Early evening summary
- Public Health England has said that a total of 3,424 cases of the India variant of coronavirus B1.617.2 have now been confirmed in the UK. That is an increase of 2,111 on the total for the previous week (1,313), representing a rise of 160%. (See 6pm and 6.04pm.)
We have updated the number of confirmed cases of #COVID19 #variants identified in UK.
— Public Health England (@PHE_uk) May 20, 2021
More: https://t.co/NxiBAaLVss
Cases of VOC-21APR-02 have risen by 2,111 since last week. These are still predominantly affecting the North West of England – particularly Bolton – and London. pic.twitter.com/gADvCktEev
That’s all from me for today. But our coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.
Updated
These are from ITV News’s science editor, Tom Clarke, on the new India variant figures.
Breaking: Data from @PHE_uk shows there are now 3424 cases of India variant of concern. That’s up 2,111 on last week. https://t.co/JEFZOOv1pS
— Tom Clarke (@TomClarke_ITV) May 20, 2021
According to my rough calculation that’s a doubling time of 5 days. Cases of the Kent variant took 2 weeks to double in the run-up to the January peak.
— Tom Clarke (@TomClarke_ITV) May 20, 2021
So you can see why epidemiologists and the government are very concerned. Important caveats still apply however.
— Tom Clarke (@TomClarke_ITV) May 20, 2021
The rise in cases are predominantly in areas where Covid rates were high previously (and vaccination rates a bit lower than average). If the new variant was suddenly “seeded” into them it could cause temporary surge.
— Tom Clarke (@TomClarke_ITV) May 20, 2021
All eyes are on other outbreak areas to see if growth rates there are similar — will be earliest sign that the shocking speed of growth we’re seeing is due to with the virus itself— or the circumstances it finds itself in.
— Tom Clarke (@TomClarke_ITV) May 20, 2021
Updated
India variant case numbers rise to 3,424 - up 160% over past week
A total of 3,424 cases of the India variant of coronavirus B1.617.2 have now been confirmed in the UK, Public Health England has said.
As PA Media reports, the figures are up to 19 May, and represent a rise of 2,111 on the previous week.
A week ago today the total number confirmed cases was 1,313, which means cases have risen by 160%
In England 3,245 cases have now been confirmed, along with 136 in Scotland, 28 in Wales and 15 in Northern Ireland.
The latest data is available here.
English voters starting to feel same way about Scotland they did about EU, Tory MP warns
Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, was giving evidence to a joint meeting of the Commons Scottish, Welsh, Northern Ireland and public administration committees about the UK union this afternoon. He took a conciliatory tone, doing his best to avoid saying anything provocative about the SNP, or anyone else, and constantly stressing the value of the union. It was not particularly newsy session, and the most striking comment probably came from the Conservative MP Jackie Doyle-Price.
Doyle-Price, who represents Thurrock in Essex, told Gove that her constituents were starting to feel the same way about Scotland as they felt about the EU five years ago, and that she was worried England could lose Scotland through “benign neglect”. She said:
Perhaps if we view it in the context of what happened five years ago, when we had a political establishment that largely took UK acceptance of membership of the EU for granted, and thought it would follow its leaders by wishing to keep it, and ultimately the people of England decided that they believed in Britain rather than Brussels.
Perhaps if I just say to you, the kind of conversations that I now have on the doorstep that used to be conversations about Brussels are now conversations about Scotland. So I think those of us who do believe in the union need to do a lot more than just assert it, or else we could end up losing the union by benign neglect, just as happened with Brexit.
In reply Gove said that was a “very fair point”.
Many MPs share Doyle-Price’s fear, although it is less common to hear them say it in public. And her concern is well founded too, because research shows English support for the union is relatively shallow. In their new book, Englishness, Ailsa Henderson and Richard Wyn Jones write:
In most states, territorial integrity is regarded as nigh-on sacrosanct, yet ... in the core territory of the UK, this does not seem to be the case ...
