FULL FISCAL FIREPOWER FOR FURLOUGH
The Express reports: Rishi Sunak will use the Treasury’s full fiscal firepower to save jobs and protect livelihoods while unleashing billions of pounds more to support businesses. The Chancellor will extend his furlough scheme to fund most of the wages of millions of employees shut out of work by the Covid crisis for another three months. The longer-than-expected extension – which could cost taxpayers another £7billion – will last until the end of September to give firms extra time to rebuild as the lockdown is eased. He will also announce further support for the self-employed, with more than 600,000 people – many of whom became self-employed last year – are now eligible for cash grants.
CALLS FOR STURGEON TO RESIGN
The Telegraph reports: Nicola Sturgeon is facing calls to resign after two witnesses in the Alex Salmond scandal corroborated his version of key events and provided damning evidence she repeatedly misled parliament. In a potentially devastating development for the First Minister ahead of her appearance before a Holyrood inquiry today, two former special advisers contradicted her claims about two meetings in 2018. Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader, has said ‘No First Minister can be allowed to mislead the Scottish people and continue in office, especially when they have tried to cover up the truth and abused the power of their office in the process.The weight of the evidence is overwhelming. Nicola Sturgeon must resign.’
BORIS JOHNSON MUST STAND AGAINST EU CHECKPOINTS
From The Express: Boris Johnson has been told he has a duty to take a stand against EU plans to install permanent checkpoints in Northern Ireland. Former MEP Ben Habib was speaking after European Commission spokesman Daniel Ferrie insisted the UK needed to meet its obligations in accordance with the Northern Ireland protocol after Gordon Lyons, Northern Ireland’s minister for agriculture and a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician took the decision to stop work on permanent facilities to check goods arriving from Great Britain, as well as halting the recruitment of inspectors.
NOTHING TO TRUMPET ABOUT IN BREXIT FISHING DEAL
The Express reports: A fishing industry boss has torn apart Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit promises to the long-suffering industry, arguing the quota the EU agreed to hand back is not of much use to British boats. Chloe North, manager of Western Fish Producers’ Organisation said the Prime Minister signed up to a deal which allows Brussels to keep most of what they want while appearing to compromise. Under the UK and the EU’s trade agreement, the bloc has agreed to hand back a quarter of the value of its overall catch in British waters over a period of five years. Ninety per cent of Channel cod is caught by European boats, mainly French, each year and failure of Mr Johnson to secure more quota for Channel cod in the deal he trumpeted as a success has been widely criticised by fishing bosses.
DOWNING STREET NEEDS CHARITY TO HELP PAY FOR REFURBISHMENT
The Daily Mail reports: Boris Johnson has been blasted by a former standards tsar over ‘quite inappropriate plans to launch a new charity backed by wealthy Tory donors to pay for the six-figure refurbishment of his official flat. The scheme, said to be modelled on one used to bankroll the interior upkeep of the White House, could be bankrolled by Tory benefactors – sparking potential conflict of interest fears if it is seen as a back-door way of providing a financial benefit to the Prime Minister. Mr Johnson has complained the cost of the refurbishment by Carrie Symonds over the past year was totally out of control.
TWO STAR GENERAL ON TRIAL ACCUSED OF DEFRAUDING TAXPAYERS
From the Daily Mail: Major General Nick Welch, 57, allegedly abused Army allowances and is accused of defrauding the taxpayer out of almost £50,000 to pay for his children’s private school fees. A military court heard the two-star general, earning about £120,000 a year, told the Army that his wife Charlotte would be living at his new London residence – which meant he could claim an allowance for his children’s education. In fact she spent most of her time at their £800,000 country home while they boarded at schools nearby, the prosecution said. One child was sent to the £37,000 a year Clayesmore School while another went to the £22,500 Hanford School. Welch has become the most senior officer to face a court martial since 1815, when a Lieutenant General was convicted during the Napoleonic wars.
NO LIFTING OF COVID RESTRICTIONS
The Times reports: Matt Hancock has rejected calls to ease restrictions early for low-infection areas, citing the failure of last year’s tier system to prevent lockdowns. Local variations in infection rates are becoming an increasing concern in government, with cases rising in a fifth of areas while elsewhere they have fallen to extremely low numbers. Millions of people in England are living in neighbourhoods where there are close to no cases of Covid-19 official figures show. While areas such as Peterborough, Leicester and Sandwell in the West Midlands have rates of more than 200 per 100,000 people, rates have fallen below 50 per 100,000 in places ranging from Islington in north London to the Isle of Wight.
