Protesters injure police and set vehicles ablaze in English city, as tensions over new crime bill boil over - CNN

The "Kill the Bill" protest was denounced by the government and local lawmakers after protesters clashed with police, attacking a police station and leaving some officers with broken bones on Sunday evening.

"Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated," the UK's Home Secretary, Priti Patel, tweeted. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the scenes "unacceptable" on Monday.

The event had begun as a demonstration against Johnson's flagship policing bill, which critics say would hand the police and ministers powers that could seriously curb the ability of citizens to protest peacefully.

But tensions escalated as the protest wore on Sunday, leading to violent scenes that have been condemned by officers and lawmakers across the political spectrum.

"Officers have been subjected to considerable levels of abuse and violence. One suffered a broken arm and another suffered broken ribs. Both have been taken to hospital," Avon and Somerset Police said Sunday night. "They should never be subjected to assaults or abuse in this way. At least two police vehicles have been set on fire and damage has been caused to the outside of the station."

"I think that all that kind of thing is unacceptable and I think that the people obviously have a right to protest in this country but they should protest peacefully and legally," Boris Johnson told reporters Monday during a visit to a factory in Lancashire.

Andy Roebuck, chairman of the Avon and Somerset Police Federation, called the protesters "a mob of animals," while the national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, John Apter, questioned their motives. "This is not about protecting the right to protest, it's violent criminality from a hardcore minority who will hijack any situation for their own aims," he said.

And local Member of Parliament Darren Jones, from the opposition Labour party, said: "You don't campaign for the right to peaceful protest by setting police vans on fire or graffitiing buildings."

The proposed policing bill, along with the violent break-up of a vigil to a murdered woman last weekend and the arrest of a serving police officer on suspicion of her murder, has put relations between British police and much of the public under severe strain.

Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens was charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard earlier this month, in a case that has been intensely followed and led to a renewed national discussion about intimidation, harassment and violence against women.

But the police became subjects of ire, too, when they moved in on a peaceful vigil to Everard in south London on March 13 and appeared to force women to the ground, an approach that has led to a review and cast scrutiny on pending legislation that would boost their powers to dismantle protests and mass gatherings in the future.

Bristol's mayor, Marvin Rees, said he had "major concerns about the Bill myself, which is poorly thought out and could impose disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to peaceful protest."

But he condemned violent demonstrators in his city for making it more likely that the bill would pass. "Smashing buildings in our city center, vandalizing vehicles, attacking our police, will do nothing to lessen the likelihood of the Bill going through. On the contrary, the lawlessness on show will be used as evidence and promote the need for the Bill."

The bill was debated in Parliament last week. It suggests, in somewhat vague language, that demonstrations and protests should not "intentionally" or "recklessly" cause "public nuisance," and elsewhere says that damage to monuments could carry a punishment of up to 10 years in prison -- a clause seen as a response to Black Lives Matter protesters, who tore down or condemned statues of slave traders in Bristol and elsewhere last year.

At the top of a fact sheet for the bill on the government's website, Cressida Dick, Metropolitan Police Commissioner, is quoted as saying that ever since the Extinction Rebellion climate change protests in London, police forces have needed "change to powers and to legislation that would enable the police to deal better with protests" that "are not primarily violent or seriously disorderly," but "had an avowed intent to bring policing to its knees and the city to a halt."

CNN's Samantha Beech, Luke McGee and Schams Elwazer contributed reporting

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2021-03-22 14:42:00Z
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Protesters injure police and set vehicles ablaze in English city, as tensions over new crime bill boil over - CNN

The "Kill the Bill" protest was denounced by the government and local lawmakers after protesters clashed with police, attacking a police station and leaving some officers with broken bones on Sunday evening.

"Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated," the UK's Home Secretary, Priti Patel, tweeted. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the scenes "unacceptable" on Monday.

The event had begun as a demonstration against Johnson's flagship policing bill, which critics say would hand the police and ministers powers that could seriously curb the ability of citizens to protest peacefully.

