Top story: Teachers concerned over ‘big bang’ reopening
Hello, Warren Murray here, and these are the important bits.
Secondaries in England are to be funded to run summer schools for pupils as part of the government’s education recovery plans. New measures include £200m to expand a national tutoring programme and a £300m “recovery premium” to help schools support the most disadvantaged children. Summer schools will be targeted initially at 11-year-olds moving up to secondary school next September. A further £18m has been found to support language development in early years settings. Natalie Perera from the Education Policy Institute, said: “While any additional support for schools is welcome, the government’s package announced today is not enough to support pupils to catch up on their learning and to provide wellbeing activities for pupils of all ages.” Teachers are worried about the 8 March “big bang” reopening in England as they await vaccination.
Scotland’s schools are expected to fully reopen in early April, with some household mixing allowed, Nicola Sturgeon has said. In a statement to Holyrood, the first minister said the stay-at-home rule would be enforced at least until 5 April. She did not expect non-essential shops, or outdoor bars and restaurants, would reopen until late April when the government expected to move to regional or local lockdown levels.
The number of Covid vaccines administered in the UK has fallen by over a third in the last week as ministers warn of a short-term dip in supply, coupled with stockpiling to ensure people get second doses within 12 weeks as recommended. Meanwhile AstraZeneca has told the European Union it expects to deliver less than half the Covid-19 vaccines it was contracted to supply in the second quarter, an EU official has told the Reuters news agency. The WHO has reported a 20% drop in global coronavirus deaths since last week – keep up with the latest developments at our live blog.
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Leg surgery for Woods after crash – Tiger Woods has had surgery after his leg was smashed in a car accident, with a Los Angeles police officer saying the golfer is “very fortunate” to have survived. Carlos Gonzalez, the first LA county deputy to respond to the scene, said Woods was “calm and lucid” despite being trapped inside his vehicle. He was removed by firefighters from the vehicle which had “major damage”.
Woods was transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center by ambulance and underwent surgery for extensive surgery to multiple leg fractures. Photos of the crash site showed Woods’s badly damaged SUV at the bottom of an embankment in hilly terrain. Woods had been driving a 2021 Genesis GV80 when he drove over a centre median into southbound lanes, struck a tree and rolled the vehicle several times, said Alex Villanueva, the Los Angeles county sheriff.
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Midweek catch-up
> In a Guardian interview David Cameron has told Boris Johnson to lead a “muscular” reshaping of the economy to bring about a green recovery from the coronavirus crisis. Cameron said the government must show climate leadership ahead of the Cop26 summit this November in Glasgow.
> Testifying in the first congressional hearing on the US Capitol attack, the police chief who resigned over the riot has said the pro-Trump mob that stormed the building “came prepared for war”.
> The French actor Gérard Depardieu has been charged with rape and sexual assault, allegedly committed in 2018 against an actor in her 20s, a judicial source has told the Agence France-Presse news agency. His lawyer, Hervé Temime, said the actor “completely rejects the accusations”.
> MPs and parliamentary staff unions have criticised academics who sent them emails posing as fictitious constituents as part of a research project. Labour MP Navendu Mishra said public servants having their time wasted was “disgraceful”.
> Clear skies and sunshine are forecast in parts of the UK, with highs of up to 17C in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire today, and up to 16C in south-east and central England. But Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of north Wales and north-west England are being warned to expect heavy rain.
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‘Extremists operate with impunity’ – Massive gaps in UK law allow terrorism to be glorified and hatred to be spread, with a major crackdown needed, an official report says. The Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE) is calling for new laws that would ban groups accused of spreading hate. Governments since 2005 have tried to toughen the UK’s stance against extremism but efforts have failed because of concerns about criminalising dissent, free speech and unpopular opinions. The report says that under current law, praising Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden or far-right murderers like Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant, or spreading hateful material to vilify a racial or religious group, was legal as long as the material did not directly encourage violence. “Current legal boundaries allow extremists to operate with impunity. The current situation is simply untenable,” said Sir Mark Rowley, the former terrorism police chief who co-authored the report. The home secretary, Priti Patel, has been briefed on the report and is studying its recommendations.
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Londoners net high-worth status – London has overtaken New York as home to the world’s highest concentration of dollar millionaires. Nearly 875,000 Londoners, or one in 10, have assets worth more than £720,000, says an annual study by the property consultants Knight Frank. The data highlights the yawning inequality gap in London where more than 2.5 million (or 28%) of people are classed as “living in poverty” according to government figures that also show 800,000 – or 39% – of the capital’s children are living in poverty. Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s global head of research, said high property prices had tipped many owners into the category of “high net worth individual” (HNWI). “Ironically, the high cost of housing in London is the main driver for categorising so many households as being wealthy.”
