Markus Andrews

It is “disappointing” that the US has kept in place a Covid-related travel ban with the UK, a government minister has said.Kit Malthouse, the policing minister and MP for North West Hampshire, said he wanted to see international travel return “as soon as possible”.On Monday the Biden administration announced it will maintain restrictions on a range of countries, including the EU and China, for the foreseeable future.Both the US and the UK have a high number of Covid-positive cases caused by the Delta variant, although new infections in the UK appear to be decreasing.“Given where we are today … with the Delta variant, we will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told a press conference.”Driven by the Delta variant, cases are rising here at home, particularly among those who are unvaccinated and appear likely continue to increase in the weeks ahead.”Under current rules, British nationals are not allowed to enter the US if they have been in the UK and a number of other countries in the previous 14 days.The UK has the US on its “amber list” of countries and travel between the two countries has been frozen since March last year.Responding to the US move to keep restrictions in place, Mr Malthouse said British citizens will have to continue dealing with uncertainty around travel until the pandemic has subsided.He told Sky News: “Obviously that is for them to assess and we are assessing the likelihood of variants coming in from other countries as well. So, it doesn’t surprise me that they are doing similar. It is obviously disappointing.”He added: “We want to get back to international travel as soon as possible. I have got lots of family overseas who I would love to go and visit, particularly in Canada.”I am afraid that the tail-end of this virus, and let’s hope it is the tail-end, we are still coping with some of that uncertainty across the world and people will have to bear that in mind as they decide their travel plans or otherwise.”The US decision came despite intense lobbying efforts from the travel and tourism industries to salvage summer travel for Europeans and others covered by the restrictions.The extraordinary US travel restrictions were first imposed on China in January 2020 to address the spread of COVID-19 and other countries have been added since then – most recently India in early May.New Covid cases continue to rise in the US and Dr Anthony Fauci, who has led the country’s response to the virus, said earlier this week that things are “going in the wrong direction”.Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky said the seven-day average of new cases in the US was up 53 per cent on the previous week. The more transmissible Delta variant, first detected in India, now comprises more than 80 per cent of new cases nationwide, the CDC said.Figures show there were 56,635 new cases reported nationwide on 26 July, up from 51,939 in the previous 24 hours.Positive cases have been steadily rising since the beginning of the month. More

A senior Conservative has warned that the party could “irretrievably” split if Boris Johnson introduces compulsory vaccine passports.Some crowded indoor venues would be required to deny access to people who do not show proof of either having had two Covid-19 vaccine doses, a negative test result, or natural immunity – Prime Minister Mr Johnson announced on Monday.It was a change from Health Secretary Sajid Javid’s announcement on 12 July that “high risk setting” businesses and events would be “encouraged”, but not required, to make attendees show their vaccine passports.A plan pushed by Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove could see millions of university students be required to get double-jabbed before they are allowed to attend lectures or stay in halls of residence.Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and his department fear it may be open to legal challenge.It comes as nightclub owners are threatening legal action over the plans that they say are unfair to them. Nightclubs are to be required to check vaccine passports from September, while other hospitality venues such as pubs and bars will not.Former minister Steve Baker is against the idea of having universities come under the scheme, and has slammed it as “an outrageous proposal”. The deputy chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of Tories told The Sun: “Who are they now trying to coerce? Whose education are they now trying to deny?“I believe the government is in terrible danger of splitting the Tory Party irretrievably – after all we have been through with Brexit.”Tory MP Peter Bone had threatened to boycott the Conservative Party conference if a vaccine passport is required to attend.He said: “If you are standing up against vaccine passports then you yourself comply with it, it seems to be wrong.” Tory MP Tom Tugendhat has likened the vaccine passport system to a “social credit system of control”.He added: “If we need a vaccine to for events like a party conference or a nightclub – why not to travel by a train, or go to a university lecture or a shop? What other choices will result in denial of service?” More

