Viv has asked me to tell you that she is taking a short break from her Betrayal column to recharge her batteries.
Don’t worry – she’ll be back!
Brexit
Express
THE SNP have failed in a bid to change new UK rules implemented in the wake of Brexit on the EU Settlement Scheme.
The SNP led a debate and vote in the Commons this afternoon calling for an emergency extension to the EU Settlement Scheme. The party claims thousands of EU citizens risk losing their right to live and work in the UK if the scheme is not extended. SNP MP Stuart McDonald, who led the debate, said the UK was “heading full steam towards another Tory Windrush scandal” – with EU citizens, who have lived in the UK for years or decades, losing their rights.
The party’s Home Affairs spokesperson, added: “It is utterly shameful that Tory MPs have voted against an emergency extension to the EU settlement scheme, and have taken a decision which will leave thousands of EU citizens at risk of losing their rights to live and work in the UK.
“The UK is heading full steam towards another Tory Windrush scandal. EU citizens who have lived in the UK for years and decades could lose their rights and face the full force of the hostile environment.
“Boris Johnson promised EU citizens that they would get automatic leave to remain – but, yet again, he has broken his word and thrown EU citizens under the Brexit bus.
“Scotland voted overwhelmingly against Brexit, yet, Scottish Tory MPs have failed to back an emergency extension to the settlement scheme – threatening the rights of EU citizens across Scotland.”
Mail
Boris Johnson today demanded the EU make ‘repairs’ to the Northern Ireland Protocol as the row over the Brexit agreement continued to simmer today.
The Prime Minister repeated his complaint that Brussels is taking an ‘excessively legally purist’ approach to implementing the international agreement he signed off at the end of last year.
The two sides have clashed over the UK’s unilateral decision to extend a grace period for checks on perishable goods including chilled meats between Britain and Northern Ireland.
The grace period, which was due to end at the end of June, has now been extended, but Mr Johnson was challenged over a long-term solution by eurosceptic Tory David Jones at Prime Minister’s Questions today.
Former minister Mr Jones said the extension amounts to a ‘temporary sticking plaster’ and demanded the UK ‘do whatever is necessary – legislative or otherwise – to fix the problem permanently’.
Mr Johnson replied: ‘There remains very serious problems in what I believe is the misapplication, the excessively legally purist application of that deal, of that protocol, and what we’re hoping for is some progress from the European Commission, some repairs that I think they should make to the way that this is working.’
It came after the European Commission’s Brexit envoy Maros Sefcovic yesterday raised the prospect of heightened sanctions from Brussels, including regular fines.
Trade
Express
A TRADE row between Brussels and London threatened to erupt tonight after UK ministers banned the import of seed potatoes from EU countries in a victory for Scottish farmers.
The Department for Food, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) restricted the imports of seed potatoes from the European Union after deciding not to renew a six-month authorisation. The six-month grace period had allowed imports from European Countries since the end of the Brexit transition period on January 1.
But Ministers will now consider applications to market imported seed potatoes from the bloc on a case-by-case basis following an industry-wide consultation.
It comes after the European Union refused repeated requests by UK ministers to authorise the export of seed potatoes from Britain since January 1, 2021.
Brussels has banned the export of seed spuds from Great Britain to the EU since 31 December 2020 after the Trade and Cooperation Agreement failed to agree equivalence on the goods.
A Defra spokesperson added: “This approach recognises the fact that the UK is broadly self-sufficient in the total quantity of seed potato production, while retaining a mechanism to consider future marketing authorisations as necessary.
EU
Express
URSULA VON DER LEYEN has been ordered to take action against Hungary as the EU’s unity hangs in the balance.
Despite repeated attacks on Hungary over its rule of law, the European Commission president has been savaged for her failure to punish the state. Following the introduction of a new law banning materials featuring homosexuality, one MEP has criticised Ms von der Leyen for failing to take action against Hungary. With Hungary continuing to go against the warnings of the Commission for violating the EU’s values, German MEP Sven Giegold claimed Ms von der Leyen has allowed member states to undermine the bloc.
He said: “Von der Leyen did not announce one new actual measure.
“The basic problem in dealing with rule of law problems in EU countries is a lack of consequences.
“The EU Commission does too little and acts too slowly.
“Not only in Hungary, but also in Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus.
“The EU Commission’s hesitant and inconsistent action will not stop any government in Europe from undermining the rule of law.”
The EU had demanded Hungary revoke the new law which came into force today.
