Babak Belurs

Kamis, 16 Juli 2020

Boris Johnson announces £3bn for NHS fearing coronavirus second wave just months away - Daily Express

At a Downing Street news conference on Friday, the Prime Minister will say the funds are available immediately to keep the temporary Nightingale hospitals ready and secure private hospital beds for NHS patients with serious cases of the infection. He is also expected to step up his appeal for Britons to make a safe return to factories and offices with the Government set to drop the advice to work from home where necessary. Speaking ahead of the announcement, a Downing Street spokesman said: “Thanks to the hard work and sacrifices of the British people, the virus is under control and we have eased restrictions in a cautious, phased way.

“But the Prime Minister is clear that now is not the time for complacency, and we must make sure our NHS is battle ready for winter.

“Tomorrow, he will set out a broad package of measures to protect against both a possible second wave, and to ease winter pressures and keep the public safe.”

Mr Johnson’s cash injection for the NHS in England will also help ensure hospitals and clinics can continue to carry out routine medical treatments even if the rate of coronavirus infections rises again during colder weather.

A new chapter of his COVID-19 recovery strategy “road map” will be published today to reassure the public that returning to work can be done safely.

The flu vaccine is currently free to those deemed most at risk, including pregnant women, people aged over 65, carers and primary school children, with health chiefs due to set out expanded eligibility criteria shortly.

The Government is also promising extra funds for the NHS’s enhanced discharge arrangements to ensure patients can be quickly and safely discharged from hospitals and to free up beds for other patients.

Despite the slump in new coronavirus infections following the national lockdown, ministers are aware this winter will present further challenges because of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and impact of other seasonal infections such as flu.

They are also concerned that a rise in flu cases will put a strain on the NHS Test-and-Trace programme because flu and other virus can have similar symptoms to coronavirus.

A new Government advertising campaign will be launched shortly to increase awareness of eligibility for testing and access to tests at local walk-in sites.

Officials said ministers have been studying a series of possible winter scenarios to inform planning and assessing experience of healthcare systems overseas.

A series of exercises to “stress test” the readiness of the NHS for the winter and an audit of supplies of personal protective equipment are also being undertaken.

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2020-07-16 21:30:00Z
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John Bercow lashes out at 'foolish' Boris and team for 'juvenile bed-wetting' - Express

John Bercow hit out at Boris Johnson in outrage during a Sky News interview following the expulsion of MP Julian Lewis from the Conservative Party. The former Speaker of the House branded the Prime Minister and his Government "spiteful and malicious" for their actions. This follows a failed attempt by Downing Street to impose their preferred choice, Chris Grayling as chair of Parliament’s intelligence and security committee.

Mr Bercow, a close friend of Mr Lewis', told Sky that he was sure the now Independent was "disappointed and surprised" by the removal of the Tory whip.

He said: "The Government had been signalling that it had no intention of inerfering or seeking to impose a candidate, but was perfectly ready to leave it to senior parliamentarians on the committee.

"So as senior parliamentarians on the committee exercised their proper role and chose Julian Lewis as the chair, I should imagine he is somewhat taken aback that the Government has reacted in such a spiteful, malicious and frankly petty fashion.

"They had absolutely no business whatsoever interfering in this matter."

The Prime Minister had nominated five Conservative MPs for the committee last week, giving them a majority, and so set the stage for Chris Grayling to be nominated chairman.

However, Opposition members feared Mr Grayling, who had supported Mr Johnson in the Tory leadership election, would be too close to Number 10.

Instead, they decided to back Mr Lewis, sparking fury in Downing Street.

Mr Lewis said he considered the attempt to impose Mr Grayling as an "improper request".

Mr Bercow added that "the right and duty" to appoint the chair of the ISC committee lay with the committee.

He said: "If the PM didn't know the providing of the 2013 Justice and Security Act, that is frankly disturbing.

"If he did, that is truly disgraceful.

