Keir Starmer's big rebuild is crumbling as he falls in the polls and is accused of stealing ideas - Daily Mail

Keir Starmer's big rebuild is already crumbling: Labour leader falls in the polls and is accused of stealing ideas as he tries to relaunch himself as the new Clement Attlee

• Labour leader hoped to revive his fortunes by setting out a bold vision for Britain
• He claimed Covid had created a 'mood in the air' similar to post-World War Two
• Sir Keir said it was Labour's 'moral crusade' to tackle inequality and start anew 

By Martin Beckford For The Daily Mail

Published: 22:46 GMT, 18 February 2021 | Updated: 00:54 GMT, 19 February 2021

Sir Keir Starmer called for the creation of recovery bonds in his much-anticipated relaunch speech – but suffered a fresh setback as a poll found he was less popular than Boris Johnson.

The Labour leader hoped to revive his fortunes within his own party and among voters by setting out a bold vision for the country as well as a blitz of new policies.

He claimed Covid had created a ‘mood in the air’ similar to the aftermath of the Second World War, when Labour’s Clement Attlee seized power from Winston Churchill and built the welfare state.

Sir Keir said it was Labour’s ‘moral crusade’ to tackle inequality and start a new chapter for Britain, and said the Tories had created a ‘roadmap to yesterday’.

Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) said he was driven by the desire to change people’s lives and right injustices

Starmer, it was claimed, was going to be as ‘bold’ as Clement Attlee (pictured), whose post-war government created the NHS and welfare state

The ‘British recovery bond’ would raise billions to be invested in infrastructure and jobs in the wake of the economic and health crisis of the past year, he said.

Similar to other products offered by the state-run National Savings and Investments bank (NS&I), the bonds would be bought by households who have put cash away during the pandemic. ‘It would also provide security for savers and give millions of people a proper stake in Britain’s future,’ Sir Keir said.

Numerically illiterate 

‘This is bold, it’s innovative. And it’s an example of the active, empowering government I believe is needed if we’re to build a more secure economy.’

He also said if he were Prime Minister he would ‘back a new generation of British entrepreneurs’ by providing 100,000 start-up loans for new business.

But the Tories said neither idea was new, with the Centre for Policy Studies think-tank suggesting a Northern Recovery Bond last week, while start-up loans have run since 2012.

Digitally restored war propaganda poster. This vintage World War II poster features factory workers and a soldier charging into battle with his rifle

The Labour leader (pictured) hoped to revive his fortunes within his own party and among voters by setting out a bold vision for the country as well as a blitz of new policies

He also said if he were Prime Minister he would ‘back a new generation of British entrepreneurs’ by providing 100,000 start-up loans for new business

Amanda Milling, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, said: ‘Keir Starmer said this speech would deliver his big vision for the future of the country, a “policy blitz” with ideas to rival Beveridge and relaunch his failing leadership.

‘But there are only two new policies – one taken from the Conservatives and the other from the CPS, the think tank co-founded by Margaret Thatcher.

‘After ten months of Keir Starmer all Labour has to offer is others’ ideas, empty rhetoric and calling for things the Government is already doing.’

Sir Keir said he was driven by the desire to change people’s lives and right injustices, adding: ‘That’s not just about policy choices – it’s an utter determination that pulses through my veins.’

But polling by Savanta ComRes last night found he was less popular than the Prime Minister.

The survey put his net favourability at minus four, down two points in the past month, while Mr Johnson’s has risen from minus eight to minus two in a month. 

The Labour leader also fell further behind on the question of who would make the best prime minister, with 27 per cent choosing him (down from 31) compared with 43 for Mr Johnson (up from 38). 

Sir Keir’s speech failed to win over critics on the Left who argue he is not radical enough.

The No Holding Back group, set up by Corbynite MPs Ian Lavery and Jon Trickett, tweeted: ‘Dear Keir Starmer. Labour needs a partnership with society, paid for by taxation... not a partnership with business, paid for by society.’

Howard Beckett, from Unite, Britain’s biggest trade union, said the speech was ‘numerically illiterate’. But Christina McAnea, of the public sector union Unison, said: ‘Keir Starmer is right – what the UK needs after the pandemic is a bold change of direction, not a return to the failed austerity and spending cuts of the past.’ 

All stardust gone... now he's on a journey to nowhere 

By Andrew Pierce for the Daily Mail

As they tried desperately to attract the attention of the nation yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer’s aides promised that the Labour leader was about to unveil the most radical policy agenda since the Beveridge Reforms that reshaped Britain after the Second World War.

Alas, it was not to be.

Few pulses were set racing by yet another faintly wooden speech from an ex-lawyer whose reserves of stardust appear to be dwindling.

Sir Keir Starmer’s (pictured) aides promised that the Labour leader was about to unveil the most radical policy agenda since the Beveridge Reforms that reshaped Britain after the Second World War

Rattled by the increasingly noisy talk –much of it from former admirers – that suggests a ‘policy-light’ Starmer has no over-arching vision for the country, Labour apparatchiks had hoped the speech, grandly titled A New Chapter for Britain, would mark the political and economic dividing lines between the two main parties for the next decade.

Starmer, it was claimed, was going to be as ‘bold’ as Clement Attlee, whose post-war government created the NHS and welfare state.

In the end there were just two major initiatives: Start-up loans for 100,000 new businesses and so-called British Recovery Bonds.

The first idea was trailed as far back as 2012 by then Tory chancellor George Osborne. The second – which would see savers lend their money to the Government in return for a competitive interest rate, the cash used to rebuild the country post-Covid – was floated in the Daily Mail two weeks ago and is a pet policy of the Thatcherite think-tank the Centre for Policy Studies.