Britons considering a trip abroad this summer should be aware that “things may change” in terms of the rules for travel, a government minister has warned.Kit Malthouse was speaking amid speculation that popular destinations with rising Covid-19 infections like Italy, Spain and Greece could be added to the “amber plus” list requiring self-isolation on return to England – while restrictions on travel from France could be eased as fears about the Beta variant of coronavirus decline.The White House last night poured cold water on hopes of a travel corridor with the UK, saying the US will maintain existing travel restrictions as the highly infectious Delta variant continues to circulate in countries including Britain.Mr Malthouse said there was “a lot of uncertainty about travel overseas at the moment” and transport secretary Grant Shapps was “constantly” assessing the situation in countries around the world to determine how safe they are for visits.The policing minister told Sky News that he and his family have scrapped plans for a holiday in Italy in favour of the Northumbrian coast.“I know the Department for Transport secretary of state is talking to the Department of Health, they’re constantly assessing the numbers and Grant has said again and again there is a lot of uncertainty about going overseas,” said Mr Malthouse.“I have to tell to you, we had plans to go to Italy this year and because of the uncertainty we decided not to go. We’re going to the lovely Northumbrian coast instead.“So while obviously, there’s a strong desire to go overseas and lots of people are, I think they need to be aware that things may change.”At present, only 29 countries are on the DFT “green list” allowing visitors to return to England without self-isolation. Only a handful – including Malta, Croatia and Australia – are popular with tourists, and many have restrictions on visits by UK nationals.For countries on the larger “amber list” – including most of Europe – vaccinated Britons are not required to go into quarantine on return, with the exception of France which is classed “amber plus”, meaning even those with two jabs must self-isolate for 10 days.Arrivals from “red list” countries – including India and Brazil – must spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel in England.And any overseas travel comes with the additional cost of tests to be taken before and after arrival. More

Dominic Cummings appears to have joined the online Free Britney movement supporting the singer as she tries to end the conservatorship that has kept her under the control of her father for more than a decade.The former top adviser to Boris Johnson waded into the issue on Twitter as just as court documents revealed the pop icon described her father Jamie Spears as “threatening and scary.” A judge last week granted Spears the right to choose her lawyer, allowing her a say in her own legal representation for the first time since 2008.The 39-year-old star chose Hollywood attorney Matthew Rosengart, a partner at the law firm Greenberg Traurig who has represented several big names including Steven Spielberg and Keanu Reeves.Mr Rosengart said his firm would take “a top to bottom look” at the case and on Monday filed a petition to a Los Angeles court asking for Jamie Spears to be removed as conservator of his daughter’s estate.Mr Cummings, however, had a suggestion for an alternative route the lawyers could take.He suggested the legal team write to the staff of judges in the case, the governor of California, all members of Congress and the president to ask whether they “personally” support the laws allowing Ms Spears to be kept under conservatorship.Mr Cummings said the action would turn the tide in favour of “#FreeBritney”.His idea earned at least 1,300 retweets, making it more popular than his notorious ‘Who do we not save?’ whiteboard post from May.It was not immediately clear what prompted the former Vote Leave supremo to take an interest Spears’ case. More

MPs have demanded major reforms to legal aid, warning the justice system is being put at risk by the low fees paid to defence lawyers.A new report by the House of Commons Justice Committee calls on the government to rethink how it funds legal aid, cautioning rounds of cuts have “hollowed out” the justice system.Legal aid is how the state ensures those who cannot afford to hire their own lawyer still receive a fair trial, by paying for defence counsel itself.However, the fees paid to lawyers for taking on legal aid cases have not risen for 20 years, meaning increasing numbers of criminal lawyers no longer pick up such cases.Many law firms are unable to hold onto qualified lawyers, who are switching to join the better-paying Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) instead, the committee’s report notes.“Without significant reform there is a real chance that there will be a shortage of qualified criminal legal aid lawyers to fulfil the crucial role of defending suspects and defendants.”This risks a shift in the balance between prosecution and defence that could compromise the fairness of the criminal justice system,” the MPs argue.Conservative MP Sir Bob Neill, who chairs the committee, said years of cuts to reduce government funding for legal aid had “hollowed out key parts of the justice system”.”Fixed fees are failing to cover the cost of complex cases, the number of people receiving legal aid is falling and legal aid firms are struggling to keep going.”Careers specialising in legal aid are becoming less attractive and legal professionals are moving to the CPS or private practice instead,” he said. “This puts the fairness of the justice system at risk.”One way to stem the tide of lawyers quitting legal aid work could be to tie legal aid fees to rates of pay for the CPS’s own lawyers, the report suggests.The MPs also recommend the existing fixed-fee structure be replaced with a more flexible legal aid system which can pay more money to lawyers who have to work longer on more complex cases.”The legal aid system is there to ensure that everyone has access to justice,” Sir Bob added.”If the most vulnerable in society are being left to navigate the justice system on their own then fairness is lost and the system has failed.” More