Although Ms von der Leyen condemned the new legislation, MEPs have demanded the Commission President go further and withhold funds linked to the new coronavirus recovery budget.
Gibraltar
Express
GIBRALTAR will not be afraid to “take on” the EU to achieve the best Brexit treaty possible, the Rock’s Chief Minister has said.
The British Overseas Territory is not covered by the UK’s Trade and Cooperation Agreement and separate negotiations with the EU are set to take place to agree a post-Brexit treaty. London, Gibraltar and Madrid wanted talks for the cooperation treaty could be concluded by the end of June.
However, the timeline was delayed as the European Commission was yet to conclude seeking a mandate from the European Council.
In a sign that upcoming negotiations with the bloc may be tough, Fabian Picardo warned once the mandate is presented, it could contain aspects not to the Rock’s liking as well as the UK.
He added: “We must all realise that when the mandate does emerge, it will be the EU’s opening position, it will not be the treaty itself.
“As an opening position, it will contain the EU’s initial approach to the treaty.”
Freedom Day
Independent
Boris Johnson is facing calls to abandon plans to remove almost all remaining Covid restrictions as a coalition of over 100 scientists and doctors warn it is a “dangerous and unethical experiment”.
After Sajid Javid, the health secretary, admitted daily cases could exceed 100,000 in the summer as measures are lifted on 19 July, the experts stressed there are “grave risks” involved in what they described as an “illogical” policy.
The letter – published today in the medical journal The Lancet – claims ministers’ strategy amid surging cases of the Delta variant “provides fertile ground for the emergence of vaccine-resistant” variants.
The 122 signatories also warn that unmitigated transmission will “disproportionately” affect children and young people who have not been offered a vaccine, with high circulation of the virus leading to “significant educational disruption” — despite the scrapping of school bubbles.
It follows the prime minister’s announcement at a No 10 press conference on Monday that all rules on social distancing, including the requirement to wear masks, will be lifted in just under a fortnight if the 19 July date is rubber-stamped next week.
Covid
Mail
Britain’s daily Covid cases have breached 30,000 for the first time since January when the second wave was still raging — and deaths have more than doubled in a week.
Department of Health figures show there were 32,548 new infections across the UK in the past 24 hours, up by a quarter on last week and the highest number since January 23.
Another 33 Covid deaths were also registered overnight, which was more than twice as many as last Wednesday when there were 14.
Latest figures show there were 386 Covid admissions on July 3, an increase of about 45 per cent on the previous week and double the number in early June. Like cases, hospitalisations now appear to be growing exponentially.
But the ‘vaccine effect’ means there are still 10 times fewer patients being admitted each day now compared to late January when daily infections were last this high.
No10 is pressing on with Freedom Day on July 19 despite the fact cases are doubling every nine days and are expected to soar past 100,000 by August. The highest daily case count so far was 68,000 on January 8.
Ministers have grown increasingly confident in the jab rollout, which saw another 86,000 first and 153,000 second doses administered yesterday. It means 86 per cent of adults have had one jab and 65 per cent have had both.
Evening Standard
Covid cases are set to start falling in August because the virus will “run out of people to infect”, the Government believes.
Data modelling due over the coming days is hoped to confirm that the turning point in Britain’s pandemic is likely to come this summer. Ministers believe the peak could be reached next month as the disease rips through people who are unvaccinated and those who have only had a single jab.
After that, the number of new infections should come down, giving the country its greatest hope yet that the war against Covid is reaching an end.
Department of Health officials have reportedly coined the term “hybrid immunity” to describe the protection from vaccinating older, more vulnerable people, combined with a mixture of vaccinations and natural immunity in the young.
Senior sources have told the Standard that although different models give different timings, there is rising confidence that the releasing of restrictions on July 19 will not be reversed.
“The modelling will give a more accurate indication of when a peak will occur,” said a source.
“Mid-August is broadly where we believe it will come. It will run through the unvaccinated and the single-dosed, but because such vast numbers of people now have antibodies and can resist it, it will then start falling off because it will run out of people to infect.” So far Britain has vaccinated 64.3 per cent of over-18s with two doses, which give around 92 per cent protection against serious illness, and delivered at least one dose to a total of 86.2 per cent.
Guardian
Hospitals are again having to cancel operations, including cancer surgery, because they are treating growing numbers of patients with Covid and losing staff who are having to isolate.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS trust has had to call off some planned non-urgent operations this week to help it cope with an influx of patients who have been left seriously ill with Covid.
