Markus Andrews

Sian Berry has vowed to deprioritise the policing of cannabis if elected London mayor, including an immediate end to officers using the drug as sole grounds for stop and searches.After decades of outright prohibition, the decision to redivert police attention away from small-scale cannabis offenders was first announced in County Durham in 2015 with the aim of freeing up officers’ time and refocusing scant resources on organised crime. As evidenced by a sustained drop in recorded possession offences of the country’s most popular illicit drug, they are far from the only force to do so.It is one of several of the Green Party candidate’s manifesto pledges shared with The Independent, aimed at diverting drug users away from the criminal justice system and creating “a real public health approach to drug use in the capital”, where drug-related deaths are at the highest level in two decades. Ms Berry also pledged to create access to free drug safety testing, to consider expert advice on whether to open a safe consumption facility, and to provide treatment centred around medical-grade heroin (diamorphine) prescriptions for the most entrenched and at-risk users – currently offered in Glasgow and Middlesbrough.The Green Party co-leader, who is currently third in the polls, suggested that addressing issues around the enforcement of cannabis laws “will fix the heart of a lot of the disproportionality of policing”. “The experience of young black men on the streets of London is they are constantly suspected of drug offences when in actual fact they’re even less likely to be taking drugs than white young men. It’s just utterly disproportionate,” Ms Berry told The Independent. City Hall figures show black people are almost four times more likely to be stopped and searched on the capital’s street than white people. Meanwhile, a poll commissioned by The Evening Standard in 2019 placed public support for legalising recreational cannabis at 63 per cent in London.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 weekdayMs Berry, who sits on the London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee, accused the Metropolitan Police of appearing to “push back” on criticism over instances where the smell of cannabis had been used as the sole grounds for searches, which is against police guidelines. She alleged that the force seemed “genuinely complacent” in its written reply to a recent warning from the police watchdog not to do so, by “essentially claiming [the problem is] to do with the recording of the grounds, not what’s happening on the ground”. Scotland Yard told The Independent it has “unconditionally accepted” the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s (IOPC) recommendations and is “fully committed to delivering them, adding it is ”committed to ensuring our use of stop and search is fair and effective in protecting Londoners”. Asked why she believed there had not been tougher enforcement of the guideline under Sadiq Khan’s mayorship, Ms Berry said: “I think it’s complacency, and it’s resistance on the part of the police to recognise there are systemic problems that create disproportionality. They often try and dismiss that and say it’s ‘bad apples’, bad recording, and so it is about looking at it properly.”In November, Mr Khan announced plans for “community scrutiny” of police tactics including stop and search, use of force and Tasers as part of action to “improve black Londoners’ trust and confidence in our police service”. In response, Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick acknowledged the force “is not free of discrimination, racism or bias”.And a mayoral spokesperson told The Independent that Mr Khan “believes the time is right for society to have an evidence-based conversation about cannabis — about the law, how it is enforced, and how we help those struggling with addiction”. “He will always support the police to enforce the law as it stands, but all Londoners will benefit if we can start a conversation that leads to a reduction in violent crime,” the spokesperson said.
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Fifty-six per cent of respondents to a new poll by Ipsos MORI agreed Mr Rashford, known for his off-the-field campaigning efforts to tackle Boris Johnson’s Cabinet on child poverty and free school meals, had done a good job in pressing Westminster to do more.By contrast, ITV’s Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan and broadcast journalists in general scored 32 per cent and 31 per cent respectively in the survey of 18 to 75-year-olds carried out in the first month of the new year.Sir Keir, the leader of the opposition, had a 29 per cent favourability rating, with 28 per cent saying he was making a “bad” job of it, compared to just nine per cent who took exception to Mr Rashford’s efforts.Newspaper reporters fared slightly less well than their TV and radio counterparts, scoring only 25 per cent approval, the same figure as MPs.By party, Conservative and Labour representatives performed relatively similarly, scoring 24 per cent and 23 per cent respectively when it came to leaving a favourable impression on pushing for change.However, 44 per cent said Tories should be doing more to challenge their own leadership, whereas only 35 per cent said Labour members of the House of Commons were thought to be doing poorly.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 weekdayWhile the prime minister provoked anger earlier this week by saying “we did everything we could” as the British death toll from the pandemic passed the 100,000-mark, with many pointing to his government’s myriad mistakes, delays and policy U-turns, the England forward has become the surprise social justice sensation of the crisis. More

