Lockdown
Mail
Boris Johnson is planning to renew Covid laws for another six months to cover a possible winter surge, setting himself up for a new showdown with lockdown-sceptic Tory backbenchers.
The Coronavirus Act provisions have to be renewed every six months and Downing Street wants a vote on carrying them through to March after Parliament returns next week.
But such a move is likely to lead to fury on Mr Johnson’s backbenches, where many MPs want to see the economic recovery given priority.
Some 35 voted against extending the rules in March and given the vaccination programme has progressed significantly since then, it paves the way for a wider rebellion when it comes to a Commons vote later this month.
In march, then health secretary Matt Hancock said it would be ‘preferable’ if the laws were not renewed again.
Tory rebel Marcus Fysh, who voted against the act in March, told MailOnline: ‘I think this is a very bad, unnecessary move and I and many colleagues will be opposing.’
It came as an exclusive new poll for MailOnline revealed half of Brits believe it is likely Boris Johnson will impose another coronavirus lockdown before the end of this year.
More on this subject in the Evening Standard, Telegraph
EU
Express
A NEW poll found that a large majority of Dutch people think financial regulations should be dealt with by sovereign governments and not the EU or the European Central Bank.
In a shocking blow to Brussels, a poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Euronews found that 76 percent of Dutch people surveyed believed national governments should be solely in charge of financial and economic regulations of their respective member states. The poll asked the question “In general, where do you think financial regulations should be determined?”, to which a majority in almost all 12 EU member states surveyed replied they did not believe the European Union should be in charge.
Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy and Portugal had percentages higher than 60 percent in favour of more national sovereignty when it comes to financial issues.
Only in Hungary, the percentage fell just below 50 percent for the same answer, remaining nonetheless the most chosen response.
The poll was carried out between August 4 and 10 and gauged the opinions of 31,000 respondents across 12 EU member states: Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
It also asked respondents to declare whether they believed the EU and the ECB intervene too much in member states’ affairs.
This story is also covered by the Telegraph.
Order-order
In light of the Afghan migrant crisis, Italian PM Mario Draghi is now questioning whether the EU is even fit for purpose, claiming “nobody has a clear strategy” on handling the influx of refugees, and criticising the bloc’s inability “to manage such crises”. You know the solution Mario…
Lamenting the fact both Austria and Hungary are refusing to accept more refugees, Draghi said: “Europe, united by many principles, is unable to tackle the problem and this is a thorn in the very existence of the bloc… Nobody can claim to have a clear strategy at this stage. Nobody has a road map.”
Still, maybe an EU army will solve all their problems…
Breitbart
Illegal migrants in Italy are refusing to undergo coronavirus tests to avoid being deported, because they won’t be put on a flight without the test.
Riccardo De Corato, a member of the national-conservative Brother of Italy (FdI) and Councilor for Security of Lombardy, explained that migrants convicted of serious crimes could go free and avoid deportation by refusing the coronavirus test.
“It happens that people who are scheduled for deportation after committing crimes such as robbery and rape, can for free after 120 days,” De Corato told Il Giornale.
According to the Italian newspaper, the number of deportations has slowed in one deportation centre from an average of five or six per day since January to around two per month. Only migrants who wish to leave and those who come from countries that do not require tests can be deported.
“It is clear that this trick is now known by those in the detention centre. Everyone uses it because they know that there is no law that obliges them to undergo the swab,” De Corato said.
Italy is just the latest country to see migrants refuse to take the coronavirus test to avoid returning to their home countries.
Social care
Mail
Ministers faced a furious backlash over plans for a £10billion ‘jobs tax’ to pay for social care last night as it emerged it may not even help the struggling sector for another two years.
Boris Johnson, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid will thrash out proposals this weekend aimed at finally ending the scandal that forces thousands to sell their homes to pay for care.
But the reform will come at a high cost with both business and workers facing a tax rise of at least 1 per cent in national insurance contributions.
The move drives a coach and horses through the Prime Minister’s manifesto pledge not to raise the headline rate of income tax, national insurance or VAT during this parliament.
Last night it divided Tory MPs with some Cabinet ministers privately warning against the move by describing it as ‘a drag anchor on jobs and growth’.
