PATEL’S BID TO OPEN ASYLUM CENTRE IN AFRICA
The Mail reports that the Home Secretary is working on laws which could see migrants sent to an offshore immigration centre, a report has revealed. The legislation would allow the country to build a processing centre of this kind for the first time as the total number of migrants arriving in the UK this year has reached 5,300. According to the Times, the plans will form part of the Nationality and Borders Bill and will see asylum seekers processed outside the UK in a bid to stop migrants making the dangerous journey across the English Channel. Boris Johnson is reportedly unhappy with the growing number of Channel crossings facilitated by people-smugglers, and allegedly blasted Miss Patel for her mismanagement.
TOP SECRET CLASSIFIED PLANS LEFT AT BUS STOP
The Mail reports that a top-secret Ministry of Defence dossier containing 50 pages of classified information about the Russian threat to HMS Defender ahead of its provocative Black Sea trip and British military plans for Afghanistan has been found by a member of the public at a bus stop in Kent. The dossier, which includes emails and PowerPoint presentations, originated from the office of a senior official at the MoD and were passed to the BBC by a member of the public after they made the discovery early on Tuesday morning – a day before the Black Sea crisis. The Government has now launched an urgent probe into the matter, with an MoD spokesman telling MailOnline that an employee had reported the loss of sensitive defence papers.
BRITAIN SECOND ONLY TO THE US WHEN PROJECTING NAVAL FORCE
The Express reports that Britain will be leading the way to uphold the law of the sea as the world’s second strongest naval power after the United States, Daniel Hannan has said.The former MEP turned Tory peer, who is also a special advisor to the Government on trade, made the comments as HMS Defender sparked a clash with Russian forces on Wednesday. The Peer added: “It is true, of course, that we are no longer the blue-water power we once were and went on, But let’s not lose our sense of perspective, when it comes to the ability to project naval force, we are second only to the United States.”
APPOINTING JAVID IS LIKE PUTTING FOX INTO CHICKEN COUP
The Independent reports that Labour has said that appointing Sajid Javid as the new health secretary after Matt Hancock’s resignation is akin to “putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop”, Labour has said. Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, described his counterpart as an “architect of austerity” who oversaw NHS “cutbacks” during his time as Chancellor. Mr Javid, speaking for the first time after Saturday night’s surprise appointment, said his “most immediate priority” will be ending the coronavirus pandemic as soon as possible. We are still in a pandemic and I want to see that come to an end as soon as possible and that will be my most immediate priority, to see that we can return to normal as soon and as quickly as possible.” The British Medical Association (BMA) has meanwhile said that Mr Javid will need to be “honest” with the public over tackling a backlog of care and negotiate the resources that the NHS needs, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, council chairman of the BMA, told Sky News there were “a record five plus million patients on waiting lists” which “doesn’t include about 20 million patients who were not seen in outpatient clinics last year”.
MOLE IN THE DHSC
The Telegraph reports that the CCTV device that caught Matt Hancock in a clinch with his female aide has been disabled, amid concerns over cameras in ministers’ offices. A Cabinet Minister confirmed on Sunday that a leak inquiry has now been launched into how footage captured inside the former health secretary’s private office was handed to The Sun, which then published it. Reports over the weekend claimed that a “whistleblower” in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) was behind the sting that led to Mr Hancock’s resignation. On Sunday it emerged that the camera in the corner of Mr Hancock’s old office, which he is said to have been unaware existed, would no longer be used. As well as the camera being switched off, it has reportedly been taped over with black masking tape. A Government source told The Telegraph: “The Department for Health and Social Care has disabled the camera. The investigation into the security issues arising is ongoing and is being taken seriously.”
HANCOCKS USE OF PRIVATE EMAILS UNDER SCRUTINY
The Guardian reports that former Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s use of private emails that bypassed disclosure rules when doing government business came under scrutiny this weekend, as exchanges emerged showing the former health secretary had personally referred an old neighbour wanting an NHS contract on to an official. Hancock has repeatedly denied that he had any involvement with £50m worth of contracts for NHS test-and-trace supplies secured by Alex Bourne, who used to run the Cock Inn, near Hancock’s old constituency home in Thurlow, Suffolk. When challenged by the Guardian at a Downing Street press conference in December last year about the award of business to a man locals described as his “buddy”, Hancock said he had had nothing to do with the contract. When first contacted by the Guardian, Bourne’s lawyers flatly denied that their client had any discussions with Hancock in relation to Covid-19 supplies. However, after being confronted with further details about his interactions with the health secretary, Bourne backtracked and conceded that he had in fact exchanged text and email messages with Hancock over several months.
