UK Politics

Boris Johnson has denied introducing a lockdown by “stealth” after warning people to think carefully before socialising over Christmas.Speaking on a visit to a vaccine site in Ramsgate the prime minister said the government’s approach was different to last year – when closures were enforced.It comes after hospitality industry figures criticised the government for effectively telling people to stay away while offering no government support for their flagging businesses.Asked whether he was introducing a lockdown by stealth, Mr Johnson told reporters: “No – because what we’re saying is, this is very different from last year. “Because what we have is the additional protection of the vaccines and the ability to test, so if you want to do something, if you want to go to an event or a party, then the sensible thing to do – if that’s a priority – the sensible thing to do is to is to get a test and to make sure that you’re being cautious. “But we’re not saying that we want to cancel stuff, we’re not locking stuff down, and the fastest route back to normality is to get boosted.”The government last year was force to close hospitality venues to blunt the vast new Covid wave breaking on the UK.But ministers provided significant support such a furlough payments – which so far they have been reticent to make available despite warnings from the sector.Greg Parmley, chief executive of the trade association for live music venues LIVE said: “The current lockdown by stealth is quickly pushing the live music sector to the edge.“We are now facing a crippling blow as individual venues scramble to cover the spiralling costs of Covid-related cancellations, which will inevitably result in permanent closures.”The Government must step up to the plate and provide a raft of financial assistance now, if it is to avoid much-loved live music venues and businesses closing up shop for good.”In lieu of lockdown measures the government has urged people to be selective about when they socialise and to get a booster jab. Also speaking on Thursday Liberal Democrat frontbencher Wendy Chamberlain said MPs should not go home for Christmas until “we pass a deal to keep our pubs, cafes and restaurants alive”.“Pub landlords, waiters and chefs need help now,” she said. “How can we look our local landlord in the eye and tell them Parliament broke up for Christmas when they are on the brink of going under?”Urging the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who is reportedly abroad, to act, she said: “The Chancellor must get on the next plane back from his California jaunt to move heaven and earth to save a hospitality sector on the brink of collapse. “I will be ready to pass any new business support package in Parliament the Government brings forward. Get a move on Chancellor, the clock is ticking.” More

<img src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/12/16/08/newFile-2.jpg?width=982&height=726&auto=webp&quality=75" alt=" Rishi Sunak has been criticised for not announcing a new package of support amid the latest Covid guidance ” height=”726″ width=”982″ srcset=”https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/12/16/08/newFile-2.jpg?width=320&auto=webp&quality=75&crop=982:726,smart 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/12/16/08/newFile-2.jpg?width=640&auto=webp&quality=75&crop=982:726,smart 640w” layout=”responsive” data-hero i-amphtml-ssr class=”i-amphtml-layout-responsive i-amphtml-layout-size-defined” i-amphtml-layout=”responsive”> Rishi Sunak has been criticised for not announcing a new package of support amid the latest Covid guidance Senior Tories are […] More

Rishi Sunak has been told to come out of hiding to rescue stricken hospitality and entertainment businesses, after it emerged he is abroad while omicron lays waste to Christmas bookings.Labour and business leaders joined forces to demand the chancellor put forward an urgent package to compensate for customers being urged to cut back on socialising as infections soar.Pubs, hotels and restaurants are predicting a 40 per cent plunge in takings – and twice that in London – while a former head of the Royal National Theatre warned of a crisis for the entertainment sector.The Treasury says it has no plans to provide further financial support and has ruled out bringing back the furlough scheme, despite the fast-deteriorating situation.Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said: “It’s frankly inexplicable that the chancellor and the business secretary are nowhere to be seen.“What they ought to be doing is getting business leaders and trade unionists around the table, as they have done at different points throughout the pandemic, to thrash out a package of support measures for these industries.”Help with business rates and “action on statutory sick pay, so that when workers are forced to isolate at home, they can afford to do so”, was desperately needed, he told BBC Radio 4.Rachel Reeves, after Wednesday night’s Downing Street press conference – at which the public was told to cut back on Christmas events – tweeted: “Where is the Chancellor?”“It is quite staggering that, despite the obvious implications of the government’s rhetoric, we haven’t heard a squeak out of HM Treasury,” said Michael Kill, the head of the Night Time Industries Association.It then emerged that Mr Sunak is in California for most of the week, “on a long-planned trip conducting government business”, a Treasury spokesperson said.On Wednesday, the chief medical officer Chris Whitty urged people not to mix at events unless they “really matter to them” and Boris Johnson also urged caution before going out.The decision not to impose legal restrictions – under pressure from rebellious Tory MPs – means he is under less pressure to bail out firms with another support package.But the head of the Resolution Foundation thinktank, Torsten Bell, said: “If you’re telling people to avoid hospitality, it doesn’t matter if you’re not banning them from doing so: restaurants, pubs, bars are going to get stuffed. They’ll lose customers and workers will lose their jobs.”However, Gillian Keegan, a health minister, defended the situation, telling BBC Radio 4: “Businesses are open – we haven’t closed them.She agreed that customers are cancelling bookings, but insisted: “We do still have in place quite a lot of support for business.”Both a VAT cut to 12.5 per cent for hospitality firms, and a wider reduction in business rates, continue until the end of March. More

