EU
Express
EU leaders are set to turn on each other over concessions made to Boris Johnson in the row over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Sources told Express.co.uk that there are divisions between the member states, European Parliament and Commission over the decision to pause legal action against Downing Street for an alleged breach of the post-Brexit border fix. One insider said the move was seen as granting an undeserved diplomatic win to No10 at a time when UK-EU tensions are at breaking point. Hardliners in the Council and Parliament were furious that the Commission had gone easy on Mr Johnson’s decision to unilaterally defy EU-ordered trade checks in Northern Ireland.
It comes at a time when eurocrats and officials from the Cabinet Office are discussing the UK’s plans to protect peace and stability in the region.
Ahead of the talks, Maros Sefcovic, the EU Commission’s vice-president responsible for Brexit, announced that legal action against the UK had been paused to create the “necessary space” to consider No10’s proposals on how to avoid a hard border.
One EU official said that some nations, including France and Germany, are frustrated with the Commission for “gifting the UK a diplomatic win” by pausing legal action.
The hardliners fear that Brussels may go too far in offering concessions to Britain, after Lord Frost called for the measures to be reworked in order to remove EU-ordered customs controls in Northern Ireland as part of the Brexit deal’s protocol for avoiding a hard border.
Pingdemic
Mail
The NHS Covid-tracing app was today updated to alert fewer users to self-isolate in the hope of combating Britain’s ‘pingdemic’ chaos.
The app will now only find close contacts of all infected people from up to two days before they tested positive. Previously, it had trawled through five days of the user’s Bluetooth history to send out quarantine alerts.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the changes would ‘ensure we are striking the right balance’ between reducing disruption and protecting those at risk.
Health chiefs have now begged the country to keep using the ‘life-saving’ software, which only offers self-isolation guidance and isn’t enforceable by law. A Department of Health spokesman said it did not have to pay an extra cost to do the update.
The NHS app has played a major role in fuelling the ‘pingdemic’, telling hundreds of thousands of people to stay at home over the past few months.
It sent out a record 700,000 alerts in the week to July 21, the latest available, which was the highest number on record.
Supermarket shelves have been left empty as a result of the chaos, while trains have been cancelled due to a lack of staff and one in ten pubs and restaurants have been forced to shut temporarily.
In an attempt to fix the fiasco, ministers have already announced fully-vaccinated people who are told to self-isolate either by the app or Test and Trace will no longer have to do so from August 16.
But No10 is under pressure to bring this date forward to the end of this week in order to be in line with Wales.
Similar stories can be read in the Guardian, ITV News, Order-Order,
Sex offenders
Telegraph
Male-born sex offenders who self-identify as women can be placed on female-only NHS wards, hospital trusts have said in guidance.
Devon, Oxford and Nottinghamshire hospitals all tell staff that a criminal history should be part of a risk assessment when placing male-born people on female-only wards, but do not say it is a bar to admission.
It comes as The Telegraph has found that NHS Trusts across the country have issued guidance that says patients should be admitted based on the gender they identify with and therefore can choose which ward, lavatory and shower facilities they use.
Some trusts have labelled those patients who express discomfort as transphobic, compared them to racists in official guidelines and ordered staff to report them to police for hate crimes.
Until 2019, one hospital group instructed medics to withdraw treatment if a female patient refused to accept a physically intact male on women-only wards.
Similar stories can be read in the Mail, Times,
Tube strike
Sun
LONDON Underground staff have called off plans to strike for four days starting tomorrow.
The protest had been in response to plans to abolish separate pay grades for drivers who work nights.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) announced the move on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 and described the decision as a “cash led move aimed at shunting staff around”.
The strikes, had been set to affect night tube services tomorrow and Thursday but will now no longer take place.
A similar story can be read in the Evening Standard,
Vaccine passport
Breitbart
Lockdown sceptic Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne had warned that vaccine passports for nightclubs predominantly geared towards young people would be the “Trojan Horse for an identity card system”.
