News and Opinion

An NHS chief has said frontline healthcare workers are ‘losing confidence’ in the fight against the Covid-19 after a shipment of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from Turkey turned out to be faulty, NHS Confederation chief executive Niall Dickson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the arrival of 400,000 faulty gowns from Turkey had ‘undermined’ […]

Boris Johnson has been portrayed as Neville Chamberlain – the man who was accused of appeasing the Nazis – in a new Led By Donkeys campaign. In a video, which was projected on to the White Cliffs of Dover ahead of VE Day, the prime minister is seen mocked up as Tory party leader Neville […]

Boris Johnson is set to meet with his cabinet to discuss how to ease coronavirus lockdown measures ahead of an announcement on Sunday. The cabinet will focus on what restrictions can be relaxed now that the UK has passed its first Covid-19 peak. Johnson will update the public with a statement on Sunday, with new […]

Boris Johnson has hinted he will announce a limited return to pre-pandemic life in an address to the nation on Sunday, with new measures set to come in as early as Monday. Reports suggest changes could include unlimited exercise, the return of some sports, park picnics, and the opening of pub and cafe gardens – […]

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed a host of global dangers, says ANDREW ADONIS. Now we need a strong, united Europe more than ever. Boris Johnsons intention to crash out of the European Union looks worse with each passing week of the coronavirus pandemic, says Andrew Adonis. Picture: PA – Credit: PA Saturday is Europe Day. […]

Most parents say they do not want to see their children return to school as soon as the government ends the lockdown, a poll suggests. One in ten parents said they would only be happy to send their children back when staff and pupils had been vaccinated against Covid-19 – even if this took up […]

Newly-elected Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the party’s calamitous election defeat came down to one major factor – Jeremy Corbyn. Sir Keir told the Financial Times that Corbyn’s leadership was raised with him in over 40 constituencies over the course of the 2019 election campaign as shadow Brexit secretary. He told the paper: ‘The […]

A watershed moment is approaching for Britain, says Francis Beckett. Alas, it looks certain to lead us the wrong way. The end of this virus emergency, whenever it comes, will be a political watershed. As Britain’s most trusted historian, professor Lord Peter Hennessy, has said: ‘Those who write the history of Britain post-1945 will divide […]

Former Commons leader and Labour MP Chris Bryant has joined calls for Boris Johnson to make his coronavirus lockdown exit statement in parliament. The MP for Rhondda follows Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle in criticising the prime minister for avoiding parliamentary scrutiny after choosing to make his statement in public. Boris Johnson is expected to […]

There is no need for the health secretary to apologise to a Labour frontbencher when he criticised her ‘tone’, the Commons leader has said. Matt Hancock in the House of Commons – Credit: Parliament Live Jacob Rees-Mogg was asked to apologise on behalf of Matt Hancock after he encouraged Labour’s shadow health minister Dr Rosena […]

Alastair Campbell has slammed the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, claiming they made ‘terrible mistakes’ and needed to change tack to stop things from going ‘bad to worse’. The New European’s editor-at-large spoke on talkRADIO claiming the government failed to get its coronavirus strategy right from the offset. He said: ‘At the start, I […]

Professor Neil Ferguson will not face further action by police after accepting he made an ‘error of judgment’ by breaching social distancing rules despite being a key figure in influencing the lockdown. Scotland Yard criticised his behaviour as ‘plainly disappointing’ but ruled out issuing a fine because he ‘has taken responsibility’ after resigning as a […]

Boris Johnson has pledged to reach 200,000 tests a day for coronavirus by the end of May despite falling behind the previous target. The government had announced it had hit 100,000 tests on Friday on the last day of April, but has fallen behind that target ever since. A total of 85,186 tests were carried […]

Labour’s new leader Sir Keir Starmer has challenged Boris Johnson to explain why the UK now has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe. It was the first appearance for the prime minister in the House of Commons since March 25 when the prime minister tested positive for coronavirus and was later hospitalised over […]