Voters across the political divide are going cold on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal as its implications become clearer, a new study has found.Leave and Remain voters have both become more likely than they were in January to say the UK has got a bad deal with the EU.The study, by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), found that just 12 per cent of people believed Britain and got a good deal in August – a decline from 21 per cent who took the same view in January. Opinion has hardened among remain voters from 66 per cent who now say a bad deal was procured, compared to 53 per cent in 2021.But among Leave voters, too, the balance of opinion has tilted away from approval – with Brexiteers no longer more likely to say a good deal has been had.In January 35 per cent thought Mr Johnson had got a good deal compared to 22 per cent thinking it was a bad one; now 36 per cent say it is bad against 22 per cent who say it is good. Eminent political scientist John Curtice, who oversaw the study, said the results showed people were going off the deal – but for different reasons.“The Brexit deal is being criticised from two directions – those opposed to the policy in principle and those who dislike the way it has been implemented in practice,” said Sir John, a professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde. “People on the Remain side of the debate are relatively united in their dislike of an outcome whose principal objective is one that they oppose in the first place. Meanwhile, some on the Leave side feel that the UK is still tied too closely to the EU’s orbit, while others would have preferred a softer Brexit. “And it’s those with strong views on Brexit – the partisans on both sides – who are proving most difficult for the government to satisfy. As a result, the nation is still divided over the outcome of the Brexit process.”It comes after a series of problems blamed on the deal, from issues for British fish exporters to shortages of lorry drivers and crops rotting in the fields.The government is currently trying to renegotiate parts of the withdrawal agreement relating to Northern Ireland. More

Boris Johnson’s Downing Street briefing on the deteriorating Covid situation spawned jokes and internet memes after the branding of the government’s new “Get boosted now” slogan drew comparisons ranging from Hula Hoops to Sonic the Hedgehog. The prime minister fronted a press conference on Wednesday flanked by England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, and Dr Nikki Kanani, director of primary care at NHS England, in which the trio urged the public to take up the offer of coronavirus jabs. Mr Johnson said the government was “throwing everything” at the rollout, “so please get boosted now”.Across each lectern were the same three words, “Get boosted now”, with an oversized “o” in “now” used without explanation. The branding left more than one Twitter user contemplating a Hula Hoops crisps connection.The Wellcome Trust’s Dr Lindsay Broadbent wrote: “The Get Boosted Now campaign is obviously important… but could they have tried to make it look less like a Hula Hoops advert?”BBC reporter Luxmy Gopal concurred: “’Get boosted nOw’ – the new slogan font is making me crave hula hoops for some reason.”Others pondered whether the jumbo golden circle had been inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog’s power rings… …or had even been inspired by the nineties and noughties youth drama series Byker Grove: The Independent would hazard a guess that the “o” stands for omicron, since the UK recorded a record number of Covid cases on Wednesday driven by the new variant. The Downing Street press office was not immediately able to give a definitive answer. More

