Fisheries
Blockades against our fishing fleet landing their catch in France are expected, says the Express.
FRENCH fishermen are expected to create blockades in the English Channel after Brexit is finalised as they are expected to be unhappy by the quotas, according to a fishing expert.
France’s fishermen have a history of blockading the English Channel to stop other countries from fishing in the waters when they are unhappy. Barrie Deas, the CEO of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, claimed French fishermen won’t be happy after fishing quotas in the Channel are renegotiated. It comes as the latest round of Brexit trade talks were finished early due to “significant differences”.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mr Deas said: “French fishermen have a long track record of blockading Channel ports when they’re upset about something.
“They’ve done it for much lesser reasons than the UK becoming an independent coastal state, renegotiation of quotas, even if there is access for French fishermen.
“I think it would be naive to expect they will be happy about this or do nothing about it.
Brexit
The PM has praised the prospect of ‘no deal’, reports the Independent.
Boris Johnson has suggested the prospect of a failing to reach a trade deal before the end the Brexit transition period would be a “very good option” for the UK.
The prime minister’s remarks come after the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, warned the EU must prepare for the possible failure of the Brexit trade talks, saying progress in the negotiations had been “to put it mildly, minimal”.
Attempting to strike a more upbeat tone, Mr Johnson told LBC radio: “We now need to make sure we get a good deal. I think actually – I’ve had some very good conversations – with friends and colleagues around the EU. I’m a bit more optimistic than Michel [Barnier] is there.
He added: “I just think there’s a good agreement to be reached, but obviously if we can’t then we will have the very good option also of an Australian-style arrangement.”
And the Sun reports his optimism of getting a trade deal.
BORIS Johnson said he is “more optimistic” of doing a trade deal with the EU than the bloc’s chief negotiator.
Michel Barnier said that Britain should take more note of the bloc’s red lines and said “serious divergences remain.”
But the PM insisted he would not back down on taking laws from the European Court of Justice and handing over fish stocks.
However, Boris added: “I’ve had some very good conversations with my friends and colleagues in the EU and I’m a bit more optimistic than Michel is on those grounds.
“I just think there’s a good agreement to be reached but if we can’t then we will have the very good option also of an Australian style arrangement.”
Satellite
The UK is working out ways to thrive without the EU, says the Express
BRITAIN has signed a £900million deal with India for a global satellite project which will boost the UK’s influence and manufacturing industry outside the EU.
The deal sees the UK join forces with India‘s Bharti Global to buy satellite operator OneWeb with the aim to provide broadband and other services to millions across the world. It places Britain at the forefront of the space race to build a low orbit satellite which can provide high-speed broadband.
A Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy official said the acquisition would put the UK at the “cutting-edge of the latest advances in space technology”.
The deal is also set to be a huge boost to UK manufacturing, providing scores of jobs.
But BBC News insists on putting a downer on the news.
The UK is spending $500m (£400m) on a stake in failed satellite firm OneWeb as part of a plan to replace use of the EU’s Galileo sat-nav system.
OneWeb went bankrupt in March while trying to build a spacecraft network to deliver broadband.
The UK is part of a consortium with India’s Bharti Global which won a bidding war for the company.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma said it would help deliver the “first UK sovereign space capability”.
Labour Party
The opposition party thinks those with money should help us out of the pandemic problems, reports the Mail.
Labour has backed the idea of a wealth tax to help the UK recover from coronavirus meltdown.
Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said a levy on assets, rather than income, should be consider as part of a ‘new settlement’ after the crisis.
Delivering her first major speech since being appointed by Keir Starmer, she insisted the move would help ensure the government does not need to increase taxes or cut support for ‘low and middle-income people’.
Ms Dodds said there was an injustice in the worst-off paying more tax proportionally than high earners, while the rich face lower charges on their capital.
The left-wing Guardian agrees, of course.
UK ministers should look at imposing a wealth tax on the rich to aid the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the shadow chancellor has urged.
Anneliese Dodds, in her first major speech in the role, told the government on Friday “to not increase taxes or cut support for low and middle-income people” during the crisis.
