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Plans are under way to restart COVID surveillance ahead of winter.

The announcement comes after the rollout of vaccines was brought forward due to a new variant emerging, one which officials have indicated is the most concerning since the arrival of Omicron.

Jabs for COVID and winter flu also started today in Scotland.

BA.2.86, which was detected in the UK, last month, has a “high number of mutations” and may already be causing “significant community transmission” among Britons.

Read more:
Should we be worried about new COVID variant?

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said surveillance would resume to deal with a time of year when the NHS always faces increased demand due to seasonal illnesses.

Schools returning from holidays also drive respiratory diseases, though this could be neutered somewhat by the concrete crisis which has seen some forced to stay shut.

Professor Steven Riley, UKHSA’s director general of data, analytics, and surveillance, said: “Plans for the restart of COVID-19 surveillance for the winter season, when health pressures usually rise, is in progress and UKHSA will make a further announcement regarding surveillance plans for this winter shortly.

“Protecting the public from COVID-19 remains one of our top priorities.

“We continue to monitor the threat posed by COVID-19 through our range of surveillance systems and genomics capabilities, which report on infection rates, hospitalisations and the risks posed by new variants.”

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COVID data suggests surge in cases

Booster jab rollout starts next week

But there will be no ramping up of routine testing, which has long been absent across the UK, while there is no suggestion people will be asked to take precautions like wearing masks.

Instead, UKHSA and NHS officials are urging people to take up the offer of a booster jab when it comes.

The rollout will start among care home residents and those who are immunocompromised on 11 September, and then pregnant women, carers, social care staff, and people aged 65 and over.

It was originally not due to start until October.

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‘A rising risk globally’ of future pandemics

Hospital cases well below previous highs

Latest figures show the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 in England has reached a three-month high, with 3.4 admissions per 100,000 people in the week to 27 August.

The highest admission rates concern people aged 85 and older, at 34.2 per 100,000.

It is too early to determine if the rise is linked to the new variant, with other factors – like increased socialising – also possible contributors.

The overall numbers also remain well below those seen in the spring (10.5 per 100,000) and last Christmas (11.8).

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Four members of UK family die in crash on holiday in Portugal

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Four members of UK family die in crash on holiday in Portugal

Four members of a UK family have died in a car crash while they were on holiday in Portugal.

Domingos Serrano, 55, Maria Serrano, 51, and their twin sons Domingos and Afonso, both 20, died when the car they were travelling in collided with another vehicle in Castro Verde, southern Portugal, according to the Municipal Council for Mourao.

Two others died in the crash – the 19-year-old girlfriend of one of the sons, and the 26-year-old driver of the other car, its statement added.

The Serrano family were living in Thetford, Norwich, but were not British nationals, Sky News understands.

They were travelling from Faro to Mourao for their “usual and deserved vacation”, according to the Mourao authorities, who declared two days of mourning.

In a statement, they said: “In the car there were four occupants, of Mouranese nature, and a young woman with affinity to the family.

“Residents in England, follow from Faro to Mourão, for the usual and deserved vacation.

“It is with great regret that the Municipality announces this information, offering its condolences to the families and friends of the victims.”

Read more from Sky News
Man dies after tractor driven into cars
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‘Massive void’

Thetford Town Youth Football Club paid tribute to the family in a Facebook post, confirming the twins played for the team.

“Thetford Town Football Club would like to pass on our sincere condolences to the Serrano family and the local Portuguese community after the recent tragedy while on holiday,” it read.

“Afonso and [Domingos] were both an integral part of our U18’s team in recent years, both brothers sadly passed away in Portugal with their parents and friends in a tragic car accident.

“The loss of this lovely family will leave a massive void in the local community.”

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UK

Amnesty International ‘deeply concerned’ as 474 arrests made at Palestine Action protest

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Amnesty International 'deeply concerned' as 474 arrests made at Palestine Action protest

Amnesty International says it is “deeply concerning” that police made 474 arrests during a Palestine Action demonstration in London.

Metropolitan Police said 466 were detained under the Terrorism Act for showing support for a banned group.

Eight more people were arrested for other offences, including five for assaulting officers.

The Met said it was the most arrests it’s made related to a single operation in at least the past decade.

Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

Organiser of the event, Defend Our Juries, earlier said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square and claimed police were preparing for the “largest mass arrest in their history”.

The group said those arrested included former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, NHS workers, quakers and a blind wheelchair user.

Amnesty International UK’s chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said in a statement: “The protesters in Parliament Square were not inciting violence and it is entirely disproportionate to the point of absurdity to be treating them as terrorists.

“Instead of criminalising peaceful demonstrators, the government should be focusing on taking immediate and unequivocal action to put a stop to Israel’s genocide and ending any risk of UK complicity in it.”

The Met said a “significant number of people” at the event were seen “displaying placards expressing support for Palestine Action”.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The right to protest is one we protect fiercely but this is very different from displaying support for this one specific and narrow, proscribed organisation.

