Markus Andrews

Helen Whately has hinted rules on visiting care home could be relaxed within weeks, allowing more contact between individuals and elderly relatives who have received a first dose of a Covid vaccine. The care minister said she “really, really wanted to open up” residential homes when England exits the national lockdown and insisted this could be done before those vulnerable to the disease have their second jab.Her remarks came as Boris Johnson prepares to unveil the government’s roadmap next week, setting out how restrictions will be gradually lifted for different sectors of the economy over the coming months.During the national lockdown, all care homes have been instructed to to enable socially distanced visits outside, including window visits and the use of “visiting pods”.Pressed on when would be the earliest possible moment people would be able to see their relatives in care homes, Ms Whately told Sky News: “I really, really want to open up in visiting in care homes more. “To be clear we have made sure visiting can continue even during this national lockdown but I recognise it’s not the normal type of visiting, it’s having to use screens and visiting pods, or through windows if care homes don’t have those facilities. “But what I want to do as we come out of the national lockdown is also increase the amount of visiting. I don’t see that we have to wait for the second vaccination dose. I want us to open up sooner than that. Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday“But I will say with this as with generally when you come out of lockdowns, we do have to be cautious. Most residents in care homes have only had their first dose, some of them only very recently, so it will be step by step. “I’m determined so that we can see people go back to be able to hold hands again and to see somebody who you haven’t been able to see very much in the last few months and over the last year. I really want to make that happen.”The minister, however, stressed that visitors to care homes would still be expected to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) even if rules are eased.“There’s still a way o go to see, for instance, whether the vaccine stops people from being infectious and how it plays through,” she told BBC Breakfast.“Visiting will be taken step by step and we will, for instance, when people come back to more normal visiting, still be asking people to use PPE and follow those kinds of procedures.”She added: “I don’t want to have to wait for the second dose. Clearly that’s really important to give care home residents maximum protection, but I really want us to to be able to open up cautiously and carefully. To enable residents some contact with family members, because I know it’s just so, so important.” More

As pressure mounts on the government to get pupils back into classrooms in England, rules on wearing face masks in school will be tightened and mass rapid testing could be rolled out after the planned reopening next month, it has been reported.Under the new plans, it will become mandatory for pupils to wear masks outside classroom bubbles in secondary schools whenever it is not possible to practice social distancing, according The Guardian.Until now, the decision as to whether or not students wear face masks in communal areas in schools and colleges has been left up to head teachers, with current guidance stating that the government does not recommend that face coverings are necessary in education settings.The government is also reportedly hoping to manage outbreaks of Covid-19 by deploying repeat lateral flow tests for pupils to be conducted in school when they return, before switching to home tests.TheTelegraph reports that parents will be asked to administer lateral flow tests on their children at home twice a week during term time, to minimise the chances of an outbreak spreading quickly throughout a school.Secondary schools will reportedly be allowed to stagger the return of some year groups to allow for every pupil to be tested when they arrive at school.Challenged on the report, the care minister Helen Whately told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there is “work in progress”, adding: “I’m not going to get drawn into that.””There is work in progress looking at how testing can support schools to come back.”There’s already testing going on in schools, where you have children of key workers and teachers in schools at the moment, because schools aren’t completely closed, and there is work going on at the moment about the details of the return to schools, and there will be more said about that next week.”The Department for Education (DfE) is also reportedly planning to launch a PR campaign to shore up parents’ confidence in school safety ahead of 8 March, which is when Boris Johnson told MPs the government hopes to start reopening English schools.A report by The Guardian said