She said a “new settlement” was needed to address the injustice of the worst-off paying more tax proportionally than high earners, while the richest derive a significant part of their income from wealth.
Dodds criticised the prime minister’s “muddled, confusing” and “much too slow” response to protecting the nation’s health during the Covid-19 outbreak.
And the Mirror also reports the call.
Labour has called for a wealth tax on the richest to boost recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds urged the Government “to not increase taxes or cut support for low and middle-income people” during the crisis.
But, in her first major speech since being appointed three months ago, she warned a “new settlement” was needed to address the injustice of the worst-off paying more tax proportionally than high earners, while the richest feather their nests from wealth.
She said: “Over the last 10 years, the gap in income and wealth has increased, and living standards for low and middle-income people have stagnated – at the same time as taxes for the very best-off have been reduced.
‘Super spreaders’
The Telegraph has identified those who have spread the virus around.
Cleaners, porters and office staff working for the NHS were “super-spreaders” of coronavirus within hospitals, according to initial results from a national screening drive.
Sir John Bell, who oversees the Government’s antibody testing programme, said domiciliary workers in some hospitals were found to have “sky-high” levels of antibodies compared to doctors and nurses who treated patients in intensive care.
The discovery has prompted health bosses to examine how lower-paid workers can be better protected from the virus in the event of a second coronavirus wave, he said. It comes amid growing suspicion that a large proportion of virus cases were spread by medical workers rather than in the community.
In May, the Government asked NHS health chiefs to test staff for coronavirus antibodies in their blood in order to map the spread of disease in hospitals.
Infections
Are we heading for a second spike? The Sun claims infections are rising.
THE coronavirus R rate has crept back up in England, rising above the crucial threshold of one in London, new figures show.
Across the UK the Covid reproduction rate has remained stable since last week at 0.7 to 0.9.
It comes just over two weeks since the latest easing of lockdown restrictions, when non-essential shops reopened their doors, more people went back to work and schools started to welcome kids back into the classroom.
And it’s just a matter of hours before the next stage of the nation’s economy begins to reopen, with pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and other longed-for services due to open up tomorrow.
Last week, England’s R rate stood at 0.7 to 0.9. But new data, published today by the Government, shows that has risen slightly to 0.8 to 0.9.
And the Metro highlights a new strain of the virus.
A new, more infectious mutation of coronavirus is now the most common strain, researchers have warned. Covid-19 has improved its ability to enter and infect human cells since it was first discovered last year, research from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Duke University and the University of Sheffield suggests. While the strain is capable of spreading easier, it, fortunately, does not appear to cause a more severe form of the disease. It comes as nearly 11 million people across the globe are confirmed to have been hit with coronavirus, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
The new prominent variant, named ‘D614G’, has a small but effective change in the ‘spike’ protein that protrudes from the surface of the virus, allowing it to infect humans easier, researchers believe. Visit our live blog for the latest updates: Coronavirus news live Scientists came to the conclusion after analysing viral data through the GISAID database, including tens of thousands of viral sequences that demonstrate how the virus has evolved over time across the globe.
Lockdown end
More warnings from a top doctor appear in the Independent.
There is no “perfect” way to reopen Britain’s economy after the coronavirus lockdown, the chief medical officer has said – as Boris Johnson urges the public to “enjoy summer safely”.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Friday ahead of the reopening of pubs, Professor Chris Whitty said the government was walking a “narrow path”.
“Either side of the path that we are on, there are risks. And we are going to have health problems, and economic problems, for sure,” he said.
The chief medical officer added: “There is no perfect time, there is no perfect, exact way of doing it.
“What this is is an attempt to balance, as best we can, in a way that makes it possible for society to be as close as possible to normal, whilst living alongside this virus – which we will have to continue to do.
“This virus is a long way from gone. But, it is not going to be gone for a very, very long time.”
The Guardian is begging people to act well.
