Babak Belurs

Jumat, 18 Juni 2021

England v Scotland: Euro 2020 game sees up to 20,000 Scottish fans descend on London despite pleas to stay away ahead of Wembley clash - Sky News

Up to 20,000 Scotland fans are expected to travel to London ahead of tonight's crunch Euro 2020 match against England, despite pleas to stay away.

With no fan zones available due to COVID-19 restrictions, the city's mayor Sadiq Khan asked supporters not to travel without a ticket or a "safe place" to watch the match.

Trafalgar Square, a traditional haunt for the Tartan Army on football trips to London, has been made available for key workers to watch the game.

And with only 3,000 with tickets to the match, many will be left trying to find somewhere to catch the action on TV.

England head into the game knowing they will be through to the last 16 if they beat Scotland after their opening victory against Croatia.

Meanwhile, Scotland will be looking to bounce back after their opening defeat against the Czech Republic in what was their first game in a major finals in 23 years.

Anticipation has been building among fans of both sides ahead of just the second-ever major tournament meeting of international football's oldest rivals.

Southgate started in the other as Paul Gascoigne's stunning goal wrapped up a 2-0 Wembley group win at Euro 96.

Sky News spoke to some Scotland fans in the Piper's Rest pub, by Edinburgh's Waverley Station, before their journey south - all had match tickets.

Martin Riddell said: "We've been following Scotland, near and far, and for the last 23 years and we've not had a lot of joy so, for us, this is the chance to play in a tournament and we have to be there.

"The Scotland-England game does get the hairs on the back of your neck moving, especially once you're in that stadium.

"We have gone through a lot, as Scotland fans, and we deserve our day in the sun... or our night in the rain."

And while COVID restrictions have put a dampener on the occasion, it is estimated that 14.8 million pints will be sold across England and Scotland on match day, with over three million sales during the game itself.

However, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) warned that due to restrictions, including social distancing, rule of six and no standing, beer sales will be reduced by almost 850,000 pints.

This would result in a revenue loss of around £3.2m for pubs across England and Scotland.

On the pitch, Southgate has confirmed Harry Maguire will be involved and could even start after recovering from an injury he picked up towards the end of the domestic season.

And Scotland have been handed a boost after Kieran Tierney was declared fit after missing the Group D opener with a niggle.

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2021-06-18 06:17:28Z
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Blue wall wobbles as Conservative stronghold of Chesham and Amersham falls to Lib Dems - Sky News

It’s an unwritten rule of politics that every electoral action can have an opposite - if not quite equal - reaction.

The question being asked by many Tories this morning will be whether the party's recent relentless focus on winning new supporters in traditionally Labour-held areas in the north is starting to cost them in their strongholds in the south.

As ever, the reality is more complex.

Chesham and Amersham presented a potent mix of local and national issues that the Lib Dems were able to capitalise on.

The HS2 rail line runs through the constituency and proposed planning changes are a big concern here too.

And as the losing Tory candidate has said, the Lib Dems threw the kitchen sink, the microwave and everything else at this seat.

Tactical voting may have also been at play with Labour voters switching to the Lib Dems to ensure a government defeat.

But all that said, this trend - of traditional Tory regions in the south being eaten away by the opposition parties - was visible in May's local election results.

David Cameron's old Oxfordshire constituency of Witney and the bastion of moneyed Home Counties Toryism Chipping Norton both got Labour councillors in that vote.

Meanwhile further south in Sussex, the conservative leader of Worthing Borough Council explicitly blamed the focus on levelling up in the north and prevalence of planned housing developments in the south for a loss of seats in his region.

The Lib Dems are echoing that this morning, saying that voters in places like Chesham and Amersham are fed up of being taken for granted.

Demographic change as young families move from inner London, along with chunky support for remaining in the EU in 2016 may also have played a part.

The messaging from Tory sources this morning is that this is a predictable mid-term protest vote against a party that has been in power for ten years and the seat can be retaken at a general election.