Mr Swayne had said that the introduction of vaccine passports for nightclubs, in a move to coerce young people to be vaccinated, should be a matter that concerns everyone, as the requirements could quickly roll out to include entry to venues that others frequent.
“People see this as an imposition on young people who would want to go to nightclubs, so they think, ‘Oh, well, it’s only them.’ This is an imposition on us all,” Sir Desmond told talkRADIO’s Julia Hartley-Brewer on Monday.
Warning the coming of the “show me your papers” society, Swayne noted that “for the first time, for most of our population they will be required to produce some form of proof of vaccination status to go about their lawful business. It is the Trojan Horse for an identity card system. Once you bring in requirements of this sort, they’re very, very difficult to remove.”
The Liberal Democrats have likewise warned that domestic passports would be “identity cards by the back door”. However, with only a dozen Lib Dems in the House of Commons and only 50 Tory rebels so far planning to vote against the government on the matter in September, much rests on Labour to stop the introduction of medical IDs in Britain by Boris Johnson’s large majority government. But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has so far suggested that he may back the measures and even demand testing as an additional hurdle for people to enter large venues like sports stadiums.
Other Conservatives opposed to the illiberal measures include Andrew Bridgen, who called their possible introduction a “very authoritarian step”.
Holidays
Telegraph
Summer holiday plans have received a major boost after Boris Johnson blocked the creation of a controversial new “amber watchlist” for foreign countries.
The extra category in the Government’s travel traffic light system would have left popular holiday destinations under threat of imminently turning red, forcing travellers into hotel quarantine on their return even if fully vaccinated.
Mr Johnson’s decision – which came as he pledged to keep travel rules “as simple as possible” – allows millions of people planning to get away to Europe to avoid new complications.
Spain, Greece and France had been rumoured to have faced being added to the watchlist, but now travellers heading to those destinations can now do so without the threat of being recategorised as red hanging over them.
However, on Monday night there were fresh calls from senior Tory MPs and industry leaders for Mr Johnson to go further and ditch the green-amber-red system entirely, replacing it with a single red list.
Similar stories can be read in the Guardian, Sun, Independent, ITV News, Times, BBC News.
Scotland
Mail
Nicola Sturgeon is set to announce if Scotland will lift its coronavirus restrictions and move beyond the current Level 0 rules in place.
Her statement this afternoon will say whether or not most measures implemented north of the border as a result of the pandemic are to be lifted on Monday August 9 as hoped.
The Scottish First Minister set the date in June, even before the move to Level 0 on July 19 which increased the numbers of people who could gather and extended the opening hours of hospitality.
Other businesses such as soft play were finally allowed to reopen – however nightclubs are among those still closed ahead of Tuesday’s statement in a virtual session of the Scottish Parliament.
Sports stadia and concert venues may go back to being able to welcome full capacity crowds again for the first time in nearly 18 months if changes are approved.
It was previously suggested all the major Covid-19 restrictions would be relaxed on Monday as long as the over-40 age group is fully vaccinated, which the Scottish Government described as a ‘gateway condition’.
While lifting the restrictions could also bring an end to social distancing, Ms Sturgeon has already confirmed face coverings in shops and public transport will remain mandatory for ‘some time to come’.
Vaccine
Express
IRELAND’s attempts to troll the UK over Covid-19 vaccination rates have been branded “pathetic” by a former Irish diplomat – who suggested former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s party was motivated by a “desperation” to portray the EU “in a good light”.
Ray Bassett spoke out after Fine Gael – the party led by Mr Varadkar, currently Ireland’s Tanaiste or deputy Prime Minister – on Sunday posted a tweet bragging that Ireland had overtaken Britain in terms of the number of people fully vaccinated against the disease. The post said: “It’s official: Ireland has OVERTAKEN the UK in fully vaccinating our adult population against #Covid19.”