The former head of the UK’s vaccine taskforce has said there needs to be a more efficient way of administering inoculations, including the use of pills, patches, or nasal sprays to speed up the process.As countries grapple with immunising populations against coronavirus, Kate Bingham added that Britain and the EU needed to collaborate to produce “tweaked” vaccines against new variants that may arise.Responding to a question about the possibility that vaccine rollouts or top-ups against the virus could be required, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We for sure need to be working together [with EU] to develop those tweaked vaccines that will address the new variants, which will inevitably arise because that’s what viruses do is they mutate, and we need to improve the vaccine format.“Frankly, two injections delivered by health care professionals is not a good way of delivering vaccines. We need to get vaccine formats which are much more scalable and distributable, so whether they are pills or patches or nose sprays.“We need to find better ways of developing and delivering vaccines and will do that in collaboration just as we’ve been doing it over the last few months.”In response to her comments, the shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth commented: “Hope this succeeds. Given new variants we are in a race against evolution. Anything that helps us go further and faster can only be a good thing.”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 weekdayMs Bingham, who led the government’s efforts to sign contracts for vaccine supply last year, refused to be drawn on the row between Brussels and AstraZeneca over the supply of jabs to the continent and warnings of millions of doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine being blocked from entering the UK, but insisted “trade barriers are not something that we should be considering”.Speaking on Friday, Ms Bingham stressed that the UK had got ahead in its vaccination supply by beginning production early, saying:  “I’m not going to get into the details of the contacts but one of the things the CEO of AZ (AstraZeneca) did not mention is that we actually started scaling up manufacture of the Oxford vaccine from February.”So, yes, we signed the contract, or agreed terms with AZ, in May, but actually the work to scale up the manufacturing started months before that, and it is that early work that was done by the industry – voluntarily, not based on contracts or requirements but a voluntary coalition of the different companies.”That is what has ultimately made the difference as to why we are so far ahead on manufacturing.”Asked about AstraZeneca’s dispute with the European Union, Ms Bingham added: “We are interdependent and I don’t think that the idea that there are going to be trade barriers is something that we should be considering.” More

The EU says is ready to use “all legal means” to retain vaccine supplies, stepping up its threat to block exports of Pfizer jabs to the UK if necessary.
A leaked letter sent by Charles Michel, the European Council president, reveals Brussels is exploring “urgent measures to ensure effective vaccine production and supply for our population”.The so-called “vaccine wars” have been sparked by AstraZeneca guaranteeing supplies to the UK – while delaying deliveries to the EU because of production problems, arguing its contract was signed later.
In response, Mr Michel said emergency measures were being explored to block exports, including of the Pfizer vaccine where the UK has 40 million doses on order.“This would give the EU and member states the legal means, by adopting appropriate urgent measures, to ensure effective vaccine production and supply for our population,” he wrote.“I made this suggestion to the Commission president Ursula von der Leyen so that we can explore this avenue imminently,” he told the leaders of Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Greece.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 weekdayMr Michel, who represents the EU’s 27 member states, said efforts would continue to resolve the matter with AstraZeneca “through dialogue and negotiation”.
“However, if no satisfactory solution can be found, I believe we should explore all options and make use of all legal means and enforcement measures at our disposal under the treaties,” he added.The conflict – which follows an EU claim on some vaccines made in the UK – heated up amid a separate spat over a German ruling that the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to under-65s.On a visit to Scotland, Boris Johnson denied any concerns, saying: “No, because I think the MHRA [Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency], our own authorities, have made it very clear that they think the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is very good”.“The evidence they’ve supplied is they think it’s effective across all age groups and provides a good immune response across all age groups,” the prime minister added.
Concern is growing in Brussels that is falling behind in the vaccine race, with around 13 per cent of Britons given a jab, compared with only 2 per cent of the EU’s population. One data company’s forecast suggests that the UK will have achieved herd immunity by vaccinating 75 per cent of the population by 14 July – while the EU will have to wait until 21 October.
Meanwhile, the worst violence in decades has broken out in Dutch cities against coronavirus restrictions, with fears the protests will grow if hopes are dashed.
The EU failed to make a breakthrough in crisis talks with AstraZeneca on Wednesday, when it demanded the drug maker spell out how it will supply the bloc with reserved doses of vaccine from plants on both sides of the Channel.More comprehensive checks have also delayed regulatory approval – which is now expected to be given on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Scottish government could start publishing details of coronavirus vaccine supplies arriving in the country as early as next week – despite a previous outcry from the UK Government when numbers were made public.
Holyrood ministers were forced to change vaccination documents they had published online when the UK government claimed setting out how many doses are expected and when could breach commercial confidentiality.
But with Nicola Sturgeon under fire about the vaccination roll-out in Scotland, she said: “I think we will just go back to publishing the actual supply figures from next week, so that we all have transparency around that.”The first minster recalled that when her government initially published the expected supply details, she had “the UK government demanding we took that out of the public domain”.
But at the same time she said UK politicians were “quite happy to brief these figures through spin to the media”. More

