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Fears Over India Covid Variant Found In UK – As Cases Of South Africa Strain Rise

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Experts have raised concern over the growing number of cases of a new Covid-19 variant that first emerged in India.

Public Health England (PHE) reported that 73 cases of the B.1.617 variant have been found in England, as well as four cases in Scotland.

The figure of 77 cases comes from the latest update of PHE’s surveillance of the distribution of different variants across the UK, based on data up to April 7

Officials have currently designated it a “variant under investigation” (VUI) rather than a “variant of concern” (VOC), such as the Brazilian Manaus or South African variants.

Meanwhile, 600 people in the UK have now contracted the South African coronavirus variant, with an extra 56 cases being reported this week.

PHE has not disclosed whether the figure includes cases detected as a result of surge testing. In London, extra testing facilities were launched this week to help limit the spread of the variant following a cluster of cases being discovered.

Of the coronavirus variant first discovered in India, Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College, said it was likely to be escalated to a VOC.

Officials said there is currently no evidence to suggest that disease from the newly identified variant is more serious than previous ones, nor is there current evidence to suggest vaccines are less likely to work against it.

It is understood that the cases detected in England are dispersed across different parts of the country and many are linked to international travel, but investigations are under way.

According to PHE, the variant “includes a number of mutations including E484Q, L452R, and P681R”.

PHE said that mutations of the 484 spike protein have been associated with the Manaus and South African variants.

The E484K mutation is reported to result in weaker neutralisation by antibodies in lab experiments, but the E484Q mutation is different and still subject to investigation.

Viruses by their nature mutate often, with more than 18,000 mutations discovered over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, the overwhelming majority of which have no effect on the behaviour of the virus.

PHE’s latest findings mean there are now seven VUIs and four VOCs being tracked by scientists in the UK.

Professor Altmann told BBC Radio 4’s PM: “I think we should be terribly concerned about it.

“It is similar to the ones we know about – it mixes and matches some of the features we’ve seen before with this E484 change that we’ve seen before in a similar but different version in South Africa and Brazil, and then the infectivity change that we saw in the Californian variant.

“As we keep saying, it is the infectivity change plus the new evasion.

“This isn’t a ‘variant of concern’ yet but I suspect it will be.

“I look at all of them and they are things that can most scupper our escape plan at the moment and give us a third wave. They are a worry.”

In India, Covid-19 rates are soaring, with more than 13.9 million confirmed cases and 172,000 deaths.

The country is not currently on the government’s “red list” for travel, which sees people who have been in those countries in the previous 10 days refused entry to the UK.

British or Irish nationals, or people with UK residency rights, are able to return from red list countries but must isolate in a quarantine hotel for 10 days.

Professor Altmann said he thought India “ought” to be placed on the red list of countries from which travellers are required to embark on a hotel quarantine upon arrival in England.

The Imperial College expert said: “I find this a bit mystifying.

“Obviously policy is not my area of expertise, but as a scientist I find it slightly confounding.

“I know their variant hasn’t been proved to be responsible for their 200,000 cases per day but it is implicated in quite a high proportion of the genetic sequencing.

“So it looks to me like it probably ought to be a red-listed country, as far as I can see.”

Boris Johnson’s visit to India will still go ahead despite the soaring coronavirus cases in the country.

The prime minister had already scaled down his at the end of April due to the country’s worsening coronavirus situation, but Downing Street has insisted it will still go ahead.

A No 10 spokesman told a Westminster briefing: “The prime minister’s visit is still happening later this month.

“We have said that the programme will be slightly shorter than it will have been, and you can expect the main body of his programme to take place on Monday April 26.

“As you would expect, safety is obviously important and is a priority for us on this trip, which is why we will make sure that all elements of the visit are Covid-secure.”

Johnson was due to spend four days in the south Asian country at the end of the month but, following talks with Narendra Modi’s administration, the “bulk” of the meetings could be fitted into one day.

Asked why India has not been put on the red list despite the soaring number of cases, Downing Street said the situation is “under constant review”.

A No 10 spokesman told reporters: “We add and remove countries based on the latest scientific data and public health advice from a range of world-leading experts.

“We keep it under constant review and we won’t hesitate to introduce tougher restrictions and add countries if we think it is necessary.”

