DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO

The Telegraph reports that Matt Hancock the Health Secretary admits ‘letting people down’ but has refused to resign after footage emerged of him embracing his aide. Boris Johnson has accepted Matt Hancock’s apology for breaching social distancing rules, after the Health Secretary was photographed in a passionate embrace with an aide, and “considers the matter closed”, Downing Street has said that the Prime Minister retains full confidence in Mr Hancock, but refused to confirm that Mr Hancock has not broken the law. Seeking to draw a line under the scandal, the spokesman said: “The Health Secretary and Prime Minister’s focus remains on tackling the pandemic, as we move towards Step 4 in July. That work is ongoing and that will remain our priority.” No 10 confirmed that Mr Johnson and Mr Hancock had both attended a daily coronavirus meeting on Friday morning, but declined to comment on the details of any “private conversations” between the pair about the revelations but on Friday morning a former Conservative minister said Boris Johnson should “chop” Mr Hancock today to avoid a rerun of the Dominic Cummings saga when the PM was politically damaged for failing to fire his chief adviser for breaching lockdown rules.

PARENTS CALL FOR END TO KIDS COVID TESTS RULES

The Mirror reports: Frustrated parents are calling for an end to “ridiculous” isolation rules as thousands of children continue to be sent home from school. As bubbles keep bursting across the country, families are insisting further remote learning is harming pupils and threatening livelihoods. The ‘bubble’ system imposed by the government sees children organised into small classroom groups to stop the spread of the bug. But if one child tests positive for Covid, every other child in the same bubble must also go home and isolate for two weeks or until a negative PCR result is received. Families have said the repeated disruptions to learning have left children in tears at missing more school and put pressure on parents who need to take time off work.

LAMBDA COVID VARIANT NOW IN THE UK

The Sun reports: Covid variant ‘Lambda’ is currently ripping through South America and has now been discovered in the UK. Six cases of the Lambda variant have been discovered in Britain – all of which have been linked to overseas travel. Public Health England this morning declared it as a Covid Variant Under Investigation. The earliest documented sample was reported in Peru and Lambda has been sequenced in 26 countries to date, PHE said, although other reports claim it has been found in 29 countries. Lambda (C.37) is now being watched, due to several notable mutations including L452Q and F490S. The World Health Organisation classified Lambda as a global Variant of Interest on 14 June.

PREVIOUS EU IMMIGRATION TO UK FIGURES GROSSLY UNDERESTIMATED

The Telegraph reports that EU immigration to the UK was underestimated by more than 1.6 million between 2012-2020, it has emerged, after the ONS revised its methodology to produce new figures that dwarf previous estimates. Previous immigration figures were based on surveys contributing to a model known as Long Term International Migration (LTIM), which now appears to have wildly missed the mark.The new technique, called Rapid, is based on actual tax and benefits data instead, and “has the benefit of removing uncertainty”, said the ONS. It reveals that in many years of the last decade the number of EU migrants was more than, or close to, double previous estimates. In the year ending March 2019, for example, 410,000 are now assumed to have arrived, as opposed to the 186,000 previously estimated, up a substantial 120 per cent.

NO BUSINESS MEANS NO SHOW BUSINESS

The Telegraph reports that one of Britain’s most influential theatre owners has challenged Boris Johnson to “walk down the Strand and feel the pain”, as industry leaders pile pressure on ministers to release the findings from their live event pilot scheme. In a direct appeal to the Prime Minister, he said: “Can I challenge Boris to walk down the Strand past my office and feel the pain of half to three quarters of all premises being closed?” His comments come as criticism mounts over the Government’s failure to publish research into its live event pilots, which many in the industry had been hoping would come last week. Earlier this week, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh joined a host of other West End producers and live music bosses in launching legal action against the Government in an effort to force it to release the findings from the pilot scheme. The group claimed that the delay has made it “impossible to plan for any live entertainment business”. Documents that formed part of the analysis leaked to news site Politico earlier this week. They suggested that any restrictions at all could prove hugely damaging for the live events industry.

