thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-20--The New York Post Outed A Paramedic As A Sex Worker. Here’s What They Didn’t Tell You

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Last week, the New York Post published a piece called “NYC Medic Helped ‘Make Ends Meet’ With Racy OnlyFans Side Gig.” The teaser line read, “A young NYC paramedic says she is so cash-strapped by her low-paying ambulance job that she moonlighted by selling online access to erotic photos and videos of herself.”
The co-writers, Dean Balsimini and Susan Edelmen, begin their article by listing the young woman’s full name, place of employment, hometown, age, former places of employment and schooling, accompanied by photos.
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For context, the woman, Lauren Kwei, says she did not agree to any of this.
“Let me be very clear: I did not want the NY Post to run this article, much less use my name,” she states on a GoFundMe page she set up after the article came out. “When Dean Balsamini first ‘interviewed’ me, he did not tell me what this was about until after I disclosed most of my background. He did not include in his article that I started crying on the phone when he finally did tell me what he was inquiring about.”
The article authors included an admonishment from Kwei’s former co-worker, and maintained that person’s anonymity. Really.
It is at this point that I ask the reader to pause and ask themselves: Do the authors of this article understand that women get harassed, stalked, even targeted for assault and murder when people question their sexual morality in a public and shaming manner?
As Twitter user Erin Taylor pointed out, outing a sex worker puts them at risk of “job insecurity, housing insecurity, increased surveillance from cops/abusive management/clients, violent stigma from society as a whole, losing friends & family support, and so much more.”
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outing sex workers is an act of violence, full stop — Erin Taylor, credentialed none of ur business (@erinisaway) December 14, 2020
by outing a sex worker who is not out, you put them at risk for: job insecurity, housing insecurity, increased surveillance from cops/abusive management/clients, violent stigma from society as a whole, losing friends & family support, and so much more. It Is Evil To Do! — Erin Taylor, credentialed none of ur business (@erinisaway) December 14, 2020
I also want to be clear, once you’re out as a sex worker? You’re out forever, there is no going back into that closet — Erin Taylor, credentialed none of ur business (@erinisaway) December 14, 2020
I started modelling nude online for money at the age of 19 in 2005, and since that time I’ve worked publicly as a stripper, porn maker and sometimes-escort. For me, there was never a doubt in my mind that I would have a public persona; this was influenced by my personal privilege and freedoms to make this decision, but certainly I have still faced employment and housing discrimination, harassment from non-clients and strangers on social media, complex discussions with concerned family members, and constant, justified vigilance regarding my personal safety. I’ve had several stalkers. This is due to sexism and whorephobia.
Still, I chose to live with my performer name, install bars on my home windows, expect threatening messages from anti-porn people, and pay for a security system in my home. Many, many people who are trying to make money through sex work do not have these options available to them.
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I spoke to other women who had experiences similar to Kwei’s.
“Someone, maybe an ex, told people at my office job about my Manyvids account, I came in and the URL was written on a Post-It at my desk. It felt like a threat, and nowhere else was hiring, so I tried to stay. The harassment escalated and I had to quit,” said Lily, one woman I spoke with. (Lily, and the other women I spoke with, have had their names changed to protect their privacy.)
The Post piece does not have any goal but to generate clicks and ad revenue. There is no call to action about why a frontline safety worker isn’t being paid enough during a pandemic that they would moonlight in such a stigmatised way. There is no inquiry on how to make sex work more safe or accessible.
Kwei’s GoFundMe has received more than 15 times her requested donation as of this writing, which is hopefully a bit of silver lining as she struggles to rebuild her life and relocate after one of the largest tabloid magazines in the world encouraged their entire readership to judge and shame her.
The New York Post loves to reframe a headline to titillate, disgust, shame or shock. Last month, it was their decision to lead with the title Ex-Prostitute Elisa Crespo Vies To Become First Trans Member Of NYC Council, in reference to the Bronx woman who could be the first trans woman of colour elected to that borough, and who has spoken openly about her sex work experience in the past.
These headlines are examples of the layers of hostility and discrimination that many marginalised people experience every day.
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“I lost custody of my children when my stripping job was brought up by their father,” said Charlotte, another woman I spoke to who was involuntarily outed. “My kids never saw me work, I was always in a venue. I never endangered them, but the judge said my ‘lifestyle’ wasn’t appropriate for their ages. I was a dancer when I met their dad too, he knew what I did for our money. I’m still fighting this.”
Of course sex sells, and while we all have to make money while living in a capitalist world, if the New York Post wants to hustle some funds by publishing spicy stories, just ask sex workers to tell those stories ourselves. We know what it’s like navigating things like hostile friends and family, stolen clips and photos, police, dealing with stalkers and discrimination in housing. We don’t need anybody to endanger more of “us” for a juicy tale.
Lauren is going through something very few people will ever understand, and thankfully she’s amassed a money cushion to help her build a new life, and received some supportive comments from strangers. This is something that the vast majority of outed people will never receive.
Kwei even received support from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who tweeted a reminder to keep the shame and focus on a federal government that is letting down the people who are simply trying to survive a pandemic with little financial support or relief.
Sex work is work.
The federal gov has done almost nothing to help people in months. We must pass stimulus checks, UI, small biz relief, hospital funding, etc.
Keep the focus of shame there, not on marginalizing people surviving a pandemic without help. https://t.co/eYib7310Rs — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 16, 2020
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On her GoFundMe page, Kwei has the final word, in a passionate plea for support for frontline workers.
“The NY Post gave me a voice. So here I am, showing myself to the world. I’m here to tell you all that my First Responder brothers and sisters are suffering. We need your help,” she wrote in an update on the site.
“We have been exhausted for months, reusing months old PPE, being refused hazard pay, and watching our fellow healthcare workers die in front of our eyes, in our ambulances,” she continued. “At least three NYC EMS workers died by suicide this year and there has been very little action about the lack of mental health care accessibility for first responders. EMS are the lowest paid first responders in NYC which leads to 50+ hour weeks and sometimes three jobs. My brothers and sisters DESERVE CHANGE!”
December 17 was International End Violence Against Sex Workers Day, and reducing harm against people in sexually relevant industries starts by respecting the worker’s consent and privacy; do not incite people to denigrate or harm sex workers. There is no way that survivors of sexual exploitation will ever seek justice and community support if some people insist upon shaming or criminalising consensual sex work, thusly creating more potential victims. Besides, if somebody works in adult entertainment, it means absolutely nothing about their abilities or skills otherwise.
As Kwei wrote in an article for The Independent, “How I make my money in order to help those in need is nobody’s business but my own, and certainly no patient has asked if I’m on OnlyFans before allowing me to help them.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-20--The Unexpected Toll Of Being Asian On Social Media During Covid-19