Two sensible-sounding ideas, but I very much doubt that they will be enough to change Starmer’s political fortunes.

A new poll gives Boris Johnson a 16-point lead – for Starmer, a dismal result at this stage in the electoral cycle after 120,000 Britons have lost their lives during the pandemic and as the country faces its worst economic crisis for 300 years. So why isn’t he cutting through?

One clue is provided by last month’s leaked strategy document, prepared by an external agency, which revealed that Labour voters were confused about ‘what we stand for... and who we represent’.

The proposed solution was for Starmer to appear more frequently beside the Union flag to ‘change the party’s body image’ – a move likely to appeal to the ‘red wall’ of working-class voters, especially in the north of England, captured by the Tories in the last election.

The flag-waving soon looked rather hollow, however, after a 2005 film emerged of Starmer admitting: ‘I often used to propose the abolition of the monarchy.’

The first idea was trailed as far back as 2012 by then Tory chancellor George Osborne (pictured in 2015)

In his leadership campaign, he positioned himself as the candidate who would end the civil war between Corbynites and Labour moderates. He won praise last year when he withdrew the whip from Jeremy Corbyn in the ongoing anti-Semitism row. Yet now the party’s hard Left is again agitating for control. Unlike Tony Blair, who relied heavily on his ‘old Left’, straight-talking deputy John Prescott, Starmer’s number two is the lightweight Angela Rayner, widely seen as coming from the ‘soft Left’, just as he does.

Starmer initially won praise at Prime Minister’s Questions with his understated forensic approach, honed in his former role as Director of Public Prosecutions. The style contrasted with Boris’s ‘bluster’.

In his leadership campaign, he positioned himself as the candidate who would end the civil war between Corbynites and Labour moderates. Pictured, Jeremy Corbyn

But to the horror of Starmer’s supporters, Boris is increasingly getting the upper hand in the Commons. A case in point came last month when Boris skewered Starmer over his support for the EU’s disastrous vaccine procurement. A tetchy Starmer shouted across the Chamber: ‘The PM knows I’ve never said that, from this despatch box or anywhere else!’

Within an hour Starmer had to issue a grovelling retraction.

The Tory jibe that Starmer is ‘Captain Hindsight’, repeatedly claiming that a certain policy was ‘obvious’ after the fact, has also started to stick.

Earlier this week the political strategist Tom Kibasi, a key figure in Starmer’s leadership campaign, said his leadership was on a ‘journey to nowhere’.

‘If Starmer were to depart as leader tomorrow he would not leave a trace of a meaningful project in his wake,’ he added.

The so-called landmark speech yesterday will do nothing to change that brutal assessment.  

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2021-02-18 22:46:00Z
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RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: No jab, no job - it's a no-brainer - Daily Mail

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: No jab, no job - it's a no-brainer. We live in a relatively free country where vaccination against anything is not compulsory... but why would anyone object?

By Richard Littlejohn for the Daily Mail

Published: 22:38 GMT, 18 February 2021 | Updated: 22:38 GMT, 18 February 2021

Cheerful Charlie Mullins, the Rod Stewart lookalike who runs Pimlico Plumbers, says he won’t employ anyone who refuses to have a Covid vaccination.

No jab, no job. No problem.

Mullins has spoken to his lawyers about modifying the contracts of his 400 existing staff and making it mandatory for all new hires.

Sounds good to me.

Our boiler went on the blink this week. Frankly, who would you want to come and repair it — someone who’s had the vaccine or Typhoid Mary’s spotty kid brother, runny nose in full flow?

Cheerful Charlie Mullins, the Rod Stewart lookalike who runs Pimlico Plumbers, says he won’t employ anyone who refuses to have a Covid vaccination. No jab, no job. No problem

Yes, we live in a relatively free country where vaccination against anything is not compulsory. But why would anyone object? As Mullins puts it: ‘Most people would crawl across the snow naked to get a vaccine at the moment.’

Amen to that, although you’ll be relieved to know that we’ve decided against Gary illustrating me doing just that. 

When my number came up on the escape committee a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t get there fast enough. There are some advantages to being an old git.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, even though 12 hours later I was shaking like Terry McCann locked in an industrial freezer and spent the night hallucinating like my old hippie mate Spot, who dropped a tab of bad acid during the Jimi Hendrix set at the 1970 Isle of Wight pop festival and convinced himself he had snakes coming out his eyes.

When I emailed my GP with my symptoms the next day he told me not to worry because he’d had exactly the same violent reaction to the Oxford/AstraZeneca version.

Mrs Littlejohn was given the Pfizer job and was right as rain. Luck of the draw, I guess.

My horrors had passed in 36 hours and I reckoned it was a small price to pay. I can’t wait for the second dose. A care worker is seen above being vaccinated

My friend Hunter Davies relates how he was walking home triumphantly across Hampstead Heath, after getting his first Pfizer dose at London’s Royal Free Hospital, when he bumped into one of his snooty Leftie neighbours who informed him: ‘We’re waiting for the Oxford jab.’

OK, yah. Be careful what you wish for, pet. Still, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I’d have had the British Leyland jab, if there was one.

Get in there!

My horrors had passed in 36 hours and I reckoned it was a small price to pay. I can’t wait for the second dose.

Some of you may be surprised at my support for employers like Mullins making vaccinations mandatory. After all, libertarianism is one of the unwavering, underlying principles of this column.

For instance, I’m viscerally opposed to identity cards — and disgusted by the Old Bill using Covid to stop motorists and demand to know where they’re going. 

They were even throwing their weight around on Valentine’s Day setting up roadblocks on bridges and main roads to prevent lovers getting together for an illicit cuddle.

