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General => Articles => Topic started by: PippaJane on September 29, 2020, 12:20:55 PM
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8784567/Minister-suffers-car-crash-interview-lockdown-rules.html
Not even the Government understands the lockdown laws! Skills Minister Gillian Keegan admits she 'doesn't know' if friends can meet in pub gardens as it's revealed council Covid marshals can use 'reasonable force' to enforce laws
Skills Minister Gillian Keegan was unable to answer crunch questions on new rules in North East of England
Ms Keegan could not 'clarify' if rules on households mixing will also apply to pub and restaurant gardens
In a series of car crash interviews she also appeared to admit that the Government is 'punishing' pubs
It came as it emerged 'Covid marshalls' could have power to use 'reasonable force' under new crackdown
By Jack Maidment, Deputy Political Editor For Mailonline
Published: 10:57, 29 September 2020 | Updated: 11:47, 29 September 2020
Skills Minister Gillian Keegan suffered a series of car crash interviews this morning as she was unable to answer key questions over new coronavirus rules in the North East of England. Ms Keegan was asked whether restrictions banning households in the region from meeting indoors from tomorrow applied to pubs and restaurant gardens. She said 'I don't know the answer to that question' as she admitted she did not fully understand the rules less than a day before they are due to come into force."
Labour pounced on the misstep and said ministers 'don't know what's going on' amid a mounting backlash over the Government's latest coronavirus crackdown. Meanwhile, Tory disquiet over new rules, regulations and fines increased after it emerged the authorities will have the power to use 'reasonable force' to make people self-isolate. New laws published by the Government state that 'reasonable force' can be used if someone refuses to comply with an instruction to stay at home after testing positive for coronavirus or if they have been in contact with someone else who has the disease. The power will be available to all 'authorised persons' amid reports that could include so-called 'Covid marshalls' as well as the police and council staff.
* Boris Johnson is desperately trying to quell Tory mutinies over coronavirus lockdown, the university shambles and 10pm pubs curfew amid claims angry MPs are mounting a 'Trojan Horse' plot to get rid of him.
* The Institute for Fiscal Studies said taxes could soar by £60 billion in the coming years to avoid a new wave of austerity.
* The think tank said an income tax rise of 6p or 7p for every £1 earned could be needed to cover extra public spending over the next five or six years.
* The Children's Commissioner for England today called for the Rule of Six to be changed to exempt all children under the age of 12 and for restrictions on households mixing to allow children from different families to play together.
* Real-time data from the NHS contact tracing app could allow local lockdowns to be imposed 24 hours after an outbreak.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday announced a tightening of measures for Northumberland, Newcastle, North and South Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland and County Durham. Aimed at stopping a resurgence of coronavirus, the Department of Health said laws would ban inter-household mixing indoors, including in pubs and restaurants. But some questioned whether the measures, to be enforced with fines, would include meeting people from other homes outside in hospitality settings. Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday, Ms Keegan said: 'I'm sorry I can't clarify that. I don't know the answer to that question but I'm sure they can find out the answer to that question.'
Pressed on how people are meant to keep up to date with the latest restrictions when even ministers cannot, she said: 'I'm sorry I can't answer that question. I'm sure there are many people who could. I don't represent the North East.'
Labour quickly seized on the failure to clarify the confusion over the laws, set to be imposed after midnight on Wednesday. Shadow health minister Alex Norris said: 'It speaks volumes that even the Government's own ministers don't know what's going on. This will do little to inspire public confidence in the North East and across the country. The Conservatives' incompetence is hampering our response to this pandemic.'
Ms Keegan was grilled during an interview on Sky News on which local lockdowns have actually worked but she was unable to give a firm answer. ‘I think, I am not an expert on this, but I think in Leicester there were some signs of some improvement in terms of the rate,' she said.
The Skills Minister was also asked what the science is to back up the Government's decision to impose a 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants in England. She said: ‘The 10pm curfew is about reducing the amount of socialising. What the science shows us is the virus is largely being passed on by people socialising.’
Sky News presenter Kay Burley told Ms Keegan that the curfew is not supported by any statistics, promoting the Tory MP to reply: ‘What it does is it takes an hour off the socialising time, reducing socialising, the same as the Rule of Six.’
When it was pointed out to Ms Keegan that 3.2 per cent of cases last week were found to have originated in a hospitality setting, she said: 'Yes. Yes and actually we know that the hospitality sector has done a brilliant job of making their places Covid-secure.’
Ms Burley asked Ms Keegan why the Government is seemingly 'punishing' pubs and restaurants and the minister appeared to admit that was the case as she said: ‘Because we are trying to reduce the amount of socialising.’
Ms Keegan also said it is 'hard to see how night clubs will open until we have some kind of long term way to deal with coronavirus' as she defended a new ban on singing and dancing in pubs.
Told the ban was 'ridiculous', Ms Keegan hit back and said: ‘No, I think it is common sense. It is common sense. If you put a lot of people together and say all of you can move but all of you have to keep two metres apart, I think it is common sense.’
With 16 million Britons now under draconian restrictions, Tory MPs have warned of 'national lockdown by default'.