But tensions escalated as the protest wore on Sunday, leading to violent scenes that have been condemned by officers and lawmakers across the political spectrum.

"Officers have been subjected to considerable levels of abuse and violence. One suffered a broken arm and another suffered broken ribs. Both have been taken to hospital," Avon and Somerset Police said Sunday night. "They should never be subjected to assaults or abuse in this way. At least two police vehicles have been set on fire and damage has been caused to the outside of the station."

"I think that all that kind of thing is unacceptable and I think that the people obviously have a right to protest in this country but they should protest peacefully and legally," Boris Johnson told reporters Monday during a visit to a factory in Lancashire.

Andy Roebuck, chairman of the Avon and Somerset Police Federation, called the protesters "a mob of animals," while the national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, John Apter, questioned their motives. "This is not about protecting the right to protest, it's violent criminality from a hardcore minority who will hijack any situation for their own aims," he said.

And local Member of Parliament Darren Jones, from the opposition Labour party, said: "You don't campaign for the right to peaceful protest by setting police vans on fire or graffitiing buildings."

The proposed policing bill, along with the violent break-up of a vigil to a murdered woman last weekend and the arrest of a serving police officer on suspicion of her murder, has put relations between British police and much of the public under severe strain.

Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens was charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard earlier this month, in a case that has been intensely followed and led to a renewed national discussion about intimidation, harassment and violence against women.

But the police became subjects of ire, too, when they moved in on a peaceful vigil to Everard in south London on March 13 and appeared to force women to the ground, an approach that has led to a review and cast scrutiny on pending legislation that would boost their powers to dismantle protests and mass gatherings in the future.

Bristol's mayor, Marvin Rees, said he had "major concerns about the Bill myself, which is poorly thought out and could impose disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to peaceful protest."

But he condemned violent demonstrators in his city for making it more likely that the bill would pass. "Smashing buildings in our city center, vandalizing vehicles, attacking our police, will do nothing to lessen the likelihood of the Bill going through. On the contrary, the lawlessness on show will be used as evidence and promote the need for the Bill."

The bill was debated in Parliament last week. It suggests, in somewhat vague language, that demonstrations and protests should not "intentionally" or "recklessly" cause "public nuisance," and elsewhere says that damage to monuments could carry a punishment of up to 10 years in prison -- a clause seen as a response to Black Lives Matter protesters, who tore down or condemned statues of slave traders in Bristol and elsewhere last year.

At the top of a fact sheet for the bill on the government's website, Cressida Dick, Metropolitan Police Commissioner, is quoted as saying that ever since the Extinction Rebellion climate change protests in London, police forces have needed "change to powers and to legislation that would enable the police to deal better with protests" that "are not primarily violent or seriously disorderly," but "had an avowed intent to bring policing to its knees and the city to a halt."

CNN's Samantha Beech, Luke McGee and Schams Elwazer contributed reporting

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2021-03-22 14:13:51Z
52781442401405

COVID-19: Boris Johnson warns Europe's third wave will hit UK - but is 'reassured' EU doesn't want jabs 'blockade' - Sky News

Boris Johnson has been "reassured" EU leaders "don't want to see blockades" on the export of COVID vaccines - as he warned a third wave of infections in Europe would likely hit the UK as well.

Amid a dispute over a possible block on exports of coronavirus jabs to the UK, the prime minister said he had been "reassured by talking to EU partners over the last few months that they don't want to see blockades".

He stressed the UK was "on course" to vaccinate the top nine priority groups - including all over-50s - by 15 April, while the government would "bash on" with its roadmap for lifting lockdown restrictions over the next three months.

Live COVID updates from across the UK and around the world

Mr Johnson said he had talked to EU leaders "repeatedly over the period", adding: "We're all facing the same pandemic, we all have the same problems."

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And the prime minister, speaking on a visit to Preston, Lancashire, on Monday, also warned a recent surge in COVID cases across Europe would impact Britain.

"I think one thing worth stressing is that on the continent right now, you can see sadly there is a third wave under way," he said.