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Like everyone else, I charge my phone on my nightstand. Within minutes of waking, I reach for it and from the cozy warmth of my bed, I check my personal emails, respond to texts, look through my news alerts, dawdle over Instagram, and scroll through Facebook to see what’s been going on in my sphere while my eyes are still bleary.
Before my workday responsibilities, which include managing my company’s social media accounts, I take the time to go through my own.
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It may not be a healthy habit, but it’s a common ritual I share with many. Innocuous, universal, unremarkable.
However, since the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic reared its ugly head, this ritual has become a source of dread. As my Facebook feed loads, I feel tendrils of anxiety unfurl from my stomach. My heart beats a little faster, my breath catches, and I feel a weight in my chest, nervous about what fresh attack awaits me.
I’m not alone in this trepidation. Pandemic conspiracy theories are rife as people grow tired of the limitations of quarantine and spend too much time in the deepest recesses of their thoughts. Political rants, misinformation and finger-pointing rhetoric have mounted to crescendos as folks feel increasingly helpless against the onslaught of bad news and lash out.
… But you see, I am first-generation Chinese with an ethnic name. And to a shockingly, overwhelmingly large amount of my fellow citizens ― most recently demonstrated by this divisive election ― I am part of the problem.
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Beyond the worry for my health as part of the susceptible population of sufferers of autoimmune disease, beyond my fears for immunocompromised immediate family members and my concerns for my future prospects and job security as a writer specialising in two of the hardest-hit industries ― travel and food ― I have the additional burden of apology to shoulder. The responsibility to defend an entire country of people to which, as an ABC (American-born Chinese), I have no more than ancestral kinship.
It started with the harmful rhetoric “Chinese virus.” With President Donald Trump’s insistent usage of this slur, he put a target squarely on the back of one minority group. In April, I put up one post on my personal Facebook, asking for friends to scrub this term from their vernacular.
It incited a flame war.
Extended members of a family I was once welcomed into with open arms released hateful words in defence of our president, convinced that my plea was an attack on him. They told me and friends who sprang to my defence to get out of this country if we didn’t like it ― something I’ve heard throughout my life, but didn’t think I’d hear from folks who had me over for Sunday dinners, people I’ve celebrated and mourned with.
People who I thought were my friends refused to understand why I was upset by the use of this term. They didn’t want to read about how pinning the disease’s origin on one culture put all Asians at risk; didn’t want to hear about why I was afraid that the types of “patriotic vigilante justice” committed against those of Middle Eastern descent after 9/11 could repeat itself targeting my family members, or even myself.
In short, they made it quite clear they didn’t want to hear from me, as a human being. Deeply shaken, I turned my notifications off.
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As recently as October, after Trump’s positive Covid-19 diagnosis, anti-Asian rhetoric and Chinese conspiracy theories took a shocking 85% spike on Twitter, proving the danger was far from over ― it’s instead cyclical. Hostilities rose again with rapid speed as Asians around the world pleaded for humanisation with desperate cries begging for acknowledgment that #IAmNotAVirus.
In keeping with the “model minority” tradition, many Asian victims of hate-motivated crimes or harassment decline to report these instances, brushing them off as an anticipated price we all pay for our American tradition of systemic racism. Commander William Slaton of the Pennsylvania state police has speculated that this could be due to a variety of factors: “fear of embarrassment, lack of community support, and fear that law enforcement won’t seriously investigate their concerns.”
In my experience as a first-generation Chinese-American woman in a predominantly white neighbourhood, prejudice was the price of entry and accepted as a regrettable matter of fact. To cry about it was weak, to demand action is to be a community nuisance, and to call attention to it was putting a target on, not just your family’s, but your people’s backs. You’re expected to keep your head down and mouth shut, to fly beneath the radar and let your hard work and perseverance validate your existence.
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In a collective effort to remain a model minority, we delude ourselves in believing that racism has disappeared in the generations since our ancestors immigrated, that the incidents that fo occur are isolated and a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person, and not hate-fuelled actions.
And of course, friends don’t want to face that those they care about can be perceived as nameless, blurry-faced targets. Who wants to have that kind of worry on their shoulders, when they themselves “don’t see colour” or “don’t think of [you] ‘that’ way,” as I have seen in comments on Facebook walls?
… Which is yet another disheartening reason opening social media feeds has become such a trial.
Tokenisation is already something people of colour have to battle, and as people fight to choose the side of right in a world full of shades of grey, it eats away at you to see folks you know, attempting to be allies, use statements like “but I have an XYZ friend” to virtue-signal their liberal ideologies and open-mindedness.
I began to wonder, am I “the Asian friend?” Am I the significant other being referred to when people comment “I know someone who is with a Chinese person, and they would never …”? Have I been reduced to Exhibit A?
Sometimes, I take half a Xanax before bed. I take them with reserve and caution, due to their addictive nature.
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I wait until the thrumming of my low-level panic rises just enough to vibrate through the invisible hairs on my arms and I can’t sleep, too fixated on the single, probably inane reason I’m freaking out.
We’re many months into this pandemic, yet I continue to confront a stream of anxiety-inducing trigger statements every time I log onto social media, a sudden feeling of impotence and voicelessness. The angry, finger-pointing post I couldn’t respond to. The hurtful comment or joke made by someone who forgot they had a Chinese “friend” on their list. The patronisation of those trying to walk the line between being a white saviour or an ally. “Fact”-shamers on the left and right, neither of whom will listen to the other in favour of actual facts.
It is emotional labor just to be exposed to this, and especially when your job is in communications and social media, it’s unavoidable. I see things I can’t respond to, read things I can’t refute. I am exposed to “behind closed doors” rhetoric on corporate feeds, spewed by racist brand followers who assume they’re in a safe space since the account they’re “friends” with is a company and not an individual ― faceless, anonymous, neutral and consummately professional.
So I stifle my outrage, bite my tongue, and let it eat at me, abjectly powerless to do anything else but try to push it down, to try to allow room for hope and light.
But every night, I am tired. Every night, I am drained. And yet every morning, I steel myself, heart in throat, and click my phone on.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-20--The Vicar Of Dibley: 10 Unforgettable Moments That Still Have Us In Stitches

The Vicar of Dibley is one of the most beloved sitcoms ever BBC/HuffPost UK
The Vicar Of Dibley is as much of a part of Christmas as turkey and mince pies, despite the fact the final full episode aired 14 years ago.
Each festive season, repeats of Dawn French’s iconic BBC sitcom make their way into the TV schedules, and unlike most other repeats, we’re not mad about it.
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This year in fact, a classic episode is set to round off Christmas Day on BBC One, following last year’s series of mini-Christmas specials that saw Geraldine Grainger delivering sermons via Zoom.
Here, we look back at Geraldine and her parishioners’ most memorable moments ever...
1. Alice and Hugo’s wedding
With Teletubbie bridesmaids, a wedding crasher and Jim over-enthusiastically belting out the Spice Girls’ 2 Become 1, Alice and Hugo’s nuptials were every bit as chaotic as you’d imagined them to have been.
2. Geraldine performs with Darcey Bussell
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After meeting Darcey Bussell during an appearance on Radio 2’s Pause For Thought, Geraldine persuades the prima ballerina to perform at the village charity gala. What the villagers are not expecting though, is that Geraldine will be joining her for the performance, with hilarious consequences.
3. Four Christmases
Vince Vaughn and Resse Witherspoon may have starred in a whole film about having four Christmases, but it was our Geraldine Grainger who was the first to experience it on screen.
After being invited to multiple dinners, she’s determined not to let anyone down, leading to the moment she finds herself in a Brussels sprout eating competition while extremely full.
4. Kylie makes a cameo
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After Geraldine books Alice’s uncle to appear at the village fete after mistaking him for Elton John, the vicar’s prayers are answered when a certain pint-sized Australian popstrel presents herself at the vicarage. Now that’s Magic.
5. Alice gives birth
As the residents of Dibley attempted to put on a nativity, it was inevitable things were never going to run smoothly. But probably no-one was expecting Alice to give birth to a real baby while playing a heavily pregnant Mary.
6. Radio Dibley
Long before Gerdaline was addressing her parishioners via Zoom during this year’s lockdown specials, she found another way of connecting with them via the Radio Dibley station back in the 90s. But her first broadcast didn’t exactly make for the most professional broadcast, thanks to Jim, Owen et al.
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7. Alice has a buttery concern
Alice worries whether I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter might actually be butter in one of her most memorable scenes. Quite how Emma Chambers managed to remember her lines here is a miracle.
8. Jim’s best man’s speech
Jim pays Geraldine a visit in order to test out his best man speech on her, which just so happens to be a rendition of the Abba classic Knowing Me, Knowing You. And if you know anything about Jim, you’ll know it’s a recipe for laughs.
9. Geraldine’s jokes
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Geraldine’s post-credit jokes were a main-stay over all of series of the show, as she regularly left Alice confused with some of the most simple of punchlines.
There’s many to choose from, but this one never fails to make us laugh.
10. The puddle
And of course, no round up of The Vicar Of Dibley’s classic moments would be complete without this, would it?


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-20--Is Die Hard A Christmas Film? We Settle The Yearly Debate Once And For All