Other hospitals and ambulance services are also coming under serious pressure in what NHS staff believe is an unfolding third wave of Covid, which they fear will get worse in the next few weeks.
“Drawing on experience from previous waves of the pandemic we are enacting plans to help us treat increased numbers of Covid admissions while still providing care to those patients waiting for scheduled operations,” said Dr Phil Wood, the Leeds trust’s chief medical officer.
“While every patient’s care is important to us, we have had to postpone some planned elective operations to ensure patients who require urgent treatment are prioritised,” he added.
“Along with the rest of the NHS we are seeing an increase in patients admitted to our hospitals with Covid-19.”
Times
NHS leaders have urged the government to lift self-isolation requirements early for fully vaccinated health workers in an attempt to ease staff shortages.
Their request came as Boris Johnson defended the delay in bringing in the new rules as “the prudent approach” after criticism from business leaders.
Virtually all coronavirus restrictions end in England on July 19 but mandatory self-isolation after contact with an infected person will remain until August 16, when it will lift for those who have had both jabs.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS providers, said “very high pressure on staffing levels” was likely to be exacerbated as cases rise after remaining restrictions are removed.
Mail
Nine in ten adults now have Covid antibodies as the vaccine rollout pushes Britain close to herd immunity, official data shows.
Blood testing by the Office for National Statistics found 89.8 per cent of over-16s in England have some immunity to the virus.
This is up from 79.6 per cent in May, reflecting the success of the vaccine rollout.
Antibodies are produced after vaccination or infection and fight off the virus.
The ONS data is based on tests of tens of thousands of adults in the week beginning June 14.
Antibody levels were highest in older adults – 97 per cent of those aged between 60 and 79 tested positive.
But just six in ten of those aged 16 to 24 tested positive, meaning millions of younger adults remain susceptible.
Yet the data suggests the UK may be approaching herd immunity.
Experts believe around 85 per cent of the total population needs antibodies to reach this threshold.
Education
Telegraph
Boris Johnson has said he believes extending the school day is “the right thing to do” as he admitted on Wednesday that disruption caused to pupils by Covid had been “debilitating”.
Reviving hopes that ministers could still lengthen the school day, Mr Johnson told MPs “the question” now was about how the additional time should be used.
Appearing before the Commons liaison committee, he said ministers would do a “proper review” and consider whether pupils should be given more academic teaching or enrichment activities or a “mixture” of both.
Describing catch-up for pupils as the “most important investment we can make”, the Prime Minister added that there was no question children had lost “unconscionable amounts of teaching” because of the pandemic.
It comes several weeks after Sir Kevan Collins, the former catch-up tsar, quit after Mr Johnson sided with Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, and refused to sign off on a £15 billion rescue package which included extending the school day.
Asked why he had not adopted the proposal, Mr Johnson said: “The evidence on timetable, the evidence on lengthening the school day, wasn’t as powerful as it was on tuition, for instance. But that doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing to do, I do think it’s the right thing to do.
“The question is how you do it, what sorts of activities, is it enrichment, is it academic, what’s the mixture?”
Universal credit
Morning Star
THE government has been urged to reverse “callous and shameful” plans to phase out the £20 “uplift” to universal credit in autumn that was announced today by ministers.
Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said today that those receiving the uplift, described as a lifeline by campaigners, will start to see an adjustment to their payments from October.
The government is going ahead with the cuts despite widespread opposition to ending the uplift, including from former work and pensions secretaries, among them Iain Duncan Smith, once dubbed the “architect of austerity.”
Addressing the work and pensions committee, Ms Coffey said: “Ahead of October we will start communicating with the current claimants … to make them aware that will be being phased out and they will start to see an adjustment in their payments.”
Following the announcement, Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Reynolds warned the move will “hit the lowest paid hardest and hurt our economic recovery.”
He said: “There is near universal opposition to this cut, including from prominent Conservatives.
“It is time the government saw sense, backed struggling families and cancelled its cut to universal credit.”
His Scottish counterpart Ian Murray MP also urged the government to reverse the “shameful and callous cut” to the benefit.
Campaigners argue that the uplift — worth about £1,000 a year — is preventing thousands of families from falling into poverty.
Olympics
Mail
The Japanese government are set to declare another state of emergency in Tokyo covering the duration of the Olympics, increasing the prospect of all spectators being banned.
