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Nicola Sturgeon should focus on recovery, not referendum, says Sir Keir Starmer

Sock it to 'em: Sir Keir Starmer insists a second independence referendum is not the priority - PA
Sock it to 'em: Sir Keir Starmer insists a second independence referendum is not the priority - PA

Nicola Sturgeon should focus on Scotland's recovery from the pandemic, rather than pushing for another independence referendum, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

Talks between Nicola Sturgeon's minority SNP Scottish Government and the Scottish Greens over a possible co-operation agreement are said to be progressing well and could be announced within days.

However the Labour leader said this "doesn't change my thinking one bit on what the priorities are at the moment".

Speaking from Scotland, where both he and the Prime Minister are visiting, Sir Keir said: "We're still dealing with the pandemic, we're talking about vaccination, and hopefully we will succeed in getting the virus under control, then we have got the recovery to deal with, that is the number one priority, coupled with climate change. We've got Cop26 here in Glasgow in November."

The Labour leader noted that during the Holyrood election earlier this year all parties had agreed the recovery should be the focus.

The First Minister should "stick to it, and get on with and deliver it", he declared.


03:01 PM

And that's it for another day...

Boris Johnson is coming towards the end of his Scottish adventure - but how much has he actually achieved?

His engagements have been sparse - as have his media appearances. Even Sir Keir Starmer has made more of his time north of the border.

Whether it was a trip to extol the virtues of the union, or preface his big climate change summit Cop26, the Prime Minister's visit has been a bit of a damp squib.

But it seems he has journeyed further than most of you, with 76 per cent of readers saying that despite the changes to England's travel traffic lights system, it is still too uncertain to take overseas trips.

For more on that, and the rest of the day's news, carry on reading below.


02:51 PM

Tom Harris: Starmer can't duck the fight for the Union

Keir Starmer is nothing if not optimistic, writes Tom Harris.

Preparing for his visit to Scotland, the Labour leader chose to denounce the SNP Government’s record on climate change, perhaps hoping that he can avoid the constitutional morass that has engulfed many of his predecessors.

“Take, for example, wind turbines, an obvious part the next generation’s power supply,” he told a Scottish newspaper. “It is beyond belief that those wind turbines are coming from places such as Indonesia instead of being built in Scotland, which is where they should be built.”

He makes a fair point. Much of the nationalist rhetoric on climate change is just that: grandstanding in order to burnish the SNP’s “progressive” credentials.

Read more from Tom here.


02:41 PM

Labour MP accuses Culture Secretary of 'misleading musicians' over touring visa

Harriet Harman has accused the Culture Secretary of seeking "to mislead beleaguered UK musicians" over touring visas for the EU.

The veteran Labour MP has written to Oliver Dowden over a tweet that his department posted yesterday suggesting that visas had been waved in 19 member states and he was "engaging" with the remaining countries to do likewise.

But Ms Harman said that "precisely nothing has changed".


02:31 PM

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: An entente cordiale with France beckons – once Macron has gone

Relations between the British and French governments have rarely been so dreadful since the origins of the entente cordiale and the long alliance under Lord Aberdeen in the 1840s, writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard.

The diplomatic earthquake of Brexit has collided with the political character of Emmanuel Macron, who combines ultra-Europeanist ideology (when it suits him) with Bonapartist methods and ambition.

Five years on from the Referendum, cross-Channel disaffection has degenerated into a tedious cycle of mutual grievances and snarling hair-trigger reactions. The worst construction is put on everything. Downing Street suspects that Mr Macron sabotaged the AstraZeneca vaccine out of malice, while French journalists think he just slipped up.

Read more from Ambrose here.


02:21 PM

In pictures: Boris Johnson's second day in Scotland

Boris Johnson meets members of the crew onboard the Esvagt Alba - AFP
Boris Johnson visits the Moray Offshore Windfarm, off the Aberdeenshire coast - AFP

Boris Johnson's second day in Scotland has mostly focused on a visit to the Moray Offshore Wind Farm - handily combining the twin objectives of highlighting the Government's green jobs agenda, while also avoiding any pro-independence protesters.

We are yet to hear from the Prime Minister, but no doubt he has been very busy - after all, he didn't have time in the schedule to squeeze Nicola Sturgeon in.

Day two has been largely spent visiting the Moray Offshore Windfarm East - AFP
Day two has been largely spent visiting the Moray Offshore Windfarm East - AFP

02:10 PM

Have your say: Will you be making a last-minute trip abroad?

Grant Shapps was hopeful - but not categorical - that there will be no more changes to the traffic lights system this summer.

The Transport Secretary, who confirmed last night that France will join Greece and Spain on the "regular" amber list, told multiple broadcasters this morning that holidaymakers would now be able to enjoy their trips without having to "look over their shoulders" the whole time.

But can they? Mr Shapps acknowledged you can never say never with Covid, and even suggested those hoping to visit Greece should do so sooner rather than later and only have a "regular" length trip.

So with all that to consider, are you planning a last-minute trip away? Have your say in the poll below.


01:59 PM

Oh captain, my captain: Boris Johnson on the bridge of the Esvagt Alba

Boris Johnson during the second day of his visit to Scotland - PA

01:51 PM

Boris Johnson 'completely ignorant' about in-work poverty, says Labour MP

Labour has attacked Boris Johnson for appearing to rule out keeping the £20 a week uplift to Universal Credit after September.