Guns, violence, gore: hardly the usual elements of a classic Christmas film.
The debate around whether or not Die Hard (and Die Hard 2) constitutes a proper holiday movie is almost as contentious as the inevitable annual love/hate debate over sprouts or Christmas pudding.
Yes, the action takes place on Christmas Eve, but does that really make them festive films?
To find out more, we spoke to some (ahem) die-hard Die Hard fans to find out what they love so much about the film that even Rotten Tomatoes has labelled “the definitive holiday action classic”, and more importantly, whether or not they *whisper it* think it’s a Christmas film or not...
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With scenes of violence, Die Hard isn't the classic Christmas film 20th Century Fox
“His ex-wife is called Holly! I mean c’mon!”
Kaleem Aftab, 46, film critic based in London.
Is it a Christmas movie? Yes
“Die Hard starts with that most Christmas of all elements: The office party,” says Kaleem. “It’s all about love. Kind of.
“Just like It’s a Wonderful Life, it has a man who doesn’t know how good he has it, until he’s faced with his own mortality. There is a family estrangement. But a family estrangement with a dose of realism as it acknowledges that Christmas is a time of divorce.
“Also, his ex-wife is called Holly! I mean c’mon! And like all the best movies, it happens on Christmas Eve. It also acknowledges Christmas presents with the immortal line, ‘Now I have a machine gun, ho ho ho!’
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“And what a brilliant Scrooge, Alan Rickman giving his best villainous panto turn.
“Now is that enough to make it a Christmas film? The nature of the question is that somehow Xmas films have to be saccharine dramas reinforcing humanity, but that seems way to constrictive and also who decided that? Its Christmas setting may be a construct to have a party, snow and difficulty moving around but that is as much part of Christmas as realising that there should be good will to all men. And in our capitalist, secular times, maybe even more so.
“The debate about Die Hard and whether it is a Christmas movie is a reflection on the date around Christmas in society: namely is it a spiritual occasion or a marketing ploy?
“It’s probably somewhere in-between, which is still uglier than the version that Christmas is about good will to all men and the triumph of good. Die Hard, Gremlins and films of such ilk actually are more truthful about Christmas being just another occasion on our calendars that is just as likely to be the backdrop to terrible events as any other season.”
Bruce Willis takes the lead in the beloved action film 20th Century Fox
“It’s always fun to watch people start frothing at the mouth when I claim it’s a Christmas movie”
James, 33, Die Hard fan based in London.
Is it a Christmas movie? Yes.
“It’s set on Christmas Eve. There is Christmas music. The storyline follows a man and a woman (called Holly) who start off estranged and, after a difficult journey, get back together. It’s the ultimate feelgood movie of the year!
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“And who can forget the dead man in the lift with the Santa hat? Or the line, ‘Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho’.
“The debate centres around whether or not blood, machine guns and death can be counted as a Christmas film, as this is not particularly family friendly (surely what a Christmas film needs to be). I would point to another classic Christmas movie to support my argument that Die Hard is indeed a Christmas movie.
“Love Actually has a major plot point about infidelity (not very family friendly). Two porn stars meet on set (likewise). A man essentially ruins Keira Knightley’s wedding video and then creepily comes to her door to confess his love for her (family friendly? Nope!) Yet Love Actually is set at Christmas, has a whole lot of love in it and has Christmas music. I don’t see the difference.
“A Christmas film to me has to have a decent narrative arc, some fun character development, some comedy, and not too much cheese. Basically I want a good film, not a good Christmas film! Die Hard is really an action film, with elements of comedy. But it is always fun to watch people start frothing at the mouth when I claim it’s a Christmas movie.”
Die Hard was released in 1988 20th Century Fox
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“Killing someone and then writing ‘Ho ho ho, now I have a machine gun,’ is just not in the Christmas spirit”
Jenni, 33, Die Hard fan based in Fareham.
Is it a Christmas movie? No.
“Is Die Hard a Christmas film? No - a Christmas film is warm and up-lifting.
“It may have some sort of tragedy or big issue but it ultimately comes back to Christmas and the meaning behind it all. Gushing I know, but that’s the reason why we watch Christmas films: to get into the holiday spirit.
“People feel so strongly about it. It’s like marmite where your opinion is polarised: everyone loves a good argument at Christmas!
“I love the classics: Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, A Christmas Carol. I think a Christmas movie needs Christmas songs, to be set at Christmas, to be about family, to be uplifting and have a moral conclusion.
“I’d call Die Hard a really good action film. My husband is totally on the side of it being a Christmas film and it’s part of his Christmas ritual every year, just like our ritual argument about it. It’s set at Christmas and there are some Christmas songs but it’s about terrorism rather than the spirit of Christmas.
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“We watched Black Christmas the other day, a slasher film set at Christmas time, and my husband agreed that although it was set at Christmas it wasn’t a Christmas film. It didn’t have the link back to the moral and upbeat message behind a Christmas film.
“In Die Hard there’s no moral message, other than the bad guys lose, but that’s the same for all action films. Don’t get me wrong, I do love the film, even with all of its mistakes (white shirt now, black shirt), but killing someone and then writing ‘ho ho ho now I have a machine gun,’ is just not in the Christmas spirit.”
The argument about whether Die Hard is a Christmas film come around every year 20th Century Fox
“What are the key messages that Christians take from Christmas? Hope and salvation. A true Christmas film should represent those very themes”
Anthony, 32, Die Hard fan based in Bedfordshire.
Is it a Christmas movie? Yes.
“Is Die Hard a Christmas film? Well, it’s set at Christmas. It has a Christmas tree. There is a Christmas party. But that doesn’t certify something to be a Christmas film. But perhaps Die Hard is more connected to Christmas than almost any other film to be touted as such.
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“What are the key messages that Christians take from Christmas? Hope and salvation. As such, a true Christmas film should represent those very themes. Despite the protestations of its leading star, no film draws on these messages more so than Die Hard.
“John McClane became the Nakatomi Plaza staffs’ only hope for salvation from evil terrorists. Does our protagonist use bad language? Yes. Blaspheme? Indeed.
“But he is pure. His actions and reactions are honest and driven by his beliefs, not how people want him to behave.
“He hopes that by saving the day there will be salvation for his marriage. And we hope too. We hope for him. We invest in his hope. We believe that he will overcome. That he will be the salvation of the people in that tower. That it will in turn be the salvation for his marriage.
“All of this and more is why Die Hard is a Christmas film and maybe even the greatest Christmas film of all time.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-20--How To Boost Your Mental Health If You're Feeling Done With 2020

Acknowledge that you’ve come this far
We don’t give ourselves enough credit for getting through what has been an utter nightmare of a year, full of twists and turns, and profound changes to the way we live.
“Acknowledging that we are dealing with very real ongoing pressures is the starting place to taking the choice to be kind to ourselves,” says therapist and Counselling Directory member Grace Warwick. “To take stock of how far we have come and what that has taken out of us.
“Many people feel that they are ‘running on empty’ physically. It is important to listen to this and to make sure that we are attending to the basics, going to bed rather than staying up late with that box set, making sure that we eat regularly and staying hydrated.”
It might also help to accept the situation and that things will be different for a while yet.
Figure out your stress response
To cope with pandemic stress the first thing to do is to identify what stress looks like for you, says therapist and BACP member, Kemi Omijeh. “We all have different responses to stress. Are you more irritable? Do you find yourself eating or drinking more? Perhaps you’re sleeping more or shutting off from the world in your own way?”
By identifying your stress response, you can identify what’s likely to work for you in terms of coping with that stress, she says. For example, if you fall under the irritable category, you might want to find safe outlets to express yourself – through journaling perhaps, or talking or ranting to friend (try doing this via voice note if it’s tricky to arrange a meet-up).
Alternatively, you might want to respond through mindful breathing or relaxation methods. “Getting into the habit of responding to stress cues with relaxation and mindful breathing will improve your resilience hugely,” adds McDermott.
If you find yourself eating or drinking more, you could try looking to healthy food options instead, or channelling it positively by joining an online cookery or baking class, says Omijeh. Or you might also want to find ways to stimulate your other senses – “could you light a scented candle, take a warm bath, have a tactile object to keep your hands busy?”
And if you’re someone that responds to stress by being busy, try and schedule in moments of calm, she suggests. “Put it in your diary or to-do list if it ensures you do this.”
Reign your horizon in
In terms of coping mentally it might help to ‘bring your horizon’ in – so you’re not looking ahead to next Easter, or summer 2021, but are focusing on today, this week, the now.
“The number of unknowns increase with the length of your horizon, hence bringing it in will help with stress and anxiety,” says Warwick. “For some this may mean focusing on this week, but for others the horizon may need to be today or even the next few hours or minutes.
“Acknowledge that the most important thing to do is to take care of yourself in this moment.” Trying ask yourself the question, ‘how can I take care of myself right now?’
Say ‘no’ more
Saying ‘no’ is basically a form of self-care. In terms of creating more resilience during these tougher times, McDermott recommends cutting back on commitments and decisions where you can, and simplifying life as much as possible.
“Let go of what you don’t need to or can’t control. Learn to be in the flow of things more,” he says. “Making decisions creates more stress, cut down on stress and save that energy for the really important decisions you need to make.”
Equally, say ‘no’ to news and information overload. “There’s a plethora of news regarding the pandemic, most of which highlights the negative impact and as such can lead to stress and even a sense of vicarious trauma,” says Deone Payne-James, an integrative counsellor, psychotherapist and BACP member. “Minimising the amount of news and social media exposure can help reduce pandemic-related stress.”
Start and end the day with something positive
Book-ending your day with a hefty dose of happiness is exactly what the doctor ordered. “This can be your favourite song; a nice breakfast; cuddle time with your spouse, child or pet; going for a walk,” says Omijeh. “Incorporating a positive routine into your day, no matter how small, can do wonders for your wellbeing.”
Make time for ‘mentally healthy’ activities
Do an assessment of your day or week, suggests Payne-James, and make time and plan for activities that promote metal health and wellbeing. This might be a daily walk, some form of exercise, or meditation.
You might also want to do something that helps others such as volunteering at a local food bank, joining a community activity, doing some shopping or running errands for neighbours. “Helping others can reduce feeling of stress and helplessness, as we gain a sense of achievement by making a difference,” she adds.
Book something to look forward to
Granted, we can’t book much in at the moment in the way of holidays and trips, however you can still book some time off work – “take a self-care day, hour, 30 minutes – whatever you can fit into your schedule,” says Omijeh. “I’m a big advocate of taking mental health days from work. A lot of us will have quite a few annual leave days accumulated, take the day to do absolutely nothing or to do what you love.”
Let the light in
Natural daylight is so important for our wellbeing and sleep patterns, however in winter it can be hard to get much of it. If you can, get outside on your lunch break for a walk.
You might want to find ways of brightening up your home or bedroom to give you a mood boost, suggests Omijeh. “Add a splash of colour somewhere or put something up that makes you smile. I’d also recommend a light therapy lamp.”
Reach out
Glenda Roberts, a BACP member and psychotherapist based in Suffolk, says it’s crucial to identify a support system of friends, contacts, colleagues and family who will listen and not judge you. She recommends having safe and regular contact with such people, through phone, video calls or, if your area allows, socially distanced walks.
Feeling listened to is hugely important, especially for people who might be experiencing suicidal thoughts. “Feelings of suicidality are signs we need to connect with people to tell them we feel danger,” adds McDermott. “Suicidal feelings are understandable and we can get help for them, but it’s important not to mistake the feeling for a fact. Just because you feel suicidal doesn’t mean you are, feelings come and go. Learning to share those feelings so they subside and leave is absolutely crucial.”
But while connection with others is a crucial part of staying mentally healthy, it is also important to note that many also feel lonely right now, despite being in a house full of people. “With our reduced circles of contact we don’t get to experience our full range of ways of being, we can be very different people with different friends or colleagues and family members,” says Warwick.
“It can help to identify this and to plan in different types of contact where possible. Talking about loneliness is crucial. Ot is a very normal reaction to what we are going through and worth raising with friends or even your GP if you do not have social contact. They will be able to support and guide you.”
And if thoughts of suicide begin to appear, do reach out. “The figures show that you are not alone in feeling how you do,” she adds. “Many people feel that they can’t speak to those around them or do not want to worry them. Please do contact your GP or organisations such as the Samaritans, they are there to help you. Counsellors and psychotherapists also offer specialist support.”
Covid-19 is more than a news story – it has changed every aspect of life in the UK. We are following how Britain is experiencing this crisis, the different stages of collective emotion, reaction and resilience. You can tell us how you are feeling and find further advice and resources here.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-20--34 Tweets About Cooking Burnout That Are All Too Real