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‘No closer friend than Canada’ – Justin Trudeau has praised Joe Biden for rejoining the Paris climate accord, saying: “US leadership has been sorely missed over the past years.” The Canadian prime minister added: “And I have to say as we were preparing the joint rollout of the communique on this, it’s nice when the Americans are not pulling out all the references to climate change and instead adding them in.” The virtual meeting was Biden’s first with a foreign counterpart since taking office. Biden returned Trudeau’s compliments, saying: “The United States has no closer friend, no closer friend, than Canada.” The two leaders said they planned to work closely together to beat the pandemic and combat climate change, with a goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Today in Focus podcast: Science of lifting lockdown
Nicola Davis runs through the science behind the government’s decision to begin lifting lockdown restrictions, a four-stage plan that starts with the reopening of schools and could see the return of nightclubs on 21 June.
Lunchtime read: Oh, this old thing?
Orsola de Castro is a fashion designer who became a reuse revolutionary. Now she has written a book to help people care for their clothes – and the planet. From setting up moth decoys to hiding your trousers, here is how to keep your clothes forever.
Sport
Virat Kohli has called on a bumper crowd in Ahmedabad to make life difficult for England as India’s firebrand captain heads into Wednesday’s crucial day-night third Test seemingly brimming with confidence. Thomas Tuchel praised an outstanding team effort after Chelsea took control of their Champions League tie against Atlético Madrid thanks to a stunning away goal from Olivier Giroud. England’s No 8 Billy Vunipola has said he hopes to rekindle his form against Wales in the Six Nations on Saturday after publicly describing his form as “rubbish”. Wales expect England to target their Gloucester wing Louis Rees-Zammit, whose three tries in the opening two rounds helped them to victory, when the sides meet in Cardiff. A final decision on this summer’s British & Irish Lions tour will be taken by the end of March with officials increasingly keen to host it on home soil in front of live audiences.
Neil Lennon’s second tenure as the Celtic manager is to end imminently, with Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at Ross County likely to prove his last match in charge. Premier League clubs are to vote on whether to allow fans back for the final day of the season with concerns that home teams could have a significant advantage in the battle for European places and the relegation fight. Second-half goals from Patrick Bamford, Stuart Dallas and the excellent Raphinha in a 3-0 victory for Leeds extended Southampton’s winless run. And MTK Global, the boxing management company founded by the alleged Irish gangster Daniel Kinahan, has announced it is moving into football.
Business
The pound reached its highest point in three years overnight when it touched $1.421 before falling back slightly to $1.416. It could soon pass where it was just before the Brexit referendum sent it plunging in 2016. Sterling is buying €1.165 as part of a wider move upwards for riskier currencies like the pound against safe havens such as the greenback and euro. Women now hold more than a third of directorships at Britain’s 350 top companies after representation rose 50% in the past five years. It means the 33% target set by the government-backed Hampton-Alexander review into female representation in the boardroom has been reached. The actual FTSE 100 index looks set to shed around 0.25% this morning.
The papers
“Call for jabs at home to stop Covid becoming a ‘disease of the poor’” – that’s our Guardian front page lead today. The Runnymede Trust thinktank says such urgent practical solutions as door-to-door vaccination drives are needed to address inequalities of access to vaccines and low uptake in some communities. Tiger Woods’ car crash and the jailing of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s killer in Malta also feature.
Among others the Metro’s splash headline stands out: “Passport to normal life”. The government may bring in vaccine status certificates for work, travel and getting into pubs. Michael Gove is in charge of figuring out how it would work. “Stampede for the great getaway” – the Express, and “The great British take-off” – the Mirror, on the pre-emptive surge in holiday bookings. “Summer catch-up lessons for pupils” – the i on the education recovery package for England’s schools.
The Telegraph has “Faster path to freedom if jabs exceed expectations”. Simon Bowes-Lyon, the Earl of Strathmore and a relative of the Queen, is pictured on his way to 10 months’ jail for sexual assault. The Times says “Stamp duty holiday will be extended by months” as it continues the pre-budget drip-feed. The FT leads with “Powell’s cautious ‘return to normal’ outlook steadies jittery US markets” – our report carries that same quote but has a less bullish top line – and has Nicola Sturgeon in the picture slot to illustrate its report on the parliamentary controversy in Scotland over the Alex Salmond investigation. “Tiger’s horror smash” – the Sun dedicates its front page to the golfer’s car accident.
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