Nicola Sturgeon savaged over ‘utterly abysmal record’ by new Scottish Tory chief - Express

Mr Ross, aged 37, took over as Scottish Tory leader after Jackson Carlaw resigned last month. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph he argued the SNP are focusing on breaking up the union to distract from their record in government.

He said: “We should remember why it is that the Nationalists are so keen to have these confected rows with Westminster. They want to demonstrate that the Union is unstable.

“And, increasingly, it’s because they know it helps distract attention from their utterly abysmal record as a government in Scotland.

“Over the last few days, students from across Scotland have taken to the streets to protest over the exams fiasco which the SNP has presided over this summer.

“The Scottish Government’s incompetence in this scandal is appalling and off the scale.

“Little wonder Nicola Sturgeon is keen to point at the Westminster bogeyman rather than accept responsibility for her government’s failures.”

There has been controversy in Scotland over the way exam results have been graded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

Some 125,000 predicted grades were lowered by the SQA based on factors like school’s historic performances.

However this disproportionately hit poorer students with 15.2 percent of those from the most deprived data zones having their grades reduced versus 6.9 percent for the most affluent.

READ MORE: Scottish nationalists stage shock protest demanding ‘English out'

As Mr Ross is an MP in the UK Parliament Conservative MSPs in the Scottish Parliament will be lead by Ruth Davidson.

Mr Ross also used the article to explain why he believes in the British union.

He said: “My mission – as I take over as the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives this week – is to take on the half-baked nationalist case set out by Nicola Sturgeon by re-making the positive case for the benefits of our union, a case that is as strong now as it ever has been.

“The Coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated those benefits in full.

“Millions of workers have benefited from the UK Government’s furlough scheme, one only made possible by the country’s broad fiscal shoulders.

“Nobody has been asked to set out whether they are Scottish, Welsh, English or Northern Irish in order to receive prompt support.

“As with the healthcare support we receive from the NHS when any of us walk into a hospital in any part of the UK, that is the unquestioned, unequivocal benefit we get from a union which is blind to our nationality.”

In 2014 Scotland voted against independence by 55 percent to 45 percent.

However the SNP are now demanding a second referendum on the question takes place.

Mr Ross will face his first electoral test in May with the Scottish Parliament elections.

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2020-08-09 04:42:07Z
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Border Force wants migrant boats turned around and taken back to France after crossing numbers soar - Sky News

The government has said it wants to see migrant boats intercepted at sea and directly returned to France in a bid to curb recent increases in Channel crossings.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has appointed a "clandestine Channel threat commander" who will work to make the route "unviable for small boat crossings".

Dan O'Mahoney, a former Border Force official and marine deployed to Kosovo and Iraq, will work with the French to explore what tougher action can be taken including "adopting interceptions at sea and the direct return of boats".

Britain wants Paris to stop more small vessels heading to England and take them back to French ports, rather than shepherding them onward until they reach British waters.

A government source told Sky News on Saturday that a "passive blockade" in the Channel was being considered, with the Ministry of Defence being asked for assistance by the Home Office amid reports the Navy could be brought in.

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Image: A group of migrants are seen sat against a Border Force van waiting to be processed in Kent

Immigration minister Chris Philp will meet his French counterparts next week as he seeks to shut down the Calais-to-Britain route completely.

It comes after recent calm conditions prompted a huge surge in people trying to make the journey.

More from Migrant Crisis

Kent County Council has said that 400 migrant children have been taken into its care this year, including 60 in the first week of August and 23 on Friday alone.

Image: A pregnant woman walks near the coast of Dungeness after arriving in the UK this week. Pic: Susan Pilcher

Ministers are believed to be looking at surveillance, reconnaissance and command controls as potential ways of reducing crossings.

But Helen Baron, a solicitor who is representing a number of migrants who arrived in the UK by boat, says the tactics are illegal and could risk lives.

"It's completely illegal under international law and it's deeply concerning that these kind of statements are coming out of government, they must know it's completely against the law", she said.

UK heatwave allows more migrants to cross the Channel

Former Labour shadow home secretary Diane Abbott commented: "The danger is that if you try and blockade these boats, which are mostly rubber dinghies and mostly steered by people who are not experienced sailors, then the boats tip over and people die."