Campaigners have accused the government of putting pharmaceutical company profits before people’s lives, ahead of a top-level trade meeting at which the UK is expected to join Germany and the EU in resisting moves to allow developing countries to produce their own coronavirus vaccines.Speaking ahead of a meeting of the World Trade Organisation general council on Tuesday, the director of the Global Justice Now movement said it was shameful that Britain had “thrown more vaccines in the bin than it has donated or exported to date”.The WTO meeting comes amid warnings over the emergence of harmful new Covid-19 variants in developing countries which have so far been left largely unvaccinated.A joint report by the Wellcome Trust and Institute for Government (IfG) think tanks warned that virus mutations will “chip away” at the protection offered by vaccines, while government scientific adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar said jabs must be made available to all globally “for geopolitics, for science and public health, and for the moral and ethical argument”.More than 3 million people have died worldwide from Covid-19 since India and South Africa first proposed an intellectual property (IP) waiver on vaccines last October. More than 130 countries, including the US, now back the idea, which would permit the establishment of vaccine factories in countries and regions currently facing jab shortages.But WTO negotiators are expected to delay a decision to October in the hope of reaching consensus, with Germany – operating through the EU – and the UK remaining the most strident opponents of the so-called “Trips waiver”.Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn last week pushed back hard against pleas to “free the vaccines”, arguing that for companies like BioNTech – the developer of the Pfizer jab – it was “the first time that they actually make a profit”.Campaigners say that a further 1 million people could die during the three-month wait for a decision. They argue that donations of doses through the global Covax scheme are no substitute for allowing developing countries to make their own supplies.Global Justice Now director Nick Dearden said: “Millions have died while the governments of rich countries have been bickering over monopoly rights for Covid-19 vaccines. Every one of those deaths is a mark of shame for the governments of countries like the UK and Germany who have protected patents over human lives.“Britain has thrown more vaccines in the bin than it has donated or exported to date. No wonder most countries don’t trust the rich world to deal with Covid-19. At the very least, it’s time we got out of the way and allowed countries to make their own jabs. Many of the deaths we mourn today could have been prevented if not for the shameful intransigence of governments like our own.”Oxfam’s health policy manager Anna Marriott, added: “In the UK vaccines are giving us hope, yet our government continues to prevent developing countries from having the same.“As the number of cases increases in many poorer countries, the UK government continues to block the Trips waiver, which would allow qualified manufacturers around the world to ramp up production so everyone can access them.“We know this would help increase vaccine supplies and save lives, yet the UK government continue to put pharmaceutical company profits first.”London School of Economics IP expert Dr Luke McDonagh was a driving force behind a letter signed by 120 academics from around the world earlier this year urging the UK government, along with Australia, Brazil, Japan, Norway, Switzerland and the EU, to drop their opposition to the waiver.He told The Independent: “All of the big industrialised countries have five or six times the supplies they need on order. The World Health Organisation has said that health care workers around the world should be prioritised, and yet we have unvaccinated doctors in countries like Uganda dying while Pfizer say they want to supply third doses to the US.“The pharmaceutical companies say that they will have produced the 11 billion doses needed to protect the world by the end of the year, but that still doesn’t mean that the developing world will have enough to protect its population.”Dr McDonagh said that, while the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was being produced on a not-for-profit basis, it appeared the UK was resisting the IP waiver in order to avoid the danger of British companies missing out on potential profits on booster jabs expected to be delivered annually for years into the future.The joint IfG/Wellcome report released on Monday said low and middle-income countries are still only sequencing a tiny proportion of Covid cases – leaving the planet “flying blind” when it comes to tracking and responding to potential new variants.Global leaders must define an acceptable level of domestic vaccination and supply, and agree what surplus vaccines can be committed to the global effort, it said.The report stated: “With approaching half a million new cases being recorded per day globally – a figure that is rising – it is likely that further dangerous variants will emerge.”It added: “While most scientists do not currently expect a new variant to emerge that will fully evade vaccines, what are more likely are variants that ‘chip away’ at vaccines’ effectiveness.”Urging wealthy nation government to commit greater resources, the report found that vaccinating the whole world to the level of rich countries requires around 11 billion doses at a cost of around £36bn – around £26bn more than has so far been spent.At the recent summit hosted by Boris Johnson in Cornwall, the G7 agreed to share only 1 billion doses within the next year – only enough to give around 13 per cent of the global population just one dose.A government spokesperson said: “The UK is proud to be playing a leading role in the global effort to create and distribute Covid-19 vaccines. The government supported the development of the Oxford AstraZeneca, which is being made available at cost worldwide.“We are engaging constructively with the US and other WTO members on the waiver issue and will carefully review any proposal submitted to the Trips Council, but we need to act now to expand vaccine production and distribution worldwide.“The UK wants to push ahead with pragmatic action, including voluntary licensing and technology transfer agreements for vaccines, support for Covax, and solutions for production bottlenecks and supply chain issues.” More