But Labour said the blame for the Indian mutation making its way into Britain “rests squarely with the UK government”.

Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “Ministers have been warned time and again that failing to introduce a comprehensive hotel quarantine policy would leave us exposed to variants of Covid.”

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Rishi Sunak’s Role In Greensill Lobbying Scandal To Be Probed By MPs

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Rishi Sunak’s role in the Greensill lobbying scandal will be investigated by MPs.

The cross-party Commons Treasury committee will examine the response by the chancellor and his team to lobbying from David Cameron, who tried to secure Covid rescue funding for Greensill Capital.

The former prime minister, who was working as an adviser to the firm, last year repeatedly sent text messages to Sunak to try to secure support through the government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF).

It came as Commons public administration committee chair William Wraggg said Cameron’s activities were “tasteless, slapdash and unbecoming”, and said his group of MPs would also be “giving these matters proper consideration”, suggesting a separate inquiry could be launched.

Text messages released last week following a Freedom of Information request revealed Sunak eventually rebuffed Cameron’s demands, but only after he “pushed” officials to explore an alternative plan that could have helped Greensill.

Greensill has now collapsed into insolvency, rendering Cameron’s reported millions of share options worthless.

The Treasury committee said its inquiry would “focus on the regulatory lessons from the failure of Greensill Capital and the appropriateness of [the] Treasury’s response to lobbying in relation to Greensill Capital”.

Conservative MP Mel Stride, who chairs the committee, said: “The Treasury committee had previously decided to carefully consider these issues as part of its regular and upcoming evidence sessions with HM Treasury and its associated bodies, including the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England.

“In addition to this, we have now decided to take a closer look by launching an inquiry to investigate the issues that fall within our remit. We will publish further details when we launch the inquiry officially next week.”

Earlier, Tory MPs voted down Labour plans to set up a wider-ranging new committee to investigate the Greensill scandal, and the wider lobbying rules.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves argued a bigger probe was needed and that Boris Johnson’s proposed review was “wholly inadequate” as it was being led by a “good friend” of the Tory government in City lawyer Nigel Boardman.

It came after Keir Starmer said the row over Cameron’s lobbying marked the “return of Tory sleaze”.

The Labour leader said financier Lex Greensill was brought into the government as an adviser by Cameron, before then hiring the former prime minister to act as a lobbyist contacting Cabinet ministers including Sunak and health secretary Matt Hancock.

The row has intensified this week after it emerged that the former head of civil service procurement, Bill Crothers, became an adviser to Greensill Capital while still working as a civil servant, in a move approved by the Cabinet Office.

Responding at PMQs, Johnson said he shared the “widespread concern about some of the stuff that we’re reading at the moment”.

“I do think it is a good idea in principle that top civil servants should be able to engage with business and should have experience of the private sector,” Johnson said.

“When I look at the accounts I’m reading to date, it’s not clear that those boundaries had been properly understood and I’ve asked for a proper independent review of the arrangements that we have to be conducted by Nigel Boardman, and he will be reporting in June.”

Downing Street meanwhile defended Boardman, describing him as a “distinguished legal expert”.

“He was asked to lead this review independently. He has been asked to do it thoroughly and promptly and we trust him to do that,” Johnson’s official spokesperson told reporters.

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Two Thirds Of Agency Nursing Staff Still Waiting For Second Covid Jab

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GEOFF CADDICK via AFP via Getty Images

A nurse fills a syringe with the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Llanelli, South Wales.

Nursing staff working outside the NHS are half as likely to have received a full coronavirus vaccine dose as their NHS colleagues, a new study reveals.

Just under a third of agency staff have been given both of their jabs, compared with two-thirds of permanent staff, according to the survey by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) of 20,000 members.

It also found that 5.6% of agency nursing professionals (one in 18) have not been offered a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, compared with only 1.3% of permanent staff (one in 77).

Frontline health and social care workers, who are second on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) priority list alongside people aged 80 and over, should have all received an invitation to receive a second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by now.

Vaccinations for people in the top two priority groups began in December. People next on the list, those aged over 75, were invited from early January. On February 14, the government said it had offered all 15m people in the top four priority groups their first dose.