Speaking from Scotland, the Prime Minister told the BBC: "What we want to do is move away from all the Covid interventions, all the massive £407 billion-worth of support we've given to jobs, to families, to livelihoods across the UK. Getting people into work is the best route out of poverty.”

But Jonathan Reynolds, shadow work and pensions Secretary, said it would be "inflicting the biggest overnight cut to social security in modern times" and was "economically and morally the wrong decision".

He added: "Yet again this Government have shown they aren’t on the side of working people. With record levels of in-work poverty, the Prime Minister is completely ignorant when he says this is a choice between work and social security.

“The Prime Minister must see sense, back struggling families and cancel this devastating cut."


01:38 PM

Case rates drop across all English regions

Covid-19 case rates in all regions of England are continuing to fall, according to the latest weekly surveillance report from Public Health England.

Yorkshire and the Humber has the highest rate, with 354.7 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to August 1, down week-on-week from 422.5.

North-east England has the second highest rate: 320.6, down sharply from 527.8.

South-east England has the lowest rate: 229.5, down from 289.6.


01:33 PM

The full power of China's surveillance state may not be enough to contain the delta variant

China is battling its worst outbreak in months, including the highly transmissible Delta variant in cities including Wuhan – the first epicentre of the pandemic when infections emerged late 2019.

On Thursday, officials announced 85 new cases bringing the total in the country to nearly 1,400 since the first half of July around when the latest cluster outbreak began.

The mushrooming number of local transmissions is alarming, especially after many months of most new cases coming via Chinese citizens testing positive upon flying back home – dubbed “imported” infections.

China early on declared a “zero tolerance” for Covid and installed close surveillance measures to ensure rapid contact tracing. In practice, this has meant tracking every individual via mobile apps to pinpoint movements and marrying it with other data, such as flight and rail bookings.

Read more on that story here.


01:19 PM

Bank of England has 'good reasons to believe' inflation surge is temporary

The governor of the Bank of England has insisted there are "good reasons to believe that above-target inflation will be temporary".

Speaking after the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) agreed to hold interest rates at a record low, despite inflation being tipped to reach double the target (see 12:09pm), Andrew Bailey said: "If this outlook appears to be in jeopardy, the MPC will not hesitate to act."

On the downgraded growth outlook for the third quarter, he said this was not solely down to the "pingdemic" and employee shortages, but the spread of the Covid-19 delta variant.


01:00 PM

Mark Hix: The tragedy of the pingdemic forcing firms to close down

It can feel at times as if we are on the front line of a vast social experiment that has come with the ending of lockdown, writes Mark Hix.

Since what some rashly called ‘freedom day’, it has been down to those who run hospitality businesses to decide policy on wearing masks. Government messaging hasn’t exactly given a clear lead.

The line we are taking in all of this confusion – guided by our front-of- house staff, many of whom are young and still haven’t been double-vaccinated – is that they will continue to wear masks. But we are also leaving it up to customers to decide whether or not to follow suit.

Meanwhile the whole fiasco about workers being pinged and required to isolate has caused issues. Like many other places, we are now closed on Sunday evenings and Mondays to avoid completely exhausting our team.

Read more from Mark here.


12:52 PM

'Tight rules' ensure donors can't buy influence, says minister

A minister has said there are "tight rules" in place to account for large donations to the Conservative Party.

Paul Scully, the small business minister, told BBC Radio 4's World At One that safeguards were in place to ensure donors were not buying influence.

"It's the nature of donating to political parties, in the same way that trade unions donate to the Labour party because they believe in the Labour movement, people donate to the Conservative Party because they believe in the principles that the Conservative Party have," he said.

"But we have got really tight rules in place and sometimes you can actually be to the point that you can actually go the other way and keep people at arm's length," Mr Scully said. "We need to be seen to be doing the right thing, as well as doing the right thing."


12:42 PM

Forbid NHS staff who refuse Covid vaccine from treating patients, says Sage adviser

Frontline health workers have a “moral obligation” to be vaccinated against Covid and should be removed from patient-facing roles immediately if they refuse, a government adviser has said.

Michael Parker, professor of bioethics at the University of Oxford, and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, said vaccination should be mandatory because those who declined the jab posed a risk to patients.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, Prof Parker said: “Patient safety is ultimately the responsibility of health and social care institutions. With regard to employment practice, these institutions have a duty to employ only workers whose presence would not place patients at unnecessary risk.

"Frontline care roles should not be offered to people unwilling to be vaccinated against high-risk infections."


12:35 PM

Make travel rules simpler and drop tests for most countries, Government told

Willie Walsh has called on the Government to further simplify the rules for international travel, and questioned the need for testing.

The director general of the International Air Travel Association,told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme: "A simpler system is definitely required to avoid confusion in the case of consumers, and to provide some form of certainty for people who are wanting to travel, and in some cases absolutely need to travel.

"This expensive and unnecessary testing I think needs to be challenged and I think the Government should demonstrate why they require it."

He added: "I would accept that maybe for some of these high-risk countries that have been identified you can make the argument that some form of testing should be done, but I don't think you can justify requiring 2.2 million people to undertake PCR tests when only 8,000 of those are subsequently sequenced."


12:23 PM

Iran at 'crossroads' over international role, says Dominic Raab

Iran is at a "crossroads" in its relationship with the rest of the world, Dominic Raab has said, as the fallout continued from the fatal attack on the oil tanker Mercer Street.

The Foreign Secretary said the door was "ajar" for talks, with the inauguration of new president Ebrahim Raisi, but the regime had a choice to make.

