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The legal requirement for people who test positive with Covid to self-isolate will be scrapped on Thursday, the prime minister announced Monday evening.Boris Johnson unveiled his “Living with Covid” strategy during a speech in the Commons, which also included details on the scrapping of free coronavirus tests for most people from April.The PM also announced the scrapping of routine contact tracing, the £500 self-isolation payment and changes to statutory sick pay and employment support allowance which were implemented to help those impacted by the pandemic, would come into effect from 24 March.People will still be advised to self-isolate if they test positive, but there will be no legal requirement to isolate, and there will be no legal requirement for those who test positive to inform their employer of their need to isolate.From 1 April, only the most vulnerable will be eligible for free testing under the new rules and asymptomatic testing will continue for social care staff, however, the Department of Health and Social Care will receive no extra money to deliver the testing.Outlining his “Living with Covid” plan in the Commons, the PM said testing had become “much less valuable” in restricting the spread of Covid and that the £2bn-a-month cost of the system meant the government had to “scale back” what it could offer.A fourth vaccine dose, or second booster, will be offered to those 75 and older, the immunosuppressed and care home residents in the Spring.Mr Johnson warned the Commons that the “pandemic is not over”, with the Queen’s positive test a “reminder this virus has not gone away”.But he told MPs there is “sufficient levels of immunity to complete the transition” from laws to relying on vaccines and treatments and individuals making the right choices.He said: “It is time that we got our confidence back. We don’t need laws to compel people to be considerate to others.“We can rely on that sense of responsibility towards one another.“So let us learn to live with this virus and continue protecting ourselves and others without restricting our freedoms.”The cabinet gave the PM’s plan “unanimous backing” despite the meeting being delayed earlier today following a disagreement over funding.However, Labour leader Keir Starmer criticised the plan saying it was “half-baked”.He said: “As a nation there is no doubt we need to move on from Covid.“People need to know their liberties are returning and returning for good.“But this is a half-baked announcement from a government paralysed by chaos and incompetence. It is not a plan to live well with Covid.”Groups advocating for clinically vulnerable people have also criticised the strategy, particularly the end of self-isolation, while trade unions have criticised the decision to end Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) entitlements on the first day of illness.Helen Rowntree, director of research, services and engagement for Blood Cancer UK, said: “The government is lifting restrictions without a plan to protect immunocompromised people, for who the vaccines are proving less effective.“The Prime Minister may want the country to get its confidence back, but this will cause huge anxiety among immunocompromised people and leave many of them feeling abandoned.“This will lead to people finding it more difficult to live their daily lives and, sadly, some people dying from Covid.”TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: “The government is creating needless hardship and taking a sledgehammer to public health.“The failure to provide decent sick pay to all, from the first day of illness, is reckless and self-defeating.“If people can’t afford to stay home when they’re sick, they will take their infections into work.“Ministers’ inability to grasp this fact will leave the UK vulnerable to future variants and pandemics.” More

