Early evening summary
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Boris Johnson has urged significant caution as he confirmed plans for reopening in England, following warnings from government scientists that the growth in Covid infections amid mass unlocking could lead to hospitalisation rates similar to the winter peak. At a press conference in Downing Street he said:
It is absolutely vital that we proceed now with caution. And I cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough. This pandemic is not over. This disease coronavirus continues to carry risks for you and for your family.
We cannot simply revert instantly from Monday 19 July to life as it was before Covid.
We will stick to our plan to lift legal restrictions and to lift social distancing, but we expect and recommend that people wear a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces where you come into contact with those you don’t normally meet, such as on public transport
We’re removing the government instruction to work from home where you can but we don’t expect that the whole country will return to their as one desks from Monday. And we’re setting out guidance for business for a gradual return to work over the summer.
- Sage, the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, has said hospital admissions are likely to reach at least 1,000 per day in the summer following the lifting of most remaining Covid restrictions for England. And it has also said the anticipated rise in Covid cases, combined with high level of vaccination, “creates the conditions in which an immune escape variant is most likely to emerge”. If this were to happen, it would pose a risk to health around the world, Sage says. (See 5.03pm.)
- MPs will be allowed to cram into the House of Commons chamber next week for the first “full capacity” session of prime minister’s questions since the Covid pandemic began. And, as HuffPost’s Paul Waugh reports, Commons staff have complained that they will have to wear masks on the parliamentary estate next week, while for MPs they will be voluntary.
That’s all from me for tonight. But our coronavirus coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.
Updated
The Royal College of Nursing has said the government will regret abandoning the requirement for masks to be worn in shops and on public transport in England. In a statement its general secretary and chief executive, Pat Cullen, said:
Covid-19 remains a significant risk to the public’s health and healthcare workers’. When cases are rising across the UK, we must not lose the benefits of a successful vaccine programme to rash decisions.
This disease does not disappear on 19 July and pressure will continue to be placed on all health and care services in the UK. Nursing staff need even greater protection than they have been afforded to date – they still need the higher-grade FFP3 face masks.
Public mask-wearing is straightforward and well-established - government will rue the day it sent the wrong signal for political expediency.
Updated
Here is the text of Boris Johnson’s statement at the start of his press conference.
And here are the slides.
The new Sage documents published this afternoon are available here. Seven documents have just been published, all relating to the 93rd Sage meeting on 7 July.
Transport unions condemn plan to stop making masks compulsory for public transport
Transport unions have denounced the move to end compulsory mask wearing on trains and buses in England, and warned that services may be cut if their members feel they are being exposed to health risks.
The main rail union, the RMT, called it “a reckless and irresponsible gamble with the health of millions”. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said:
It is beyond belief that we today see a health minister and prime minister announcing the abandonment of regulations that have been proven to protect the public and workers, when instead a more cautious approach was needed.
The decision to scrap mandatory face coverings will not only increase risks, it will lead to confusion and conflict on the transport network and also on cross border services where the devolved nations look set to adopt a different approach.
Unite said it had written to tens of thousands of bus drivers it represents to remind them that under the Employment Rights Act they can remove themselves from the workplace if they believe their health is being placed in serious and imminent danger.
The union’s national officer for public transport, Bobby Morton, said the government had created confusion and was guilty of dangerous mixed messaging. He added:
If workers do feel that they cannot work safely, this will inevitably cause delays and disruptions in services. I hope that the general public appreciates that this is a problem entirely of the government’s making.
Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, has announced he is standing down after 10 years in charge of the party following its worst Holyrood election result in May.
Rennie, the MSP for North East Fife, had been one of the Scottish parliament’s longest-serving party leaders but in the May elections the party lost one of its five seats, failing to make any of the gains it had sought.
Having fought 11 elections and referendums in the last decade, Rennie said it was now time for a “fresh face” as leader.
With the larger Scottish Greens holding seven seats and in talks on a formal deal with the Scottish National party minority government, the Lib Dems have become an increasingly peripheral force. In the first Scottish parliament in 1999, the Lib Dems held 17 of its 129 seats, and shared power with Labour for eight years until Alex Salmond’s single-seat election victory in 2007.
The party’s executive meets on Monday evening to decide on the timings and rules for a leadership election. Its current rules mean only MSPs can stand; the Edinburgh Western MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton is likely to be the frontrunner.
Updated
UK records 34,471 new cases
The UK has recorded 34,471 new cases, and six further deaths, according to the latest update to the government’s Covid dashboard.
Updated
Q: You are now saying that people should proceed very gradually. How does that square with what was said previously about this being a big opening up?
Johnson says it is crucial for people to understand that this is a big package of measures, but people need to be cautious.
Everyone offered the vaccine should take it up, he says.
Q: Will the scenes at Wembley last night damage the case for hosting the World Cup in 2030?
Johnson says it is a shame that a small minority behaved badly. He says he does not think it spoiled it for everyone. And Covid made policing it difficult.
He says he thinks the UK and Ireland have a “good shot” at getting the tournament.
And that’s it. The press conference is over.
