The prime minister has warned coronavirus “is still out there” but vowed his new COVID winter plan “will give us the confidence” to avoid lockdowns.
Speaking at a Downing Street briefing on the day the government set out its winter plan for managing COVID-19 in England, Boris Johnson said that higher case numbers than this time last year meant that in one sense the country’s position was “actually more challenging”.
Image: Graphs show differences between September 2020 and September 2021
But he added that the UK was in an “incomparably” better position to fight COVID-19 because of the success of its vaccination programme.
As a result, the PM said the government was “going to keep going” and would be “sticking with our strategy”.
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“Plan A” for the coming months includes a booster jabs campaign which will begin next week, as well as encouraging people to meet outdoors or open windows if inside, wear a face mask in crowded and enclosed places, wash their hands frequently and use the NHS COVID-19 app.
Speaking in the Commons earlier, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said contingency plans would only be activated if there was “unsustainable” pressure on the NHS and initial efforts to control the spread of the virus proved ineffective.
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Under the government’s “plan B”, mandatory face masks, vaccine passports and work from home orders could return.
Ministers have also not ruled out another lockdown, although they have stressed this would be deployed as a last resort and would require legislation to be passed.
Image: COVID-related deaths by vaccination status
Image: COVID hospitalisations by vaccination status
Asked what would have to happen to force the government to bring in harsher measures, chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said the arrival of a new variant that was both transmissible and “escapes the vaccines” would be one scenario where different rules could be introduced.
And he warned that the UK had not yet faced a winter with the “very bad” Delta variant.
Mr Johnson did not get into specifics when asked how bad the situation with COVID would have to get for the government to start bringing back restrictions.
But he said the government’s “plan B” has “a number of different shots in the locker” and “you wouldn’t necessarily play them all at once”.
“We’re now in a situation when because so many of the population have some degree of immunity, smaller changes in the way we’re asking people to behave can have a bigger impact,” the PM said.
But he warned that the virus is “still out there” and “remains a risk”, although he stressed: “We are confident in the vaccines that have made such a difference to all of our lives.”
Asked why the government was not taking mild preventative measures now, Mr Johnson said vaccines were making a “huge difference to mortality”.
“We are continuing to advise everybody to be sensible and responsible… I think that’s the right balance, given where the pandemic is at the moment.”
On vaccine passports, the PM said he could not “rule out completely” the possibility of mandating them at some point in the future.
He said they would have been a “game changer” for businesses last year and described them as an “important part of our repertoire”.
Professor Whitty insisted “lots of people, probably the great majority” are taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
He also showed a series of graphs comparing case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths, this September and last September.
Professor Whitty added that people must encourage “everybody we know to get vaccinated” and declared: “We’re about to enter winter. Winter is coming and people really should take this seriously.”
The family of an 80-year-old man say they have “no sympathy” for the children who killed their loved one, as a 15-year-old boy was jailed for seven years and a 13-year-old girl escaped a custodial sentence.
Bhim Kohli was found lying on the ground in Franklin Park in Braunstone Town, near Leicester, on 1 September last year and died the next evening of a spinal cord injury.
He had been following a familiar routine, walking his beloved dog Rocky to the local park, just yards away from his home. But when he arrived at the park, he was approached by teens who attacked him.
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CCTV shows 80-year-old before attack
The jury at Leicester Crown Court heard a girl, aged 12 at the time, had pointed Mr Kohli out to a boy, who was 14 at the time, and who then subjected Mr Kohli to a brutally violent attack.
The 80-year-old grandfather was slapped about the face with a slider shoe and racially abused, before being punched and kicked while on the floor.
Mr Kohli suffered a broken neck and fractured ribs as a result of the attack.
Image: Mr Kohli’s daughter, Susan Kohli
His daughter, Susan Kohli, who found her father lying on the ground following the attack, says it’s hard to find forgiveness for her father’s killers, regardless of their ages.
“Why should they be given grace for what they have done?” asks Ms Kohli. “They chose to attack a defenceless pensioner and for that I cannot give them any of my sympathy.”
Initially, the boy, now 15, told the jury he walked over to Mr Kohli, wearing a balaclava because the girl, now 13, had said Mr Kohli “carries a knife”.
But this was disputed in court, and the attack on Mr Kohli was described by the prosecution as “gratuitous violence against a man who was defenceless”.
While the girl involved never physically touched Mr Kohli, the court heard she had taken a photograph of him in Franklin Park just a week before he was killed.
Image: Kelly Matthews, a senior district crown prosecutor
“If it wasn’t for her, things might have been very different,” said Kelly Matthews, a senior district crown prosecutor, who explained why the girl was also convicted of manslaughter.
