Markus Andrews

The government is set to tweak the law to allow pubs across England to stay open until 11.15pm on Sunday – in case the Euros final goes to extra time and penalties.Downing Street confirmed that the government would put forward an emergency change in the law so pubs can stay open an extra 45 minutes.Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said: “We are taking forward plans to allow pubs to open until 11.15pm on Sunday.“The entire nation has been gripped by the Euros and this will ensure people can get together to enjoy the final in pubs, should they wish to do so.”Asked if the prime minister would encourage people in all four nations of the UK to support England in Wednesday’s semi-final, the spokesman said: “I’m sure everyone will want to wish England well in the semi-final.”Pubs normally have to shut at 10.30pm on Sundays but officials fear chaotic scenes if fans have to be thrown out before the conclusion of the the UEFA Euro 2020 final at Wembley.The emergency “tweak” of the law is set to be brought forward in the Commons imminently to change opening times for one day.The change in the law will happen even if Denmark, rather than England, make it to the final after the semi-final clash between the two on Wednesday night.Wembley will host 60,000 fans for both semi-finals and the final on 11 July, the government confirmed last month.The new levels mean the stadium will be at 75 per cent capacity for the final three games of the tournament. More

Test and trace isolation rules for double-jabbed people who come into contact with a positive case will be dropped by the government from 16 August, Sajid Javid has announced in an overhaul of the system.In an update to MPs, the newly appointed health secretary said adults who have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine will soon be exempt from quarantining at home for up to 10 days.He said the government will take the “risk-based approach” from mid-August, “anyone who is a close contact of a positive case will no longer have to self-isolate if they have been fully vaccinated”.However, Mr Javid said those who are notified by contact tracers after coming into contact with a positive case, will be “advised” to take a PCR test “as soon possible” to provide certainty.The rules will also apply to all under 18-year-olds, who are not currently advised to get the vaccine, from 19 August, Mr Javid announced.And he insisted: “Anyone who tests positive will have to self-isolate whether they have had the jab or not.”His remarks came after Boris Johnson unveiled the government’s intention to remove remaining domestic restrictions from 19 July, and revealed he was looking at a “move to a different regime” for those who have had both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.However, with an estimated 50,000 daily Covid cases by 19 July, and possibly over 100,000 later in the summer after restrictions ease, it could mean significant numbers of people across the country will still have to self-isolate before the new rules are introduced on 16 August.Under the existing rules, if a person is pinged by the NHS app, or called by contact tracers after coming into contact with a positive case, they must isolate at home for up to a period of 10 days.Addressing MPs, Mr Javid said self-isolation had played a “critical role” in curbing the spread of the virus, but stressed the government was “fully away of how difficult” it had been.Mr Javid made clear that if an individual gets a second dose just before or just after the 16 August, they will be required to wait two weeks after which the second jab takes effect for the new rules to apply.He added: “This new approach means we can manage the virus in a way that is proportionate to the pandemic while maintaining the freedoms that are so important to us all.”Addressing the situation for younger people, the cabinet minister said: “We are not currently offering the vaccine to most people under the age of 18, so we thought carefully how we could make sure that young people get the right experiences that are so important to their development while at the same time keeping them safe from this deadly virus.“In line with the approach for adults, anyone under the age of 18 who is in contact with a positive case will no longer have to self-isolate. Instead they will be given advice on whether to get tested, dependent on their age and will need to self-isolate only if they test positive.” More