More from Boris Johnson

"And people in this country should be under no illusions that previous experience has taught us that when a wave hits our friends, I'm afraid it washes up on our shores as well.

"I suspect we will feel those effects in due course, that's why we're getting on with our vaccination programme as fast as we can.

"A vaccination campaign, developing vaccines, rolling them out, these are international projects and they require international cooperation."

Mr Johnson spoke to Emmanuel Macron on Sunday about vaccine supplies, according to the French president's office.

Both France and Italy have recently been forced into new coronavirus restrictions amid a rise in cases and the slow rollout of vaccines across the EU - an issue that has heaped huge pressure on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

EU leaders will hold a video conference on Thursday to discuss the bloc's vaccine rollout and the fresh spike in cases in many member states.

Ms von der Leyen spoke at the weekend of the "possibility to forbid planned exports" of COVID vaccines, as she demanded AstraZeneca fulfil its delivery of doses to the bloc before delivering to other countries.

On Monday, the European Commission reiterated it was seeking "reciprocity and proportionality" in the export of vaccines.

Asked about the prospect of the bloc imposing a vaccine export ban on the UK, Ms von der Leyen's spokesman, Eric Mamer, said: "This is not about banning vaccine exports.

"This is about making sure that companies deliver on their commitments to the member states and the EU that are inscribed in contracts that they have with us.

"Therefore this is our objective; to make sure the contracts that we have signed are respected.

"In that context, the president has said that, of course, we see that actually companies that manufacture doses in the EU have been exporting very widely, which is - in itself - a good thing, but that we want to see reciprocity and proportionality in these exports.

"This is our position. Therefore, it's not about setting conditions for this or that, it is about making sure we are in a position to receive the vaccines that are foreseen for Europe."

Meanwhile, an EU official said strains between the UK and the EU over supplies of vaccines were not the fault of either side, but due to Astrazeneca's failure to deliver the doses it was contracted to supply.

"The UK is not to blame. The EU is not to blame. It's AstraZeneca," the official said, according to the Reuters news agency.

"AstraZeneca has to deliver doses to its EU customers."

A factory in the Netherlands, run by AstraZeneca sub-contractor Halix, has become a focus of the EU-UK vaccine row as it is listed as a supplier in both the contracts the drugs giant has signed with Britain and the bloc.

The EU is reported to be fighting against vaccines from the Halix plant being sent to Britain, although the bloc has not yet approved the Leiden-based factory to produce jabs.

Ruud Dobber, AstraZeneca's executive vice-president, said on Monday that EU approval was expected later this month or in early April.

Figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control show only 10% of adults in EU member states have had a first dose of a vaccine with a total of 54 million jabs having been given.

By comparison, in the UK, more than 52% of adults have had a jab with almost 30 million doses administered in total.

Polling for YouGov suggested confidence in the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine had dropped in the last two weeks in Spain, Germany, France and Italy.

Some 55% of Germans said the AstraZeneca vaccine is unsafe while 32% said it is safe.

AstraZeneca's vaccine was already seen as unsafe in France but concerns have increased even further, with 61% now saying it is unsafe while 23% say it is safe, according to the survey of almost 9,000 people in seven countries.

More than a dozen European countries suspended use of the vaccine over concerns about blood clots, although most have now resumed its use.

The European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have ruled that the AstraZeneca jab is safe and effective.

On Monday, new data from a US-led trial has shown the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 79% effective at preventing COVID-19 and offers 100% protection against severe disease.

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2021-03-22 13:30:00Z
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Protesters injure police and set vehicles ablaze in English city, as tensions over new crime bill boil over - CNN

The "Kill the Bill" protest was denounced by the government and local lawmakers after protesters clashed with police, attacking a police station and leaving some officers with broken bones on Sunday evening.

"Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated," the UK's Home Secretary, Priti Patel, tweeted, calling the scenes "unacceptable."

The event had begun as a demonstration against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's flagship policing bill, which critics say would hand the police and ministers powers that could seriously curb the ability of citizens to protest peacefully.