But after a year of climbing the walls, anything that accelerates the process of getting life back to normal should be embraced with both hands.

Face it, if we’re ever going to travel abroad again, vaccine passports will be required. We already have to apply for visas or Estas if we want to visit the U.S, and get fingerprinted at the port of entry.

And post-Brexit, we’ll have to jump through a few bureaucratic hoops to get into the Costa Fortune, too.

Some of you may be surprised at my support for employers like Mullins making vaccinations mandatory. After all, libertarianism is one of the unwavering, underlying principles of this column

If you want access to a private club, you have to show a membership card. Football grounds, theatres and cinemas demand to see your ticket before they’ll let you in. So what’s the big deal about carrying a card indicating you’ve had the jab?

These are extraordinary times which call for extraordinary measures. Why wouldn’t you want to know if a tradesman entering your home had been vaccinated?

Who wouldn’t be prepared to flash a card to gain entry to a cherished boozer or favourite restaurant? It’s not ideal, granted, but the alternative is house arrest and penury.

We are where we are, like it or not. To be honest, I don’t particularly. But needs must.

If carrying a vaccine passport means I can finally get to see my mum and my sister in America for the first time since January 2020, then so be it.

If this is the cost of opening up the economy, then bring it on. In case you haven’t noticed, British business (online apart) is going to hell in a handcart. 

Figures out yesterday showed that two million people haven’t worked since last March. Furlough is hiding the true level of unemployment.

It will take years for the jobs market to recover. The hospitality sector is on its knees.

As this newspaper said yesterday, it’s time for boldness. Boris should ignore the sirens of the ‘science’ and kickstart the economy now that millions of the most vulnerable have been vaccinated.

If some people don’t like the idea of getting the jab, tough. I wouldn’t force them.

Some selfish employers, too, are happy to have their staff lounging about at home, doing sod all. Why should they care, while Dishi Rishi is footing the bill?

But maybe refusniks should have to wear a bell round their necks and sport a sandwich board declaring themselves ‘Unclean’.

My instinct is that many of those opposed to vaccination are perfectly content ‘working from home’ on full pay, while stuffing their faces with Hobnobs, watching daytime TV, and boasting smugly about how much they are saving on commuting costs and lunchtime sandwiches.

The unions, naturally, for purely political reasons, want lockdown to go on for ever, provided their members are still cashing their pay cheques. But the money is going to run out, sooner rather than later.

Some selfish employers, too, are happy to have their staff lounging about at home, doing sod all. Why should they care, while Dishi Rishi is footing the bill?

They’re living on borrowed time, with borrowed money. Once furlough ends, though, they’ll be handing out P45s like confetti.

But others, like Rod The Mod manque Charlie Mullins, don’t have that kind of luxury. Through the coldest winter in almost 14 years, and with boilers going on the blink every day, he can’t afford not to insist on his staff being vaccinated.

The economy needs to roar back, sharpish, or we’re all screwed.

If that means no jab, no job: No problem. It’s a no-brainer.

On Tuesday, I brought you news of plans to build a railway tunnel under the Irish Sea and suggested the contract should be given to Swampy, once he’s finished digging under Euston.

Since then I’ve heard from Mail reader Peter Close, who lives in Cullercoats (as in Dire Straits’ Tunnel of Love) but originally hails from Larne, Northern Ireland. 

Has it occurred to anyone, Peter wonders, that the Irish rail gauge is different from the mainland — 5ft 3in, compared with 4ft 8½in? 

So trains from Scotland wouldn’t work in Ireland, and vice versa. Off the rails, or what? Everybody back in the buffet car!

Tipped hat to my colleagues at the Daily Star for a couple of headlines this week which captured perfectly the hypocrisy of the Markles.

Monday’s Page One: ‘Publicity-shy woman tells 7.87 billion people: I’m pregnant.’

The next day: ‘Publicity-shy couple to tell all to Oprah.’

The first cut is the deepest

Who knew there were so many fans of the 1970s series Turtle’s Progress, mentioned in my last column? Talking Pictures should snap up the rights and start re-running it immediately.

Reader Andy Nelson tells me he used to drink in the same pub — The Three Horseshoes in Letchmore Heath, Herts — as Razor Eddie, aka the late Michael Attwell, also of EastEnders fame.

Razor Eddie is not to be confused with Razors, from The Long Good Friday, played by the actor P.H. Moriarty, who went on to feature as Hatchet Harry in Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.

So no stereotyping there, then?

You may recall Razors slicing up Erroll the Ponce (Paul Barber, aka Denzil from Only Fools).

As Bob Hoskins’s crime boss Harold Shand explained: ‘The youth of today call him the Human Spirograph.’

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2021-02-18 22:38:00Z
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Inside hotel quarantine: Gym worker from Brazil shares her journey from 'red list' country to UK - Daily Mail

Inside hotel quarantine: Gym worker from Brazil shares her journey from ‘red list’ country to UK as she tell how she arrives at Heathrow to be met by Border Force staff before being transferred to her room on bus

• Maria Eugênia Oliveira, 34, shared her quarantine journey on social media
• She filmed her hotel room at Heathrow's Radisson Blu when she arrived
• The gym attendant will spend ten days at the hotel after arriving from Brazil
• New rules mean anyone arriving from 'red list' countries must quarantine 

By Emer Scully For Mailonline

Published: 20:28 GMT, 18 February 2021 | Updated: 20:33 GMT, 18 February 2021

A gym worker from Brazil has shared her hotel quarantine journey after travelling from the 'red list' country to the UK yesterday.

Maria Eugênia Oliveira, 34, filmed as she waited at the airport, arrived at the hotel lobby and even offered a tour of her room at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel in Heathrow.

