More than half a million people pinged by NHS Test and Trace app in a week – a record number
More than half a million people in England were pinged by the NHS Test and Trace app in a week, the highest figure recorded.
A total of 520,194 alerts were sent to users of the NHS COVID-19 app in the week to July 7, telling them they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus and to self-isolate.
This is up from 356,677 the previous week – a rise of 46% – and is the highest weekly figure since data was first published in January.
Robert Jenrick has conceded the government is ‘concerned’ by the number of people off work
It comes as some companies are reportedly missing 20% of their workers.
Factories across Britain are in danger of closing down as a result of employees being “pinged” by the app, union Unite warned.
The union said large numbers of workers are being told to self-isolate, with companies in the automotive industry particularly affected.
This morning Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said the government is “concerned” about the number of people off work due to being “pinged” by the app.
Mr Jenrick told LBC radio today: “It is important that we have the app, that we take it seriously, that when we do get those messages we act accordingly.”
But he said ministers would give “further thought” on how the government can ensure it is a “proportionate response”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
From Monday, the legal requirement to wear face masks indoors in England will end.
He added: “We are concerned about absences as a result of being pinged, for example. That is one of the reasons why we do need to move to a more proportionate approach.”
Mr Jenrick was forced to defend the government’s handling of COVID-19 rules, branded a “total shambles”.
He insisted the nation is moving into a “new phase” where “we all exercise our personal judgement”.
But Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said it is “difficult” for people in England to know exactly what is required of them.
And he urged Westminster to follow a four-nation approach.
“It is the UK government that is the outlier and if they were prepared to bring themselves into line with the decisions that have been made in Scotland and in Wales, for example, that would be clearer and simpler for everybody,” Mr Drakeford told Good Morning Britain.
The TUC slammed the official guidance as a “recipe for chaos and rising infections”.
And shop workers union Usdaw described it as a “real mess”, offering no assurances for employees or customers.
Meanwhile Dr Roger Barker, policy director at the Institute of Directors, said firms are “understandably confused” by the government’s “mixed messages and patchwork requirements”.
UK
Philip Young appears in Swindon court charged with 56 sexual offences against ex-wife – as five others also charged
A man has appeared in court charged with drugging and raping his ex-wife over a 13-year period.
Philip Young, 49, formerly of Swindon, has been charged with 56 offences, including multiple counts of rape, against Joanne Young.
He is also charged with administering a substance to allow sexual activity, as well as voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children and possession of extreme images.
Young appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court this morning and spoke only to confirm his name and address.
He declined to enter a plea and was remanded in custody until the next hearing at crown court on 23 January.
Philip Young was remanded in custody
The 49-year-old was taken to court in Swindon on Tuesday morning
Five other men have also been charged with sexual offences against Ms Young between 2010 and 2023. The 48-year-old has waived her legal right to anonymity.
The other men are on bail but are due in the same court at 2pm.
They are: Norman Macksoni, 47, of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire. He is a black British national and has been charged with one count of rape and possession of extreme images.
Dean Hamilton, 47, of no fixed abode. He is a white British national and has been charged with one count of rape and sexual assault by penetration and two counts of sexual touching.
Conner Sanderson Doyle, 31, of Swindon. He is a white British national and has been charged with sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching
Richard Wilkins, 61, of Swindon. He is a white British national and has been charged with one count of rape and sexual touching
Mohammed Hassan, 37, of Swindon. He is a British Asian and has been charged with sexual touching.
The alleged offences took place between 2010 and 2023.
A Sandringham photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the Epstein files has resurfaced at a particularly uncomfortable moment for the Royal Family, just days before they gather at the estate for Christmas.
Andrew is set to move to the King’s private Norfolk estate in the next few months, after he was officially stripped of his titles, honours, and his large home on the Windsor estate.
The picture was among the thousands of Epstein files by the US Department of Justice.
It shows Andrew lying across the laps of several women whose faces have been redacted.
Looking on and laughing is Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend.
The photo was taken in the stately saloon room at Sandringham House in Norfolk.
Prince Charles, now King Charles III, in the same room at Sandringham with Prince Edward in 1969. Pic: PA
Although the image is undated, we know Andrew organised a shooting weekend in 2000 for Ghislaine’s birthday.
It is a picture of intimate access to the inner royal sanctum.
Sandringham is a private royal retreat, and no one is invited here by chance.
Royal biographer, Andrew Lownie, said royal residences were used as “party places” by Andrew.
Andrew at the Royal Family’s Christmas Day service on the Sandringham estate in 2022. Pic: Reuters
“Epstein and Ghislaine took advantage of this,” he said. “They went to Balmoral, Sandringham and Windsor … This showed people just how close they were to the Royal Family.”
There’s no suggestion the wider family knew Epstein, but the timing is deeply awkward. This week Sandringham will once again host the Royal Family’s traditional Christmas gathering.
And the King will deliver his Christmas message to the country and Commonwealth.
Andrew isn’t invited to Sandringham and will be spending Christmas elsewhere. The Norfolk estate will soon become his new home; it’s understood the move will happen in the first quarter of next year.
A photo of the King at Sandringham released to mark his 77th birthday last month. Pic: @MilliePilks/Sandringham Estate
For years, Andrew let Epstein and Maxwell into his privileged world.
They were guests at the 18th birthday party of his daughter, Princess Beatrice.
Read more:
Outrage over incomplete Epstein file release
The links between Epstein and UK revealed in new files
Another photo released in the files shows Andrew, Epstein and Maxwell at Royal Ascot, a firm fixture in the royal calendar.
Epstein and his former girlfriend are also photographed at another shooting party, possibly at Balmoral.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell hunting, date unknown. Pic: US DOJ
We know the pair were once guests at the Scottish castle, pictured in the same lodge loved by the late Queen.
Mr Lownie said the pair enjoyed “extraordinary” access.
“It just shows how close Andrew was to them… for them to be socialising in these very private residences,” he added.
Andrew’s association with Epstein has cost him his royal roles, titles, and his beloved home.
He has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Sandringham Estate, Norfolk. Pic: PA
The images and documents released and revealed in the Epstein files contain graphic and traumatic content.
It is harrowing and retraumatising for Epstein’s victims.
And what continues to shock – is how a man like Jeffrey Epstein had proximity to the Royal Family. And why Andrew let it happen and stayed friends with him.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024