"The government ought to know when it's defeated and when it looks frankly a bit foolish.

"They were in breach of the statute in seeking to interfere with the ISC chair election."

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2020-07-16 18:49:00Z
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Leicester lockdown: Measures eased after coronavirus cases drop - BBC News

A stricter lockdown in Leicester will be eased after a drop in coronavirus cases, Matt Hancock has said.

The health secretary told the House of Commons some restrictions would be lifted from 24 July "but not all" following a prolonged lockdown.

The city remained under strict measures from 29 June after a spike in cases.

Restrictions on schools and nurseries will be lifted but bars remain closed as virus rates "still remain well above the national average", Mr Hancock said.

The secretary of state said the latest data showed the seven-day infection rate in Leicester was now 119 cases per 100,000 people - down from 135 when the prolonged lockdown was announced.

A new local power will be used to close shops selling non-essential items where necessary.

Bars and restaurants in the city will still not be allowed to open and the ban on non-essential travel and social gatherings of more six people will remain in force.

Despite announcing schools can reopen, those run by the city and county council have already closed for the summer.

Mr Hancock said: "Some say that the local lockdown is unnecessary.

"I wish this were true, but sadly it remains vital for the health of everyone in Leicester and the rest of the country that these restrictions stay in place.

"We will review them again in a fortnight. I hope that this careful easing of restrictions will provide some comfort to people in Leicester and Leicestershire."

'We seem to be forgotten'

Michelle Teale, who has incurable breast cancer, said she was upset the announcement made no mention of people still "shielding" in the city.

In his 29 June announcement, the health secretary said the nationwide relaxation of shielding measures on 6 July would not apply to Leicester.

"Each week that goes by is another week taken away from me," she said.

"Yet again, he [Matt Hancock] never said anything about shielding people. We seem to be the forgotten people.

"We didn't think it was going to be good news, and now we just have to wait."

A number of suburbs included in the original lockdown boundary will now be removed, following discussions between the government and the county council.

However, restrictions will remain in the borough of Oadby and Wigston as case numbers are still above the national average.

County council leader Nick Rushton said the boundary changes would take effect from 24 July.

Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, who earlier suggested restrictions "should be lifted for 90% of the city", expressed disappointment at the latest announcement.

He said he was "extremely frustrated that a sledgehammer approach is being taken to deal with an issue in a very small part of the city".

Liz Kendall, Labour MP for Leicester West, tweeted that people in the city would be "very disappointed that whilst non-essential retail can now open our hospitality sector can't and travel restrictions still apply".

'Leicester will be a dark place'

Blake Edwards, who runs a barber shop in the city, said news of a further delay to reopening was "heartbreaking".

"I'm really angry and bitter," he said.

"While this needs to be done and we want everyone to be safe, with another two weeks we need some financial support.

"It's really serious for us now. Leicester will be in a dark place if we don't sort this out."

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.

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2020-07-16 17:33:02Z
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Coronavirus: No reason to change working from home advice - Vallance - BBC News

There is "absolutely no reason" to change the guidance on working from home, the UK's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance has said.

Since late March the government has advised people to work from home if possible to help curb coronavirus.

But last week Prime Minister Boris Johnson signalled a change, saying: "I think we should now say, well, 'go back to work if you can'."

Sir Patrick said home working was still a "perfectly good option" for many.

Speaking to the Commons science and technology committee, he said it was his view - and one shared by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) - that distancing measures were still important for containing the virus.

"Of the various distancing measures, working from home for many companies remains a perfectly good option because it's easy to do," he said.

"I think a number of companies think it's actually not detrimental to productivity. And in that situation, there's absolutely no reason I can see to change it."

It comes as the government continues to try to balance the economic and health risks of the pandemic.

Asked about Britain's response to the virus, Sir Patrick said: "It's clear that the outcome has not been good in the UK, I think you can be absolutely clear about that.

