Top story: Children and the retired could face difficulties
Hello, Warren Murray bringing you the topics that need tackling this morning.
The group UK in a Changing Europe is warning that hundreds of thousands of EU citizens’ right to rent a home, work or continue their retirement in the UK could be at risk if they do not apply to stay by 30 June. The group also says some who have applied but are still awaiting a Home Office decision – including children and the retired – could face difficulties with their status when they try to access the NHS or travel. Latest official statistics show 320,000 people are still awaiting a decision on their status.
Catherine Barnard from UK in a Changing Europe said: “In order to apply for settled or pre-settled status all you needed to be was resident in the country before 31 December [2020]. But in order to be protected after 30 June, if you have not got the status, you have to be exercising EU treaty rights which means you have to be in work, self-employed, a student or a person of independent means.” This could cause difficulty for people who had not applied such as children, the retired or an EU citizen’s spouse from a non-EU country. Older adults who have been in the country for decades also may not understand that the rules apply to them, said Barnard.
The future borders and immigration minister, Kevin Foster, urged those who have not applied to do so by 30 June, promising that rights would be protected for those in the backlog. “We have already confirmed that someone who has applied to the EU settlement scheme by the 30 June deadline, but has not had a decision by then, will have their rights protected until their application is decided,” he said.
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Covid hope from drug mix – Oxford researchers hope a new drug combination might save the lives of Covid patients in hospital who fail to produce antibodies to the virus. Without treatment, 30% of these patients die, compared with 15% among those who develop their own immune response. The Regeneron mix of two laboratory-made monoclonal antibodies, casirivimab and imdevimab, binds to the coronavirus spike protein, blocking the virus from getting into cells. In a trial, using the drug mix saved an additional six lives in every 100 patients. Separately, ministers are to announce that Covid vaccinations will become mandatory for care home staff. Ministers are also considering extending the requirement to all NHS staff, setting up a battle with staff and potentially leading to action against the government under European human rights law. More coronavirus developments at our live blog.
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Midweek catch-up
> Most of the public support a total ban on gambling adverts while three-quarters would like restrictions tightened, according to a poll for the Royal Society for Public Health. It is urging the government to restrict such advertising on TV, radio and online.
> The socialist candidate Pedro Castillo has claimed victory in Peru’s presidential election after a final count put him 44,058 votes ahead of rightwing rival Keiko Fujimori, who has alleged fraud and not conceded. The result was yet to be certified.
> Scotland Yard has said it will review allegations that Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked, groomed and abused women and girls in the UK. The former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein is awaiting trial on the US on charges including sex trafficking for Epstein.
> A serious disease known as severe perkinsea infection (SPI) that kills tadpoles before they become frogs has found its way into captive UK populations, scientists have warned. It was probably carried in on European tree frogs sold as pets. Experts say they must be kept only indoors to try to stop SPI spreading into native frogs.
> Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden in Geneva are due to meet in Geneva today.
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Inquiry brands Met ‘corrupt’ – The Metropolitan police have been described as “institutionally corrupt” and the force’s commissioner, Cressida Dick, censured for obstruction by an independent inquiry into the 1987 murder of Daniel Morgan. The private detective was found dead outside the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south London, with an axe embedded in his head. Five Met investigations failed to yield a conviction, and concerns about police wrongdoing, and links between corrupt officers and sections of the tabloid media, led to the inquiry.
In handing down its findings the panel has accused the force of placing concerns about its reputation above properly confronting corruption. The panel chair, Lady O’Loan, said the Met owed the Morgan family and the public an apology for decades of misleading statements about the extent and role of corruption and foot-dragging. The Met rejected the key findings and dismissed a call for Dick to consider stepping down. The home secretary and the London mayor let it be known she still enjoyed their “full confidence”.
