Brexit 

Express
BRANDON LEWIS left EU diplomats revelling with glee at the weekend after he said a tweet he sent about the Northern Ireland Protocol “has not aged well”.
Eurocrats said they laughed as they watched the Northern Ireland Secretary speak about the problems caused by the Brexit mechanism. It comes on the same day the UK and EU agreed an extension to grace periods on customs checks required as part of the Protocol.
From Thursday, July 1, the transport of sausages and other chilled meats from Britain across the Irish Sea was set to be banned.
A deal struck by London and Brussels has postponed the checks until the end of September while a more permanent solution is agreed.
Britain has claimed the Protocol is having a damaging impact on the UK’s internal market. 

EU 

Express
BRUSSELS today claimed it has “turned its rules upside down” in response to UK criticism that the EU has been too legalistic in the row over trade checks for Northern Ireland.
EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic suggested the EU had offered a significant number of concessions in the hope of convincing No10 to fully implement the Brexit deal’s protocol to avoid a hard border. Alongside the plan for a three-month delay an EU ban on British-made sausages and burgers being sold in Northern Ireland, Brussels has offered to make it easier for the trade in medicines and livestock, as well as for motorists and guide dogs being transported between the rest of the UK and the region. Responding to claims that he has not shown pragmatism, Mr Sefcovic said: “They are an unquestionable response to those in the UK, suggesting that the EU is inflexible or too legalistic, because in some cases, notably on medicines, we have completely turned our rules upside down and inside out.”
To defuse the row over the implementation of the rules, Brussels has offered a package of concessions to the UK to ease EU red tape on Northern Ireland.
EU officials set out plans for the bloc to tweak its own laws next month to allow drugs licensed for use in Britain to be prescribed in the region without being reassessed.
The bloc’s rules will be relaxed to ensure an “undisrupted supply of medicines to Northern Ireland”. 

Northern Ireland Protocol 

Express
A BELFAST High Court has ruled the Northern Ireland Protocol is not unlawful in a major blow to leaders of unionism who claimed it breaches the Act of Union and the Belfast Agreement.
Mr Justice Colton found the protocol – a hotly contested issue between the UK and EU – conflicts with the 1800 Act of Union. However, legislation enacting the protocol in Parliament has repealed part of the Act of Union. Judge Colton said “political and constitutional tumult” had followed the Brexit referendum in 2016 and the case before him involved a “complex and contentious” situation.
The Government had argued if there was a conflict between the legislation passed as a result of the Brexit deal with the Brussels bloc and the Act of Union then the conflicting portion of the Act of Union had been impliedly repealed.
The case had hinged on an argument that foundational constitutional law can only be amended explicitly in primary legislation and not in an indirect way.
The applicants claim the deal between the UK and EU breaks the 1800 Act of Union and despite Parliament passing the Protocol in primary legislation, fundamental constitutional law can only be undermined if there are “clear and unambiguous words [to that effect] in an Act of Parliament”.
They had also argued the Protocol clashes with Article Six of the Act of Union (Ireland) Act 1800, which details the need to free trade within the British Isles. 

Telegraph
Brussels has ruled out offering Britain access to its financial markets as a bargaining chip in talks over Northern Ireland, as the European Union presses ahead with an assault on the City.
There will be no “trade off” on banking as the two sides seek to resolve border disruption in the province, finance commissioner Mairead McGuinness said at a speech on Wednesday.
It came as officials reached a truce, agreeing to delay a ban on the sale of chilled meats across the Irish Sea. Under the terms of the agreement, the UK will abide by EU food standards while further discussions take place.
Ms McGuinness said that EU trust in Britain has been damaged by the UK’s move in March to unilaterally extend grace periods on certain border checks.
She added that the bloc wants a “very good relationship” with the UK, adding: “it makes no sense for us not to have a strong relationship”. 