Voters believe that Matt Hancock’s resignation as health secretary made Boris Johnson look weak and the government sleazy, according to the findings of a new poll.The results of the Savanta ComRes survey for The Independent suggest that voters were not convinced by the prime minister’s attempt to imply that he had forced Hancock out after he was caught on camera breaking social distancing rules in a passionate clinch with a married aide.Some 50 per cent said the affair made the PM look “weak”, against just 32 per cent who said he looked “strong”, in a clear indication that voters think Mr Johnson was forced to bend to pressure for Mr Hancock’s removal, rather than being in control of events.And 48 per cent said that Hancock’s affair with Gina Coladangelo and his subsequent resignation made them more likely to regard the government as sleazy, against just 9 per cent who said they made it less likely.Mr Johnson initially accepted the health secretary’s apology and allowed him to stay in his job on 25 June, ordering his spokesperson to declare the matter “closed”.But after Hancock quit the following day amid a rising tide of anger on Tory backbenches, Mr Johnson attempted to claim credit for the resignation.In an apparent attempt to dispel suggestions that Hancock was forced out against the PM’s will, Mr Johnson said in a TV interview that “when I saw the story on Friday, we had a new secretary of state for health in on Saturday”. He was later branded “ridiculous” by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer when he repeated the line in the House of Commons.Today’s poll found that 36 per cent of voters saw Mr Johnson’s handling of the scandal as “very weak” and 18 per cent “quite weak”, compared to 19 per cent who saw him as “quite strong” and 14 per cent “very strong”.Even among Tory voters, the PM’s response to Hancock’s misdemeanour got the thumbs-down by a narrow majority, with 39 per cent saying he appeared weak and 38 per cent strong.• Savanta ComRes questioned 2,176 British adults between 2 and 4 July. More

Ministers are being told to end secrecy surrounding the feared increase in serious illnesses and deaths from ending Covid restrictions in England.Sajid Javid, the health secretary, admitted new daily cases could soar to 100,000 – while one expert warned of a possible 200,000 – but he refused to reveal other predictions received.In paving the way to remove almost-all lockdown measures, the government hailed the success of vaccinations in “weakening” the link with major illness and mortality, but admitted it has not been severed entirely.Layla Moran, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus, said: “The health secretary must clarify what this figure would mean for hospitalisations, deaths and long Covid cases, and what the expected impact on the NHS will be.“The government must not fly blind into a situation where the virus is allowed to run rampant while the patchwork of support services for long Covid patients is stretched to breaking point.“We also need urgent clarity on the impact of these plans on the clinically vulnerable and immuno-suppressed.”Modelling for serious illness and death has been done, but is unlikely to be published for several weeks – probably in the form of minutes from the Sage advisory committee.On Monday, Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, promised that “everything is made public”, but declined to say when that would be.Boris Johnson will confirm next Monday that social distancing rules will disappear – allowing drinkers to order at the bar – and that night clubs will reopen, from 19 July.Sir Patrick told the Downing Street press conference: “Modelling has been really quite accurate in terms of timing of the onset of this wave.“We are due more modelling next week, in the run up to the decision on the 12th, and that will be made public in the usual way.”Mr Johnson admitted there are expected to be around 50,000 new daily cases by so-called ‘Freedom Day’, but Mr Javid said that tally could double in the weeks afterwards“As we ease and go into the summer, we expect them to rise significantly and could go as high as 100,000 case numbers,” he said.“What matters more than anything is hospitalisation and death numbers and that is where the link is really weak.”The health secretary said the government had not revealed “numbers on hospitalisations” from 100,000 daily infections, but did not deny they existed.Professor Neil Ferguson, the leading epidemiologist, said: “There’s still the potential of getting very large numbers of cases and so, if we get very high numbers of cases a day – 150,000 or 200,000 – it could still cause some pressure to the health system.”The prime minister’s spokesman defended the non-release of modelling yet, insisting it would come “in the normal way” – while saying there is no threshold for increases in deaths that would trigger new restrictions. More

Boris Johnson’s government has ignored regional leaders by ditching the mandatory requirement to wear face coverings on public transport beyond 19 July, said Andy Burnham.The Greater Manchester mayor said the “lack of clarity” over whether people should continue to wear masks on buses, trains and trams would cause local leaders and transport bosses huge problems.“We weren’t formally consulted … If we had been involved in discussions about yesterday’s announcement, all of us would have made the argument about [the need for] masks on public transport,” Mr Burnham said Tuesday.“The government may have chosen to ignore our advice. But we would have appreciated an opportunity to say, ‘The reality of managing public transport … when there isn’t clarity anymore on masks, it will cause issues for us.’”Mr Burnham has said he would not defy the government and make them mandatory on the Manchester tram network, controlled by his office, saying: “I just don’t think it would work.”Mayor of London Sadiq Khan – also firmly opposed the end of mandatory masks – said he would hold talks with Transport for London, the Department for Transport and others before deciding on “next steps” regarding advice for passengers.Health secretary Sajid Javid said on Tuesday that the government wanted people to exercise personal responsibility when it comes to masks, rather than continue with legal regulations.Mr Javid told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he would wear a mask on a crowded tube carriage, but not on a less-crowded train carriage – even if the advice was to wear a face covering.“If I was on the west coast mainline, going up to my constituency, and it’s late at night and there was about three people on it, then even if it said, ‘We recommend a mask’, I wouldn’t wear a mask.” More