"There are many factors that are going to play in this as we look and say, 'what is it that makes some countries having done worse than others?', and there will be decisions made that will turn out not to have been the right decisions at the time."

In mid-March, Sir Patrick said it would be a "good outcome" for the UK if the number of deaths from the virus could be kept below 20,000.

The latest figures show 45,119 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK, up by 66 on the previous day.

Sir Patrick said it was "quite probable" that the virus will come back "in different waves over a number of years", but stressed the UK was still going through the first wave.

"When people talk about second wave now, actually, what I think they're talking about really is a re-emergence of the first wave," he said.

"All we have done is suppressed the first wave and when you take the brakes off you would expect it to come back."

It comes after a report, requested by the scientific adviser, suggested the UK could see about 120,000 new coronavirus deaths during this winter. This could be seen as "the tail end of the first wave still", he said.

'Extreme behaviour change'

During the session, Sir Patrick told MPs the government was advised to implement lockdown measures earlier than they did.

In the run up to lockdown, he said steps were taken to mitigate the virus, including isolating households and advising against visiting pubs and theatres which caused "quite extreme" changes in behaviour.

But he said after data suggested the number of virus cases was doubling every three days, Sage recommended - either on 16 or 18 March - that the "remainder" of measures to curb coronavirus should be introduced.

Speaking in the Commons afterwards, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "16 March is the day when I came to this House and said that all unnecessary social contact should cease - that is precisely when the lockdown was started."

Labour MP Zarah Sultana said that "advising people to socially distance is not the same as imposing a lockdown. That week-long delay could have cost thousands of lives".

In June, former government adviser Prof Neil Ferguson said the number of coronavirus deaths in the UK would have been halved if lockdown had been introduced a week earlier.

When did lockdown actually begin?

The beginning of lockdown has usually been dated to the evening of 23 March when Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation and people were told to mostly avoid leaving home and all non-essential shops were closed.

In fact, Mr Hancock has previously said that is when lockdown began.

In a debate in the Commons on 2 June, he noted that the daily death figures were "lower than at any time since lockdown began on 23 March".

BBC health correspondent James Gallagher said: "A key piece of evidence came out on 16 March which showed that 250,000 people could die.

"That night, the government advised people to avoid pubs and work from home if possible. On Wednesday schools were told they would close at the end of the week.

"On Friday, all restaurants, pubs, clubs and indoor sport and leisure facilities were ordered to shut. The UK was then put into full lockdown the following Monday. "

Sir Patrick also said there is no assumption that a vaccine for coronavirus will be available in the immediate future, after encouraging early results from clinical trials raised hopes of finding one.

"Our assumption is we won't have it and when we get it we will be thrilled," he said.

YOU, ME AND THE BIG C: Cancer treatment during the pandemic
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2020-07-16 18:07:40Z
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Leicester lockdown measures eased after cases drop - BBC News

A stricter lockdown in Leicester will be eased after a drop in coronavirus cases, Matt Hancock has said.

The health secretary told the House of Commons some restrictions would be lifted from 24 July "but not all" following a prolonged lockdown.

The city remained under strict measures from 29 June after a spike in cases.

Restrictions on schools and nurseries will be lifted but bars remain closed as virus rates "still remain well above the national average", Mr Hancock said.

The secretary of state said the latest data showed the seven-day infection rate in Leicester was now 119 cases per 100,000 people - down from 135 when the prolonged lockdown was announced.

A new local power will be used to close shops selling non-essential items where necessary.

Bars and restaurants in the city will still not be allowed to open and the ban on non-essential travel and social gatherings of more six people for example will remain in force.

Despite announcing schools can reopen, those run by the city and county council have already closed for the summer.

'Sledgehammer approach'

Mr Hancock said: "Some say that the local lockdown is unnecessary.

"I wish this were true, but sadly it remains vital for the health of everyone in Leicester and the rest of the country that these restrictions stay in place.

"We will review them again in a fortnight. I hope that this careful easing of restrictions will provide some comfort to people in Leicester and Leicestershire."