But Ms Patel said: "The number of illegal small boat crossings is appalling.

"We are working to make this route unviable and arresting the criminals facilitating these crossings and making sure they are brought to justice."

Migrants met by Border Force in Kent

On Saturday morning in Kingsdown in Kent, a boat carrying 14 people - including two pregnant women and a child - arrived on the shore, an eyewitness told Sky News.

She said: "A pregnant lady had to be assisted off by the ambulance service to go to hospital because she was clearly about to give birth.

"It was a mad show... I've never seen anything like that in my time. It was literally just random and just popped up on shore... All the border patrol and the coastguard were coming down at the same time because they caught them all at the same time when they got in."

Migrants beach landing 'was a mad show'

Another dinghy with 12 people on board was later filmed being intercepted by a Border Force patrol boat.

A vessel carrying 19 people and a migrant in a wheelchair was also among those seen being brought ashore at Dover this weekend.

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2020-08-09 03:14:37Z
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Coronavirus: PM says it is a 'national priority' to get all pupils back to school in September - Sky News

Boris Johnson says it is a "national priority" and a "moral duty" to get all pupils back in class next month, raising the prospect of closing shops, pubs and restaurants in local lockdowns to allow schools to stay open.

In a newspaper article, the prime minister writes that "social justice demands" that classrooms are full again, and says education is crucial for children's welfare and future - especially the most disadvantaged.

He warns of the "spiralling economic costs" of parents and carers being unable to work, adding: "Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible."

Image: The prime minister has spoken of 'a moral duty' to get all children back in class

Mr Johnson is understood to favour only closing schools as the last resort after scientific advisers warned further interventions may be needed to reopen classrooms in England next month.

Children's commissioner for England Anne Longfield had said the reopening of schools "should be prioritised", insisting they must be first to reopen and last to close during any reintroduction of restrictions.

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But schools minister Nick Gibb said this week that the government could not "decree" that classroom education would be prioritised, instead saying decisions would be made by local health chiefs.

Shadow health secretary: School reopening should be 'national priority'

However, a Number 10 source said on Saturday that Mr Johnson's expectation is that schools would be the last sector to close, with businesses being shut first in the event of severe local lockdowns.

More from Boris Johnson

"The PM has been clear that businesses including shops, pubs and restaurants should be forced to close first, with schools remaining open for as long as possible," the source said.

Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, warned last week that the nation has "probably reached near the limit or the limits" of what can be done to reopen society safely.

And Professor Neil Ferguson, whose modelling led to the decision to impose the lockdown, suggested ministers would need to "row back on the relaxation of restrictions" to allow a full-time return to schools while keeping the virus under control.

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Regarding getting all pupils back, Mr Johnson writes in the Mail on Sunday: "This pandemic isn't over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent. But now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so."

He says the "costs of school closure have fallen disproportionately on the most disadvantaged, the very children who need school the most", and time out of class leads to lower academic attainment on average, affecting "future life chances".

There is a concern, he writes, that "some will tumble out of education, employment or training altogether, never to return".

'School attendance mandatory from September'

He also says the "less children are in school, the worse it is for their health".

Citing Sport England, the PM says a third of children have done less physical activity in lockdown, "with many suffering from poorer mental health".

While the PM warns about complacency, he also points out that scientists have "learned more about how the virus spreads and how we can control it".

He says scientists from the government's advisory group SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) have advised that the risk of children becoming severely ill with COVID-19 is low.

He adds that the government has "worked closely with teaching unions and school leaders on measures to ensure our schools are COVID-secure".

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2020-08-09 02:01:56Z
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Coronavirus beachgoers attacked over 'complete selfishness' amid pandemic - Express poll - Express

Pictures emerged yesterday of beaches in Dorset packed full of tourists despite the Government's advice on social distancing. In light of the high number of people heading to the beach, Express.co.uk asked readers on Saturday, "Do you feel safe visiting beaches in 36C Britain today despite coronavirus?" Voting on the poll, 1,695 (80 percent) out of 2,141 insisted they didn't feel safe visiting the beaches at the moment.

In addition, 426 stated they would feel safe while just 20 weren't sure.

Commenting on the poll, one person said: "I live less than a 10-minute walk to the beach but there is no way I am going anywhere near it. Crazy people!"

