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Selasa, 22 Desember 2020

Guess whose Christmas isn’t cancelled? - Financial Times

Silly season eh. It’s so dull following the so-called “news” at this time of the year isn’t it? Well not this year! Because — lucky all of us — several forces appear to have combined to liven things up really quite a lot. Turning on the radio has never felt more like an episode of Black Mirror and, frankly, we needed that kind of excitement to round off 2020.

And what could liven things up more at Christmas time than Christmas being cancelled? (OK yes aside from our borders closing and a new “Super-Covid” mutant virus strain and an even more panicky round of panic-buying and a fast-approaching no-deal Brexit?)

But despite the headlines, not everybody’s Christmas has been cancelled. For a start, of course, if you’re not in a Tier 4 area, you can still mix with two other households on Christmas Day itself. And, because of the “linked household” — ie support bubble — exemption, what that in fact means is that up to six households can in fact legally mix if each of those households is linked up with another. (If this is all a bit confusing, barrister Adam Wagner has done a good job of explaining it on his YouTube channel.) As Boris Johnson pointed out during his press conference on Saturday night, that doesn’t mean people should actually be aiming to mix that much. But they could do, legally speaking.

Even if you are in Tier 4, you can still get together with another household if you’re in a support bubble with them. Boris also mentioned this during the press conference on Saturday, saying this rule would remain in place “for those of particular risk of loneliness or isolation”. And we all know that includes people who live alone or single parents — for good reason.

But what we hadn’t noticed until now is that it also includes another group of people. The odd thing about this group is that we haven’t heard them being mentioned by either the prime minister or other government ministers in press conferences or any media appearances. And you would have thought an exemption that applies to, by our estimates, about three-quarters of a million households in the UK might have come up.

After all, not everyone has the time to wade through the pages of ever- changing coronavirus legislations (or even the capacity to work out what they actually mean). Fret not though, because you don’t actually have to when you have FT Alphaville (h/t to a Kelly relative for drawing our attention to this).

Take a look at the highlighted bit here:

How many of you knew about this exemption? Our impression is that it is not widely known about, and yet it means that any household that includes a baby who was under the age of 1 on December 2 (when this new exemption came into law) is allowed to form a support bubble with another household of any size, and in any tier. Even if that household includes multiple other adults and/or children, it still appears to be allowed.

Now, we imagine that if you’re the one whose job it is to set the rules, you probably are aware of all these exemptions. And, Christmas cracker question: can you think of anyone who sets the rules who has a baby under the age of one (as well as an unknown number of other children above the age of one)?

That’s right. Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds’ baby Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson was born on April 29 of this year, and thus their household is allowed to bubble up with another household of any size, both over Christmas and indeed at any time.

Now we wouldn’t want to comment on whether Boris’s own family would want to spend some time with him over Christmas, but what about Carrie’s?

Downing Street told us the prime minister would remain at Downing Street on Christmas Day, but declined to comment on whether he and Ms Symonds would be joined by members of a support bubble, or indeed whether they had made use of the linked household exemption that applies to them since it came into law on December 2nd.

Downing Street also declined to comment on where the prime minister and his fiancée would be spending the days after Christmas, saying such details are not usually disclosed about the prime minister.

But we do find it quite odd that a rule that applies to (again per our estimates) well over a million adults hasn’t been properly communicated to the public.

Even Larry the Number 10 Cat doesn’t seem to have understood the implications:

We’re not quite sure we understand the rationale for the exemption. If it’s about giving mothers with postnatal depression a break, we can kind of understand that, but we are talking here about those who have partners (or at least one other adult living with them) so one would hope that in the majority of these cases, that partner can provide at least some support. And if this is the rationale, what about exemptions for other depressed people? Surely new parents living together are not the highest-risk category for those suffering from “loneliness or isolation”?

We are of course not so cynical as to be suggesting that the rules have been deliberately tailored to give the prime minister’s family some leeway (what do you take us for). We just wanted to make sure you understood the rules so that you can have a happy Christmas while avoiding a criminal record. Enjoy your walks with one other person and your freezing outdoor swims and your last unrationed imports and your merry grouse-shooting (yes the “outdoor activity” loophole is still in place in Tiers 1, 2 and 3).

Related links:
About that ‘two-metre rule’ - FT Alphaville
‘Rule of 6’ confusion shows scrutiny must work both ways - FT

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2020-12-22 05:00:00Z
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Brexit LIVE: Boris Johnson warned if trade talk leak is true he will 'NEVER be forgiven' - Daily Express

Former Brexit Party MEP Martin Daubney took to Twitter to sound his dire warning in the face of widespread reports suggesting British demands for a 60 percent reduction in the catch by value in British waters had been cut to 35 percent - much closer to the 25 percent proposed by Brussels. Mr Daubney posted: "If this is true, it will be a total betrayal of our coastal communities. The Tories will never be forgiven."