A number of suburbs included in the original lockdown boundary will now be removed, following discussions between the government and the county council.

However, restrictions will remain in the borough of Oadby and Wigston as case numbers are still above the national average.

County council leader Nick Rushton said the timing of the boundary change was yet to be decided.

Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, who earlier suggested restrictions "should be lifted for 90% of the city", expressed disappointment at the latest announcement.

He said he was "extremely frustrated that a sledgehammer approach is being taken to deal with an issue in a very small part of the city".

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.

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LIVE: Matt Hancock gives emergency coronavirus update in Parliament - The Telegraph

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LIVE: Matt Hancock gives emergency coronavirus update in Parliament The Telegraph
UK coronavirus live: some lockdown measures lifted in Leicester but not all, Matt Hancock announces The Guardian
Live: Matt Hancock's 'important coronavirus update about Leicester lockdown' The Sun
Government Relaxes Leicester's Local Lockdown HuffPost UK
Coronavirus: Matt Hancock makes statement on outbreak in UK – watch live Guardian News
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2020-07-16 16:03:12Z
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The Grayling affair sums up Downing Street's central parliamentary problem: ignorance - New Statesman

The government’s failure to get its preferred candidate in to chair the intelligence and security select committee is, in microcosm, the story of this Downing Street’s parliamentary difficulties. No 10 had backed and advanced the candidacy of Chris Grayling, the only Cameron-era cabinet minister to have backed Brexit not to have been rewarded with a return to ministerial office under Boris Johnson. But they were thwarted when Julian Lewis, the Conservative MP for New Forest East, former defence select committee chair and the longest-serving sitting member of the ISC, ran against him and won, thanks to his vote and those of the opposition parties.

A recurrent problem for all political parties is that members of parliament tend to become more rebellious as their careers continue, and that your ability to enforce discipline relies on your ability to hand out carrots as well as sticks. But it also relies on your knowledge of your own parliamentary party.

Lewis has always been a maverick and one prone to rebellion, and while he is undoubtedly well-qualified to hold the post, anyone who knew anything about his record of voting against the whip ought to have been aware of the high possibility that he would mount an operation of this nature. Add the fact he will be aged 72 when this parliament reaches its end, meaning there is no effective sanction available, and the attraction of a final important job in politics, and even someone with no history of rebellion should have been considered a bit of a flight risk.

There’s also the basic human nature calculation: Lewis just is more qualified for this role than Grayling, and why wouldn’t he, knowing that and being able to count to five, decide to run for the post himself? This is always going to be the big problem with trying to get your preferred chair, and why Downing Street would have been wise not to bother: you only need one of the other Conservative nominees to decide they are more palatable to the opposition than the government’s preferred choice and to do a deal with the opposition parties to get elected.

All of these are facts that ought to be known to the government’s chief whip and to Downing Street: that Lewis is a) rebellious, b) good at courting opposition MPs and c) not really likely to fear even the extreme consequences aren’t things you need to be a genius to have known. Basic competency at parliamentary management ought to be enough. But No 10 doesn’t have this basic competency, for similar reasons I don’t spend time during office hours lifting weights – I don’t regard it part of my job.

That remains the biggest single weakness at the heart of the government – that Downing Street doesn’t know the parliamentary party very well, doesn’t seek to cultivate it, and in particular hasn’t done a very good job keeping either those who have never held frontbench positions or been dismissed from them within the tent.

The response to the latest misstep is part of the problem, too: No 10’s preferred solution to discipline problems is either to threaten or to actually cast someone into the outer darkness, which creates an “in for a penny, in for a pound” attitude among the sacked and the rebellious. If Johnson does end up being removed by his own MPs, his approach to parliamentary management will be a big part of why.

Stephen Bush is political editor of the New Statesman. His daily briefing, Morning Call, provides a quick and essential guide to domestic and global politics.

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2020-07-16 13:41:15Z
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