Brexit
Express
IRELAND has piled the pressure on the UK by urging them to come up with a solution to issues surrounding the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol within the next three weeks.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, a key voice in Brexit negotiations between London and Brussels, said there is now pressure on both sides to begin resolving the matter before the loyalist marching season in June. Mr Coveney after a meeting with European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic: “The last thing we want to see is moving into a marching season this summer, without Covid-19 restrictions keeping people in their homes, without many of these issues resolved politically. So, I think there is a pressure that we find a way to come up with solutions by some point in June, and I think the Commission is very much aware of that and I’m sure the British government is too.”
He added: “It’s not for me as an Irish minister to be setting deadlines.
“My role in this is to work as part of the EU, but also to reach out to colleagues in London as well, and of course in Belfast, to find a sensible, pragmatic way forward here that everyone can live with.”
The Irish Foreign Minister said a meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee, which implements the Protocol, could take place in the first week of June, which would be chaired by Mr Sefcovic and UK counterpart Lord Frost.
Fisheries
Telegraph
Michel Barnier has accused the Government of behaving like “buccaneers” and failing to respect the Brexit fishing deal following the Jersey stand-off.
Last week, Jersey imposed new restrictions on fishing licences granted to French vessels in its waters – a move that provoked an outcry in Paris.
Mr Barnier, the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator, waded into the debate, saying: “I think that the British are behaving like buccaneers – and it’s not the first time.”
On Thursday, around 60 French vessels attempted to blockade St Helier, Jersey’s main port, in protest at the licences.
Local leaders in La Manche, Normandy, said boats from the Channel island would be suspended from entering the ports of Granville, Barneville-Carteret and Dielette until further notice.
Speaking on French political TV programme C Politique on Sunday, Mr Barnier added: “I think the French fishermen are right and they must be supported.
EU
Express
THE European Union has “closed the door” on the UK over future post-Brexit negotiations, it has been claimed, following crunch talks on plant, food safety, animal health and environment checks.
EU Commission officials held discussions with industry groups regarding trade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards checks (SPS), which take place on UK goods travelling to the bloc as well as Northern Ireland from the UK. Checks, however, do not take place on EU goods coming into the UK.
During the talks, UK industry chiefs called for clarity on the SPS checks.
Chiefs also raised important trade matters for the devolved nations including Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Martin Kennedy, President of the National Farmers Union Scotland claimed Commission officials made it clear the UK would have to “face the consequences for any friction in trade or checks.”
He added: “The tone of the conversation was incredible, despite calls for discussion and dialogue to try and resolve some of the serious issues we are facing right now.”
Illegal migrants
Times
People smugglers took advantage of Britain’s improving weather over the past three days to ferry 173 migrants across the Channel in small boats.
Forty three migrants reached British waters yesterday, while 81 arrived on Sunday and 49 on Saturday. All those picked up by Border Force yesterday were taken to Dover harbour, where they were handed over to immigration officers. A further 140 migrants were picked up by the French authorities before they reached UK waters.
The surge was said to be a result of the warmer weather, with no crossings detected in the previous week.
Covid
Evening Standard
The Covid alert level was on Monday lowered from four to three, paving the way for new freedoms — including, according to a health minister, the return of kissing.
The decision to ease the national alert level from “a high or rising level of transmission” to the middle level of “the virus is in general circulation” was taken jointly by all four of Britain’s chief medical officers including England’s Professor Chris Whitty.
In a measure of the upbeat mood sweeping the Government as restrictions are relaxed again at last, health minister Nadine Dorries became the first to say Britons will soon be allowed to kiss each other again.
“I’m hopeful that we will all be hugging and kissing again soon indoors,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today show.
She also hinted that the next step of the roadmap, on June 21, could be brought forward if the data keeps improving, a suggestion that chimed with Tory Right-wingers and some scientists, but which Downing Street quickly doused down.
Times
Boris Johnson last night signalled an end to “government edicts” on Covid and told people to start using their common sense after England recorded no deaths from the virus for the first time since last summer.
The prime minister confirmed that the biggest easing of restrictions would go ahead as planned on Monday with people allowed to hug friends and family for the first time in more than a year.
Pubs and restaurants will be able to serve inside, pupils can ditch masks in schools, theatres and cinemas can open again and hotels welcome overnight guests back. Care home residents will be able to have five visitors instead of two.
Vaccine
Mail
Holidaymakers who have been fully inoculated against Covid will be able to use the NHS smartphone app as a vaccine passport from Monday.
Once Britain’s foreign travel ban is lifted on May 17, Downing Street said those going abroad could show the app upon arrival to prove they have had two vaccine doses.
Those without smartphones are being urged to avoid calling their GP for help. Instead, they should ring 119 to order a letter confirming their vaccination status.
Official guidance from the Government published online states: ‘‘You can access your Covid-19 vaccination status through the free NHS App from May 17.
‘You can access the app through mobile devices such as a smartphone or by tablet.
‘Proof of your Covid-19 vaccination status will be shown within the NHS App. We recommend you register with the app before booking international travel.
‘Demonstrating your Covid-19 vaccination status allows you to show others that you’ve had a full course of the Covid-19 vaccine when travelling abroad to some countries or territories. A full course is currently two doses of any approved vaccine.’
Rules vary widely from country to country on international travel – but many are set to allow quarantine-free holidays for tourists who can show they have been vaccinated.
The app, developed by NHS Digital and NHS England, was originally designed to allow people to book appointments, repeat prescriptions and see their full medical records.
Sun
VACCINATED Brits will be able to travel abroad for their holidays using the NHS app from next Monday, Matt Hancock declared today.
The health secretary confirmed the Covid certificate system will be up and running in time for the reopening of our borders.