His comments are indicative of a deep-seated unease among ex-Brexit Party MEPs fearful of Mr Johnson signing up to a deal which compromises UK sovereignty, with the transition period ending on December 31.

Speaking after Mr Johnson's joint statement with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier this month, David Bull told Express.co.uk: "I've never seen a bigger pantomime in my life and it is exactly what we were expecting.

"Look at the language of that statement. The fact that it is a joint statement is really fishy for a start.

"There is also no deadline for the ongoing talks, which is also really suspicious.

8.42am update: Andrew Neil confronts Brexit Remainer over brutal attack on Nigel Farage – ‘Gammon idiots’

BBC presenter Andrew Neil confronted a Brexit Remainer on social media after the user attacked Nigel Farage.

The journalist issued the brutal message on Twitter over the weekend. It comes as the UK is coming close to the end of the Brexit transition period with little hope of a deal.

One Twitter user replied to Mr Neil and wrote: "Let's hope the gammon idiots who voted leave understand that it's their slavish following of the Farage dog whistle that got us here in the first place. I'm not sure they will."

Mr Neil replied: "Well said, Sam. A stellar lesson in how to make friends and influence people."

8.25am update: 'We didn’t vote for this!' Boris Johnson brutally ripped apart over handling of Brexit

Brexiteer Ben Habib has issued a scathing attack on Boris Johnson for how he has navigated the UK's departure from the EU.

In particular, the former Brexit Party MEP claimed the public did not vote to leave by 52 percent to 48 percent in 2016 to have left Northern Ireland "largely in the EU".

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mr Habib claimed the future ramifications for Northern Ireland will only be realised in the years to come following Brexit.

Not only did Mr Habib hit out at the “annexation” of Northern Ireland but he also claimed the Prime Minister has "deceived" British voters over the assurances of an oven-ready trade deal.

8.20am update: No chance of extension, says Patel

Home Secretary Priti Patel has squashed any suggestion of an extension to the transition period after the end of the year.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is pushing for a delay in the light of the emergence of a new, more contagious strain of COVID-19, which has prompted France to ban UK lorries, as well as numerous countries banning flights from the UK.

Asked if there was any temptation to seek an extension to the Brexit transition period due to end this year, Ms Patel told Sky News: "No there is not."

8.05am update: Brexit nightmare as Boris Johnson could let EU take 'retaliatory action' against UK

Brexit concessions made by Boris Johnson could "allow the EU to take action" against the UK in the future, experts have warned as negotiations falter.

As the threat of a no deal Brexit coincides with fears over the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is resisting an extension to negotiations with Brussels.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and a number of Conservative MPs have called for talks to go into next year after France banned UK freight from entering the country.

This means there is just a week and a half for Brussels and London to agree and then ratify a trade deal before the transition period ends on January 1.

Disagreements that have prevented a trade deal from being agreed include clashes over fisheries and regulatory divergence.

7.56am update: Food prices may go up, warn MPs

Food prices may rise if the Government does not make changes to post-Brexit immigration policy, MPs have said.

Plans to restrict UK food producers' access to workers from the rest of Europe risks undermining their competitiveness, according to the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee.

British food and farming industries face "dramatic changes" when freedom of movement from the EU ends with the post-Brexit transition period on December 31, the committee's report said.

The study noted that people from European Economic Area (EEA) countries currently account for the majority of workers in sectors of the food industry like meat processing and picking crops.

The committee said: "The Government must be ready to make changes to its new immigration policy, or risk increased food prices."

7.48am update: Brexit just the beginning! Brits told talks with EU to go on for YEARS even if deal done

An EU trade deal will not be the end of negotiations with Brussels, one of the architects of Brexit has warned.

There are just 10 days now until the UK leaves the transition period with the EU. Four and a half years after the 2016 referendum, Britain will finally break free from Brussels.

Deal or no deal, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed the UK will be no longer be tied to the bloc's rules from January 1.

But Baroness Gisela Stuart of Edgbaston, one of the most prominent eurosceptics during the Brexit campaign has warned the end of the transition period will not spell the end of talks with the EU, even if a deal is signed.

7.41am update: 'Irresponsible' France uses border FURY to take Brexit swipe - ‘Could have helped!’

A French official has claimed the nation "could have helped" the UK battle the new COVID-19 strain if it hadn't voted for Brexit as the two nations battle over the shutdown of the French border.

