Brexit

Express
BORIS Johnson’s Brexit deal has left Britain locked into the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) scheme, and therefore at the mercy of EU courts, a Brexiteer has warned, describing the situation as “an Insult to UK sovereignty”.
The bloc-wide scheme commits all participating nations to arrest and transfer a criminal suspect or sentenced person to the issuing state once a warrant has been issued. However, Jayne Adye, director of the pro-Brexit campaign group Get Britain Out, said the UK’s decision to remain a signatory came with a heavy price – because under the requirements of the EAW, any EU  prosecutor can order a UK judge to have anyone in Britain arrested and extradited for lengthy detention in the country where a crime is alleged to have been committed – with little or no evidence being revealed, often for many months or years.
She explained: “If a country allows a foreign authority to target anyone on its territory – and have them forcibly transported to a prison outside its national jurisdiction, with no questions asked – then that country is not an independent sovereign state, but a colony.

The Express has two stories on the subject.  The other is at Express.

Fisheries

Telegraph
British fish exports could be hit by tariffs after the EU backed France in a row over Brexit fishing rights.
A French official said Emmanuel Macron was seeking European Commission backing for the punitive measures that could ultimately see the UK shut out of the EU energy market.
Tariffs were discussed at a meeting of EU27 diplomats in Brussels, which for the first time on Friday threw its weight behind French complaints that it had been unfairly treated.
An EU diplomat said there had been “contacts between Paris and the Commission” on the issue, as the diplomatic rift between France and Britain deepened further. The commission would not be drawn on calls for retaliation.

The Express also covers the story.

EU

Express
BREXITEERS have rejoiced after empty shelves have been spotted in the heart of Brussels amid the ongoing supermarket crisis in Britain with many arguing it has nothing to do with Brexit.
Despite the reassuring words of the Government regarding the recent fuel shortages, a lack of warehouse workers and lorry drivers could impact Christmas shopping deliveries for many retailers. This summer, many popular products have been absent from supermarket shelves due to supply chain issues.
Many rejoiners have blamed Brexit for the lack of delivery drivers and growing labour shortages have been blamed on supply chain issues.
However, one expert on European politics has revealed the produce shortage has also impacted the “heart of Brussels”.

Illegal migrants

Mail
French police have shot migrants with potentially lethal rubber bullets to stop their illegal boat crossing the Channel to the UK.
An investigation by French judicial authorities was under way last night into the first known case of gun tactics to halt a migrant boat launch.
It marks a major escalation of tension on the beaches as gendarmerie night patrols struggle to control the armada of boats heading for Britain.
The shooting happened in darkness at Dunkirk as eight Iranian Kurds carried a dinghy towards the sea. It was destined to bring 40 migrants from France.
Two Iranian Kurds hit by the bullets were taken to hospital, one with a fractured leg and the other with a broken hand. Those carrying the boat claim that the group of gun-toting police laughed at them as their injured comrades fell to the ground.

Fuel

Mail
Soldiers will start delivering petrol from Monday in a drastic bid to end the fuel crisis.
Nearly 200 military drivers are being deployed to the worst-hit areas, Downing Street confirmed.
The decision comes as Rishi Sunak warns shortages of goods could continue until Christmas.
In an exclusive interview with the Mail, the Chancellor says the supply problems are global and cannot be fixed by Britain alone.
‘These shortages are very real,’ he adds. ‘We’re seeing real disruptions in supply chains in different sectors, not just here but around the world. We are determined to do what we can to try to mitigate as much of this as we can.’
He also acknowledges that soaring inflation will leave millions of families facing a ‘challenging’ winter.

Many media also run the story including the Express, Sun, Guardian, BBC News, ITV News, City AM, Evening Standard, Sky News, Huffington Post, Independent

GPs

Telegraph
GPs could threaten to cut their work hours or resign amid continuing pressures over the lack of face-to-face appointments, a BMA survey suggests.
The union said the survey had been launched because it was “important that members have their say on the current state of general practice”.
Members are asked what they are “prepared to do” if the Government does not back doctors in response to abuse and workload pressures, PulseToday reported.
It comes after the latest data revealed that face-to-face appointments with GPs have fallen by almost one million in a month.
In August, 13.7 million patients in England had a face-to-face appointment with their GP, down from 14.6 million the previous month. Prior to the Covid pandemic, 24.3 million were held face-to-face in October 2019 and 18.1 million that August.

Education

Times
National tests for 14-year-olds could be reintroduced in England under government plans that head teachers have described as regressive.
Proposals to bring back Key Stage 3 tests, taken at the end of year 9, are said to be under consideration at the Department for Education (DfE).
This would allow children who have missed Sats at the end of primary school for the past two years, because of the pandemic, to be measured on progress before they take their GCSEs.