Britons have been told they should cut back socialising now to preserve their hopes of a proper family Christmas Day, as coronavirus infections hit a record high and scientists warned that a large wave of omicron will put the NHS under strain within weeks.Chief medical officer Chris Whitty told a Downing Street press conference that the new variant of Covid-19 was “moving at an absolutely phenomenal pace” and that substantial numbers of cases needing hospitalisation intensive care were likely in the period following Christmas Day.“Substantial gaps” can be expected in hospital staffing as doctors and nurses go down with omicron, he said, as another member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) scientific advisory panel warned there was a possibility of the NHS becoming “overwhelmed”.The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Covid envoy, Dr David Nabarro said the British health service was in “an emergency situation”, with an “extraordinary acceleration” of cases likely to lead to an extremely serious situation over the last two weeks of December.“I have never been more concerned than I am tonight, not just about the UK but about the world,” said Dr Nabarro.Prime minster Boris Johnson said people should “think carefully” about socialising and said his own plans for his first Christmas with his new baby daughter were “pretty modest at this stage” because of the likely pressure of work.He called on people to get vaccinations and booster jabs in a “great national fightback” against the disease. Boosters hit a daily record of 656,711 on Tuesday but remained well short of the 1 million a day needed to meet Mr Johnson’s pledge of giving them to everyone eligible by the end of the month.Professor Whitty said he expected people would “deprioritise” non-essential gatherings to ensure being able to enjoy the most important events, which for most will be Christmas Day with family.“I really think people should be prioritising those things – and only those things – that really matter to them,” he said. “Because otherwise the risk of someone getting infected at something that doesn’t really matter to them and then not being able to do the things that do matter to them obviously goes up.”Official figures showed 78,610 new Covid infections across the UK in what Professor Whitty said was effectively “two epidemics on top of one another” as a rapidly growing wave of omicron cases is added to the stable but high numbers of people affected by the earlier delta strain.“I’m afraid we have to be realistic that records will be broken a lot over the next few weeks as the rates continue to go up,” said Professor Whitty.“This is a really serious threat at the moment. How big a threat? There are several things we don’t know. But all the things that we do know are bad.”With the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimating that omicron cases are doubling in less than two days, the chief medical officer said it would only be a short time before Britain sees “very, very, very large numbers” of infections.“There will be substantial numbers and that that will begin to become apparent, in my view, fairly soon after Christmas,” he said. “It’ll start before them. But in terms of the big numbers, I think that’s a reasonably nailed-on prospect.”And he made clear this would include substantial numbers of health and care staff.“Very large numbers of people in society – and that includes doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers – are going to get Covid at the same time, because this will be a very sharp peak,” he said. “There will be significant problems actually providing staff.”Giving evidence to a parliamentary committee earlier in the day, UKHSA chief executive Jenny Harries warned that omicron presented  “probably the most significant threat we’ve had since the start of the pandemic”, warning that it could place the NHS in “serious peril”.Dr Harries said that “quite staggering” numbers of infections can be expected in the coming days due to the highly contagious nature of the new strain, which “runs the risk of evading our natural and/or vaccine immunity”.And she warned that the speed of spread was accelerating, with infections now doubling in less than two days in most parts of the UK, compared to an estimated four or five days when the threat first emerged.UKHSA previously estimated that as many as 200,000 new infections with omicron took place in the UK on Monday, implying that cases could reach 1 million a day by the end of the week, with millions infected by 25 December.Professor Whitty warned that the scale of the likely outbreak meant that “lots of people” are going to get sick, even if omicron turns out to be milder than earlier strains.The director of Oxford University’s Rosalind Franklin Institute, Professor James Naismith, said that even if widespread immunity meant omicron was four times less likely than delta to cause severe disease, its rate of spread meant that it could cause double the number of daily hospitalisations within seven days.“Unfortunately this is just the start,” said Professor Naismith. “Numbers are going to get much bigger very quickly.”The unofficial independent Sage group of scientists and medics called for an immediate 10-day circuit-breaker lockdown in order to permit “limited” social mixing on 25-28 December.Calling for the closure of indoor hospitality and entertainment venues and a ban on indoor mixing by different households in the run-up to Christmas, the group said in a statement: “Christmas is 10 days away – that’s five doublings at its current growth rate, making the situation potentially 32 times worse by then.“The opportunity for early action has been lost and the time for further delay is over. The situation is so urgent we must take emergency action now and that means it is imperative to reduce contacts. Advice is no longer enough since it does not convey the urgency of the situation.”But Mr Johnson declined to impose any new formal restrictions on pubs, restaurants on Christmas parties.“What we are saying is think carefully before you go, what kind of an event is it, are you likely to meet people who are vulnerable, are you going to meet loads of people you haven’t met before, and get a test, make sure there’s ventilation, wear a mask on transport,” Mr Johnson said.“We’re in a different environment thanks to the boosters from where we were last year but we’ve got to be cautious and think about it while we wait for the benefits of the boosters to really kick in.”His comments sparked fury in the nightlife sector, which has seen mass cancellations of bookings as the threat from omicron became clear.“With the prime minister appearing to lack the political will to impose actual restrictions and instead seeking to induce a pseudo-lockdown through repeated sombre-sounding announcements, our sector is now facing the worst of both worlds – a recent drop in trade and no government support to help us through,” said Michael Kill of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA). And the president of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) called on chancellor Rishi Sunak to step in with financial support for businesses “seeing their vital festive income melt away in front of their eyes”.“Businesses now face the two-punch combination of serious issues with staff absence and plummeting consumer confidence,” said baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith.“Businesses have heard nothing from the Treasury since this new round of Covid interventions arrived over a week ago. Not even a rationale has been provided for why it believes no new support is required. They deserve better.” More

