Brexit
Express
IRELAND has launched a scathing attack against the UK and Brexit minister Lord Frost ahead of crunch talks with the European Union over the much-disputed Northern Ireland Protocol.
Since completing its departure from the EU at the end of last year, Britain’s relations with the now 27-member bloc have significantly deteriorated, with both sides blaming each other for the problems surrounding the Protocol. Following Brexit, the Protocol introduced checks on a number of goods moving from mainland Britain across the Atlantic to Northern Ireland. But the checks have sparked fury among pro-British unionists in Northern Ireland, who see the checks as the Brexit deal with the EU splitting them from the rest of the UK which they fear could destroy the 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of violence.
Writing in the Financial Times ahead of the crunch meeting in London with European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic this week, Lord Frost called for more pragmatism from the EU and urged it to adopt a “new playbook” for talks.
He said: “We are working round the clock to resolve these problems consensually. We have sent a range of policy papers to the EU to outline solutions.
“Just last week, we sent a detailed proposal for a veterinary agreement based on equivalence and for an authorised trader scheme to reduce paperwork and checks. But we have had very little back.
“We want an approach based on the best interests of everyone in Northern Ireland. That means putting the Good Friday Agreement first and supporting rather than undermining the political process and the institutions.
Similar stories appear in the Telegraph, Independent.
Freedom Day
Mail
Tory MPs reacted with fury last night after Matt Hancock said he was ‘absolutely open’ to delaying Freedom Day.
The Health Secretary refused to rule out keeping face masks and home working beyond June 21, when the Government had hoped to remove all legal limits on social contact.
Mr Hancock said the unlocking could be pushed back if the data called for it – amid suggestions there could be a two-week delay. But his downbeat comments triggered anger among senior backbenchers.
Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne said ministers were ‘wasting the advantages afforded by the success of vaccinations’.
He added: ‘The original mission statement was to save lives by protecting the NHS. We’ve done that.
‘The more it moves the goalposts, the more people will be made redundant.’
Similar stories appear in the Telegraph, Sun,
EU
Express
FRANCE must leave the European Union to protect its own national interests and the economic welfare of its citizens, according to a Yellow Vest activist.
Anice Lajnef is the Minister of Finance at ‘Le Gouv’ and has worked many years as a trader in derivatives for major banks such as Société Générale and Barclays. ‘Le Gouv’ is the political project that has emerged from the Yellow Vests movement in France and is the brainchild of one the group’s leading organisers, Fabrice Grimal. One of the main purposes of ‘Le Gouv’ is to generate new ideas on how to change the political and economic status quo in France, as well as eventually to stand candidates in Presidential elections.
Mr Lajnef argued that the European Central Bank (ECB) and markets in general have too much influence in dictating French government policies, often to the detriment of the socio-economic interests of ordinary citizens.
The ‘Le Gouv’ finance minister explained: “What we want is that our central bank, the Banque de France, can directly fund our government and the Treasury, and not having to go through the market because this is linked to the European treaties.
“They obliged us as the French country to go through the market to borrow money and the ECB come behind the scene to buy back all this debt.
“So if we don’t do what the market wants, what the ECB wants, then we are a little bit like not sovereign enough to decide by ourselves what is good for our country.”
Sun
SHAMELESS Eurocrats have been rapped for fiddling allowances, cronyism, hate mail campaigns and refusing to do any work.
Brussels bosses had to probe 95 officials for bad behaviour last year – but only sacked three of them.
Many lavishly paid pen pushers got away with little more than a slap on the wrist despite committing serious rule breaches.
One eurocrat was given a written warning for submitting overinflated private school bills so he could claim back more cash.
Another was demoted a pay grade for a year after he “provided favours” to a firm bidding for “a large number” of contracts from his own department.
He even prepared a project proposal for the company, having failed to declare his spouse worked there.
Covid
Mail
Two U.S. experts have penned a damning essay saying the genome sequencing of COVID-19 strongly suggests that the virus was manufactured inside a Chinese laboratory.
Dr. Stephen Quay and Richard Muller, a physics professor at the University of California Berkeley, made the claim in The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, amid growing speculation that the coronavirus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).
‘The most compelling reason to favor the lab leak hypothesis is firmly based in science,’ the experts wrote, stating that ‘COVID-19 has a genetic footprint that has never been observed in a natural coronavirus.’
Quay and Muller assert that the Wuhan lab was known for conducting ‘gain-of-function’ research where scientists would ‘intentionally supercharge viruses to increase lethality’.
COVID-19 has the genome sequencing ‘CGG-CGG’ – one of 36 sequencing patterns. That combination is commonly used by scientists in gain-of-function research, but is otherwise considered extremely ‘rare’.
The experts assert that no naturally occurring coronavirus – such as SARS or MERS – has ever had a CGG-CGG combination.