“She was the one [who] pointed him out to the boy. Whilst the boy was attacking Mr Kohli, she filmed it. She encouraged him. She laughed, when violence was taking place,” said Ms Matthews.
Image: Police community support officers at the scene in Franklin Park last September. Pic: PA
Ms Kohli says she still cannot understand why anyone, but especially “children of that age”, would want to attack an “old age pensioner”.
“You can see from his physique that he’s a very gentle, frail man. What was going through their heads?” she asks.
“That’s what I cannot get my head around.”
However, she believes the glorification of violence on social media played an element, and says “parents also have a part to play in it” to ensure their children’s social activity is being monitored.
The 15-year-old boy was ordered to serve seven years’ detention, and the 13-year-old girl was handed a three-year youth rehabilitation order by a High Court judge at Leicester Crown Court.
Mr Justice Turner called it a “cowardly and violent attack” on an elderly man who did “nothing to deserve” what happened to him.
He told the boy: “What you did was not one single attack which you immediately regretted, but two separate violent outbursts.”
He added: “I’m sure you regret he died because of what you did to Mr Kohli, but you still say it wasn’t your fault.
“It was your fault and the sooner you realise this, the better.”
He accepted, while the girl had encouraged the boy’s behaviour, she did not know he would use “anything like the level of violence he did”.
Speaking outside Leicester Crown Court after the sentencing, Ms Kohli said she is “angry and disappointed” the teenagers’ sentence does not reflect the severity of the crime.
“The death of my dad has left a hole in our family, a hole that can never be filled because of the actions of two teenagers on that Sunday evening last September,” she said.
“I believe on that day the two teenagers made a choice. The teenage boy chose to attack my dad and the girl chose to film him being attacked. They knew what they were doing.”
She added: “When they are released, they still have their full lives ahead of them. They can rebuild their lives. We can’t.”
A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 16-year-old boy died following a collision between an electric bike, a pedestrian and a car in Sheffield, police have said.
Emergency services responded shortly after 4.50pm on Wednesday to reports of an accident in Staniforth Road in the Darnall area of Sheffield.
South Yorkshire Police said it is understood that a grey Audi drove towards three electric bikes, colliding with one rider.
The car continued to travel following the crash with the electric bike and was further involved in a collision with a pedestrian.
The driver of the Audi failed to stop at the scene.
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Witness recalls giving CPR
Graphic CCTV footage of the incident appears to show the car veer into the opposite carriageway before hitting the 16-year-old pedestrian at speed.
Image: Forensics officers at the scene. Pic: YappApp
Image: Pic: YappApp
The boy was taken to hospital. Despite emergency treatment, he died as a result of his injuries. The boy’s family has been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.
An 18-year-old man, who was the rider of the electric bike, remains in hospital with serious injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening.
A 20-year-old man in Kent has been arrested on suspicion of murder. He remains in police custody.
Three people, a 45-year-old woman and two men aged 26 and 46, have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. All three remain in custody.
Senior Investigating Officer in the case, Detective Chief Inspector Benjamin Wood, said: “This is a tragic incident in which an entirely innocent bystander, who was going about his daily business, has sadly lost his life. Our thoughts are with the boy’s loved ones, and we remain focused on securing justice for them.
“We know that this incident will have caused concern in the local community, and we have a team of detectives working at pace to piece together the circumstances which unfolded.
“We’re aware of footage being shared online and I’d like to reiterate our message to the public to withhold from speculating or circulating videos which may cause distress to the boy’s family.
“If you have any footage, imagery or information that may help our investigation then please share this directly with us – it may form an important part of our enquiries. We are also keen to hear from the riders of two electric bikes who were in the area at the time of the incident.”
Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, who led a campaign for the changes, which are also known as Tony’s Law, said on X: “I’m backing Tony as he faces the early release of his abuser – his birth mum.
“Tony lives every day with the pain caused by her crimes as a baby. We must do more to protect children like him.”
Tony has since gone on to be a successful fundraiser for charity – for which he has been honoured by the Royal Family.
Image: The Prince of Wales with Tony, who has raised millions for charity, during a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in May. Pic: PA
A statement from the Parole Board said: “We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has directed the release of Jody Simpson following an oral hearing.
“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
“A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.”
It added: “Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This was a horrific crime that saw Tony Hudgell mercilessly tortured by his birth parents and our thoughts remain with him and his loved ones.
“Now that the independent Parole Board has directed her release, Jody Simpson will be subject to strict supervision and licence conditions. She faces an immediate return to prison if she breaks the rules.”