NO MAJOR OR UNCONTROLLED OUTBREAKS AFTER EVENTS

The Times reports that there were no “major or uncontrolled outbreaks” of Covid after live events were held at venues including nightclubs and Wembley Stadium to investigate the dangers of the virus spreading. Ministers had been under pressure to publish the findings of the research, which was commissioned in the spring. Labour had accused the government of “ignoring and insulting” the entertainment industry by withholding the results, while the composer Lord Lloyd-Webber had complained that theatre companies were being “strangled unfairly”. The first phase of the research found 28 cases of Covid recorded among 58,000 people who attended events that included the World Snooker Championship, the Brit Awards and the FA Cup final — all of which went ahead with much smaller crowds than normal.

SHOCK AT DIVISION CAUSED BY CHILDREN’S OBON SONG

The Times reports that the song intended to be sung by schoolchildren as part of a wider campaign to bring the nation together has not quite attracted the unity desired. But at Carlton Bolling, a school in Bradford, pupils were among others around the country happily taking part in the “One Britain One Nation” (Obon) celebrations today. A group of year seven children smiled as they sang the campaign’s song, the lyrics of which include: “We are Britain and we have one dream — to unite all people in one great team.” Moments before, the sound of clapping had rung through the corridors to thank those who helped during the pandemic. The Obon initiative originated in Bradford, having been founded in 2013 by Kash Singh, a former police officer.

RUSSIA WARNS UK AND USA NOT TO TEMPT FATE

Reuters reports that Russia warned Britain and the United States on Friday against “tempting fate” by sending warships to the Black Sea, and said it would defend its borders using all possible means including military force. In a statement broadcast on state television, the Defence Ministry said it was ill-advised for British and U.S. vessels to approach the coast of Crimea, a peninsula Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. “We call on the Pentagon and the British navy, which are sending their warships into the Black Sea, not to tempt fate in vain,” Major General Igor Konashenkov, the ministry’s spokesperson, said. HMS Defender, a British destroyer that sailed through waters off Crimea on Wednesday, was “not more than a target” for the Black Sea fleet’s defences, he said. Russia said on Wednesday it had fired warning shots and dropped bombs in the path of a British warship to chase it out of Black Sea waters off the coast of Crimea. Britain rejected Russia’s account of the incident. It said it believed any shots fired were a pre-announced Russian “gunnery exercise”, and that no bombs had been dropped. It confirmed HMS Defender had sailed through what it said were waters belonging to Ukraine.

BIDEN WARNED ABOUT RISKING MAJOR WAR WITH CHINA

The Express reports that US President Joe  Biden has been warned he risks “entangling America in a major war with China” by a Pentagon employee. The message came from Franz Gayl, a 64-year-old former marine, in an open letter addressed to the US president. Mr Gayl is under investigation after he wrote two articles for the Global Times, a tabloid newspaper with close links to the Chinese state. Some 23 million people live on Taiwan, which was formed by the anti-communist losing faction from the Chinese civil war. Whilst the United States doesn’t formally recognise it as an independent state, it is a close Taiwanese ally. Speaking to Newsweek Captain Andrew Wood, from the US marines, said Mr Gayl is under investigation as the “proper approval process” was not followed for his Global Times articles. He commented: “The views expressed by Mr Gayl are his own and are not representative of the United States Marine Corps.”  In the newspaper piece, Mr Gayl argued China has a legitimate claim over Taiwan and will “employ any necessary means” to assert its control. Earlier this year Beijing warned a formal Taiwanese declaration of independence would be treated as an act of war.

MY NEXT TONIGHT WILL BE IN A FEW  WEEKS

The Independent reports that GB News presenter Andrew Neil is to take some time off from the channel less than two weeks after it was launched, he has announced. Speaking during his regular 8pm slot on Thursday evening, Mr Neil admitted it had been a “rocky start”. He told viewers he would be away for a “few weeks” and return “before the summer is out”. Colin Brazier is to step in for the former BBC journalist.

AND FINALLY

From the BBC:  A nine-year-old girl has won a prestigious food award for her homemade marmalade. Flora Rider became the youngest ever winner of Best in Show at the Homemade Marmalade Awards when she came top of more than 3,000 other entries. She said she made the preserve with her family on the Isle of Wight as a “fun activity” during lockdown in January. The Seville orange and orange blossom marmalade has now been reproduced for sale in Fortnum & Mason’s stores. The awards attract entries from countries around the world including Canada, Australia, Japan, Kuwait and Brazil as well as the UK. Flora, who described her marmalade as a “little pot of sunshine”, said: “I enjoyed shredding the peel and filling the jars but best of all I enjoyed eating the finished marmalade.”

 

 

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