Latest figures published by the government show more than 7.4m people have received their second dose and more than 32m people have received a first dose. More than 32m doses should be enough to cover everyone in the UK over the age of 50, all health and care workers and those with pre-existing conditions.

But the survey revealed that as of April 6, only 94% of nursing staff have actually received at least one dose of a vaccine and 62% had received both doses.

Nearly half (46%) of nursing staff outside of the NHS, including permanent employees in non-NHS settings such as care homes, were still waiting for their second jab, compared to just under 24% of those working in the NHS.

The most worrying finding was that about one in 50 members reported having not been offered a vaccine at all. Those included nursing staff who work in hospitals, care homes and in the community, the RCN said. 

The results were an improvement from a previous survey conducted in February, which found “a concerning disparity” between vaccination rates among NHS and non-NHS staff, with non-NHS staff accounting for 70% of the nursing staff who had yet to be vaccinated.

JACOB KING via POOL/AFP via Getty Images

A nurse is given the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in Coventry on January 7.

Nursing staff not working directly for the NHS include professionals who are employed by agencies, or who work in local communities, in care homes and people’s own homes with some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Tthe RCN said more still needed to be done to ensure all nursing staff are given their jabs. “The gap has narrowed significantly yet those outside the NHS are still behind their NHS colleagues when it comes to receiving their second jab,” it warned.

The union has called on the government to ensure vaccines are offered to all nursing staff to stop them from “slipping through the net”.

Jude Diggins, RCN director of nursing, policy and public affairs, said: “The gap between NHS and non-NHS staff having their first dose has closed but there remains more work to be done to ensure all nursing staff, whatever setting they work in, are given the protection they need.

“Every effort must be made to prevent nursing staff from slipping through the net. Their safety has to be the government’s top concern and that cannot be compromised.”

The government must make sure people who should have already received their vaccinations do so “without delay”, Labour said following the RCN survey.

Shadow health minister Justin Madders said: “As restrictions begin to ease ministers must do all they can to ensure that those who should have received the vaccination already are given this without delay. 

“This should include targeted work to drive up vaccinations in all who work in the NHS, including agency and bank staff.” 

In response to HuffPost UK’s request to explain why some nursing staff have yet to be invited for vaccination, a DHSC spokesperson claimed: “We have visited every eligible care home in England, offered vaccines to all staff, and continue to work closely with the care sector, independent healthcare providers and local leaders, to maximise vaccination numbers and save thousands of lives.

“The vaccines are safe and effective and we want everyone to take up the offer of a jab when they’re called forward.”

They added: “Our vaccination programme is the biggest in NHS history, and so far our heroic health and care staff have helped administer more than 39m vaccines.”

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Shirley Williams, Lib Dem Peer And Former Cabinet Minister, Dies Aged 90

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The former cabinet minister and Lib Dem peer Baroness Shirley Williams has died aged 90.

In an announcement on Monday, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said it was “heartbreaking for me and for our whole Liberal Democrat family”.

Williams was one of the disenchanted ex-Labour cabinet ministers who became the gang of four founders of the breakaway and short-lived Social Democratic Party (SDP).

As a Labour minister, Lady Williams, served in the governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan in the 1970s rising to become education secretary.

Throughout her political career, both in the Labour Party and subsequently the SDP and then the Lib Dems, Williams was a passionate pro-European.

Davey said: “Shirley has been an inspiration to millions, a Liberal lion and a true trailblazer. I feel privileged to have known her, listened to her and worked with her. Like so many others, I will miss her terribly.

“Political life will be poorer without her intellect, her wisdom and her generosity. Shirley had a limitless empathy only too rare in politics today; she connected with people, cared about their lives and saw politics as a crucial tool to change lives for the better.

“As a young Liberal, Shirley Williams had a profound impact on me, as she did on countless others across the political spectrum. Her vision and bravery, not least in founding the SDP, continues to inspire Liberal Democrats today.

“Rest in peace, Shirley. My thoughts and prayers are with your family and your friends.”

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Boris Johnson Orders Independent Probe Into Cameron Lobbying Row

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Boris Johnson has ordered an independent review of David Cameron’s lobbying of the government on behalf of finance firm Greensill Capital.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson announced that City lawyer Nigel Boardman will lead a probe into links between the company and ministers, including personal approaches made by Cameron.