Japan’s capital city is currently under a quasi-state of emergency, which is due to expire on Sunday. But just two weeks out from the Games, the country’s strongest measures are now expected to be reintroduced up to August 22 because of a spike in coronavirus cases.
That decision, to be announced on Thursday, will have a major knock-on effect on the Olympics, which runs from July 23 to August 8.
As well as that Pauline (at 6.45pm), Astra Zenica is making a new vaccine against the Delta “variant” of the Covid-19 virus. Soon the BBC will be pushing the new vaccines against the variants.
I can’t resist saying this. Strikes me Stuart McDonald is more full of wind than the bag on his pipe.
And in Israel…
https://melaniephillips.substack.com/p/a-reckless-gamble?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxNDc4NzA4OCwicG9zdF9pZCI6Mzg0OTIwNjMsIl8iOiJuQ0l1RSIsImlhdCI6MTYyNTc1NzgwOSwiZXhwIjoxNjI1NzYxNDA5LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItNzc2NTUiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.TFPFNnx6Escut3imDMN6FfUW94cNoo5gg9WIDx1ylEU
No betrayal today, but I see Colin Hussey you have commented on here so I’ll say here what I wanted to say in yesterday’s betrayal. (I’ve just looked back at it.)
I am gobsmacked to find that you believe in spiritualism. I have never looked deeply into it but – how can I put it – I’m pretty sure ‘there is something there’.
I accept what you say about hearing voices, conversations. You sound to me like some sort of ‘sensitive’, though you make a distinction between that and a medium.
I do not ‘hear voices’ but sometimes I think my dreams are more than just ‘normal dreams’.
One in particular. It was in the morning of the day when my mother died in the afternoon. Somehow she prevented my alarm going off and spoke to me about why it was that she had done me so much emotional harm in my childhood.
She died in a care home in South Africa because I’d finally convinced her that I was not going to give up my life to return to her house and live under her control. So my brother came over and took her to a care home in the country where he had lived for many years.
Viv has rather changed the emphasis of my article that appears today. I intended it to emphasise how if we do not harm others we should be free to each live our life how we choose.
After all, if there is ‘something beyond’ our life here on earth, surely that implies some kind of ‘HIGHER’ authority, above authorities here on earth.
Two African Presidents, Magufuli of Tanzania and Nkurunziza of Burundi, have died ‘of a heart attack’ recently – of course they did. Both stood out as rejecting ‘vaccination’ of their people. Rumours even circulated that they had died of Covid, which seemed to me to be cleverly saying it served them right for being so stupid and also warning others not to follow their lead.
In case anyone should doubt, and always keen to over-egg their pudding, there was even a supposed clinical article in the BMJ: “Why have so many African leaders died of Covid.” This was misrepresentation even before they started, because no actual leaders have. It had to make do with middle ranking government officials to hang it on.
So, (extreme conspiracy theorist that I am, apparently) when I heard that President Jovenel Moise of Haiti was reported to have been assassinated I wondered whether he too had resisted Big Pharma and paid the price. I read two middling length obituaries, in mainstream papers (sometimes one has to), neither of which, surprise, surprise, mentioned vaccines. Only later did I read that Haiti is the only country in the Americas not vaccinating. Well, well. Join the dots if you wish.
Amazing Polly : the international- mafia -on -steroids said that if a premier or key government figure wanted to go against the narrative, he might as well hang himself from a bridge.
She was discussing how politicians etc were behaving like “Kabuki puppets on strings with grotesque masks and costumes” as someone here so brilliantly put it yesterday. Polly put on a clip of a Canadian politician asked about Ivermectin, who gave a weird reply that had no relevance whatsoever on the question , but merely replied that the” rollout of the jab was successful.”
Happens everywhere of course.
Yes. Ivermectin is the key to shattering the entire panoply of practical and propaganda narratives. There are other treatments (e.g. Zinc+HCQ, Zinc+Quercetin, Budesonide) that work at phases of Covid, in those unlucky enough to be vulnerable to it, but Ivermectin is the only one that works at every stage: prophylactic, early and even the later cytokine storm. Hence the still iron grip on the media even discussing it, because with a treatment available there is no emergency (not that there ever was) and the legal basis for declaring an emergency and for emergency authorisation of an unproven, untested gene therapy treatment, is unsustainable.
