Raab says UK could offer BNO passport holders in Hong Kong ‘pathway to future citizenship’, BBC reports

The UK will offer greater visa rights to British national overseas (BNO) passport holders from Hong Kong unless China suspends its proposed new security laws, the BBC has reported.

“In relation to BNO passport holders, as you know currently they only have the right to come to the UK for six months,” Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said, according to the BBC’s James Landale.

“If China continues down this path and implements this national security legislation, we will change that status.

More than quarter of people in ‘shielded’ group have seen incomes plummet, research finds

More than a quarter (27 per cent) of people in the shielded group for coronavirus have lost at least 60 per cent of their income since the pandemic began, research has found.

Citizens Advice has warned people who are extremely vulnerable to Covid-19 face a “catch-22” due to government guidance advising them to shield at home until at least the end of June, without obliging employers to furlough them.

The charity said it had supported thousands of workers with underlying health conditions, who have been denied access to the furlough scheme – with some people who were initially furloughed being asked to return to frontline roles as shop workers and delivery drivers.

Analysis by Citizens Advice of about 2,000 employment cases since 14 April showed more than 70 per cent of those who were shielding or were at higher risk from coronavirus had not been furloughed.

“The government’s extraordinary interventions have protected millions of jobs and incomes, but some of the most vulnerable have still fallen through the safety net,” Dame Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said.

“We’re already seeing worrying cases of people being caught in a catch-22 where they have been denied furlough and asked to work in direct contradiction of public health advice. 

“We fear the situation could worsen as more workplaces reopen.”

She added: “Unless people who are shielding have a right to be furloughed while their health is at risk, some will continue to face an impossible choice: paying the bills or protecting their health.”

Starmer on Johnson: ‘He’s too weak to do anything about Cummings’

Sir Keir Starmer has told reporters he does not expect Boris Johnson to take any action against Mr Cummings because he is “too weak” to do anything about the controversy.

“I’ve seen what Durham Police have said. Obviously that, on the face of it, is inconsistent with what the prime minister said,” the Labour leader said.

“And that presents him with a problem. But, frankly, he’s too weak to do anything about it.”

Sir Keir added: “I don’t think he’s going to do anything because he cannot, it seems, continue without his adviser.”

A lawyer has said Durham Constabulary’s statement that there “might have been a minor breach of the regulations that would have warranted police intervention” regarded Mr Cummings’ trip to Barnard Castle could be interpreted as meaning there was enough evidence to suggest he breached the rules but it was up to a court to decide.

Northern Ireland announces proposed lockdown relaxations for June

Stormont’s leaders have announced a series of proposed relaxations for Northern Ireland’s lockdown, scheduled to come into effect from 8 June.

The measures will include small marriages in an outdoor setting with guests limited to 10 people.

Outdoor sports courts will also be allowed to reopen and hotels will be allowed to take some bookings, though no date has been set for their reopening.

A number of businesses will be able to reopen, including:

However, the relaxations will only be introduced if scientific evidence indicates that the virus is still being suppressed.

Acting Lib Dem leader calls for Cummings to resign

Acting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has called for Mr Cummings to resign following the conclusion of Durham Constabulary that the adviser may have broken the lockdown.

“The Durham Police have now confirmed what the public already knew – Dominic Cummings should not have done what he did,” Sir Ed said.

“The fact that minister after minister have tried to pretend otherwise has been an insult to each and every one of us following the rules to keep each other safe from the virus.

“Either the prime minister and his ministers lied or they have no understanding of the rules they have written.”

The MP also warned public trust had been “eroded” due to the government’s behaviour.

Here’s an even more direct statement from Nick Thomas-Symonds, Labour’s shadow home secretary, calling for Mr Cummings to be sacked.

“The police have confirmed what we all knew, that Dominic Cummings broke the rules he helped to write,” Mr Thomas-Symonds said.

“The country cannot afford for this saga to carry on. Only Boris Johnson can draw a line under it.

The Labour MP added: “Keir Starmer has said that if he was prime minister, he would have sacked Dominic Cummings. Boris Johnson should follow that advice.

“If he does not act then he will send a clear message that there is one rule for his closest adviser and another for the British people.”

Starmer doubles down on support for sacking Cummings

Sir Keir Starmer has doubled down on his claim that he would have sacked Dominic Cummings if he was in Boris Johnson’s position.

The Labour leader was asked about the issue during a virtual “Call Keir” event in Doncaster on Thursday.

“I would’ve sacked him from the outset if I’d been prime minister,” Sir Keir said.

“The inquiries into what he may have thought about his own family are secondary.”

He added: “The only question that would’ve mattered to me as prime minister is ‘is this going to make it less likely that other people will comply with the rules?’.

“If the answer to that is ‘yes’ then I, as prime minister, would’ve got rid of him.

“I think the fact that Boris Johnson hasn’t has weakened him.”

A joint statement by Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, and ministers from the other three countries said: 

“China’s decision to impose the new national security law on Hong Kong lies in direct conflict with its international obligations under the principles of the legally-binding, UN-registered Sino-British Joint Declaration.

“The proposed law would undermine the One Country, Two Systems framework. It also raises the prospect of prosecution in Hong Kong for political crimes, and undermines existing commitments to protect the rights of Hong Kong people – including those set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

“We are also extremely concerned that this action will exacerbate the existing deep divisions in Hong Kong society; the law does nothing to build mutual understanding and foster reconciliation within Hong Kong.”

The statement added: “The world’s focus on a global pandemic requires enhanced trust in governments and international cooperation. Beijing’s unprecedented move risks having the opposite effect.

