Saturday papers – 19 September 2020

Brexit

Talks on imports and exports have hit the buffers, says the Express.

CRUNCH Brexit talks have broken down between Westminster and haulage firms risking traffic chaos at the Border.
During Government talks with Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, hauliers were not assured that the transition was “going to be smooth” for the freight industry. The meeting on Brexit preparedness, described as a “washout”, was organised by Road Haulage Association (RHA) boss Richard Burnett who said it “fell far short of expectations”.
The RHA argues there has been “no clarity” from Michael Gove on how border checks will operate after the Brexit transition period ends on December 31.

Internal Market Bill

Good old Sir John!  Redwood defends the new bill in the Express.

A LEADING Brexiteer has come out fighting for Boris Johnson’s controversial Internal Market Bill which he has claimed will not break international law but rather bring much-needed security to British businesses.
Veteran Tory MP John Redwood defended the Bill as a “necessary piece of legislation” despite Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis admitting it would breach international law, in a stunning moment in the House of Commons. Mr Redwood rejected claims the Bill would damage the UK’s standing on the international stage, insisting the proposed new legal framework which risks overriding parts of the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) would strengthen the country’s credibility.

House of Lords

But will the new Bill get through the Upper House?  The Express outlines the consequences if it doesn’t.

BORIS JOHNSON could shut down the House of Lords if peers in the upper chamber attempt to entirely block the Government’s Internal Market Bill, sparking a constitutional war, one political expert has warned.
The Prime Minister has faced a backlash from across Westminster – even from several of his own Conservative Party ministers and peers – over his proposal to override the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement signed with the EU last year, possibly breaking international law in the process.

Brexit-watch highlights the returning Brexit/Remain divisions.

THE PAST TWO weeks have seen the return of the all-out division of Parliament into those who back ‘Remain’ and those who are really pushing for our exit from the European Union and seeing the advantages for our global future.
The clear-cut arguments are a somewhat refreshing return to the normality of the past 4 years, when compared to the ongoing debates surrounding the debacle over COVID-19! The only change this time is that those MPs backing Brexit are now firmly in the majority. With some unnecessary compromises now – all but confirmed by Boris Johnson ahead of another vote in the House of Commons next week – the main hurdle for the new UK Internal Market Bill to overcome, will be the famously pro-EU House of Lords.

Fisheries

Is Wee Burney deliberately trying to scupper Brexit?  The Express reports.

A SCOTTISH fishing chief has accused Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP Government of actively working to “undermine” Britain’s position at the negotiating table with the European Union and weakening its chances of striking a free trade deal with the bloc.
Ryan Scatterty, chairman of the Scottish Seafood Association which represents fish processors, said he was “highly disappointed” to hear that senior figures at Holyrood had called for the UK to backtrack on its strict demands for fishing rights. The comments by Scottish Government officials were made during talks between the SNP Government and the bloc, which are separate from the post-Brexit trade talks between Brussels and Whitehall.

Northern Ireland

Plans for no-deal are progressing in the province, says BBC News.

A letter from the UK government to Stormont’s Agriculture Department instructs it to start work on check-points at NI’s sea ports without delay.
The letter, seen by BBC News NI, says it is critical checks are in place, stating such moves are in accordance with the Northern Ireland protocol.
Last week Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots said he wanted to pause the work on food and animal controls.
The letter seen by the BBC is from UK Environment Secretary George Eustice.

And a Yank has stuck his oar in, reports the Guardian.

Donald’s Trump special envoy to Northern Ireland has warned of the risk of creating a hard “border by accident” on the island of Ireland, as Boris Johnson’s newly drafted plan to rewrite the withdrawal agreement was rejected again by the EU.
Mick Mulvaney, who was appointed by the US president in March, admitted to concerns about recent developments, including government legislation that could unilaterally override aspects of the agreement on Northern Ireland struck with Brussels last year.

EU

The Telegraph reports the bloc’s plans to address the Brexit issue earlier than planned.

European Union leaders will discuss Brexit at their European Council September summit, a month earlier than planned, in a boost to British hopes of hitting Boris Johnson’s October deadline for a trade deal.
Charles Michel, the European Council president, and Michel Barnier met in Brussels on Friday, the day after the EU’s chief negotiator met with David Frost.
As recently as Thursday, senior EU diplomats were insisting there was no way Brexit would force itself onto the agenda of the summit. EU officials insisted the discussion would be a brief analysis of the state of play.

And Sky News reports a German MEP’s worries.

One of the key figures in Brexit talks has told Sky News that he is “deeply concerned” over the state of negotiations.
German MEP David McAllister also says that trust and confidence in the British government has been “damaged” by recent disputes, and says a trade deal cannot be agreed unless the British government withdraws its controversial Internal Market Bill.
Mr McAllister, the chairman of the UK Co-ordination group in the European Parliament, which scrutinises Brexit negotiations, also told me that the bill was an “unacceptable threat” to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

They’re still spending money like water, says the Sun.