Binmen, prison warders and soldiers have been added to the list of key workers who can avoid self-isolation if they are “pinged” after coming into contact with Covid-positive individuals.Ministers agreed to extend the list of those eligible to dodge 10-day quarantine by taking daily Covid tests after complaints that the so-called “pingdemic” risks bringing vital services to a halt across the country.The 800 testing sites announced last week for double-vaccinated workers in the food industry, transport, police, fire and border officials are to be expanded to 2,000, allowing thousands more people to continue working after being identified as contacts by the NHS app or the test and trace service.While evidence suggests that those named as contacts are five times more likely than other people to be infected with coronavirus, ministers at a meeting of the government’s Covid-19 committee today agreed to allow them to carry on working to avoid disruption to crucial services.The Department of Health said that research carried out by the University of Oxford between April and June this year found that daily contact testing was just as effective at controlling transmission in schools as the current 10-day self-isolation policy.Some 500 testing sites at workplaces are expected to be in operation by the end of this week, with others following later, before all double-vaccinated adults are exempted from self-isolation on 16 August.In addition to critical staff working in prisons, defence and waste collection, people working in energy, pharmaceuticals, telecoms, chemicals, communications, water, space, fish, veterinary medicine and HM Revenue and Customs will also be eligible for daily contact testing.The health and social care secretary, Sajid Javid, said: “Whether it’s prison guards reporting for duty, waste collectors keeping our streets clean or workers in our energy sector keeping the lights on, critical workers have been there for us at every stage of this global pandemic.“As we learn to live with the virus, we will keep doing everything in our power to break chains of transmission and stop this virus in its tracks. Daily contact testing will play a vital role in this, helping minimise the potential for disruption caused by rising cases, while keeping staff protected.” More

Related video: Boris Johnson announces he is self-isolatingSir Keir Starmer has said Priti Patel’s position is now “untenable” and accused the Tories of having “let down the police” over the last 10 years amid a row over pay and policing numbers.The Labour leader said the government had cut thousands of police jobs and officers had not been offered a pay rise. His comments came after the Police Federation of England and Wales said it no longer had confidence in the home secretary.Meanwhile, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak’s 10-day quarantine is expected to finish at the end of Monday, after the pair initially opted to take part in a pilot testing scheme that would have allowed them to skip isolation.Public anger at the proposal forced the prime minister and chancellor into another embarassing U-turn last week but the quarantine period is now due to end.Show latest update