The Queen is expected to hold a telephone audience with the prime minister and conduct virtual audiences this week as she carries on with light duties despite catching Covid.The 95-year-old monarch, who is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms, is self-isolating at Windsor Castle, where a number of her team have also been hit by the virus.Concerns for the nation’s longest reigning sovereign have been heightened given her age and recent health scare.But Buckingham Palace has said the monarch expects to be at her desk continuing light duties over the coming days.The Queen holds an audience with Boris Johnson most Wednesdays, either in person or by telephone, and has recently been holding one or two diplomatic audiences a week with ambassadors by video-link, and is likely to do so this week if well enough.She is following all Covid self-isolating guidelines after testing positive on Sunday, but her diagnosis comes as Mr Johnson prepares on Monday to bring an end to the legal duty to self-isolate from next week.Downing Street said the Prime Minister intends to repeal all pandemic regulations that restrict public freedoms in England when he lays out his “living with Covid” plan.The Queen will also be working from her red boxes, sent to her every day and containing policy papers, Foreign Office telegrams, letters and other state papers from Government ministers and Commonwealth representatives that have to be read and, where necessary, approved and signed.For company, she has her dogs – her elderly dorgi Candy, corgi puppy Muick and another young corgi.The monarch, if she feels well enough, is also likely to study the Racing Post.She had a win on Sunday when her horse Kincardine won the Federation Of Bloodstock Agents Maiden Hurdle at Newbury.She will also be given a digest of the day’s news from the early-morning radio and television bulletins, and a selection of papers, with her photo gracing most of the front pages after the announcement that she has Covid.Her diagnosis follows a string of cases among the royal family, with the Prince of Wales meeting his mother in the week he tested positive, and the Duchess of Cornwall also isolating after contracting the virus.The Queen has only just reached her historic Platinum Jubilee of 70 years on the throne, on February 6.The Royal Household has its own physicians and the Queen’s doctors will be on hand to take care of and monitor the head of state, with Professor Sir Huw Thomas, head of the Medical Household and Physician to the Queen, expected to be in charge.The Queen has a number of major engagements coming up next month.She is set to host the Diplomatic Reception on March 2, where she will meet hundreds of members of the Diplomatic Corps at Windsor.She is also due to attend the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 14 and then the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service, also at the Abbey, on March 29.The Queen is believed to be triple vaccinated but until recently had been on doctors’ orders to rest since mid-October, after cancelling a run of engagements and spending a night in hospital undergoing preliminary tests.Just a few weeks ago, she had begun to resume her normal duties, hosting at Sandringham her largest reception in months, on the eve of her Platinum Jubilee anniversary, and a few days later she held her first in-person audience with the Prime Minister in many weeks.She now regularly uses a stick and recently commented about her mobility issues, telling two senior military officers during a Windsor Castle reception “Well, as you can see, I can’t move,” when asked how she was.On Sunday, the Queen sent a message of congratulations to Team GB women’s curling team who became Winter Olympic champions after the men’s team won silver, but it is not known if she had tested positive at the time the words were signed off.The Queen, whose husband, Philip, died 10 months ago, spent much of the pandemic in the safety of Windsor Castle, protected in “HMS Bubble”, the nickname given to her reduced household of dedicated staff.The monarch, who for almost two years avoided contracting Covid, has served as a symbol of national stability during the pandemic, delivering two rare televised addresses to the nation weeks apart. More

Sadiq Khan has pledged to oppose the appointment of a new Met Police chief unless they have a “robust plan” to deal with the “cultural problems” that have led to a series of scandals at the force.Writing in The Observer, the London Mayor said he was “deeply concerned” that public trust and confidence in the country’s biggest police force “has been shattered so badly”, which he concluded could only be rebuilt with new leadership at the top of the Met.Dame Cressida Dick dramatically announced she was standing down as Metropolitan Police Commissioner on Thursday evening after Mr Khan made clear he had no confidence in her plans to reform the service.

It has become crystal-clear that there are deep cultural issues within the MetLondon Mayor Sadiq KhanMr Khan wrote that he will “work closely” with Priti Patel on the selection of Dame Cressida’s successor.While the Conservative Home Secretary holds the power over the appointment, she must take the Labour Mayor’s preference into account.Mr Khan wrote: “I will not support the appointment of a new commissioner unless they can clearly demonstrate that they understand the scale of the cultural problems within the Met and the urgency with which they must be addressed.“In short, they need to get it, and they need to have a proper and robust plan to deal with it.”The comments could foment tensions that arose between the Mayor and Ms Patel over the manner of Dame Cressida’s departure, just months after the Home Secretary agreed a two-year extension to her contract.Home Office sources said Ms Patel was angered by Mr Khan’s failure to inform her that he had called Dame Cressida to a meeting on Thursday afternoon, which she considered “rude and unprofessional”. More

We are living through a time of uncertainty and political turbulence – at home and overseas.At home, we take democracy for granted: we should not. It is far more complex than simply having the right to vote.In many countries, there is a widespread discontent of the governed, and democracy is in retreat. Nor is it in a state of grace in the UK.In the last decades of the 20th Century, the number of democratic countries grew dramatically: the arbiter of civil liberties, Freedom House, classified 110 nations as democratic.Democrats were so confident that their way of government was the wave of the future that they stopped arguing for it.Their confidence was premature.In each of the last fifteen years, democracy has shrunk a little, as political and civil liberties have been diminished.In many countries, democracy has never taken root. Where it has, it risks being weakened by populism – often with added xenophobia, or muzzled by elected autocracy. More

