News and Opinion

Home secretary Priti Patel has said she is sorry ‘if people feel there have been failings’ over getting NHS staff personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus outbreak. It comes after health secretary Matt Hancock confirmed 19 NHS workers had now lost their lives after contracting Covid-19. Patel, fielding questions at a Downing Street briefing, […]

Labour has echoed a call from the British Medical Association expressing concern why a ‘disproportionate’ number of people who have died from coronavirus come from ethnic minority communities. Shadow equalities secretary Marsha de Cordova said the disproportionate number of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) doctors who had died was ‘deeply disturbing’. She added: ‘It […]

Prominent backbencher Jess Phillips has been promoted to sit in Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s top team. Phillips, who was in the running to replace Jeremy Corbyn but dropped out before voting began, has been appointed as a shadow Home Office minister, with a focus on domestic violence and safeguarding. Sir Keir has announced more […]

A coronavirus vaccine could be available for the general public by September, an Oxford scientist has claimed. 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 comment and analysis. Find your nearest stockist here or subscribe to a print or […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock has been criticised after claiming that personal protective equipment (PPE) should be treated as a ‘precious resource’, implying that NHS staff were wasting it. Hancock claimed there was enough PPE to go around, but also cautioned against the use of protective gear outside of health and social care settings, saying hand […]

Boris Johnson is likely to feel as if he has been ‘hit by several buses’ and will need time to recover from the coronavirus, an expert has suggested. Dr Chris Smith, from the University of Cambridge, who is also presenter of the Naked Scientists podcast, said that he will need several weeks to recover from […]

One of the scientists advising the government on the coronavirus lockdown has said that public compliance with the measures is working better than expected. But Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College has warned that ‘it’s going to be several more weeks before we can definitely say anything about the rate of decline and therefore when […]

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick ‘complied with social distancing rules’ when he travelled more than 40 miles to visit his elderly parents. Jenrick defended his decision to visit his parents – saying in a tweet: ‘For clarity – my parents asked me to deliver some essentials – including medicines. ‘They are both self-isolating due to age […]

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Boris Johnson is reportedly worried the coronavirus lockdown has ‘gone too far’ with his team looking at ways to ‘soften’ the messaging. The Telegraph reports some ministers believe the messaging on the coronavirus has worked better than expected, meaning fewer people paying into the economy, and more people relying on the government’s job retention scheme. […]

Officials in Boris Johnson’s inner team failed to take the coronavirus seriously enough, a Tory MP has claimed. In Bloomberg’s analysis of the coronavirus outbreak on how it led to a number of ministers, aides and the prime minister becoming infected, one Tory MP hit out at the attitudes within Downing Street. There are fears […]

The government must release all prisoners who do not pose a threat to society immediately, says Boris Johnson’s former press secretary Ashish Prashar The injustice of mass incarceration and our legal system, on both sides of the Atlantic, is the civil rights issue of our time. What is both saddening and terrifying is that it […]

Boris Johnson ‘almost took one for the team’ over the coronavirus, and will now need a period of rest, his dad has said. Stanley Johnson said the whole family is ‘amazingly grateful’ for the efforts of the NHS and for the huge outpouring of support for his son, and played down suggestions that the prime […]

The government is prioritising ‘ideology over national interest’, Labour’s new shadow chancellor has said. Anneliese Dodds, the first female to hold the role after being promoted by party leader Sir Keir Starmer, warned that the government is risking a ‘chaotic’ Brexit, and that their ideological viewpoint is charming their efforts during the coronavirus outbeak. Speaking […]

MPs have been offered support of up an extra £10,000 to help themselves and their staff from home during the coronavirus pandemic. The extra budget can be used to buy equipment such as laptops and printers for themselves and staff, and will cover electricity, heating and phone bills, on top of the almost £26,000 per […]

The head of the European Union’s top science organisation has left his job in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak – with the EU claiming fellow members had called forced him out. Mauro Ferrari had only become president of the European Research Council on January 1, but a statement released to the media claimed he […]

Questions are being raised as the home secretary is yet to make an appearance at the government’s coronavirus press conferences. Priti Patel has come under questioning after her continued absence at the daily coronavirus briefing since they began on March 16. Despite being a senior cabinet minister, Patel has not chaired one of the briefings […]

A Conservative MP has been criticised for calling to re-open churches for Easter, despite the government urging people to stay home over the holiday. Jack Lopresti requested a relaxation of government’s strict social distancing rules so worshipers can visit a church this bank holiday. The Tory MP, who is married to Brexiteer Andrea Jenkyns and […]

Germany is set to send 60 mobile ventilators to its European partner to help the NHS tackle the coronavirus outbreak. After an appeal from the UK to NATO allies, German newspaper Der Spiegel reports that Angela Merkel’s defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has agreed that army will send 60 ventilators. The Bundeswehr will donate the machines […]

The public back calls for a government of national unity in a bid to tackle the coronavirus crisis. A YouGov survey found 63% are in favour of a united government, which would ask the country’s main political parties to set aside their differences and work together through the pandemic. From the survey of 1,609 people […]

Who is on Question Time tonight? Here’s your guide Tonight’s audience-free Question Time virtually comes from Uxbridge – in that they won’t actually be in the West London town, but have sought out video questions from its inhabitants. But who’s on the panel? Here’s your complete guide… Brandon Lewis Who? Northern Ireland secretary One of […]

BBC presenter Andrew Neil has been criticised for openly admitting to blocking users referencing the ‘Follow Back Pro-Europe’ hashtag on Twitter. The Andrew Neil Show and Politics Live presenter has been accused of blocking and muting users that do not agree with him after openly admitting blocking #FBPE accounts. The hashtag has been used by […]

Newsnight broadcaster Emily Maitlis has received an outpour of praise for her ‘powerful words’ on the coronavirus pandemic as she introduced the current affairs programme. Emily Maitlis with powerful words that needed saying tonight. pic.twitter.com/yqNgxlHoJU— Huw (@ed_son) April 8, 2020 During the latest programme, Maitlis slammed government ministers for using language around Covid-19 such as […]

A row has erupted between Yvette Cooper and Priti Patel after the home secretary ignored requests to be quizzed by MPs over her department’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. Home Affairs Committee chair Yvette Cooper called for the home secretary Priti Patel to appear before the select committee on March 6 to take questions on […]

There are calls for the government to tighten the lockdown rules – rather than relax them – as measures are expected to last until at least May. A cross-party group of more than 50 MPs, including Conservative MPs, have called for the business secretary to ban all non-essential work immediately. The politicians, led by Lib […]

It’s the mental image no-one wanted. Nigel Farage on his sofa in short shorts. But for some reason the Brexiteer decided to share it with the internet. With Brexit slipping off the agenda, Farage’s latest way to garner attention appeared to be using Facebook Live, while looking worse for wear. The former MEP decided with […]

Brexit negotiations could be put on hold due to a shortage of videoconferencing equipment during the coronavirus pandemic. While most European countries are on lockdown and face-to-face meetings are no longer an option, the EU is having to rely on videoconferences to negotiate a Brexit trade deal. But in a leaked letter from Michael Clauss, […]

Boris Johnson is on the mend and “sitting up in bed” the chancellor has confirmed. Rishi Sunak, speaking at the daily Downing Street press conference, said the prime minister is receiving “excellent care”, adding: “The latest from the hospital is the prime minister remains in intensive care where his condition is improving. “I can also […]