SINGLE BOOSTER JAB MAY DO THE JOB
The Times reports: A single booster jab may protect against the Brazil and South Africa coronavirus variants, the head of Oxford University’s vaccine group has said. Professor Andrew Pollard said that his team was working to develop a tweaked jab that would target more than several variants at once so that the world did not have to scramble in response to every new strain. He praised stunning results showing that a single dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca or the Pfizer-BioNTech jab cut elderly people’s risk of hospital admission by 80 per cent. European countries would have to reconsider restrictions on giving the Oxford vaccine to the over-65s, he said.
STEP CLOSER TO COVID HEALTH PASSPORTS
The Daily Mirror reports that the EU will present plans for a coronavirus vaccine passport later this month, the head of the bloc revealed today. Ursula von der Leyen said the Digital Green Pass would aim to show proof someone has been vaccinated and test results for someone without a jab yet.The European Commission President said the body would present a legislative proposal later this month.The announcement raises fresh hopes about holidays on the Continent. But it’s thought any scheme would take three months to come to fruition and it is not intended to be used by people outside the EU – at least not at first. That means Brits would not be able to use the scheme for holidays to Europe until it is scaled up globally, now that the UK is outside the European Union.
JOGGING DANGER
From the Telegraph: Joggers should wear a face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus, a University of Oxford expert has said. Trish Greenhalgh, a primary health care academic, urged people exercising outdoors to cover their noses and mouths so they do not unintentionally transmit the virus. Prof Greenhalgh said joggers must also consider the potential risks to others: “There is no doubt the virus is in the air, there is no doubt that you can catch it if you inhale and that someone else has exhaled and went on the exercising jogger – the puffing and panting jogger – you can feel their breath come and you can sometimes actually feel yourself inhale it, so there’s no doubt that there is a danger there, meaning that joggers and cyclists should take extra measures as a result.”
NO SCHOOL MASKS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS
The Evening Standard writes: Primary school pupils should not be told to wear face masks when they return to class next week. Downing Street issued a statement after a London council advised primary as well as secondary schools that students should wear face coverings. The Department for Education has contacted Redbridge council about the advice and the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘Children in primary schools should not be asked to wear face coverings when they return to school from March 8 and you have seen our guidance which is clear, that face coverings are only necessary for pupils in Year 7 and above.’
AND FINALLY
From the Independent: The world’s oldest known wild bird – a Laysan albatross named Wisdom – not only turned 70 this year, but has also reared what is at least her 40th chick, in a feat which is stretching the boundaries of human knowledge of how birds live. Wisdom, who was banded in 1956, is the oldest known wild bird in history – and may be even older than 70, as she was estimated to be just five years old at the time – the earliest age an albatross reaches sexual maturity. The septuagenarian seabird has been raising chicks with her current mate, named Akeakamai, since at least 2010, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
CALLS FOR STURGEON TO RESIGN:
Wonderful and not before time.
BORIS JOHNSON MUST STAND AGAINST EU CHECKPOINTS:
Indeed he must. A good start would be to ditch his awful WA and send the military in to deal with the EUrocrats.
This government has been told to destroy UK. Furlough extended precisely to finish off any small business. Then lockup will be instigated in July to stop people having a holiday in the sun to boost their immune system for the Winter months. More strains of Covid will come out of Spain, Hong Kong, pigs, birds or whatever they fancy. Just in time for more jabs and injections. It really is time we sensible folk start laughing at the mask wearers, the vaccine fanbase and the Covidiots who think its OK to destroy the future of our grandchildren and their children. If any children are indeed left in 50 years.
Scottish Tory leader, has said ‘No First Minister can be allowed to mislead the Scottish people and continue in office, especially when they have tried to cover up the truth and abused the power of their office in the process”
Of course Tory leaders lying and misleadiing the English is quite acceptable!!!
I agree..In England we have been repeatedly lied and mislead since at least 2016 by a whole series of prime ministers and their underlings, that we have come to expect it of the political underclass as normal practice.
“Laysan albatross”
I have a vague memory of a black-browed albatross which has somehow got itself trapped in the northern hemisphere. It rather sadly turns up at suitable breeding areas each year, doesn’t find a mate and then wanders off.
JF