1627310988Mandatory vaccines for students to attend lectures ‘hugely discriminatory’, universities union saysOnly allowing students who are fully vaccinated against Covid to attend lectures, would be “hugely discriminatory”, a university union has said.It comes amid reports the government is considering introducing such rules for students, as well as only letting those who have received two doses return to university halls.Education minister Vicky Ford refused to rule the measures out on Monday, saying the government had to “consider everything”.Zoe Tidman reports.Joe Middleton26 July 2021 15:491627310046Children don’t need to wear masks when schools returns, minister saysChildren don’t need to wear masks when schools returns, minister saysJoe Middleton26 July 2021 15:341627308768Labour make moderate gains to close gap on Tories, new poll revealsLabour have gained two points and slightly closed the gap on the Tories to five points, new polling from Britain Elects shows.Keir Starmer’s party is on 37% and the Conservatives, who gained one point, are on 42%.However amid talk of a resurgence for the Liberal Democrats, they have dropped four points and are down at 6%.The poll was conducted between 23 – 26 July.Joe Middleton26 July 2021 15:121627307044Ending free movement wasn’t meant to boost wages – are we now being proved wrong about Brexit?Economist Jonathan Portes writes in The Independent about recent headlines suggesting that average salaries in hospitality and retail have recently risen.He writes: “On Twitter I was asked: “How do economists reconcile with the idea EU immigration was not impacting wages? Timing? Sector? Nothing to do with Brexit? Or were the models wrong?”“These are fair questions, in light of widespread reports of labour shortages resulting from the exodus of EU-origin workers during the pandemic. For the last 15 years – at least since the accession of central and Eastern European countries to the EU in 2004 – economic research has consistently shown that migration had no significant impacts on the employment prospects of UK-born workers; and that wage impacts, while observable, are relatively small. “The most well-publicised estimate suggests that migration might have depressed wages for lower-skilled service sector workers by perhaps 1 per cent over a period of almost a decade.” Get the full piece below:Joe Middleton26 July 2021 14:441627305803PM tweets thanks to emergency services after floodingBoris Johnson tweeted his thanks to the emergency services and volunteers after England’s south was battered by thunderstorms.“My thoughts are with everyone affected by the flooding in London and the South East,” the Prime Minister tweeted.“A huge thank you to the emergency services and volunteers helping families and businesses through this difficult time.”Joe Middleton26 July 2021 14:231627304792Rayner defends voluntary redundancy plans as Labour launches workers rights charterLabour has defended asking its own staff to apply for voluntary redundancy as Angela Rayner launched an employment rights charter described as a “fork in the road”.The party’s deputy leader visited the Impact Hub co-working space in central London on Monday to unveil a “new deal for working people” which promises to “fundamentally change” the economy as the party seeks to win back traditional voters who have switched to the Conservatives.But she was forced to admit that the party is asking its own staff to consider taking voluntary redundancy due to a lack of funds.The Labour List website reported last week that party reserves are down to one month’s worth of payroll, and said general secretary David Evans had told the National Executive Committee: “We don’t have any money.”Asked about the situation, Ms Rayner said: “We are in the devastating circumstances where we have lost general elections and we have lost resources as a result of that, and our organisation has to change.“At the moment we are asking people to take voluntary redundancy and change the way we do our work like any organisation that goes through those times.”She said Labour will “never support or endorse or take fire and rehire as an acceptable process” and added: “It is very worrying for our staff who are going through that process. But we want to make sure that the Labour Party is in a very lean, fit position to go forward to win the next general election.”Joe Middleton26 July 2021 14:061627303725Keir Starmer says No 10 plan to give every victim named police officer is ‘ridiculous gimmick’Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed a Boris Johnson pledge to provide victims of crime with a named officer to call about their case as a “ridiculous gimmick”.The prime minister is expected to unveil his new plan for “beating crime” on Tuesday, after leaving self-isolation at his Chequers country retreat.Mr Johnson vowed on Sunday to make sure that every victim of crime has “a named officer to call, someone who is immediately on your side”, writes The Independent’s Adam Forrest.Joe Middleton26 July 2021 13:481627302943No10 refuses to deny reports students would need two jabs to attend university lecturesDowning Street did not deny reports that students would need to be fully vaccinated to attend university lectures.The Times reported today that the prime minister was “raging” about the lower vaccine uptake among young people. He suggested in video meetings with colleagues that students could face compulsory vaccination.“You have heard what the PM has said before, specifically that the pandemic is not over,” a No 10 spokesman said.“We are still looking at the scope for vaccination certifications.”Asked if there was concern about take-up of the vaccines in younger age groups, the spokesman said: “I think you continue to see more and more young people coming forward to receive the vaccine, both in terms of first doses and now second doses.“Of course, we want to see more people come forward to receive it.“We would like to see everybody who is invited to come forward and receive the vaccination to do so. That’s the message we continue to try and give to young people.”Joe Middleton26 July 2021 13:351627301706UK ‘not out of woods’ on Covid despite encouraging fall in cases, says Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson has cautioned against claims that the UK may have passed the peak of its third wave of Covid-19, warning that “we’re not out of the woods yet”.While the drop in daily cases from almost 55,000 on 17 July to fewer than 30,000 on Sunday was “encouraging”, Downing Street said the prime minister believes that the impact of relaxations introduced a week ago could soon start driving numbers back up again.Step 4 of Mr Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown – which saw an end to mandatory face-coverings and work-from-home guidance as well as the reopening of nightclubs – had always been expected to result in an increase in cases, said a No 10 spokesperson.Tom Batchelor26 July 2021 13:151627300412Five hundred sites set up for double-jabbed to skip isolation Downing Street has said around 500 sites would be set up this week where double-jabbed workers would be exempt from self-isolation if they are coronavirus contacts.The government has promised up to 500 sites critical to food supplies and 200 covering emergency and transport workers will take part in the programme, with tests replacing quarantine.A No 10 spokesman was unable to say how many sites were currently operating the scheme.But he added: “We expect 500 sites to be able to test within this week and we said at the end of last week we have rolled out the workplace daily testing following the Government’s close engagement with industries that have been affected by self-isolation.“It’s obviously the case that we want to avoid any disruption in critical services.”Tom Batchelor26 July 2021 12:53 More