Babak Belurs

Selasa, 09 Maret 2021

Covid in Scotland: Rules on people meeting outdoors are eased - BBC News

Up to four adults from two different households will be able to meet outdoors in Scotland from Friday of this week, it has been confirmed.

The current rules only allow outdoor meetings between two adults from two households.

Restrictions on young people will also be eased, with four people aged between 12-17 able to meet even if they are all from different households.

Outdoor non-contact group sports for adults will also restart on Friday.

And people will be able to gather for communal worship from 26 March, so long as no more than 50 people are in attendance and physical distancing is maintained throughout.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the "modest" easing was the result of the progress the country was making in suppressing the virus.

However, the overall requirement to stay at home will remain in place except for specific purposes - which from Friday will include limited, outdoor socialising and recreation.

And the first minister said the strong grounds for hope must be balanced by caution.

She said: "Because we have been in lockdown, it is easy to overlook the fact that the virus we are dealing with now is much more infectious than the one we were dealing with in the autumn.

"But we will be reminded of that very quickly if we try to do too much too soon."

Ms Sturgeon said she will set out a firmer indicative timetable for re-opening the economy - including shops, hospitality, hairdressers, gyms and parts of the tourism industry - next week.

She also said she hoped to be in a position to relax the current travel restrictions in the weeks ahead - but insisted that it was not yet safe to do so.

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that new cases, the number of people being admitted to hospital and deaths were all "still higher than we would want".

However she said there was a clear "positive trend" in figures, alongside "excellent progress with the vaccination programme".

Although the number of vaccines being administered each day has fallen in recent weeks, the first minister said supplies would increase to "allow for a very significant acceleration" of the programme from mid-March.

Ms Sturgeon said that while the current prospects were "very encouraging indeed", it was "essential" to get the timing of easing lockdown right.

She said: "Even though we are heading firmly in the right direction right now, we cannot afford to take our foot off the brake too soon.

"We still need to keep the virus under control if our hopes for a much more normal summer are not to suffer a setback."

The government had planned to move Scotland out of full lockdown and back into a regional levels system from late April.

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that "if the data allows us to relax more restrictions more quickly than we have previously indicated, we will not hesitate to do so".

However she warned that people must stay within the rules, saying: "I am certain that easing restrictions too quickly would be a mistake that we would regret."

'Difficult challenge'

Ms Sturgeon took questions from MSPs after her statement, with Scottish Conservative group leader Ruth Davidson questioning whether the government would "increase the actual amount of teaching time pupils will get" when back in school.

She said: "Pupils and parents were promised a return to the classroom, but from the information they are now being sent for many this will amount to only a few hours at best."

The first minister replied that children returning to schools even part-time was a "significant change", saying: "I will always look parents in the eye and explain the difficult challenges we are trying to balance."

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the easing of rules around socialising outdoors was "very welcome", saying it was "important for people's mental health and wellbeing".

However he said the government must strive to "ensure this is our last lockdown" by getting its testing and vaccination programmes right.

Meanwhile, Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie asked if there could be an increase in cases in Glasgow after Rangers fans gathered to celebrate the football team winning the Scottish Premiership title.

And Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie claimed the club "did nothing" to prevent the gathering.

Ms Sturgeon said any spike in infections would not become clear for several weeks.

She added: "Make no mistake, having crowds of people risks spreading this virus - people who gather are putting their own health at risk, but also that of their loved ones and the wider community.

"That behaviour wasn't just irresponsible, it was deeply selfish".

Banner image reading 'more about coronavirus'

RULES: What are the restrictions in your area?
LOCKDOWN: Six months that changed our lives
CASES: Where are the latest cases in Scotland?
VACCINE: When will Scots be vaccinated against Covid?
WHO? The people who have died with Covid-19

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2021-03-09 14:54:52Z
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Archie: Why is Meghan and Harry's son not a prince? - BBC News

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with their son Archie

In her interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Duchess of Sussex said that when she was pregnant, there were conversations about her future child's status, including what title he or she should receive.

"They were saying they didn't want him to be a prince or princess, not knowing what the gender would be, which would be different from protocol," she said.

What does royal protocol say?

The rules about who gets to be a prince and also be referred to as his royal highness (HRH) come from a letter patent issued by King George V in November 1917.