"We know this is a crossroads moment for Iran. There's a new president that's inaugurated this week," he said.

"If they continue down the track of harrying or attacking ships... if they continue destabilising activities through their proxies, if they continue to roll back from their nuclear commitments under the JCPoA and if they continue to take arbitrary detainees, as we've had with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe... we will hold them to account.

"Equally the door is always ajar, as we demonstrated over the last two years, for diplomacy and a better path forward. But we cannot have incidents like the attack off the coast of Oman without Iran being held to account."


12:16 PM

Watch: France 'normalised' for holidays, says Grant Shapps


12:15 PM

The good, the bad and the ugly of the latest travel announcement

The Government has form when it comes to throwing holidays into disarray at the worst possible moment.

Many will remember July 25, 2020, when Grant Shapps stripped Spain of its travel corridor, sparking a mad rush home to avoid a 14-day quarantine.

This was not an isolated incident. Over the past 12 months, just about all of our top destinations have fallen at the scythe of Government travel restrictions – Portugal, Greece, France – and many of us have felt the impact.

So it is understandable that, as a nation, we were bracing for the worst in today’s keynote summer holiday traffic light announcement.

Our team walk you through the latest details here.


12:13 PM

Have your say: Will you be making a last-minute trip abroad?

Grant Shapps was hopeful - but not categorical - that there will be no more changes to the traffic lights system this summer.

The Transport Secretary, who confirmed last night that France will join Greece and Spain on the "regular" amber list, told multiple broadcasters this morning that holidaymakers would now be able to enjoy their trips without having to "look over their shoulders" the whole time.

But can they? Mr Shapps acknowledged you can never say never with Covid, and even suggested those hoping to visit Greece should do so sooner rather than later and only have a "regular" length trip.

So with all that to consider, are you planning a last-minute trip away? Have your say in the poll below.


12:06 PM

Make face masks legal requirement for the Tube, says Sadiq Khan

Failing to wear a face mask on the London Underground should be made a criminal offence, Sadiq Khan has said.

The Mayor of London is lobbying the Government to allow Transport for London to introduce a new bye-law requiring face coverings to be worn across the city’s transport network, after legal restrictions fell away on July 19.

“We are trying to lobby the Government to allow us to bring in a bye-law, so it will be the law again, so we can issue fixed penalty notices and we can use the police service and BTP to enforce this,” Mr Khan told the BBC Newscast podcast.

This would bolster confidence for commuters and visitors to London’s West End, he said, although also cited Imperial College London studies showing “not one example” of Covid on surfaces or airflows on the Tube.


11:52 AM

Future quarantine not ruled out for travellers returning from Spain, says Grant Shapps

Quarantine for travellers returning from Spain is still a possibility, Grant Shapps has admitted, following the latest set of changes to the travel traffic lights system.

In a significant reopening of foreign travel from this weekend, France is to be removed from the “amber plus” list, ending the requirement for fully jabbed holidaymakers to quarantine on their return to England.

The reopening announcement was tempered by new advice for holidaymakers in Spain to take costly PCR tests before coming home, owing to the rise of variants of concern, although this will not be a legal requirement.

The Transport Secretary told Sky News he "can never say there is a zero chance" that quarantine would not be imposed.

However he stressed the "next set of changes are not for another three weeks", adding: "People should be able to go away, enjoy their holidays without looking over their shoulders the whole time."

He denied that Spain had not been put on the red list because there was insufficient capacity at quarantine hotels, telling Times Radio: "We will always do whatever is required."


11:45 AM

Boris Johnson made 'huge mistake' lifting restrictions at once, says Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer during a visit to Whitelees wind farm, Eaglesham, - PA

Boris Johnson made a "huge mistake" in lifting England's last remaining coronavirus restrictions all at once, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The Labour leader instead appeared to favour the more gradual approach being taken in Scotland by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has maintained the legal mandates for face masks and working from home guidance.

Speaking during a visit to Scotland, the Labour leader said: "I think that Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, made a huge mistake in just lifting everything in one go.

"We were strongly arguing we should have mandatory face masks, particularly on public transport and in enclosed spaces, and ventilation, and continuing some of the working at home, so there would be a gradual easing, because none of us want to go back into another lockdown."

He added: "We all want restrictions to fall away, but let's do it in a cautious, careful way so that we truly can say the last lockdown is the last one."


11:35 AM

SNP-Green deal changes nothing on referendum prospects, says Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer is given a pair of socks by Scottish Power Chief Executive Keith Anderson - PA

Any deal between the Scottish Government and the Greens does not alter the prospect of a second independence referendum, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

Talks between Nicola Sturgeon's minority SNP Scottish Government and the Scottish Greens over a possible co-operation agreement are said to be progressing well and could be announced within days.

However the Labour leader said this "doesn't change my thinking one bit on what the priorities are at the moment".

He said: "We're still dealing with the pandemic, we're talking about vaccination, and hopefully we will succeed in getting the virus under control, then we have got the recovery to deal with, that is the number one priority, coupled with climate change. We've got Cop26 here in Glasgow in November."

Highlighting the need to focus on post-pandemic recovery, he said the First Minister should "stick to it, and get on with and deliver it".


11:24 AM

Boris Johnson must 'lead by example' on green agenda ahead of Cop26, says Starmer

Boris Johnson must "lead by example" on his climate change ambitions, ahead of the major Cop26 conference, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The green summit, due to take place this November, is "vital as to how we deliver" on the Paris accord, the Labour leader said.