Boris Johnson has implored people to behave responsibly and safely as England’s chief medical officer admitted Saturday’s easing of the lockdown left the country treading a narrow path with serious risks “on either side”.
In a press conference on the eve of changes that will allow restaurants, pubs and bars to reopen for the first time since March, the prime minister insisted “we are not out of the woods yet”.
“Let’s not blow it,” he said.
But his remarks came against a backdrop of the government’s handling of the pandemic being branded a shambles. Its messaging around the need to act sensibly also drew concern after it was announced pubs in England would be able to serve customers from 6am on Saturday.
Rave
Breaking up a London street party has led to police injuries, says the Sun.
SEVEN cops have been injured after being pelted with missiles as they tried to break up a huge illegal rave in London.
Shocking footage showed hundreds of revellers chasing down cops at the event in White City, West London.
Videos also show officers with shields yelling out “Get back, get back” to thugs wielding weapons during the clash tonight.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed seven officers were injured in the chaos but it is not clear how bad the injuries are.
Police cars were also damaged after thugs lobbed bricks at the officers as they tried to disperse the mob.
Police officers had to retreat, says the Star.
Police officers have been bottled and attacked while trying to break up an illegal rave at an estate in London.
A clip posted on Twitter shows Met Police officers running away from an estate as bottles are thrown at them.
Police say seven officers were injured and vehicles were damaged in the incident.
The block party is alleged to have taken place tonight on the White City estate near Hammersmith in the west of the capital.
In the video, officers can be heard yelling: “Get back, get back,” while screaming echoes out.
Social care
The Times claims government officials knew about problems in care homes.
Health chiefs were aware of rising cases of coronavirus in care homes even as hospitals were urged to discharge patients without tests, a patient safety expert has revealed.
They watched unfolding events like Roman spectators watching gladiators “thrown to the lions”, Professor Sir Brian Jarman told The Times.
Data on “acute respiratory outbreaks” in care homes from Public Health England (PHE) showed that cases began to climb rapidly in the week to March 20. That week there were 249 outbreaks, up from 41 a week earlier. By the week to April 10 there were 1,010.
And testing for care home staff will be ramped up, says the Mail.
Staff and residents in care homes for people over 65 or with dementia will be regularly tested for coronavirus from next week, the Government announced today.
The Department of Health and Social Care said staff will be tested weekly, while residents will have a test every 28 days as part of a new social care testing strategy.
This is in addition to intensive testing in any care home facing an outbreak or at increased risk of a flare-up, the DHSC added.
MHA Care Homes chief executive Sam Monaghan told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he welcomed the new guidance as ‘the step change we needed’.
Mr Monaghan had also speculated that agency staff were ‘not included in this’ as far as he was aware – but the DHSC later confirmed that they are included in the rollout and will be tested through the care home they work at.
Quarantine
Now you know where you can holiday, says Sky News.
A full list of the countries exempt from England’s coronavirus travel quarantine has been released by the government.
The list includes more than 70 countries and territories where holidaymakers can visit without self-isolating for 14 days on their return to England.
Fourteen British Overseas Territories are also included, with Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man already exempt.
Among the countries not on the list are the US, Portugal, Sweden, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Iran, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China.
The exemptions will apply from 10 July.
But airlines’ plans to take the government to court have been scrapped, reports Reuters.
Three of Europe’s biggest airlines said on Friday they would end a legal challenge against the British government after it scrapped its quarantine rule for travellers coming from some of the most popular tourist destinations.
The government said the policy would be ended for English holidaymakers to countries such as France, Spain and Italy, although it would be maintained for the United States.
The policy announcement coincided with a planned court hearing for a legal challenge to the measures by British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair.
The airlines heavily criticised the government’s introduction of a blanket rule that all travellers arriving from abroad must self-isolate for 14 days on June 8, saying it jeopardised the industry’s recovery from the crisis.
However, they agreed to end the legal challenge after the government said it would publish a list of countries to which the rules would not apply.
Hospitality
We are being urged to patronise pubs and restaurants in the Times.