Letters patent are legal instruments which may take the form of an open letter from the monarch. They may be used for royal declarations or the granting of titles such as peerages.

In the 1917 letter, George V declared that the great-grandchildren of the monarch would no longer be princes or princesses, except for the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.

In our current situation, that means that Prince George, the eldest son of Prince William, automatically became a prince, but not Archie, even though they are both great-grandsons of the Queen.

Under this protocol, Prince George's siblings - Charlotte and Louis - would not have received the title either.

But in December 2012, the Queen also issued a letter patent which said that all of Prince William's children would be entitled to be princes or princesses and get the HRH title.

Also, being a prince or princess only goes through the male line, which means that the children of Princess Anne did not get those titles despite being the Queen's grandchildren.

What about Archie's title?

According to the 1917 letter, Archie is entitled to become a prince - but not yet.

The children of Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, children would have to wait until Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, became king, at which point they would be the grandchildren of the monarch and hence entitled to be princes or princesses.

That is why Prince Andrew's daughters - Beatrice and Eugenie - were princesses from birth, for example.

The Duchess of Sussex was clearly aware of the protocol.

She referred in the interview to a "George V or George VI convention" that would mean her son Archie would become a prince "when Harry's dad becomes king".

But she went on to say that she had been told when she was pregnant that "they want to change the convention for Archie" so he would not become a prince.

She did not give any more details about this and Buckingham Palace has not commented on her claims.

"I saw that Meghan mentioned that there were plans to narrow eligibility and I imagine that this is a reference to the Prince of Wales's stated view that the size of the royal family needs to be reduced," said Bob Morris from the Constitution Unit at UCL.

"However, he has not so far as I know given details of how it should be accomplished."

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2021-03-09 14:28:11Z
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Pay rise was set to be 2.1% - NHS England chief Simon Stevens - BBC News

Health workers had been in line for a 2.1% pay rise before the pandemic, the head of NHS England has confirmed.

The government has suggested staff may get 1% this year - sparking an angry backlash from doctors and nurses.

Sir Simon Stevens told MPs he wanted workers to get "proper reward" for their efforts and he could "see the attraction" of a one-off bonus.

But he backed the government's overall approach to the dispute, saying it should be up to a pay review panel.

Labour says the 1% rise recommended for this year amounts to a pay cut, once inflation has been taken into account.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: "The head of the NHS has confirmed what we already knew: the Conservatives have broken their promise to the NHS and are cutting nurses' pay."

He told an audience at the IPPR think tank that the 1% pay award was "morally obnoxious" and was "only going to exacerbate the under-staffing issues we have in the NHS".

Ministers will make their final decision in May after the independent panel makes its own pay recommendations for 2021/22.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended the 1% rise, saying it was as much as the government could afford "at the present time".

Nurses have described it as "insulting", with unions threatening strike action and warning that the "pitiful" rise may lead staff to quit their jobs - worsening staffing issues in the health service.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak paid tribute to "all those working on the frontline of our NHS and other public services" at Treasury questions in the Commons.

He said the government had "exempted" the NHS from the public sector pay freeze and "NHS workers will receive a pay rise next year".

'Attractions' of bonus

Sir Simon told the Health and Social Care Committee he had budgeted for the 2.1% rise NHS workers had expected but "things have changed" since 2019.

He added: "You would expect the head of the health service to want to see properly rewarded NHS staff, particularly given everything that the service has been through over the course of the last year.

"And so I think the right way to resolve this is the path the government has actually set out, which is to ask the independent pay review bodies to look at all of the evidence... and be able to independently make a fair recommendation so that NHS staff get the pay and reward that they deserve."

Some Conservative MPs are calling for a one-off bonus, of the kind offered to NHS staff in Scotland and Northern Ireland, as a "thank you" for their efforts during the pandemic.

Asked about this idea, Sir Simon said: "That's a discussion to be had in the round, whether that or whether underlying other action is the right approach, obviously we can see the attractions of that but that might not be the only answer."

What do NHS workers in England earn?

The lowest minimum full-time salary - for newly-employed drivers, housekeeping assistants, nursery assistants and domestic support workers - is £18,005 per year
The starting salary for most newly-qualified nurses is £24,907
Staff in "high-cost areas", such as London, get extra payments

The NHS in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is run by the devolved administrations.

