Brussels launches astonishing attack on Boris over UK's handling of coronavirus pandemic - Express

Britain has reeled under the impact of the deadly virus, recording the highest death rates in Europe. The government has been routinely criticised by the UK media for its failure to ensure adequate supplies of personal protective clothing for medical staff and an inability to carry out mass public testing for the virus. Moreover, Mr Johnson came under severe criticism for missing five COBRA meetings earlier in the year, as the pandemic was beginning to take a hold in Europe.

And now Brussels has added its voice to the chorus of condemnation of the government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

A policy report published by the European Commission on Wednesday said the health crisis had exposed the “weaknesses” in the NHS, which it blamed on government underfunding.

It highlighted a lack of money spent on staff, infrastructure and equipment, saying that number 10 was forced to beg manufacturers to make ventilators at the height of the crisis.

The Commission urged Boris Johnson to invest more resources into the British healthcare system to avoid further devastating deaths.

In their report, officials wrote: “The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed weaknesses in the preparedness and capacity of the health systems in the United Kingdom to respond to such outbreaks, notably in terms of facilities, staff and supplies.

“Managing similar crises in the future calls for investments into the health systems across the United Kingdom, including effective and well-resourced public health measures.

“These investments should aim at providing the necessary equipment, facilities and the required skilled labour, and overall the capacity to deliver all expected regular healthcare services alongside the care for patients with Covid-19 or similar infectious diseases."

The commission produces regular economic policy recommendations for its member states, introduced after the financial crisis a decade ago.

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The economic havoc caused by the deadly virus would leave no part of Europe untouched and would inflict “an unprecedented economic shock”.

"We are facing a shock without precedent since the Great Depression," Paolo Gentiloni, the European commissioner for the economy, told reporters in Brussels.

"Our message is crystal clear: there needs to be a supportive fiscal stance in all member states.

"We recommend that all member states take all necessary measures to effectively address the pandemic, sustain the economy and support the ensuing recovery."

A 500 billion Euro bail out plan for EU countries has been put together by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President Emmanuel Macron.

The plan involves the creation of pooled debt and must be ratified by all 27 member states.

However, in increasing signs of divisions within the EU, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Denmark have indicated they will refuse to underwrite debt to fund spending in other countries.

Meanwhile, the British prime minister looks to be on a collision course with Ireland’s Leo Varadkar over UK government’s claims that no new customs infrastructure will be needed in Northern Ireland as part of its Brexit deal.

Under the terms of the deal, Northern Ireland will continue to follow some EU rules on agricultural and manufactured goods, despite the fact that the UK is leaving the EU’s customs union.

This will necessitate customs checks and in order to prevent a hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland, the EU and Britain had agreed that those checks will be carried out at Northern Ireland’s ports.

However, on Wednesday, the UK government said it “sees no need to construct new bespoke customs infrastructure in NI”.

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2020-05-21 05:09:47Z
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easyJet flights to resume from mid June boosting holiday hopes for Britons - Express

However, further routes are to be announced the coming weeks.

easyJet explained the details in a statement released today.

From June 15, services will be operating from London Gatwick, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Belfast, and Isle of Man in the UK.

A minimal number of international routes will also go ahead.

Flying will resume in France from Nice, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lyon and Lille, as well as from Geneva in Switzerland, Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, and Barcelona in Spain.

The airline expects to increase flying as customer demand continues to build and restrictions are relaxed, explained the easyJet statement.

READ MORE: easyJet hack: How to check if your details have been stolen

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2020-05-21 06:25:21Z
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Coronavirus: New COVID-19 antibody test to be available in the next two weeks - Sky News

A new COVID-19 antibody test will go live in the UK in the next fortnight.

The groundbreaking test takes a blood sample from a patient and analyses it for antibodies that will show if someone has had the virus.

If the antibodies show up as positive it will be the first clue in establishing that somebody has a degree of immunity to COVID-19.

Hospital cleaner Hassan Akkad pleaded for NHS support staff to be included in the coronavirus bereavement scheme, from which they were initially excluded

Trials are starting to get underway at four hospitals in England including the Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire where they are confident of being able to handle thousands of the antibody tests every day from 1 June.