The Liberal Democrats have urged Priti Patel to begin recording the ethnicity of hate crime victims after a spike in coronavirus-related anti-Chinese hate crimes. The Lib Dems have said recording personal details such as a victim’s ethnicity will help track the spread of racist crimes in the country, which the government confirmed it does not […]

Former Tory MP Rory Stewart has quit as an independent candidate in the race to become London mayor. Stewart said it had been an ‘agonising decision’ to quit but said after the election was delayed by another year he could not expect volunteers to continue unpaid for that amount of time. The former contender for […]

Police should consider whether further action is appropriate against a scientist who admitted ‘undermining’ social distancing rules despite being a key figure in influencing the lockdown, the health secretary has suggested. Have your say Send your letters for publication to The New European by emailing letters@theneweuropean.co.uk and pick up an edition each Thursday for more […]

There have been calls for health secretary Matt Hancock to apologise to a Labour MP and serving A&E doctor after he criticised her ‘tone’ over coronavirus questioning. Rosena Allin-Khan refused to ‘watch her tone’ after the health minister stood at the despatch box and criticised her framing of questions over coronavirus. After taking questions from […]

A Commons committee has called on the government to be more ‘transparent’ about its Brexit negotiations with the EU as a matter of ‘national interest’. The European Security Committee urged senior ministers to show ‘the fullest possible transparency’ with parliament, adding that ‘regular progress reports’ were in the interest of the nation. They said that […]

Boris Johnson will finally return to the House of Commons for scrutiny over his coronavirus response he faces Sir Keir Starmer for the first time during Prime Minister’s Questions. It will be the first time Johnson has taken questions in parliament since returning to Downing Street after his admission to hospital with Covid-19, and comes […]

Prime minister Boris Johnson and other senior Tory figures have joined an encrypted messaging service whose messages can be permanently deleted. Johnson, Dominic Cummings, and other party stalwarts have now started communicating through Signal – a highly-secure encrypted messaging app. Signal gives users the possibility to permanently delete their own messages that are between five […]

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering his options on tapering off the government’s furlough scheme which is supporting workers staying at home during the coronavirus outbreak. There are some concerns over the cost of the programme, with the latest government figures showing 6.3 million people are having up to 80% of their salaries paid by the […]

Boris Johnson idolises himself on Winston Churchill, but he becomes the latest in a string of politicians to lead the country away from the wartime leader’s vision for Europe. Once again, we are having a wondrous warm wallow in the waters of WW2 nostalgia, the sense that Britain paid the highest price, won the most […]

Boris Johnson faced Keir Starmer for the first time at prime minister’s questions today and the difficulty level went up several notches If and when football returns it will be without a crowd and, if the evidence of Paris Saint-German v Borussia Dortmund – one of the last Champions League games to be staged before […]

The Tony Blair Institute has called on ministers to outline a clear strategy out of the coronavirus lockdown or risk even more economic carnage, urging the government to follow approaches taken by Australia and New Zealand. The former prime minister’s think tank argued that without clear, detailed exit plans in place, businesses and the public […]

Extending the post-Brexit transition period could hinder the UK’s efforts to deal with coronavirus, pro-Brexit minister Michael Gove has claimed. The UK and Brussels are currently negotiating a fresh trade agreement via video-telephone conferencing, due to the coronavirus. Despite officials in both London and the Belgian capital admitting that the two rounds of formal talks […]

A ‘highly respected’ centenarian and Bangladeshi immigrant is raising thousands of pounds for coronavirus victims from his London garden as he fasts for the religious festival of Ramadan. Dabirul Islam Choudhury was inspired by the efforts of fellow 100-year-old Captain Tom Moore. Picture: Channel S – Credit: Archant Dabirul Islam Choudhury, from Bow in the […]

The government could be taken to court if it does not improve privacy features on its NHS coronavirus tracking app, a group of lawyers have claimed. The lawyers have argued that the government’s decision to store users’ personal data on a central database could break privacy laws. In a published legal opinion, Ravi Naik, legal […]