Updated
Q: Modelling points to roughly 100 to 200 deaths per day at the height of the third wave. Is that a price you are willing to pay?
Johnson says there isn’t an optimal time. Deaths and hospitalisations will rise whenever the country goes for an unlocking. There will be an exit wave, and we simply have to recognise that.
Q: Given what you said about racism and the England football team, would you now take the knee?
Johnson says people should express their opposition to racism however they like. At Wembley last night he did not hear a single boo when the players took the knee.
Johnson urges people to take unlocking 'as slowly as we can'
Q: What should people do next week?
Johnson says he wants people to think carefully and, in Prof Jonathan Van-Tam’s words, not to “rip the pants” out of this.
As he said last week, he does not want people to be demob happy.
People should continue to wear face coverings if they are mixing with people they do not normally meet. And they should think about the vulnerable, and people shielding.
He says we have to go “as slowly as we can” given the constraints.
But if we were to wait until September, there would be other risks, because of the weather, and the end of school holidays.
Q: Why not have rules for masks, instead of guidance?
Johnson says he is trying to move to a system of personal responsibility as an alternative to relying on rules.
He says there is a world of difference between being on an empty platform and on a crowded tube train. On a crowded train, he would expect people to wear masks.
Q: When will the UK reach herd immunity?
Vallance says we have high levels of antibodies in this country. But the higher, the better. The level you need for herd immunity depends on various factors, he says.
He says we are on track to have significant levels of immunity, that would really impede the ability of the virus to cause damage.
Q: Do you still think unlocking is irreversible?
Johnson says he hopes the roadmap is irreversible. He has always said that. That is why a cautious approach is needed, he says.
He stressed that this pandemic is not over. We must be cautious, and people must get vaccinated.
Q: What level of hospital admissions would put thee NHS under unsustainable pressure?
Whitty says there is no single cut-off point. As hospitalisations get higher, more other services would have to be cut back.
He says he does not expect it to be as bad as before.
But there will be some pressure.
And the peak could be reached at different times in different parts of the country.
Updated
Vallance says the models released today show infections will rise after 19 July.
If behaviour returns immediatly to pre-pandemic levels, there would be a “very, very big rise”, he says.
Whitty says there would be an “exit wave” whatever the date for opening up.
Q: Will you end the need for NHS staff to have to isolate if they have had contact with someone testing positive?
Johnson says this is a good question. The government is looking at this. But we will have to wait for an announcement, he says.
He says the health secretary should make an announcement in the next few weeks.
Sir Patrick Vallance says a vaccinated person is about 70/75% less likely to pass on Covid to someone else.
Protection against severe disease is very much higher, he says.
Whitty says there is no ideal time to lift restrictions
Whitty says scientists are agreed on most aspects of the government’s plan.
But he admits that there is disagreement about whether this is the ideal date to open up. That is because there is no ideal date, he says.
Whitty says the third test is also clearly being met; the NHS is not at risk of being overwhelmed.
And he says the fourth test, on new variants, is being met, but there is more caution about this.
Prof Chris Whitty is showing slides showing how the four tests are being met.
The vaccine rollout is going well, he says.
And vaccines are having an impact on deaths, as this chart shows.
Johnson urges caution, saying after 19 July people cannot revert 'instantly to life as it was before'
In his opening remarks at his press conference Johnson says it is “absolutely vital we proceed with caution”.
He says after 19 July people “cannot simply revert instantly ... to life as it was before”.
He says he does not expect people to return to work instantly.
And he stresses it is vital for people to get vaccinated.
Sage says next peak in deaths almost certain to be 'considerably smaller' than in January
And here is a chart from another document just released from Sage (pdf). The document summarises the results of the three modelling exercises conducted for Sage (by Warwick University, Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) looking at what might happen to case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths after 19 July.
The report says “the next peak in deaths will almost certainly be considerably smaller than that of January 2021”.
In January deaths peaked at 1,359, by date of death.
And this chart summarises Sage’s scenarios for what might happen to hospital admissions, depending on what the R number is.
Updated
Boris Johnson starts his press conference with a tribute to the England team. Those directing racist abuse at theme should “crawl back under the rock from which you emerged”, he says.
Sage says hospital admissions likely to reach at least 1,000 per day after England lifts most remaining restrictions
To coincide with the PM’s press conference, Sage, the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, has just released a batch of papers covering its advice to ministers relating to today’s announcement.
The most useful is probably the minutes of the 93rd Sage meeting (pdf), held on 7 July (Wednesday last week).
Here are the key points.
- Sage says hospital admissions are likely to reach at least 1,000 per day in the summer following the lifting of most remaining Covid restrictions for England. It says:
The number of hospital admissions likely to occur in this wave is also highly uncertain but is likely to reach at least 1,000 per day, depending on the speed of changes following step 4. Most modelled scenarios have peaks lower than January 2021. However, under more pessimistic assumptions, some scenarios show a resurgence of that scale or larger. Even if lower than previous peaks, the number of admissions may become challenging for the NHS (medium confidence).