that a series of announcements on schools will be made next week, starting with Mr Johnson’s blueprint to relaxing lockdown restrictions on Monday, followed by details on catch-up, assessments in the coming summer, and coronavirus testing.The prime minister cautioned that the date for reopening schools in England is dependent on a number of factors, including the rate of vaccination amongst priority groups. A final decision on the issue is not expected until Friday at the earliest.School leaders are due to hold talks with DfE on Thursday and are expected to call for a phased approach to reopening schools rather than a “big bang” return that would see 10 million students and staff heading back into the classroom on the same day.Geogg Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College leaders, said it was “important that the full reopening of schools doesn’t end up triggering another spike in infection rates and another lockdown”, which he said would be a “disaster”.“We need to remember that fully reopening schools brings into circulation nearly 10 million pupils and staff, which is not far short of a fifth of the population in England. It isn’t just the mixing in school that is the issue, but the potential for increased risk on the way to and from school and outside the school gates,” he told The Guardian.A spokesperson for DfE said in a statement: “The prime minister is due to set out plans for schools reopening on 22 February, and it is hoped pupils will return from 8 March.“Schools remain open to vulnerable children and children of critical workers, but if critical workers can work from home and look after their children at the same time then they should do so.” More

The crisis sparked by Covid-19 is “a call to arms” like 1945, the Labour leader will say – drawing a direct parallel with the way Clement Attlee transformed Britain from the ruins of war.“I believe people are now looking for more from their government – like they were after the Second World War,” Sir Keir will say, arguing Boris Johnson’s “failed Conservative ideology” cannot provide that.Casting himself as that leader-in-waiting, he will say: “This must now be a moment to think again about the country that we want to be.“A call to arms – like the Beveridge Report was in the 1940s. A chance to diagnose the condition of Britain and to start the process of putting it right. That’s the path I would take in the March Budget.”But the speech comes as Sir Keir’s leadership hits its first troubled patch, after almost a year of sky-high public approval ratings that wiped out the huge Tory poll lead.He has been accused of excessive caution, of splitting his party by shunning its Corbynite wing and of a clumsy embrace of “flag and family”, to win back traditional Labour voters.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayHe “would not leave a trace of a meaningful political project in his wake” if he departed tomorrow, said Tom Kibasi, a key Starmer backer last year, in a stinging attack.Sir Keir has also angered pro-EU Labour figures by declining to speak out on the trading crisis sparked by the completion of Brexit.The speech in London – to include a flurry of new policies, Labour says – also sets the benchmark for Rishi Sunak, when the chancellor delivers a crucial Budget in two weeks.Labour has already demanded he scraps deep cuts to universal credit, bails out town halls to avoid council tax rises and extends business rate and VAT help for suffering businesses.Now Sir Keir will set further tests for ensuring there is “no return to business as usual” after the pandemic, demanding action to:– Tackle inequalities “from birth”– Ensure young people “don’t have to leave their home town to have a chance of getting a good job”– Prevent “millions” of people being “denied the dream of home ownership”– Put tackling the climate emergency “at the centre of everything we do”– Shape the future of work to “harness the opportunities of automation and technology”.“In a few weeks’ time, we will have a Budget that will be a fork in the road,” Sir Keir will say.“We can go back to the same insecure and unequal economy that has been so cruelly exposed by the virus, or we can seize this moment and go forward to a future that is going to look utterly unlike the past.“That choice will define the Budget and it will define the next election.” More