"That will require high levels of leadership, diplomacy, to build coalitions of countries, and that means leading by example," he added.

Labour is challenging Mr Johnson to "show that leadership and follow through on targets he set", Sir Keir said. "The rest of the world is going to be looking at the UK, looking for leadership and they will be looking at our record."


11:19 AM

England registers first weekly fall in Covid cases since early May

The number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in England has fallen 39 per cent week-on-week.

A total of 189,232 people tested positive in the week to July 28, according to the latest Test and Trace figures.

It is the first week-on-week fall since the week to May 5.


11:17 AM

Boris Johnson: British farmers will always have my support

Boris Johnson has said British farmers "will always have my support" as he praised the sector for the "extraordinary contribution" they make to the country.

The Prime Minister was marking a campaign called 24 Hours in Farming, designed to showcase what farmers do up and down the country in a typical working day.

However his Government is currently at odds with the farming industry over the recent trade deal with Australia, which many fear will pave the way for cheap produce to flood the UK market and undercut domestic producers.


11:09 AM

Interest rates remain at record low despite rising inflation

The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) of eight members voted unanimously in favour of holding rates at 0.1 per cent.

The committee believe that inflation will touch four per cent this year - double the target limit - but that it will be a short-term phenomenon. The experts believe that the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) will rebound by 7.25 per cent in 2021 before slowing to "more normal rates".

It added: "There is uncertainty around these judgments, including how the economy will adjust to the end of the furlough scheme."

The committee warned of a "more pronounced period of above-target inflation in the near term than expected in the May report", but said it would be short-lived.

The central bank will also keep up its £875 billion quantitative easing programme following a seven to one vote in favour.


10:57 AM

Con Coughlin: The 'Butcher of Tehran' is not out for peace

It is surely no coincidence that the latest upsurge in Iranian-sponsored terrorist attacks against shipping in the Gulf comes at the same time as the country’s new hardline president is sworn into office, writes Con Coughlin.

From the moment that Ebrahim Raisi, the preferred candidate of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, emerged victorious in June’s highly dubious presidential election, it was clear that the country was about to adopt a far more aggressive tone towards the West.

Known as the “Butcher of Tehran” for his role in executing thousands of political prisoners in the late 1980s, the 60-year-old Mr Raisi re-affirmed his confrontational attitude towards the West after declaring victory. He rejected the possibility of meeting with US President Joe Biden or entering discussions over Tehran’s ballistic missile programme and its continued support for Shia militias in the region.

Read more from Con here.


10:54 AM

Sadiq Khan mulls axing ‘expensive and generous’ Tube pensions

Sadiq Khan is being forced on to a collision course with Tube drivers over plans to overhaul Transport for London’s “expensive, unreformed and generous” pension scheme.

Workers are threatening industrial action if the London mayor cuts payouts or closes the £11bn retirement fund.

Mr Khan’s own advisers criticised the pension benefits offered to Tube, bus and train drivers in a report on TfL’s financial plight.

“The scheme is outdated,” they said. “TfL’s current pension model is expensive and unreformed. The scheme is generous to employees when benchmarked against the Network Rail and civil service schemes, which have been reformed.”

Read more here


10:43 AM

Fishing industry urges PM to help industry build back after Brexit

Scottish fisheries leaders have urged Boris Johnson to help rebuild the industry after Brexit, during his visit to the nation.

At a business meeting in Fraserburgh today, they urged the Prime Minister to support the industry until his promised "El Dorado of fish from 2026" emerges.

Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: "In the short term it will be a case of survival for the industry, but we want to thrive, and to ensure that we can build back this industry we need to start planning now."

Mike Park, chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers’ Association, said: "Lack of fishing opportunities for our key commercial species at a time of abundant stocks is holding the whitefish fleet back severely, and it’s about to get a lot worse because of over-zealous faith in flawed science.

"With the Covid-19 pandemic, the value of accurate science has become glaringly obvious."


10:26 AM

Country endures 'wall of chaos' before ministers act, claims Sir Keir Starmer

The Government has struggled with 'predictable problems', says Starmer - PA

Sir Keir Starmer has attacked the Government for having to go through a "wall of chaos" before resolving issues over travel.

Would-be holidaymakers will "have their head in their hands because almost on a daily basis we have a changing system," the Labour leader said.

Speaking to reporters from Scotland, he said: "We have been saying since the start of summer we should be having a simplified system. We may be edging towards it but why on earth have we had to go through chaos to get here?"

He noted that "last summer we had the chaos of exams, at Christmas we had the chaos of Christmas mixing".

Wherever there are "predictable problems, you have to get through a wall of chaos before they sort it out," he added.


10:22 AM

Covid passports for nightclubs 'not a bluff', says Grant Shapps

Talk of Covid passports for nightclubs and other venues is "not a bluff", Grant Shapps has insisted.

Rumours are rife that Boris Johnson and co have been touting the unpopular idea as a stick to encourage vaccine uptake among younger adults.

But asked if it was an empty threat, the Transport Secretary told LBC: "It’s not a bluff, no. And it’s important to understand that there are simply going to be things that you will not be able to do unless you’re double vaccinated or have a medical reason not to be, including going abroad.

"So actually there are good reasons if you’re perhaps in your twenties and you feel like ‘oh, this doesn’t really affect me’, well it is going to because you won’t be able to leave the country.

"That’s not something the British Government’s doing, that’s something that’s being required by every government around the world.

"Going to nightclubs are things that you require your vaccination for. Get your vaccination, it helps everybody."