A plurality of the English electorate supports the departure of Northern Ireland from the union. Support for a continuation of the union with Scotland and Wales is, by contrast, stronger. Yet, even here, that proportion of the population with an exclusively English sense of national identity [ie, people who describe themselves as English, not British] is markedly less supportive. Support for this most basic tenet of unionism can clearly not be taken for granted, even within that union’s majority.
In their book Henderson and Wyn Jones quote a survey saying, amongst English people who describe themselves as English not British, 43% favour Scottish independence. That research was from 10 years ago. The figure now may be even higher.
Earlier we said new Public Health England figures showed suspected outbreaks of Covid have risen 63% in a week. (See 3.21pm.) We’re sorry; that should have said 59%. We’ve corrected the earlier post.
This is from the BBC’s health correspondent Nick Triggle on the significance of the vaccine effectiveness data released by Public Health England today. (See 2.47pm.)
Public Health England have just published real world data suggesting that the second AZ dose lifts vaccine ability to block infections from from around 60% to 90%. Results better than those observed in clinical trials and assumed by modellers last week https://t.co/Ni1Ektnnu5
— Nick Triggle (@NickTriggle) May 20, 2021
This is from the Covid Fact Check UK account, summarising some of the figures released today in a Public Health England dataset about surge testing.
Up to 11 May, surge testing in England has detected 177 cases of the B.1.617.2 variant first identified in India:
— Covid Fact Check UK (@fact_covid) May 20, 2021
Link: https://t.co/YYVaiBsPPW pic.twitter.com/gBIRU5hZAo
The UK has recorded seven more Covid deaths and 2,874 new cases, according to today’s update to the government’s dashboard. Week on week, deaths are still going down, by 26.5%. But the total number of new cases over the last seven days is now marginally up (by 0.2%) on the total for the previous week. Yesterday cases were going down week on week.
Updated
Final decision on how to proceed with Commons restoration to be taken in 2023, MPs told
MPs will be expected to decide in early 2023 how much taxpayers’ cash they are willing to spend on restoring parliament, PA Media reports. In a report on this afternoon’s debate on what is called the “restoration and renewal” project, PA says:
Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said the business case will be put before the house in this period - and it will be up to MPs to approve or reject it.
They will have to “prioritise what matters most” and know the cost and benefits of each part of the project, Rees-Mogg said before adding: “Ideally, each idea would have a clear, price tag attached.”
In March, Rees-Mogg claimed costs for parliament’s restorations could hit £20bn - compared with a previous estimate of £4bn.
Opening a debate on the project, he said: “The coming months are an important period during which we - the parliamentarians, the custodians of Westminster’s history, but also those responsible for protecting taxpayers’ interests - make our expectations clear so that when the fully costed proposals are put before us in early 2023, we’re able to approve them full-throatedly, safe in the knowledge we are doing the right thing for our constituents and our country in preserving both the cockpit of our democracy and the means of its proper functioning too.”
In January 2018 the Commons voted for a restoration programme involving what was called a “full decant” - MPs fully moving out of the building for several years, to allow the repair work to be concluded more quickly. This was said to be cheaper than the alternative favoured by some traditionalists - letting MPs stay put, while the building work goes on around them, over a much longer period. But that vote is no longer seen as binding, and it is thought that some in government want to ditch the “full decant” plan.
Updated
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has said that he is proud of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme he ran last August. There have been claims that the initiative, which gave people a discount worth up to £10 per head if they were eating out on certain days, helped to fuel the resurgence of coronavirus because it encouraged people back into restaurants. (The discount was not available for takeaways.) But Sunak told BBC Radio’s Newsbeat:
It is a scheme I am proud of.
The scheme was about trying to protect as many of those millions of jobs, of people employed in bars and restaurants up and down the country, and that’s what it did. And we know that it did that.
It got people back into work, it protected jobs and that is why I am glad it did what it needed to do.