It's almost dinnertime again. I'm sick of cooking for myself and I'm also sick of takeout and actually the only thing that sounds good is for a freshly laundered man to cook me scallops with a side of risotto and greens and then sit across from me and ask me how I'm doing.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-20--Eurotunnel Suspends Access To Folkestone Terminal As France Restricts Travel From UK

French Passport Control at Folkestone Eurotunnel Kiran Ridley via Getty Images
The Eurotunnel is suspending access to its Folkestone terminal after France announced 48-hour travel restrictions from the UK.
It comes as a number of European countries move to prevent the spread of a new – more contagious – strain of coronavirus that has been detected in the UK, with Germany, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands all restricting travel.
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On Sunday, France said it would restrict travel coming from the UK for 48 hours from 11pm GMT, with the new rules applying to air, car, ferry and train travel.
In a tweet, Eurotunnel said that the final shuttle from the UK to France would leave at 9.34pm, with access to its UK site “prohibited” from 10pm.
URGENT: UK-France border closes 23:00 GMT tonight. Last shuttle UK-FR is 21:34 GMT, please check in on time. Access to UK site prohibited from 22:00 GMT.
Amend most bookings using MyEurotunnel: https://t.co/J4wvRBWE64
Request a cancellation/refund: https://t.co/yYTXGiCH4s pic.twitter.com/7qzqEgfQ2A — Eurotunnel Le Shuttle (@LeShuttle) December 20, 2020
Eurotunnel said access would be suspended for both passenger and freight traffic, with UK customers not to travel to the terminal after 10pm.
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“UK customers with bookings after this time are advised NOT to travel to the terminal as they will not be able to cross to France,” it said on its website.
“For any passengers heading to the UK in the next few days: it is essential that you check the rules for travel and accommodation in the UK before travelling. Please note, the border is currently closed from the UK into France for at least 48 hours.”
The news came as it was announced that the ferry terminal at the port of Dover would also be closed to “all accompanied traffic” leaving the UK until further notice due to border restrictions in France.
On its website it said: “Both accompanied freight and passenger customers are asked not to travel to the Port.
“We understand that the restrictions will be in place for 48 hours from midnight (CET).
“We apologise for the inconvenience and will provide an update as soon as possible.”
In a statement, the CEO of the Food and Drink Federation Ian Wright said the suspension of accompanied freight traffic from the UK to France had “the potential to cause serious disruption to UK Christmas fresh food supplies add exports of UK food and drink”.
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He said: “Continental truckers will not want to travel here if they have a real fear of getting marooned. The government must very urgently persuade the French government to exempt accompanied freight from its ban.”
It was announced on Sunday that night that Boris Johnson would chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra civil contingencies committee on Monday following the news. of travel restrictions.
Meanwhile, the Eurostar service said it would only be able to run trains from Paris to London on Monday and Tuesday amid the restrictions.
A handful of European countries have banned arrivals from the UK amid the spread of a new strain of coronavirus, which Boris Johnson has warned could be “up to 70% more transmissible” than the original variant.
Germany, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands have all introduced severe travel restrictions in response to the news on Saturday, which saw London and large parts of the east and south-east of England plunged into tier 4 restrictions as a result.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-20--Police Scotland 'Double Presence' On Border Amid Strict New Coronavirus Rules

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The police presence on the Scottish border with England will be doubled after Nicola Sturgeon announced strict new coronavirus restrictions for the country.
Police Scotland chief constable Iain Livingstone said “highly visible patrols” would be used to “deter anyone who might be considering breaching the coronavirus travel restrictions”.
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The warning comes the day after the first minister announced severe lockdown measures for Scotland over Christmas – including a “strict travel ban” to or from other parts of the UK, with some exceptions for essential purposes.
The ban – which was put in place last month – was due to be relaxed over the festive period.
Sturgeon also announced that people in Scotland would only be able to form a festive bubble on Christmas Day – and that most of Scotland would be put into the highest level of lockdown from Boxing Day.
In a statement reported by the PA news agency, Livingstone said it would not be “appropriate or proportionate for officers to establish checkpoints or roadblocks to simply enforce travel restrictions”.
However, he said he had “authorised the doubling of our operational presence in the Border areas of Scotland.
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“These highly visible patrols will be proactively deployed on our road networks to continue our operational activity to ensure drivers and vehicles are in a fit condition to drive.
“The patrols will also deter anyone who night be considering breaching the coronavirus travel restrictions.”
He said he expects roads to be “quieter than usual over the coming days”.
The news came as a number of European countries introduced their own bans on travel from the UK amid fears about spreading a new – more contagious – strain of coronavirus.
On Sunday, the UK reported 35,928 new cases of Covid-19 – the highest figure on record.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-20--2020 Was Supposed To Be Our Best Last Chance To Save The Planet. So How Did We Do?