The Guardian and the iNews have more.

Police

Guardian
Women are facing an “epidemic” of flashing and other forms of indecent exposure, with police in England and Wales recording more than 10,000 cases last year but taking fewer than 600 people to court over them, Guardian analysis reveals.
The findings come after Wayne Couzens was reported for repeated instances of alleged indecent exposure in the years and days before he raped and murdered Sarah Everard, but faced no action. Police accepted they may have had enough clues to identify the police officer as a threat to women sooner, amid fears that flashing is a gateway to other sex crimes.
One in 10 women have been subjected to indecent exposure, and more than 113,000 last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Crime Survey for England and Wales.

Covid

Mail
British Covid patients won’t yet get a ‘game-changing’ pill which halves the risk of being hospitalised or dying from the illness, it was revealed today.
US drug giant Merck today announced the landmark results of a trial of its antiviral molnupiravir.
Hospitalisation and death rates were twice as high among infected patients given a placebo, compared to those given the actual pill.
But there are no plans to make it immediately available in the UK, though Merck said it is committed to getting approval for its use in Britain. The US has already agreed to purchase 1.7million courses of the drug.
Merck’s chief science officer Daria Hazuda told a press briefing of health and science reporters that the results were an exciting step in the global fight against Covid. She described it as ‘game-changing’.

The Sun, Guardian, iNews, Evening Standard have more details.

Energy

Telegraph
After 5,880 days of work at sea, the 450-mile long electricity cable connecting Blyth, Northumberland, with Kvilldal, near Stavanger in Norway, starts life on Friday.
The €1.6bn North Sea link draws power from Norway’s hydropower electricity system to provide power for up to 1.4m British homes.
It is the fifth cable linking Britain’s power market with neighbours and will be able to both import and export power, helping balance out intermittent supplies from wind turbines.
“North Sea Link is a truly remarkable feat of engineering,” said Cordi O’Hara, president of National Grid Ventures. “We had to go through mountains, fjords and across the North Sea to make this happen.”

The Express and ITV News also have stories on energy.

Eco activists

Mail
Transport bosses are seeking two more injunctions to curb Insulate Britain – despite similar court orders failing to stop the group causing travel chaos.
Motorist bodies yesterday called for the police to take more robust action against the eco-group as it blocked three motorways around London.
The cumbersome response to the activists has caused a simmering row between the Home Office and Department for Transport, which is leading the legal action.
Members of the group have so far ignored an injunction that was granted last month, aimed at preventing demonstrations on the M25.
They once again targeted the motorway yesterday on the group’s tenth day of protests in three weeks, while also grinding traffic to a halt on the M4 close to Heathrow and the M1.
Car users reacted furiously as activists glued themselves to the road while some chained themselves together using bicycle locks.
Videos showed one irate driver grabbing banners from those sat on the road before ripping them up.

NHS

Mail
A general who led the Royal Marines’ invasion of Iraq has been appointed to lead the biggest shake-up of NHS management in 40 years.
Sir Gordon Messenger has been asked to stamp out ‘waste and wokery’ in the health service and ensure ‘every pound is well spent’.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid is keen to ensure none of the Government’s recent £36billion tax rise for health and social care is wasted. This is likely to lead to a cut in the number of fat-cat NHS managers and bureaucrats so more money is spent directly on patient care.
Ministers hope retired military chief Sir Gordon, formerly second in command of the British Armed Forces, will apply his leadership skills from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to spearheading reform of the NHS during the most challenging period in its history. He has been told to ‘drive up efficiency’ amid concerns that too much of taxpayers’ cash is going on bureaucracy.
The number of backroom staff and managers in the health service has been creeping up over the past decade, while waiting lists for patients have soared to record highs. Of the 1.2million NHS employees, just 52.5 per cent are now doctors, nurses or other clinically trained staff.

Further details are in the Guardian and the Evening Standard.

World Cup

Mail
England’s hopes of winning the 2022 World Cup have been hit as it has been revealed that five players are refusing to get the Covid jab.
A source told The Sun that at least five England players are refusing to be vaccinated with three senior squad members among the rebels.
One footballer claimed that he was too ‘young and fit’ to be negatively affected by the virus, while another player reportedly believes the anti-vaxxer ‘conspiracy theories’ about the vaccine.
The rest of the players are are said to have been ‘pressured’ not to get the jab by their wives or girlfriends who are against the vaccine.
However, with World Cup organisers planning to ban all unvaccinated players from competing next year in Qatar, coach Gareth Southgate will have to decide whether to try and convince the players to take jabs or face the prospect of leaving them out.
Three of the players are senior squad members who were part of England’s run to the European Championship final this summer.

How does this affect our chances?  See more in the Sun and the Mirror.