The gym attendant, who is currently living in London, will spend ten days at the hotel following her arrival in the UK. 

The new rules introduced on Monday mean people arriving in England must quarantine in a hotel for ten days at a cost of £1,750 if they have been to a country with a high Covid risk, such as Portugal or Brazil. 

Maria Eugênia Oliveira, 34, filmed as she waited at the airport, arrived at the hotel lobby and even offered a tour of her room at the Radisson Blu

At Heathrow airport Ms Oliveira filmed the lines at the UK border as she revealed she had been separated from other travellers to wait for transportation to the hotel.

She told MailOnline: 'When we arrived at the airport, right from the beginning there was a person showing us where to go with a sign with the "red list countries".

'They were showing us where to go, all the way there were loads of people holding these signs and showing us where to go.

'So when you approach the border you can see that most people go the regular way, where everybody normally goes and then we were pointed to go all the other way around. There was not a big queue, there were just a few people in front of me.'

The gym attendant, who is currently living in London, will spend ten days at the hotel following her arrival in the UK

Once inside her room she filmed the bathroom and looked inside the wardrobe where she found an ironing board, iron, and a hairdryer

In a cupboard beneath the TV (right) she found supplies to make tea and coffee. Left, the ironing board

She said the staff working at the border were 'very kind, very relaxed, very polite' as she was asked for a form she had to fill in on the Government website, her negative coronavirus test result, passport and proof of right to live in the UK.

She added: 'He checked all my documents and asked to see the email reservation for my hotel. Then I was taken to get my luggage downstairs. There was always someone by my side. 

'Then another person approached me with a UK border worker and asked for my hotel reservation, my passport and what was the purpose of my trip, how many days I had spent in Brazil and if I had anything to declare in my luggage. 

'They asked me to have a seat and wait with others before being transferred to the hotel. In total it took two and a half hours between the time I landed and when I arrived at the hotel.'

Ms Oliveira filmed the moment she waited in the lobby of Heathrow Radisson Blu to be shown to her room.

Videos taken the following morning showed a breakfast of yogurt, fruit, porridge and juice had been provided

She also showed off the contents of a suitcase which held a fluffy dressing gown, a coffee machine and various snacks and bottles of alcohol

Other travellers could be seen waiting in front of her as the group was processed.

Once inside her room she filmed the bathroom and looked inside the wardrobe where she found an ironing board, iron, and a hairdryer.

In a cupboard beneath the TV she found supplies to make tea and coffee.

She said: 'There was 11 of us in total in the bus between the airport and the hotel, only one passenger was not coming from Brazil. We had to keep social distancing inside the bus as well so each one of us had one seat.

Anthony Pium, 30, from Leyton, East London, holds up his laptop to the window of his room at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel near London Heathrow Airport today, displaying a message to the media outside asking for legal help

'When we arrived at the hotel they asked us for our passports for check in. After that we were taken to a conference room, they gave us a paper with all the rules we would have to follow during the stay, wifi passcodes and all the menus for all the days we were going to stay here. So we have two options for breakfast, lunch and dinner, one of them is vegetarian.'

She said her room was 'quite nice' with a 'big wardrobe', adding: 'I have an iron, I have a hairdryer, my room has two single beds, a nice TV, a fridge, a kettle so I can make some coffee. 

'Regarding hygiene, I have brought my own bodywash and toothpaste. Thank God I brought them – I haven’t asked actually - but I haven’t seen any. But I have towels and toilet paper and handwash provided.'

An exclusive video filmed by Mr Pium shows him being forced back into the Radisson Blu Hotel near Heathrow Airport today

Videos taken the following morning showed a breakfast of yogurt, fruit, porridge and juice had been provided.

What are the rules for entering Britain? 

• You cannot enter the UK if you've been in or through a country on the banned travel list (known as the 'red list') in the last 10 days, unless you're British, Irish or you have the right to live in the UK
• You must either quarantine where you're staying or in a managed quarantine hotel for 10 days
• What you need to do depends on where you travel in the 10 days before you arrive - if you travel in or through a country on the banned travel list within 10 days, you must stay managed quarantine hotel; if not, you can quarantine at home
• You need to provide your journey and contact details in the 48 hours before you arrive in the UK. You must do this by completing the online passenger locator form
• You'll need to show proof that you've completed the form when you arrive at the UK border as well as proof of a negative PCR or antigen test taken three days before departure 
• You could be fined £500 when you arrive at the border if you cannot provide proof that you have had a negative coronavirus test
• You do not need a test if you're travelling within the UK, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey; from Ireland; from Ascension, Falkland Islands or St Helena; and children under 11 do not need a test 
• After arriving at a quarantine hotel you will be tested on days two and eight of your stay using a PCR test self-administered in your room
• In Scotland, arrivals from all international destinations have to quarantine, even if they are not on the red list. 

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She also showed off the contents of a suitcase which held a fluffy dressing gown, a coffee machine and various snacks and bottles of alcohol. 

It comes after a British father-of-one tried to break out of a quarantine hotel near London Heathrow Airport this morning before going on hunger strike and claiming he was being held there 'under duress'.

Anthony Pium, 30, from Leyton, East London, was involved in an angry confrontation with security guards as he tried to force his way out of the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel 'to get some fresh air'.

An exclusive video filmed by Mr Pium shows him being forced back into the hotel. Security guards surrounded him and pushed him back as he asked to be allowed out for some air and repeatedly told them to social distance. 

Mr Pium today told MailOnline of his anguish of been detained at Heathrow last night, after he flew in from Sao Paulo, where he was working for his travel agency Sky Fly Travel. He said: 'I am being held under duress. I have not willingly signed any form that consents to me being held in quarantine at a hotel because of the Covid crisis.' 