Covid 

Mail
Millions of cases of Covid-19 could be missed unless the ‘official’ symptom list is expanded, experts have warned.
Scientists are urging the UK Government to follow other countries and broaden the range of symptoms that forms the criteria for self-isolation or a PCR test.
Currently only three symptoms – a high temperature, new cough, or loss or change to sense of smell or taste – are listed by the NHS.
People only have to self-isolate or get a PCR test if they get one of these three symptoms, but latest data suggests other symptoms, including headache, fatigue and sore throat, are just as common.
Today a group of top scientists have published an article in the British Medical Journal saying that limiting testing to people with these three core symptoms could ‘miss or delay identification of many Covid cases’.
Dr Alex Crozier and colleagues including Professor Calum Semple, a leading Government scientific advisor, said this could hamper efforts to halt the spread of the virus as non-traditional symptoms ‘often manifest earlier’. 

Guardian
Pressure is mounting on ministers to reassure the public about the safety of hosting the final stages of Euro 2020 and other major events after almost 1,300 Scotland fans tested positive for Covid after travelling to London for a match.
Data published by Public Health Scotland on Wednesday showed that 1,991 people who later tested positive had attended one or more Euro 2020 events during their infection period, a time when they “may have unknowingly transmitted their infection to others”.
Nearly two-thirds of cases reported travelling to London for a Euro 2020 event, including 397 people who were at Wembley for the England v Scotland fixture on 18 June – 15% of the 2,600 Scotland fans given tickets for the match, which ended in a goalless draw.
The news came as 26,068 positive test results were reported across the UK on Wednesday, with 3,887 in Scotland – the highest daily total north of the border since the start of the pandemic. 

Double jab 

Sun
DOUBLE-JABBED Brits will be able to jet off with their kids at the start of the school summer holidays.
Ministers are plotting to open up the nation’s borders a week after Freedom Day on July 26, opening up the Spanish Costas, French campsites and Greek islands for Covid weary Brits.
Schools break up the Friday before, allowing families to get off to amber countries provided they are vaccinated.
Children will be exempted from the rule, but everyone travelling will have to take a test before departing back to the UK and on the second day back at home.
Ministers are still arguing over the date it will come into to force, with some hoping to push the date forward to Freedom Day.
However Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is expected to announce the details at the next travel review on July 15 – barring any new variants or issues unlocking the nation. 

Times
Ministers are aiming to introduce quarantine-free travel for double-vaccinated holidaymakers by July 26, the first full week of the school holidays, The Times has learnt.
The plans to exempt people with two doses of the Covid vaccine from the need to quarantine from amber-list countries, which would open up travel to all of Europe, will be phased in.
At first the relaxation would only apply to UK residents with access to the NHS but a deal to extend it to all citizens of the European Union is close to being signed.
UK ambassadors in Europe have also been told to make lobbying for the lifting of restrictions on British holidaymakers their priority as the green list is expanded this month. 

Face masks 

Mail
Face masks are set to be made voluntary under plans to end most coronavirus restrictions on July 19.
Boris Johnson is pushing for the lifting of mask laws in almost all settings to help return life to ‘as near normal as possible’.
Key social distancing measures, including the one-metre rule, the rule of six and the 30-person limit on the size of outdoor gatherings, are also set to be scrapped on the new ‘Freedom Day’.
The Mail revealed today that ministers have shelved plans to require mass events such as festivals to use Covid passports to control entry.
And last night it emerged that even nightclubs may be allowed to reopen on July 19 without the need to test customers at the door, as part of a new ‘freedom plan’ that could be published by the Prime Minister as soon as next week. The proposals reflect growing confidence in Government that the vaccination rollout has severely weakened the link between infections, and hospitalisations and deaths.
Covid cases are continuing to surge across the country.
Yesterday, 26,068 new cases were recorded – a rise of almost 70 per cent in a week, and the highest figure since late January. 

