Connect with us

Published

on

Tony Blair has said it is “time to distinguish” between people who have and haven’t had a coronavirus vaccine.

The former prime minister has warned it “makes no sense at all to treat those who have had vaccination the same as those who haven’t” – and said relaxing measures for those who have had both jabs will provide a powerful incentive.

Mr Blair’s remarks came as it emerged that 13.5 million first and second doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were given out in May, setting a new monthly record.

The ex-Labour leader also described the NHS app that proves someone is vaccinated as 'inadequate'
Image:
The ex-Labour leader also described the NHS app that proves someone is vaccinated as ‘inadequate’

The ex-Labour leader also described the NHS app that proves someone is vaccinated as “inadequate”, and warned it needs to be simpler and more effective.

His remarks came in response to a new report by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which says “vaccine status matters” and that health passes can “allow citizens to prove their status in a secure, privacy-preserving way”.

The report’s authors said that, if a health pass system was used at home and abroad, “we can move beyond blunt, catch-all tools and align with other countries by removing certain restrictions for the fully vaccinated, thereby enabling us to sustainably reopen the economy”.

And they added: “For as long as the world goes largely unvaccinated and the risk of a new variant remains significant, it’s vital that we have an alternative to the blunt tool of lockdowns to enable the country to live freely and safely.”

More on Covid-19

Mr Blair said: “It is time to distinguish for the purposes of freedom from restriction between the vaccinated and unvaccinated, both for citizens here for domestic purposes; but also for our citizens and those from other countries in respect of travel on the basis that being vaccinated substantially reduces risk.”

The 68-year-old, who served as PM from 1997 to 2007, made it clear that this would involve discriminating between the vaccinated and unvaccinated, adding: “Other than for medical reasons, people should be vaccinated.”

In response to his remarks, a senior government source told the PA news agency: “Once again Mr Blair appears to have learned of things already in the pipeline and decided to publicly call for them.

“It’s becoming something of a habit. Nonetheless we thank him for his continued support.”

Meanwhile, people who have been contacted to bring forward their second coronavirus vaccine appointment are being urged to rebook as soon as possible.

Last month, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that the interval between doses should be reduced to eight weeks for the clinically vulnerable, as well as everyone over the age of 50.

The move aims to combat the spread of the COVID-19 variant first detected in India, also known as the Delta variant.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Vaccine uptake on the increase

Overall, more than 1.7 million people have been sent texts by the NHS that invite them to reschedule their appointment.

Dr Emily Lawson, the NHS lead for the COVID-19 vaccination programme, said: “The vaccine is our most effective weapon against the virus and there has never been a more important time to get protected.”

More than half of people in England are now fully vaccinated, with 23,077,511 people having received both doses.

Some 33,525,485 people – more than three-quarters of the country’s adult population – have received their first dose.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Huge queues outside vaccination centre

All of this comes as the government “draws up other options” before making a decision on whether to completely lift COVID restrictions on 21 June.

While Number 10 is still planning to go ahead with the final step in the roadmap, it is waiting for more data before taking any decisions.

Options under discussion are said to include retaining the wearing of face masks in certain settings, or delaying the end to legal limits on social contact until July.

Until now, the government has only ever said there is “nothing in the data” to suggest ending lockdown should be delayed.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Firms nervous of further lockdowns

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen told Sky News the “public appetite” for restrictions could “wane very quickly” if all measures are not removed on 21 June.

He added: “Lockdowns were there to protect the NHS. We know hospitalisations are a fraction of what they were at the peak. We’ve been told we’ve got to get used to living with this virus. Living with the virus doesn’t mean we have to be in lockdown forever – that’s not a solution.”

Meanwhile, an NHS boss has told Sky News that vaccines appear to have “broken the chain” between catching coronavirus and becoming seriously ill.

Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said while the number of people in hospital with the variant first detected in India, also known as the Delta variant, was increasing, it was much lower than what was seen in previous waves.

On Saturday, the UK reported another 5,765 coronavirus cases – significantly up on the total on the same day last week, but down on Friday’s two-month high.

Continue Reading

Politics

Coinbase crypto lobby urges Congress to back major crypto bill

Published

on

By

Coinbase crypto lobby urges Congress to back major crypto bill

Coinbase crypto lobby urges Congress to back major crypto bill

US House lawmakers have been urged by 65 crypto organizations to pass the CLARITY Act, which would hand most policing of crypto to the CFTC.

Continue Reading

Politics

Reform UK poses ‘very serious threat’ to Labour, Welsh first minister warns

Published

on

By

Reform UK poses 'very serious threat' to Labour, Welsh first minister warns

The threat from Reform in Wales is “very serious”, the country’s Labour leader said as exclusive polling revealed Nigel Farage’s party is the first choice for Welsh voters.

Speaking to Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan said: “We think the threat from Reform is a very serious threat.

“I think it is important people recognise that things that we see every day in our lives in Wales may be snatched away from us, and the kind of stability that we’ve had for a long time.”

Eluned Morgan
Image:
Eluned Morgan spoke to Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

Ms Morgan admitted “we’ve got a lot of work to do to get voters back” ahead of the May 2026 Senedd (Welsh parliament) elections – something backed up by exclusive polling that reveals Reform is beating Welsh Labour, who have been in power in the Senedd since 1999.