Mr Pium, who was photographed wearing a Gucci hat worth £240 and a £325 T-shirt from French luxury fashion house Balmain, added: 'The only reason I filled in the form was that I could be allowed back into Britain. 

'They gave me this passenger locator form and I signed it with the words 'under duress' on it. They have tried to fine me £500 and told me that I have to pay £1750 for the hotel. But I haven't said yes to any of this. 

'I just wanted to get back into the country, quarantine at home and see my son, who is eight, and I'm really missing him. I did give them my bank account, and have tried to take the £1,750 but it has been declined because that account only has £17 on it and that was my plan. I am so angry about all this.'

Meanwhile a YouGov poll found 90 per cent of Britons are in favour of the quarantine scheme, while 72 per cent thought the rules should apply to all arrivals, not just those from the 33 countries on the UK's 'red list'.

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2021-02-18 20:28:00Z
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MSPs agree to publish Alex Salmond's inquiry submission - BBC News

PA Media

A key obstacle to Alex Salmond appearing before the inquiry into the handling of harassment complaints against him may have been removed.

MSPs on Holyrood's management group have agreed that a controversial submission to the inquiry by the former first minister can be published.

The submission accuses his successor, Nicola Sturgeon, of misleading parliament.

Mr Salmond had said he would not appear at the inquiry unless it was published.

The inquiry committee had previously refused to do so, citing legal concerns.

But the Scottish Parliament's corporate body ruled on Thursday afternoon that "on balance it is possible" to publish the submission.

The move could see Mr Salmond give evidence to MSPs on Wednesday of next week.

Ms Sturgeon would then appear the following week, with the first minister previously saying she was "relishing" the prospect of putting her side across and rebutting "conspiracy theories" about her.

• Did Nicola Sturgeon break the ministerial code?
• What is the Salmond and Sturgeon row all about?

The Holyrood inquiry was set up to investigate what went wrong with the government's internal investigation of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond, after he successfully took them to court.

The former SNP leader has also raised questions about Ms Sturgeon's role in the process, claiming she had "repeatedly" misled parliament about when she learned about the complaints and had therefore broken the ministerial code.

Mr Salmond said he would only face the Holyrood inquiry if the submission making these claims - which has been widely publicised - was formally published by the committee, so he could refer to it in his oral evidence.

However members twice voted along party lines to reject this, meaning a planned evidence session with Mr Salmond had to be called off earlier this month.

PA Media

After the second vote, the committee agreed to refer the matter to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, a group of MSPs responsible for the running of Holyrood.

And that group has now agreed that "on balance it would be possible to publish the submission by Alex Salmond on the ministerial code".

This could open the door to Mr Salmond giving evidence after all, with the former first minister having "cleared his diary" for a session on 24 February.

A spokeswoman for the inquiry committee said a letter would be sent inviting him to give evidence that day.

She also said the submission would be published "early next week" once it had been processed in line with evidence-handling rules - which may mean parts are redacted.

'Utterly bewildered'

Opposition members - who had been defeated in the committee votes over publishing the submission - welcomed the move, with Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser saying it was "the right decision".

Labour's Jackie Baillie added: "This decision is most welcome and should pave the way for Mr Salmond appearing before the committee next week."

However the SNP hit out at the decision, with MSP George Adam saying that people across Scotland would be "utterly bewildered" that the corporate body had "ignored clear legal advice".

After Mr Salmond, the only witness left to give evidence to the inquiry will be the first minister herself.

Ms Sturgeon has repeatedly rejected accusations of wrongdoing, saying: "I do not consider that I breached the ministerial code - I will make that case very, very robustly".

Her spokesman said the publication of the submission "changes nothing" for the first minister, because "she has always expected to be questioned on its contents".

He added: "The only frustration is that she has still not had the chance to rebut the claims and conspiracy stories that have been levelled at her - and has lost count of how many times she has agreed to appear before the committee, only for the date to be postponed."

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2021-02-18 17:41:00Z
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Covid UK: Hospitality bosses demand businesses reopened from April - Daily Mail

Hospitality bosses demand ALL pubs, restaurants and hotels must reopen from April and call for overhaul of Tier system to stop job losses after they 'STORMED OUT of meeting with ministers' over plans for coming out of lockdown

• PM  will address hard-hit hospitality industry in 'road map out of lockdown'
• Expected to allow pubs reopen in May with maximum of two households indoors
• Rumours circulating that pubs may be allowed to reopen outdoor-only in April
• The move has sparked fears for Britain's 30,000 venues without beer gardens
• Pub owners left Government meetings after accused of leaking road map plans

By Tom Pyman and Jemma Carr For Mailonline

Published: 17:26 GMT, 18 February 2021 | Updated: 18:33 GMT, 18 February 2021

Hospitality bosses are demanding all pubs, restaurants and hotels must be allowed to reopen from April after 'storming out' of a meeting with ministers over plans for coming out of lockdown.

Business chiefs are also calling for a radical overhaul of the lockdown Tier system as part of efforts to prevent mass job losses.

Trade group UK Hospitality has submitted a document to the Prime Minister ahead of next week's announcement, urging venues to be allowed to trade in all Tiers other than Tier 4, which is already considered, in everything but name, a full lockdown. 

Some pubs fear outdoor-only service will be permitted in April, meaning financial support from the Treasury could be cut off for all venues as a viable alternative to closures has been offered

Under the Government's current rules, all hospitality venues are forced to close in Tier 3 areas, while those in Tier 2 can only operate if they serve customers a 'substantial meal'.