MPs have demanded answers after it emerged that the former premier had personally emailed and texted Chancellor Rishi Sunak and others to help Greensill win Whitehall contracts and financial roles.

Sunak is under huge political pressure for his admission that he sent a text to Cameron in which he said he had “pushed” Treasury officials to look at helping the firm with access to multi-million pound Covid support schemes.

In a new move, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle granted shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds an urgent question to be answered on Tuesday into the row.

Dodds’ question calls on Sunak to deliver “a statement on the process by which Greensill Capital was approved as a lender for the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loans Scheme”.

Cameron broke his silence on the row on Sunday, saying he should have acted “through only the most formal of channels” rather than personally texting Sunak. 

Johnson wants the new probe to be completed “promptly”, the spokesperson said.

“The Cabinet Office is commissioning an independent review on behalf of the prime minister to establish the development and use of Supply Chain Finance and associated activities in government, and the role Greensill played in those,” he said.

“This independent review will also look at how contracts were secured and how business representatives engaged with government.

“The PM has called for the review to ensure government is completely transparent about such activities, and that the public can see for themselves if good value was secured for taxpayers money.”

Greensill collapsed into administration in March, which in turn put at risk one of its biggest clients, steelmaker Liberty Steel.

The Financial Times and Sunday Times have revealed how the firm’s founder Lex Greensill had unprecedented access within Whitehall as he sought to get the government to use his finance firm to offer loans for public services.

And Cameron, who was hired by Greensill after he left office, piled pressure onto ministers in the Treasury to grants access to Covid support funds for the firm over the past year.

The ex-PM also lobbied health secretary Matt Hancock. He brought Lex Greensill and director Bill Crothers to private drinks with Hancock in 2019, when they lobbied for the adoption of a payment scheme for doctors and nurses that was later rolled out within the NHS.

After weeks of refusing to comment, Cameron issued a statement on Sunday to the PA news agency, in which he said that having “reflected on this at length” he accepts there are “important lessons to be learnt”.

On Monday morning, former PM Gordon Brown called for tougher rules to prevent ex ministers lobbying within government, claiming it “brings public service into disrepute”.

Cameron insists that he broke no codes of conduct on former ministers’ links to government, but several MPs from all parties have called for tighter rules.

Labour insists that Sunak has questions to answer over whether he broke the ministerial code in “pushing” officials to help Greensill on Cameron’s behalf.

The chancellor last week voluntarily published his texts to the ex-PM under the Freedom of Information Act, although Cameron’s texts have not yet been published. Treasury sources insist that officials rebuffed Cameron’s main request in the proper way.

Boardman, who has spent years as a partner at the City law firm Slaughter and May, is a non-executive board member of the Department for Business and chair of the government’s Audit, Risk and Assurance committee.

He conducted a review of the Cabinet Office’s procurement processes which was published in December, 2020.  “He seems like he is an experienced person to lead this independent review,” the PM’s spokesperson said.

But shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves said: “This has all the hallmarks of another cover-up by the Conservatives.

“Just as with the inquiry into Priti Patel’s alleged bullying, this is another Conservative Government attempt to push bad behaviour into the long grass and hope the British public forgets.

“The Conservatives can’t be trusted to yet again mark their own homework. We need answers on Greensill now – that means key players in this cronyism scandal like David Cameron, Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock appearing openly in front of Parliament as soon as possible to answer questions.”

Boardman’s former firm Slaughter and May, which is part of the so-called “Magic Circle” of corporate law companies, came under fire in 2018 during collapse of public-private sector construction giant Carillion.

Labour had accused such corporate law firms of “circling Carillion like vultures, squeezing every last penny of fee income as the company was going down”.

Boardman, whose late father was Tory cabinet minister Tom Boardman, would “access to the documents that he needs”, No.10 said.

Asked whether Johnson believed lobbying rules needed to be changed, the prime minister’s official spokesperson replied: “As you have seen from what we have announced today, the prime minister understands the significant public interest in this and wants to look at the issues raised and get more details.

“But I think you can judge from his actions.”