A More in Common poll for Sky News found 28% of people in Wales would vote for Reform if an election for the Senedd was called tomorrow.

That was followed closely by nationalist party Plaid Cymru on 26%, Labour with 23%, the Conservatives on 10%, Lib Dems with 7%, the Green Party with 4% and 2% for other parties or independent candidates.

Eluned Morgan said she would never go into a coalition with Reform
Image:
Eluned Morgan said she would never go into a coalition with Reform

Of those who voted for Labour at last year’s general election, less than half (48%) would vote for them again, while 15% would go to Plaid Cymru and 11% to Reform – although 13% were undecided.

A total of 883 people representative of the Welsh population were asked from 18 June to 3 July.

Last month, Mr Farage told an event in the steel town of Port Talbot, he would reopen Welsh coal mines to provide fuel for blast furnaces.

Read more:
Welsh independence will unleash ‘full potential’

Welsh leader hails spending review as ‘big win’

Beth Rigby spoke to Welsh First Minister and Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan
Image:
Beth Rigby spoke to Welsh First Minister and Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan

Ms Morgan said she will not be “chasing Reform down a path… because those aren’t my values”.

“What we’ll be doing is offering a very clear alternative, which is about bringing communities together,” she said.

“I think it’s really important that we’re authentic and we’re clear with people about what we stand for.

“I think we’ve got to lead with our values so we’re about bringing communities together not dividing them and I do think that’s what reform is interested in is dividing people and people do need to make choices on things like that.”

She admitted “there is a possibility” Reform could be the largest party in the Senedd “and that is really concerning”.

Nigel Farage
Image:
Nigel Farage in Wales

However, she said the way voting in Wales works means it would be “difficult for them to rule by themselves”.

Would she go into coalition with Reform?

“I wouldn’t touch Reform with a barge pole,” she said.

Continue Reading

Politics

‘A threat to national security’: Fears drones could be used to lift inmates out of prisons

Published

on

By

Drones are sending 'overwhelming amounts' of drugs into prisons - and could help inmates escape, report warns

Sophisticated drones sending “overwhelming amounts” of drugs and weapons into prisons represent a threat to national security, according to an annual inspection report by the prisons watchdog.

HMP chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor has warned criminal gangs are targeting jails and making huge profits selling contraband to a “vulnerable and bored” prison population.

The watchdog boss reiterated his concerns about drones making regular deliveries to two Category A jails, HMP Long Lartin and HMP Manchester, which hold “the most dangerous men in the country”, including terrorists.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Ex-convict: Prison is ‘birthing bigger criminals’

Mr Taylor said “the police and prison service have in effect ceded the airspace” above these two high-security prisons, which he said was compromising the “safety of staff, prisoners, and ultimately that of the public”.

“The possibility now whereby we’re seeing packages of up to 10kg brought in by serious organised crime means that in some prisons there is now a menu of drugs available,” he said. “Anything from steroids to cannabis, to things like spice and cocaine.”

“Drone technology is moving fast… there is a level of risk that’s posed by drones that I think is different from what we’ve seen in the past,” warned the chief inspector – who also said there’s a “theoretical risk” that a prisoner could escape by being carried out of a jail by a drone.

He urged the prison service to “get a grip” of the issue, stating: “We’d like to see the government, security services, coming together, using technology, using intelligence, so that this risk doesn’t materialise.”

The report highlights disrepair at prisons around the country
Image:
The report highlights disrepair at prisons around the country

The report makes clear that physical security – such as netting, windows and CCTV – is “inadequate” in some jails, including Manchester, with “inexperienced staff” being “manipulated”.

Mr Taylor said there are “basic” measures which could help prevent the use of drones, such as mowing the lawn, “so we don’t get packages disguised as things like astro turf”.

Responding to the report, the Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT) said: “The ready access to drugs is deeply worrying and is undermining efforts to create places of rehabilitation.”

Mr Taylor’s report found that overcrowding continues to be what he described as a “major issue”, with increasing levels of violence against staff and between prisoners, combined with a lack of purposeful activity.

Some 20% of adult men responding to prisoner surveys said they felt unsafe at the time of the inspection, increasing to 30% in the high security estate.

Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This report is a checklist for all the reasons the government must prioritise reducing prison numbers, urgently.

“Sentencing reform is essential, and sensible steps to reduce the prison population would save lives.”

Read more UK news:
The human impact of the Post Office scandal
Govt to ban ‘appalling’ NDAs that silence victims

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

May: Male prison capacity running at 99%

The report comes after the government pledged to accept most of the recommendations proposed in the independent review of sentencing policy, with the aim of freeing up around 9,500 spaces.

Those measures won’t come into effect until spring 2026.

Prisons Minister Lord Timpson said Mr Taylor’s findings show “the scale of the crisis” the government “inherited”, with “prisons dangerously full, rife with drugs and violence”.

He said: “After just 500 prison places added in 14 years, we’re building 14,000 extra – with 2,400 already delivered – and reforming sentencing to ensure we never run out of space again.

“We’re also investing £40m to bolster security, alongside stepping up cooperation with police to combat drones and stop the contraband which fuels violence behind bars.”

Continue Reading

Trending