UK Hospitality says the industry lost £72 billion in sales in 2020, its worst year on record, and is now approaching a period where venues have been closed nationally for more than half of the last 12 months.

The document, seen by the Telegraph, said: 'The tier system that was in place as the country entered lockdown is unviable for the sector and must be reformed ahead of reopening.'  

It comes after furious pub bosses stormed out of a heated Government meeting earlier today. 

The PM is expected to allow pubs to reopen in May with a maximum of two households allowed to sit together indoors and the rule-of-six applying outside.

And, in a bid to make the transition back to normality even quicker, ministers are urging the Government to introduce vaccine passports as a way to revive bars, pubs and restaurants. 

But these have been slammed as 'unworkable' by countless venues who claim their target market - 18 to 25 year olds - wont be able to get the jab until the Autumn. 

And now, rumours are circulating that pubs may be allowed to reopen with outdoor-only service basis as early as April - sparking fears for Britain's 30,000 venues without beer gardens who could see their Treasury support cut off. 

Tensions over the pub issue erupted this week when pub owners walked out of Government meetings after ministers accused them of leaking the high-anticipated road map plans, insiders told The Sun. 

Pub bosses stormed out of a heated Government meeting as Boris Johnson faces pressure to keep hospitality shut beyond the spring, sources claim

Representative for the Campaign for Pubs in south-west England Alastair Kerr said: 'The proposal by the Government to only allow pubs to open and serve their outside areas, such as their beer gardens is an absurd idea and should not be implemented. 

'Pubs have suffered their worst trading year on record and if this policy were to be put in place, then upwards of 30,000 of our beloved British pubs would stay in this prolonged suffering.  

'Pubs play a crucial role in our society, communities and simply can no longer be poorly treated by this Government. 

'The Government must see that pubs have had an unproportionate burden of restrictions placed on them and now it must support our pubs not hinder our pubs.' 

Paul Cook, landlord of The Angry Parrot, in Cheltenham, told MailOnline: 'Me and my partner run a micropub and our outdoor space is extremely small.

'It is hard enough trading when you are socially distanced but you have  weather to worry about too.

'I just think there is a complete lack of understanding and empathy.'   

Gary Murphy, who runs the Ye Olde Mitre in High Barnet, north London, said he does have a 'large' beer garden with a roof - but it is not big enough for him to turn a profit.

He said: 'I have limited places. It limits the people that will come and how much I can sell.'

He said older patrons would be less likely to buy drinks.

Chairman of the Thwaites pub group Richard Bailey said: 'Once again the pubs of this nation will be made a scapegoat in the reopening plan.' 

Earlier today, bosses warned that 'unworkable' vaccine passports won't save the hard-hit hospitality industry this summer as drinkers in their 20s can't get the jab until Autumn.

'Unworkable' vaccine passports won't save the hard-hit hospitality industry this summer as its target age demographic won't get the jab until the Autumn, bosses have warned (file image)

Senior ministers are urging Mr Johnson to sanction official documents showing a person's immunisation status as a way of getting clubs, cinemas and theatres reopened sooner. 

But leaders in the entertainment industry say vaccine passports won't help them claw back their pandemic loses in the peak summer season as their key demographic - under 25s - won't be vaccinated much later in the year.

The Government's ambitious jab programme aims to have every over-50 vaccinated by May.

But the other 21 million adults over the age of 18 and not clinically vulnerable are not scheduled to get the jab until October - after summer season where bars, pubs and clubs are usually at their busiest.

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said it is 'up to businesses' to decide if they want to require proof of vaccination before serving customers

What are vaccine passports and will they work? 

What are vaccine passports? 
Vaccine passports are official documents showing a person's immunisation status.

The Prime Minister has accepted that official documents showing a person's immunisation status are going to be needed for foreign travel.

But he has so far refused to allow them to be used domestically to enter venues that show live music, plus pubs, cinemas and theatres, on discrimination grounds.

But vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said it is 'up to businesses' to decide if they want to require proof of vaccination before serving customers. 

Will they help venues reopen sooner? 

Cabinet ministers are urging Mr Johnson to sanction vaccine passports from ministers as they claim it will help hospitality reopen sooner.

A senior minister told the Times today that vaccine certificates could allow a sped-up return to high business levels.

'We're talking about industries that are dying here. In terms of getting live music, theatre and other parts of the entertainment industry back on their feet, it seems an obvious thing to do once the majority of people have been vaccinated.' 

What  are the concerns about vaccine passports? 

Mr Johnson is said to oppose Covid passports amid fears that millions of Britons could be cut off from the rest of the population - creating a 'two tier' society.

And Government sources told the Times setting up such a system would be a 'bureaucratic nightmare'. 

Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, said requiring proof of receipt of a coronavirus jab presented 'a range of practical and legal problems'.

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Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said it is 'up to businesses' to decide if they want to require proof of vaccination before serving customers.

Chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association Michael Kill told the Daily Telegraph: 'Because people are not going to be vaccinated in age groups that we attract, the idea of vaccine passports won't be helpful. 

'If you are 23 you might not be vaccinated until August or September so that doesn't really help the industry.'

Some festival organisers say they will look for vaccination proof 'on the phone' from attendees later this year. 

General secretary of the Association of Festival Organisers Steve Heap said looking for jab proof will be a 'clear and safe way' to return to live venues - as rapid testing 'will be very difficult to operate at the gate of a festival'.

It follows research which found that the virus is now spreading the most among young people - with Covid most common among those aged 18 to 24. 

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson is facing a Cabinet rebellion over his refusal to sanction vaccine passports.

The Prime Minister has accepted that official documents showing a person's immunisation status are going to be needed for foreign travel.