The comments come as Natalie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover, attacked the French Government for its decision to suddenly close its border with the UK amid concern over the new strain.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the coronavirus mutation appears to be more infectious than the previous strain.

Ms Elphicke hit out at France’s border closure, calling it "unnecessary, unhelpful, and irresponsible".

Thierry Breton, France’s EU commissioner, used the border shutdown to describe Brexit as a “tragedy”.

He told business news outlet BFM Business: “It's a tragedy what's happening in Britain, and this Brexit is a tragedy – we see it more and more every day."

He also claimed the country could have provided assistance to the UK if it had “chosen to remain in the European Union”.

7.30am update: "Tories will never be forgiven"

Boris Johnson will never be forgiven if he signs up to a deal which sells out Britain's fishing industry, a leading Brexiteer has said, amid rumours UK negotiators are on the verge of striking an agreement with the EU.

Mr Daubney posted: "If this is true, it will be a total betrayal of our coastal communities.

"The Tories will never be forgiven."

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2020-12-22 07:31:00Z
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COVID-19: England set for New Year lockdown as coronavirus variant spreads across UK - Sky News

England has been put on notice for a New Year lockdown after the government's chief scientific adviser warned that an extension of Tier 4 restrictions may be needed.

With the new variant now surging across the UK, an announcement that large areas of England will join London and parts of southeast England in Tier 4 is expected on Wednesday 30 December, when the next review of the tier system is due.

The clampdown is expected to come into force in the new year.

Latest coronavirus updates from the UK and around the world

The rapid spread of the virus means the COVID-19 crisis facing Boris Johnson is dramatically escalating, with the chaos at Channel ports caused by the French travel ban expected to last at least until Christmas Eve.

And in another blow to the travelling public, the Stormont executive in Belfast is advising against non-essential travel between Northern Ireland and Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The executive is also urging anyone arriving in Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK to self-isolate for 10 days.

Home Secretary Priti Patel ramped up warnings about the new COVID-19 variant, telling Sky News: "It's a stronger strain of the virus in the sense that it's more transmittable, it's a bouncy virus."

She added that "of course, if the virus continues to spread then we will take stronger measures".

The looming Tier 4 extension in England follows a warning from England's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance on Monday during a Downing Street news conference alongside the prime minister.

Although he said a decision on Tier 4 areas was for politicians, Sir Patrick said cases had spread "everywhere" and warned the country to brace itself for further restrictions.

"The evidence on this virus is that it spreads easily," he said. "It's more transmissible, we absolutely need to make sure we have the right level of restrictions in place.

"I think it is likely that this will grow in numbers of the variant across the country and I think it's likely, therefore, that measures will need to be increased in some places, in due course, not reduced."

And on Tier 4 measures, he urged the public to take the new COVID variant "incredibly seriously" and said it required "more action in order to keep it down and that's why Tier 4 is important".

In another highly significant development at the Downing Street news conference, Mr Johnson signalled that another government U-turn may be on the way on schools reopening in January.

After repeatedly saying during the pandemic that keeping schools open was a "national priority", the prime minister said the return of pupils to classrooms in the New Year would be kept under review.

"The most useful thing I can tell you at this stage is obviously we want, if we possibly can, to get schools back in a staggered way at the beginning of January in the way that we have set out," he said.

"But obviously... the commonsensical thing to do is to follow the path of the epidemic and as we showed last Saturday to keep things under constant review.

"But it is very, very important to get kids and keep kids in education if you possibly can."

Meanwhile, government scientific advisers have claimed that unless the government imposed another national lockdown within days thousands of lives could be lost in a "human disaster".

Speaking during a briefing by leading scientists, Robert West, a member of the government's SAGE advisory committee, said the current tier system was unlikely to contain the spread of the virus.

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"We need to reset our strategy and move rapidly to a zero COVID strategy of the kind that many have been proposing," he said.

"This will involve stricter but more rational social distancing rules across the country and finally be doing what we should have done from the start - to build the kind of test, travel, isolate and support programmes they have in countries in the Far East.

"It sounds expensive, but the alternative could well be a catastrophic collapse in confidence in the country's ability to control the virus and the economic, human and social disaster that would follow."

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2020-12-22 02:41:40Z
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Senin, 21 Desember 2020

COVID-19: If the science is right, it's a question of when not if there is an even tougher lockdown - Sky News

The new strain of coronavirus has changed everything. If you took away anything else from from today's low-key business-as-normal prime ministerial press conference, you shouldn't have done.