In the second wave, hospital admissions in the UK passed 1,000 a day in mid-October. At their peak they reached more than 4,000 a day.
- Sage says that “all modelled scenarios show a period of extremely high prevalence of infection lasting until at least the end of August”.
- It says the spike in Covid cases due to follow opening up in England could pose a threat not just to the UK but to the world generally. That was because it would create the conditions in which new variants were most likely to emerge, it said. It described this as one of “four major risks” associated with the anticipated high number of infections. It says:
There are four major risks associated with high numbers of infections. These are an increase in hospitalisations and deaths, more ‘Long Covid’; workforce absences (including in the NHS); and the increased risk of new variants emerging. The combination of high prevalence and high levels of vaccination creates the conditions in which an immune escape variant is most likely to emerge. The likelihood of this happening is unknown, but such a variant would present a significant risk both in the UK and internationally.
- It says there is also a risk the spike in Covid cases could also lead to the country’s testing capacity becoming overwhelmed. It says:
High prevalence also presents a challenge to testing, contact tracing and sequencing. If PCR testing and genomic sequencing capacity are overwhelmed, it may not be possible to rapidly identify a new variant.
- But it says “it is almost certain that the peak in deaths will be well below the levels seen in January 2021 due to the impact of vaccination (assuming that no new dominant variant emerges).”
- And it defends the decision to go ahead with opening up on 19 July. It says:
Delaying step 4 by four weeks from 21st June has allowed many more vaccinations to be administered and moved the end of restrictions to a time point close to the school holidays, when transmission is expected to be lower. Although a further delay to step 4 could have some additional positive impact by allowing more people to be vaccinated, the effect of this would be much smaller than the effect of the current delay and it would push the wave further towards the autumn and winter.
- But it says that after 19 July it is important for changes to behaviour to be gradual. It says:
The peak of the resurgence will however be much lower if the return to pre-pandemic behaviours is gradual, irrespective of legislative decisions (ie any changes happen over several months) than if it is rapid, and if more measures to reduce transmission are maintained (high confidence). If the aim is to prevent the NHS being under pressure, the priority should be to avoid a very rapid return to pre-pandemic behaviour which could lead to a peak in hospitalisations similar to (or possibly even higher than) previous peaks. The mechanism by which this gradual change to more mixing is achieved is much less important than the fact it is gradual.
- And it says people should carry on working from home and wearing masks.
- But it also says it is uncertain what will happen after 19 July and “the peak of the next wave cannot be predicted with accuracy”.
- It identifies four causes of uncertainty.
Key uncertainties are changes in behaviours (which may be different in different groups) and in particular how quickly they return to pre-pandemic levels; vaccine effectiveness (data are continuing to emerge, and the best data currently available have informed the modelling); and vaccine uptake. It is important to note that even small changes in these assumptions (eg a 92% uptake rather than a 96% uptake, or small changes in how people behave after step 4 is taken) have significant effects on modelled outcomes.
Updated
Boris Johnson's press conference
Boris Johnson is about to start his press conference.
He will be with Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance, its chief scientific adviser.
Updated
Javid confirms that, if Covid spike worse than expected, restrictions could return
Earlier Jeremy Hunt (Con), chair of the health committee, asked Sajid Javid if he accepted that there were, in Donald Rumsfeld’s words, “unknown unknowns” and “known unknowns” facing the country. And he asked Javid to confirm that he would “not hesitate to take decisive action” if the data got worse than anticipated, “not just to save lives, but to head off the need for a further lockdown”.
Javid said he would. He told Hunt:
I’m very happy to give that assurance ....
There is still uncertainty for us, for countries across the world, in dealing with this pandemic, and I’m very pleased to assure [Hunt] that if that risk matrix changes ... we will not hesitate to take the appropriate action.
Updated
This is from Alastair McLellan, editor of the Health Service Journal.
BREAKING: The number of covid+ patients in English hospitals has risen 48% in the last week to 2798. This is a rate of increase not equalled for NINE months!
— Alastair McLellan (@HSJEditor) July 12, 2021
Alistair Carmichael (Lib Dem) points out that the announcement today says firms and large events will be encouraged to use Covid-status certification. Previously the government implied it did not favour the idea. What will happen to firms that do not use this system, he asks?
Javid says industry figures have welcomed the news that they will be able to do this using guidance, not having to follow regulations.
Updated
Greg Clark (Con), chair of the science committee, asks when the government will release the results of the scheme allowing people to use daily testing as an alternative to isolation.
Javid says he has not seen the final results yet. Some results are starting to come in. He will publish more data as soon as he can.
Steve Brine (Con), a former health minister, asks when Javid will be able to produce figures differentiating between people admitted to hospital for Covid and people admitted to hospital with Covid. (See 4.14pm.) He mentions a constituent who went into hospital to have a baby, but who found when she was tested she was positive.
Javid says he hopes to get better data as quickly as possible.
Javid accepts claim Covid hospital admission data potentially overstates scale of problem
Mark Harper, the chair of the Covid Recovery Group, which represents lockdown-sceptic Tories, says hospital admission data is misleading because it included people testing positive for Covid, even if that is not why they were admitted to hospital. Policy should not be determined by “dodgy data”, he says.