The home secretary told MPs that going on holiday was “not a valid reason” to leave home during the current lockdown and that the police presence at ports and airports would be increased.“Anyone who does not have a valid reason for travel will be directed to return home or they will face a fine,” she added.But there are fears that people who have already spent substantial sums of money on booked flights and accommodation will refuse to return home, take a £200 fine, and proceed with their holiday.Speaking to journalists on Thursday, the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said police will not automatically stop travellers choosing to continue their journeys under current coronavirus legislation.Martin Hewitt explained that police can question people about their reasons for travel in airport terminals or car parks in the way they would in other public spaces.He said that those who do not have a reasonable excuse for travel under the law can be fined “but the process after that is being worked through”.“Whether they are then barred from travelling is not a police issue, that’s a borders issue,” Mr Hewitt added.“In the terminal we can stop and question people, but the point that needs clarification is whether there is something then that prevents travel.”Addressing the House of Commons on Wednesday, Ms Patel said people would also be required to declare their reason for travel, in a form which will be checked by carriers before departure.A Home Office spokesperson told The Independent the forms have not yet been issued, and it is unclear how carriers could void the legal agreements made with ticket holders at the time of purchase.There is no indication of any legal change that would afford police greater powers to prevent people from leaving the country.The Home Office said officers would also be carrying out more physical checks at addresses to make sure people are self-isolating after returning to the UK from abroad. More

Imagine if AstraZeneca happened to be an American or Chinese company, and manufactured all of its Covid vaccines far away from the EU and Britain. The chances are that the stories about production problems, breaches of contract and export bans would not have acquired the heated, chauvinistic Brexity quality that they have in recent days. It would be much more of a business story than yet another episode of the Brexit saga. It would matter, but the focus would be on the prosaic aspects of contractual obligations, complex supply chains and the impact on public health.  Instead, of course, with a somewhat similar set of rows about the Pfizer vaccine, it has been itself infected by the virus of populist nationalism. In some ways, this probably suits the European Union, to be seen to be standing up for Europe’s citizens and demanding its fair share, legally and morally. Who cares, on this reading, if the British got their big order in first? Any company is obliged to honour its obligations no matter when any order was placed. So the EU wants transparency, from AstraZeneca. The company is sticking to its “first come first served” policy.  The EU’s subsequent proposal to require approval for vaccine exports to third countries (mainly Britain), looks illogical, and nationalistic, even if it is only part of a continuing struggle with a private sector pharma giant. Conveniently, though, it distracts from any criticism among the member states about the EU’s own mistakes, if any. This may not last.   More