Boris Johnson accused top TV journalist Robert Peston of “completely mischaracterising” events held at Downing Street last Christmas during a feisty exchange at the latest government press conference.The ITV host asked Mr Johnson and his top medical advisers how they felt about reports and photos of festive parties held at No 10 and Conservative HQ, as the prime minister fielded questions on omicron.Mr Peston also challenged Mr Johnson if he would welcome a police investigation into the gatherings held while there were strict bans on households mixing.The prime minister fired back: “I just say to you, Robert – I think you completely mischaracterise the events in this place.”Mr Johnson claimed his staff had “worked blindingly hard for a very long time in cooperation with people around government and across the whole of public services to do our very best to keep people safe”.Referring to the festive gatherings currently being probed by top civil servant Simon Case, the PM added: “We’ll of course hear from the cabinet secretary about what he believes has happened, and if the police think there’s anything to follow up I think they will.”Asked by The Independent if he was confident that the public would listen to his Covid instructions despite polls showing damaged trust, Mr Johnson replied: “I follow the rules. Everybody across politics show follow the rules.”He added: “But what I’ve noticed is the British public in response to what I said on Sunday have really got the point, that this wave is coming in … the numbers [getting boosters] are extraordinary.”Earlier on Wednesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Johnson had lost the trust of the public and his own MPs after almost 100 Tories voted against his plan B measures.“We can’t go on with a prime minister who is too weak to lead,” said Sir Keir at PMQs – challenging Mr Johnson to “take time this Christmas to look in the mirror and ask himself whether he has the trust and authority to lead this country”.Mr Johnson declined to impose any new formal restrictions on Wednesday, but he use his press conference to urge people to cut back on Christmas partying, telling them to “think carefully” before going out during the festive season.England’s chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty went further, saying: “Don’t mix with people you don’t have to for either work or family things that really matter to you.”The chief medical officer also told the Downing Street briefing said omicron was “moving at an absolutely phenomenal pace”, adding that a large rise in hospitalisation could be seen after Christmas.As the UK recorded 78,610 new Covid cases – the highest seen during the pandemic – Prof Whitty said: “I’m afraid we have to be realistic that records will be broken a lot over the next few weeks.” More

Boris Johnson has appointed crossbench peer Baroness Hallett to chair the long-awaited public inquiry into the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.The inquiry – to be launched in spring 2022 – will be given powers to summon witnesses, including ministers and advisers, under oath, and to compel the release of documents related to the crisis.Lady Hallett – a former high-court judge – previously acted in the inquests of the 52 victims of the 7/7 bombings, and is currently acting as coroner in the inquest into the death of Dawn Sturgess, who died in July 2018 following exposure to the nerve agent novichok.While welcoming her appointment, the organisation Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, which has been pushing for an independent inquiry, said: “Whilst this news is very welcome, unfortunately it comes too late.“We’ve been calling for an inquiry since the end of the first wave, and we will never know how many lives could have been saved had the government had a rapid review phase in summer 2020. With the omicron variant upon us, the inquiry really cannot come soon enough.”The group also urged the prime minister to consult them on the terms of reference, adding: “The inquiry could and should be a historic and positive process from which the terrible suffering and loss of the past 18 months are learned from, to ensure these tragedies are not repeated in the future. Today is finally a positive step in making that happen.“This is a one-off, historic opportunity to learn lessons to protect lives across the country. We cannot afford to get it wrong and we look forward to working closely with Baroness Hallett to make it a success.”Mr Johnson, who resisted previous calls for a rapid inquiry into his administration’s handling of the Covid pandemic, has told MPs the public inquiry, which will place the “state’s actions under the microscope”, will be launched in spring 2022.In a statement on Wednesday, the prime minister said: “I want to thank Baroness Hallett for agreeing to take on the position of chair of the Covid-19 inquiry.“She brings a wealth of experience to the role and I know shares my determination that the inquiry examines in a forensic and thoroughgoing way the government’s response to the pandemic.”Lady Hallett said: “I am honoured to be appointed to chair the Covid-19 inquiry. The pandemic has affected us all, some much worse than others. I am acutely conscious of the suffering it has caused to so many.“In the new year I shall be seeking views from those who have lost loved ones and all other affected groups about the inquiry’s terms of reference.“I want to assure the British public that, once the terms of reference are finalised, I shall do my utmost to ensure the inquiry answers as many questions as possible about the UK’s response to the pandemic so that we can all learn lessons for the future.” More