Sky News was given exclusive access to the blood science laboratory at the hospital where they are preparing to start the tests.

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Consultant clinical biochemist, Dr Martin Myers, explained: "If you have antibodies there then you have had that disease, that will help public health doctors decide how to unlock, where we are going to go as a society, to see how many of us may have caught the disease, to see how many of us have antibodies to the disease.

"So it is really giving them the intelligence and information as to how many of us have had the disease."

More from Covid-19

The test being used in Preston has been developed by the medical company Roche in collaboration with the NHS and involves a blood sample being taken and then analysed on existing equipment at the hospital.

The antibody testing will complement the ongoing COVID-19 testing which looks for whether someone has the virus at the time of the test.

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Microbiologist Dr David Orr explained that it will still be hard to tell precisely how effective the antibodies are at killing the virus but the information that the antibodies are present could enable people to make better informed decisions.

"Especially in the healthcare system where some staff may have had it previously" he said.

Residents on one road in Leeds have agreed to film their experiences of lockdown

"You might want to think about deploying those staff to look after patients who have the disease because they might have some protection."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care in England said: "Antibody testing is an important part of our strategy to counter the spread of COVID-19 and to help us understand who has had the disease.

"In addition to the recent huge expansion of the UK's swab-based coronavirus testing capacity, we are actively developing our plans for antibody testing across the NHS and ultimately the wider public."

Simpler "finger prick" type tests for antibodies that could be carried out at home are being looked at as well but currently none have yet been approved for use.

General testing for COVID-19 has been ramped up over the last week - 700 tests a day are being done in Preston currently.

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2020-05-21 03:31:51Z
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HENRY DEEDES: Zig-zagging Starmer had Keirleaders behind him looking bored - Daily Mail

Zig-zagging Starmer had Keirleaders behind him looking bored: HENRY DEEDES sees Labour leader's third outing at PMQs

By Henry Deedes for the Daily Mail

Published: 22:25 BST, 20 May 2020 | Updated: 01:43 BST, 21 May 2020

Should you ever find yourself at Waterloo Station with an urgent train to catch, chances are the person in front of you at the ticket kiosk will be in no rush at all.

He will um and ah and examine the touch screen quizzically, his expression caught somewhere between wonder and confusion, as though trying to decipher ancient hieroglyphics.

Occasionally, he will prod a few buttons – though more in hope than any real expectation. Before long, the numpty will decide to draw stumps and begin the whole process again.

As your molars slowly grind themselves into a fine powder, you long to hurl the remains of your Upper Crust baguette at the back of his head and scream: ‘Get on with it, man!’ Yesterday Sir Keir Starmer was that man.

Keir Starmer, Britain's opposition Labour Party leader speaks during Wednesday's Prime Minister's questions, May 20

The Leader of the Opposition was in the chamber for his third outing at PMQs. His elegant slicing-and-dicing of the Prime Minister in recent weeks have been hailed as a triumph. Not since Torvill and Dean have judges been so unanimous.

This week Le Grand Inquisitor fell flat. He zig-zagged and meandered. At times, it was a struggle to work out what he was actually asking. Those lengthy pauses between sentences, effective when he had the PM on the rack last week, yesterday felt like awkward gaps in his thinking.

Even the Keirleaders on the benches behind him looked bored. Like that man at the ticket machine you longed to yell at him to just... Get. A. Move. On.

The PM was much improved, even if his hair looked as though he had just stuck his tongue against a 9V battery. At last, he seemed to have done a bit of preparation. 

Those lengthy pauses between sentences, effective when he had the PM on the rack last week, yesterday felt like awkward gaps in his thinking

He still didn’t answer the question much of the time but such was the verbal vermicelli flowing from Sir Keir’s mouth you could hardly blame him.

There was a tetchiness about him too. Last week’s ill-tempered clash had instilled some much-needed fire in his belly.

‘He’s simply ignorant of the facts,’ he retorted at one point when Starmer challenged again over care homes. When Sir Keir quizzed him over the Government’s tracing plans, Boris pointed out he had already briefed him about it privately.