10:19 AM

Grant Shapps: I will isolate if pinged to avoid 'killing my loved ones'

Grant Shapps has said he would isolate for 10 days after being pinged, despite being fully vaccinated, because he doesn't "want to kill my loved ones".

The Transport Secretary admitted that data suggesting the NHS Covid app had prevented 50,000 infections in a three-week period was "absoltuely" a guesstimate, but he stood by the continued use of the app.

"I don’t know about you, I have the app on my phone," he told LBC. "I want to know whether I’ve been exposed to somebody with coronavirus because I have parents who are both in their 80s and I don’t want to unwittingly go and give them coronavirus."

Asked if he would isolate for the full period, he added: "Yes. I would certainly do exactly what’s required, yes, yes, but that’s because I don’t want to kill my loved ones. Who would want to?

"We should carry on using the app while coronavirus has the potential to kill people. It’s useful information. Why would you not want useful information?"


10:13 AM

Allister Heath: Biden's America is no longer a model for the world

It was the land of capitalism, freedom, the melting pot and the American dream: its deep imperfections notwithstanding, there was much the USA could teach Britain, writes Allister Heath.

There were crippling caveats, of course, but the US was the greatest ever experiment in building a modern civilisation based around constitutionally limited government, individualism and mass participation in wealth and decision-making.

But the tragic reality is that today’s United States is no longer Ronald Reagan’s shining city on a hill. It is, instead, a Republic in decline, plunged into a moral, economic, philosophical and existential crisis that may yet destroy it.

Joe Biden’s useless presidency will merely intensify the forces driving the nihilism that is eating away at America’s soul.

Read more from Allister here.


10:04 AM

Asian partnership is 'landmark moment', says Dominic Raab

It is seen as a crucial step for the post-Brexit ambitions of Global Britain - Geoff Pugh

Dominic Raab has hailed a "landmark moment in the UK’s tilt towards the Indo Pacific" after agreeing to become a dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) bloc – the first new country in 25 years.

The partnership, which was offered by the bloc yesterday and formally agreed by the UK today, is a critical part of of a three-pronged foreign policy strategy in the region, which also involves bolstering security and trade ties.

This morning, the Foreign Secretary attended a virtual signing ceremony with the 10 nations that make up the group.

Speaking afterwards, he said: "This is a landmark moment in the UK’s tilt towards the Indo Pacific. Our closer ties with Asean will help create green jobs, reinforce our security cooperation, promote tech and science partnerships, and safeguard key pillars of international law like the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”


09:57 AM

Record high number of migrants attempt Channel crossing

A man lays on the beach as a group of around 40 migrants arrive on Dungeness beach - Getty

More than 10,000 people have now made the life-threatening journey across the English Channel in small boats this year, after a record daily high was registered yesterday.

At least 482 people succeeded in crossing the Dover Strait on Wednesday on board 21 boats - a new record for a single day, Home Office figures confirmed this morning. That figure beat the previous daily high of 430 set on July 19 last year.

Data compiled by the PA news agency shows that the tally for this year now stands at more than 10,200 people, despite the dangers involved in the journey.

Home Secretary Priti Patel and her department have repeatedly vowed to make the Channel route "unviable", but crossings have continued to rise.


09:53 AM

Pingdemic ends: Covid app alerts drop 43 per cent in a week

Could the pingdemic finally be over?

Figures just out show a 43 per cent drop in the number of alerts sent to users of the NHS Covid app in England and Wales last week.

A total of 395,971 alerts were sent in the week to July 28 telling them they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus.


09:51 AM

Tourists should go to Greece 'fairly soon' to avoid quarantine, says Grant Shapps

Holidaymakers who are hoping to visit Greece should go "fairly soon" and have a "regular-length holiday" if they want to avoid quarantine, Grant Shapps has said.

Greece has remained on the amber list, along with Spain, meaning fully vaccinated people do not have to quarantine on their return currently, but have been advised to take a PCR test.

Asked if tourists would be able to travel to Greece before it is placed on the red list, the Transport Secretary told LBC: "I guess the answer is that as long as they’re going fairly soon, as a regular length holiday and it’s during August, then that’s exactly the point.

"We want people to be able to... look over their shoulders or monitor Twitter the whole time and see when rules are changing," he added. "We intend for these rules, barring something completely unforeseen, to remain in place throughout August so people can just go away and enjoy their breaks, or see family or friends or go on business."


09:43 AM

Make Portsmouth home of the new national flagship, Boris Johnson told

Boris Johnson has been urged to make the new "national flagship" based in Portsmouth, next to the Royal Navy's flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The leader of Portsmouth City Council, Gerald Vernon-Jackson, has written to the Prime Minister saying his city would be the best home for the vessel.

Mr Vernon-Jackson wrote: "The previous ship to perform this, and other duties, was HMS Britannia, which was based in Portsmouth for the whole of her career. Portsmouth is the home of the Royal Navy and this new ship will be a naval ship."

He added: "My understanding is that this new ship will be used by ministers, members of the royal family and leading industrialists to showcase the UK around the world. Of all the three naval bases in the UK, Portsmouth is the closest to London and therefore allows easier access for the people who will be using this new ship."


09:36 AM

US working on plan to reopen to fully-vaccinated foreigners

The United States is developing a system to begin allowing fully vaccinated foreigners back into the country, a White House official has confirmed.

President Joe Biden's administration wants to reopen to visitors from abroad in a "safe and sustainable manner," the official said, without specifying a timeframe.