Even Dan Wootten on GBN and US commentator Megyn Kelly, both of whom are pretty clued up and correct on everything else, sang the tune last night regarding Ivermectin. Megyn even scoffed that people were using a medicine given to horses. Such apparent ignorance on several fronts there. But I cannot believe two such well informed people have not seen the wealth of evidence both scientific – 60-odd studies around the world – and practical – some Indian states, Mexico, Argentine hospitals, and multiple US medics who put their patients first.
Harryagain above refers us to Melanie Phillips, that must be a first in his case, and we can see why; another intelligent journalist who also seems unable to see the truth in front of their nose.
Phil O’Sophical, those presidents were inconvenient to the people who rule the world. Jeffrey Epstein could have been very Inconvenient for them too, he knew he was doomed. Ghislaine Maxwell probably feels the same as well.
Just when will Boris Johnson start to show some sort of leadership over the Northern Ireland protocol, Fishing and Territorial Waters and the Withdrawal Agreement as a whole. All we have had so far is a lot of meaningless talk, hot air, baseless threats, and utter piffle, which in my eyes at least boils down to appeasement. Time to grow a backbone and get a bit of political conviction under his burgeoning belt and take action, which that takes willpower which he obviously lacks. Take back control of our borders, send migrants back to France or country of origin, take 100% control of our fishing waters now, kick the NI protocol into touch and rip up the Withdrawal Agreement in its entirety and dump it in the rubbish bin where it belongs. It is high time this country had 100% independence from the European Union, and if Johnson cant or wont do it or more likely it is too much like hard work to do it, then he should hand over the reigns to a more competent politician who will put the citizens of this country first. Sorry Pauline if I am being hypo again………
Boris Johnson >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> leadership
Julian……I know its terribly hard to grasp mentioning Johnson and leadership. The two just don’t go hand in hand with each other, to the point when it does it instigates a snigger, although its not funny at all. To state he is dire would be an understatement.
No Colin it was hyper. Please, please, search back carefully, I’ve said loads of stuff to you since then. Apologies and pleasant comments and agreeing with you and generally very much in favour of your comments, beliefs and policies!
Pharma is insane for profit. The world has to control Big anything.
And “Test and Trace” is merely another infantile .. ratchet towards Their world ambitions.
And by world I do not mean a world policeman and court and bureaucracy etc I mean free consencuos. Is that how it is spellt ?
We have to stop the scientists daily developing ever more powerful covids by vaccination. If we don’t, it’ll outstrip the present strength of the natural immunity of the population. and we’ll get the same nonsense of yearly flue jabs and the healthy will start to die of ever more virulent artificial variations……And we will start getting the artificially kept alive human race….. STOP IT.
“the rights of EU citizens”
And there is the problem.
JF
Yes. JF. EU citizens first, and their dual passport rights and extended families and ‘rights’ to live outside the EU but under EU agreements in a country that voted to break with EU and rejected those free movement agreements. A five million plus number and will rise even though we have supposedly left.
Thanks Debbie. Enjoy your break.
To those who said the vaccine rollout was one of Brexit’s biggest triumphs, may I have your comments about the following;
https://thewhiterose.uk/how-many-children-will-die-because-of-this-woman/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-latest-news-from-our-blog_11
This one too.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/EUlV0Mc41JgP/
TPTB are busy trying to take down Vernon Coleman’s videos, but if you can’t find one go to his website Health section, which gives transcripts of all his videos
The word is quietly slipped out that the ‘vaccines’ may not be all they were cracked up to be.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/medical/uk-health-chiefs-sneak-out-warnings-on-pfizers-covid-vaccine/ar-AALT35Q?ocid=ientp
This is reply I received today from my MP in response to mine re vaccine dangers especially to children;
“The vaccine is safe, for all age groups, that is Sir Paul’s only comment on this matter. He refuses to engage with ‘vaccine scepticism’ it is the realm of cranks, conspiracy theorists and loons.”
This will come back to haunt him before too long.
So now there is a huge surge in illness from the Covid Delta variant. That’s what we are told. Why can’t the vaccines cope with “variants”, when the “variants” are almost the same as the original Covid-19?
It’s almost as if vaccine – resistant “variants” have had to be invented to keep the lockdowns going. And almost as if those lockdowns are necessary to make people believe that there is a pandemic. Because without those lockdowns people would notice that there is no pandemic.
Well done Ralph Prothero. It’s almost as if . . . . . Precisely. That is EXACTLY what is being done.
It’s being done by – ‘The Media’ like it was from the start.
They’ve collected a few fellow travelers of course.