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Small boats

Express
Rishi Sunak has made a fresh vow to finally bring the migrant crisis to an end, as he hit out at Boris Johnson and his backers, declaring he hasn’t “got time” to engage with the psychodrama that has gripped British politics in recent days. The PM joined officers on a dawn raid of suspected illegal migrants, as he tried to move past the political wrangling threatening to tear his party apart.
He told the Sun that he was determined to crack down on the flow of illegal migrants.
He said: “I am really on it, doing everything I can, straining every sinew, trying everything we haven’t tried before.”
When the Richmond MP was quizzed on Boris Johnson’s resignation over claims he misled the House of Commons, he said: “I am just focused on delivering for people — that is what I am here to do.
“Everything else for me is not a priority.”
The 43-year-old added: “If we spend all this time talking about how we are going to tackle illegal migration and stop the boats — that is a big and complicated challenge that I am determined to grip and determined to make a difference to people on.
“I want to ease the burdens on the cost of living, I want to bring inflation down, I want to get the NHS waiting list down — that’s what I spend my time focusing on all day every day.
“I haven’t got time quite frankly to focus on other things.”

Teachers’ strike

Express
Teachers in England are to stage fresh strikes in their long-running dispute over pay.
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) will walk out on July 5 and 7, causing disruption to schools in the current term. The NEU is currently re-balloting its members to see if they want to continue taking industrial action for the rest of the year.
The other education unions – ASCL, NAHT and NASUWT – are also balloting their members for strikes over pay and funding for teachers in England.  The unions have warned of co-ordinated action in the autumn term if there is no settlement to the dispute.
Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU, said it was within the grasp of Education Secretary Gillian Keegan for the action to be halted.
“Time and again the National Education Union, alongside its sister unions, have called for the Education Secretary to get around the negotiation table to settle this dispute for a fully-funded teacher pay increase. Time and again our calls have fallen on stony ground,” they said.

Military

Express
Military chiefs have formed a new domestic counter-terror unit to offset pressure on Britain’s Special Forces.
Razor Squadron is the first new special operations team to be established since the creation of the Special Forces Support Group at the start of the Afghanistan war.
The new unit will support police and MI5 in counter-terror operations.
Duties will include surveillance, hostage rescue and rapidly organising cordons across the motorway network.
Boasting 230 specially-trained troops from across the Armed Forces, it is based in Hereford, the home of the SAS. Despite its Army-sounding pedigree, however, three-quarters of its complement are currently drawn from the Royal Marines, sources say.
Experts in close-quarter combat, members carry an array of special weapons.

Mail
The former head of the Royal Navy has launched a blistering attack on the state of the fleet, following the revelation that a quarter of the country’s frigates never spent a day at sea last year.
Admiral Lord West said Britain needed a Navy which would ‘make someone’s eyes water if they crossed us at sea’.
Instead, the former First Sea Lord said, the number of operational vessels was ‘pathetically low’ and questioned whether these were enough to keep Britain safe at a time when Russia is targeting pipelines and Beijing is flexing its muscles in the South China Sea.
Lord West spoke out after the Ministry of Defence released figures showing that of the 12 Type 23 frigates, three – HMS Iron Duke, HMS St Albans and HMS Sutherland – did not spend any time at sea last year.

Labour Party

Mail
Andy Burnham is being urged by Left-wing Labour MPs to come back to Westminster to counter Sir Keir Starmer‘s relentless ‘purge of the Corbynistas’.
They are appealing to the so-called ‘King of the North’ to return to the Commons to fight the ‘intolerance’ of Starmer and his inner circle.
One senior Left-wing MP told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Of course Andy Burnham would be welcomed back. He has character, passion and likeability that the current leader could only wish for.’
The plea comes amid reports that former Cabinet Minister Mr Burnham could still be open to fighting a parliamentary seat at the next Election, despite pledging to stand for re-election as the mayor of Greater Manchester.
Party insiders suggest he could go for the plum seat of St Helens North, where sitting Labour MP Conor McGinn is standing down at the next Election. It is next door to Mr Burnham’s old seat of Leigh.

Sun
NEARLY half of Brits oppose Labour’s flagship plans to make it easier to strike.
It comes as commuters face more hell after drivers on two train operators announced another round of chaotic industrial action.
Members of Aslef will walk out on July 2, and LNER drivers will refuse overtime from the start of July 1 onwards.
If Sir Keir Starmer makes it to No10 he wants to make it easier for crippling industrial action to hammer our economy, and get rid of the thresholds for ballot action – but most Brits don’t back him.
Around 44 per cent say they disapprove of making it easier for workers to walk out.
And 42 per cent don’t like the idea of scrapping the requirement for unions to get at least 40 per cent of support from their members for strike action before it’s deemed legal.