Sun
FACE masks could become voluntary from July 19 as life slowly edges towards normality, it has been reported.
Boris Johnson is said to be pushing for key social distancing measures to be dropped in the coming weeks, despite a rise in cases.
The one-metre rule, rules of six and the 30 minute limit on outdoor gatherings are also said to be scrapped on the new Freedom Day.
Nightclubs may even be able to reopen without the need to test customers at the door.
It’s believed the new plans could be published by the government as soon as next week.
Ministers are increasingly confident that face coverings will be ditched from shops and public transport but may remain mandatory in hospitals.
Sources told The Daily Mail that “final decisions” have not been made yet, but said the PM is pushing to ditch as many rules as possible.
But Sir Patrick Vallance has warned that rules may be needed again this winter – even if they are binned next month. 

Schools 

Telegraph
Head teachers have been told to stop sending “whole school bubbles” home to self-isolate  when just one pupil tests positive.
Downing Street issued the warning on Wednesday night as it came under mounting pressure from Tory backbenchers and former ministers about the hundreds of thousands of healthy children who are being forced to stay at home each time a classmate catches the virus.
This week, The Telegraph has launched a campaign calling on ministers to put children first as the country recovers from its repeated lockdowns, with action to bring an end to the disruption in schools.
On Tuesday it was revealed that a record 385,500 pupils are off school as a result of Covid – the vast majority of whom do not have the virus. This includes 10,500 children whose schools have closed completely.
And an analysis by this newspaper has found that at least three dozen schools around the country are currently closed due to Covid, with some telling parents that they have no plans to reopen until September.   

Times
School bubbles could be scrapped on July 19, Gavin Williamson has said as he told MPs that officials were considering a “new model” for dealing with Covid-19 breakouts among pupils.
The education secretary said he believed pupils would not be facing bubble arrangements in September, adding that he wants to end regular Covid testing for schoolchildren “at the earliest and most realistic possible stage”.
There have been concerns about the number of pupils being sent home for ten days if another student tests positive for the virus. Labour said data suggested 375,000 children were out of school last week as a result of coronavirus. 

Furlough 

BBC News
Employers will have to shoulder more of the costs of furlough from Thursday as the government starts to wind down its flagship job support scheme.
With about 1.5 million workers still on furlough, the change will affect thousands of firms across the country.
Staff will continue to receive 80% of their wages, but employers will pay part of that for the first time.
That could prompt layoffs, with older workers at greater risk of redundancy, according to one think tank.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the bill for employers keeping a member of staff on the scheme would rise from £155 per month currently, which covers costs such as National Insurance, to £322 in July and £489 in August and September.
As a result, firms might reconsider whether they will retain staff, the IFS said.
“The furlough scheme does need to be wound down as the economy recovers, rather than attempting to keep every job on life support. But this does mean that some will end up unemployed,” said Tom Waters, a senior research economist at the IFS. 

Financial services 

Express
RISHI Sunak will today fire the turbo-boosters on ambitious plans to turn the UK into the world’s “most advanced and exciting” financial services hub. The Chancellor will use a major speech to set out his blueprint that aims to create tens of thousands of new jobs and boost prosperity here “for decades to come.”
His reforms will also help Britain spearhead the global march towards greener finance and force companies to report their environmental and climate impact.  It comes as the UK signed a massive new financial services partnership with Singapore in a major boost to trade. The Chancellor, who has been buoyed by the country’s economic bounceback from the pandemic, will tell business leaders that he is “optimistic” about the UK’s financial future.
“As the baton passes to a new generation of leaders in finance, I feel optimistic about the future. Ambitious at home. Confident internationally,” he is expected to say.
“With a plan to make this country the world’s most advanced and exciting financial services hub for decades to come, creating prosperity at home and projecting our values abroad.”
Speaking at Mansion House, the Chancellor will announce new plans that will force companies to report their environmental and climate impact.
The new agreement with Singapore is expected to help increase trade with the Asian financial powerhouse and other countries in the region.
Mr Sunak said: “Our financial services industry helps to grow the economy and create jobs, and today’s agreement is a landmark step in showing the UK – as one of the world’s pre-eminent financial centres – is both open to the world and committed to maintaining the highest standards of regulation. 

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