Plenty of people were unimpressed, with Twitter users variously suggesting the message was “deeply inappropriate”, ‘very silly” and “in very poor taste”.
And Mr Bassett, Ireland’s former ambassador to Canada, Jamaica and the Bahamas, agreed, telling Express.co.uk: “The tweet just shows how defensive the Irish Government is over COVID vaccines.
“The figures for both the UK and Ireland on completely vaccinated percentages are almost identical, while the Republic lags somewhat behind on first doses.”
A similar story can be read in the Telegraph
Supermarket deliveries
Guardian
Gaps on supermarket shelves are likely to continue for several months unless the government does more to tackle the labour crisis hitting haulage firms, suppliers have warned.
Logistics and hauliers’ organisations said August would be a pinch point in the shortage as workers take summer breaks, while firms offering bonuses and sign-on fees to recruit drivers were not helping matters.
The shortage of qualified HGV drivers, worsened by Brexit and Covid, has left wholesalers unable to get goods to shops, with major dairy producer Arla on Friday admitting it could not get milk to about a quarter of supermarkets last week.
Shane Brennan, chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, said the issue was getting worse: “We’re firefighting right now. We have got a lot of vacancies but also a lot of workers on holiday. We’ve got a short-term summer problem. We’re going to have interruptions on the shelves – we’re resigned to that.”
Rona Hunnisett, of Logistics UK, said there was “a pinch point with holidays. These guys have been working flat out since the start of the pandemic.”
She urged consumers to be patient and not overbuy: “There is plenty of stock in the supply chain, in all the warehouses. And plenty of fresh homegrown produce.”
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/join-the-unvaccinated-control-group/ This was printed in The Conservative Woman now renamed TCW to avoid a toxic reference to the “conservative party”. It’s your “get out of jail free” card.
Desmond Swayne is right of course.
The Government fiddling around with who is pinged and who has to self isolate, is not to minimise chaos from a necessary measure. It is to get as many jabbed as possible and impose a domestic vaccine passport wherever and however they can.
The Totalitarian State.
We need vaccine passports to identify the selfish, cowardly, stupid, gullible. anti-social disease spreaders among us.
We need ID cards to smoke out the illegal immigrants among us.
Why do I sense that you are not one of us Harry? One day you might be glad of our opposition to such things.
We have been told ‘not to feed the troll’ but on this occasion I think his adjectives best describe himself.
“We need vaccine passports to identify the selfish, cowardly, stupid, gullible. anti-social disease spreaders among us.”……..
But Harry Again, twice jabbed people are still falling ill with Covid. Haven’t you noticed? Which shows that the Covid “vaccines” are mendaciously misnamed.
The purpose of “vaccine” passports is to make sure that the human bio-mass (that’s us) are all injected with their gene therapy “clot shots” while the power elites (Schwab, Gates & Co) get their safe saline injections.
As one of those you label cowardly and the rest of the propaganda, i firmly believe you are one of the many fools who participated in the experiment. Your so indoctrinated you cannot even understand the so called vaccine DNA altering jungle juice achieves nothing you are told it would do.
As a fit and very healthy septuagenarian i will be really sympathetic when the after effects start plaguing the population.
Natural is always best, man.
Natural selection is even better.
I am at a loss to know why people still keep the NHS App. It is such a blatant form of Big Brother. Do they really like being ‘ruled’ by ‘App”?
As for the transphobic atrocity……….the World has indeed gone completely mad! I hope to heaven I never have to go into an NHS hospital for anything at all! I would rather suffer and die at home thanks!
I wonder if the shortage of delivery drivers could have something to do with being “Pinged”
Pure coincidence, of course, that it coincides with the olympics. I understand that there are a few people who watch.
My other bit of wonderment is to do with the alleged Covid virus. It is so intelligent, obedient, literate and has a calender. How else could a politician, or member of Sage, be so certain that when they set a date for a restriction to be lifted, or imposed that they will be obeyed… by a virus?
