Top story: PM ‘deeply concerned’ about police tactics
Morning everyone. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories today.
Boris Johnson has summoned the Met police chief, Cressida Dick, for a meeting today to discuss the force’s handling of the protests over Sarah Everard’s death after expressing his “deep concern” about the ugly scenes in London on Saturday. Also present at the meeting of the government’s crime and justice taskforce will be home secretary Priti Patel, who said she was “personally upset” by images showing police pinning women to the ground at the protest in Clapham. Dick has faced down calls for her to resign amid another protest on Sunday in Westminster which police allowed to go ahead without any intervention. So far the prime minister and Patel have indicated that Britian’s top police officer retained their confidence. Patsy Stevenson, the woman pictured being held on the ground by officers, said the policing tactics were “disgraceful”. It comes as ministers face warnings from charities, unions and faith groups that a new law giving police more powers to crack down on protesters is being rushed through. In Australia, tens of thousands of people attended rallies across the country calling for an end to gender-based violence and workplace harassment.
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Vaccine paused – The Netherlands has joined Ireland and several other European nations in suspending use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine over concerns that it can cause blood cots. The pharmaceutical company said tests on 17 million people who have had the vaccine found no evidence of blood clotting. With slow vaccination rollout dogging European efforts to contain a third wave of the virus, Italy recorded 27,000 cases yesterday and will enter another strict lockdown from this morning. France recorded 26,000 cases but its PM said it he would do “everything” to avoid a new lockdown. Spain’s attempts to deal with the pandemic have expedited a pilot scheme to test a four-day working week. UK ministers have been sharply criticised for their handling and sharing of Covid-19 data in a report by a committee of MPs. In Cheltenham, business owners are counting the cost of the absence of crowds from this year’s horseracing festival, which begins tomorrow. The cellist Yo-Yo Ma has given an impromptu performance to mark receiving his second vaccination dose at a centre near his home in Massachussetts. You can catch up with all the overnight developments in the pandemic at our live blog.
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Everard death – Police investigating the death of Sarah Everard cordoned off a section of a path in Sandwich in Kent last night. The marketing executive went missing while walking home to her flat in Clapham, south London, nearly two weeks ago. Her body was found in Kent a week later.
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‘Darkest moment’ – Myanmar’s ruling junta has declared martial law in parts of the largest city of Yangon after dozens died in one of the bloodiest days since the generals seized power on 1 February. The UK and the United Nations led condemnation of the junta after at least 39 people were killed in the “appalling” violence. A group of ousted MPs urged citizens to defend themselves during the nation’s “darkest moment”. Photographic evidence seen by the Guardian suggests that one activist, Zaw Myat Lynn, was tortured to death in custody after being dragged from his home last week.
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Bus boost – Boris Johnson will today unveil a £3bn shakeup of the bus sector in England to increase frequency and reduce fares, and help towards his government’s so-called “levelling up” strategy. The plan will also include more new bus lanes, fares with daily price caps, more services in the evenings and at weekends, and all buses accepting contactless payments.
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Merkel setback – Angela Merkel has suffered fresh setbacks in regional elections as her ruling centre-right coalition paid the price for Germany’s sluggish vaccination rollout and a corruption scandal over mask procurement deals. With the country facing a federal election in six months, Merkel’s CDU party slumped to historic lows in polls in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate yesterday.
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HER big night – Women claimed a host of top awards at the 2021 Grammys in Los Angeles overnight, with HER taking home song of the year for the Black Lives Matter anthem I Can’t Breathe and Taylor Swift becoming the first woman to win album of the year three times. Beyoncé became the most decorated singer (male or female) and female artist of all time after winning for her Savage remix with Megan Thee Stallion, who also won best new artist. The British star Dua Lipa won best pop vocal album for Future Nostalgia. Here is a full list of the winners.
Today in Focus podcast
The Dutch cabinet resigned in disgrace earlier this year after admitting it falsely accused thousands of citizens of cheating the benefits system. Then a strict second lockdown sparked riots. Now Dutch voters go to the polls, but are they in the mood for a change of government?
Lunchtime read: Tim Berners-Lee on www and Facebook
Tim Berners-Lee, father of the world wide web and one of the few people who has fundamentally changed how most of us live, talks to John Harris about its first 30 years, the rise of the toxic internet – and whether Facebook needs to be broken up.
Sport
José Mourinho accused some of his players of “hiding” during Tottenham’s north London derby defeat to Arsenal, pointing to a lack of intensity that led both Gareth Bale and Tanguy Nbombele to be substituted early in the second half. Manchester United were hardly a whirr of irresistible football but did enough in a 1-0 win over West Ham to keep ahead of Leicester, who beat Sheffield United 5-0 earlier on Sunday in the Blades’ first match since Chris Wilder’s departure. Chelsea thumped Bristol City 6-0 to retain the League Cup trophy, with a hat-trick from Sam Kerr and two goals from Fran Kirby. Eddie Jones believes Owen Farrell was able to rediscover his best form in England’s thrilling Six Nations victory over France because of a deliberate policy not to approach the referee. Johnny Sexton struck a penalty between the posts with three minutes to go to secure a 27-24 win for Ireland against Scotland.
The debutant Ishan Kishan with 56 and the captain, Virat Kohli, with an unbeaten 73, helped India to secure a seven-wicket win against England in the second T20 international. Justin Thomas won the Players Championship by one shot from Lee Westwood, who finished runner-up for the second week running. Funds in excess of £16m are being made available for the return of grassroots football at the end of this month through a joint initiative set up by the Premier League, the Football Association and the government’s Football Foundation. Lewis Hamilton has acknowledged Red Bull pose a real threat to his hopes of a record-breaking eighth Formula One world title this season. And Drew Brees has brought an end to one of the most successful careers in NFL history with his retirement from the New Orleans Saints.
Business
Britain’s carmakers tried in vain to persuade the government to delay its ban on petrol and diesel cars on the grounds that the plan could damage sales and places jobs at risk. In written submissions to the government obtained by the Guardian, manufacturers argued strongly against bringing the ban forward from 2040 to 2030. The FTSE100 looks set to climb by 0.6% at the opening this morning, while the pound will buy you $1.394 and €1.165.
The papers
Cressida Dick’s refusal to resign as Met police chief is the lead for the Guardian – “Defiant Met chief refuses to quit and hits out at ‘armchair’ critics” – as well as the Times: “Defiant Met chief fights for job after vigil chaos”. The Telegraph has “Yard chief defends vigil crackdown” while the Mail goes with “Shaming of the Met” in its splash on the fallout from the policing of the Sarah Everard vigil. The Mirror has “Pain & anger” and the i headline says “Safer streets for women: PM acts as police chief faces inquiry”.
The Express reckons “‘British spirit’ beating Covid” but the Star is concerned about people block-booking pub tables ahead of their reopening: “Cough up before you sup up”. The Scotsman leads on Covid easing – “Restaurants call for early end to social distancing” – and the Herald says “Johnson stops short of denying SNP Indyref2”. The FT splash is about the stratospheric rise of the fintech company Stripe, which is now the most valuable private firm in Silicon Valley: “Stripe rides wave of ecommerce growth to land $95bn valuation”
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