As wildfires and storms raged, and even the Arctic broiled and burned, scientists’ dire climate warnings came to life in frighteningly vivid fashion in 2020. With political leaders and the public preoccupied by Covid-19, the world careened closer to the brink of environmental catastrophe.
When 2020 began, a youth climate movement was gaining traction, a key summit in Glasgow, Scotland, looked like a chance to breathe new energy into the Paris climate agreement as it neared its fifth birthday, and many hoped this might be the year leaders finally moved with the urgency the planetary crisis demands. The stakes were momentous ― every day without action, the window to prevent catastrophic climate change narrows. “This is really a minute to midnight,” said Inger Andersen, director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
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Yet hopes that 2020 would be a pivotal year for climate action evaporated as Covid-19 upended governments’ priorities. Summits were put on hold and climate action dropped down political agendas.
As the year ends, the possibilities it offered seem to have drained away ― or at least, like so much else in this virus-plagued year, been postponed. And with unprecedentedly rapid action needed to avoid the most disastrous scenarios, the consequences of the lost focus, missed chances and lurches backward could be grave.
Governments’ ‘Last, Can’t-Miss Opportunity’ To Change Course
Andersen offered a chilling assessment of where things stand. Without a course correction, she said, we’re heading for 3.5 degrees Celsius of warming by century’s end, a catastrophic level scientists say would drown some coastal cities, intensify heat waves, droughts and floods, and make swaths of the world all but uninhabitable, driving hunger, disease, conflict and migration.
To turn that around, fossil fuel production must drop by 6% a year for the next decade, UNEP reported. Yet countries are still planning average annual increases of 2%, it said. And so far, the 20 biggest economies have poured $233 billion of coronavirus spending into boosting fossil fuels, compared to $146 billion for renewable power, energy efficiency and carbon-cutting areas like biking and walking infrastructure, according to the report.
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Flared natural gas is burned off at Apache Corporations' operations at the Deadwood natural gas plant in the Permian Basin, Garden City, Texas. To meet climate pledges, fossil fuel production must drop by 6% a year for the next decade. Spencer Platt via Getty Images
But it’s not over yet. A fresh round of recovery packages is likely to provide one last, can’t-miss opportunity to change course in 2021, Andersen said. If they’re deployed wisely, the new economic recovery funds many countries are planning could help put the world on a more sustainable path, and limit warming to the 1.5 degrees Celsius envisioned in Paris. “It is unheard of, the kind of monies we’re putting into the economy,” she said. “For goodness sake, let us not waste this opportunity.”
President-elect Joe Biden’s victory means the United States will likely become an ally, not an obstacle, to climate progress. And more nations committed to slash net carbon emissions to zero by mid-century. Those promising to do so now include the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Britain and Canada.
But while far-off goals are laudable, they mean little without specific plans to cut carbon now, said Elizabeth Sawin, co-director of the think tank Climate Interactive. “It’s like saying you’re going to run a marathon in a year,” she said. If you’re serious, you’d better start training tomorrow.
Voluntary Corporate Pledges: ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’
In one key area, we’re clearly running in the wrong direction. This year brought a painful moment of reckoning on deforestation. Back in 2014, multinational companies, financial institutions and governments pledged to end deforestation for products like palm oil, soy and beef, and to halve forest loss overall by 2020, with the ultimate aim of halting it altogether by 2030.
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That first milestone has come and gone. “No company, not even the best leaders, not even those in the forefront, have achieved the goals,” said Niki Mardas, executive director of Global Canopy, which tracks the market forces driving deforestation. Instead, the rate of tropical deforestation has accelerated by more than 40% since the deal was forged, and 2020 brought the most rapacious destruction of the Amazon in more than a decade, he said.
Fire consumes land deforested by cattle farmers in Para state, Brazil, on Aug. 23, 2020. AP Photo/Andre Penner
“In the world of corporate commitments, it was the year the emperor’s new clothes were made visible,” as it became undeniable that voluntary pledges were not enough, Mardas said.
Political action on deforestation has been sorely lacking, especially in Brazil, home to around 60% of the Amazon. President Jair Bolsonaro’s government has ignored illegal seizures of public land and gutted the regulatory agencies meant to stop it.
Change will have to start elsewhere. And it is. Slowly. Indonesia is beginning to clamp down on forest destruction, although it is still widespread, Mardas said. In Britain, lawmakers are drafting a loophole-ridden, but still fixable, bill, designed to reduce deforestation from its supply chains. The European Union is consulting on a strategy with the same goal.
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Follow The Money
One way campaigners have sought to push change is by tracking not only the food, consumer products and paper companies whose goods come from cleared woodland, but also the sources of the more than $1 trillion in financing enabling the destruction, Mardas said. “It’s in our investments, our pensions. We’re all part of a deforestation economy.”
The same applies to fossil fuels. And this year campaigners turned up the pressure on those funding drilling, mining, pipelines and other carbon-intensive infrastructure.
Since the Paris Agreement, 35 banks — many of which say they support the deal ― have together poured $2.7 trillion into the fossil fuel industry, a coalition of climate groups reported. “That financing has actually gone up each year,” said Ben Cushing, head of financial advocacy at the Sierra Club and a steering committee member at Stop the Money Pipeline, a new campaign targeting the sector. It’s “enabling further expansion of the fossil fuel industry at the exact moment, or past the moment, when we need to be responsibly winding down the production” of oil, gas and coal.
Campaigners’ pressure ― along with economic forces roiling big oil and gas companies ― have brought some small steps in the right direction. In the past year, the six biggest US banks joined international lenders in vowing not to finance Arctic drilling. Some banks have sworn off or restricted funding for extremely high-carbon sectors like coal and oil from tar sands. Such successes are “one of the bright spots of the climate movement in 2020,” Cushing said. Now, banks must accelerate that effort, and “recognise that at this stage in the climate fight, all fossil fuels are risky and extreme.”
Long-tailed Duck near Kaktovik, Alaska, on the northern edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Sylvain CORDIER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
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Campaigners and nonprofits are also targeting insurance companies whose policies enable fossil fuel development and giant asset managers such as Vanguard and BlackRock, which Cushing said have failed to use their immense influence to push for decarbonization by companies whose stock they hold.
In January, BlackRock chief executive Laurence Fink wrote in his annual letter to CEOs that climate risks would reshape finance. But while the company promised to prioritize sustainability, its pledge contained wide gaps. A coalition of environmental groups reported BlackRock is the largest investor ― to the tune of $110 billion ― in a dozen oil, gas and coal projects the campaigners said would collectively emit three-quarters of the greenhouse gases allowable if warming is to be held to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
A Rough Ride For Oil And Gas Companies
Despite the eye-popping amounts of money still flowing, it was a rough year for fossil fuel producers, some of which struggled to stay afloat as oil prices crashed.
“It was sort of like draining a lake, and then we could see what was on the bottom,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, director of the Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University’s Fletcher School. It turned out many companies were unprepared, and investors who know any meaningful climate action will tank oil and gas demand permanently are growing increasingly wary of the industry, she said. With wind and solar power cheaper than ever, “the long-term trend is much clearer now than it was,” Jaffe said.
Among those clocking fossil fuels’ trajectory of decline was New York state’s pension fund. It delivered a major blow to the industry in December when it became the largest pension fund and the first US state to announce it would pull out of fossil fuels — albeit gradually.
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Oil and gas companies face social and political headwinds too. The Twitter blowback was fierce when Royal Dutch Shell asked, “What are you willing to change to help reduce emissions?”
I’m willing to hold you accountable for lying about climate change for 30 years when you secretly knew the entire time that fossil fuels emissions would destroy our planet 😇 https://t.co/ekj1Va1Cp0 — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 2, 2020
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s retort crystallised progressives’ push to spotlight the industry’s role in the climate crisis: “I’m willing to hold you accountable for lying about climate change for 30 years when you secretly knew the entire time that fossil fuels emissions would destroy our planet.”
Such framings matter, said Mary Annaïse Heglar, co-creator of the Hot Take newsletter and podcast. “For the longest time, it’s just been this faceless fight” against climate change. Now, “people know who the villain in the story is.”
There’s a tipping point to catastrophe. But we’re not there yet.
Already, 2020’s might-have-beens are fading into history, another year when political and corporate leaders failed to meet the moment’s demands. We know temperatures will keep climbing, not-so-natural disasters will keep coming and the need for swift action will only increase. All is not lost, and there is progress to build on ― new promises nations and companies must be held to, clean power that’s cheaper and more reliable than our dirty, old fuels, and the urgency that rises as the terrible reality of climate change becomes ever more apparent.
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“There will come a point where we won’t be able to pull it back,” said Andersen, the UNEP director. In her view, we’re not there yet, but 2021 could be the last, best chance to secure a livable future.
If there’s one lesson 2020 has taught, it’s “what happens if you don’t address a crisis when it’s small and manageable,” Sawin said, likening the pandemic’s exponential growth to an environmental crisis that similarly requires decisive action before the worst consequences materialise. “And boy, I hope the world can generalise from Covid and apply that learning to climate change.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-20--Senior Tory Calls For Resignations As He Accuses Ministers Of Christmas Coronavirus Cover-Up

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A senior Conservative MP has accused ministers of deliberately delaying the announcement they were “pulling the plug” on Christmas until Parliament had broken up for the holiday period.
Sir Charles Walker, the vice chairman of the Tory backbench 1922 Committee, said he believed ministers knew before Friday they would be bringing in tough new coronavirus controls, and he called on whoever was responsible to resign.
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“The government, in my view, knew on Thursday, possibly even Wednesday, that they were going to pull the plug on Christmas but they waited till Parliament had gone,” he told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One.
“That, on top of everything else, is a resigning matter. I am not asking for the government to collapse. I am asking for a secretary of state to take some responsibility.”
Sir Charles’s attack comes amid growing frustration among some Tory MPs who believe the government’s measures are too draconian and represent an unacceptable infringement of civil liberties, while also wrecking the economy.
It suggests an extraordinary breakdown of trust between ministers and a section of the party in Parliament.
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PA
Earlier heath secretary Matt Hancock insisted ministers were only informed on Friday that an increase in infections in London and the South East was linked to a mutant new strain of coronavirus.
However, Sir Charles suggested the government was seeking to avoid renewed parliamentary scrutiny after MPs had previously backed a relaxation of the controls for five days over the Christmas period.
“I think many colleagues find that extremely egregious. The Christmas period was passed into law by the House of Commons in a vote after a debate,” he said.
“The view of most colleagues was that to be changed, another vote would be required in the House of Commons. So I suspect a decision was delayed until we were safely away back to our constituencies.”
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Hancock, appearing on BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show, made clear he had no intention of resigning, saying he was dealing with the pandemic “in the best way that we possibly can”.
“I know that Charles is very upset at the measures that we’ve had to bring in, and he has been (upset) throughout. I understand that and I understand where he’s coming from,” he said.
“But unfortunately these measures are absolutely necessary to save lives.”
Earlier this month, Boris Johnson suffered the biggest backbench rebellion of his premiership when 55 Conservative MPs voted against the introduction of new tiered controls for England.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-20--European Countries Ban Travel From UK In Race To Stop New Covid Strain

