Vaccines Minister says he’s confident about ending restrictions on July 19
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has revealed that Boris Johnson will share the government’s latest Covid data with the nation tomorrow, as well as guidance on social distancing after 19 July.
Appearing on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, which is currently being covered by Trevor Phillips, the vaccines minister said he was “confident” England would proceed to stage four of the roadmap out of lockdown on the planned “terminus date”.
Speaking briefly about what the government’s plans for the next few weeks will include, Mr Zahawi said people would still be “expected to wear masks in indoor enclosed places”.
It comes after Sajid Javid warned that NHS waiting lists could rise to 13 million in the coming months as the health service grapples with the Covid third wave on top of a huge backlog of treatment. In his first interview since taking over as health secretary, Mr Javid said he was “shocked” by the growing numbers waiting for non-Covid care.
PM under mounting pressure on universal credit
Boris Johnson is facing mounting resistance over plans to cut the £20-per-week universal credit uplift, as a group of northern Conservative MPs warned the government it would “hamper” the economic recovery.
Describing the emergency payments as a “life-saver” for people during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Northern Research Group (NRG), representing around 50 MPs, again called on ministers to keep the increase in place.
One former cabinet minister told The Independent the move would hurt “many, many families” and risks “resurrecting old ghosts” over perceptions of the Conservatives’ attitude towards poverty.
Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn has more:
Sam Hancock11 July 2021 09:14
Scientists slandered by Cummings demand public record is changed
Two scientists who say they were wrongly criticised by former prime ministerial aide Dominic Cummings over their pandemic advice to the government have reportedly demanded the chance to set the record straight.
Oxford professors Carl Heneghan and Sunetra Gupta were mentioned in Mr Cummings’ damning account to parliament in May of the Government’s handling of the pandemic.
Boris Johnson’s former chief aide told a select committee hearing the two scientific advisers to the government had talked Boris Johnson out of a lockdown last autumn by saying it was not required because herd immunity had been reached.
“The Government record is important and what was stated in the record must be correct,” Prof Heneghan told the Sunday Express. “What we now have on public record is not correct. We did not say there would be no second wave.”
Sam Hancock11 July 2021 09:12
Zahawi defends eight weeks interval between Covid jab doses
Nadhim Zahawi signalled this morning there are no plans from the government to decrease the current eight-week wait time between two doses of a Covid vaccine.
The vaccines minister said the gap was “much better than having the interval shortened any further”.
It comes after reports of NHS staff being abused by holidaymakers who are demanding their second doses quicker, so they can travel to countries who require visitors to be fully inoculated.
Sam Hancock11 July 2021 08:59
Minister refuses to say if an England win could equal a bank holiday
Asked if there would be a bank holiday if England wins the Euro Championship this evening, Nadhim Zahawi said he “couldn’t possibly say”.
“I’m not going to jinx that. There’s no way I’m going to be presumptuous and jinx that on your programme,” the vaccines minister told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips.
Pressed to share his score prediction for the game, Mr Zahawi also refused to “jinx it”, to which Mr Phillips laughed and jokingly called him a “chicken”.
Sam Hancock11 July 2021 08:56
Vaccine rollout means rising cases will not impact 19 July plans, says Zahawi
The vaccines minister did, in the end, move to acknowledge that cases of coronavirus were rising.
“We’re seeing a rise in infection rates in this country, but also in Europe and elsewhere,”
But he added: “The difference for us is that the vaccination programme has been so successful.”
Ultimately, Nadhim Zahawi appears to claim this will not affect plans to ease restrictions further on 19 July, aka “terminus date”.
Sam Hancock11 July 2021 08:48
Zahawi ‘confident’ England will move to next phase of easing on 19 July
Nadhim Zahawi has said the prime minister will share the government’s latest data on Covid with the nation tomorrow.
Appearing on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, which is currently being covered by Trevor Phillips, the vaccines minister said he was “confident” England would proceed to stage four of the roadmap out of lockdown on 19 July.
Speaking briefly about what the government’s plans for the next few weeks will include, Mr Zahawi said the guidance will include people being “expected to [continue to] wear masks in indoor enclosed places”.
Sam Hancock11 July 2021 08:42
Javid warns NHS waiting list could soar to 13m amid Covid third wave
Sajid Javid has warned that NHS waiting lists could rocket to 13 million in the coming months as the health service grapples with the Covid third wave on top of a huge backlog of treatment.
In his first interview since taking over as health secretary, Mr Javid said he was “shocked” by the growing numbers waiting for non-Covid care.
Hospitals across the country are already in crisis mode because of surging Covid cases and staff shortages due to workers having to self-isolate if they are ‘pinged’ by the Covid app, reports our deputy news editor Alastair Jamieson.
Sam Hancock11 July 2021 08:37
Government urged to reverse ‘shameful’ foreign aid cuts
Labour and the Archbishop of Canterbury have urged the government to reverse its move to slash foreign aid, saying a report that a group of philanthropists will help plug the gap underlines the harm caused by the decision.
It comes after The Sunday Times published a story in which it was revealed organisations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will on Sunday pledge more than £100m to a one-year plan to partially replace the cuts in the UK’s aid budget, with the funding to target projects tackling preventable diseases and family planning.
The paper reported the move by the string of charities, which also includes the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, to donate to projects previously funded by Britain was aimed at embarrassing Boris Johnson.
“This is a shameful moment for this Conservative government,” Labour’s shadow international development secretary Preet Kaur Gill said in a statement. “As low income countries continue to battle against the pandemic, this contribution to try and plug some of the gap left by the government’s slashing of life saving aid programmes is welcome, but it will only be able to prevent the very worst of the damage caused.”
She added: “The government’s decision to cut the aid budget, against the wishes of parliament, has already cost lives and they must reverse it or put to a vote as soon as possible.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, applauded the philanthropists’ move, but said he was praying for the government to restore its promises on aid. “These diseases cause unimaginable suffering and entirely preventable deaths,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.
Sam Hancock11 July 2021 08:36
Hello, and welcome to The Independent’s UK politics live blog. Stay tuned as we give you the latest updates as Sunday’s political programmes get going.
Sam Hancock11 July 2021 08:32