‘I think his feigned ignorance really doesn’t come very well,’ he said, urging his opponent to abandon ‘his slightly negative tone’. 

Even the Keirleaders on the benches behind him looked bored. Like that man at the ticket machine you longed to yell at him to just... Get. A. Move. On

(I think it’s worth noting that accusation of being disingenuous and overtly negative wounded, Starmer. Boris might be onto something there.)

Health Secretary Matt Hancock was there again, whispering crib notes to his boss. He got a rollicking from Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle at one point for heckling Starmer.

When he mumbled something back toward the chair, the Speaker threatened to eject him. ‘I’d be more than ‘appy,’ barked a pop-eyed Sir Lindsay. Hancock’s butter-wouldn’t melt face was a picture.

The voice of SNP leader Ian Blackford soon crackled over televisions screens. Gentle groans. Some wonky lighting arrangements meant we could barely see his face, calling to mind those IRA supergrasses you used to see interviewed on the news in silhouette form. 

He wasted a question on an issue Sir Keir had already raised concerning overseas health workers being required to pay surcharge to use the NHS. 

Boris respectfully pointed out the charges raises £900million. The Treasury is hardly likely to be surrendering that income for a while.

Blackford’s colleagues were in blusterous voice. You sense the SNP plan to irritate us into Independence during this crisis. To give them their due, they are good at it.

Wonky lighting arrangements meant we could barely see Ian Blackford's face, writes Henry Deedes. Blackford spoke to the commons via video link on Wednesday

Allan Dorans (SNP, Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) demanded the PM reprimand his Scottish secretary Alister Jack for breaking Scotland’s lockdown to travel to Westminster. (Boris: ‘No.’)

Marion Fellows (SNP, Motherwell and Wishaw) wanted the job retention scheme extended in Scotland for however long Nicola Sturgeon maintained the lockdown. Boris gently suggested the £3billion he had already agreed to hand to Scotland was generous enough as it is.

There was a telling revelation toward the session’s end courtesy of Rosie Duffield (Labour, Canterbury), who complained about the lack of women in senior government positions. 

Boris said he was addressing that issue ‘even before the next reshuffle’. As Parliament headed for recess last night, don’t rule out a change in cabinet personnel upon its return.

Scottish National Party (SNP) leader in the House of Commons Ian Blackford speaks via TV screens during Prime Minister's questions on Wednesday, May 20

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2020-05-21 00:53:14Z
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Coronavirus in Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon to unveil lockdown easing 'route map' - BBC News

Scotland's first minister is to unveil details of a four-phase "route map" towards easing the country's lockdown restrictions.

Nicola Sturgeon said earlier this week that she hoped the first phase of the process would begin on 28 May.

Progress will be assessed every three weeks, with further phases introduced if it is thought to be safe to do so.

But the first minister stressed it will be a "very gradual process" to ensure the virus continues to be suppressed.

She said on Monday that the initial phase would see people from different households being allowed to meet outdoors.

More outdoor activities could be allowed, such as golf, fishing and going to sit in the park, while garden centres and recycling facilities may open and some outdoor work could begin again.

Ms Sturgeon is also likely to give more information about when schools might reopen - although it is expected that most of the country's pupils will not return to the classroom until the start of the new term in August.

Some of these easing measures were introduced in England last week, but Ms Sturgeon said at the time it would not be safe for Scotland to follow the same timetable.

This was largely because the so-called R number - essentially the rate at which the virus is spreading - has been higher in Scotland than in some other parts of the UK.

However the number of people who are dying with coronavirus in Scotland has been falling in recent weeks, as has the number of patients needing hospital treatment and intensive care.

This has given the first minister and her advisers more confidence that any relaxation of the lockdown that was introduced across the UK on 23 March will not lead to a resurgence in the virus.

She will outline her government's plans in a statement to the Scottish Parliament at about 12:30 on Thursday.

Speaking ahead of the announcement, she said: "For the time being the advice on staying at home except for essential purposes remains the same.