“Palestine Action was proscribed based on strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.”

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Palestine Action supporters arrested at protest

Police said those arrested had been taken to processing points in Westminster and any whose details could be confirmed were bailed on condition they didn’t attend further Palestine Action support events.

Others whose details could not be verified, possibly because they refused to give them, were taken to custody suites across London.

Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

The protests have put a strain on authorities’ capacity to cope.

Sky News understands senior leaders in the prison service, known as “Capacity Gold”, met today to discuss how to deal with the large number of arrests as the male prison estate is close to full.

It’s understood 800 inmates were moved out of the busiest jails in and around London beforehand.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police Federation said: “Thinking of our colleagues and wishing all assaulted officers well. Remember there are no ‘extra’ police officers – just the same ones having their days off cancelled, having to work longer shifts and being moved from other areas. Officers are emotionally and physically exhausted.”

‘We felt compelled to speak out’

The first of the arrests began just before 1pm, when a man waving a placard that read “I support Palestine Action” was stopped by police, writes Gurpreet Narwan, reporting from Parliament Square.

Officers told him he was showing support for a terrorist organisation, searched him and ushered him away.

The action soon escalated. Among the people arrested today were a number of elderly people, a blind man in a wheelchair, and a teenager.

They were protesting peacefully, with a number of people pointedly seating themselves below statues of Mahatma Gandhi and the suffragette Millicent Fawcett.

They told Sky News that they were fully expecting to be arrested but that they felt compelled to speak out and defend the right to protest.

One protester said: “I don’t think I’m a criminal. That’s not the person I am.”

However, he said he was being guided by his faith and his conscience.

Things calmed down after a few hours but there was a heavy police presence well into the afternoon and early evening.

Read more: What does proscribing a group mean?

Legislation to ban Palestine Action came into force on 5 July, making it a criminal offence to show support for the organisation, carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

Defend Our Juries said earlier this week the protest would still go ahead, following several similar demonstrations since it was outlawed last month.

On Saturday, a spokesperson said: “Palestine Action and people holding cardboard signs present no danger to the public at large.”

Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

Human rights advocates Amnesty International described the arrests of so many people under UK terrorism law as “deeply concerning”.

Another march organised by the Palestine Coalition, which is a separate group, set off from Russell Square and assembled on Whitehall.

The Met Police said one person had been arrested there for showing a placard in support of Palestine Action.

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Earlier this week, three people charged as a result of illegal Palestine Action activity were named.

Jeremy Shippam, 71, of West Sussex, Judit Murray, also 71, of Surrey, and Fiona Maclean, 53, of Hackney in east London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 September.

The ban on Palestine Action faces a legal challenge in November after the High Court granted a full judicial review to Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori.

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‘We will send you packing’: Govt vows to deport foreign criminals immediately after sentencing

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'We will send you packing': Govt vows to deport foreign criminals immediately after sentencing

Foreign criminals will be deported from the UK immediately after they are sentenced, the justice secretary has said.

The law change proposed by Shabana Mahmood could save taxpayers an average of £54,000 a year per prison place.

The changes would apply to prisoners serving fixed-term “determinate” sentences.

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May: Inside one of Britain’s most overcrowded prisons

Authorities would also retain their power not to deport a criminal but instead keep them in custody – with examples including if an offender is planning further crimes against the UK’s interests or national security.

The justice secretary’s announcement goes further than a change to the law in June – expected to come into force in September – meaning prisoners face deportation 30% into their sentence rather than the current 50%.

The government will need parliament to greenlight its proposal to bring this down to 0%.

Foreign national offenders make up around 12% of the prison population.

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May: Male prison capacity running at 99%

Ms Mahmood said: “Our message is clear – if you abuse our hospitality and break our laws, we will send you packing.”

She added: “Deportations are up under this government, and with this new law they will happen earlier than ever before.”

Almost 5,200 foreign national offenders have been deported since July 2024, a 14% increase on the 12 months prior, according to the government.

Read more:
Inside one of Britain’s most overcrowded prisons
Prison system came ‘within days of collapse’
Prisoners to be moved to lower security jail

According to a Labour source, the previous Conservative government relied on prison transfer agreements with other countries to deport foreign national offenders, in deals which allow inmates to serve their custodial sentence in their “home” country.

This saw 945 prisoners sent to jails abroad between 2010 and 2023, equal to fewer than two criminals per week.

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July: Jenrick slams justice system shake-up

Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: “In Starmer’s topsy-turvy world, investors are fleeing the country in their droves while record numbers of violent and sexual offenders from abroad are put up in our prisons. It’s a farce.

“Yet again Starmer has refused to confront our broken human rights laws.

“He needs to grow a backbone and change them so we can actually deport these individuals.

“The safety of the British public is infinitely more important than the ‘rights’ of sick foreign criminals.

“If countries won’t take back their nationals, Starmer should suspend visas and foreign aid. His soft-touch approach isn’t working.”

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