‘The CGG-CGG combination has never been found naturally. That means the common method of viruses picking up new skills, called recombination, cannot operate here,’ they wrote.
‘A virus simply cannot pick up a sequence from another virus if that sequence isn’t present in any other virus.’
Mail
A Chinese military scientist with ties to the United States reportedly filed a patent for a COVID-19 vaccine well before the disease was declared a global pandemic.
Yusen Zhou, who worked for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), lodged the paperwork on behalf of the Chinese political party on February 24 2020, according to The Australian newspaper.
That date was just five weeks after China first confirmed human transmission of the coronavirus.
Zhou is also said to have ‘worked closely’ with scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), including Shi Zhengli – the deputy director of the lab who is famous for her research on coronavirus in bats.
Their relationship is likely to strengthen speculation that the virus leaked from the lab and that China was aware that it was spreading between humans long before they alerted the international community.
Zhou mysteriously died less than three months after he filed the patent. The New York Post claims his death was only reported in one Chinese media report, despite the fact he was one of the country’s most prominent scientists.
Zhou had previously worked on research linked to the US institutions, including the University of Minnesota and the New York Blood Center, the newspaper reported.
Trials
Guardian
Rape and domestic violence cases in England and Wales will be among the worst hit from the growing backlog in the judicial system, and trials could soon start collapsing because of severe delays, the new crime commissioner for England’s second biggest force has warned.
Simon Foster, the Labour commissioner for West Midlands police, said underfunding and “mismanagement and reckless neglect” of the justice system over the past 10 years had left it at crisis point, and he had heard of one crown court trial date being set for as far off as 2024 – though the Ministry of Justice denied this.
“It’s not justice for the accused, for witnesses, for the victims, and it undermines the credibility of the justice system,” said Foster, who worked as a legal aid solicitor for 35 years. “We really ought to treasure our justice system in the same way we treasure our NHS, and I don’t think people do.”
“It’s particularly domestic abuse, violence against women and rape cases that are going to be at serious risk … as a result of that backlog,” he said, adding that it is difficult to sustain long delays to trials when vulnerable people were involved.
“That is a real concern to me. Are we going to see a further fall in prosecution rates as a consequence of trials not remaining sustainable for all that time?”
Foreign aid
Mail
Rebel Tory MPs are ‘cautiously optimistic’ that Boris Johnson will be forced to reverse a cut to foreign aid.
The Prime Minister has temporarily reduced aid from 0.7 per cent of national income to 0.5 per cent, breaking a Conservative manifesto commitment.
Thirty Tory MPs, including former prime minister Theresa May, support an amendment that would require new legislation to make up the shortfall left by the cut.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC the cut was ‘entirely reasonable’ given that the pandemic had caused a ‘once-in-300-year economic interruption’. Former Cabinet minister Esther McVey said: ‘It’s trade not aid that gets countries out of poverty, and now we’re no longer in the EU we should be working to secure trade agreements with poorer countries, helping them to develop industry and trade their way out of poverty.’
But last night one of the rebels, former immigration minister Caroline Nokes, said: ‘The cuts represent just one per cent of what the Chancellor is borrowing this year but they mean funding for the UN’s reproductive health programme has been cut by 85 per cent.’
Similar stories appear in the Telegraph, ITV News, Independent, Sun, Times, Morning Star, Guardian,
ITV News
NHS staff have urged the government to be cautious with the decision to end lockdown
restrictions on June 21.
Easing such restrictions too soon will be a “recipe for disaster”, a doctor has warned, amid concerns for an NHS already struggling with a backlog of non-Covid patients.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under pressure to move ahead with “freedom day” on June 21, given the uptake of Covid-19 vaccines in recent months.
Several frontline workers have already expressed fears about the impact of reopening in the coming weeks, with some describing the health service as still “on its knees” and at higher capacity than usual.
Dr Megan Smith admitted that herself and colleague are “terrified” over the NHS becoming overwhelmed again.
She said the NHS is under pressure dealing with issues from the first waves of the pandemic, and could not cope with even a small spike in Covid patients.
Education
Times
University students have offered private tutors thousands of pounds to take their online exams and write essays for them during the pandemic.
Leading institutions have pledged to investigate allegations that undergraduates have attempted to pay tutors after approaching them online.
Naomi Wilson, a private economics tutor, said that she tries to identify the students asking her to cheat and reports them to their universities.
One message sent to her in May through the online platform Tutor Hunt, which connects legitimate students and tutors for a fee, read: “Hi Naomi, noticed you cover economics. I’m a second year student sitting an International Economics exam (BSc) on Monday, June 7.
Times
LABOUR vowed today to force a vote over the Tory government’s “totally insufficient” plans to help pupils catch up on learning lost during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Amid signs of serious disquiet on the Tory backbenches, Labour plans to test the resolve of ministers through an opposition day debate in the Commons on Wednesday.