"But we hope to shortly be ready to start easing the lockdown restrictions and today's route map will outline how we can do that.

"At all stages in this process we have listened to the views of people and organisations in Scotland, and have been guided by the latest scientific advice - and that approach will continue going forward."

The first minister added: "This will be a very gradual process as we monitor how changing behaviour affects the infection rate and we will only be able to move toward easing more restrictions if we continue to work together to suppress the virus."

New deaths per day

Ms Sturgeon has described the proposed changes that could be introduced on 28 May as "some concrete steps on the journey back to normality".

But she has stressed that the virus will not have gone away by that point, so it "won't be normality as we knew it, but it will be a journey to a better balance than the one we have today".

Figures released on Wednesday showed that a total of 332 deaths involving coronavirus were registered in Scotland between 11 and 17 May.

This was 83 fewer than the previous week, and brought the total number of deaths to 3,546 since the country recorded its first confirmed case on 1 March.

Care homes have been accounting for more than half of all coronavirus deaths in recent weeks - although the number of residents dying has been decreasing.

• How will Scotland's virus tracing system work?

The Scottish government has also said it will have 2,000 workers ready to be deployed on a coronavirus testing and tracing scheme by 1 June.

Some will be existing health service staff, while others will be returning NHS workers, with a third group being recruited through an advertising campaign.

A test of the technical systems involved in the strategy is being held in the Highland, Fife and Lanarkshire health board areas.

A similar scheme will run in England - although the plan for Scotland does not include the use of the app piloted by the NHS in England which has already been launched on the Isle of Wight.

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2020-05-21 00:18:12Z
CBMiL2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3VrLXNjb3RsYW5kLTUyNzQ1NjQz0gEzaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYW1wL3VrLXNjb3RsYW5kLTUyNzQ1NjQz

Nigel Farage details exactly why 'sinking ship' EU will 'cave' to UK's Brexit demands - Express

Nigel Farage has warned that the UK is entering an "absolutely critical" time in the next few weeks as Brexit talks start to heat up. Rows have broken out in trade deal negotiations as both sides accuse the other of being unreasonable in their demands. The LBC host, and Brexit Party leader, Mr Farage revealed why the EU was more likely to "cave" to the UK's terms as time begins to run out.

He told listeners: "Today there is a letter to Michel Barnier sent by the UK's chief negotiator David Frost.

"One thing I like about this is that it's out there, it's published, it's open it's transparent, that's good.

"He goes through, sector by sector, fisheries etc, to point out that free trade agreements, 'such as the ones you've done with Canada or Japan', would suit us.

"A fisheries deal, 'such as the one you've done with Norway', would suit us."

READ MORE: Brexit warning: Labour vows to stop UK 'crashing out' EU without deal

Mr Farage continued: "On financial services, he says to Barnier, 'the EU's market access offer on financial services is even less than you've tabled thus far with Australia and New Zealand'.

"He really doesn't pull his punches.

"He writes, 'Your text contains novel and unbalanced proposals'.

"He finishes off at the end of the letter saying, 'what is on offer is not a fair free trade relationship between close economic partners, but a relatively low-quality trade agreement coming with unprecedented EU oversight of our laws and institutions'."

Mr Farage finished: "If they don't cave, any downside difficulty that is caused by leaving without a specific agreement will be far outweighed by the risk of staying inside something that increasingly looks like a sinking ship.

"The row between Italy and Germany is one that is not going to go away in a hurry. We got off the train at the right moment."

There are less than six weeks until the deadline for an extension to the transition period to be requested. Although Boris Johnson has repeatedly ruled this out.

Mr Frost has warned Mr Barnier that the EU must drop its “ideological approach” within the next fortnight.

On Wednesday, Michel Barnier penned a letter back to the UK's negotiator - warning him about the "tone" of his letter - as negotiations hit another hurdle.

The next set of discussions will take place between the UK and EU via video link during the first week of June.