Updated
Northern Ireland to go ahead with further lockdown easing on Monday
Stormont ministers have agreed to press ahead with a series of further relaxations of Covid-19 rules in Northern Ireland, PA Media reports. PA says:
The power-sharing executive has also agreed a “green list” for international travel, opening the way for holiday makers to travel to a limited number of foreign destinations without having to quarantine on their return.
Portugal has been included on a list that is in line with those already agreed elsewhere in the UK.
PA understands ministers agreed the following relaxations during a virtual meeting of the Stormont executive on today.
From Monday 24 May, indoor hospitality can resume in Northern Ireland while people will be able to meet inside private homes for the first time this year.
Six people from no more than two households will be able to meet in a private dwelling and stay overnight.
All tourism accommodation will also be able to reopen on 24 May.
A limit on the size of outdoor gatherings will increase to 500 - a number that will also apply to the number of spectators able to attend sporting fixtures.
Indoor group exercise is allowed again, enabling indoor sports teams to resume training.
Indoor visitor and cultural attractions can also reopen from 24 May - this includes museums, galleries, cinemas, indoor play areas, bowling alleys, amusement arcades, bingo halls and libraries.
Updated
From Public Health England
We estimate that the #COVID19 vaccination programme has prevented 13,000 deaths in people aged 60+ up to 9th May 2021.
— Public Health England (@PHE_uk) May 20, 2021
Estimates also indicate that 39,100 hospitalisations in those aged 65+ have been prevented in England.https://t.co/rTkiJegu0r pic.twitter.com/e2xLg0S7Pn
Updated
Burnham calls for 'unifying' levelling up, not Johnson's 'divisive' version
Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, has published his first column in the new slot he’s got in the London Evening Standard. In it, as well as proclaiming his love for London (a passion he has been quite good at concealing in recent years), he makes the argument for an alternative version of levelling up to Boris Johnson’s. He says:
Levelling up is the right theme for our times. But it’s in danger of becoming the next big divisive issue after Brexit and Covid: pitching towns against cities; and the rest of the country against London.
We mustn’t let that happen. The country desperately needs levelling up to be a unifying agenda. True levelling up is achieved not by prioritising certain towns for support, and creating anti-city feeling, but by unlocking the power of cities to lead change and lift towns with them, driving the zero-carbon, digital economy. Any government which sets its face against cities is setting its face against the future and next generation.
Throughout history, Manchester has provided the radical challenge to the London establishment. But, going forward, if we can align ourselves around common themes, we’re going to be a powerful force for any government to reckon with.
Covid outbreaks up 59% in a week, Public Health England report reveals
Public Health England has revealed suspected outbreaks of Covid have risen 59% in a week.
The latest PHE Covid-19 surveillance report (pdf) reveals that while coronavirus cases have fallen across all other regions, there have been rises in in the north-west – an area that has been hard hit by the variant of concern first detected in India, known as B.1.617.2.
While the case rate per 100,000 people was just 8.9 in the south-west – the region with the lowest figure – they were highest in the north-west with 38.5 cases per 100,000.
According to the latest data from the government coronavirus dashboard, Bolton had a rate of 301.5 Covid cases (of any variant) per 100,000 people in the seven days to 14 May. Bolton is among the current hotspots for the India variant.
The new PHE report also reveals the number of suspected outbreaks in England rose to 257 in the week ending 16 May, up from 162 the week before.
Overall, the report shows cases rates are highest among people aged 10-19. However, hospital admission rates are highest among those aged 85 and above.
Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, said:
While it is hugely encouraging that the prevalence of the virus is currently stable with hospitalisations and deaths continuing to fall, we are concerned about the variant first detected in India and are constantly monitoring the situation. Until we know more it’s vital we don’t let our guard down too soon and remain cautious. We do not want to undo the huge progress we’ve made so far.
Updated
Labour has set out a plan to transform global vaccine production. It has set it out in an open letter, from Emily Thornberry, the shadow international trade secretary, and other shadow ministers, to Liz Truss, the international trade secretary.
