Jersey fish
Express
FRANCE has dispatched a naval gendarmerie vessel towards Jersey this morning, just hours after a fishing chief declared the country is “ready for war” with the island.
Just over an hour after dozens of French fishing boats descended on Jersey’s port of St Helier this morning, the EU country has sent a naval ship to assist. The small naval gendarmarie vessel, the Athos (A712) was seen hurtling towards the island “at full speed” this morning.
Dutch journalist Hans de Vreij noted the development, and wrote on Twitter: “France has dispatched a small naval gendarmerie vessel towards Jersey.
“It’s the Athos (A712). At full speed: ~23 knots. And yes, its sister ship is named Aramis.”
The Athos is a patrol boat and is 32m in length.
It comes after a French fishing chief issued a stark warning to the island, saying its country had the ability to “bring Jersey to its knees if necessary”.
BBC News
Two Royal Navy ships are patrolling waters around Jersey and a French naval vessel is heading towards the island, as fishermen protest over their post-Brexit rights.
About 60 French and Jersey boats are blocking the island’s St Helier port, with a freight vessel unable to leave.
French fishermen say their rights are unfairly restricted by licences issued by the island under a new system.
Jersey’s External Affairs Minister Ian Gorst said he will meet the fishermen.
HMS Severn, which has previously been used to shadow Russian navy warships off the English coast, can be seen from the port, sitting off about a mile from the French boats. HMS Tamar is nearby and both ships are maintaining a presence and not making any effort to intervene.
No 10 said it sent the two Navy vessels to “monitor the situation”.
France has threatened to cut off electricity to the island over the row.
Mail
Emmanuel Macron has sent a military boat racing at full speed towards Jersey for a stand-off with the Royal Navy as 100 French fishing vessels blockade the harbour. Athos was hurtling towards the British Crown dependency to confront HMS Severn and HMS Tamar – despite them being far superior in size and power – as they monitor the protest over post-Brexit fishing rights. The British boats are armed with cannon and machine guns and are roaming the Channel after Paris warned yesterday it could cut off electricity to the island – which is largely supplied via an undersea cable. It is understood Boris Johnson made the decision to deploy the patrol boats after intelligence suggested up to 100 fishing boats would block all access to the port at Saint Helier. Witnesses on the ground counted 100 small vessels on the choppy water this morning, with french fishermen setting off flares and hoisting banners calling for access to the waters. Jersey fisherman Josh Dearing was astonished by the scenes on the sleepy island, describing the port of St Helier this morning as ‘like an invasion’.
It is understood Boris Johnson made the decision to deploy the patrol boats after intelligence revealed the 100 fishing boats would block all access to the port at Saint Helier.
The sabre-rattling Prime Minister will keep his eye on events in the Channel throughout today as voters take to the polling booths in the local elections.
Guardian
France’s response to post-Brexit fishing restrictions around the island of Jersey has been described as “pretty close to an act of war” by fishing community leaders in St Helier. They say they have been told 100 boats are being lined up in France for a 6am blockade at the main Channel Island port on Thursday, threatening food and energy supplies.
“It was inevitable that the French would kick off,” said the head of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, Don Thompson. “But the reaction we’re seeing from France is almost like something you would see from Iran or Russia. They’re not just saying they can cut off the electricity supply, French fishermen are saying that they’re coming tomorrow [Thursday] to blockade the harbour in time to stop the ferries from coming in so there’ll be no food supply and no fuel coming into the island either. So it comes pretty close to an act of war, this.”
Telegraph
France has dispatched a military vessel to Jersey’s capital of St Helier, as the row over post-Brexit fishing rights escalates.
The port has been under blockade since dawn this morning, with eyewitnesses estimating around 60 vessels have been taking part in the protest against new rules, which limit their access to British waters around Jersey.
The Royal Navy’s HMS Tamar and HMS Severn, both of which are equipped with machine guns, are stationed just off the coast. French authorities have confirmed that a patrol vessel, Military Ops ship Athos, will be arriving “imminently” to carry out a “patrol mission”, Sky News reports.