But tensions escalated as the protest wore on Sunday, leading to violent scenes that have been condemned by officers and lawmakers across the political spectrum.

"Officers have been subjected to considerable levels of abuse and violence. One suffered a broken arm and another suffered broken ribs. Both have been taken to hospital," Avon and Somerset Police said Sunday night. "They should never be subjected to assaults or abuse in this way. At least two police vehicles have been set on fire and damage has been caused to the outside of the station."

Andy Roebuck, chairman of the Avon and Somerset Police Federation, called the protesters "a mob of animals," while the national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, John Apter, questioned their motives. "This is not about protecting the right to protest, it's violent criminality from a hardcore minority who will hijack any situation for their own aims," he said.

And local Member of Parliament Darren Jones, from the opposition Labour party, said: "You don't campaign for the right to peaceful protest by setting police vans on fire or graffitiing buildings."

The proposed policing bill, along with the violent break-up of a vigil to a murdered woman last weekend and the arrest of a serving police officer on suspicion of her murder, has put relations between British police and much of the public under severe strain.

Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens was charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard earlier this month, in a case that has been intensely followed and led to a renewed national discussion about intimidation, harassment and violence against women.

But the police became subjects of ire, too, when they moved in on a peaceful vigil to Everard in south London on March 13 and appeared to force women to the ground, an approach that has led to a review and cast scrutiny on pending legislation that would boost their powers to dismantle protests and mass gatherings in the future.

Bristol's mayor, Marvin Rees, said he had "major concerns about the Bill myself, which is poorly thought out and could impose disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to peaceful protest."

But he condemned violent demonstrators in his city for making it more likely that the bill would pass. "Smashing buildings in our city center, vandalizing vehicles, attacking our police, will do nothing to lessen the likelihood of the Bill going through. On the contrary, the lawlessness on show will be used as evidence and promote the need for the Bill."

The bill was debated in Parliament last week. It suggests, in somewhat vague language, that demonstrations and protests should not "intentionally" or "recklessly" cause "public nuisance," and elsewhere says that damage to monuments could carry a punishment of up to 10 years in prison -- a clause seen as a response to Black Lives Matter protesters, who tore down or condemned statues of slave traders in Bristol and elsewhere last year.

At the top of a fact sheet for the bill on the government's website, Cressida Dick, Metropolitan Police Commissioner, is quoted as saying that ever since the Extinction Rebellion climate change protests in London, police forces have needed "change to powers and to legislation that would enable the police to deal better with protests" that "are not primarily violent or seriously disorderly," but "had an avowed intent to bring policing to its knees and the city to a halt."

CNN's Samantha Beech and Luke McGee contributed reporting

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2021-03-22 12:45:15Z
52781442401405

UK-EU vaccine supplies row shows no sign of easing - BBC News

EPACopyright: EPA

A traffic light system could enable overseas travel, a government scientific adviser says.

Prof Andrew Hayward from University College London, a member of Nervtag (the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group), says this system could see places such as South Africa and South America marked as red.

It comes after another government adviser, Dr Mike Tildesley, said last weekend that holidays abroad this summer would be "extremely unlikely".

Prof Hayward told Radio 4's Today programme: "I suspect what we may end up with is some sort of traffic light system with some countries that are no-go areas, for example likely to be South Africa and South America; other areas where there will be more severe restrictions, there will be some combination of vaccine certificates, testing and maybe quarantine, and maybe there will be some low-risk countries that you can go [to]."

Under the current road map for easing restrictions, the earliest date people in England could go on holiday abroad would be 17 May.

A government taskforce is considering how international travel could work and is due to report to the prime minister on 12 April.

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: "We know that universal, restriction-free travel is unlikely from 17 May but under a tiered system, based on risk, international travel can meaningfully restart and build up, with minimal restrictions in time."

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2021-03-22 12:45:00Z
CBMiK2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL2xpdmUvdWstNTY0ODEwMzHSAQA

Protesters injure police and set vehicles ablaze in English city, as tensions over new crime bill boil over - CNN

The "Kill the Bill" protest was denounced by the government and local lawmakers after protesters clashed with police, attacking a police station and leaving some officers with broken bones on Sunday evening.

"Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated," the UK's Home Secretary, Priti Patel, tweeted, calling the scenes "unacceptable."

The event had begun as a demonstration against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's flagship policing bill, which critics say would hand the police and ministers powers that could seriously curb the ability of citizens to protest peacefully.

But tensions escalated as the protest wore on Sunday, leading to violent scenes that have been condemned by officers and lawmakers across the political spectrum.

"Officers have been subjected to considerable levels of abuse and violence. One suffered a broken arm and another suffered broken ribs. Both have been taken to hospital," Avon and Somerset Police said Sunday night. "They should never be subjected to assaults or abuse in this way. At least two police vehicles have been set on fire and damage has been caused to the outside of the station."

Andy Roebuck, chairman of the Avon and Somerset Police Federation, called the protesters "a mob of animals," while the national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, John Apter, questioned their motives. "This is not about protecting the right to protest, it's violent criminality from a hardcore minority who will hijack any situation for their own aims," he said.

And local Member of Parliament Darren Jones, from the opposition Labour party, said: "You don't campaign for the right to peaceful protest by setting police vans on fire or graffitiing buildings."

The proposed policing bill, along with the violent break-up of a vigil to a murdered woman last weekend and the arrest of a serving police officer on suspicion of her murder, has put relations between British police and much of the public under severe strain.

Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens was charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard earlier this month, in a case that has been intensely followed and led to a renewed national discussion about intimidation, harassment and violence against women.

But the police became subjects of ire, too, when they moved in on a peaceful vigil to Everard in south London on March 13 and appeared to force women to the ground, an approach that has led to a review and cast scrutiny on pending legislation that would boost their powers to dismantle protests and mass gatherings in the future.

Bristol's mayor, Marvin Rees, said he had "major concerns about the Bill myself, which is poorly thought out and could impose disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to peaceful protest."

But he condemned violent demonstrators in his city for making it more likely that the bill would pass. "Smashing buildings in our city center, vandalizing vehicles, attacking our police, will do nothing to lessen the likelihood of the Bill going through. On the contrary, the lawlessness on show will be used as evidence and promote the need for the Bill."

The bill was debated in Parliament last week. It suggests, in somewhat vague language, that demonstrations and protests should not "intentionally" or "recklessly" cause "public nuisance," and elsewhere says that damage to monuments could carry a punishment of up to 10 years in prison -- a clause seen as a response to Black Lives Matter protesters, who tore down or condemned statues of slave traders in Bristol and elsewhere last year.

At the top of a fact sheet for the bill on the government's website, Cressida Dick, Metropolitan Police Commissioner, is quoted as saying that ever since the Extinction Rebellion climate change protests in London, police forces have needed "change to powers and to legislation that would enable the police to deal better with protests" that "are not primarily violent or seriously disorderly," but "had an avowed intent to bring policing to its knees and the city to a halt."

CNN's Samantha Beech and Luke McGee contributed reporting

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2021-03-22 12:31:46Z
52781442401405

Coronavirus vaccines: PM to telephone EU leaders in bid to stop export ban being imposed - BBC News

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Boris Johnson is expected to speak to his EU counterparts this week as a row over Covid vaccine supplies continues.

EU leaders will hold a virtual meeting on Thursday to discuss a ban on Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine exports to the UK - but the PM aims to put the UK's case in one-on-one phone calls before that.

The European Commission president says the EU can "forbid" vaccines made on the continent being sent to the UK.

But a government minister said it was crucial the EU honours its commitments.

Downing Street said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Mr Johnson earlier this year that the EU was not intending to restrict exports of vaccines.

Helen Whately, health and social care minister, urged the EU to stand by this commitment and warned against "vaccine nationalism and protectionism".

The latest flashpoint appears to be over doses made in a Dutch factory.

• PM hails record-breaking day with 844,285 jabs
• EU should not 'build walls' around vaccines
• Why is the EU having vaccine problems?