Talks to rebuild security cooperation with the EU must restart now after the Brexit deal left the UK “less safe and less secure”, a Conservative group says.Boris Johnson is accused of “not being ambitious enough” after the agreement shut down access to vital criminal databases, including records of stolen identities and wanted people.Ejection from the European Arrest Warrant system means “some criminals will not be extradited”, while leaving Europol means the UK will lose crucial influence, a report says.“It is plain that we have lost important tools for tackling crime,” said its author, QC Guy Mansfield.“Speed is crucial and the loss of real time access to important databases will have a serious impact on our ability to tackle a host of issues associated with international organised crime.”Sir David, Theresa May’s former deputy, said: “Criminality today does not respect national frontiers and our security systems must reflect this reality. The UK and EU must now urgently conduct talks to strengthen security cooperation.”Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayAnd Mr Grieve said: “Every day that passes is storing up problems, as systems run more slowly and with less cooperation between security agencies. The government cannot simply cross its fingers and hope.”The criticism comes after the prime minister – unlike his predecessor – chose not to pursue a separate security agreement in last year’s frenzied Brexit negotiations.Leaving the SIS II database of suspected terrorists and organised criminals – checked 603 million times by UK police in 2019 alone – means relying on slower information-sharing after requests.The UK has also sacrificed the ability to initiate joint investigations through Europol and Eurojust, and EU states will no longer have to extradite their nationals to the UK.Its report points out that so-called “successes” are not gains, but simply rescued access to the Passenger Name Records (PNR) and European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) databases.Lord Sandhurst added: “I do not wish to see the UK less safe or less secure as result of our changed relationship with the EU.“This is not a debate about sovereignty, trade or tariffs. It’s about security and, as a Conservative, I believe that the security of the UK and its citizens must always come first.”However, No 10 has shown no enthusiasm to return to the negotiating table since Mr Johnson signed what he called his “fantastic” deal.A new “partnership council” with the EU has yet to be set up, and the government has insisted the agreement cannot be reopened. More

A microphone caught the prime minister referring to the infamous moment in the 1995 murder trial when a glove was found not to fit the former American football star.“I’ve got it, I’ve got it, I’ve got it,” said Mr Johnson, as he wrestled with a blue latex glove. “It’s like OJ Simpson!”The nurse helping Mr Johnson at the Cwmbran vaccine site was heard politely saying “absolutely” during the awkward moment, having apologised for giving him “the smallest gloves”.Simpson was acquitted of the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goodman, but a US civil court jury later found him liable and he was ordered to pay $33.5m (£25m) in damages.A crucial part of Simpson’s defence was the claim he could not get his hands into black leather gloves found at the murder scene, having struggled to put the gloves on in a dramatic courtroom scene. “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” said his lawyer Johnnie Cochran.It is not the first time Mr Johnson has caused controversy during trips to health facilities during the pandemic.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayLast March he was criticised for saying he had been “shaking hands with everybody” during a visit to a hospital – despite scientific advice warning against the greeting.The prime minister said on Wednesday that easing current restrictions in England will be based on a “cautious and prudent approach”, signalling that pubs and restaurants will be among the last parts of the economy to come out of lockdown. More

Attempt to trigger Article 16 was ‘mistake’, says EU vice presidentSignificant backlash has forced Northern Ireland’s ruling DUP into backtracking on measures intended to ease agri-food trade disruption in NI caused by Brexit.Under post-Brexit customs rules, checks are required on animal-based products entering the UK from the EU, and subsequently on goods moving between Great Britain and NI too.It was decided that a ‘Swiss-style’ trading arrangement with the bloc would ease such regulations, therefore mitigating trade disruption, but the DUP’s economy minister Diane Dodds on Tuesday ruled out such an arrangement – because it would require the UK to “slavishly” follow EU rules “in every respect”.Meanwhile, Wales’ former Labour first minister accused Boris Johnson’s “anti-Scottish” outlook of driving support for Scottish independence. Carwyn Jones told the Constitutionally Unsound podcast that Downing Street was playing into the hands of the SNP.“If you keep on saying ‘no’ to democrats you give succour to people who are far more extreme,” he said, referring to Mr Johnson’s repeated refusal to allow an indyref2 vote to go ahead. “How do you say in the long term ‘no, no, no’ when people in Scotland keep voting yes, yes, yes? That’s a fundamental problem that can only end badly.”Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayShow latest update