It is developing "a phased approach that over time will mean, with limited exceptions, that foreign nationals traveling to the United States - from all countries - need to be fully vaccinated," the official added.

The plan marks a tentative but significant evolution in the US approach to stemming the outbreak, with Washington stating as recently as July 26 that it would maintain restrictions on international arrivals, sidestepping European pressure.

A working group is developing a "consistent and safe" new system for international entries, the official said, "for when we can reopen travel."


09:27 AM

CBI calls on Government to develop 'more comprehensive' travel plan

The Confederation of British Industry has called on ministers to develop a plan for a "more comprehensive resumption" of international travel.

Matthew Fell, the CBI's chief UK policy director, said: "Today's green-list extension will offer some relief to the international travel sector, which has suffered more than most during the pandemic and still faces a long road to full recovery.

"Restoring freedom of travel to these countries will enable firms to salvage a limited summer season. However, defining a strategy for a more comprehensive resumption of travel that is safe, simple and certain remains an urgent priority.

"Vaccine rollout has created an opportunity for the UK to move beyond Covid travel restrictions to new travel norms which restore passenger confidence and protect jobs and skills.

"This will be vital to ensure the UK's travel industry remains robust to fulfil its unique role in the country's economic recovery."


09:22 AM

Migrants in taxpayer-funded hotels not having quarantine enforced

Migrants in hotels paid for by the taxpayer are not having their quarantine enforced, it has emerged.

Ministers have been urged to investigate allegations that Channel migrants from France are escaping quarantine, even though returning holidaymakers are having to self-isolate for 10 days, enforced by daily calls and police checks.

Migrants told The Telegraph that they had been allowed to leave their hotels and could even go shopping while they were supposed to be confined to quarantine in their rooms.

Security guards posted outside the hotels to supervise migrants’ movements in and out of the buildings admitted they were unable to police quarantine because they did not know who was self-isolating and who was not.

Read more here


09:04 AM

UK and France signal plans for booster programmes, despite WHO's call for moratorium

Emmanuel Macron has confirmed it is likely that the elderly and vulnerable will need a booster Covid vaccine in France, and that the programme will likely begin in September.

The French President said: "A third dose will likely be necessary, not for everyone straightaway, but in any case for the most vulnerable and the most elderly."

This morning Grant Shapps, the UK's Transport Secretary, said booster jabs were "the likely plan come the autumn, but we will wait for the scientists" to approve it.

Yesterday the World Health Organisation called on richer countries to impose a moratorium on booster programmes until October, to allow the world's poorest countries to immunise at least 10 per cent of their populations.


08:49 AM

Boris Johnson's Scotland trip resumes with visit to wind farm

All smiles - and all aboard - PA

The Prime Minister has boarded a ship on his way to visit an offshore wind farm in the Moray Firth.

Boris Johnson and business minister Kwasi Kwarteng walked aboard the ship in Fraserburgh harbour in Aberdeenshire on Thursday morning.

Boris Johnson waves as he boards the vessel Alba in Fraserburgh Harbour, Aberdeenshire - PA
Boris Johnson waves as he boards the vessel Alba in Fraserburgh Harbour, Aberdeenshire - PA

The Prime Minister is heading to the Moray East wind farm development, which is currently under construction.

The trip is part of his two-day visit to Scotland, which began on Wednesday with a visit to Police Scotland's Tulliallan training college in Fife.

Boris Johnson (left) meets wind farm project investors in Fraserburgh Harbour, Aberdeenshire, as he journeys to the Moray Offshore Windfarm East - PA
Boris Johnson (left) meets wind farm project investors in Fraserburgh Harbour, Aberdeenshire, as he journeys to the Moray Offshore Windfarm East - PA

08:41 AM

Covid rates 'turning around', says Government scientist

The Covid infection rate in England is finally "turning around", a Government scientist has said.

Professor Michael Tildesley, associate professor at the University of Warwick and member of SPI-M group, told Sky News it was early days and the data would "become more certain" in the coming weeks.

He also defended the NHS Covid app, which has been the cause of much angst during the pingdemic, saying: "In terms of being able to detect contact, it has been extremely valuable.

"Obviously the challenge with that is that a lot of people are going into isolation and over the last few days the app has been made less sensitive."

Dr Tildesley suggested authorities were concerned that if too many people are pinged it will undermine compliance.

However, he added: "The reduction is sensitivity will hopefully guarantee higher levels of compliance."


08:31 AM

Amber list still causing confusion, claims Labour frontbencher

People are still confused about the Government's travel traffic lights system, despite the removal of the amber-plus and watchlist categories, Labour has said.

Steve Reed, shadow communities secretary, told Sky News: "The problem with all this is we want to see travel opening up safely for everyone but that won't happen if the Government makes situation more complicated than it needs to be.

"They really need to sort their act out here and clarify what they mean by red, amber and green lists.

"People are already confused about what the amber list means – it's much simpler to have red and green – go or don't go." Mr Reed added.


08:28 AM

Pakistan's red list rating 'clear and blatant discrimination', claims Labour MP

Leaving Pakistan on the red list is "clear and blatant discrimination", a Labour MP has claimed.

Those arriving in England from red destinations are required to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days - at an increased cost of up to £2,200.

Yasmin Quareshi, a shadow minister and the MP for Bolton South East, said she was writing to Grant Shapps over the decision to leave Pakistan on the red list, while moving India and Qatar to amber.