Sajid Javid has hinted the government’s test and trace isolation policy will be overhauled, as he stressed the need for a more “proportionate system” for those who have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.The health secretary, who suggested that case numbers could reach 100,000 per day later in the summer, said he will update MPs later today on the system, which currently forces those who have come into contact with a positive case to isolate, often after being pinged by the NHS app.Announcing the government’s intention to remove remaining Covid restrictions on 19 July, Boris Johnson told a No 10 briefing on Monday that ministers were also looking at a “move to a different regime” for those who have been fully vaccinated. While those who have received a positive case will still have to self-isolate for 10 days, recent reports have suggested individuals who have had both doses of a vaccine will not have to self-isolate if they come into a contact with a positive case, but will be advised to take a daily test. It is not yet clear at what date ministers intend to bring in any changes.Mr Javid will use his Commons statement on Tuesday to set out how the contact tracing system will operate in the future, insisting it was “absolutely right” that for those who have received both doses, “a different approach” can be taken.Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Javid, who was appointed as health secretary after Matt Hancock’s resignation last month, said the government must remain “vigilant” and retain the use of some “defences” to control the spread of the virus, including border controls. On test and trace, Mr Javid said the government will “make some changes” to the system, adding he will have “more to say” on the issue later today in an update to Parliament.In a separate interview on BBC Breakfast, the cabinet minister said: “We will have a more proportionate system of test, trace and isolate, and it is absolutely right that (for) those that have been double jabbed, that we can take a different approach than the one we take today.“In terms of what we will be doing exactly, you will have to wait for my statement to Parliament later today”Meanwhile, the education secretary Gavin Williamson is also expected to update MPs on the government’s plans to scrap school bubbles and contact isolation for school children after the summer holidays.Last week, almost 50 Conservative MPs demanded that schools return to “normal” on a permanent footing at the same time Covid restrictions are eased — currently scheduled for 19 July. In a letter to the prime minister, senior figures including former leader Iain Duncan Smith, said the current self-isolation policy is “unsustainable” and causing “unnecessary and significant disruption”. More

Sajid Javid has said he will carry a face mask with him for the “foreseeable future” and will continue to wear one in crowded spaces, as Boris Johnson announced rules on face coverings are set be torn up later this month.The new health secretary also insisted the government was “very comfortable” with the planned move to lift all remaining Covid restrictions in England on 19 July, despite forecasts of over 100,000 daily cases later in the summer.In a move branded “reckless” by Labour, social distancing will be scrapped and the legal requirement to wear a face mask will be lifted, with individuals instead being asked to take personal responsibility for making their own decisions.As unions and city mayors urged the government to retain face covering rules on public transport, Mr Javid declined to answer whether masks were an effective tool against Covid-19, instead arguing the rollout of the vaccine had “severely weakened” the link between infections, hospitalisations and deaths.“We are of course very comfortable with the decisions that we’re announced,” he insisted on Sky News.“I fully understand why many people will be anxious, they’ll want to be cautious and that is why other protections remain in place, but the vaccines are working.”Pressed on what circumstances he would wear a mask, the health secretary replied: “For the foreseeable future I’ll be carrying a face mask with me, I think that’s a very responsible thing for anyone to do, as I’ve said the pandemic is not over.”“If I’m in a crowded or enclosed space, in fact I’d wear one if I was next to someone who felt uncomfortable with us not wearing face masks — that’s what I mean by personal responsibility,” the health secretary added.Mr Javid’s comments came as one of his colleagues, the Conservative MP Miriam Coates, told LBC radio in a heated exchange that she wouldn’t wear a face mask on public transport and insisted: “Freedom is very important. I think showing our faces is part of being human.”However, according a to a YouGov poll, a clear majority of the public do not share Ms Coates’ view, with 71 per suggesting that face masks should remain mandatory on public transport. A further 66 per cent said the use of face coverings should continue in shops for a further period after restrictions are lifted.Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the former cabinet minister and chair of the Commons Health Select Committee Jeremy Hunt, also urged caution around “using the language of irreversibility” when lifting remaining restrictions because there is still a high number of infections worldwide.“At the moment, the projections are that the deaths from Covid will actually be less than some of our worst years for flu,” Mr Hunt said.He added: “When you have that kind of change, I think it’s reasonable to change the social contract to one of cooperation, rather than compulsion.“But I think we have got to be careful about using the language of irreversibility, because we still have 350,000 new infections every day across the world, there is still room for the vaccine-busting variants that we are all worried about. So we have to be on our guard and recognise that things may sadly yet change.” More