1613573196PM makes OJ Simpson joke as he struggles to make gloves fit During a visit to a vaccination centre in Wales, Boris Johnson struggled to put on the blue latex gloves he had been given, joking that they were so small that it was “like OJ Simpson”. The prime minister made the ill-advised joke in reference to the former American football star, who famously tried on a pair of gloves as a defendant in a 1995 murder trial. They were throught to have used in the killing of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend, Ronald Goldman.When the gloves did not fit, Mr Simpson’s defence team used it as a key piece of evidence. Although he was acquitted in the 1995 murder case, the sports star was later found liable and was made to pay the deceased’s survivors $33.5 million. Adam Forrest reports: Rory Sullivan17 February 2021 14:461613572073Boris Johnson says devolution ‘absolutely not’ a disaster The prime minister has said that devolution “can work very well”, three months after he sparked a row by reportedly describing devolution as a “disaster” in Scotland and “Tony Blair’s biggest mistake”.On a visit to a coronavirus vaccine centre in south Wales on Wednesday, Boris Johnson was asked if he thought devolution had been a bad thing. He said: “Certainly not overall. Absolutely not. I speak as the proud beneficiary of devolution when I was running London. I was very proud to be doing things that made a real difference for my constituents and my electorate, improving quality of life.”“I think that devolution can work very well, but it depends very much on what the devolved authorities do,” he added. Rory Sullivan17 February 2021 14:271613570279PM ‘concerned’ by report of Dubai ruler holding daughter hostageBoris Johnson has said his government is “concerned” by reports that the daughter of Dubai’s ruler is being held against her will. In a series of videos obtained and broadcast by the BBC this week, Princess Latifa said she was being kept “hostage”, following her attempted escape from the UAE three years ago. Referring to the footage, the prime minister said: “That’s something, obviously, which we are concerned about, but the United Nations Commission on Human Rights is looking at that.“I think what we’ll do is wait and see how they get on. We’ll keep an eye on,” Mr Johnson added. Rory Sullivan17 February 2021 13:571613569237Scotland to continue efforts to rejoin Erasmus, says SNPScotland will continue its efforts to rejoin the Erasmus student exchange programme, a leading SNP politician has said.This comes after a bid by Scotland and Wales to reenter the EU-scheme was blocked by Brussels on Tuesday, with commission president Ursula von der Leyen saying that Holyrood and the Senedd could not overrule a decision made in London. Mike Russell, Scotland’s constitutional secretary, told Holyrood’s Finance and Constiution Committee on Wednesday that the UK government’s decision to leave Erasmus after Brexit was “utterly unnecessary”. He added that ministers deliberately obscured their intent before they announced the decision. “The UK government knew perfectly well the view of the devolved governments on this matter and we were not told the truth about it,” he said.Mr Russell vowed to “continue to argue” the case for Erasmus, adding that it’s replacement, the UK’s Turing scheme, is inferior. Rory Sullivan17 February 2021 13:401613567995Lifting lockdown too soon could spell ‘disaster’, government adviser warns Easing lockdown too quickly would risk a “disaster”, a government scientist has warned. Dame Angela McLean, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told the Commons Science and Technology Committee on Wednesday that the country “got into real trouble” last year by lifting restriction prematurely. “I think we can say very, very clearly, don’t unlock too fast because if you unlock a lot while a lot of the most vulnerable are still unvaccinated, genuinely we risk disaster frankly,” she said. Ashley Cowburn reports: Rory Sullivan17 February 2021 13:191613566807National Theatre abandons EU tours due to ‘Brexit uncertainty’ The National Theatre has announced it is “shelving” plans to tour the EU due to uncertainty over obtaining visas and work permits in mainland Europe.