A 56-year-old man has been sentenced for spitting at former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in a “barrage of abuse” during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.Gerald Dore assaulted Mr Corbyn on 20 May last year at the corner of Seven Sisters Road, north London, while the MP was cycling with his wife Laura Alvarez.“He began shouting and swearing aggressively towards both parties before ultimately taking a step towards Mr Corbyn and spitting,” Mr Barrowcliffe said.In a statement read by the prosecutor, Mr Corbyn said he was “alarmed and distressed by the aggressive behaviour” and was particularly concerned by the man spitting in his face.Representing himself, Dore said the incident was not motivated by the Islington North MP’s politics as he claimed that he did not know him.“I didn’t dislike him, he was just in my way and I was trying to get home,” he told the court.“All I was trying to do was cross the road and he was in the way. I might have sprayed him.”Dore previously admitted one count of assault by beating against Mr Corbyn and a second charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of unlawful violence.He added that he had chronic pain and mental health issues, and the court was told he had a lower culpability.“To spit at someone is gross in any circumstance but to do so at a time when the infections were running very high was very serious indeed,” district judge Adrian Turner said, although he accepted that the assault was a chance encounter.The judge gave Dore an 18 month community order, which will include 80 hours of unpaid work, and ordered him to pay £250 in compensation, including £150 to Mr Corbyn and £100 to his wife.Additional reporting by PA More

Schools in Northern Ireland will remain closed until at least the first week of March, the country’s first minister has said.Arlene Foster confirmed on Thursday that Stormont ministers would back a proposal brought forward by education minister Peter Weir, which called for current schooling arrangements to stay in place until 5 March at the earliest.  It means pupils would return to school on 8 March – providing Covid cases continue to fall and the country deems it safe – the same date Boris Johnson has said schools in England are set to reopen.At present, only vulnerable children and those of key workers are allowed to attend class under NI coronavirus guidelines.“The Executive has decided that schools will not be able to fully open again before 5 March, this will apply to all educational settings including pre-schools, nurseries, primaries and post-primaries,” Ms Foster said at a press conference.
“Special schools will remain open and mainstream schools will continue to provide supervised learning for vulnerable children and the children of key workers,” she added.“Childcare settings and child minders will also remain open.”
She said she understood that “for so many it will be felt as a disappointment that we cannot yet press the restart button on this and indeed many other aspects of daily life” but that this was the country’s best hope of getting “our young people back into the classroom as soon as possible”.  “As a working mother of children still in full time education, I have a sense how difficult home schooling can be practically, educationally, and emotionally,” she said. “The kitchen table is no substitute for the school desk and as my children would no doubt agree, parents are no substitute for trained teachers or lecturers.”Sending a “message to all the young people”, Ms Foster said: “We understand how difficult this is for you, you are coping with much change and much uncertainty and we recognise the new challenges which you are experiencing and we are determined to do all we can to support you as well.
“We know you haven’t had the benefit of in-class teaching for the equivalent of half a school year, since the start of Covid-19, and for those who in exam transition points this has been a particularly difficult time.”It comes one week after NI moved to extend its current coronavirus lockdown to 5 March, and just a day after Mr Johnson announced schools in England would not reopen until at least 8 March either.  Ms Foster did not specify if ministers had voted to follow Mr Weir’s phased return approach, in which he suggested not all pupils should return to school on 8 March. Instead, he said, schools should start by allowing just priority groups to return such as children in key exam years.Mr Weir also urged Executive colleagues to support his request for special school teachers to be prioritised for Covid-19 vaccinations, similar to the current calls being made across England for teachers still going in to work to be given jabs as a matter of urgency.Ms Foster said at the news event that government ministers had been told earlier that NI’s R rate for new cases had fallen to “well below 1”, and is currently sitting between 0.65 and 0.8.  However, the number of patients in specialist intensive care is still high, she warned, with the R rate for hospital admissions falling between 0.8 and 0.9, and somewhere between 0.95 and 1.15 for ICU admissions. More