That may be right - but remember, that logic wasn't borne out in the Hartlepool by-election where the Tories took the seat in May.

It also comes at a time when the government is polling well, in the midst of a successful vaccine rollout.

All of that means this is a more surprising result than Hartlepool.

But just because this brick has turned yellow, doesn't mean the whole blue wall is guaranteed to come falling down.

For a start, there are genuine questions about whether there is a big enough crop of seats the Tories would realistically lose in a general election to counter their wins in the north.

What's more, while in the north the Tories are now single-handedly taking votes from Labour, in the south the spoils of disillusioned conservative voters are more frequently being shared between a number of opposition parties.

For Labour, this is bad news.

This by-election saw the opposition vote collapse to just over 600 votes.

May's bumper round of polling also saw good gains for the Green Party, as well as the Lib Dems.

Expect questions for Sir Keir Starmer today about why Labour is failing to win in places like Chesham and Amersham when the Lib Dems are.

The practical question for the next general election may be whether anti-Tory electoral pacts are the only way to get close to pushing Boris Johnson out of power.

Countless prime ministers have learnt the lesson of taking voters for granted the hard way.

It's an irony not lost on Tories that the same sense of disillusionment they are trading off in the north now appears to be costing them votes in the south.

This is a stunning result for the Lib Dems and while it's too soon to talk about the southern blue wall crumbling, it's certainly wobbling.

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2021-06-18 06:12:42Z
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Uefa threat over Euro 2020 final at Wembley | News - The Times

Thousands of VIPs will be allowed into England without the need to quarantine under plans to stop the final of the European Championship being moved from Wembley to Budapest, The Times can reveal.

Ministers are discussing a proposal to exempt Uefa and Fifa officials, politicians, sponsors and broadcasters from having to self-isolate on arrival despite concerns that this could lead to an increase in coronavirus infections and provoke a backlash from the public.

About 2,500 designated VIPs attending games at Wembley would not have to abide by the quarantine restrictions imposed on ordinary travellers. They would be allowed to attend matches at Wembley during the knockout phase of the tournament as well as training sessions and meetings with the UK government.

Ministers are concerned that

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2021-06-17 23:01:00Z
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Kamis, 17 Juni 2021

Security failures raised death toll in Manchester Arena bombing - The Times

Police and security failures on the night of the Manchester Arena bombing cost lives and the Islamic State-inspired attacker should have been identified as a threat, a public inquiry has found.

Sir John Saunders, its chairman, yesterday outlined missed opportunities to stop Salman Abedi, who killed 22 people when he blew himself up in the aftermath of a pop concert in May 2017.

The failures included officers from British Transport Police disappearing for a two-hour meal break, including a five-mile drive to buy a kebab. Fifteen minutes before the blast a security steward “fobbed off” a member of the public who reported concerns about Abedi, and police had opportunities to spot him before the attack.

Father of Manchester Arena victim: We were failed on every level

Sir John, issuing his first conclusions after hearing

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2021-06-17 23:00:00Z
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COVID-19: Wales to delay further easing of lockdown restrictions for four weeks - Sky News

Wales is delaying further easing of lockdown restrictions for four weeks after seeing a spike in cases of the Delta coronavirus variant, as the nation again faces a "serious public health situation".

First Minister Mark Drakeford said: "In the space of just a few short weeks, the Delta variant has entered Wales and quickly spread throughout the country.

"There is sustained and accelerating transmission, not just in north and southeast Wales but in all parts of Wales.

"It is now the most dominant variant in new cases in Wales. We are once again facing a serious public health situation."

There are nearly 490 cases of the Delta (India) variant in Wales, while more than four out five new COVID-19 cases are Delta, according to the Welsh government, citing the latest figures.

Two-thirds of these are not linked to travel or contact with another case, it added.