But Ian Gorst, Jersey’s External Affairs Minister, suggested the ship would have to remain within French waters unless it sought permission from UK authorities.
Order-order
Boris has slammed France after one of Macron’s ministers floated cutting power supplies to Jersey, calling the threat “unacceptable”. The row has erupted after the Channel Island introduced new licences for French trawlers. Reacting to the move, France’s maritime minister Annick Girardin told MPs “we are ready to use these retaliation measures… I am sorry it has come to this. We will do so if we have to”. Cutting supply lines is a traditional siege tactic… France has a poor record when it comes to hostilities with Jersey, having previously lost two invasion attempts of the isles in 1779 and 1781, losing almost 800 men in the process. Macron’s often been accused of having a Napoleonic complex, now he’s switched to emulating Louis XVI…
A government spokesperson has said “To threaten Jersey like this is clearly unacceptable and disproportionate.” One No. 10 source goes further in the Telegraph, pointing out “at least when the Germans invaded [France] they kept the lights on”…
Following enquiries from our customers regarding the French fishing dispute, JE can reassure customers that in the unlikely event electricity supplies from France are disrupted, La Collette Power Station and Queens’ Road has capacity to supply Jersey’s electricity requirements.
Back-up power
Express
FRANCE’S post-Brexit threat to blockade Jersey and cut off the island’s electricity in a bid to prevent supplies from entering the country has failed spectacularly after suppliers highlighted back-up power options.
France had threatened to cut off electricity supplies to the island amid a row over access to fishing waters. However, Jersey Electricity confirmed the island will have back-up supplies if Emmanuel Macron follows through with his threat. They said in a tweet on Wednesday: “Following enquiries from our customers regarding the French fishing dispute, JE can reassure customers that in the unlikely event electricity supplies from France are disrupted, La Collette Power Station and Queens’ Road has the capacity to supply Jersey’s electricity requirements.”
The news was praised by Tory MP for Wokingham Sir John Redwood, who vowed the UK must not back down to France’s bullying over fisheries.
He said in response: “Glad Jersey has a backup power supply.
“Most important not to give in to unacceptable French bullying. We need to take back control of our fish.”
Elections
Mail
Boris Johnson voted early in the dramatic Super Thursday battle today amid signs he is on course to take a wrecking ball to the Red Wall again.
The PM cast his ballot along with fiancee Carrie Symonds in London as the crucial set of elections got underway.
The Tories have been boosted by the latest poll showing they have a huge 10-percentage point lead – driven by the success of the vaccine rollout.
Keir Starmer is braced for a disastrous ‘hat-trick’ of defeats in the Hartlepool by-election, as well as the two key mayoral races in the West Midlands and Tees Valley.
Allies believe a hard-Left challenge is inevitable if the results in his first major electoral test are as bad as feared – but they are also confident he can survive.
Votes will be cast in every part of Great Britain, with the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, London Assembly, and Hartlepool by-election up for grabs.
More than 5,000 council seats in England will also be contested, along with 13 mayoralties and 39 police and crime commissioner positions.
YouGov’s final poll before the big day found the Tories were on 43 per cent nationally, ahead of Labour on 33 per cent.
Morning Star
SIR KEIR STARMER has urged voters to back Labour candidates in tomorrow’s elections, promising that they will provide a strong voice for communities across Britain and oppose the sleaze-ridden Tory government.
But as the country votes in the largest set of polls ever held outside of a general election, Sir Keir has been warned that deserting the left has put Labour at risk of heavy defeat.
He conceded that his party was “climbing a mountain” today as polls indicated that it was set to lose the parliamentary by-election in Hartlepool.
The “red wall” town in northern England has returned a Labour MP at every election since the seat was first contested in 1974, including twice under previous leader Jeremy Corbyn.
“This is the first test and we go into that test fighting for every vote,” Sir Keir said. “But I never thought we would climb the mountain we have to climb in just one year — it is going to take longer than that.”
There are 143 council elections being contested in England tomorrow after a year’s delay caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and Labour sources warned that the party was in danger of losing control of Sunderland and Durham for the first time in half a century.