Covid

ITV News
Tens of millions of pounds have been spent by government departments on legal representation for the Covid-19 Inquiry, including lawyers for current and former ministers, ITV News can reveal.
The revelation has led families who lost loved ones to ask – what is there to hide? Figures obtained by ITV News via freedom of information requests reveal Whitehall departments have already spent almost £14m on legal costs, and have signed contracts worth another £55m.The biggest spenders so far are, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Department for Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Office, with spends amounting to £5m each.
The combined spend of the Treasury and business departments is around £2m.
But figures given exclusively to ITV News by Tussell, procurement specialists who analyse government spending, shows tens of millions of pounds worth of additional spending already agreed in signed contracts.

Express
Newly released footage of Tory staff boozing, dancing and mocking lockdown laws at the height of Covid has emerged online spelling a new wave of turmoil for the Conservative party. The Tories may face a new Partygate police probe after the bombshell video exposes how the officials joked about their lockdown Christmas bash at the Conservative Campaign Headquarters in London.
In the first ever released Partygate video, there are at least 24 revellers including two named on ex-PM Boris Johnson’s controversial resignation honours list.
In the exclusive footage by The Sunday Mirror, two dancers even twirl past a sign saying “Please keep your distance”.
The video is likely to upset the families who lost relatives in Covid and will reignite criticism of Mr Johnson just days after he was slammed for misleading MPs over parties at No 10.

ITV News
The Conservatives could face another partygate police probe after a newly released video shows staff dancing and joking about Covid rules at the height of the pandemic.
Footage has been obtained by the Mirror, appearing to show Conservative Party staff enjoying festivities in December 2020, soon before people were unable to spend Christmas with their loved ones.
In the video, one attendee can be heard saying: ” As long as we don’t stream that we’re like, bending the rules,” before laughing – while a man and woman hold hands and dance.

Independent
A Partygate video appearing to show Tory staff drinking, dancing and joking about “bending” Covid lockdown rules has emerged, piling further pressure on the party just days after Boris Johnson was found to have lied about rules being followed.
The video, said to have been taken on 14 December, 2020, when socialising inside was banned in parts of the UK, shows for the first time, staff joking about their Christmas party at the Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) in London breaking the rules, according to The Mirror.
The party was organised by the campaign team behind Shaun Bailey’s ultimately failed bid to become mayor of London and “formal disciplinary action” was taken against four staff members over the “unauthorised” event.
The party itself had been previously documented when photos first emerged last year, and police dismissed an investigation citing a lack of evidence at the time, but the video has added further evidence of the scale of the celebrations within the Conservative party.

Education

Observer
Schools in England are struggling to recruit English teachers, with hundreds still trying to fill vacancies in time for September, as headteachers warn they have reached crisis point.
Secondary heads say they have become used to adverts for maths, science, computer science and design technology teachers failing to attract any suitable applicants. But many have been shocked to find that it is now a similar battle to find teachers for English – traditionally a subject that buoyed recruitment numbers.
They warn that if the government does not tackle low pay, overwork and the pressure of inspections by Ofsted, growing teacher shortages will mean spiralling class sizes and children falling behind because they do not have the right specialist subject knowledge.
The national executive of the National Education Union agreed this weekend to stage two further days of strike action over conditions and pay. These will take place on 5 and 7 July. The action will affect state schools and sixth form colleges. Members are calling for an above-inflation pay rise and assurances that money will not come from existing school budgets.

ITV News
Teachers in England will stage fresh strikes next month in their long-running dispute over pay.
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) will walk out on July 5 and 7, causing disruption to schools in the current term.
The NEU is currently re-balloting its members to see if they want to continue taking industrial action for the rest of the year.
The other education unions – ASCL, NAHT and NASUWT – are also balloting their members for strikes over pay and funding for teachers in England.
The unions have warned of co-ordinated action in the autumn term if there is no settlement to the dispute.

Homelessness

Mail
Prince William has revealed his lifelong ambition to end homelessness in the UK and said he will build social housing on his private estate, the Duchy of Cornwall, which he inherited from his father the King.
William, 40, spoke in his first interview since becoming the Prince of Wales, and used it to explain that he is determined to ‘make a difference… that doesn’t set people up that are homeless for another fall’.
The 130,000-acre Duchy of Cornwall spans from Cornwall to Kent and includes estates in Newquay and Dorchester which comprise of a mix of private and some affordable housing.
When asked in his Sunday Times interview whether there are plans for affordable homes on Duchy land, William said: ‘Absolutely. Social housing. You’ll see that when it’s ready. I’m no policy expert, but I push it where I can.’
Described by the paper as a ‘curveball’ which aides were not expecting, William indicated that he will ‘start small’ with the housing and if the scheme does well will look to increase the amount available.

Express
Prince William has vowed to end homelessness in Britain, in a touching continuation of Princess Diana’s legacy. In his first interview as the Prince of Wales, William told The Times that he’ll “absolutely” put “social housing” on the land he inherits from King Charles.
Although the heir recognises the challenge of homelessness, he said he believes the UK can eradicate it.
He said: “It’s not insurmountable, this challenge. If anyone does become homeless [we can say], ‘OK, here’s the way back, here’s the pathway’. We can visualise that and we can show people that there is a way to do it.”
The future King said he wants to “change the narrative” around homelessness.
He said: “There’s a lot of preconceived ideas around homelessness. There’s still stigma, when actually a lot of people don’t understand the fundamental basics,” he says.