Conservationists are up in arms over a UK government decision to sign a new deal with the Faroe Islands following a record mass dolphin slaughter.Ministers have been accused of being “an absolute disgrace” and of “flying in the face of public opinion” after announcing the £5.5m agreement allowing UK and Faroe vessels to fish areas of each other’s waters.It comes after there was a worldwide uproar in September when Faroese hunters caused a bloodbath with the killing of 1,428 dolphins in one go, and dozens of pilot whales just days later.Since then, calls for the government to suspend its 2019 trade agreement with the islands until whale and dolphin hunts end have gathered pace, with 73,000 people signing a petition, and supermarkets being urged to stop selling seafood from the Faroes.UK animal welfare minister Zac Goldsmith wrote to the Faroese and Danish governments condemning the massacre.But fisheries minister Victoria Prentis said on Tuesday she was “pleased to announce” the deal that allows the UK to fish 1,000 tonnes of cod and haddock, worth £2.2m, as well as other species.Fish consumption has risen in the UK as people have stopped eating meat in recent months and years.Responses from the public on social media overwhelmingly condemned the deal when Ms Prentis announced it, some asking whether it was a joke, and others accusing the government of turning a blind eye to mass torture for money. Wildlife-protection lobbyist Dominic Dyer, who launched the petition on the government website calling for a suspension of trade, said he was very angry about the agreement, which showed how “out of touch” ministers were with public views in the UK and Europe.“It’s really badly timed. They’re giving the islanders more access to enriching the economy at a time when international opinion is definitely turning against these horrible hunts,” he told The Independent.“We need to restrict tourism to the islands and trade – we need to hurt them in their pockets and make Denmark feel the pinch so that if they lose more trade, the Danes have to pick up the bill.”The Sea Shepherd and Born Free conservation organisations are carrying out polling in Germany Denmark and Britain on the hunts – called “the grind”, which Mr Dyer was confident would show widespread opposition.The campaigners are aiming to take a delegation of leaders, politicians, naturalists and broadcasters to the islands in the spring to draw the attention of the Faroese government and Danish governments to the “cruelty that has no justification”.Mr Dyer, who said the government argued this deal was a separate strand from other post-Brexit trade, said pressure must also be put on retailers over where they source fish. If the petition reaches 100,000 names, it will be considered for debate by MPs.One commenter tweeted to Ms Prentis: “The UK had an opportunity to state its opposition to the mass #slaughter of #whales and #dolphins. This is nothing to be proud of.”Another said: “Did you by any chance bring up the subject of how they hack dolphins and whales to death in front of their terrified and struggling families? Thought not. Not one moral fibre between the lot of you!”A third told her: “Worldwide condemnation yet you choose to reward them. Shameful.”The government says the Faroe Islands are in no doubt as to the UK position on cetacean hunts, which it raises “at every relevant opportunity”.Immediately after September’s bloodbath, Sea Shepherd said it believed the slaughter had been the largest single hunt in Faroese history, and was possibly the largest single hunt of cetaceans ever recorded worldwide. It said footage showed dolphins suffered prolonged suffering before being killed.The Blue Planet Society said the EU Commission could not “sit back and let the Faroe Islands devastate Europe’s protected dolphin and small whale populations”.A government spokesperson said: “The UK is strongly opposed to the hunting of any cetaceans and continues to call on all whaling nations, including the Faroe Islands, at every relevant opportunity to cease their whaling activities in favour of well-managed, responsible tourism, such as whale-watching.” More