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Black Lives Matter May Have Reduced Spread Of Covid, Says Sage

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JUSTIN TALLIS via AFP via Getty Images

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement may have helped reduce the spread of Covid, scientists advising the government have said.

Experts on the ethnicity subgroup of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said the anti-racist movement “fostered greater empowerment within the Black African and Black Caribbean community and enabled these groups to express their frustrations of many years”.

“This new empowerment may have created a sense of optimism and facilitated open dialogue which increased knowledge and contributed to greater use of cultural, religious and collaborative approaches to reducing risk and transmission of Covid-19 in Black communities in the UK,” the scientists said.

“Strategies include sharing videos of elders having the vaccine and hosting a Covid-19 vaccine event to address misinformation stemming from historic issues of unethical scientific research and religious beliefs.”

Ethnic minorities have been disproportionately impacted by Covid, suffering higher death rates than the white population. 

In the paper prepared on March 26 and made public on Friday, the scientists warned Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups “have not reported similar feelings of empowerment”.

“Establishing and/or rebuilding trust may take longer, particularly for Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups in the absence of a national movement such as BLM,” it states.

The experts also said the failures in public health messaging during the first wave of Covid due to “inaccessible language, modes of delivery and mistrust towards formal organisations” meant Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups “feel more wary or sceptical” of current government communication.

The BLM movement, which began in the US in 2013, had a global resurgence in 2020 following the killing George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Senior UK government ministers have criticised the BLM movement in the UK, including foreign secretary Dominic Raab who revealed he incorrectly thought the gesture of taking a knee was inspired by Game of Thrones.

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Labour MP Stephen Timms Condemned For Praising ‘Anti-LGBTQ’ Church

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A Labour MP has been condemned for his “upsetting” decision to praise a church with a history of anti-LGBTQ campaigning – just hours after Keir Starmer was forced to apologise for visiting it.

Stephen Timms said he applauded the “extraordinary work” of Jesus House For All The Nations church in Brent, north London.

The East Ham MP’s tweet came the same day the Labour leader said he was sorry for visiting the church over Easter and endorsing its work despite well publicised anti-LGBTQ statements made by one of its senior leaders.

The Labour Campaign for LGBT+ Rights had branded Starmer’s visit and subsequent praise for the church’s work in a video as “unacceptable”.

Starmer eventually accepted it had been a “mistake” to visit the church, which is serving as a vaccination centre. He said he was “not aware” of its views on LGBTQ rights – despite Theresa May having been called out for the same reason after she visited it in 2017.

Timms opposed same-sex marriage ahead of its introduction in 2014 because he said marriage was “ordained for the procreation of children”.

He told HuffPost UK on Wednesday he had “checked” with Jesus House, which told him it regarded “homophobia as anti-Christian”.

But the church’s senior pastor, Agu Irukwu, has previously spoken against same-sex marriage and equality legislation.

In 2006 he signed a letter to The Daily Telegraph condemning the then Labour government for its position that “homosexuality is equal to heterosexuality”, something Irukwu said he did not “believe”.

“The latest discrimination against Christians is the new law called the Sexual Orientation Regulations, said to combat the problem of homophobia in Britain,” the letter said.

“It alarms us that the government’s only evidence for a problem actually existing is ‘accounts in national newspapers’.”

A separate letter in The Daily Telegraph, signed by Irukwu in 2013, said “marriage is and always will be distinctively a union between a man and a woman” and argued same-sex marriage would be “devaluing” the institution.

A survey run by the church in 2015, uncovered by Yahoo News, grouped homosexuality, being bisexual or transgender in with beastiality. 

Eloise Stonborough, associate director of policy and research at Stonewall, told HuffPost UK: “It’s disappointing to see politicians praising organisations which speak out against LGBT+ equality.

“This kind of acknowledgement is even more upsetting when so many faith groups welcome and support LGBT+ people of faith, and are doing crucial work to support their communities.

“Last December, over a hundred faith leaders came together from across the major religious traditions specifically to support a ban on conversion therapy.

“At a time when many LGBT+ people face huge challenges, we should all be focused on tackling prejudice and creating a world where everyone can thrive no matter who they are.”

Responding to Timms’ tweet, Labour MP Kate Osborne said: “Another day of disappointment.