The Scottish government has announced that 2021-22 pay negotiations will be delayed until the summer - staff have been given an "interim" pay rise of 1%, which will form part of the new settlement.

NHS workers in Northern Ireland were promised a one-off £500 "special recognition" payment in January; and the Welsh government has said it will not set a "ceiling" of 1% on NHS pay rises for 2021-22.

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2021-03-09 12:47:15Z
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Archie: Why is Meghan and Harry's son not a prince? - BBC News

"They were saying they didn't want him to be a prince or princess, not knowing what the gender would be, which would be different from protocol," she said.

What does royal protocol say?

The rules about who gets to be a prince and also be referred to as his royal highness (HRH) come from a letter patent issued by King George V in November 1917.

Letters patent are legal instruments which may take the form of an open letter from the monarch. They may be used for royal declarations or the granting of titles such as peerages.

In the 1917 letter, George V declared that the great-grandchildren of the monarch would no longer be princes or princesses, except for the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.

In our current situation, that means that Prince George automatically became a prince, but not Archie, even though they are both great-grandsons of the Queen.

Under this protocol, Prince George's siblings - Charlotte and Louis - would not have received the title either.

But in December 2012, the Queen also issued a letter patent which said that all of Prince William's children would be entitled to be princes or princesses and get the HRH title.

What about Archie's title?

According to the 1917 letter, Archie is entitled to become a prince - but not yet.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's children would have to wait until Prince Charles became king, at which point they would be the grandchildren of the monarch and hence entitled to be princes or princesses.

The Royal Family tree and line of succession

That is why Prince Andrew's daughters - Beatrice and Eugenie - were princesses from birth, but why Eugenie's baby son, August, is not a prince.

The Duchess of Sussex was clearly aware of the protocol.

She referred in the interview to a "George V or George VI convention" that would mean her son Archie would become a prince "when Harry's dad becomes king".

But she went on to say that she had been told when she was pregnant that "they want to change the convention for Archie" so he would not become a prince.

She did not give any more details about this and Buckingham Palace has not commented on her claims.

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Harry Dunn: Charlotte Charles rejects Anne Sacoolas' community service offer - Sky News

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2021-03-09 09:31:17Z
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Meghan and Harry interview: Urgent palace talks over claims - BBC News

Crisis meetings involving senior royals have taken place following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's interview with Oprah Winfrey.

BBC royal correspondent Daniela Relph said Buckingham Palace "will not want to feel rushed into saying something" about Prince Harry and Meghan's claims.

Prince Harry and Meghan spoke about racism, mental health, the media and other royals in the interview.

Meghan's father Thomas Markle has criticised the interview's timing.

The duchess - who is the first mixed-race member of the modern Royal Family - said a low point came when Harry was asked by an unnamed royal family member "how dark" their son Archie's skin might be.

Prince Harry later clarified to Oprah that the comments were not made by either the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden's spokeswoman said he would praise anyone for having the courage to speak out about mental health.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki described Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, as "private citizens" who were "sharing their own story in their own struggles".

An average of 11.1m people in the UK watched the two-hour interview when it was screened on ITV on Monday night after being broadcast in the US by CBS the previous day.

In the interview, the duchess said that she found royal life so difficult that at times she "didn't want to be alive any more", and when she approached the institution for help, she did not get it.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that Meghan's allegations about racism and a lack of mental health support should be taken "very seriously".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson declined to comment on Monday, but said he has "always had the highest admiration for the Queen and the unifying role she plays".

He said "when it comes to matters to do with the Royal Family, the right thing for prime ministers to say is nothing", after being asked specifically if he believed the Royal Family was racist.

During the interview, the duchess was asked why she thought the Royal Family did not make Archie a prince - which Meghan said she wanted so that he would get police protection.

"In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time so we have in tandem the conversation of he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born," Meghan said.

She said the remarks about skin colour were made to Harry and he relayed them to her.

The couple's children do not automatically become princes or princesses due to a rule that has been in place since 1917 - unless the Queen steps in.