And the Mail can also reveal that the money raised will initially be used to clear the huge NHS waiting list built up during the pandemic – meaning that more cash may not flow into the struggling social care sector for another two years.
The NHS waiting list has reached a record 5.45million and Mr Javid has warned it could reach 13million unless more resources are pumped in.
But the plan will eventually deliver on the PM’s election promise to end the care lottery that forces thousands to sell their homes in later life, resolving an issue that has bedevilled successive governments for decades.
The PM’s plan will impose a ‘cap’ on the total amount people will have to pay for their own care. Mr Johnson had initially wanted to set the cap at £50,000 but following pressure from the Treasury it is now likely to be significantly higher – at £60,000 or even £80,000.
Ministers will also bring in an increase in the so-called ‘floor’ when state care funding kicks in.
Currently anyone with assets of more than £23,250 is not eligible for any state help with costs.
More details in the Sun, Telegraph, Times, Guardian
Vaccine
Mail
Plans to vaccinate millions of schoolchildren are expected to be given the go-ahead for as soon as next week despite government advisers yesterday refusing to back a mass rollout.
After weeks of pressure for a decision, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immun, sation ruled that healthy 12 to 15-year-olds should not get Covid jabs, saying the benefit to their health did not outweigh the risks.
However, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has now asked England’s chief medical officer, on the advice of the JCVI, for a second opinion on vaccinating youngsters.
He has told Chris Whitty to take into account ‘non-health benefits’, including whether vaccinating children would reduce disruption to their education. The professor, in consultation with the chief medical officers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will spend the next week weighing up evidence before making a recommendation.
Last night, a Government source told the Mail that jabbing 12 to 15-year-olds was still ‘very much on the table’.
Many senior ministers strongly back the idea and believe Professor Whitty is in also favour and will look to enlist senior doctors to collect evidence of the effects of the Covid pandemic on children’s health to strengthen his case.
It is hoped Prof Whitty will report next week and that vaccination rollout in schools can begin soon after secondary pupils go back, will requests for parental consent going out as soon as the green light is given.
The JCVI’s decision means an inevitable delay to any rollout, as well as uncertainty for schools and parents just as millions of children return to class for the autumn term.
This subject is covered in the Guardian, Mirror, Independent, Telegraph, Morning Star, Times, ITV News, Evening Standard, BBC News, Order-Order, iNews
Vaccine passports
Mail
Ministers are set to impose vaccine passports on those attending football matches, pop concerts and business conferences despite mounting Tory opposition.
Boris Johnson announced plans in July to make double vaccination a ‘condition of entry’ for nightclubs in England because of fears that they could become Covid hotspots.
But ministers will meet next week to discuss extending the requirement to a string of other ‘mass events’, the Mail has learnt.
Although final decisions have not been taken, a Whitehall source said the plans were likely to be ‘very similar’ to those unveiled by Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland this week.
The SNP leader said vaccine passports would be mandated for all unseated live events attracting more than 500 people indoors or 4,000 outdoors. All events with audiences of more than 10,000 would also be covered, whether seated or not.
A Whitehall source said precise audience caps might vary in England but the types of events covered was likely to be the same.
The rules would make Covid passports mandatory for most big sporting events, as well as music concerts, festivals and some exhibitions. Sources said large theatres could also be covered.
But in a concession to Tory MPs, the Government is expected to rule out imposing the new system on the wider hospitality sector for now, meaning pubs and restaurants will escape.
‘Triple lock’
Mail
The state pension triple lock could be ‘suspended’ as soon as next week, it was claimed yesterday.
The measure guarantees the state pension will rise in line with inflation, earnings or 2.5 per cent, whichever is higher.
But distortions to wages caused by the coronavirus crisis could mean that pensioners see their payments rise by as much as 8 per cent from April next year.
The Chancellor has previously hinted that he would not go ahead with an 8 per cent rise, saying his decision would be guided by ‘fairness both to pensioners and for taxpayers’.
The Mail revealed last month Rishi Sunak was set to temporarily axe the triple lock due to the billions it could add to public spending. It is thought it is likely to be suspended for at least a year.
Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Mr Sunak could make an announcement as soon as next week, though Treasury sources dismissed the suggestion.