It involves four main proposals: a global effort to identify new vaccine production facilities around the world; a huge coordinated investment programme; a global version of the vaccine taskforce, covering regulation and production standards; and the pursuit of innovations, including vaccines in poll form.
Thornberry said:
This plan will not just help the world bring the Covid-19 pandemic to an end, and make us safe against the spread of new variants and strains, but establish the mechanisms, infrastructure and tools that will allow us to tackle future pandemics much more efficiently and effectively.
So while the costs of financing this plan will doubtless be substantial, they must be weighed against the human, social and economic damage we will avoid if we can bring this current pandemic to a rapid end, and ensure it will never be repeated on the same scale.
Updated
Labour has said that ministers need to explain exactly what went wrong with track and trace in the case highlighted by the leak to the BBC today. (See 12.31pm.) In a statement Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said:
This is deja vu and echoes the mistakes made last year with Boris Johnson’s ‘whack-a-mole’ approach.
It beggars belief that yet again local health experts on ground have been left in the dark for two weeks when we know acting with speed is vital to containing an outbreak.
Ministers need to explain what’s gone wrong and provide local health directors with all the resources they need to push infections down.
The UK government is in talks about a plan to waive Covid-19 vaccine patents to boost the production of shots in low and middle-income countries, my colleague Hannah Summers reports.
This is from Mujtaba Rahman, the Brexit analyst at the Eurasia Group consultancy, on today’s ministerial meeting on the trade deal with Australia. (See 1.26pm.)
Hearing that Truss won Cabinet argument on points without knockout blow - Govt will present Aussie deal as compromise with safeguards for UK farmers
— Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) May 20, 2021
Public Health England publishes latest data on vaccine effectiveness
Public Health England has also published its latest Covid vaccine surveillance report (pdf). Here is its summary of the effectiveness of the two main vaccines being used in the UK.
Updated
Public Health England has just published its latest Covid surveillance report (pdf). It covers the period up to Sunday 16 May, and here is an extract from the PHE summary.
Surveillance indicators suggest that at a national level Covid-19 activity remained stable in [the week ending 16 May].
Case rates in week 19 were highest in those aged 10 to 19, with a case rate of 43.9 per 100,000 population, a slight decrease on the previous week.
The lowest case rates continued to be in those aged 80 and above, with a rate of 3.8 per 100,000 population.
Case rates per 100,000 fell across all regions except for the north-west.
Case rates per 100,000 were highest in the north-west, at 38.5.
Case rates per 100,000 are lowest in the south-west, with a rate of 8.9.
Updated
The UK could be at the start of a third wave of coronavirus, an expert from Sage said this morning
Prof Andrew Hayward, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, said he was “very concerned” about the India variant due to its ability to spread quickly. Asked if the UK was at the start of a third wave, he said:
I think so. I think what we can see is that this strain can circulate very effectively, although it was originally imported through travel to India. It’s spread fairly effectively, first of all within households and now more broadly within communities, so I don’t really see why it wouldn’t continue to spread in other parts of the country.
Obviously we’re doing everything we can to contain the spread of that, but it’s likely that more generalised measures may start to be needed to control it.
Government experts have always said that the easing of lockdown restrictions would lead to an upsurge in cases, or a third wave. But what has always been uncertain is whether this will be mild or severe, and there is still no consensus on that because of uncertainty about the threat posed by the India variant.
Updated
A scheme offering vaccinations to students in Bournemouth has been suspended after too many turned up, the BBC reports. The offer was supposed to be aimed at students in priority groups for vaccination (such as people with a serious underlying health conditions), but all students at the university were told they could attend.
New Covid wave could worsen NHS surgery backlog, experts warn
A new wave of coronavirus infections could throw into jeopardy efforts to clear a backlog of surgery in the NHS, experts have warned. My colleagues Nicola Davis and Denis Campbell have the story here.
No 10 plays down significance of ministerial meeting on trade deal with Australia
Here are some more lines from the Downing Street lobby briefing.