BBC News
The Prince of Wales has said his children “will definitely be exposed” to homelessness as he prepares to launch a new project on the issue.
In a Sunday Times interview, Prince William revealed he wanted them to know “some of us need a helping hand”.
The prince said he has been thinking about the right time to take them to a homeless shelter, like his mother Princess Diana did with him aged 11.
He is set to launch a new five-year project tackling the issue this month.
The interview comes as a new portrait of the Prince pictured smiling with his three children has been released by Kensington Palace to mark Father’s Day.
In his first newspaper interview as Prince of Wales, he told the Sunday Times he had spoke to his children, Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte, during the school run about people they could see sitting outside supermarkets.

Vapes

Observer
A series of “grassroots” campaigns telling UK e-cigarette users they are under attack and urging them to “stand up for their rights” by opposing new vaping regulations are being run by secretive lobby groups with links to Big Tobacco.
The campaigns – pushed to millions of Facebook and Twitter users in the past few weeks – have names such as #BackVapingSaveLives and Save My Vape, and are styled to look like they are coordinated by members of the public. But in reality they are run and promoted by rightwing thinktanks and lobbyists that oppose stricter regulation and want to influence government policy.
They include a movement called We Vape UK, which claims to be run by an “independent” organisation “for vapers by vapers”, but was set up by a fellow at the Adam Smith Institute, a free market lobby group that does not disclose its funders and has long-running ties to the tobacco industry.
Posts from We Vape UK’s #BackVapingSaveLives campaign appear to glamourise vaping. They include a video of a young woman vaping on a night out, posts promoting flavoured and disposable vapes, and pictures of celebrities using e-cigarettes.

Storms

Express
Storms will lash the UK for a full 24 hours this weekend, with weather alerts warning Britons to expect inches of rainfall and dangerous lightning. Met Office forecasters have issued a series of warnings for the country on Father’s Day for England and Wales as an Atlantic system sweeps in on June 18. The rapid change will see summer snuffed out within a day as, despite previous rainy spells, people can expect the showers to “knock the heat on its head.”
The Met Office warnings start from midnight on Father’s Day, with “heavy rain and thunderstorms” dominating the following 24 hours.
The days’ worth of rain will continue over England and Wales until 11.59pm on Monday, June 20.
Chris Almond, the agency’s Deputy Chief Meteorologist, said thunderstorms will become increasingly dominant as the weekend continues.
The storms could also prompt lightning, gusty winds and hail.
He said: “Heavy showers and thunderstorms are likely to become more frequent and impactful through the weekend, with the potential for associated hail, lightning and some gusty winds.

Independent
Large parts of the UK are being lashed by heavy rains and thunderstorms as the Met Office’s latest forecast showed more intense wet weather to come.
Saturday was a warm and humid day for most in the country with some sunshine that soon turned to showers and thunderstorms.
And these showers are set to intensify on Sunday as the Met Office forecast “very intense rainfall” ahead with a risk of flooding in some parts.
A yellow warning for thunderstorms is in place for most of England and Wales with lightning, strong winds and hail all expected on Sunday.
The Met Office has said London through to the Midlands as well as eastern England, east Wales and lower areas of northern England are most likely to experience disruption.

Mail
A six hour storm is expected to dump a month’s rain on parts of Britain today – but won’t lift the threat of hosepipe bans.
Experts say the ground is so dry in the hottest start to June since 1976, today’s deluge won’t be enough to replenish water supplies and 1.3 million will still face hosepipe bans in South East England.
Half today’s torrent is expected to fall in just an hour, prompting warnings of flash flooding and danger for drivers.
A yellow warning for thunderstorms this afternoon and evening was issued across England and Wales, with temperatures remaining at 28C (82F). Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: ‘The average rainfall for the UK in June is 77mm and for England it is just 65mm.
‘But it is possible that 60mm could fall in six hours, which is not far from a month’s worth of rain. And we could even see 30mm in one hour, which is the equivalent to a couple of weeks.’
He said there was a flood risk because the deluge will run off dry surfaces at a rapid rate, rather than soak into the ground.

BBC News
Thunderstorms, winds and hail are forecast to sweep across the UK this weekend and could cause flash flooding, the Met Office has warned.
Warm, humid air this week has caused the storms to develop, it said.
A yellow weather warning for England, Wales and Northern Ireland is in place for Sunday, with an unsettled weekend of weather on the way for some.
BBC Weather’s Matt Taylor said some of the worst storms could produce a month’s worth of rain in a few hours.
But the hot weather will continue, with temperatures reaching highs of 29C (84F) in some areas.

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