“We are currently not able to confirm any touring commitments in Europe as a result of Brexit legislation,” the company said on Wednesday. Under post-Brexit legislation, actors, musicians and crews from inside the UK can no longer work freely across the EU. Despite government pledges on Tuesday that it would open negotiations with individual bloc members to help British artists tour, culture minister Caroline Dinenage admitted there were “a lot of obstacles to overcome”.As a result, plans to take productions such as the hugely popular Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time to Europe have been abandoned, a National spokeswoman told the BBC News earlier.It comes after more than 100 members of the performers’ Equity union, including Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Julie Walters, penned an open letter to the government urging Boris Johnson to negotiate new terms with the EU that would allow “creative practitioners” like themselves “to travel to the EU visa-free for work”.Sam Hancock17 February 2021 13:001613564393PM’s ‘anti-Scottish’ government driving indyref2 supportDespite the PM’s best efforts to quash the movement, it seems Boris Johnson’s government is driving support for Scottish independence (also know as indyref2) because of its “anti-Scottish” outlook, according to the former Labour first minister of Wales.Carwyn Jones said No 10’s strategy was playing into the hands of the SNP, suggesting it would not be wise to block a second referendum on independence in Scotland.“Boris Johnson is head of a government that is very English nationalist in its outlook,” MrJones told the Constitutionally Unsound podcast. “How do you say in the long term ‘no, no, no’ when people in Scotland keep voting yes, yes, yes? That’s a fundamental problem that can only end badly.”Adam Forrest has more: Sam Hancock17 February 2021 12:191613564222DUP u-turns on move to reduce Irish Sea border disruptionA cross-party backlash has forced the DUP into backtracking on measures that would ease agri-food trade disruption in Northern Ireland because of Brexit.Post-Brexit rules mean checks are required on animal-based products entering the UK from the EU. And because NI continues to follow EU customs rules, the regulations also apply to goods moving between Great Britain and NI.A new ‘Swiss-style’ trading arrangement would see some checks on animal-based products loosened, therefore mitigating trade disruption.My colleague Matt Mathers reports: Sam Hancock17 February 2021 12:171613563067Pubs and restaurants will come out of lockdown last, PM hints Boris Johnson has hinted that pubs and restaurants will be the last part of the economy to reopen in the gradual lifting of the third national lockdown. On a visit to a mass vaccination centre in Cwmbran, south Wales, he suggested the return of the hospitality sector would come after other sectors. However, he refused to give any specific details about when restrictions would be eased. Rory Sullivan17 February 2021 11:571613561824Children’s commissioner highlights danger of not extending universal credit increase The outgoing children’s commissioner Anne Longfield will tell the government on Wednesday that it must do more to protect to vulnerable children. She will highlight the damage done to children if ministers do not extend the £20 increase in universal credit, which is due to end in April. “If the government is really focused on educational catch-up, it wouldn’t even countenance pushing 800,000 children into the type of devastating poverty which can have a much bigger impact on their life chances than the school they go to or the catch-up tuition they get,” she will say.My colleague Zoe Tidman reports: Rory Sullivan17 February 2021 11:37 More

Boris Johnson has signalled that pubs and restaurants will be among the last parts of the economy to come out of lockdown in England, saying he will take a “cautious and prudent approach” to removing restrictions.Speaking during a visit to a mass vaccination centre in Cwmbran, south Wales, the prime minister said he backed Sage scientist Professor Dame Angela McLean’s warning that any unlocking should be based on “data, not dates”.Asked what the timetable for the return of hospitality industries would be, he declined to give any dates, but pointed to the experience after last year’s lockdowns, when pubs and restaurants were among the last to reopen.Responding to Prof McLean’s comments to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, Mr Johnson said: “I do think that’s absolutely right. “That’s why we’ll be setting out what we can on Monday 22nd about the way ahead and it’ll be based firmly on a cautious and prudent approach to coming out of lockdown in such a way to be irreversible. “We want to be going one way from now on, based on the incredible vaccination rollout that you’re seeing in Cwmbran.”On the timetable for reopening pubs and restaurants, Mr Johnson said: “I certainly think that we need to go in stages, we need to go cautiously.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday“You perhaps remember from last year that we opened up hospitality fully as one of the last things that that we did, because there is obviously an extra risk of transmission from hospitality.“But we’ll be sending it all out on on Monday and I know there’s there’s a lot of understandable speculation in the in the papers and people are coming up with theories about what we’re going to do and what we’re going to say and about rates of infection and so on. “I would just advise everybody just wait, we will try and say as much as we can on Monday.”Mr Johnson said there were “encouraging signs” that the vaccination campaign was driving the recent decline in Covid-19 cases, but said it was still too early for a definitive judgement.