'Damaging'

Asked by Oprah whether there were concerns that her child would be "too brown" and that would be a problem, Meghan said: "If that is the assumption you are making, that is a pretty safe one."

When pressed, she refused to reveal who the individual was, saying: "I think that would be very damaging to them."

Prince Harry also refused to give further details, saying: "That conversation, I am never going to share."

"At the time it was awkward, I was a bit shocked," he added.

Prince Harry said that none of his relatives spoke out in support of Meghan about the "colonial undertones" of news headlines and articles.

"No-one from my family ever said anything over those three years. That hurts," he said.

The couple moved to California after formally stepping down from royal duties in March 2020, and it was announced last month that they would not be returning as working members of the Royal Family.

In footage not included in the original interview, Prince Harry said racism from the tabloid press that filtered into the rest of society was a "large part" of why he and his wife left the UK.

The Society of Editors said it was "not acceptable" to claim sections of the press were bigoted "without providing any supporting evidence".

Labour MP Diane Abbott said she could cite "story after story when Meghan was treated quite differently from white members of the Royal Family".

Ms Abbott described the impact of coverage she has received as "hurtful", adding: "It's corrosive and in the end, it makes you doubt yourself."

In other key revelations from the Oprah interview:

The couple announced their second child, which is due in the summer, is a girl

They exchanged vows in a ceremony led by the Archbishop of Canterbury in their "backyard" three days before they were legally married at their public wedding in May 2018

Prince Harry said his brother and father were "trapped within the system" of the Royal Family

He said his family cut him off financially at the beginning of last year and his father stopped taking his calls

But the prince said he loved his brother "to bits" and wanted to heal his relationship with both him and his father

Meghan said she phoned the Queen after Prince Philip went into hospital last month

In further comments, Meghan told Oprah she felt betrayed by her father Thomas Markle's conduct in the run up to her 2018 wedding with Prince Harry.

Mr Markle told ITV's Good Morning Britain on Tuesday that the interview was the first time he had heard his daughter speak for several years.

"I'm very disappointed about it. I've apologised about this thing, what happened, at least 100 times or so," he said.

He described the interview as "over the top" and ill-timed, but said he did not believe the Royal Family was racist and that the comments about Archie's skin colour may have simply been a "dumb question".

Asked about Meghan's claim she had "lost" her father, Mr Markle said: "I'm available any time we can get together. I'd love to get together. I'd certainly like to see my grandson."

He also criticised the support from the Palace when he and his family were under intense scrutiny from the media, saying: "Nobody was there to care for us, nobody looked after us."

EATING WITH MY EX: CELEBRITY SPECIALS: Famous faces, awkward encounters. Former lovers work out where it all went wrong
CORONAVIRUS: WHAT WE KNOW NOW: Dr Chris Van Tulleken takes us through the latest developments and current concerns

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2021-03-09 10:25:06Z
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Meghan and Harry interview: Urgent palace talks over claims - BBC News

Crisis meetings involving senior royals have taken place following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's interview with Oprah Winfrey.

BBC royal correspondent Daniela Relph said Buckingham Palace "will not want to feel rushed into saying something" about Prince Harry and Meghan's claims.

Prince Harry and Meghan spoke about racism, mental health, the media and other royals in the interview.

Meghan's father Thomas Markle has criticised the interview's timing.

The duchess - who is the first mixed-race member of the modern Royal Family - said a low point came when Harry was asked by an unnamed royal family member "how dark" their son Archie's skin might be.

Prince Harry later clarified to Oprah that the comments were not made by either the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden's spokeswoman said he would praise anyone for having the courage to speak out about mental health.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki described Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, as "private citizens" who were "sharing their own story in their own struggles".

More than 11m people in the UK watched the two-hour interview when it was screened on ITV on Monday night after being broadcast in the US by CBS the previous day.

In the interview, the duchess said that she found royal life so difficult that at times she "didn't want to be alive any more", and when she approached the institution for help, she did not get it.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that Meghan's allegations about racism and a lack of mental health support should be taken "very seriously".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson declined to comment on Monday, but said he has "always had the highest admiration for the Queen and the unifying role she plays".

He said "when it comes to matters to do with the Royal Family, the right thing for prime ministers to say is nothing", after being asked specifically if he believed the Royal Family was racist.