- The prime minister’s spokesman played down the significance of a ministerial meeting this morning on the proposed trade deal with Australia. Reports this week have described this as a crunch meeting where a decision might be taken on whether or not to offer Australia tariff-free access to the UK market for agriculture. Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, has been pushing for this, but George Eustice, the environment secretary, is worried about the impact on British farmers. Yesterday Boris Johnson hinted that he was siding with Truss. The spokesman confirmed that a meeting did take place. But he said it was taking place “as part of the regular process” and that it involved Truss updating colleagues on the state of the negotiations. He would not comment any further, saying it would not be right to discuss “live negotiations”. We probably got a more useful readout from the BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg.
And, not quite white smoke on what was actually decided, but a flavour, govt source says, 'Liz left the room happier than Eustice' - should have better indication by end of the day which way this vital conversation ended up https://t.co/3yukfA7Avh
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) May 20, 2021
- The spokesman said it was still “too early” to know whether the rise of the India variant could delay the lifting of all final Covid restrictions that is due to take place in England from 21 June. He said there had not been any significant changes in the situation in the last 24 hours.
- The spokesman said the plans to reform the railways would mean cheaper fares for passengers, because the plan for flexible season tickets could save commuters hundreds of pounds.
- The spokesman said Boris Johnson met leaders of the Jewish community in Downing Street this morning, including the chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis. The spokesman said:
The prime minister met with leaders of the United Kingdom’s Jewish community this morning. He thanked them for their efforts throughout the pandemic and condemned recent antisemitic incidents in the UK.
The meeting took place virtually; Mirvis attended in person.
Updated
No 10 does not accept test and trace error linked to rise of India variant
At the Downing Street lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesman was asked about the BBC story about a leaked council report blaming “the sporadic failure” of NHS test and trace for contributing to the rise of the India variant. (See 12.31pm.)
The spokesman stressed that the test and trace problem referred to in the story only affected a small number of councils and lasted for a short period of time. He said:
In this specific instance all positive cases were contacted and asked to self-isolate for 10 days. As you know, there was a short delay when asking some of those positive cases to provide details of individuals they had contacted since contracting Covid. This issue was across a small number of local authority areas and was quickly resolved.
Asked if the government accepted that the problem contributed to the spread of the variant, the spokesman would not accept the claim there was link because of the small number of councils involved. He replied:
The spread of the variant will be down to a number of factors. This was an issue that cross occurred across a small number of local authority areas so I don’t think it’s possible to draw that conclusion from this.
'Sporadic failure' by test and trace contributed to rise of India variant, leaked council report claims
According to a BBC report, a council claims that a failure by NHS test and trace to provide full data about Covid cases to eight councils in late April and early May could have contributed to the spread of the India variant.
The report by the BBC’s Sebastien Ash and Laura Kuenssberg says:
For three weeks in April and May, eight local authorities in England did not have access to the full data on positive tests in their area.
The number of missing cases was highest in Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire ...
The other areas affected by what is thought to have been a technical glitch were Blackpool, York, Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.
The BBC story says 734 positive test results were not reported to local authorities. The story goes on:
According to a report by officials at one of the councils affected, the central test-and-trace system failed to notify its staff of cases, meaning their contacts could not be traced locally.
It says that “the rapid spread of Indian variant cases ... may be partially or largely attributable to risks in the international travel control system”, adding: “These were exacerbated by the sporadic failure of the national test-and-trace system.”
In response to the story, the Department of Health and Social Care said: “A small number of contacts of positive cases experienced a temporary delay in getting a message from NHS test and trace.” But the DHSC said that the problem was resolved quickly, and that overall 10 million people had been contacted by test and trace.
Updated
Extracts from report on sexual misconduct by former MP Mike Hill
Here are some extracts from the independent expert panel’s report (pdf) into Mike Hill, the former MP for Hartlepool.
There were three complaints against Hill. Under the procedure for dealing with complaints of this kind, they were investigated by an independent investigator reporting to the parliamentary commissioner for standards.