Javid says Harper is making a “very good point”. He says he has asked for advice on whether the way the data is collected can change.
Munira Wilson (Lib Dem) asks what guidance will be issued to pregnant women and the vulnerable.
Javid says this keep is at the front of his mind.
Where possible, vulnerable people should get vaccinated. But it is not possible for everyone, he says.
He also says the guidance will be issued today.
Philippa Whitford (SNP) says if new cases rise to 100,000 a day, as Javid suggested last week, there could be 3,000 hospital admissions a day.
And she asks why the government does not keep mask-wearing compulsory in indoor spaces and on public transport, given that this would not come with any economic cost.
Javid says hospitalisations will rise. But they will be far, far lower than before. And treatments are more effective, he says.
On masks, he says clear guidance will be issued.
Javid says he has no plans to charge for lateral flow tests
Javid is still replying to Ashworth.
He says government funding has gone on air ventilation units.
And it has spent a lot of money on support for people who have to isolate, he says. He says that is kept under review.
And on charging for lateral flow tests, he says he does not know why Ashworth thinks that is government policy. Javid says there are no plans for that.
Javid refuses to say how high hospitalisations might go after 19 July
Javid is replying to Ashworth.
On hospitalisations, he says case numbers are going up, and hospital cases will go up. But he says he does not think the pressure on the NHS will be unsustainable.
He does not put a figure on how high hospitalisations might go.
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, asks the government to consider more investment in better ventilation for buildings, and to improve support for those having to isolate.
And he asks if the government still plans to go ahead with charging people for lateral flow tests.
He also asks Javid to say what his estimate is of the impact of opening up on hospitalisations.
Javid confirms 19 July plan to lift Covid restrictions in England
Here is my colleague Heather Stewart’s story about the Javid announcement.
Javid says people being advised to keep wearing masks on public transport, and to return to work gradually, from next Monday
But Javid says the government also has a plan to ensure that step 4 is safe.
He says the plan will be published today. It will:
- Encourage businesses and large events to use Covid-certification in high-risk situations.
- Offer guidance for the extremely clinically vulnerable.
- Involve a review of unlocking in September.
- Urging people to return to work gradually.
- Recommending that people continue to wear masks in indoor settings, like public transport.
'If not now, when?' - Javid defends decision to press on with step 4 next week
Javid confirms England will move to step 4 next week.
To those who ask now, Javid says his response is: “If not now, when?”
He says opening up now, during the summer, offers the best chance for a return to normalcy.
Javid says the fourth test relates to the threat posed by new variants.
He says border controls and genomic sequencing offer protection against this threat.
The second test is impact on hospital cases. And Javid says the vaccination programme has severely weakened the link between cases and hospitalisations.
The third test relates to case numbers.
Case numbers are doing up, he says. The average number of new cases has doubled over the last 11 days.
But vaccinations are making an impact, Javid says. He says only 31% of patients admitted to hospital are over 65, compared with 61% earlier in the pandemic.
He says the government does not think hospitalisations will overwhelm the NHS.
Updated
Javid says he will update MPs on whether England will proceed to step 4 of the roadmap for lifting restrictions from next Monday.
This will take us closer to the normal life we used to have, he says.
He says we all want this to be a one-way journey.
There are four tests. The first is that the vaccination programme is succeeding.
He says more than 80m doses have been given.
Around nine in 10 adults in the UK have Covid antibodies, he says.
He says the government took the tough decision to pause step 4 by four weeks. That has enabled an extra 7m doses to be given in the UK.
Updated
Sajid Javid starts by condemning the racist abuse directed at England players after last night’s match.
Sajid Javid’s statement to MPs
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, is about to make his statement to MPs about the lifting of most remaining Covid restrictions in England next Monday.
In the Commons Priti Patel, the home secretary, is taking questions. She has just condemned the “sickening” abuse England’s football “heroes” faced on social media. She said social media companies had a responsibility to stop this, and she said the government’s online harms bill would address this problem.
Last week, when Boris Johnson announced the plan to go ahead with the removal of most Covid restrictions in England on 19 July, his Downing Street press conference and the statement from Sajid Javid, the health secretary, to MPs were both scheduled for 5pm.
Today it will be different. Javid will make his Commons statement at 3.30pm (the normal time for a Commons statement on a Monday), and Johnson will hold his press conference at 5pm. This will comply with the convention (often ignored) that major government announcements should be made to parliament first.
Commons chamber able to return to 'full capacity' next week, commission decides
The House of Commons chamber will be able to return to full capacity next Monday when social distancing is scrapped across England, the Guardian has learned.
In step with Boris Johnson’s mass relaxation of rules from 19 July, MPs will no longer need to follow the “one metre plus” rule.
When the Covid pandemic began, the familiar scenes of government and opposition politicians packed together on the green benches abruptly ended, with virtual proceedings brought in instead.