“I also applaud the work of churches and faith groups who support their communities but, I do not applaud those who hide their bigotry behind their so-called religious beliefs.”

Timms told HuffPost UK: “Churches and mosques in Newham – including one of the Jesus House affiliates in East Ham – have done a superb job during the pandemic in distributing food to people who would otherwise not have had any. 

“The hardship of the pandemic would have been even worse without their efforts.

“They have been especially important for those with no recourse to public funds. 

“Given concerns expressed yesterday, I checked with Jesus House who told me that they don’t do anything like conversion therapy, and regard homophobia as anti-Christian.”

In an interview on Wednesday with Premier Christian News, Irukwu said the church does “not engage in any form of conversion therapy”.

Downing Street has also defended Boris Johnson’s own recent visit to the church.

The prime minister’s press secretary Allegra Stratton said “one of the main jobs inside government over the last few weeks and months has been driving up vaccine take-up in communities that are hesitant about taking it, most notably the black community”.

“It was an incredibly important visit. Making sure every aspect of the population feels confident in and takes the vaccine is a top priority for this government.”

She added: “This is a government that is fully committed to advancing LGBT rights and championing equality.”

Jesus House and the Labour Party has been approached for comment.

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Boris Johnson Accused Of Breaking Ministerial Code With ‘Political’ Attack On Sadiq Khan

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Stefan RousseauPA

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus (Covid-19). Picture date: Monday April 5, 2021.

Boris Johnson broke ministerial rules and misled the public when he launched on “unprompted political attack” on Sadiq Khan using the government’s new £2.6m Downing Street press room, Labour has said. 

The prime minister was reaching the end of a televised briefing on the Covid pandemic when he made false claims about the London mayor and Transport for London (TfL) budget. 

Johnson, Khan’s predecessor at City Hall, claimed he left TfL’s finances in “robust, good order”, and the current mayor had blown a “black hole” in the budget with a fares freeze. 

The complete collapse in passenger numbers since Covid hit, however, has seen government agree a £1.6bn bailout in May, followed by a £1.8bn deal in November.

A TfL report published a month before Johnson left office in 2016 also showed TfL had a nominal debt of £9.1bn.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has now written to cabinet secretary Simon Case calling for him to investigate and for the PM to apologise. 

She alleges Johnson broke the ministerial code by using government resources – the Downing Street press room – for political campaigning during an election period. 

It comes ahead of local elections in May, including at City Hall. 

The code, which governs ministers’ conduct, states: “Official facilities and resources may not be used for the dissemination of party political material”.

Rayner writes: “The attack was political in nature, unprompted, and entirely unrelated to either the topic of the press conference or the question the prime minister was asked.” 

The deputy leader also hit out at Johnson’s decision not to sack home secretary Priti Patel after a formal investigation found evidence that she bullied civil servants. 

Ethics adviser Alex Allan quit after Johnson ruled Patel should stay in post. 

Rayner said: “The ministerial code, by which government ministers are bound, clearly states that official facilities and resources may not be used for the dissemination of party political material.

“This includes the prime minister’s new media briefing room, which cost the British taxpayer £2.6 million.

“The prime minister has a lot of experience with the ministerial code – his home secretary was found to have breached it after bullying staff, prompting his independent advisor on ethics and ministerial standards to resign.

“The British people would rightly not expect a prime minister who has spent so much first-hand experience of dealing with matters relating to the Code to be so blatant in flouting it during a pre-election period.”  

Rayner states that in the four years Sadiq Khan was mayor before Covid hit, he reduced the operating deficit of TfL, left by the previous mayor, by 71%. 

But Johnson said during the press briefing on Monday: “As for the finances of TfL I must respectfully remind you that I left them in robust, good order. It is not through any fault of my own the current Labour mayor decided to blow them all on an irresponsible fares policy. 

“We are doing our best to help them out and we will continue to do so. But I’m afraid you have to look at some of the decisions that were taken by the current Labour mayor as well.

“I hesitate to make a point like that but since you rightly draw attention to the fact I’m a proud former mayor of London I do think we could look at the way TfL is being run.” 

The Cabinet Office confirmed the letter had been received.