EUROCRATS have been accused of “acting like clowns” after splurging £23million on circus acts in the last six years.
Brussels sent cash to troupes in Palestine and Ethiopia to promote free speech and diversity, leaked documents show.
Huge payouts also went to big tops across Europe, including £182,000 teaching tightrope-walking in Belgium, Ireland and Romania.

But there’s a warning over the virus on the Continent, reports Fox News.

A World Health Organization official this week warned of the “alarming rates of transmission” of the novel coronavirus in Europe, urging residents there to view the “very serious situation unfolding before us” as a “wake-up call.”
Dr. Hans Kluge, the regional director of WHO Europe, made the warning during a virtual press conference on Thursday when noting that weekly cases “have now exceeded those reported when the pandemic first peaked in Europe in March.”
“Last week, the region’s tally exceeded 300,000 patients,” he said.

Second wave

The second wave is here, reports the Telegraph.

Boris Johnson is preparing to replace the “rule of six”  with tougher restrictions on daily life as he warned that Britain was in the grip of a second wave of coronavirus.
The Prime Minister said he may have to “intensify” measures that could act as a temporary “circuit break” to stem a resurgence of the virus and prevent Britain being forced into a second lockdown.
Mr Johnson is to spend the weekend in Downing Street with officials considering options including closing pubs and restaurants or imposing 10pm curfews and a nationwide ban on friends and separate households socialising.

BBC News also reports the second wave.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the UK is “now seeing a second wave” of Covid-19.
Expanding “local” restrictions mean more than 13 million people (one-fifth of the UK population) have extra curbs on their lives.
And the surge in cases is not contained to just the hotspots, but is widespread across the UK. Local restrictions do not suppress a virus that is spreading outside of those areas.
It is against this backdrop the government is deciding what to do next. One idea is a “circuit-break” – a short, sharp period of tightened restrictions for everyone to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The Mirror says the second wave was inevitable.

Boris Johnson has admitted a coronavirus second wave is coming to the UK.
The Prime Minister warned that the UK is “now seeing a second wave coming in” and that it was “inevitable” that coronavirus would hit the country again.
Mr Johnson said a second lockdown was the “last thing anybody wants” but said the current measures would need to be kept “under review”.
Speaking in Oxfordshire, the Prime Minister said: “On Monday we brought in the measures that we did, the ‘rule of six’, to really try and restrict what people are doing and to bring in a new buffer – and to make it absolutely clear, the ‘rule of six’: indoors six maximum, six outdoors maximum.

And the death toll could be just as high the second time around, says the Guardian.

Britain is entering a second wave of coronavirus, Boris Johnson has said as scientists expressed fears the death toll could be as high as in the first spike without a rapid change in public behaviour.
The prime minister is prepared to impose sweeping nationwide measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, it is understood. About 13.5 million people in the UK – one in five – are already facing local lockdowns after the government introduced new measures in parts of the north-west, Yorkshire and the Midlands.

‘Red alert’ says the Mail.

Boris Johnson tonight admitted that an ‘inevitable’ second wave of coronavirus had begun to batter the UK, as the nation was placed back on Covid red alert.
The Prime Minister said a second nationwide lockdown was the ‘last thing anybody wants’ but revealed his administration was considering whether it needed to ‘go further’ to see off the new virus surge.
A raft of new measures including localised lockdowns has been put in place this week.

And there could be no alternative to another lockdown, says the Times.

Boris Johnson is preparing for hundreds of daily coronavirus deaths within weeks as his scientific advisers warn there is no reliable alternative to another national lockdown.
The prime minister admitted yesterday that Britain was “now seeing a second wave coming in” and it was “inevitable” that the virus would sweep across the country again.
Downing Street has been told by the government’s Joint Biosecurity Centre, which monitors the spread of the infection, that Britain is now six weeks behind Spain, which recorded 239 deaths on Thursday.

‘Circuit breaker’

Would a temporary lockdown work?  The Mirror reports.

The whole of England could be put into a two-week lockdown in a bid to prevent a spike in deaths as Covid-19 cases carry on soaring.
Struggling pubs and restaurants could once again close after Boris Johnson admitted a second wave is “inevitable”.
It will hit 56 million people.
More areas this week face new curbs, but Mr Johnson said: “You have to wonder whether we need to go further.”

And it could come in very quickly, says the Sun.

BORIS Johnson could impose a two-week social lockdown within days to act as a “circuit breaker” on the virus.
The PM hopes the short, sharp shock advised by top scientists will jolt Covid then let people resume their lives.
Schools and offices will stay open, but pubs, restaurants and leisure facilities could be closed for at least a fortnight — going further than current curfews in some areas.

Nightingale Hospital

Metro reports the Brummy hospital is now on alert.

Birmingham’s Nightingale Hospital has been moved back to ‘high alert’ and is ready to reopen in 48 hours if needed. The Nightingale Hospitals, which were built to cope with the soaring number of coronavirus cases at the peak of the pandemic, were put on standby in June.
At the time, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the country may need the hospitals in the ‘months ahead’ if there was a second wave of infections. Cases have rocketed across the Midlands, where the R rate is said to stand between 1.2 and 1.5.