The change in arrangements happened to enable the Commons to carry on sitting through lockdown, and has proved beneficial to some MPs who did not want to come on to the Westminster estate for fear of catching or spreading Covid – particularly those who were pregnant, immunosuppressed or carers for a relative or partner.
However, technical hitches have persisted and some backbenchers complain they cannot effectively hold ministers to account when quizzing them through a screen.
The Guardian understands it was decided at a meeting of the House of Commons commission this morning that the chamber should return to normal from next Monday.
However, staff will be told they should only come on to the estate before recess next Thursday if they have a business or wellbeing need.
Updated
Passengers at Heathrow have faced long queues today due to security staff being told to self-isolate, the airport said. As PA Media reports, images posted on social media show long lines of travellers inside terminal 5.
A spokeswoman for the airport said:
Earlier today we experienced some passenger congestion in terminal 5 departures, due to colleagues being instructed to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace.
We have activated additional team members to assist passengers with their journeys and the operation has now returned to normal.
We apologise to our passengers for any inconvenience caused.
This is one of the pictures on Twitter of the scenes at terminal 5.
Total chaos at security @HeathrowAirport @British_Airways T5 this morning. Never seen anything like it #T5 #Heathrow pic.twitter.com/qNVJelo4rv
— Kathryn Wylie (@KTWylie) July 12, 2021
No 10 rejects claims Johnson has played role in promoting the racism he now condemns
At the Downing Street lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesman was asked about the multiple claims this morning that Boris Johnson’s failure to fully support the England team over taking the knee was linked to some people feeling free to direct racist abuse at some players last night.
The spokesman was asked specifically about this clip from Gary Neville, the football pundit and former coach and player.
"It starts at the very top."
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 12, 2021
Former footballer @GNev2 says has called on Boris Johnson to take a tougher stance on racism in football after some England players received abuse online following last night's clash with Italy.#Euro2020: https://t.co/KUBv2VLGWI pic.twitter.com/VoJPtslaaP
The spokesman said he utterly rejected the claim that Johnson has promoted racism. The spokesman said Johnson had set out this morning his response to the racist abuse directed at England players. (See 10.31am.) The spokesman also insisted that it was not accurate to say Johnson had said it was OK for people to boo the players as they took the knee. On 11 June Johnson said he wanted everyone to cheer the team, the spokesman said.
(This is correct, although the 11 June line only came after a backlash against No 10’s more equivocal line earlier in the week.)
And asked about Labour’s claim that Johnson complaining about racism was like an arsonist complaining about a fire he started (see 12.50am), the spokesman said:
Again I’d reject that. The prime minister made clear he wanted people to be cheering the team not booing them before England played their first match, and you’ve seen his comments this morning condemning the horrible comments made on social media.
Asked about Sayeedi Warsi’s comments making the same point (see 1.57pm), the spokesman said:
The prime minister is explicit in his condemnation of any racial abuse in any circumstances and obviously [of] the comments made last night. He made that very, very clear this morning.
Updated
Sayeeda Warsi, the former Conservative party chair, has joined the Labour party (see 12.50pm) and the progressive Twitter commentariat (see 1.31pm) in suggesting the government has played a role in legitimising racism.
Priti -we as govt, as @Conservatives need to think about our role in feeding this culture in our country
— Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) July 12, 2021
If we “whistle” & the”dog” reacts we cant be shocked if it barks &bites
It’s time to stop the culture wars that are feeding division
Dog whistles win votes but destroy nations https://t.co/wXwKKJH2eP
As a proud centre right politician, as a proud part of a diverse vibrant nation that produced a football team that spoke to and represented England in all its modern diverse glory -it shames me that in 2021 some in politics are still playing fast & loose with issues of race 🛑 https://t.co/A5vk768q8H
— Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) July 12, 2021
Updated
Sue Gray’s appearance before the public administration and constitutional affairs committee has been blocked by the Cabinet Office.
The senior Cabinet Office official, who used to be in charge of overseeing propriety and ethics in government and who oversaw Lex Greensill’s hiring as an government adviser, had been due to be questioned tomorrow by the committee on the financier’s appointment and on the “double-hatting” of former senior civil servant Bill Crothers.
Crothers simultaneously held positions as the Cabinet Office’s chief commercial officer and at Lex Greensill’s firm, Greensill Finance.
William Wragg (Con), the committee chair, said:
Sue Gray’s office had accepted our approach to have her appear to answer important questions surrounding Lex Greensill’s position at the heart of government. Regrettably, the rug has been pulled from under us by the Cabinet Office.
Although [Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister] offered to appear in her place, the committee summoned Ms Gray precisely because she had first-hand knowledge of Greensill’s appointment and has been name-checked by several witnesses to our inquiry. Sue Gray’s evidence would have made an important contribution to our inquiry in a way that Mr Gove’s clearly would not.
Updated
The Labour claim that it is hypocritical for Boris Johnson to condemn the racist abuse directed at some England players when he refused initially to criticise the fans who booed them for taking the knee (see 12.50am) is widely shared today on progressive Twitter. Here are some comments on this from journalists and commentators.