But he has so far refused to allow them to be used domestically to enter venues that show live music, plus pubs, cinemas and theatres, on discrimination grounds.

Speaking during a visit to a community vaccination centre in Orpington, South East London, the PM said: 'I think inevitably there will be great interest in ideas like can you show that you had a vaccination against Covid in the way that you sometimes have to show you have had a vaccination against Yellow Fever or other diseases in order to travel somewhere.

'I think that is going to be very much in the mix down the road, I think that is going to happen.

'What I don't think we will have in this country is - as it were - vaccination passports to allow you to go to, say, the pub or something like that.'  

A senior minister told the Times that vaccine certificates could allow a sped-up return to high business levels.

'We're talking about industries that are dying here. In terms of getting live music, theatre and other parts of the entertainment industry back on their feet, it seems an obvious thing to do once the majority of people have been vaccinated.' 

Earlier this week, a boss warned that the use of Covid 'vaccine passports' to help businesses reopen post-lockdown could put venues at risk from possible claims for discrimination.

Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, said requiring proof of receipt of a coronavirus jab presented 'a range of practical and legal problems'. 

Meanwhile Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab cooled calls for 'jabs for jobs' plans to allow employers to insist on vaccines before staff can return to work. 

A senior minister told the Times that vaccine certificates could allow a sped-up return to high business levels for business like live music venues (London's Brixton Academy pictured in 2018)

The Prime Minister has accepted that official documents showing a person's immunisation status are going to be needed for foreign travel

Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins says 'no jab, no job' contacts for new staff will be rolled out 'in two to three months'

Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins today confirmed all new starters at his £50million business would have to take a Covid jab to get a job.

The outspoken owner - who is worth at least £70million - has thrashed out the new papers with his lawyers to make the booster mandatory for all new hires.

And he said he doubted many would object to the new terms, adding 'people would crawl across the snow naked to get a vaccine at the moment'.

His firm is exploring how it might modify existing staff contracts although he insisted no one would be forced to receive a vaccine or be fired over the issue. 

Mullins. 68, said: 'We've obviously been talking to our lawyers and they're very happy that we can add this proposal to any new workers that start with us once the vaccine is rolled out.

'We are in regular contract with our staff from our HR department and I think people would crawl across the snow naked to get a vaccine at the moment. 

 'We'll be using the new contacts two to three months from now. 

'When people come along for a job with us if they're not happy to sign that then that's their choice but they certainly won't be given a job with Pimlico Plumbers. 

The comments, made in an interview with Radio 4, came as a legal director admitted he had been contacted by other clients exploring the concept.

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The cabinet minister said the vaccine was not mandatory while appearing on LBC, adding: 'The precise relations and communications between employers and employees I think are a matter that we would want to leave to responsible employers.

'But what I am saying is that it is not the law of the land that you have to have the vaccine.'

Bosses in the care home sector as well as large international groups including an energy firm are making 'risky' arrangements by insisting staff must be jabbed, top lawyers warned.

The move could mean both prospective and current employees would need to have the coronavirus vaccine to work at an organisation.

Asked about businesses who introduce a scheme, vaccines minister Mr Zahawi said it was 'up to them'.

Barchester Healthcare, based in London and with more than 200 care homes, said applicants refusing to have a jab without medical reasons would not be hired.

Pimlico Plumbers also said it would have a 'no jab, no job' attitude towards new workers, the FT reports.

The newspaper spoke to law firms - which refused to be named - which said some companies were already looking at getting current employees vaccinated.

A lawyer in the City of London said putting clauses in contracts to force people to be jabbed was risky but easier to defend in the care sector to protect patients.

Another said some multinational companies - such as a large energy firm - are considering the idea.

Mr Zahawi earlier said that the Government was 'not planning a domestic passport'.

He told BBC Breakfast: 'It's up to businesses what they do, but we don't yet have the evidence of the effect of vaccines on transmission.' 

Downing Street slapped down Dominic Raab on Sunday after the Foreign Secretary suggested documents could be required before going into shops.

Mr Zahawi told BBC Radio 4's Today programme yesterday: 'It's a combination of rapid testing as well as the mass vaccination programme that will get our economy back on its feet and venues open again.' 

Meanwhile, senior ministers have reportedly urged Boris Johnson to look into Covid certificate schemes to get social venues reopened.   

One senior minister told the Times: 'We're talking about industries that are dying here.  

'In terms of getting live music, theatre and other parts of the entertainment industry back on their feet, it seems an obvious thing to do once the majority of people have been vaccinated.'

However, Mr Johnson is said to oppose Covid passports amid fears that millions of Britons could be cut off from the rest of the population - creating a 'two tier' society.

Parents will be told to test their teenage children for Covid TWICE a week when schools reopen

Parents will be told to use lateral flow tests to check their children for Covid-19 twice a week when schools reopen, reports say.

The government is expected to launch the plan for secondary school students during term time amid a phased return to the classroom.

Education unions have also agreed with ministers for institutions to mass test on one occasion - at the beginning of term.

It comes as reports said secondary pupils will have to wear masks when they are not in their class 'bubbles' once schools reopen.

The phased return of pupils is expected to start from March 8, with some year groups starting later so they can all be tested.

Sources told the Telegraph larger institutions - mostly secondary schools - could need two weeks to check all students. 

Teaching unions have previously said the idea of mass testing schoolchildren was 'inoperable' and 'ridiculous'.

The Association of School and College Leaders called for testing kits to be sent home to avoid schools being turned into 'field hospitals'.

It is understood schools will test students once when they reopen and parents will take over term time testing after.

General secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders Geoff Barton said: 'We think that is a good idea.