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UK’s Vaccine Rollout ‘On Track’ Despite Sharp Slowdown In Jabs

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Yui MokPA

A vial of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

The number of people receiving a Covid-19 vaccine in the UK daily has fallen by around 75% in the last week as the supply of the jab has been squeezed.

Minsters revealed last month there would be a “significant reduction” in doses from the end of March, raising questions about whether the programme’s target dates will be met and when under-50s would be innoculated.

Supplies of vaccines in April have been constrained by the need to test a batch of 1.7 million doses and delays in a shipment of around five million from India.

Government data up to April 5 shows that first doses were given to 40,744 people on the previous day, and 64,590 got a second dose – or 105,334 in total. The number of people being injected with their first shot was the lowest since records began on January 10. A day earlier, just 95,763 people received one of their two doses. 

By contrast, just a week earlier – March 29 – 405,039 doses were distributed. And on March 5, the figure stood at 494,235. 

While the fall may seem steeper than billed, Downing Street on Tuesday moved to allay fears – insisting all adults will be offered a coronavirus vaccine by the end of July as planned.

Some 25m people have so far had a first dose of either the AstraZeneca or the Pfizer vaccine in the UK, while just under 1.8m have had both shots. The government is aiming to vaccinate all over-50s by mid-April and everyone else by the end of July.

The Cabinet Office has indicated that an average of 2.7 million doses a week will be given in England until the end of July, down from a previous estimate of 3.2 million.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson refused to be drawn on “details around supplies and deliveries” of vaccine doses but said “we remain on track” to meet the targets set for the programme.

But the Cabinet Office scenario, provided to experts on the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) suggests the squeeze on supplies may continue for months.

Papers produced by Spi-M on February 17 were based on an average of 3.2 million doses a week until the end of July and 3.9 million thereafter.

Spi-M said the central scenario provided by the Cabinet Office for its March 31 paper was “considerably slower”, with 2.7 million weekly doses until the end of July and two million from then on.

A slower scenario suggested that just 2.5 million weekly doses might be available.

The Spi-M summary notes that the two scenarios produced by the Cabinet Office “may not reflect the situation most likely to occur”.

The PM’s spokesperson added: “The health secretary set out a couple of weeks ago now the fact that there will be a slight reduction in April but the key thing to remember is that doesn’t mean that we are not on track to hit our pledges.

“We remain on track to vaccinate all those in phase one by April 15, we remain on track to vaccinate or provide the first dose to all adults by the end of July.”

The rollout will be boosted by the introduction of Moderna jabs later in April alongside the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines already being used.

“I’m not going to get into the specifics of how many we will get this month,” the spokesperson said, but “we will have three vaccines that we are able to distribute and that will ensure that we can continue to make sure we are giving people their first doses as well as giving more and more people their second doses”.

Some 26.7 million people in England have had a first dose, the equivalent of 60% of the adult population, leaving around 17.5 million adults needing their initial jab to meet the end-of-July target.

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Tory MP Dame Cheryl Gillan Dies After Long Illness

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Victoria Jones – PA Images via Getty Images

Dame Cheryl Gillan arriving for meeting being held at 10 Downing Street, central London. (Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)

Former Welsh secretary Dame Cheryl Gillan has passed away at the age of 68 after a lengthy illness, the Conservative Party has confirmed.

Boris Johnson said the former cabinet minister would be “sorely missed” and described her as a “great servant”.

“I’m very sad to hear the news of the death of Dame Cheryl Gillan,” he said in a tweet.

“She was a great servant to the people of Chesham and Amersham, to the Conservative Party and to the country as secretary of state for Wales.

“Always full of wise advice and good humour, she was much loved on all sides of the House of Commons and will be sorely missed.

“My sincere condolences to her family and friends.”

An MP since 1992,  the noted anti-HS2 campaigner had made a “huge contribution to public life”, said co-chairman of the Conservative Party Amanda Milling.

“It was incredibly sad to hear that Dame Cheryl Gillan MP passed away at the weekend,” Milling added.

“Cheryl had been ill for some time, but battled her illness with great stoicism and grace.

“Cheryl was a dedicated parliamentarian for many decades, serving in the Cabinet and she made a huge contribution to public life and our Party.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Cheryl’s family and friends.”

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