From Sathnam Sanghera, the Times columnist and author of the acclaimed Empireland
I'm sorry but when you look at the racist abuse faced by black #eng players & see watermelon emojis alongside monkey/banana emojis, & you remember our PM referring to ‘watermelon smiles’ of Africans, and writing about ‘flag-waving piccaninnies’, you know he's part of the problem
— Sathnam Sanghera (@Sathnam) July 12, 2021
I know this is something we're meant to overlook as hilarious Boris banter, but he thought this crap and actually wrote it down. Most of us manage decades in journalism without being massive racists? And I don't remember an apology.
— Sathnam Sanghera (@Sathnam) July 12, 2021
From my colleague George Monbiot
As you've spent years blowing the racist dog-whistle, Mr Johnson, don't act all surprised when the dogs start barking.
— George Monbiot (@GeorgeMonbiot) July 12, 2021
From the Mirror’s Darren Lewis
Good to see the widespread support for Saka, Rashford and Sancho. If we really want to follow that up as media outlets, let's stop using Boris Johnson's condemnation without including the proper context of his own racist slurs that empower the people targeting young black men.
— Darren Lewis (@MirrorDarren) July 12, 2021
From Ayesha Hazarika, the Evening Standard columnist and former Labour aide
Worth remembering that government sources were just this weekend briefing hard against a senior journalist & trying to block her getting a job at the BBC. Her “crime”? Standing up for a young black colleague. The anti-racism narrative needs some work guys.
— Ayesha Hazarika (@ayeshahazarika) July 12, 2021
From Femi Oluwole, the pro-EU campaigner and commentator
Tories like Johnson and Patel repeatedly refused to #SayNoToRacism when people were booing taking a knee, and now they're acting as if their stance didn't encourage racism in football. pic.twitter.com/m6JSmYGHIw
— Femi (@Femi_Sorry) July 12, 2021
From my colleague Owen Jones
Boris Johnson and his sidekicks refused to condemn the booing of England's players because they knew the racists responsible are an important part of their support base.
— Owen Jones 🌹 (@OwenJones84) July 12, 2021
In doing so, they legitimised today's racist avalanche - and underlined why taking the knee was so important.
Scientists say they have detected irregularities in the blood of long Covid patients that could one day pave the way for a test for the condition, the BBC’s Panaroma reports. There is more detail in their story here, and even more on BBC One tonight.
Scientists say they have detected irregularities in the blood of long Covid patients that could one day pave the way for a test for the condition
— Panorama 🌐 (@BBCPanorama) July 12, 2021
More on #BBCPanorama tonight at 7:35pm on @BBCOne or afterwards on @BBCiPlayerhttps://t.co/lZICCQEkVY
Flu jab may reduce severe effects of Covid, suggests study
People who are vaccinated against influenza may be partly protected against some of the severe effects of coronavirus, and be less likely to need emergency care, according to a major study. My colleague Ian Sample has the story here.
Starmer links racism directed at England players to PM's failure to condemn fans who booed them taking the knee
Sir Keir Starmer has linked the racist abuse directed at some England players on social media following last night’s Euro 2020 final to the prime minister’s failure to condemn those who booed the players for taking the knee at the start of the tournament. He is suggesting that if Boris Johnson had not been silent on this matter a few weeks ago, the racists might have felt more inhibited about spreading their abuse now.
Commenting on the abuse, Starmer said:
It’s appalling. It’s absolutely appalling and it has to be called out in the strongest possible terms and condemned.
He went on:
This is about leadership, and I’m afraid the prime minister has failed the test of leadership because, whatever he says today about racism, he had a simple choice at the beginning of this tournament in relation to the booing of those who were taking the knee.
The prime minister failed to call that out and the actions and inactions of leaders have consequences, so I’m afraid the prime minister’s words today ring hollow.
"Whatever he says today about racism, he had a simple choice at the beginning of this tournament in relation to the booing of those that were taking the knee"
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) July 12, 2021
Labour leader Keir Starmer says Prime Minister Boris Johnson "failed to call that out"https://t.co/zrfY96nWBs pic.twitter.com/QxerXSkdjE
Angela Rayner, Stamer’s deputy, made a similar argument on Twitter earlier.
Let me be clear. The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary gave license to the racists who booed the England players and are now racially abusing England players.@BorisJohnson and @pritipatel are like arsonists complaining about a fire they poured petrol on. Total hypocrites.
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) July 12, 2021
At the start of the tournament Downing Street refused to condemn England fans booing the team for taking the knee at the start of matches. But a few days later, partly in response to a backlash over its initial stance, No 10 did say Johnson wanted people to cheer the players, not boo them.
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Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the new DUP leader, has condemned the burning of Irish tricolour flags on a number of “Eleventh Night” bonfires in Northern Ireland. Donaldson told the BBC:
I don’t want to see election posters or flags burnt on bonfires. I think we can celebrate our culture and our tradition in a respectful way.
Respect is a two-way street; if you want to gain respect for your traditions and culture you’ve got to show respect for the traditions, culture and symbols of other communities.
Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA
Donaldson also said work needed to continue to address safety issues around the size of some of the bonfires. He said:
I think we need to continue working with those who organise bonfires to look at safety issues and to look at the height of bonfires, where they are located. In the end, public safety is absolutely paramount when it comes to this.
In Northern Ireland bonfires are lit in unionist areas on 11 July to mark the beginning of the celebrations to commemorate “the Twelfth” (12 July), which marks the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, in which the the protestant William of Orange defeated the catholic King James II.
The Conservative MP Simon Hoare - perhaps prompted by Labour’s challenge? (see 11.28am) - has criticised his fellow Tory Natalie Elphicke for her jibe about Marcus Rashford. (See 11.24am.)
Would it be ungenerous? Yes. Unwarranted? Yes. Wrong? Yes. https://t.co/TpkkMNYQNJ
— Simon Hoare MP (@Simon4NDorset) July 12, 2021
The white supremacist group The Base is to be banned in the UK, Priti Patel, the home secretary, has announced.
The Base is a predominantly US-based militant white supremacists organisation that wants to establish a white ethno-state. In early 2020, the Guardian unmasked its leader as US-born Rinaldo Nazzaro.
In the states, members of the group stand accused of federal hate crimes, murder plots and firearms offences, and have harboured international fugitives in recent months.
A proposal to proscribe the group will now be debated and, subject to approval, come into force later this week. This would make it a criminal offence to be a member of or invite support for the group, with those found guilty facing up to 14 years in prison since maximum sentences were increased under the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021.
The Base would become the fifth extreme rightwing terrorist group to be proscribed in the UK, and one of three to be banned in the last year.
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Labour condemns Tory MPs for failing to call out Natalie Elphicke's anti-Rashford jibe
Natalie Elphicke’s apology (see 11.24am) coincided with Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, saying that Conservative MPs who saw Elphicke’s message last night and failed to call it out were also at fault. In a statement Rayner said:
While the country was commiserating our great team, Tory MPs were sneering at an inspirational player who stepped up to feed hungry kids when they voted to leave them without food.
Whether it’s their failure to support the vulnerable, or booing our boys after they have done our whole country proud, the nasty party is back.
The question every Conservative MP needs to answer is – did they call out these appalling comments? And after his failure to support our players in their stance against racism, Boris Johnson must publicly condemn these disgraceful messages. Whose side is he on, the lion hearts on the pitch or the Tory MPs who attack them.
Tory MP apologises for mocking Marcus Rashford's food poverty campaigning in jibe about penalty miss
The Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke has apologised after suggesting that Marcus Rashford should have spent more time “perfecting his game” than “playing politics”.
As PA Media reports, Elphicke made the comment in a WhatsApp message to fellow Tory MPs after the footballer missed a penalty in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday night. Referring to Rashford’s successful campaigns to get to extend free school meal provision for children from poor families, which twice led to government U-turns, and Rashford’s miss in the penalty shoot-out at the end of the Euro 2020 final, Elphicke said:
They lost - would it be ungenerous to suggest Rashford should have spent more time perfecting his game and less time playing politics.
Today, after the message was reported by GB News, Elphicke apologised. She said:
I applaud the England team who gave their all in Euro 2020.
Last night I shared the frustration and heartbreak of millions of other England fans.
I regret messaging privately a rash reaction about Marcus Rashford’s missed penalty and apologise to him for any suggestion that he is not fully focused on his football.
Onwards to the World Cup and I look forward to Marcus Rashford’s contribution at that time.
It is not just scientists like Mike Tildesley (see 9.44am) who have been saying that government messaging on face masks over the last week has been confusing. As Lucy Fisher and Danielle Sheridan report in the Daily Telegraph (paywall), lockdown-sceptic Conservative MPs have also been critical of what they see as the government moving away from its previous line that masks could go in England after 19 July.
The Telegraph quotes Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader as saying the new focus on guidance risks “watering things down”. And it quotes Steve Baker, deputy chair of the anti-lockdown Covid Recovery Group, as saying there has been a “shift in policy” that is “torturing the nation”. Baker added: “It’s not fair snatching away people’s hope, it’s psychologically, profoundly destructive.”
Baker has also retweeted a Telegraph editorial saying that the new emphasis on guidance stressing the importance of wearing masks in some circumstances “sounds like the rule will effectively stay in place just without legal weight, which is hopelessly confusing and a recipe for confrontation”.
'Britain needs consistency and clarity if it is ever to return to normal with confidence' https://t.co/Q51SUZS3e5
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 12, 2021
This blog is mostly a football-free zone, but it’s important to note that politicians from the prime minister down have been on Twitter this morning condemning the racist abuse some of the England team have suffered on social media since last night’s Euro 2020 final.
Boris Johnson said the abuse was appalling.
This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 12, 2021
Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.
Priti Patel, the home secretary, said she was disgusted.
I am disgusted that @England players who have given so much for our country this summer have been subject to vile racist abuse on social media.
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) July 12, 2021
It has no place in our country and I back the police to hold those responsible accountable.
And Sir Keir Starmer said those posting these messages were a disgrace.