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A number of European countries have banned travel from the UK in a bid to prevent the spread of a new, more contagious, strain of coronavirus.
Germany, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands have all placed restrictions on travel from UK, with other countries – including Italy – expected to follow suit.
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It was announced on Sunday that night that Boris Johnson would chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra civil contingencies committee on Monday following the news.
The travel bans come the day after Boris Johnson set out drastic new tier 4 restrictions for London and large swathes of east and south-east England amid fears a new variant of Covid-19 is spreading rapidly across the country.
New lockdowns have also been announced for Wales and Scotland over Christmas.
At a press conference on Saturday, the prime minister said the new variant could be “up to 70% more transmissible” than the original variant.
Ireland
Dublin Port sign. On Thursday, December 17, 2020, in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images
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The Irish government announced plans on Sunday night for a 48-hour ban on travel from Britain.
The country’s transport minister Eamon Ryan said that ferries would continue to operate for freight – but that “general travel” would be restricted.
“We have to do this because the UK government themselves has put in place very strict restrictions on movements,” he said.
“This new strain of coronavirus, which they have identified, seems to have a much higher transmission rate.
“On a precautionary basis it’s right for us to follow up on the Dutch, Belgium, Italian and other governments will do the same.
Ryan said the ban would temporarily last 48 hours – but that it was unlikely to be relaxed at the end of the two days.
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He said: “It’s not as if after 48 hours there will be a loosening but it’s right to do it on a phased, test basis to restrict traffic now on a precautionary principle and then review it in 48 hours’ time.”
France
On Sunday, France said it would restrict travel coming from the UK for 48 hours from 11pm GMT, with the new rules applying to air, car, ferry and train travel.
It comes after a long line of passengers formed inside St Pancras station in central London on Sunday as they waited to board one of the afternoon’s sold-out Eurostar trains.
The Eurotunnel tweeted that the last shuttle from the UK to France would be at 9.34pm on Sunday.
URGENT: UK-France border closes 23:00 GMT tonight. Last shuttle UK-FR is 21:34 GMT, please check in on time. Access to UK site prohibited from 22:00 GMT.
Amend most bookings using MyEurotunnel: https://t.co/J4wvRBWE64
Request a cancellation/refund: https://t.co/yYTXGiCH4s pic.twitter.com/7qzqEgfQ2A — Eurotunnel Le Shuttle (@LeShuttle) December 20, 2020
Germany
From 11pm GMT, flights from the UK to Germany will be prohibited “due to the mutation of the coronavirus in the UK”, the Germany embassy in London said in a statement.
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There will be three main exceptions to the ban, which is set to be reviewed on December 31.
Flights with medical personnel “in the interest of public health” will still be able to land, as will postal, freight or empty flights and repatriation flights of aeroplanes and their crews.
As of midnight tonight (Berlin time), all flights from the UK to Germany are prohibited due to the coronavirus mutation. Click below for more information. https://t.co/IjTBugPww9 — German Embassy London (@GermanEmbassy) December 20, 2020
Belgium
Belgian prime minister Alexander de Cross said the country would close its borders to planes and trains coming from the UK from 11pm GMT on Sunday to prevent importing a new strain of the coronavirus, Reuters reported.
The restriction will last for at least 24 hours, he said.
Eurostar tweeted that its trains between London, Brussels and Amsterdam would be cancelled on Monday as a result.
Due to the Belgian government's announcement that borders with the UK will close at midnight on Sunday 20th Dec, we cannot run any trains between London, Brussels, and Amsterdam on the 21st. Please check here for updates: https://t.co/S3SIUqiYct — Eurostar (@Eurostar) December 20, 2020
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The Netherlands
The government of the Netherlands introduced a ban on flights carrying passengers from the UK from 6am on Sunday, with the new restriction set to remain in place until January 1 “at the latest”.
It comes after a case of the new strain was detected in the country.
Who might be next?
Italian politicians have indicated the country is set to lay out its own plans to suspend flights from the UK.
In a Facebook post, foreign minister Luigi di Maio said Italy was “about to sign the provision to suspend flights with Great Britain”, adding that it was the government’s priority to “protect Italy and our compatriots” from the new form of Covid.
How long will Tier 4 restrictions last in England?
Health Secretary Matt Hancock during a media briefing on coronavirus (COVID-19) in Downing Street, London. PA
Restrictions in the UK are expected to remain for “some time”, health secretary Matt Hancock warned on Sunday, admitting that the new strain of the disease was “out of control”.
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He said the country was facing an “enormous challenge” after scientists warned the new variant could be up to 70% more transmissible than the original virus.
“The new variant is out of control and we need to bring it under control,” Hancock told BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show.
“We don’t know how long these measures are going to be in place. It may be for some time until we can get the vaccine going.”
But Labour leader Keir Starmer said the PM must apologise to the public for the way the latest coronavirus restrictions had been handled.
“I think the prime minister should apologise,” he told an online press conference. “This is not just one mistake when he has otherwise got things right. It is the same mistake over and over again.
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“At the heart of the problem here is a prime minister who simply doesn’t want to be unpopular and therefore won’t take the tough decisions that are necessary, until he is forced into them at the 11th hour.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-21--Tier 4 Lockdown Could Last Until Easter As No.10 Refuses To Rule Out Lengthy Curbs

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Millions of people may be forced to live with draconian tier 4 coronavirus restrictions until Easter after Downing Street refused to rule out months of curbs.
More than 16 million people in England are currently banned from household mixing and travel into other areas following Boris Johnson’s decision to impose fresh regulations from Sunday.
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With a new variant of Covid-19 blamed for a rapid rise in the spread of the virus in London and large parts of the south-east, government adviser Professor Neil Ferguson said on Monday that tier 4 could have to stay in place until the spring.
Asked directly about Ferguson’s remarks, the prime minister’s spokesperson said: “We will obviously continue to keep the latest scientific data and transmission rate of the virus under review.”
“We obviously won’t keep these rules in place any longer than necessary.I would stress the important thing is for people to follow the rules, that’s the way we can reduce the transmission rate and reduce the R rate.”
Professor Neil Ferguson, of Imperial College London PA
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Tier 4 is effectively another “lockdown” for residents who live there, with hairdressers, gyms and non-essential shops all closed.
Imperial College London epidemiologist Ferguson – who still sits on the NERVTAG (the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group) and SPI-M scientific committees that advise the government – suggested the harshest lockdown measures may take a long time to remove.
“The tiers are reviewed every two weeks and will continue to be reviewed. But I certainly agree it’s not looking optimistic right now,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“The government gets criticised for changing policy all the time. This virus is unpredictable, how people behave is unpredictable, so we will track the epidemic as we always have done. Policy will be formed on the basis of that.
“The faster we can get the vaccine into people’s arms, the quicker we’ll be able to, not go back completely to normal, but at least to be able to relax restrictions.”
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With the UK’s vaccine programme set to take until the end of March to fully protect the most vulnerable, some in government believe that it may not be possible to ease the restrictions until the elderly and most at-risk groups have had the jab.
Health secretary Matt Hancock this weekend suggested other areas of the country could be plunged into the toughest restrictions if there was a surge in the new variant as in the south east.
Another member of the NERVTAG committee, Peter Openshaw of Imperial College London, told TimesRadio: “It’s very unlikely anything less than really effective measures are going to control it.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-21--Boris Johnson's Confused Message on Christmas

Boris Johnson's Confused Message on Christmas
On July 17th the possibility of a “normal” Christmas was first delivered by Boris Johnson. Since then, we’ve had a second national lockdown, introductions of tiers, a plan to deliver Christmas above all else and finally the crushing dashing of those hopes the weekend before Christmas.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-21--Essex Lorry Deaths: Two Men Guilty Of Manslaughter Of 39 Vietnamese People