“I think that, overall, if you look at the infection rates across the UK, they are coming down a bit now. That’s very encouraging,” he said.“I think one of the big questions people will want to ask is to what extent now is that being driven by vaccination. We hope it is, there are some encouraging signs, but it’s still early days.”Mr Johnson said that the rate of vaccinations in the Cwmbran centre was “really outstanding”, improvising a rhyme in its praise.“I think, as the song goes, ‘I’ve been all around the world and then Japan, I’ve never found a place for vaccines like Cwmbran’,” he said. “How about that?” More

Unwinding the national lockdown “too fast” would risk a “disaster”, a government scientist has warned as she urged caution with many yet to receive Covid vaccines.Appearing at the Commons Science and Technology Committee, Dame Angela, who also serves as chief scientific officer at the Ministry of Defence, said the country “got into real trouble” in 2020 for not being cautious enough.She told MPs that while cases were falling alongside hospitalisations and deaths, “we still stand with a high number of infections”. The government scientific adviser added: “I think we can say very, very clearly, don’t unlock too fast because if you unlock a lot while a lot of the most vulnerable are still unvaccinated, genuinely we risk disaster frankly.”“I think none of us want a situation where there is a wave of infection mostly amongst people who are not terribly [vulnerable] but that spills over into deaths and very serious illness that is very focused on some bits of society.”Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday“I’m not being gloomy, I’m being cautious. I think it is correct to be optimistic and cautious. In 2020 we got into real trouble on several occasions when we were not cautious enough.”Pressed by MPs at the committee whether the R level of transmission needed to be a certain level before lockdown can be eased, Dame Angela said: “I think the timing is probably more important, it’s how many of the people who are more at risk of – that’s a mixture of old people or people with underlying conditions – have been vaccinated before we do more unlocking.“The important issue is to really watch very closely what is happening, so that if infections start to increase and that we do everything we can to decide whether it is a good moment to take another step in unlocking. Let’s use data, not dates.” Dame Angela also suggested it was “quite unlikely” for a full return to how society was before the pandemic struck, claiming: “There are things we used to do that I suspect we won’t do anymore. I suspect we just won’t go to work if you have a respiratory illness.”Pressed on whether this should be mandated, she replied: “It would be most powerful if it simply became socially unacceptable to go to work with a cough.”Earlier, the chief executive of NHS providers Chris Hopson suggested the number of coronavirus infections needs to plummet under 50,000 before the prime minister can consider easing the national measures. The most recent figures show that 695,400 people in England had Covid in the week ending 6 February.Mr Hopson’s organisation has set out four “tests” which should guide easing: getting case numbers down, reducing pressure on the NHS, further strides in the vaccination programme and an effective strategy to control future outbreaks.“If you look at where we are against those four tests, each one of them tells you that we’re still some way away from being able to start relaxing restrictions,” Mr Hopson told BBC Radio 4’s Today.“We had 500 Covid patients in hospitals in September and yet, 15 weeks later, we had 34,000 patients, and we were perilously close to overwhelmed.“So, what that says to you is that you just need to be really careful before you start relaxing the restrictions prematurely.”Mark Woolhouse, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, also told the committee on Wednesday that the data is pointing to “earlier unlocking”, adding: “I completely agree that we don’t to be overly focused on dates, not at all.“We want to be focused on data. But the point I’d make is the data are going really well. The vaccination rollout is, I think, exceeding most people’s expectations, it’s going very well.”“The transmission blocking potential [of vaccine] is key. But so, of course, is its actual ability to protect against death and disease, and to keep people out of hospital, and those numbers are looking really good. My conclusion from that is if you’re driven by the data and not by dates, right now, you should be looking at earlier unlocking”. More