JOBS TO GO AS FURLOUGH ENDS
The Telegraph reports: A quarter of a million jobs are expected to be lost this summer from the winding down of the furlough scheme, as businesses begin to pick up the tab for sidelined workers’ wages. The withdrawal of pay support for 1.5m furloughed workers, which begins this week, is forecast to push up unemployment to the highest level in six years. The first step will be taken on July 1 when businesses will have to contribute 10pc of wages for unworked hours, the first contribution to fully furloughed staff pay since last October. John Philpott, an independent labour market economist, said: “I estimate that around 250,000 will disappear because of continuing uncertainty about demand in certain sectors and workforce restructuring caused by the pandemic.” Economist Allan Monks predicted a 273,000 rise in unemployment by the end of the year, pushing the jobless rate to 5.5pc – the highest since 2015.
REGRETS WE HAVE A FEW SAY PET OWNERS
The Independent reports that the pandemic created a “perfect storm” of conditions for a boom in pet ownership. Britain is a nation of animal lovers so we didn’t need much encouragement, but a report from the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association found that over three million UK households have acquired a new pet since the start of lockdown. Now a new survey of more than 2,000 people has found that one in four new owners has regrets about getting a lockdown pet. While shelters are already seeing an increase in the number of pets being abandoned or given up for adoption.
BELARUSSIAN DICTATOR TO FLOOD EU WITH MIGRANTS
The Telegraph reports that embattled Belarussian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has made good on his threat to flood the European Union with migrants by sending hundreds of Iraqis on ‘package holidays’ to neighbouring Lithuania in retaliation for sanctions. Lithuania, an EU nation which shares a 700-kilometre border with Belarus, felt the pain days after Alexander Lukashenko issued the threat in late May. Lithuania this year received over 507 migrants, mostly Iraqi men, from Belarus, six times higher than last year’s number. Most of them arrived over the last three weeks. Mantas Adomenas, Lithuania’s deputy foreign minister, told the Sunday Telegraph: “We’re dealing with a dictator who is increasingly on the edge of madness and is prepared to do absolutely unspeakable and unpredictable things.” Mr Lukashenko was re-elected last year in a rigged vote that triggered months of unprecedented protests in the former Soviet country. His crackdown on the opposition reached a new low at the end of May when Belarusian authorities forced a Ryanair flight to land in Minsk, arresting a dissident journalist who was on board. Europe responded with tough sanctions, including banning Belarussian flights.
LET THE MUSIC PLAY
The Mail reports that tens of thousands turned out to party in protest against the perceived Government disregard for the live music industry during covid, in central London on Sunday afternoon. Crowds blocked Regent Street during the FreedomToDance march organised by Save Our Scene, demonstrating against the ongoing covid restrictions that are keeping nightclubs and music venues closed in order to stop the spread of the virus. The lively protest saw open-sided trucks rigged with speakers providing a mobile club atmosphere for the punters as they poured out onto the streets without masks to protest against coronavirus restrictions on nightlife. The protests come as the UK recorded its most new coronavirus infections since early February on Saturday, and the National Health Service ran a ‘grab a jab’ initiative to further drive up vaccination rates. Government figures showed that another 18,270 people tested positive for the virus across the UK, the highest daily number since February 5 and Over the past week, nearly 100,000 have tested positive, around 50 per cent increase on the week before. That has raised questions over whether lockdown restrictions will end as planned.
AND FINALLY
From The Sun: A girl of 11 has had a baby — and is now believed to be Britain’s youngest ever mum. She became pregnant aged ten before giving birth earlier this month Mum and tot, delivered after more than 30 weeks, are both healthy. A source who knows the family said: It has come as a big shock, the family had no idea.The main thing is that she and the baby are OK. She’s now being surrounded by expert help and social services and council chiefs are investigating. There are questions around why people did not know. That is very worrying. The UK’s previous youngest mum Tressa Middleton was 12 when she gave birth in 2006.
Re. NHS backlog.
It would have been even greater/longer if there had been no lockdown and covid had run unchecked.
Harryagain……..wah, wah, wah, wah, wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
Britain second to US naval power! Has Hannan forgotten about China and Russia?
Hannan was a supporter of Brexit in the European Parliament representing the Conservatives, but he never really said what had to be said, and with the knowledge and passion that Nigel Farage did. At best he was a second rater and how that qualifies him to be in the House of Lords I know not. Too fond of the sound of his own voice by far. By rights his place should be taken by Farage as he would be far more worthy of the position and would be a real presence in that House of Sleep. Hannan probably meant the that Britain’s Navy was second to the United States in NATO, and even then that might not be right either. What about the strength of the French Navy?