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Members of a million-pound people-smuggling ring could be facing life behind bars for the manslaughter of 39 migrants.
The Vietnamese migrants, aged between 15 and 44, were found dead in the back of a trailer in Essex on October 23 last year.
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They had suffocated in sweltering temperatures as the airtight container was shipped from Zeebrugge to Purfleet.
The “unscrupulous” gang behind the illegal shipment were motivated by greed as they pursued profits of more than £1m that month alone.
Following a 10-week trial, Romanian ringleader Gheorghe Nica, 43, from Basildon, and lorry driver Eamonn Harrison, 24, from County Down, were found guilty on Monday of 39 counts of manslaughter.
They were also convicted of their part in the people-smuggling operation with lorry driver Christopher Kennedy, 24, from County Armagh, and Valentin Calota, 38, from Birmingham.
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The verdicts bring the total number of people convicted in Britain to eight, including haulier boss Ronan Hughes, 41, of Armagh, and 26-year-old lorry driver Maurice Robinson, of Craigavon, who admitted manslaughter.
Prosecutors are considering charges against a further three people. The maximum sentence for people-smuggling is 14 years in prison with manslaughter carrying a possible life sentence.
Police officers drive away a lorry, with black plastic visible at the rear, in which 39 dead bodies were discovered. BEN STANSALL via Getty Images
Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Stoten, of Essex Police, said the gang were “greedy” but “complacent”.
He said: “You would not transport animals in that way but they were quite happy to do that and put them at significant risk.”
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The Old Bailey heard how the gang offered a “VIP” service to Vietnamese migrants, who gathered in Belgium and France.
They charged about £13,000 a head to transport migrants in a trailer via the Channel Tunnel or by boat to Essex.
The network, led by Nica and and Hughes, had been operating for at least 18 months, despite repeatedly coming to the attention of authorities.
On the morning of October 22, Harrison picked up 39 migrants from Bierne in France.
His trailer was loaded on to the Clementine ship which departed from Zeebrugge at about 4pm, docking at Purfleet shortly after midnight.
Robinson, who collected the trailer at 1.08am, was instructed by Hughes via Snapchat to “give them air quickly don’t let them out”.
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When he opened the doors, a plume of vapour escaped and Robinson stands for 90 seconds before getting back in the cab.
In the 23 minutes before he dialled 999, Robinson exchanged panicked calls with his boss Hughes and Nica, who had been waiting for him in Orsett with his drivers.
The first police officer on the scene described finding half-naked bodies “closely packed” together lying in the trailer, some “frothing at the mouth”.
Mobile phones recovered from the victims showed how they had tried to raise the alarm and left goodbye messages for loved ones as they ran out of air.
Others had used a metal pole to try to punch a hole through the roof or attract attention, the court heard.
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Kennedy, Harrison and Calota, who picked up migrants at Orsett on October 18, variously claimed they had thought they were transporting cigarettes, alcohol and stolen lorry parts.
Nica admitted being roped in by convicted cigarette smuggler Hughes for earlier runs, but said he thought Robinson had a load of cigarettes when he showed him where he could unload in Orsett the night before the tragedy.
But prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told jurors the operation required “meticulous” planning and each defendant had to be “in the know”.
The victims were: Dinh Dinh Binh, 15, Nguyen Minh Quang, 20, Nguyen Huy Phong, 35, Le Van Ha, 30, Nguyen Van Hiep, 24, Bui Phan Thang, 37, Nguyen Van Hung, 33, Nguyen Huy Hung, 15, Nguyen Tien Dung, 33, Pham Thi Tra My, 26, Tran Khanh Tho, 18, Nguyen Van Nhan, 33, Vo Ngoc Nam, 28, Vo Van Linh, 25, Nguyen Ba Vu Hung, 34, Vo Nhan Du, 19.
Tran Hai Loc, 35, Tran Manh Hung, 37, Nguyen Thi Van, 35, Bui Thi Nhung, 19, Hoang Van Tiep, 18, Tran Thi Ngoc, 19, Phan Thi Thanh, 41, Tran Thi Tho, 21, Duong Minh Tuan, 27, Pham Thi Ngoc Oanh, 28, Tran Thi Mai Nhung, 18, Le Trong Thanh, 44, Nguyen Ngoc Ha, 32, Hoang Van Hoi, 24, Tran Ngoc Hieu, 17, Cao Tien Dung, 37, Dinh Dinh Thai Quyen, 18, Dong Huu Tuyen, 22, Nguyen Dinh Luong, 20, Cao Huy Thanh, 37, Nguyen Trong Thai, 26, Nguyen Tho Tuan, 25, and Nguyen Dinh Tu, 26.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-21--Boris Johnson To Hold Press Conference Amid Covid Freight Chaos

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Boris Johnson will hold a press conference on Monday to outline his response to the UK being cut off from countries around the world due to fears over the new mutant coronavirus strain.
The prime minister was chairing a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee on Monday after France banned lorries carrying freight from the UK and countries around the world ended flights.
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The risk of “significant disruption” at Channel ports in Kent has sparked concerns about the UK food supply and the rollout of the Covid vaccine although ministers have moved to dispel these.
Johnson will now hold a Monday evening press conference in Downing Street in a further attempt to reassure the nation.
France’s transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari has indicated that its ban on hauliers crossing the Channel is set to end once the EU agrees bloc-wide measures “to ensure that movement from the UK can resume”.
Meanwhile, former Conservative chief whip – and chairman of the Covid Recovery Group – Mark Harper has led the calls for a recall of Parliament to “hold ministers to account” for the government’s decision to bolster Covid-19 restrictions ahead of Christmas.
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It comes as former minister Sir Desmond Swayne accused the government of being “frightened” of such scrutiny.
Parliament broke up for its Christmas recess on Thursday, the day before the PM hosted a cabinet subcommittee meeting that discussed the extent of the new coronavirus mutation, which has a much higher transmission rate and has led to rocketing cases in London and the south-east.
MPs have been told to be on standby for any urgent breakthrough in the Brexit trade talks, with a recall of parliament possible between now and December 31, the deadline for the UK leaving its “transition period” under EU rules.
But the new Covid regulations which came into force at midnight on Saturday night do not need Commons approval as they are part of emergency laws used by health secretary Matt Hancock to police the pandemic.
Swayne, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday morning, claimed the new variant had been known about for weeks and suggested the timing of the announcements was designed to keep MPs out of the process.
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He said: “How convenient when Parliament went into recess on Thursday suddenly they were then able to produce this revelation.
“Let’s see the evidence then, let’s have Parliament back and show us and convince us, come clean.
“I want Parliament to be recalled so we can scrutinise properly in a democracy decisions that are being made which affect our economy radically and our liberty.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-21--Why No.10 Is Resisting A Brexit Extension