On Friday, Mr Drakeford is expected to encourage people to have their second jabs - and the nation is aiming to roll out more than half a million vaccine doses over the next four weeks.

It was previously thought there could have been an announcement on a relaxation of the rules around meeting people indoors.

But on Twitter, he wrote: "We have reviewed all the evidence and will pause changes to the rules for four weeks."

He said the government will use that time to "vaccinate even more people", pointing out the nation has the highest vaccination rates and the lowest coronavirus rates in the UK.

At the previous lockdown review earlier this month, when Wales started to move into alert level one, Mr Drakeford said he hoped to announce up to six people would be able to meet inside private homes from 21 June.

Other changes would have seen increased numbers attending indoor events and reopening ice skating rinks.

Rules in Wales were last relaxed on 7 June when outdoor events with up to 10,000 people were allowed to resume, and other events, such as concerts, football matches and sporting activities, could recommence for up to 4,000 people standing and 10,000 people sitting.

The regulations will be reviewed again on 15 July.

Meanwhile, some technical amendments are being made to the rules now to make them easier for people to understand.

These include the number of people who can attend a wedding or civil partnership reception or wake, organised by a business in an indoors regulated premise, such as a hotel, which will be determined by the venue's size.

And small grassroots music and comedy venues will be able to operate on the same basis as hospitality venues.

The pause on lifting more restrictions in Wales comes after the prime minister announced on Monday the final stage of England's lockdown roadmap would be delayed.

Boris Johnson had planned to lift all restrictions on 21 June but that has now been put back until 19 July due to a spike in infections.

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2021-06-17 22:24:41Z
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COVID-19: Wales to delay further easing of lockdown restrictions for four weeks - Sky News

Wales is delaying further easing of coronavirus restrictions for four weeks after seeing a spike in cases of the Delta variant, as the nation again faces a "serious public health situation".

First Minister Mark Drakeford said: "In the space of just a few short weeks, the Delta variant has entered Wales and quickly spread throughout the country.

"There is sustained and accelerating transmission, not just in north and southeast Wales but in all parts of Wales.

"It is now the most dominant variant in new cases in Wales. We are once again facing a serious public health situation."

There are nearly 490 cases of the Delta (India) variant in Wales, while more than four out five new COVID-19 cases are the Delta variant, according to the Welsh government, citing the latest figures.

Two-thirds of these are not linked to travel or contact with another case, it added.

On Twitter, Mr Drakeford wrote: "We have reviewed all the evidence and will pause changes to the rules for four weeks."

He said the government will use that time to "vaccinate even more people", pointing out the nation has the highest vaccination rates and the lowest coronavirus rates in the UK.

On Friday, he is expected to encourage people to have their second jabs - and the nation is aiming to roll out more than half a million doses over the next four weeks.

The regulations will be reviewed again on 15 July.

Meanwhile, some technical amendments are being made to the regulations now to make them easier for people to understand.

Small grassroots music and comedy venues will be able to operate on the same basis as hospitality venues.

And primary school children in the same school contact group or bubble will be able to stay overnight in a residential outdoor education centre.

The pause on lifting more restrictions in Wales comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday the final stage of England's lockdown roadmap would be delayed.

The government had planned to lift all restrictions on 21 June but that has now been put back until 19 July due to a spike in infections.

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Flexible working 'default option' under plan to bolster employees' rights - The Times

Boris Johnson has said that there are “significant benefits” to working from the office despite his government pressing ahead with plans to strengthen employees’ rights to stay at home if they wish.

The prime minister has expressed his determination that office life, and in particular city centres, will return closer to normal once the threat of coronavirus recedes. But parts of the government are working on ways to give people new freedoms to set their own working patterns.

The government will launch a consultation later this year on how to improve existing rights for people to request flexible working from their employers.

The plans, revealed by The Times in March, will consider ways to ensure that people who have moved to a hybrid of

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2021-06-17 16:00:00Z
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Jumat, 18 Juni 2021

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