'It reinforces the responsibility for families rather than assuming that bits of the state, like schools, will carry out the tests.' 

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And Government sources told the Times setting up such a system would be a 'bureaucratic nightmare'.   

The Government is preparing its roadmap out of lockdown with curbs on pubs, restaurants and hotels eased at four-weekly intervals starting with a 'limited' Easter holiday - but it could take until July to return to 'broadly normal'.  

The blueprint being discussed by ministers and industry leaders would allow restrictions to be eased only at four-weekly intervals.

The gradual approach means traders will have to wait until at least Easter – early April – for a limited restart.

This is likely to include the reopening of holiday lets and larger hotels, with dining rooms still closed. Sports such as golf and tennis could resume.

Pubs, bars and restaurants will have to wait until early May under the plans, with a maximum of two households allowed to sit together indoors and the rule of six applying outside.

The next stage, in early June, would see the rules for pubs and restaurants relaxed with the rule of six extended indoors.

The hospitality and domestic holiday industries could be allowed to return to normal in July – with social distancing.

It comes as the Government is set to unveil a new slogan and the PM plans to send testing kits to millions of homes and businesses as lockdown is eased.

'Are you ready? Get testing. Go' will reportedly be a new campaign launched ahead of the reopening of schools next month.

Ministers will not make a final decision on the roadmap timetable until this weekend when they are presented with the latest data on the spread of the virus.

Mr Johnson will unveil the plan on Monday. But the blueprint is the most detailed outline of the Government's thinking so far. 

It appears to confirm that – contrary to the demands of some Tory MPs – the Prime Minister is determined to be cautious, with plenty of 'headroom' to adjust to any resurgence of the virus.

The fact that the rule of six and social distancing are expected to remain in force until well into the summer indicates the extent of the worries over new mutations.

The Mail can also reveal that office staff are expected to be told to keep working from home.

He is not expected to set a firm date for when employees should return to their desks, meaning that the 'work from home if you can' message will continue for the foreseeable future.

The rapid roll-out of the vaccine has boosted optimism that Mr Johnson will announce that the long winter lockdown can be lifted sooner than expected. 

Read more:

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2021-02-18 17:26:00Z
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Man stopped by security as he tries to break out of quarantine hotel - Metro.co.uk

Anthony Pium tried to get past a wall of security guards at the hotel entrance (Picture: PA)

A 30-year-old man tried to escape from a quarantine hotel this morning after claiming he was being held ‘under duress’.

Anthony Pium, has gone on hunger strike in the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel, near London Heathrow, where a wall of security guards stopped him from leaving.

The dad-of-one told staff ‘I know my law innit’ as he insisted on them letting him out of the front entrance for ‘air’.

When an employee tried to stop him, he said: ‘Boss, are you pushing me? Are you feeling alright? Don’t assault me. Don’t stand in my way, I’m getting fresh air.’

Mr Pium, from Leyton, East London, then told staff to ‘social distance’ from him, adding: ‘By law, you’re blocking my way. Am I being detained? I didn’t sign nothing so I’m not required.

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‘Touch me and everyone will be sued. It will be a civil matter with all of you. I’ll call my people right here now you know. Do you lot want me to make phone calls?’

Under new quarantine rules introduced on Monday, people returning to England from high-risk destinations on a ‘red-list’ have to isolate in a hotel for 10 days at a cost of £1,750.

The dad-of-one says he won’t eat processed food and has gone on hunger strike (Picture: PA)

Mr Pium said ‘I know my law innit’ as he tried to leave through the front entrance

Passengers are required to fill out a passenger locator form before their arrival to show where they have been and those who try to dodge the new system face a £10,000 fine, 10 years in prison, or both.

Staff can decide when guests are allowed outside, such as for exercise, fresh air, or a cigarette, and they will be accompanied by security.

But workers at the Radisson Blu made it clear to Mr Pium that no one was allowed out of the front entrance.

Mr Pium says he only filled out the passenger locator form so he would ‘be allowed back into Britain’ after flying back from Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he was working for travel agency Sky Fly Travel.

The hotel guest said ‘touch me and everyone will be sued’ as he tried to get past security

Other guests at the Radisson Blu have also put up signs to express their frustration (Picture: Getty Images)

He says he wrote ‘under duress’ on the document and that he knowingly provided details of a bank account with only £17 in it so the payment of £1,750 would be declined.

The Arsenal fan told MailOnline: ‘I just wanted to get back into the country, quarantine at home and see my son, who is eight, and I’m really missing him.

‘I can’t believe I’ve been treated like this. I’ve been held captive under duress. They’re trying to serve me processed food which I don’t eat.

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‘Somebody cut up a chicken tikka salad which did not look like a chicken tikka salad and I refused to eat it. I am on hunger strike. I won’t touch any of the food they give me.  They have to let me out of here.’

New rules mean people returning from a ‘red-list’ of countries must isolate in a hotel for 10 days (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

More: Coronavirus

Mr Pium said he is sure he doesn’t have coronavirus as he took a test before he left, which is a requirement.

But regardless of this, people staying in one of the UK’s quarantine hotels are still required to take two tests, one on day two and another on day eight.

Mr Puim says he is hoping to get legal help to help him get out of the hotel and says he has a ‘business to run’ and a ‘life to live’.

Earlier, he held up a message on his laptop for the media to see, reading: ‘I have been held here against my will. They lost my suitcase.

‘I have nothing. I have no essentials. I have told them I can’t breathe. Police told me I can’t leave without a doctor’s exempt note. Please send legal help or something. Thank you.’

Another message he showed said: ‘I’m being held against my will. No clothes, no essentials and I haven’t eaten.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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