Another source familiar with the plans said they did not expect Mr Sunak would grant an 8 per cent rise.
Helen Morrissey, a pensions analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘An early decision would be welcomed as bringing clarity for everyone.
‘The current situation, though extreme, shows the importance of reviewing the triple lock.
‘It has improved the incomes of pensioners, but we need to look at whether the triple lock remains the best way to maintain the long-term value of the state pension while striking a balance between taxpayers and pensioners.’
Heathrow
Mail
Frustrated British holidaymakers have been subjected to another day of queueing chaos at Heathrow airport, as they claim to have been crammed into hallways with no social distancing and made to walk long distances with no shuttles available.
Passengers, including pregnant women, pensioners and young children, were made to stand in long queues of ‘three to five hours’ into the early hours of the morning amid further disarray at border control at Europe’s busiest airport.
Pictures shared with MailOnline showed long snaking lines of hundreds of people packed together tightly, as elderly and more vulnerable passengers wilted amid an unapologetic stance adopted by the Home Office, who blame understaffing for the travel mayhem.
The chaotic scenes have been compounded by the fact families with children aged under-12 are unable to use E-gates at Heathrow, while others, including elderly travellers, warn of lengthy queues of ‘three to five hour’ to pass through immigration.
Furious passengers say they’ve been left ‘stranded’ and crammed into the airport’s hallways with no access to water, ventilation or toilets as they were forced to stand in long queues well into the early hours of Friday morning.
Travel firms have previously warned that the length queues were damaging to Britain’s image and risked putting off future visitors – as the country’s grandiose plans for reopening to the world appear to be in tatters.
Leaked plans
Mail
Furious palace aides are hunting for the source behind the ‘deeply disturbing’ leak of top secret plans that are to be enacted when the Queen dies.
The details of ‘Operation London Bridge’ including ministerial protocols and funeral arrangements were published yesterday morning in a move described by Whitehall insiders as ‘concerning, unnecessary and upsetting’.
The plans for the huge operation were only shared with a small group of people and reveals that all Whitehall flags must be lowered to half mast within ten minutes followed by a TV address and UK tour by Prince Charles and a pre-planned memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral for ministers that will be made to look ‘spontaneous’.
Their exposure has provoked fury at Buckingham Palace, with sources saying there is now a ‘major appetite’ to discover who the mole is what their motivation was.
‘It is deeply disturbing that such private information, which is not only deeply personal to the Queen but also has widespread security implications, has been revealed,’ a royal source told The Mirror.
It is believed the plans were leaked after being updated during the pandemic.
Whitehall bosses are also believed to be on the warpath to track down the source and could narrow down the possible culprits by examining which version of the documents were released.
A Cabinet Office source said: ‘We will look into which version has emerged and be able to determine whether this dereliction of duty requires a formal government investigation.
The story is covered in the Evening Standard, Telegraph, Independent, Sun, Mirror
Pump as much money as you like into the NHS, it would take four or five years before any increase in capacity would come through.
Buildings have to be constructed and fitted out and people have to be trained.
Throwing money at inefficiency only makes it worse. Time to bin the sacred cow idea and give it a complete overhaul. Proper immigration control would also help.
The Center for Disease Control and its partner corporations. Here is a list, just ask yourself which ones have benefited from covid.
https://www.cdcfoundation.org/partner-list/corporations
Always follow the money.
The Mrna vaccines are being questioned now even by the people that invented them.
“Dr. Robert Malone, mRNA Vaccine Inventor, on Latest COVID-19 Data, Booster Shots, and the Shattered Scientific ‘Consensus’ ”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/dr-robert-malone-mrna-vaccine-inventor-on-latest-covid-19-data-booster-shots-and-the-shattered-scientific-consensus_3979206.html?fbclid=IwAR0Xtbj8IANBKtauEr1n-aZAfyWmeu_B5if0QXUY6SJDjmNmbxCRLdiomZU
Hope he’s got a good army of bodyguards.
Yes. Watched Dr. Malone last night.
Like the PCR test that the inventor said was not suitable for the use to which it was being put, but it sure is handy when it comes to keeping the number of “cases” alarmingly high.