Labour is also looking to retain power in the Welsh parliamentary elections and gain ground at Holyrood in Scotland.
Sun
THE TORIES retain a significant lead over Labour thanks to the vaccine drive, the result of a survey suggests, as voters head to the polls today.
Research published by The Times found the Conservatives had a ten-point lead over Labour, down just one point from last week.
Meanwhile, the survey, conducted by YouGov, also showed nearly nine in 10 voters believed the government had handled the Covid-19 vaccine programme well.
And 51 per cent of those who thought it was a success credited Boris Johnson.
It comes after, Lisa Nandy said “anything is possible” in the by-election and let slip it would be “difficult” for Sir Keir Starmer to make inroads.
She told TimesRadio that despite some polls showing the Tory lead narrowing, it was still all to play for.
Both sides were playing down expectations ahead of Thursday’s local votes — where thousands of council seats are up for grabs.
Veterans
Mail
The government is reportedly planning to make British veterans and terrorists exempt from prosecution for actions in the Troubles following a landmark court ruling.
Ministers are looking at putting in place a statute of limitations to stop soldiers being charged with incidents before the 1998 Good Friday agreement.
Any actions involving war crimes, genocide or torture however will not be included.
According to The Times, the government plans to draw a line under the continuing threat of prosecution for Army veterans, including scrapping a £150million unit to investigate the so-called legacy issues.
In a ‘truth and reconciliation’ process styled on the one Nelson Mandela implemented in South Africa after the end of apartheid, a commission will be set up to report on those who died to fulfil human rights obligations and give families on both sides closure.
While the proposals have not yet been signed off they are expected to be ready in time for the Queen’s Speech next week.
Vaccine
ITV News
Two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine can provide more than 95% protection against infection, severe illness, and death, according to the first nationwide data from Israel.
A single dose of the jab, meanwhile, is linked with 58% protection against infection, 76% against hospital admission, and 77% against death, research published in the journal The Lancet suggests.
The findings are based on a national-level assessment of the effectiveness of the vaccine, which is thought to be the first observational evaluation of its kind.
Cancer
Guardian
The number of people being diagnosed with cancer early in England has plummeted during the Covid pandemic, sparking fears that many will only be treated when it is too late to save them.
Official figures show a third f ewer cancers were detected at stage one, when the chances of survival are highest, in the early months of the pandemic than during the same months a year before.
Cancer experts fear that the figures, which have been collected by Public Health England’s National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service, mean thousands of people have the disease but have not yet started treatment because of “a shift to later diagnosis”. They urged anyone with possible symptoms of the disease to get them checked out immediately.
“While it’s fantastic that Covid rates are dropping and lockdown is easing, the knock-on impact of the pandemic on cancer care cannot be overstated,” said Steven McIntosh, the executive director of advocacy and communications at Macmillan Cancer Support. “We are likely to be dealing with Covid’s long shadow for many years to come.”
While 18,400 people in England had their cancer diagnosed at stage one between March and June 2019, this dropped by 33% to 12,400 in the same period last year – a fall of 1,500 people a month.
Delighted to hear that the ‘Independent’ candidate knotched up 10% of the Hartlepool vote. What a shame more could not see right through the LIB/LAB/CON scam.
The low income in Hartlepool will continue to be stuffed by the Tories just like they were under Labour. Musical chair party politics is alive and well.
As for Farage’s Reform Party RIP.
jersey : engage the enemy more closely…or better use our bigger guns at a distance.
First we need government to recognise that they are truly the enemy; neither friends nor trustworthy trading partners.
Labour will lose Hartlepool but it wont be a tory landslide. There is no appetite for Boris, the fake tories and his fake brexit. What there is in Hartlepool is a lot of voters that hate labour with a passion and will vote for anyone that can keep labour out. It is that simple. Labour is a toxic brand in the town.
The Mandleson Effect. Parachute in outsiders with nothing in common with your voters and eventually the voters will rebel.
CCHQ please note.
JF
Jersey fish:
The French naval vessel should be impounded by the RN if it makes an unauthorised entry into UK waters.