London

And the capital may well be next in the firing line for restrictions, reports the Guardian.

It is “increasingly likely” that lockdown restrictions will soon be needed to slow the spread of coronavirus in London, the capital’s mayor has warned.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said he was of the “firm view” that action should be taken before the virus spirals out of control, and leaders were considering measures already imposed in other parts of the UK.
In a statement, he said he had held an emergency meeting with London’s council leaders, the government and Public Heath England (PHE) to discuss the next steps.

This is because of a ‘sharp rise’ in cases, says the Mirror.

London has seen a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, putting the capital at risk of fresh curfew and local lockdown rules, it has been reported.
Official figures due for release later today are expected show a rise in cases, according to the London Evening Standard.
It said the number of COVID cases per 100,000 people in London had risen to around 25 from 18.8 in last week’s data, and was above 30 in many boroughs.

And restrictions could be in force in a couple of weeks, reports the Times.

London’s coronavirus outbreak is only two weeks behind that of some regions under lockdown restrictions, the capital’s mayor has warned.
Sadiq Khan said that he was “really worried” about rising infection rates as more measures were announced for parts of the north of England and the Midlands. Officials are looking at various options for the capital and are considering the success of policies introduced elsewhere.
“According to the latest evidence I’ve seen, we’re about two weeks behind some parts of the country”, Mr Khan said.

Testing

Testing is simply not working well, reports the Telegraph.

The Government’s coronavirus testing system has been plunged into a new crisis after thousands of people were turned away from test centres because of a computer barcode glitch.
Confusion at a drive-through test centre caused “massive gridlock” across a part of south London on Friday afternoon after motorists without a QR code were turned away.
Members of the public reported the same problem at drive-through centres at Chester, in the North West, and at Solihull, in the Midlands.
The QR code is supposed to be sent automatically with any email confirming booking of a walk-in or drive-through test.

Managers could be brought in, says the Guardian.

The government is preparing to shore up its £10bn coronavirus test-and-trace programme by drafting in teams of management consultants.
The programme, where 90% of tests are failing to hit the 24-hour turnaround target, has been touted as a key way in which the country can return to relative normality in the absence of a Covid-19 vaccine and manage any second wave of the virus. However, the system has struggled despite the prime minister pledging earlier this year to create a “world-beating” service. It has been condemned as “barely functional” as it struggles to handle demand of up to four times capacity.

Deaths

Is the death toll as bad as it is made out to be?  The Telegraph says maybe not.

Coronavirus was not the main cause of death for nearly one third of recorded Covid-19 victims in July and August, research by Oxford University has found.
Analysis shows that around 30 percent of people included in the coronavirus death toll by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) over the summer months had died primarily from other conditions.
It means someone who suffered a heart attack, or even died in a road traffic accident, may have been included in the figures if they had also tested positive for coronavirus at some point, or if doctors believed the virus may have exacerbated their condition.

Yahoo News also reports the research.

Coronavirus was not the main cause of death for nearly one third of recorded Covid-19 victims in July and August, research by Oxford University has found.
Analysis shows that around 30 percent of people included in the coronavirus death toll by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) over the summer months had died primarily from other conditions.
It means someone who suffered a heart attack, or even died in a road traffic accident, may have been included in the figures if they had also tested positive for coronavirus at some point, or if doctors believed the virus may have exacerbated their condition.
Throughout the entire pandemic, around one in 13 people currently classed as Covid-19 victims did not have the disease as an underlying cause of death.

Infections

Of course, the MSM wants to ramp up the fear factor.  The Mail says:

Rising hospitalisations among people with coronavirus could mean admissions hit levels not seen since April next month, current trends show as Matt Hancock warned patient numbers are doubling every eight days.
Another 4,322 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19, the Government announced today in the highest one-day rise since May 8, as a raft of worrying statistics revealed the Covid-19 crisis appears to be rebounding.
Data from the Office for National Statistics suggests 6,000 people are catching the life-threatening illness every day in England while hospital admissions have doubled in a week and government scientists warn the R rate could now be as high as 1.4.

Crime

Away from the virus, the Times reports the rise in violent crime.

Violent crime has hit its highest level in a decade with a surge in drug feuds, domestic violence and hate crime attacks, analysis by The Times shows.
Police said drug rivalries had become increasingly vicious as gangs fought to retain their turf after the first phase of the pandemic.
There has also been a surge in violence outside licensed venues due to the release of “pent-up” fury when lockdown restrictions were eased, while charities warned that domestic abuse had become more violent, more intense and more frequent.
Violence offences in July were at their highest in nearly a decade in two thirds of forces in England and Wales.

Planning

And the draft changes to the planning laws are causing a bit of controversy, says iNews.

Downing Street is facing a furious rebellion of up to 70 Tory MPs over plans to overhaul the planning system in a bid to radically boost house building across England.
Senior Conservatives are poised to ambush the Government with a series of backbench debates on planning reform in the coming weeks that will provide dozens of MPs the opportunity to attack the proposals.