Big push on borders and managing migration across the channel this week from ministers. An RAF plane is currently monitoring the UK coastline after lots of people made the dangerous crossing over the last few days: flightradar24.com/RRR4998/252c79…
The UK wants France to intercept more boats as they begin their journey and wants to step up the number of migrants returned to France to make asylum claims there. Home Office minister meeting with French tomorrow to discuss.
Lots of suggestions floating around about the Navy intervening. Government sources playing down anything large-scale but UK boats regularly patrol these waters. Key, they believe, is to make the journey as unviable as possible.
But right now that looks politically and operationally very difficult. UK willing to help French with ££ but want patrols stepped up. Will that be enough to stop people attempting the trip?
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NEW: Visa centre in Lille will be a 'pop-up'. It will NOT offer appointments or walk-in access for those seeking to come to the UK. The most vulnerable cases in Calais will be taken there for biometrics but Home Office will not publicise location and capacity will be small
It will be up and running properly tomorrow but I understand those who are not deemed to be vulnerable and who turn up at Calais anyway will be told to go to Paris or Brussels to fill out correct forms. (You might ask who isn't vulnerable after fleeing a war zone, really?)
The Home Office is working on boosting capacity in other regions to get more appointments sorted but as yet no firm numbers on how many more staff etc.
NEW: Trudy Harrison, PM's PPS, contacted a private charter company on 25 Aug 21 (same date as FCO letter) to secure plane to evacuate animals and staff for Nowzad. A private sponsor funded, but she made clear her role with PM and told staff he was keen to get animals out quickly.
Source at the company said Harrison was keen to get press on the plane to watch animals being evacuated to turn it into a good news story. They added she repeatedly talked about "the boss" and they felt it was obvious her requests came with his backing.
Harrison confirmed to Sky she did contact a number of companies to help "as a constituency MP" (but none of her constituents were directly involved). She admits she did tell staff she was PPS to PM but states Boris Johnson was not involved in any plans around evacuation.
NEW: PM confirms he has spoken to Sue Gray inquiry. In a pool clip with @BethRigby Boris Johnson looks visibly shaken & teary. He denies he was told about BYOB party ahead of time and maintains he believed it was a work event. On his resignation: "Let's see what report says"
Big questions remain over how an event of that size with alcohol and food could have been allowed under the rules even in a work capacity.
Have to say this pool clip has the feel of a PM beaten by the allegations against him. Attempting to muster up a message on Covid and boosters Boris Johnson looks and sounds like a man who knows this could well be the end of the road.
What happened to Sarah Everard has hit home hard for so many women because we make the calculations she did every day too. We take the longer, better-lit route, push the fear aside for the voice that says ‘don't be daft, you've every right to walk home alone at night and be safe’
Tell friends ‘it’s fine, it’s just around the corner, I’ll text when I’m back’ …but still we make a plan - Keys gripped between fingers we map the corner shops we could duck into en-route. Swap shoes for trainers in case we need to run. Keep our music low or turned off.
Even being on the phone has downsides. One eye is always on the person in front or behind - would they help me, might they be a threat? Should I cross the road, would that make it worse? Are there lights on in any of these houses if I need to pretend this is where I live?
Worth reading this full report on adherence to isolation and quarantine in the UK between May and August. Some fascinating/worrying insights including that only 48.9% of participants could identify the main symptoms of Covid 19: medrxiv.org/content/10.110…
Those least likely to be able to identify cough, temperature and loss of taste/smell were: "Male
gender; younger age; not identifying as White British; thinking you have had COVID-19; and
not knowing that you can spread COVID-19 to others if you are asymptomatic"
Just 18 per cent of people who reported symptoms self-isolated. "The most common reasons were: to go to the shops for groceries/pharmacy (18.2%); because one’s symptoms got better (15.6%); and to go out for a medical need other than COVID-19 (14.9%)."
Jon Ashworth asks why so many labs have huge backlogs and some are having to "void" (bin) tests. Says the UK is sending tests to Italy and Germany because labs here can't cope with the number of tests which need to be checked.
Government has admitted that it shuts down the online test request system when demand is overwhelming to prevent tests being carried out and later binned because the labs can't cope.
"I don't deny that this is an enormous challenge" Matt Hancock says. He repeats his message about prioritisation. This is new - not behind the scenes - but as a message being delivered to the public who until now were being told they should ask for a test if they have symptoms