Asked if the necessary changes to the app will be ready on May 17, he replied: “Yes.
“The certification, being able to show you’ve had a jab, is going to be necessary for people to be able to travel.
“So we want to make sure people can get access to that proof, not least to show governments of other countries that you’ve had a jab if they require that in order to arrive.
“Israel is a good example, they’ve said they’ll want proof of you having had two jabs for you to go to Israel as and when they open up – they’re on the green list of course.
“So we’ll make sure you can get access to that to prove that point.”
But only Brits who’ve had two jabs can use the app to travel abroad, The Times reports.
People who don’t have a smartphone can phone 119 for a paper letter confirming their Covid vaccine status.
The app can be used by travellers jetting abroad when the foreign travel ban ends on May 17.
‘Saxons’
Times
The Rugby Football Union has stopped using the nickname “Saxons” for one of its senior England representative teams after it was deemed inappropriate, given the sport’s drive “to reflect the diversity in society”.
England’s second team will revert to the name England A when they play Scotland A in Leicester on June 27 after 15 years of being branded as the England Saxons.
The team was known as England B and then England A before the RFU decided to undertake a rebrand in 2006. After a lengthy consultation process, England Saxons was preferred to England Bloods and England Aces.
Andy Cosslett, the RFU chairman, said last October that the organisation needed to “step up its efforts to improve diversity and inclusion across our game”.
Mail
England’s second rugby team will no longer be called the ‘Saxons’ – a name commonly used to describe white people – because it is ‘inappropriate’ and doesn’t ‘reflect diversity in society’, the sport’s bosses revealed today.
The Rugby Football Union will now call the team ‘England A‘ because the national team has more players from black or minority groups than when the Saxons name started being used in 2006.
It came as the RFU also distanced itself from the fans’ favourite song Swing Low, Sweet Chariot because of its ties with slavery.
While it will not be banned from Twickenham, a wide-ranging probe into racism in rugby has led to England dropping it from its marketing and scrapping its Carry Them Home branding for the England team.
The RFU says it hopes it can discourage supporters from singing it in the stands by educating fans about its roots in slavery. Its popularity began in the 1980s when fans first sang it after black players such as Martin Offiah scored a try.
England’s Saxons will now be named England A when they play Scotland A in a summer friendly in Leicester on June 27, according to The Times.
The reserve team for England’s first XV was given the Saxons moniker in 2006, after a consultation rejected England Bloods and England Aces, at a time when the team’s only black player was Jason Robinson.
Today the team – and the sport generally – has more players from BAME backgrounds, with high-profile stars such as Maro Itoje speaking out about the need for rugby to change,
Last Autumn the RFU launched a review into diversity and racism with Andy Cosslett, the RFU chairman, declaring they needed to ‘step up its efforts to improve diversity and inclusion across our game’.
Announcing the name change a RFU spokesman said: ‘We have chosen to revert to the traditional name of ‘England A’ for this fixture against ‘Scotland A’ as a better representation of our team today’.
I would suggest Mr Coveney is deluded and that Boris now having seen the nasty side of the eu( weren’t they sweet when we were sponsoring their project and they were getting OUR money)should scrap the protocol as they call it, and return to a United Kingdom.
What ever the eu wants to do, reference THEIR market rules, i suggest they implement them inside the area they rule and NOT in our territory.
I believe most Brits now have had enough of these foreign charlatans !
Boris , it mist be WTO.
Indeed it must be WTO Mike and it would also be good to have a reunited UK with a single government.
It may be very difficult now to turn back the clock to having a single UK government. There is just too much division in the four countries of the Union. 60 years of mass immigration, PC, cultural Marxism, welfarism, corporatism, devolved goverment, EU regionalism has wrecked a once unified soveriegn entity.
Possibly the man in Whitehall considers that when they cap off the new Babelesque tower they have feverishly cultivated in three or four decades when white Britons are a minority and the country is ‘Brazilianised’ then one government may once more become a reality. We must feel sorry for the white flighters as they will then have no where left to run to.
Vaccine
“Holidaymakers who have been fully inoculated against Covid will be able to use the NHS smartphone app as a vaccine passport from Monday.” (Daily Mail).
So vaccine passports are already here for access to air travel. Soon they will be needed for access to railways and buses, banks and supermarkets. It seems that vaccine passports for the entire population, young and old, has been the underlying aim behind the relentless scaremongering during this Covid scamdemic.
Once again we see that this and other government policies are all about the exercising of control over us. I fear our only salvation will lie in rebellion but first we need the numbers on our side. Unfortunately for now we seem to be in the minority.
Do we have any idea how many vaccine refuseniks are needed to thwart the development of the full CCP Social Credit scheme? I heard 20% from one source, and from another source everyone needed to be jabbed for it to go forward.
Anyone else underwhelmed by the Queen’s speech? looks like a top down program of smoke and mirrors. Nothing there to help the real economy that ordinary people need to supply goods, services and provide employment.
How does levelling up become the right to a training loan? Even the fixed term Parliament Act looks set to be morphed into ‘flash’ elections with voter IDs for those of us that still bother to walk to the polling station. Nothing planned about postal voting apparently. Could easily have been written by Blair. Maybe it was.
Brexit:
As a native Brit and Brexiteer the only acceptable solution to the present (Boris/ May engineered) crisis is to bin the WA. It is simply not what we voted for: “Leave the European Union”, no ongoing ties specified. Of course my other worry is what Boris has sneaked in with regard to our military. He is a liability and set to remain so.
Agreed Jack. Buccaneers my foot! Anything less like, the good old buccaneering spirit of Elizabeth 1’s days, I cannot imagine.
“I think that the British are behaving like buccaneers – and it’s not the first time.”
But but but but the EU would never ever behave in that manner…………………..would they???