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Nearly 1,500 deaths in one day: UK ministers accused of downplaying Covid-19 peak Official toll passed a thousand on 22 consecutive days – far more than daily briefings saidThe UK’s darkest days of the coronavirus crisisEight of the lives lost on UK’s worst day of pandemicMinisters have been accused of playing down the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic after it emerged that more than 1,000 people died every day in the UK for 22 consecutive days – in stark contrast with daily tolls announced by the government.According to an analysis of official figures, the darkest day came on 8 April as the country prepared for Easter under lockdown, when a record 1,445 people died from Covid-19 in 24 hours. Continue reading... Go to Source

Chaos and a car crash: Tories begin to fear Boris Johnson has lost his vim Missteps, U-turns and fears for the PM’s health leave senior party members openly muttering he may have to goAt prime minister’s questions this week, Boris Johnson appeared to be fired up. He scored a point against Keir Starmer, needling the Labour leader about whether he would say schools were safe to return to, and claiming Starmer had been silenced by the teaching unions.Several MPs on his own side remarked how pleased they were to see him back to what Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, of the 1922 executive committee, called “such robust form”. Continue reading... Go to Source

England to drop class 'bubbles' and pupil caps from September Government wants all pupils back full-time in new school year, education secretary saysCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMinisters plan to drop restrictions on classroom “bubbles” to let all pupils attend school full-time in England from September, the education secretary has said.Gavin Williamson said lifting the 15-pupil cap and expanding the size of protective bubbles would enable whole classes of 30 to be taught together, overcoming the lack of space that has resulted in schools having to rotate year groups. Continue reading... Go to Source

UK coronavirus live: Matt Hancock hails 'big moment' as Covid-19 alert level reduced from 4 to 3 News updates: Education secretary to reveal details of £1bn funding package for schools to help pupils catch up on lessons missed during the coronavirus lockdown English schools to get £1bn to help pupils catch up after lockdown4.5m people in UK forced to become unpaid carers due to Covid crisisCoronavirus global updatesAll our coronavirus coverage 12.40pm BST 12.37pm BSTA total of 2,470 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by six from 2,464 on Thursday, Nicola Sturgeon said.Speaking at the Scottish government’s virtual coronavirus briefing, the first minister said 18,104 people have tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 27 fr...

'It’s a basic equality issue': home learning gap between state and private schools Lessons continue online at Manchester grammar school while nearby St Ambrose buys textbooks for disadvantaged pupilsIt is 9.30am in the staff room at Manchester grammar school (MGS) and the head of chemistry, Fay Roberts, is settled in the windowless cupboard where she now does much of her teaching. All of her year 12s have turned up online to learn about the acid-catalysed elimination of an alcohol. “They’re pretty good at getting out of bed, but they’re 17-year-old boys,” she says. “If one is missing, I get one of their friends to text them and they soon turn up.”Like all teachers at the UK’s biggest independent boys’ school, Roberts has been offering a fu...

UK borrowing hits record £55bn in May; retail sales rebound -business live Rolling coverage of the latest business news, as new public data reveals the growing costs of the Covid-19 pandemicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage 12.30pm BSTThe CEO of crisis-hit payment group Wirecard has resigned just a day after the company said that €1.9bn worth of cash seemed to be missing. (That’s roughly a quarter of its total balance sheet.)In an incredibly short market statement, Wirecard said: In mutual consent with the Supervisory Board of Wirecard AG, Dr. Markus Braun resigned today with immediate effect as member of the management board. The Supervisory Board of Wirecard AG appointed Dr. James H. Freis, Jr., who was appointed yesterday as member of the m...

As UK lockdowns ease, fears grow of return to pre-pandemic crime and pollution levels Carbon emissions, crime and air pollution all fell but are now starting to reboundIn a sudden realisation of what climate campaigners have been urging for years, flights were cancelled, vehicle use plummeted and the oil industry found itself in turmoil as lockdown restrictions took hold. Continue reading... Go to Source

Disability campaigners warn of UK's progress unravelling in the arts Lockdown has magnified inequality, say activists, just as change seemed to be arrivingCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageProgress made in the representation and inclusion of disabled artists and audiences is in danger of unravelling because of the pandemic, campaigners have warned.A new alliance of disabled people and groups working in the UK’s cultural industries, #WeShallNotBeRemoved, has been established to make sure disabled voices are heard as the nation’s devastated arts sector attempts to rebuild after the lockdown. Continue reading... Go to Source

Dysfunctional 'toxic culture' led to Labour defeat, major report finds Exclusive: party has mountain to climb to return to power, says Labour Together reviewKey points from review of Labour defeat Ed Miliband: Let’s learn the right lessonsLabour has a “mountain to climb” if it is to get back into power, according to a major review of the 2019 general election defeat, which paints a picture of dysfunctionality, toxicity and drift inside the party’s election-fighting machine.Negative perceptions of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, doubts about the manifesto and the party’s ambivalent Brexit stance reinforced each other in a “snowballing” effect to deliver December’s catastrophic result, the 150-page report by the party group Labour Together...

Only fraction of £600m pot to fix Grenfell-style cladding spent so far MPs to launch investigation into delay, which has left 300 highrises yet to be remediatedThe government has spent less than a quarter of what it promised to replace dangerous Grenfell-style cladding, leaving 300 highrise buildings still not fixed three years after the disaster.Ministers pledged £400m in May 2018 to strip social housing towers of aluminium composite material (ACM) panels similar to those which spread the fire at Grenfell Tower in west London, killing 72 people in June 2017. But only £133m has been spent, a National Audit Office report found, leaving more than half of the 154 affected blocks still needing work. Continue reading... Go to Source

John Bolton urged to elaborate on Trump-Erdoğan claims New book claims US president agreed to intervene in federal investigation into Turkish bankThe former US national security adviser John Bolton is facing calls to elaborate on a claim in his new book that Donald Trump agreed to help Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by intervening in a federal investigation into a Turkish state-owned bank.In excerpts of the memoir seen by US media, Bolton said Trump appeared to “give personal favours to dictators he liked”, that should have been included in the impeachment inquiry focussing on Trump’s dealings in Ukraine. Continue reading... Go to Source

Radical proposals in Lib Dem policy review suggest shift to the left Free broadband among ideas in Build Back Better, edited by leadership hopeful Layla MoranThe Liberal Democrats could make a decisive shift to the centre left, shedding the final legacies from the party’s period in coalition, under a review of policy ideas overseen by the leadership hopeful Layla Moran.A new booklet, Build Back Better, edited by the MP, is billed as a modern equivalent to the Orange Book, a 2004 collection of essays from Lib Dem figures – including the former leaders Nick Clegg and Vince Cable, and former cabinet minister David Laws – which pushed the party towards a centre-right, markets-based stance. Continue reading... Go to Source

Ministers accused of 'betrayal' over NHS surcharge for migrants Doctors say it is unacceptable that foreign-born health workers are still paying the feeCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageDoctors have accused ministers of “a crass betrayal” by not honouring Boris Johnson’s pledge to scrap the £400-a-year fees foreign-born NHS staff have to pay for healthcare.The Doctors’ Association UK has written to Priti Patel, the home secretary, criticising the delay as “unacceptable”. Continue reading... Go to Source