Sajid Javid has warned that Covid cases could get as high as 100,000 cases a day this summer, as he admitted numbers will “rise significantly” after all remaining Covid restrictions are eased in a fortnight.It comes as Boris Johnson unveiled the government’s next steps on 19 July, with plans to scrap all social distancing measures and lift the mandatory requirement to wear face masks on public transport and shops – despite protests from regional mayors.Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the new health secretary described the situation as “unchartered territory”, but also stressed link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths had been “severely weakened” due to the vaccination effort.According to the latest government figures there were 27,334 positive cases recorded on Monday, with 358 patients admitted to hospital and nine deaths within 28 days of a positive test.Mr Javid reiterated the prime minister’s comment yesterday that the government expects case numbers by 19 July — the date remaining sectors of the economy will be opened — will be around 50,000 new cases per day.But he added: “As we ease and go into the summer, we expect them to rise significantly and could go as high as 100,000 case numbers.“What matters more than anything is hospitalisation and death numbers and that is where the link is really weak.”Quizzed on how 100,000 daily Covid case numbers could translate into hospitalisations, however, Mr Javid claimed the government had not “put numbers on hospitalisations”.“We have models that we look at internally, we take the best advice there is out there, but what we have seen is a severe weakening in the link,” he said.“The link hasn’t broken, nobody is pretending it has, there isn’t enough evidence for that yet, but what have seen is a very severe weakening.“At the moment we’re seeing around 25,000 new cases a day. The last time we saw numbers like that — 25,000 cases a day — we sadly had deaths of around 500 a day and now we’re at about one thirtieth of that and that is because the impact of the vaccine number one but also the impact of the treatments.”Questioned on his comment made just last week that the government wanted the easing of restrictions to be “irreversible”, Mr Javid said he “hoped” legal restrictions would not have to return.“As I said yesterday there are some powers that we are retaining, particularly for local authorities to manage any future outbreak, but the one thing no-one can say for certain anywhere in the world is the future progression of the virus itself.“We’ve seen how there’s been variants already… but there may be and no one knows this, but there may be a variant that comes out in the future that is vaccine resistant, which means by definition that this wall of defence we’ve built is no longer going to be there for us. We have to of course remain vigilant.”His remarks came as professor Neil Ferguson, a government scientific adviser, described the government’s move to ease restrictions a “slight gamble” but also said that policy was “justifiable” and would have to remain “flexible”.“If we end up in something close to the worst-case scenario we and other groups are looking at, which I think is unlikely but can’t be ruled out, then yes there will need to be some course direction later,” he said.Professor Ferguson added: “At the peak of the second wave 50,000 cases would translate into something like 500 deaths, but that’s going to be much lower this time, more like 50 or so.“The challenge is, there’s still the potential of getting very large numbers of cases and so if we get very high numbers of cases a day, 150,000 or 200,000 it could still cause some pressure to the health system. More