Meanwhile, the long-awaited results of the US trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which involved more than 32,000 volunteers, show that the jab is safe and highly effective.

Several European leaders paused rollout of the vaccine amid concerns of a possible link with blood clots. UK and EU regulators said there was no evidence the vaccine causes blood clots.

European leaders have faced criticism for the slow pace of the vaccine rollout on the continent.

Less than 12% of the EU's population is reported to have received the vaccine, compared with nearly 40% in the UK.

The EU has encountered production problems with the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines.

British-Swedish manufacturer AstraZeneca said the fact that EU contracts were signed later than with the UK caused problems with supplying their vaccine.

Downing Street has previously said that it does not believe that vaccine supply issues will affect the current road map for easing lockdown restrictions.

Ms Whately told BBC Breakfast the UK was "on track" to meet its target of offering the vaccine to the top nine priority groups by 15 April and to all adults by the end of July.

There is also enough supply to ensure people have their second doses, she added.

"We always knew that there could be ups and downs in supply but we have a... diverse supply chain and we are absolutely determined to keep on deploying the vaccine," she said.

But the Guardian says a report by data analysts Airfinity suggests that if an export ban was applied to all vaccines - including those from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson that have yet to be deployed in the UK - it would see the offer of a first vaccine to every adult completed in late August rather than the target date of 31 July.

Mrs von der Leyen said that 41 million vaccine doses have been exported from the bloc to 33 countries in six weeks, with more than 10 million jabs going to the UK.

She has said that, in contrast, the EU is still waiting for vaccine exports from the UK and she warned last week that if supplies in Europe do not improve, the bloc "will reflect whether exports to countries who have higher vaccination rates than us are still proportionate".

Reuters

Article 122 of the EU treaty allows measures to be taken "if severe difficulties arise in the supply of certain products". Those measures could in theory include export bans and the waiving of patent and intellectual property rights on vaccines.

Mrs von der Leyen said this weekend that the bloc has the power to "forbid" exports, adding: "That is the message to AstraZeneca."

A government source has described the latest reports from the EU as "concerning".

The latest point of contention between the UK and the EU appears to be over vaccine doses being manufactured at a plant in the Netherlands, with an EU official telling Reuters that those doses should be distributed among member states, and not sent to Britain.

Mr Johnson is expected to use his calls to European leaders in the first half of this week to persuade them to veto any proposal that would prevent vaccine exports from entering the UK.

French president Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are among those likely to be on the PM's list, according to British officials quoted by the Financial Times.

• SUPPORT BUBBLES: What are they and who can be in yours?
• FACE MASKS: When do I need to wear one?
• SCHOOLS: What will happen if children catch coronavirus?
• TESTING: What tests are available?
• JOBS: How will I be kept safe at work?

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Sunday that the EU should not "build walls" around the distribution of vaccines and should seek to meet its contractual "obligations".

Mr Wallace told the BBC that the language being used by the European Commission was "counterproductive", adding: "Trying to... build walls around this would only damage both EU citizens and United Kingdom."

EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness has said that no decisions had been made over any possible export ban and urged all sides to "calm down".

The EU row over vaccines also comes as speculation continues over whether summer holidays abroad will be permitted for those in the UK this year.

Mr Wallace said an extension on the ban on foreign holidays cannot be ruled out. Currently, international travel will not be allowed for those in England, Scotland and Wales before 17 May.

His comments came after a scientist on a government advisory body said summer holidays overseas are "extremely unlikely" because of the risk of travellers bringing variants to the UK.

Meanwhile, the prime minister hailed a "record-breaking day" for the UK's vaccine rollout, after a combined total of 844,285 first or second doses were given on Saturday, up from 711,157 on Friday.

It means that more than 27.6 million people in the UK - more than half the adult population - have now received at least one dose of a vaccine.

• "I WAS SO SICK, IN SO MUCH PAIN": Understanding endometriosis
• YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Covid vaccine trials for children

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2021-03-22 08:46:06Z
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