally mandated “for some time to come”.Face masks will have to be worn during lessons by secondary pupils when schools return, and children and staff will be required to take twice-weekly lateral flow tests.And she said the Scottish government continues to advise people to work from home where possible.Ms Sturgeon said the requirement for 10 days’ self-isolation after close contact with a Covid-positive person will be dropped in Scotland, so long as the contact tests negative.Young people under the age of 17 will also be able to end self-isolation if they test negative, while those under five years old will be “encouraged” but not required to take a test. Blanket self-isolation for whole school classes will no longer be required.Meanwhile, the Scottish government continues to consider the use of vaccine passports for access to some events domestically, using the same app which is being developed for those needing to prove vaccine status when travelling abroad.While the removal of all parts of Scotland from the “level zero” restrictions currently in effect will “restore a substantial degree of normality”, she warned that it was important to be clear that “it does not signal the end of the pandemic or a return to life exactly as we knew it before Covid struck”.“Declaring freedom from, or victory over, this virus is premature,” said Ms Sturgeon.“The harm the virus can do, including through the impact of long Covid, should not be underestimated. And its ability to mutate may yet pose us real challenges.”Ms Sturgeon said that the move out of lockdown was possible only because of the vaccination campaign and the “prolonged sacrifices” of members of the public.She said: “The last year has reminded all of us just how precious some of the simplest things in life really are, and many of us, I suspect, will resolve not to take them quite so much for granted in future.“The best way of doing that in the short term, is to continue to be careful, cautious and sensible, even as legal restrictions are lifted.“The government will continue to provide guidance to help get that balance right.“We all hope – I know I certainly do – that the restrictions we lift next Monday will never again have to be reimposed, but no-one can guarantee that.“This virus remains a threat and as we enter winter, it may well pose challenges for as again.”Ms Sturgeon said it remains a “sensible precaution” to keep some distance from people in other households and avoid crowed indoor places, even though these steps are no longer legally mandated.“Enjoy being able to do more and meet up more – we’ve all waited a long time for that,” she said. “But please protect yourself as you do so, principally through vaccination, and continue to take the greatest of care. If we all do that, we will increase our chances of keeping the virus under control, we will protect ourselves and our loved ones and we will safely and securely return to the ways of life that we all value so much.” More

The NHS Covid-19 app was significantly changed on Monday so fewer contacts will be told to self-isolate after a large increase in the number of people being pinged since lockdown restrictions ended last month.This amounts to a significant shift for No10 who previously insisted the app would not be changed. But pressure has been mounting on ministers from multiple industries who have been hit be staff shortages after employees were “pinged” by the app and forced to stay at home.The alteration to the app means that instead of checking contacts for five days before a positive test, the app will only go back two days.It comes after almost 700,000 alerts were sent to people last week, a record since the app was launched.The Independent has delved into what changes have been made to the app.What changes were made to the NHS Covid app?Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said the “logic” behind the app was being tweaked, although the sensitivity and risk threshold would remain unchanged.The basic functionality of the app, which uses Bluetooth to track if you have been within two metres of somebody who has Covid, has not changed.Instead it has been tweaked so that instead of checking contacts for five days before a positive test, the app will only go back two days.What did the Health Secretary say about the alterations?Mr Javid said: “We want to reduce the disruption that self-isolation can cause for people and businesses, while ensuring we’re protecting those most at risk from this virus. This update to the app will help ensure that we are striking the right balance.“It’s so important that people isolate when asked to do so in order to stop the spread of the virus and protect their communities.”The government is still encouraging people to continue using the app.Has the app been effective at reducing hospitalisations and infections?Analysis from the government has suggested that in the first three weeks of July the app could have averted up to 2,000 cases per day,In addition it could have prevented more than 50,000 cases of Covid, including chains of transmission, assuming that 60% of users obeyed orders to self-isolate.Scientists believe this would amount to preventing approximately 1,600 hospital admissions.“The NHS Covid-19 app is a really practical example of how technology can be used to fight the biggest challenges we face in protecting and improving our health,” said Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency.“The app is the simplest, easiest and fastest way to find out whether you have been exposed to the virus, and it has saved thousands of lives over the course of this pandemic.“I strongly encourage everyone, even those fully vaccinated, to continue using the app.“It is a lifesaving tool that helps us to stay safe and to protect those closest to us as we return to a more familiar way of life.”Additional reporting by PA More