“As Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity are jeopardised by the new imposition, we call on the government of China to work with the Hong Kong SAR government and the people of Hong Kong to find a mutually acceptable accommodation that will honour China’s international obligations under the UN-filed Sino-British Joint Declaration.”

Average of 133,000 people had Covid-19 at any given time in last two weeks, ONS finds

An average of 133,000 people in England had Covid-19 at any given time between 11 and 24 May, according to new estimates by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This figure is equivalent to 0.24 per cent of the community population.

The ONS said the figures are at a similar level to its previous estimate last week, suggesting the number of people with coronavirus in England is “relatively stable”.

However, the figures do not include those in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings.

Keir Starmer says Johnson has ‘shown himself to be weak’ over Cummings
 
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said Boris Johnson has “shown himself to be weak” in his response to the controversy surrounding Mr Cummings.

“The most important thing here is not, you know, these technical issues, but the problem is by not dealing with Cummings in a strong way, the prime minister has not only shown himself to be weak, and he has shown himself to be weak – I mean he’s so desperate for this adviser he’ll cling on to him through thick and thin,” Sir Keir said in a clip on BBC Radio 4’s The World At One.

“More importantly, what I’m worried about is that people might think ‘well,’ if Cummings doesn’t have to apply by the rules, why do I have to?

“Then you’re on a slippery slope.”

UK was never going to have ‘world-class’ test and trace system by June, NHS Providers chief says

The chief executive of NHS Providers has said it was “never going to be the case” that the UK would have a “world-class” test and trace system in place by 1 June.

Chris Hopson told the PA news agency that the UK was “weeks behind where we really ought to be”, even though work on the system was progressing “at pace”.

“There has been good progress, things are being put into place, but they are going to take time,” Mr Hopson said.

“Partly, to be frank, because we should have been doing quite a lot of these things months and weeks ago, and they weren’t being done.”

He added that he understood plans to roll out test and trace at local level would not be ready until the end of June.

“One of the questions that needs to be asked is how much of a risk is being run without having the local plans in place? That is what our trust leaders are asking,” Mr Hopson said.

“As soon as you start to ease lockdown, the risk of the virus spreading grows and you’d want to ensure – which I think the government has specifically said – that you’d want to have an effective test and tracing system in place with comprehensive universal geographic coverage that you could really trust.

“You’d want to ensure it is robust before you start easing lockdown too dramatically.”

UK government should ‘do whatever it takes’ to ensure Test and Trace works, Hunt says

The government should “do whatever it takes” to ensure its new Test and Trace system works, Jeremy Hunt has said.

“Squeezing that testing turnaround down to 24 hours, which is what happens in Korea and Taiwan, is really, really important,” Mr Hunt, the chairman of the Health Select Committee, told BBC Radio 4’s The World At One.

“The big picture is that we are now implementing the system which is the best in the world, it has been proven to not just reduce death rates but also help economies to function more normally. But, within that, the tightening of these tests is absolutely critical.”

The Tory MP added that he agreed Mr Cummings’ actions during the lockdown were “not going to help” with getting people to be compliant with the system but said it was time to “move on” from the issue.

The conclusion made by Durham Police may also turn out to be a problem for Suella Braverman, the attorney general, who rushed to defend Mr Cummings before the full facts of the case had been established.

Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson has told a Westminster briefing that the prime minister will lead the daily Downing Street press conference on coronavirus today.

“Subject to the fact that we need to receive the very latest advice from Sage, which I believe is meeting today, I would expect the PM to be able to set out what we are able to do from 1 June later today,” the spokesperson said.

Considering what we’ve learned from Durham Police this afternoon, it is likely to be another difficult briefing for the PM.
 

More details from Durham Police’s statement on Cummings

Durham Constabulary has concluded that Mr Cummings may have committed “a minor breach” of lockdown regulations which would have warranted police intervention when he drove to Barnard Castle on 12 April.

The force said this breach was considered minor because there was “no apparent breach of social distancing”.

“Had a Durham Constabulary police officer stopped Mr Cummings driving to or from Barnard Castle, the officer would have spoken to him, and, having established the facts, likely advised Mr Cummings to return to the address in Durham, providing advice on the dangers of travelling during the pandemic crisis,” a statement from the force said.

“Had this advice been accepted by Mr Cummings, no enforcement action would have been taken.”

The statement added that Durham Constabulary would not take “retrospective action” against Mr Cummings because it had not done so for any other person.

The adviser’s trip to Durham on 27 March was not considered to be a breach of the regulations – although police noted this was not a comment on whether it was a breach of general government guidance to “stay at home”.

Police also said there was “insufficient evidence” to support the allegation that Mr Cummings returned to Durham on 19 April – a charge he has denied.

Trust in politicians and senior advisers will be crucial for government messaging to hit home as lockdown measures are eased, the regional director of the World Health Organisation in Europe has said.

Dr Hans Kluge said a symbiotic relationship between “leadership and citizenship” was needed, saying it was “very important” for the former to “build trust” with the latter.

Dr Kluge declined to comment on Mr Cummings’ case specifically, but, asked what concerns he had about the efficacy of government messaging when senior advisers and politicians are deemed to have broken lockdown rules, he said: “There is a need for two elements.

“One is what we call responsible governance – it means that the leadership is listening to the public health and epidemiological data, (and that it) communicates with the public.

“And it’s very important to build trust, like for example, we have been seeing in Scandinavian countries, this partnership between the people and the politicians. Second, we need responsible citizenship, which means for the citizens to listen to trustful, responsible governance.”