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Israeli bombs answer fire balloons – Israel has launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, in what the military said was a response to incendiary balloons coming over from Palestinian territory and starting fires. It is the first bombing raid since a truce ended 11 days of cross-border fighting last month. The flare-up followed a march in East Jerusalem on Tuesday by Jewish nationalists that provoked Palestinian protests and drew threats of action by Gaza’s ruling Hamas militancy.
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Tories ‘bent on culture war’ – Boris Johnson’s former race adviser Samuel Kasumu has warned of another Stephen Lawrence or Jo Cox tragedy if members of the government continue to inflame “culture wars”. Speaking after he resigned two months ago, Kasumu said: “There are some people in the government who feel like the right way to win is to pick a fight on the culture war and to exploit division.” He described Boris Johnson as liberally minded, saying there was a disconnect between the man and what people have coined as “Johnsonism”. “He was always very supportive about things that I wanted to do. And I would actually go further and say that he was often more keen for me to go further, to be even more ambitious.”
Today in Focus podcast: Eight aligned against Netanyahu
Israel’s longest-serving PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been ousted from office by a coalition of eight disparate parties. The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, Oliver Holmes, tells Rachel Humphreys the new government is far from stable; while Dahlia Scheindlin says it may not produce a significant change of course on the biggest issues facing the country, or signal Netanyahu’s final act.
Lunchtime read: Secret lives of spooky screen children
Eerie kids have been a staple of horror films for decades. But what is it like to be forever known for playing a tiny werewolf, misfit or murderer?
Sport
Uefa has confirmed that “several people” are being treated in the hospital for injuries caused by a protester who parachuted into the stadium before France’s victory over Germany in their Euro 2020 game. Benjamin Pavard admitted losing consciousness for “10 t0 15 seconds” after the France defender was involved in a collision during the match in Munich. Cristiano Ronaldo became the Euros’ all-time top scorer as his double capped a late, hard-earned 3-0 win for Portugal against Hungary.
Andy Murray shed tears after beating Benoît Paire at Queen’s Club, only his second ATP win since August. England Women have been rebuffed in their request to play on a fresh wicket in their Test match against India on Wednesday and will instead have to compete on a pitch used for a men’s game last week. Fans hoping to see golf’s biggest feud move from Twitter to the tee box will be disappointed after Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau were drawn in separate groups for the opening two rounds of this week’s US Open. And South African teams will be able to take part in the European Champions Cup as early as next year after the launch of the United Rugby Championship in place of the Pro14.
Business
Cristiano Ronaldo had an unexpected impact on the stock market after the Portugal captain removed two Coca-Cola bottles during a Euro2020 press conference in Budapest, prompting a $4bn fall in the share price of the drinks giant. The drop contributed to an overall slippage of prices in New York yesterday and it looks like the FTSE100 will lose about 0.8% this morning when it opens. The pound is flat at $1.408 and €1.161.
The papers
“Covid vaccinations to be made mandatory for care home staff” is our Guardian print edition splash this morning. The Times leads on that story as well. “Revealed: mental health crisis as NHS patients are turned away” is the top story in the i.
“No green light to start vaccinating children” – that’s the Telegraph, but the Metro looks on the upbeat side: “Now over-18s grab jabs.” Every adult in England will be able to book their first Covid-19 vaccination from the end of this week, the head of the NHS has disclosed. “Lifesaving kit should be there for everyone” – the Mirror talks to Fabrice Muamba who owes his life to a defibrillator after he had a heart attack on the football pitch, like Christian Eriksen did on the weekend.
“Rotten to the core”, the Mail says of the Met as it reports on the findings of the Daniel Morgan inquiry. The Express has “Trade deal unleashes new global Britain”, about the zero-tariff agreement between the UK and Australia. “Ab drab” – Jennifer Saunders is quoted by the Sun as saying she couldn’t have made Absolutely Fabulous in what the paper calls “today’s woke era”. And the Financial Times leads with “Chancellor faces £4bn bill to keep Tories’ triple lock pension pledge”.
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