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2020-05-20 23:08:20Z
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Eighty firefighters are sent to blaze tearing through a block of flats in southeast London - Daily Mail

Eighty firefighters are sent to blaze tearing through a block of flats in southeast London

• Twelve fire engines were sent to the scene from surrounding fire stations
• Videos and pictures of social media show the sixth-floor flat's roof on fire
• The London Fire Brigade were first called at 07:26 p.m. on Wednesday
• The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but there have been no casualties

By Chris Jewers For Mailonline

Published: 19:59 BST, 20 May 2020 | Updated: 23:22 BST, 20 May 2020

Around 80 firefighters were sent to a fire at a block of flats in southeast London earlier this evening and are currently battling the blaze. 

Flames could be seen roaring through the flat on the sixth-floor, and also spreading to the roof, as thick plumes of smoke rose above the rooftops.

The London Fire Brigade tweeted at 7:52 p.m. on Wednesday that fire engines had been called to the flats on Childers Street in Deptford.

In a statement released after their initial tweet, the fire brigade said that a total of 12 fire engines had been called to the scene.

At 9:24 p.m., almost two hours after the fire brigade were first called at 7:26 p.m., it tweeted that crews were making 'steady progress' fighting the fire at the scene.

Around 80 firefighters have been called to the scene of a fire in Deptford, southeast London, where a sixth-story flat and its roof have gone up in flames (pictured)

'Two people left the affected flat and firefighters evacuated the rest of the block as a precaution due to the amount of smoke,' said Station Commander Emma Carr, who is at the scene. 'There are no reports of any injuries at this stage.

'This is a challenging incident due to the fire being in a roof hatch and firefighters are working hard to bring it under control.

'Aerial ladder platforms and turntable ladders are being used to tackle the blaze in the roof from height,' she added. 

Pictured: Flames coming off the roof of the sixth floor flat in Deptford, south east London

Pictured: Firefighters at the scene fight the fire as hoses line the street delivering water

In videos and images shared online by bystanders, flames could be seen engulfing the top of the block of flats and its roof as people gathered outside.

The fire trucks could also be seen in the street with their blue lights flashing, as fire fighters battled the blaze.

Some images showed a tall crane rising above rooftops, spraying water down onto the fire from above. 

A drone was reportedly used by firefighters to give an aerial view to assist those working to get the blaze under control.  

Nearby residents were able to capture footage of the first from the homes. The footage showed large flames rising from the roof of the flats

One person at the scene tweeted: 'Just went for an evening walk with my kids and witnessed a fire block on flames in Deptford, South East London.

'Another block of flats on fire in London Disappointed but relieved face. Praying all the occupants are safe,' she added, and also shared a video of smoke billowing out from the rooftop.

Half the sixth floor flat and its roof were alight, but images have shown that the fire brigade appeared to be getting the blaze under control.

Left: The fire, pictured from a nearby block of flats, could be seen engulfing the roof of the building. Right: Local residents stand on the streets watching as the fire rages on the roof of the flats

Fire crews used cherry pickets to get above the flats and spray water down on them to tackle the blaze

Emergency responders pictured on the streets below the fire. Over 80 firefighters reportedly arrived on scene to put out the blaze

After first being called about the fire at 07:26 p.m, crews from Deptford, New Cross, Greenwich, Old Kent Road, Lewisham and surrounding fire stations arrived at the scene, the London Fire Brigade said. 

Initially, the LFB tweeted saying that eight fire engines and 60 firefighters had been called to the fire, but reinforcements were sent in after the initial report.  

The fire brigade's statement said that it received a total of 35 calls about the fire from people in the vicinity. 

The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.

More information to follow...

The London Fire Brigade tweeted on Wednesday evening saying eight fire engines and 60 firefighters had been sent to the blaze on Childers Street, Deptford

Almost two hours after the fire crews were first called to the scene, the London Fire Brigade tweeted that crews were making steady progress in tackling the blaze

Left: Smoke rises from the roof of an apartment block in Deptford, as fire crews spray water up from the road. Right: Residents of an adjacent block of flats lean out of their windows watching as fire crews tackle the blaze

The London skyline seen through the smoke causes by the fire in the flats in Deptford

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2020-05-20 21:53:19Z
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