The investigator and the commissioner ruled that, in relation to the first complaint, Hill had breached parliament’s sexual misconduct policy. But they did not uphold complaints two and three.
At that point all three complaints were referred, on appeal, to the independent expert panel. It upheld two of them, but not the third.
First complaint
The nature of the allegation
The reporter [the person making the complaint] alleged sexual misconduct by [Hill] on two occasions. At the time the reporter was employed by [Hill] in his parliamentary office. [Hill] was also her de facto landlord. They were sharing temporary accommodation in London. She alleged that he got into her bed late at night when she was asleep, made physical contact with her and attempted to touch her in a sexual way without her consent.
The investigator found this conduct proved. He concluded that [Hill] was in breach of the sexual misconduct policy because on these two occasions he had made ‘uncalled-for and unwelcome physical contact with the reporter and that he initiated a sexual act without consent’.
Ruling: Hill appealed, but the panel rejected his appeal.
Second complaint
The nature of the allegation
The reporter alleged that [Hill] came up behind her on many occasions in his parliamentary office and touched her inappropriately.
The investigator found that the allegations were ‘not substantiated sufficiently by the evidence’. The commissioner, although considering that the investigator’s recommendation was ‘the most finely balanced of the investigator’s recommendations’, agreed. The complaint was therefore not upheld.
Ruling: The complainant appealed, and the panel overruled the commissioner, and concluded that Hill had breached the sexual misconduct policy in this regard.
Third complaint
The nature of the allegation
The reporter alleged that she was victimised and discriminated against under the sexual misconduct policy by the responder because she had complained about the responder’s sexual misconduct towards her. In particular she alleged that she was being wrongly forced out of her job and accommodation and threatened with alternative employment which was unreasonable.
Ruling: The commissioner said this complaint was not proven, and the panel agreed.
Overall conclusion from the panel
At the hearing, [Hill] said that he was ‘mortified’ by the findings of the panel’s decision. The whole process had affected his mental and physical health. He reflected that he had got himself ‘into a stupid situation of my own making’. But he continued to deny the allegations. There was no acknowledgment of sexual misconduct or the impact of it, and, therefore, no apology or regret for his actions towards the reporter. There was nothing in the nature of a reflective statement on misconduct proved. He expressed remorse, but only for the circumstances in which he now found himself. He did, however, say that he had reflected upon the decision. He recognised the seriousness of the findings against him and when asked if he had taken steps to address the behaviour found proved, he said, ‘Yes, Sir. I resigned.’
In this particular case, following [Hill’s] decision to resign as a member of the House of Commons, we conclude that no available sanction is appropriate. We therefore do not impose or recommend a sanction. Our powers in respect of former members are in any event extremely limited. It is clear that no minor sanction could satisfactorily reflect the seriousness of the [Hill’s] conduct. Had [Hill] not resigned, we would have likely considered recommending the sanction of suspension from the house.
We have not recommended to the Speaker of the house that [Hill] should be denied a former member’s pass to the parliamentary estate.
Updated
Former Labour MP for Hartlepool Mike Hill breached parliament's sexual misconduct policy, report finds
Mike Hill, the former Labour MP for Hartlepool, breached parliament’s sexual misconduct policy, according to a report (pdf) published this morning. The independent expert panel, which adjudicates on complaints against MPs relating to bullying or sexual misconduct, says in its report that, if Hill was still an MP, it would be recommending that he be suspended from the Commons.
Sir Stephen Irwin, chair of the IEP said:
The sub-panel took a very serious view of [Hill’s] conduct, and had he remained a member of parliament, a significant sanction would have been under consideration. In the light of his resignation however, the sub-panel concluded that no available sanction met the facts of this case and the specific circumstances of the responder. They therefore did not impose or recommend a sanction.
The panel could have recommended that Hill lose the pass to the parliamentary estate he gets as an ex-MP, but it did not propose that because it felt that, as a penalty, it would not have matched the seriousness of the offence.
Hill’s resignation triggered the Hartlepool byelection which gave the Conservatives their first parliamentary election victory in the town for more than 60 years.