A second person said: "Complete selfishness."

A third said: "It's not a matter of 'feeling safe', is it.

"It's about not wanting to help spread the virus, wanting to reduce the number of infections."

A fourth said: "I don't even feel safe where I live."

Due to the high volume of people descending on Bournemouth beach yesterday, the local council issued a red alert emergency.

The warning states social distancing is now impossible to maintain due to the large number of people.

JUST IN: 'People aren't following rules!' Woman terrified over crowds at beach

“The BCP Council’s Beach App is also updated regularly in real time by seafront rangers who are constantly monitoring numbers on the ground.

"If a section or several sections of the beach are coded in red, this means that social distancing is not possible.

"Our advice to visitors would be to avoid these areas, turn away and come back another day when it less busy, checking the app that morning.’’

Yesterday, the UK reported 55 new deaths according to the Department for Health and Social Care.

Of those 55, 54 were in England while just one was recorded in Wales.

The total number of deaths now stands at 46,566 deaths in all settings.

A further 758 cases were also reported taking the total to 309,763 cases.

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2020-08-08 23:53:40Z
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ABUL TAHER visits Jungle camp in Calais, saying you pay a fee and they'll keep putting you on a boat - Daily Mail

Now you pay one fee and they'll keep putting you on a boat till you succeed in getting to Britain, say determined migrants waiting at the new Jungle camp in Calais

By Abul Taher

Published: 23:03 BST, 8 August 2020 | Updated: 00:55 BST, 9 August 2020

Sitting cross-legged outside makeshift shelters, the men pore excitedly over tide charts, trying to plot the most favourable time to cross the English Channel.

The new Jungle camp in Calais, a scrubby field near the main hospital, is a kind of tented waiting room.

So few made it to Britain from the infamous old encampment, which closed in 2016, that it became synonymous with despair.

But this shanty town resonates with hope and anticipation. It is possible to get across, newcomers are told. 

More than possible. Large numbers make it every day: all you have to do is wait – and eventually you will be called. 

These days passage to England is going comparatively cheaply – as little as £350 in some cases. 

By far the toughest journey the migrants make is the one to Calais, and every day brings new arrivals, from Syria, Iraq, Sudan and Egypt.

The new Jungle camp in Calais, a scrubby field near the main hospital, is a kind of tented waiting room 

How different to a few years ago when it was the final leg that seemed so hopelessly beyond reach. 

Back then, I watched migrants try, night after night, to jump on to moving trains, a perilous enterprise with a pitifully low success rate.

Now, however, even if a migrant fails the first time and his boat is intercepted, he has only to keep trying until he gets it right. 

Though it is far from risk-free, in most cases he – or she – will do so.

Best of all, explains Sajid Ali Khan, 21, from Lahore, Pakistan, you pay only one fee.

Khan was a mechanic in Germany for two years but when his work permit was not renewed, he came to Calais to make his way to Britain where he has friends.

‘There were 13 of us, from all different countries, including four women with children,’ he tells me. Barely had the boat travelled a mile across the Channel when the French coastguard appeared. After being returned to France, the migrants were released without arrest.

Normally, when migrants are intercepted they are detained for at least 24 hours and fingerprinted to see which European country they have come from so they can be deported back to that country under the Dublin Agreement.

But Khan says: ‘They just let us go and so I will try again. We paid 2,000 euros [£1,800] to the Iranians who say they will put me on a boat as many times as it is needed to get across to England. They are telling the truth because I know others have got across this way.’

A concrete path from the Calais hospital roundabout takes you to the new Jungle, its entrance guarded by a Police Nationale van. Everywhere there are charred circles from bonfires, many left by those who are now in England.

Trees with mangled branches torn for firewood dot the camp and yesterday I heard loud singing in Arabic and Farsi, a stark contrast to the subdued tension of the 2016 camp.

Local charities estimate that around 1,500 migrants live in Calais, all of whom are set on making their way to Britain. Others, mainly from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Chad, occupy a disused industrial park on Rue des Garennes, two miles away.

Back at the new Jungle, Khan laughs at plans to use the Royal Navy to stop migrants. ‘If they make it harder in one way, we will find another way,’ he says, sipping coffee and munching on bread supplied by a local charity which provides three meals per day. 