She added: "I have constituents unable to return to university, to see family or attend funerals. This has been the case for months. Why has the price [of hotel quarantine] been increased? This makes it even harder and penalises those who need to get to Pakistan urgently."


08:20 AM

Boris Johnson offered me a peerage, claims Dominic Cummings

Boris Johnson 'said it but then he almost immediately started laughing', said Dominic Cummings - AFP

Dominic Cummings has claimed Boris Johnson offered him a peerage when he was leaving Downing Street last year.

The former Number 10 senior adviser also alleged that the Prime Minister discussed giving his now wife Carrie Johnson a role that involved lots of travel.

Of Mr Johnson’s peerage offer Mr Cummings told the Spectator: “He said it but then he almost immediately started laughing and realised that that was not exactly the sort of thing that would buy me off. All reports about me getting big payoffs are all false.”

Downing Street issued a blanket denial of the new comments, with a Number 10 source saying: “These claims are untrue.”


08:02 AM

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak tell City to spark 'investment big bang'

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have urged City shareholders to create an “investment big bang” this summer by backing long-term growth prospects such as tech start-ups and infrastructure projects.

In an unusual move that sees Downing Street attempt to influence the allocation of private capital, the Prime Minister and his Chancellor wrote a letter to asset managers encouraging them to move funds away from short-term, highly liquid investments, and instead to seek out “British success stories”.

The letter said: “We need an investment big bang, to unlock the hundreds of billions of pounds sitting in UK institutional investors and use it to drive the UK’s recovery. It’s time we recognised the quality that other countries see in the UK, and back ourselves by investing more money into the companies and infrastructure that will drive growth.”


07:51 AM

High Covid immunity among teenagers means they may need just one dose

Up to 60 per cent of 16 and 17-year-olds could have immunity to Covid through infection, a member of the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), has said.

Robert Read, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Southampton, told LBC: "It varies from one part of the country to another and different series that have been published as well. It's probably in the region between 40 and 60 per cent.

"We're offering the first dose to 16 and 17-year-olds and this would ultimately be equivalent to vaccinating people with a second dose in those 16 to 17-year-olds who have already seen a wild virus.

"In the current situation, one jab is germane whilst we collect further data from around the world and from the UK on the safety of the vaccine over the next few months."

Advisers want more evidence on the safety of the Pfizer vaccine in 12 to 15-year-olds, as well as more evidence relating to myocarditis, a heart inflammation reported in some people following the vaccine.


07:39 AM

'Simplified' travel system will ensure people can enjoy holidays, says Grant Shapps

The Transport Secretary has defended the Government's traffic light system for travel as a "simplified system" which will allow people to "enjoy their holidays".

Grant Shapps told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have certainly lived with coronavirus long enough to know that it can be unpredictable; however, we have also lived with it long enough to get the majority of the population vaccinated, other countries are doing the same thing.

"That does mean that this summer we are able to set out a three-week programme rather than a one-week programme which was the situation last year.

"I hope people will be able to go away under this simplified system, enjoy their breaks and not be looking over their shoulders the whole time, and as long as they follow the processes then they can have a great time and I hope they are able to enjoy their holidays."


07:38 AM

Not immoral: Grant Shapps defends secretive donors club

Major donors to the Conservative Party don't get "any say over anything that happens" but they are "certainly welcome" to hear about government policies, Grant Shapps has said.

A secretive group of major Tory donors known as ‘The Advisory Board’ have been given regular access to the Prime Minister and Rishi Sunak after donating at least £250,000 to the party, the Financial Times revealed last week.

But Mr Shapps, a former party chairman, defended the practice, saying: "As a country, you have to make a decision about how you are going to fund your politics. You can either tax people to fund political parties - an idea I suggest wouldn't be overwhelmingly supported by the public - or you have to fund-raise.

"People should understand it doesn't give you any say over anything that happens in Government, but of course they are very welcome to hear about our policies and what we plan to do," he added.

"Supporting a political party should not be painted as some kind of immoral act... there is nothing inherently dad or wrong about that. It doesn't change our policies but you are certainly welcome to hear about those policies."


07:31 AM

Coronavirus 'will always get to you', says Grant Shapps

Coronavirus "will always get to you eventually", Grant Shapps has said, as he defends opening up the borders further.

"Even Australia, which completely locked down borders," has had to deal with outbreaks, he told Radio 4's Today programme. "It is only ever a question of slowing it down to roll out vaccinations and so on, to protect the domestic gains, having gone through lockdowns for the last 18 months or so.

"We have to get the right balance between the two," he added.

The Transport Secretary noted that "vaccine escape" was "the big thing we are looking out for", which is why testing would be the focus for now.

"We are going to have to settle down into knowing this will happen, but... things will start to become more routine for people who do travel."


07:28 AM

Dominic Raab was right on rational for France's amber-plus rating, says Grant Shapps

Grant Shapps has defended Dominic Raab, after the Foreign Secretary suggested that France had been put on the amber-plus list because of a Covid outbreak on the Reunion island, nearly 6,000 miles away.

"When the Foreign Secretary was talking about La Reunion, there are of course very close links between La Reunion and France," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "The issue was travel links and the spillover infection into the the North of France from that.

"Today you have seen all of that clarified with the benefit of further data. La Reunion has gone onto red list but France, now that beta variant has descended, has gone onto the regular amber list."


07:24 AM

Grant Shapps: It is 'not true' that I sought amber watchlist

Grant Shapps has said it is "not true" that he wanted to create an amber watchlist, despite numerous reports suggesting it was pulled at the last minute.