The whole idea is so ridiculous… and yet people fall for it. We are being manipulated.
Yes, and it’s amazing how so many other parts of the world are covid/restriction free but we remain on high alert. Almost like it has been planned!
Vaccine passport
Breitbart
“….. Mr Swayne had said that the introduction of vaccine passports for nightclubs, in a move to coerce young people to be vaccinated…..”
Why is our government so keen to vaccinate young people, after they told us that young people were not at risk from Covid? Why are they talking about vaccinating schoolchildren as well? All this for Covid-19, a disease that is so weak that people don’t even know when they’ve got it ? (Most positive test results are for “asymptomatic” people).
It looks as if the intention is to vaccinate the entire population. Maybe that’s to make sure that in future there are no unvaccinated people remaining healthy & fecund & fertile, while vaccinated people don’t. So that the sickness & death & infertility from the “vaccines” can be blamed instead on Covid.
Indeed Ralph; one only needs to consider the plans of the globalists for a substantial reduction in world population to see the real reason. They are attacking us on many fronts, often under the excuse of “saving the planet”.
EU:
Boris is either a complete idiot or working to an agenda, certainly not one that might benefit us. On second thoughts not “either or” but both. I’m sure we all know the only rational and sensible answer to the EU but Boris is incapable of uttering those necessary words.
Should I stop here Debbie. ? As you can see II haven’t used up a lot of words..
Vaccine Passport
Just another form of rationing.!
A means of promoting civil servants to god like status.
Sex Offenders
I have zero sympathy. LGBGTQ ? are just another kind of human. Nothing special Put their mothers on trial.. And Pretty Little Liars. And bragging young men. I believe the Majority at 21 made more sense. Than all the bucket loads of false sympathy and mothers tears for their charity could be recycled to some purpose.
Tube strike.
Our PM in the 1970’s was terrified of two things . one was Union Action. The country could not make or sell anything without problems. You NEVERbought a Monday or Friday car. Railways were a joke, Union Leaders had daily breakfast meetings with super prominent politicians. ” Gone Fishing ” Meant your firm was on strike. Busses, factories, council workers. EVERYBODY OUT, No politician has ever done anything even slightly to stop this nonsense. ( They are like Drugs, Immigration etc) If they don’t do anything they believe they cannot be blamed.
So they joined EU to pass the blame on.
Gardening leave is just a civil servant who can’t be sacked.
Guardian,
In line with my checking on other papers, I actually purchased one yesterday in paper forn. £ 2,50. The same as the Telegraph. Why would people buy it ? The content was not good. I notice they use ( To death ) BBC tricks like adding snide words or asides. And they do it to death. I understand it isthe most popular newspaper. This is worrying. I understand teachers read it.
TGS, the Guardian certainly isn’t the most popular newspaper in terms of its daily sales in paper format. But it is easily the most popular newspaper among BBC staff, the BBC buys more paper copies of the Guardian for its staff than of all the other newspapers combined. Which is why there’s no need to buy the Guardian if you listen to the BBC news, they often lead with the same stories and almost always from the same viewpoint.
But the last time I checked the circulation figures of the press the one selling the most paper copies was the Daily Mail with about 2.2 million copies a day, it had overtaken the Sun by about 0.1 million (they were the only two papers left selling over a million copies a day) .
Daily Mail; I understand there’s a toilet paper shortage , and the Mail is an excellent substitute.
Pingdemic.
If the purpose of this App is to market it to other less sophicated governments in order to facilitate the said governments economic and intellectua prattfall. I ‘m all for it. As a version for intelligence control, obviously unsurpassed, its value is proven. and clear..
EU I .
assumethat the NI Nonsense is organised Lord Frost ( Chief Handler ) supervisinf some sort of Civil Service pet structure liberally sprinkled with committees, meetings, consultations, briefings, and other dodges ( I use the word Dodges, thoughtfully ) Boris must support him above and beyond. This is our sister country we are giving away. And not even for money, just politics.