Conservative backbenchers are increasingly angry at the Government for rolling out restrictions on freedoms without first putting measures to a vote in Parliament. They said their constituents are 'incredibly irritated' at the latest crackdown and warned that while 'they will grudgingly abide by it in the short term they want to know where the end is'.
Mark Harper, the Tory former chief whip, summed up the Conservative discontent in the Commons yesterday as he lashed out at Mr Hancock over the new rules and regulations. 'The laws that came in at midnight, for example, were 12 pages of laws, with lots of detail, criminal offences and duties not mentioned when they were set out in a statement last week,' he said.
'That includes duties on employers, directors and officers, with serious criminal penalties. We need to scrutinise the detail of the legislation before it comes into force and give our assent, and not, I am afraid, just allow the Secretary of State to put it into force by decree.'
Tory MPs are hoping to force a vote tomorrow on forcing the Government to put all future measures to a vote in Parliament before they are rolled out. A group of up to 80 Tories are poised to support a rebel amendment when the Government asks the Commons to formally renew the Coronavirus Act for another six months. There are questions over whether Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will select the amendment tabled by Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers. But senior Tory Sir Desmond Swayne today warned that if the amendment is not selected some Conservative MPs could opt for the 'nuclear option' of voting against the renewal of the Act. Accusing ministers of governing by 'fiat', he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'If there isn't a vote on the amendment and there isn't a satisfactory response from the Government to the demands of the amendment, many people will vote against a renewal of an act. Well when I say many, there will be a number, but certainly the Government isn't going to be defeated.'
Key points from Gillian Keegan's car crash coronavirus interviews
On which local lockdowns have actually worked
She said: ‘I think, I am not an expert on this, but I think in Leicester there were some signs of some improvement in terms of the rate.’
On whether there is any science to back up the 10pm curfew on pubs
She said: ‘The 10pm curfew is about reducing the amount of socialising. What the science shows us is the virus is largely being passed on by people socialising.'
She added: 'What it does is it takes an hour off the socialising time, reducing socialising, the same as the Rule of Six.’
Told that just 3.2 per cent of cases last week came from hospitality sector Ms Keegan admitted pubs and restaurants are 'Covid-secure'.
Asked if that is the case then why is the Government 'punishing' them, she replied: ‘Because we are trying to reduce the amount of socialising.’
On nightclubs not reopening
She said: ‘It is hard to see how night clubs will open until we have some kind of long term way to deal with coronavirus. That is for sure true.’
On defending the Government's ban on dancing and singing in pubs
Told the ban is 'ridiculous' she said: ‘No, I think it is common sense. It is common sense. If you put a lot of people together and say all of you can move but all of you have to keep two metres apart, I think it is common sense.’
On whether households in the North East of England could mix in pub gardens
She said: 'I'm sorry I can't clarify that. I don't know the answer to that question but I'm sure they can find out the answer to that question.'
Boris Johnson faces furious Tory mutiny for sneaking out 'Orwellian' Covid lockdown laws
Boris Johnson is desperately trying to quell Tory mutinies over coronavirus lockdown, the university shambles and 10pm pubs curfew today amid claims angry MPs are mounting a 'Trojan Horse' plot to get rid of him. With 16 million Britons now under draconian restrictions, the government is facing a brutal backlash over imposing punitive new fines and bans on households mixing in the North East without scrutiny from parliament. There is also a wave of criticism of the 10pm curfew on pubs in England, with complaints that it is making matters worse by shifting partying on to the streets or into people's homes. Meanwhile, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson will finally surface to answer questions about the chaotic scenes in universities, which have seen many students forced to isolate and fearing they will not be allowed home for Christmas. The PM will try to get back on the front foot this morning by unveiling free digital boot camps and college courses to stop coronavirus layoffs blighting the prospects of millions of workers. But behind the scenes the government is trying to soothe more than 50 Tory MPs - headed by the chair of the 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady - who have backed an amendment demanding a vote before any new lockdown measures are introduced. Although the amendment will not come to the floor of the Commons this week as it breaches procedural rules, one senior MP told MailOnline that Mr Johnson should be worried about the wider unrest that was developing at his leadership. He has been accused of losing his 'mojo' and being in 'thrall' to advisers such as Dominic Cummings. 'Is this really them trying to get rid of Boris?' the MP said. 'It's a very interesting group of people. A mix between the right and left of the Tory party.'
'This is the vehicle. This is the Trojan Horse for what is to come.'
Taxes could have to soar by £60BILLION 7p for every pound earned to avoid a new wave of austerity after Covid crisis, IFS think-tank warns
Taxes could have to soar by £60billion to avoid a new wave of austerity after the coronavirus crisis, experts warned today. The respected IFS think-tank said an income tax rise of 6p or 7p for every £1 earned could be needed to cover extra public spending over the next five or six years. It also urged ministers to ditch any plans for setting out a multi-year spending review due to the unprecedented uncertainties facing the economy. Instead Chancellor Rishi Sunak should set a one-year plan and focus on working out how much more the government will need to lay out dealing with Covid in the future. The new report by the IFS looked at how much money has been spent and what options are open to the Government. It found that spending has increased 20 per cent above the Government's original plans before the pandemic.