Updated
Some elderly patient hospital discharges in Scotland during pandemic unlawful, report says
A new report has found that the transfer of some elderly patients from hospitals to care homes in Scotland at the height of the coronavirus pandemic was unlawful, as campaigners continue to raise questions about the link between hospital discharge and Covid outbreaks in these homes.
The Mental Welfare Commission’s report studied a sample of around 10% of all discharges, where the individual did not have the capacity to decide for themselves. It found that 20 of 457 moves were done without legal authority and pointed to “endemic” examples of poor practice.
The commission also found those working in hospital discharge were not fully aware of the powers held by attorneys or guardians in 78 out of 267 cases.
The commission’s chief executive, Julie Paterson, said:
Lack of understanding of the law, lack of understanding of good practice, confusion over the nature of placements, misunderstanding over power of attorney. These findings are very disappointing and may mean that many more moves were made without valid legal authority.
Updated
Arlene Foster, the outgoing first minister of Northern Ireland, has renewed her call for action to deal with the Northern Ireland protocol. Speaking in Downing Street before her final meeting with Boris Johnson before she steps down, she said that Johnson and Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, had made some “very good statements” about the protocol, the part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement that keeps Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market by imposing some checks on trade between Britain and Northern Ireland. She went on:
But now we need to see action, and we need to see action quite soon, because every day the protocol remains the way it is, there’s more damage done to Northern Ireland.
Johan Lundgren, the easyJet chief executive, has described the government’s stance on travel to amber list countries as “very confusing to say the least”. In an interview this morning, he said easyJet customers were going on holiday to amber list countries, despite the government advising against this. He said:
People are booking flights and they’re going there on holidays. I think that the view was to apply common sense, and I think that there’s a lot of people out there who have as a top priority coming through this pandemic to go on that holiday break. That is what people are doing.
He urged the government to relax the rules for international travel more quickly. He said:
We have looked at the data that is available and the scientific evidence shows that you have a number of countries in Europe that are now on the amber list that should go into the green list.
You can see that that is happening in Europe as we speak. European travel is opening up at large scale.
This is not about whether the UK is risking falling behind. It is falling behind as we speak.
Covid was the ninth leading cause of death in England in April 2021, according to a report from the Office for National Statistics, accounting for 2.4% of all deaths registered that month. In Wales it was the 18th leading cause of death, accounting for 1.4% of all deaths.
Our monthly mortality analysis shows in April 2021 #COVID19 was the
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) May 20, 2021
▪️ 9th leading cause of death in England
▪️ 18th leading cause in Wales
This was down from being the 3rd leading cause in March 2021 https://t.co/IPGSQ4H8Ef pic.twitter.com/wc1ylFzBDu
And here are the Covid death rates for England and Wales in April.
The #COVID19 mortality rate fell significantly in April, for the third consecutive month. Adjusting for age, it was
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) May 20, 2021
▪️ 20.6 per 100,000 in England
▪️ 12.6 per 100,000 in Wales
These are the lowest rates since September 2020 https://t.co/9B6sH3C7ZK pic.twitter.com/Te8I227idE
And this is what Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, was saying about his rail industry plan in his morning interviews.
- Shapps claimed that rail management would be simplified under his plan to run the system as “Great British Railways”. He explained:
It’s three years actually to the week since we had that terrible May 2018 timetable meltdown when everyone looked around and no one could tell you who was responsible for it.
Great British Railways will be a single, simplified organisation running all of the ticketing, all of the network, bringing everything together - the timetable and the rest of it - under one roof, in order to make sure that people get the service they demand.
When things go wrong there is a single guiding mind, or, as the media often say, a ‘fat controller’ running the network.
By having that kind of set-up it means you get rid of - in the case of the current set-up - 400 people who have to debate and work out whose fault a delay is.