"Don't believe everything you read in the papers that one department or another is pushing one thing or another," he told Radio 4's Today programme. "We work collectively as a covenant."

"We always on every occasion simple look to follow the data," he added. "It couldn't possibly be true simply from the fact that we didn't have the data at the time."

Challenged over the letter that Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, wrote warning against the plans, which has been extensively quoted, he said: "We wall want to see the travel industry... unlock successively."


07:20 AM

Risk of quarantine ' a reality' of international travel, says Grant Shapps

The risk of quarantine is "a reality" from international travel, Grant Shapps has said.

The Transport Secretary told Radio 4's Today programme that being double jabbed would be "a feature" of life as a result of Covid, and that pre-departure tests were also a requirement to help clinicians "to keep abreast of the latest data... we are always having to track particular variants".

Asked about the cost of PCR tests, he said it "misrepresents the situation", because the quality of tests had previously ruled out lateral flow tests.


07:11 AM

How is the travel industry reacting to the traffic lights changes?

It seems they are largely underwhelmed...

Tim Alderslade, of Airlines UK, said: “Alongside the continuation of expensive testing and a much smaller-than-hoped-for expansion of the green list, this is yet another blow to the sector and families desperate to get away, and means the UK continues to open up far slower than the rest of Europe.”

Karen Dee, of the Airport Operators’ Association, said: “Any extension to the green list is welcome, but we remain a long way off a full and meaningful restart of international travel.”

John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow, said: “While these changes are welcome, travel will remain unaffordable for many hard-working Brits until the Government replaces expensive PCR tests with the cheaper lateral flow tests that are used for NHS workers.”


07:01 AM

Dubai was not removed from red list to act as a transport hub, Grant Shapps says

Grant Shapps has denied claims Dubai was taken off the travel red list so it could more easily act as an international "transport hub".

The Transport Secretary told Sky News there were "a whole load of theories" about why particular countries have been moved around - but insisted all decisions were based on independent advice.

"With all these changes what we do is ask the experts, that's the Joint Biosecurity Centre, the JBC in this case, to give us their overview of every country and their recommendation about where a country should sit," he said.

"This time they have come back and said Dubai, and Qatar, the UAE and in fact India - which will surprise some people - are all fit to come from the red list and come onto the amber list."

He said factors for moving countries off the red list included the number of people who had a jab there, the reliability of local Covid data, and the level of prevalence of the virus.


07:00 AM

Spain did not avoid red list over quarantine hotel capacity issues, says Grant Shapps

Grant Shapps has denied that Spain has not been placed on the travel red list because the UK would not have the capacity to quarantine all returning travellers.

The Transport Secretary told Times Radio: "We will always do whatever is required, and you have seen us do this so far with the red list to make sure that countries, even from destinations where there are a lot of people, would go on that red list if that is what is required.

"But we will simply follow the scientific advice."

Experts would be "content as long as we are keeping an eye" on the B.1.162 variant through the PCR test, he added.


06:56 AM

Grant Shapps: My teen twins are very keen to get the Covid vaccine

Grant Shapps said he would "absolutely" encourage his teenage children to get a coronavirus vaccine.

The Transport Secretary told Sky News: "They are very keen to be vaccinated as well. They are in that age group, the 16 to 17 age group, and it is amazing, particularly towards the end of term, how many of their friends had coronavirus and how much time they had to spend off school."

He added: "So they understand the disruption, the amount of their own lives, their own schooling, that has been affected by this and they are very, very keen."

On whether 12 to 15-year-olds will be offered a coronavirus vaccine, Mr Shapps said: "We will wait for the experts from the JCVI to tell us when it is safe."


06:55 AM

Rats in quarantine hotels 'completely unacceptable', says Grant Shapps

Reports of rats in Government-run quarantine hotels are "completely unacceptable", Grant Shapps has said.

The Transport Secretary said colleagues at the Department for Health and Social Care would be "very concerned to read any reports and they will certainly be fully investigated".

He added: "It would be completely unacceptable for the tourists who usually use them, it is certainly unacceptable if they are being used temporarily for Government quarantine."

He also alluded to allegations that security guards have been harassing women who stay at the hotels.

"This is not government barracks, these are hotels - any accusations of crimes need to go straight to the police," he told Times Radio. "Rats and the like, these are hotels in the hospitality sector who would be very concerned about that."

Asked about the cost of the hotels in the circumstances, he insisted the price was necessary to "cover the costs".


06:42 AM

‘Butcher of Tehran’ should work with the West, says Raab

Britain will remain “calm and composed” in the face of Tehran’s “nefarious conduct”, Dominic Raab has said, as he urged Iran’s new hardline president to work with the West.

The Foreign Secretary reached out to Ebrahim Raisi, the cleric set to be inaugurated on Thursday, warning him to build confidence with international partners or else see Iran plunge further into “pariah status”.

In an interview with The Telegraph on Wednesday, Mr Raab vowed that the UK would be “calm and composed, but we’re absolutely resolute and robust in terms of dealing with the nefarious conduct that we've seen”.

Mr Raab's intervention comes days after Britain, the United States and Israel blamed Iran for a suspected drone attack on a tanker off the coast of Oman that killed two crew members, including a British national.


06:41 AM

Good Morning

The Government is hoping that its changes to the travel traffic lights system will make things more straightforward for holidaymakers and give the industry a much-needed shot in the arm.

But is it too little, too late?

Here is today's front page.