The entire England team have brought us together and given us memories that will last a life time.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) July 12, 2021
They represent the best of us.
Anyone racially abusing them is a disgrace and doesn’t represent us at all. More can and must be done to stop online abuse.
Of course, Johnson and Patel have not always been so keen to show solidarity with the England team on race matters. At the start of the tournament Downing Street refused to condemn England fans booing the team for taking the knee at the start of matches. And Patel said that she did not approve of “gesture politics” like taking the knee, and that fans had a right to boo if they wanted.
For more coverage of this, do read my colleague Simon Burnton’s Euro 2020 live blog.
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Prof Peter Openshaw, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), one of the science bodies advising government, told the Today programme this morning it would be better if the government were to maintain the law making face coverings compulsory in England in some places after 19 July. He explained:
I think it is very difficult to say that it is up to people to choose whether to wear face masks when it is not only protecting yourself but also protecting other people.
It’s so much more straightforward to try to get face masks used in dangerous situations if there is some kind of compulsion behind it.
JCVI expert expresses doubt about plan to cut waiting time for second Covid jab
Yesterday the Sunday Times (paywall) reported that ministers want to halve, from eight weeks to four weeks, the time people have to wait for their second dose of vaccine. They have asked the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to look at the idea because they believe it could protect more people as cases rise.
But this morning Prof Adam Finn, a member of the JCVI, expressed reservations about the idea. He told the Today programme that, although in some respects people might benefit from getting a second dose early, in other respects they might lose out. He said:
There is of course an advantage in giving the second dose early, in the current circumstances with all the cases that we are seeing because you get a further boost, but the downside to that is the size of that boost is smaller and probably that will mean that the duration of protection you get from that second dose will be shorter.
So there’s a sweet spot, and at the moment the advice we have given is we should not reduce the interval less than eight weeks.
He also urged ministers to be “pretty careful” before trying a chance like this. He said:
It is conceivable that you could get to a situation where there are so many cases that there starts to be a pay-off by giving that second dose earlier. But on the other hand vaccination is not really a very good tool for dealing with fire in the house once the fire is really going, it’s much better as a way of stopping the house from being inflammable.
Trying now to deal with the problem we have got with vaccination is really very difficult because it takes time to give those doses and after you have given them it takes time for them to take effect.
So all in all I think we would need to be pretty careful about trying to change the approach right now in the middle of this third wave.
Minister suggests rail firms could enforce mask wearing after 19 July in England
Good morning. Boris Johnson is holding a press conference this afternoon where he is expected to confirm that England will go ahead with the removal for most remaining Covid restrictions next Monday (on 19 July). It will be the formal rubber-stamping of a decision effectively taken and announced last week. But over the last seven days ministers have become increasingly alarmed by the rise in coronavirus cases and, as Peter Walker and Ian Sample report in their overnight story, Johnson will adopt a rather different tone, putting even more stress on the need for caution.
This may be most evident in what Johnson has to say about the importance of wearing face coverings, particularly on public transport. Last week, in his press conference statement, Johnson said the government wanted to stop forcing people to obey rules on these matters; instead it would rely on people to exercise their judgment, although he said it would offer guidance. The government is not performing a U-turn, and won’t keep face coverings mandatory, but does seem to be tilting back in that direction. In interviews this morning Edward Argar, the health minister, stressed that the advice issued by the government would amount to “strong guidance”. And he implied that ministers would be happy for rail companies to insist on passengers wearing masks. He told the Today programme:
Train companies may well look, as conditions of carriage, whether they want to impose additional guidance or additional restrictions. But, at a governmental level, what we’ll be looking to do is see the legal requirements fall away, but for guidance, strong guidance and cautious guidance, to be in place for people to exercise their common sense.
Only last week Johnson told the Downing Street press conference, that while he would wear a mask after 19 July on a crowded train, he would not if it were empty, and other ministers have gone even further in downplaying the need to wear a mask. This morning Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of the government’s Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M), said the mixed messages were confusing for the public. He said:
Some ministers have come out and said they’ll be very happy not to wear their face masks and then we’ve had others, even in the last couple of days, saying ‘we would still advise you to wear them in these settings’.
I think it’s quite confusing actually for people to know what the right thing to do is. I think all that we can do is take a sort of appropriate approach where we look at the situation and sort of weigh up the risk ourselves, and I hope that enough people do that going forward that we don’t see a big surge.
Here is the agenda for the day.
12.30pm: Eluned Morgan, the Welsh government’s health minister, and Dr Gillian Richardson, deputy chief medical officer for Wales, hold a press conference.
1pm: Downing Street holds its daily lobby briefing.
2.30pm: Priti Patel, the home secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
5pm: Boris Johnson is expected to hold a press conference where he will confirm that most remaining Covid restrictions will be lifted in England from 19 July. At the same time Sajid Javid, the health secretary, is expected to make the same announcement in the Commons.
Politics Live has been a mix of Covid and non-Covid news recently and that will probably be the case today. For more coronavirus developments, do follow our global Covid live blog.
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