Expectations which were being set just a week ago have been upended, plans everywhere from the Treasury to the Department for Education are being rewritten and the start of 2021 looks all but certain to be much more grim, even if the government itself is not quite ready to spell it all out with the candour it could.

The most important meeting of the day did not involve Boris Johnson, but government scientific advisers trying to work out what to do next.

Their conclusion should worry everyone.

They doubled down on their assessment that the new variant of coronavirus spreads faster, 50% to 70% faster, than the existing strain.

Whilst true that it does not cause a more severe illness or higher mortality rate, and that the vaccine is likely to work on the new variant, the transmissibility is itself a devastating development.

Politicians feel they cannot let the disease "rip through" the community, as it would result in more infections, more hospitalisations and more deaths and overwhelm the NHS. The new strain makes it harder to contain.

If the science is right, the only question is when not if the government introduces an even tougher lockdown than the one announced by the prime minister's emergency press conference on Saturday night.

Mr Johnson's chief scientific advisor coughed to this in the middle of the press conference, in passing, with little fanfare.

Pressed on whether there was a need for new restrictions, Sir Patrick Vallance declared that "measures are likely to be increased in some places in due course".

Speaking from the podium in Downing Street, standing next to the prime minister, this is as good as a promise to the nation as it comes, even though the prime minister didn't engage or acknowledge, however.

Privately Downing Street concedes this means more areas going into the newly created Tier 4, but believe this can be held off to the next formal review point of 30 December. We shall see.

The second area lacking complete transparency comes over schools.

Government scientific advisers have formally sounded the alarm bells over secondary school aged pupils.

Today they said that the new variant can be transmitted just as must by children as by adults.

Over in Northern Ireland, the health minister has announced schools are all not set to reopen in January.

There are senior voices in government saying don't open the schools in January if you want to avoid case rates spiking massively.

Mr Johnson, however, was equivocal. Look at the way he phrased his reply: "I think the most useful thing I can tell you at this stage is obviously if we possibly can get schools back in a staggered way at the beginning of January, the way that we have set out.

"But obviously, the commonsensical thing to do is follow the path of the epidemic as we showed last Saturday and keep things under constant review.

"It is very, very important to get kids and keep kids in education if we possibly can."

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He does not suggest parents prepare for the worst. But he does not - because he cannot - suggest they assume schools open as normal.

When might we find out what January holds? Neil Ferguson, the Imperial academic who is back advising government, said that the best thing to do would be monitor COVID cases over the next two weeks while schools are shut and people are at home, and decide after that.

Mr Johnson, as ever, is unlikely to take a decision he doesn't yet need to make.

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2020-12-21 22:48:03Z
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COVID-19: 'Continue to shop normally' - Boris Johnson tries to reassure public after France freight ban - Sky News

Britons have been told to continue shopping normally, despite France banning freight hauliers from crossing the English Channel over fears surrounding a new variant of coronavirus.

Addressing a Downing Street news conference, Boris Johnson said the "vast majority" of food and medical supplies are unaffected by the move.

Follow live COVID updates from the UK and across the world

The discovery of the variant and worries about its spread saw the prime minister announce a new Tier 4 of COVID-19 restrictions for parts of England at the weekend, effectively cancelling Christmas plans for millions.

Mr Johnson also reduced the planned five-day relaxation of restrictions over the festive period to just Christmas Day.

The emergence of the new variant, which could be up to 70% more transmissible than other variants of coronavirus, has also seen a raft of countries introduce travel bans from the UK.

France went one step further by also restricting hauliers for 48 hours - while most others have exempted them to keep accompanied trade moving.

"It is vital first to stress that these delays - which are only occurring at Dover - only affect human-handled freight, and that is only 20% of the total arriving from or departing to the European continent," Mr Johnson said.

And in a message to the public after fears were raised of potential shortages, the prime minister added: "These delays only apply to a very small percentage of food entering the UK, and as British supermarkets have said, their supply chains are strong and robust, so everyone can continue to shop normally," Mr Johnson said.

Sainsbury's and Tesco have both said they have enough food for customers over Christmas, but warned of potential shortages of items like lettuce, cauliflower and citrus fruits if the freight ban continues.

Meanwhile, Tim Rycroft of the Food and Drink Federation said there was "no reason to be concerned for shoppers at the moment" - but voiced hopes the current serious disruption is a "wake up call to remind us of the fragility of these supply chains".

The PM said he had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron and both sides are working to "unblock the flow of trade as fast as possible", as well as chairing a meeting of the government's emergency COBRA committee.