The union representing civil servants is set to withdraw from the Cabinet Office’s internal review into racism over concerns that it isn’t taking the process seriously.PCS said there would have to be “major changes” to the “flawed” Respect and Inclusion review, which was launched in November following mounting complaints from staff about racism.It comes after The Independent revealed concerns about systemic problems within the department from a top civil servant.Kay Badu, a Black civil servant who worked within Government Digital Service, was handed a six-figure payout by the government over allegations he faced racial discrimination in Whitehall, we reported, though the Cabinet Office said it did not admit liability and does not accept a number of the claims which have been made.Politicians and campaigners including the Labour Party, Green Party, Stand Up To Racism and Black Lives Matter have called for ministers to carry out an investigation into the department’s approach to race issues.A spokesperson for PCS said: “The revelations from Kay Badu show just how serious racial discrimination is within the Cabinet Office.“PCS supported Mr Badu while he was employed at the Cabinet Office and the settlement, he reached in no way undoes the damage his treatment caused. “We have always been sceptical of the flawed Respect and Inclusion review into racism in the Cabinet Office and it is regrettable that PCS will have to withdraw from the process, unless the Cabinet Office commits to being open and transparent, including providing the union with the full report.” The union said the review’s process lacks transparency and openness, alleging that it has been shut out of the group that is managing the review process and arguing that the timeline on the review is “ridiculously short” and should have been reported by now.Moreover, the Cabinet Office is refusing to share the full report with the union, PCS said, preventing it from confirming that the scope is robust enough. “As a consequence, we are unable to say to members that we can trust the employer to seriously tackle racism and other forms of discrimination,” the spokesperson explained.PCS also referred racism concerns of Cabinet Office staff members to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.The EHRC is awaiting the outcomes of employment tribunals, The Independent understands.The union wrote to Sarah Harrison, the chief operating officer, on Wednesday advising that it will be withdrawing from cooperation in the review in five working days unless the department agrees to the following:The final report of the respect and inclusion review to be published in full.The number of employees given a personal meeting with IPSOS MORI to be increased to an agreed level to properly capture the lived experience of racism and other discrimination of staff. More

An MP accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy 14 years ago will stand trial next month. Imran Ahmad Khan, 48, allegedly groped the 15-year-old in January 2008 at a house in Staffordshire.Mr Khan, who was elected as Conservative MP for Wakefield, West Yorkshire, in 2019, appeared at the Old Bailey via video link.Ms Justice McGowan had previously fixed his 10-day trial for 21 March at Southwark Crown Court but has now delayed its start by a week.The judge said: “The fixture of the 21st is broken and we have now set the 28th.”Prosecutor Tom Little QC, said: “The prosecution are trial-ready.”The MP, who denied the single charge of sexual assault when he appeared at the Old Bailey in September, had the Tory whip suspended pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.In June last year he posted a statement on Twitter that read: “It is true that an accusation has been made against me.“May I make it clear from the outset that the allegation, which is from over 13 years ago, is denied in the strongest terms.“This matter is deeply distressing to me and I of course, take it extremely seriously.“To be accused of doing something I did not do is shocking, destabilising, and traumatic.“I am innocent.”Mr Khan, who was born in Wakefield, remains on unconditional bail. More

A Black civil servant was handed a six-figure settlement by the government over allegations of racial discrimination in Whitehall, with the deputy cabinet secretary warning that there was a “systemic issue” in the Cabinet Office, The Independent can reveal.Kay Badu, 36, said he had been subjected to bullying at the hands of white managers over the course of three years in the Cabinet Office, which left him with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. At one stage, he contemplated suicide.Mr Badu, who joined the Government Digital Service in 2018 as an executive assistant, said he was held back from promotion, that a manager had used the n-word, and that he had been asked in front of colleagues: “Why do some Black people play the race card when they get into trouble?” After raising complaints, Mr Badu later found himself the subject of an investigation.Prompted by Mr Badu’s case, Dame Helen Macnamara wrote to Alex Chisholm, the Cabinet Office permanent secretary, raising concerns about the handling of race issues in the department, which describes itself as “the centre of the UK government”.In the March 2021 letter, included in Mr Badu’s employment tribunal claim submission, Dame Helen wrote: “There is a striking absence of compassion in the way Kay was dealt with from the beginning, including the way that the organisation responded to the event where Kay told people that he had been contemplating suicide.“The grievances have allowed what has happened to be interpreted as a disagreement between individuals rather than a systemic issue.“Having heard a number of testimonies over the last year in particular, I think there is a proper question to ask about how [the Cabinet Office] deals with race at a systemic level. That is not about individuals (although individual behaviour could also be problematic); it is about whether the Cabinet Office is demonstrating it is listening to people raising these concerns and taking action to change.” More