Britain needs to start spending in pubs and restaurants again to prevent a generation of young people being “lost” to coronavirus, the chancellor has declared.
Rishi Sunak suggested in an interview for The Times that it was the nation’s duty to “relearn what it’s like to go out again” to avoid a jobs meltdown that will hit the young and low-paid hardest.
With figures showing that savings grew five times more in May than on average before the pandemic, Mr Sunak called on people to start spending in the hospitality industry, which opens up today. The chancellor said that he was “worried about a generation that is scarred by coronavirus”.
The Mail has picked up the story.
The chancellor warned yesterday that a generation of young people risked being ‘lost’ to the coronavirus unless the public started spending in pubs and restaurants.
Rishi Sunak asked Britons to ‘eat out to help out’ in a bid to boost the economy and avoid a jobs meltdown that will hit the young hardest.
Mr Sunak said he feared that the younger generation would otherwise be ‘scarred by coronavirus’.
He told the Times: ‘This is a consumption-driven economy; people used to, three months ago, go out with their friends or family to go and have a meal.
‘Or buy a car, or upgrade their house, or move house.
Beauty
And you can now get a haircut, says the Mail.
Shaggy-haired Brits dashed to salons the second they opened at midnight to get a much needed makeover.
After three months in lockdown, they leapt at the first opportunity for a trim, knowing hairdressers and barbers would be packed for weeks after reopening.
On what is the biggest release of lockdown so far, many salons were working through the night to meet demand.
They were allowed to open as new rules kicked in as lockdown relaxed today – which has already been dubbed Super Saturday and ‘Trimdependence Day’ in a nod to the date, July 4.
Slavery
The word ‘master’ is to be phased out in house descriptions, says the Mail.
The term ‘master bedroom’ will no longer be used by dozens of estate agents in England due to its allusions to sexism and slavery.
Agents across London and the south will ditch the term in order to appeal to younger, socially conscious buyers.
They will instead be introduced to the ‘primary’ or ‘principal’ bedroom reported The Times.
Hong Kong
There’s still a lot of Chinese trouble, says the Times.
Protesters and opposition politicians in Hong Kong were reeling yesterday as the authorities continued to aggressively implement the new national security law and China appointed hardline officials to powerful positions in the security apparatus.
Many Hongkongers have rushed to delete their Facebook and other social media accounts for fear they will be used as grounds for arrest after the government declared protest slogans illegal.
Better watch it George, a certain historian leaver got excommunicated for use of your opening word!
Bet they’ve been lying in wait for him for years
Could somebody fly a plane signal?
“Wealth tax”. Some readers will be old enough to recall the Wilson/Callaghan Gov’s enlightened differentiation between earned and unearned income (though as always the Devil hides in the definitional detail).
The same applies to a wealth tax. As i see things, being an advocate of Henry George’s philosophy, its sole target should be the ownership of land and natural resources; real capital such as houses should be exempt.
So its now too late to ask for a Brexit extension ???
Or did one slip through unreported ?
It is clear we should remove master and slave cylinders from all the lefties car brakes…and leave them the roads for 24 hours.
Would give the Hospitals something to do too
Did China Just Kill Hong Kong?
When the police announce 20 officers injured etc it would be interesting to have a breakdown of what the injuries actually were.
Bruised kneecaps?
Fisheries:
Let them blockade then stop them accessing UK waters or fishing zones, enforced by the Royal Navy. Surely the capacity of our own fleets to satisfy our own needs can be assessed then government assistance given to build or acquire sufficient vessels as necessary? Maybe there will be some going cheap across the Channel.
Time to look after our own and not one penny to the EU or its constituent countries.
Damn right ! We’re hopefully still able to defend our land borders, but we’ve already conceded the Channel to illegal immigrants, with the Border Farce a taxi service to our shores. As for fish, there’ll be the usual shabby compromise to the detriment of our industry.
Given the dangerous, dystopian new world we’re entering, domestic food supply will be far more important. Plenty of jobs could be created in fishing, which would mitigate the self-inflicted jobs tsunami we’ll see when furloughing is wound down.