And while he said the government "fully" understands the "anxieties" of European countries about COVID-19 and the new variant, Mr Johnson told the news conference: "It is also true that we believe the risks of transmission by a solitary driver sitting alone in the cab are really very low.

"And so we hope to make progress as fast as we possibly can."

Answering questions from journalists later in the news conference, the PM said of his call with the French leader: "He stressed he was keen to sort it out in the next few hours if we can."

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, speaking alongside Mr Johnson, urged people not to travel to Kent with the closure of the French border.

And he said lorry drivers were "steering clear" and "as a result we haven't seen any problems in the area".

Mr Shapps added: "Most of the lorries who are there are primarily European hauliers looking to transit back across to the continent."

He said the moveable barrier on the M20 will be deployed as part of Operation Brock to enable traffic to flow in both directions.

The PM said the government had "activated our long-prepared plans" to cope with Brexit disruption in the county and had been able to reduce the number of lorries waiting on the M20 from 500 to 170.

Highways England said Operation Brock would replace Operation Stack, which was activated overnight on Sunday, with hauliers "advised to avoid travelling to Kent as disruption could last for several days".

It said Operation Brock "opens up more of the road network" in the county "because it means traffic can continue to move in both directions on the M20 whereas Stack effectively closes it to coastbound traffic".

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Highways England added: "To make sure the barrier is deployed and removed safely, the M20 will be closed coastbound between junction 7 (for Maidstone) and junction 9 (Ashford), and London-bound between junctions 9 and 8 (Maidstone East), overnight tonight (8pm to 8am).

"The M20 will reopen by 8am Tuesday morning with the new road layout in place. Whenever the M20 is closed, signed diversions will be in place."

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2020-12-21 20:03:30Z
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COVID-19: More areas could go into Tier 4 as variant strain spreads, Sir Patrick Vallance suggests - Sky News

More areas in England could be placed into Tier 4 restrictions - equivalent to a lockdown - as the variant COVID strain spreads across the country, the government's chief scientific adviser has suggested.

London and vast swathes of southeast England have already been put into tightened measures due to the high presence of the new VUI-2020/01 strain, which is feared to spread more quickly than the original virus.

Sir Patrick Vallance told a Downing Street news conference on Monday that more areas in England could soon see tougher restrictions due to the variant.

Follow live COVID updates from the UK and across the world

And Prime Minister Boris Johnson cast some doubt over whether schools would return across England in January following the latest development in the coronavirus crisis.

"The evidence on this virus is that it spreads easily, it's more transmissible, we absolutely need to make sure we have the right level of restrictions in place," Sir Patrick said.

"I think it is the case that this will spread more."

The government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) had met earlier on Monday and Sir Patrick revealed there was now a "reinforced" view that the variant strain was spreading more quickly.

"The conclusion was that the experts have high confidence in the fact that this is transmitting more readily," Sir Patrick added.

"That again reinforces the point that it's important to get ahead of this and to make sure that the tiering system is adequate to stop things going, and not to watch it and react in retrospect."

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Sir Patrick said that "inevitable mixing" over Christmas - in those areas where households are still allowed to meet - would mean "some increases in numbers over the next few weeks".

He told people planning to see others on Christmas Day that they should "follow the rules carefully and make an assumption that you could be infectious, you could be the person spreading it to somebody else, and behave accordingly".

Sir Patrick also urged the public to take the new COVID strain "incredibly seriously" and warned that it requires "more action in order to keep it down and that's why Tier 4 is important".

Downing Street has previously suggested schools would still reopen in Tier 4 areas after the Christmas holidays.

But, asked about schools on Monday, the prime minister said the return of pupils to classrooms in the New Year would be kept under "constant review".

"But obviously... the common sensical thing to do is to follow the path of the epidemic and as we showed last Saturday to keep things under constant review.

"But it is very, very important to get kids and keep kids in education if you possibly can."

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMihAFodHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9jb3ZpZC0xOS1tb3JlLWFyZWFzLWNvdWxkLWdvLWludG8tdGllci00LWFzLXZhcmlhbnQtc3RyYWluLXNwcmVhZHMtc2lyLXBhdHJpY2stdmFsbGFuY2Utc3VnZ2VzdHMtMTIxNjk2MjbSAYgBaHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnNreS5jb20vc3RvcnkvYW1wL2NvdmlkLTE5LW1vcmUtYXJlYXMtY291bGQtZ28taW50by10aWVyLTQtYXMtdmFyaWFudC1zdHJhaW4tc3ByZWFkcy1zaXItcGF0cmljay12YWxsYW5jZS1zdWdnZXN0cy0xMjE2OTYyNg?oc=5

2020-12-21 18:34:25Z
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