- He rejected a claim that above-inflation fare rises would be an inevitable consequence of the reorganisation - but he refused to rule this out. He said there was “absolutely not” a “hidden agenda” to raise prices. But he pointed out that the taxpayer had plugged a £12bn hole during the coronavirus crisis to keep the railways operating and that fares were subsidised. “Of course any government in the future will have to weigh those things up,” he said.
Shapps says he wants airports to segregate passengers from amber and red list countries
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, was doing the government media round this morning. Here is a summary of the main points he made about Covid. I will post his comments about his rail reorganisation separately.
- Shapps said he wanted airports to segregate passengers arriving from amber list and from red list countries. He said:
A lot of this is to do with the practicalities, of course, and everybody has to be tested before they are even able to get on to a flight to the UK.
But I do want to see people separated out as much as is practically possible and ... I think Heathrow will respond to this at the beginning of next month.
He said that there was “excess space” because few people were travelling and and that Heathrow was examining using a “spare terminal to bring in perhaps the red flights separately”.
- He defended the decision to allow flights to the UK to continue from red list countries. “You cannot prevent British citizens from returning home, no country can ban its own citizens,” he said.
- He said he wanted to see more countries added to the green list. Asked if he was pushing for the green list to be extended, he said:
Of course. The reason for that is we have ended up getting way ahead in terms of our vaccination programme in this country and we are just having to wait for other countries to catch up with us.
That’s going to gradually happen, obviously, you can see it’s happening, so that list should expand.
- He said the travel rules were being reviewed every three weeks and the first review, which could see more countries added to the green list, would be in the first week of June.
Prince William has had his first Covid vaccination, he has revealed on Twitter. He is 38.
On Tuesday I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) May 20, 2021
To all those working on the vaccine rollout - thank you for everything you’ve done and continue to do. pic.twitter.com/8QP6ao5fEb
Priti Patel vows to step up quarantine checks on people returning from amber countries
Good morning. With the government still facing criticism for allowing travel to amber list countries, and reports that thousands of holidaymakers are taking advantage of this even though ministers only want people to travel to these places in exceptional circumstances, Priti Patel, the home secretary, has intervened to encourage people to think twice before heading to a country such as Spain.
People returning from amber list countries have to quarantine at home for 10 days on their return. Officials have been carrying out checks for some time, but there is evidence the system has not been very rigorous and relatively few people have been fined for not obeying the rules. But, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Patel has said that the checks are going to become more rigorous. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, told the No 10 press conference last night that 30,000 checks had been carried out over the past week. Now the Home Office has told the Mail that it has the capacity to carry out 10,000 checks a day. Asked if people visiting amber list countries could expect a knock on the door when they got home, Patel said:
Yes, people should. There is a service, provision is in place, capacity has been increased for that very reason. People will not go unchecked.
Significant resources have been put in place – millions of pounds – in terms of the follow-up checking of people around their testing and making sure they stay at home. It has been stepped up.
According to the Mail, the Home Office is expecting many more fines to be issued. In their story Jason Groves and Claire Ellicott report:
A Home Office source said 7,000 home visits were carried out by Test and Trace officials on Tuesday.
The ministry has also established a new Isolation Assurance and Compliance service to monitor arrivals from amber-list countries.
Where people are found to be away from home, police are called to issue fines. A total of 639 have been handed out to date, though this number is now likely to rise significantly.
MAIL: Holiday ‘police’ to knock on your door #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Hlc6irVhIo
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 19, 2021
Here is the agenda for the day.
Around 11.30am: Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, makes a statement to MPs about plans to reorganise the rail industry as Great British Railways.
12pm: Downing Street is expected to hold its daily lobby briefing.
1pm: Prof Anthony Harnden, deputy chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, and other experts speak at an Imperial College London seminar on the global vaccination programme.
2pm: Public Health England publishes its weekly Covid surveillance report.
2.30pm: Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, gives evidence to a joint meeting of the Commons Scottish, Welsh, Northern Ireland and public administration committees about the UK union.
Politics Live has been a mix of Covid and non-Covid news recently, and that is likely to be the case today. For more Covid coverage, do read our global live blog.
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