The party said that the move was needed following the resignation of schools “catch-up tsar” Sir Kevan Collins, after he condemned plans for a £1.4bn recovery fund as woefully short of what was needed.
England’s education recovery commissioner had reportedly drawn up plans for 100 extra hours of teaching per pupil at a cost of £15bn to make up for months of lost class time during three national lockdowns.
While Labour aims to embarrass the government with the vote, concerned Tories said that they were more likely to abstain rather than rebel, with many expecting more funding to be announced soon.
Education unions including the NEU have backed Labour’s own proposals for a £14.7bn catch-up plan, including breakfast clubs for every child, mental health support and more small group tutoring for pupils who need it.
Shadow education secretary Kate Green said: “The Conservatives have treated children as an afterthought throughout the pandemic and are now neglecting them in our recovery.
“[Sir Kevan’s] resignation makes it clear that the government’s education recovery plan is totally insufficient to help every child bounce back.
I am afraid things are going to get very nasty very soon now and no one seems to notice or care.. Let me put headlines together . Global multinational taxes agreed. Money is being channelled direct from Government to Banks to the already fantasy rich. The EU is panicking, its writing is on the wall, and is too much for their system to cope. Irish Nationalists have crawled out from Catholic squalour. Africa once the hope of Globalist big business, looks to be another religious and agitators stewpot. Everwhere one looks is a horror story and ignorance. Islam cannot be disregarded by Do Nothing Politicians floundering in a mucksweat of terror. In America we have no-one of vision, just thousands of stale embittered Democrats who will destroy rather than think ..Everywhere are midgets trying to fix their hobbyhorse. As a general Grannies rule The only ones who Know the game are using it to cheat. And with Nations, The political cheating on a world scale is actually not credible. Also maliciously damaging to vast populations as with China and Left Wing Theorist Democrats wild eyed for lack of anything to help. And what is even more worrying , the very basics of learning are being lost of and and to the magics and instant appearances and disappearences of even meanings and words or thoughts. And Tech has displaced Logic, fact, and probably also opinion.
I am more seriously troubled than I have ever been in my life before. But I probably shouldn’t worry. They probably couldn’t find the button as it’s not on their App.
So true TG.
I love it when a so-cAlled diplomat gets angry- they know they are beaten. Good for Frosty
Yes Mike Durrans. Long live Lord Frost.
“We really ought to treasure our justice system in the same way we treasure our NHS…”
I hope it is valued far more than the NHS given that’s present lack of performance but that requires the “woke” and other such nonsense to be binned.
I do agree, particularly the Common Laws aspects. Howevever as with everything, it’s under attack. Have you noticed the colossal bureaucratic backlog, and the bureaucratically harrased coppers, who have to drive from scene to scene at indulged speeds.It is as with too many ideas, drowning in requirements of bureaucratic perfection. And I can only think of one answer. Abolish the perfect world.
TRIALS
“it (delay) undermines the credibility of the justice system,” said Foster, who worked as a legal aid solicitor for 35 years.
Not only that it goes directly against our own Constitution as determined within Magna Carta 1215. Perhaps we really should bring back Common Law courts and genuine Trial by Jury, including Nullification by Jury of bad statutes.
That’s an interesting suggestion Michael D Tell us more.
Thank you, Pauline. I make no bones about being an advocate of Common Law and Natural Law. Natural Law boils down to ‘Cause no Harm; Be honest; Be peaceful, Be responsible.’ Common Law, which pre-dates Parliament and political parties and thus pre-dates ALL statute law, is the essence of what separates us from Canon Law and EU statutes.. Common law is applicable in family matters AND criminal matters and, as such, negates the supposed authority of judges and lawyers. I stress the word ‘supposed’. They do what they do ONLY BECAUSE we allow them to. The best advocate I know on this subject is Kenn d’Oudney who spearheads the Democracy Defined manifesto and campaign, which can be found at http://www.democracydefined.org.
Jack,Pauline and Michael, The army has its own courts. I know, as an ordinary squaddy, I watched a few for interest. There was never the slightest cause for concern or indeed disagreement. There is absolutely no reason why Councils or even ordinary locally designated groups could not ( Provided their Authority ), do the same perhaps, in common law.. Thoughts ? I would be interested in what Torquil et al would say. It couldbe a saviour for localism.
Michael D. My reaction is rather, that we simply have TOO MUCH ‘STATUTE LAW’. Much of that has been introduced by Statutary Instruments as a result of being in the EEC/EU for so long. We now have the Right, indeed the Duty, to abolish it.
£15 bn. Is that what we send to Scotland each year ?
Eurocrat corruption. No worse than here at Westminster
Here is the link to Reiner Fuellmich’s 57 second video about how he has testimony from investment bankers that the pension funds are dry and the covid issue is a cover up.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/5ZmoFYfRIavf/
Sorry, I sent the wrong link earlier.