Next to him stands Abebe Haile, 34, an Ethiopian from the capital Addis Ababa, who claims to have fled death threats issued because he was an opposition politician.

‘The British Government should welcome us, not refuse us,’ he says. ‘Ask her [Home Secretary Priti Patel] when she wears clothes, where does the cotton come from? When she drinks coffee, where that comes from? It’s from Africa. They should respect us. We will keep trying no matter what.’

Large numbers of refugees try and make the crossing every day. These days passage to England is going comparatively cheaply – as little as £350 in some cases

His determination is typical of other at the camp.

According to official figures, more than 3,500 migrants have reached the UK this year from Calais, including a record of 235 in 17 boats last Thursday.

On Friday, 130 arrived aboard 13 boats and more than 2,000 entered the country using this route in June alone – more than four times the known total of 500 for the whole of 2018.

Back in the new Jungle, migrants use trees as clothes lines, draping jeans, T-shirts and even Islamic prayer mats across the branches to dry. 

The ground below is littered with food and carrier bags full of rubbish.

Poppy Cleary, a British volunteer working for charity L’Auberge des Migrants, rejects the charge that organisations like hers encourage migrants to converge on Calais.

‘They are leaving their homes because their countries are being bombed. They are refugees. What is wrong with providing some food, shelter and water to drink on such a hot day?’ she says.

As we walk across the uneven ground, a group of Syrians rise from beneath their tarpaulin and surround me.

Abu Amir, 31, says he is from the war-torn city of Aleppo and has been in Calais for ten months. He was a pharmacist in Syria and believes he will be able to resume that career if he can get to Britain.

‘The agents can put you on a boat for 350 euros. I have already done it once, but I was caught. I will try again,’ he says.

He is dismissive when told that it is difficult to become a legal resident in the UK and fulfilling his dream of becoming a pharmacist may prove impossible.

‘There is nothing here in France,’ he says. ‘I know there is security and work in Britain.’

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2020-08-08 22:03:46Z
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Coronavirus beachgoers attacked over 'complete selfishness' amid pandemic - Express poll - Express

Pictures emerged yesterday of beaches in Dorset packed full of tourists despite the Government's advice on social distancing. In light of the high number of people heading to the beach, Express.co.uk asked readers on Saturday, "Do you feel safe visiting beaches in 36C Britain today despite coronavirus?" Voting on the poll, 1,695 (80 percent) out of 2,141 insisted they didn't feel safe visiting the beaches at the moment.

In addition, 426 stated they would feel safe while just 20 weren't sure.

Commenting on the poll, one person said: "I live less than a 10-minute walk to the beach but there is no way I am going anywhere near it. Crazy people!"

A second person said: "Complete selfishness."

A third said: "It's not a matter of 'feeling safe', is it.

"It's about not wanting to help spread the virus, wanting to reduce the number of infections."

A fourth said: "I don't even feel safe where I live."

Due to the high volume of people descending on Bournemouth beach yesterday, the local council issued a red alert emergency.

The warning states social distancing is now impossible to maintain due to the large number of people.

JUST IN: 'People aren't following rules!' Woman terrified over crowds at beach

“The BCP Council’s Beach App is also updated regularly in real time by seafront rangers who are constantly monitoring numbers on the ground.

"If a section or several sections of the beach are coded in red, this means that social distancing is not possible.

"Our advice to visitors would be to avoid these areas, turn away and come back another day when it less busy, checking the app that morning.’’

Yesterday, the UK reported 55 new deaths according to the Department for Health and Social Care.

Of those 55, 54 were in England while just one was recorded in Wales.

The total number of deaths now stands at 46,566 deaths in all settings.

A further 758 cases were also reported taking the total to 309,763 cases.

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2020-08-08 22:00:00Z
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Oxford Street stabbing: Three arrested after teen killed - BBC News

A teenager has died after being stabbed in London's West End.

The male, who was aged in his late teens, died after the attack on Market Place at the junction with Oxford Street at about 17.30 BST.

Police found him suffering from a stab injury, and he was taken to a central London hospital where he was pronounced dead at 19.30.

Three males have been arrested in connection with the inquiry, and the Met Police is appealing for witnesses.

The teenager's next of kin have been informed, but he has yet to be formally identified.

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2020-08-08 21:58:01Z
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