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Britain has been plunged into a bleak midwinter as the twin crises of coronavirus and Brexit threaten to combine to create chaos.
France has blocked lorries from arriving in the UK due to fears over a new, potentially highly transmissible strain of coronavirus, giving a taste of what may be coming if there is border disruption after the end of the Brexit transition on December 31.
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The UK imports many of its foods from Europe, and Sainsbury’s has warned the Channel shutdown could lead to shortages of lettuce, salad leaves, cauliflower, broccoli and citrus foods, while shoppers are being urged not to panic buy.
Boris Johnson has called a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee to respond and he is facing growing pressure, including from Tory MPs, to take what appears to be the simplest option available and extend the transition period.
But the prime minister appears unlikely to agree, despite many seeing it as a pragmatic, sensible response to a once-in-a-century crisis.
Here’s why.
Why would extending the transition help?
The UK is currently following EU rules during the standstill Brexit transition period, which means it effectively remains a member of the single market and customs union.
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That allows trade to continue to flow freely with the EU and, essentially, nothing major has changed since before we left on January 31.
Whatever the outcome of ongoing negotiations on a trade deal, there is likely to be disruption at the border from January 1 once that transition ends as businesses adapt to life outside the single market and customs union, including mountains of red tape and customs checks.
The government has said 80% of actions businesses need to take would apply in both deal and no-deal scenarios.
But there are widespread concerns that businesses simply won’t be ready – not least because they don’t know if there will be a deal or not and therefore do not know exactly what rules they will have to follow.
They have also been consumed with the Covid crisis this year.
And there are questions over the government’s own preparations, with vital infrastructure like lorry parks not yet complete and concerns over the readiness of border IT systems.
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In September, Michael Gove warned that just 24% of firms felt fully ready, and outlined a “reasonable worst case scenario” including queues of 7,000 lorries in Kent if preparedness did not improve.
Lorries queue to enter the port of Dover in Kent. Christmas stockpiling and Brexit uncertainty have again caused huge queues of lorries to stack up. PA
While the UK is effectively waiving import controls for the first six months of 2021, disruption of that scale at the ports could impact trade going both ways and lead to issues like food shortages.
Exporters could also face a huge economic hit if their products are snarled up in border delays, while just-in-time manufacturers may find it difficult to keep operating fully if parts cannot move back and forth across the border easily and quickly.
That’s why Tory MPs like Simon Hoare have called for the Brexit clock to be temporarily “stopped”, telling the PM it’s “time for maturity”.
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Former cabinet minister Julian Smith meanwhile called for a “practical interim implementation period”, with a particular eye on Northern Ireland – which will be in a unique position from January 1, partially following EU rules and therefore dealing with new checks and rules.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has also broken from the official Labour line to call for a transition extension to protect supply chains and allow the government to give its “full and undivided attention” to the Covid crisis.
One argument for a temporary extension is the likelihood that an additional economic hit following a year in which the UK has suffered the worst recession in 300 years will delay recovery from the pandemic, and increase the demand on a government already operating in extreme circumstances trying to handle the Covid crisis and roll out the vaccine.
So why won’t Boris Johnson extend?
It all goes back to Johnson’s pledge to “get Brexit done”, which helped deliver his victory in the 2019 general election.
It is there in clear, bold type in the Tory manifesto of last December: “We will not extend the implementation period beyond December 2020.”
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Despite having just months to conclude a trade deal after leaving the EU on January 31, 2020, the PM believed that delays simply put off the difficult trade-offs and decisions both sides had to make in negotiations.
And he felt that the process had dragged on too long since the 2016 referendum – an opinion undoubtedly shared by large sections of voters who propelled him to an 80-seat majority.
Key to Johnson’s refusal to extend the transition was also his belief that the UK could prosper without a trade deal, despite warnings that it would make the economic hit of Brexit even worse and slow down recovery from the Covid crisis.
Johnson during the 2019 general election campaign PA Wire/PA Images
Johnson was also the choice for PM of hardline Tory Brexiteers, and would likely face a massive rebellion if he tried to get an extension through Parliament.
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Keir Starmer’s reluctance to talk about Brexit after Johnson successfully portrayed Labour as frustraters of the process, and the PM’s expulsion of 21 MPs from the Tory Party last year for attempting to block no-deal also mean he has faced little pressure to change course.
And perhaps Johnson’s infamous prediction that the UK’s fight against Covid could allow a return to “normality” by Christmas blinded him to the dangers of the perfect storm of a winter surge in infections and Brexit chaos at the border.
On Monday, transport secretary Grant Shapps said extending the transition would “add fuel to the fire” of the situation by creating extra uncertainty for businesses.
But it’s a difficult line to hold when business lobby groups like the CBI are calling for, at the very least, “grace periods” to allow companies some breathing space.
Is extending the transition even possible?
Even if Johnson performed a U-turn and decided to extend, the legal situation is complex.
The withdrawal agreement (WA) signed by Johnson to take the UK out of the EU earlier this year specifies that the transition ends on December 31.
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There was a legal opportunity to extend this by June 30 but, despite Covid, Johnson refused to do so.
It puts both sides in a tricky legal space that was outlined by the Institute for Government earlier this year.
One option would simply be to amend the WA, but this would force the government to recall parliament from Christmas recess amid London’s tier 4 coronavirus lockdown to pass primary legislation – and risking a huge rebellion from Brexiteer Tory MPs.
It would also “almost certainly” mean involving the European Court of Justice, according to the IfG, which is not a quick or easy process.
Another option is to agree a new transition period to begin on January 1, but this would mean “striking a new, complex agreement” and would need to be ratified by the UK and EU sides.
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Again this would mean recalling parliament.
A third option would be to agree an implementation phase as part of the wider trade deal currently being negotiated, but UK government sources say there are still “significant differences” between the two sides on that.
Finally, a temporary no-deal implementation phase could be agreed.
The EU has tabled emergency proposals to this effect but the UK is yet to indicate if it would agree.
Despite these hurdles, if there is political will to extend, it would likely be possible.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-21--Everyone’s A Comedian! The Jokes Getting Us Through This Christmas

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Boris called it “inhumane” to cancel Christmas only a few days ago, but by Saturday, he’d nixed the festive plans of huge swathes of the country.
Such drastic U-turns are ripe for political satire. We often laugh to process the difficult things in life, and rarely has politics felt more suited to stand-up.
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How could we forget Matt Lucas, who popped back to relevance again before his turn on Bake Off this year, mimicking Boris Johnson’s indecisiveness with his now legendary “will or won’t, something or other” speech. Over the past weekend, throngs of other comics have responded to the growing unease.
In need of a laugh? We all are. Here’s a round-up of some of the tier 4 (and travel ban) jokes from across the social media universe that made us laugh.
Actual footage* of a Tory advisor on the phone to France over the travel ban
(*Not really)
Conservative party advisor phoning Boris Johnson about France closing their borders to the UK pic.twitter.com/MuVRYzGAQr — Josh Berry (@JoshBerryComedy) December 21, 2020
James Topham summing up the growing tier delirium
*flings open window* You, boy! What tier is it? — James Topham (@JamesTophamWord) December 19, 2020
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Alistair Green leaving us with a lovely image
Oh well at least I dont have to masturbate quietly on xmas morning 😉 #tier4vibes #everycloud — alistair green (@mralistairgreen) December 19, 2020
All we can say to Shappi Khorsandi is fair play...
I’m keeping all the presents I bought. — Shappi Khorsandi (@ShappiKhorsandi) December 19, 2020
And Ivo Graham, as often, is 100% right.
The news is either things moving worryingly fast through Kent or things moving worryingly slowly through Kent — Ivo Graham (@IvoGraham) December 20, 2020
Shouldn’t the new variant have been subject to the same tariffs as everything else — Ivo Graham (@IvoGraham) December 20, 2020
“I didn’t buy my favourite perfume to be on Zoom in a shirt”
Mario - Let Me Into Tier 2. 🎄🥺
Last sketch of 2020; I’m absolutely exhausted and I don’t have any more dad moves to give 😂🕺🏽
This is my OOO Twitter - thank you for being so good to me 🙏🏽❤ pic.twitter.com/TgPPiw1QDb — Munya Chawawa (@munyachawawa) December 20, 2020
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Always good to make your parents proud, Gráinne Maguire
In Tier 4 London, just rang my parents to let them know I won’t be coming home for Christmas because I’ve been imprisoned for political reasons by the British government. They’ve never been more proud. — Gráinne Maguire (@GrainneMaguire) December 20, 2020
Nish Kumar nails the Conservatives for consistency
2016: leave means leave
2020: stay forever and just eat your bins — Nish Kumar (@MrNishKumar) December 20, 2020
We *think* Jack may be implying the government are out of touch
Tier 4 sounds like a boy band that Louis would take to the live shows on X Factor — jack (@jacchyna) December 20, 2020
Us neither, Bruce Tang (but bring on the cake)
Unless it's cakes, I don't wanna hear a gatdamn thing about tiers anymore — Bruce Tang (@brucetang0) December 19, 2020
It’s worth revisiting some 2020 classics.
news reporters competing over how to say ‘coronavirus’ pic.twitter.com/jBHgbkVHsg — Will Hislop (@WillDHislop) November 25, 2020
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And lest we forget...


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-21--How To Make Sure All That Christmas Food Doesn't Go To Waste

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The about-turn on Christmas bubbles and the introduction of tier 4 to large parts of the country has left us in two camps: those staring at empty fridges ahead of the holidays, and those drowning in turkey.
If you’re part of the latter group, you’re probably wondering what on earth you’re going to do with all that extra food that’ll no longer be gratefully gobbled up by guests.
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To limit food waste – and to offer a little practical help amid the festive fuckery – here’s a guide on sharing, freezing and sprucing up those leftovers.
Carlina Teteris via Getty Images
Share with others
If there is no way you’re going to eat all of the sides and snacks you’ve bought for Christmas, consider sharing them with others before opening any packets.
Food banks will be collecting unopened foods, particularly longer life Christmas snacks, such as chocolate, Christmas pudding and stollen.
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You can check the Trussel Trust website or your local authority and council websites to find your nearest food bank and ask organisers what food and supplies are most needed in your area.
You could also consider donating to your food bank at your local supermarket if it has a collection point, but bear in mind that some collection points have closed during the pandemic.
Alternatively, tackle waste and help your neighbours by downloading a community food sharing app, such as Olio. If you’ve got an abundance of spuds and sprouts, you can share them with people who are suddenly in need of festive ingredients. Just remember to follow the app’s Covid guidelines for giving away and receiving food to minimise risks of transmission.
Freeze in small portions
Meat is one of the harder things to share, so divide and conquer by splitting your turkey (or other Christmas centre piece) into small portions after cooking, then keeping some in the fridge and freezing the rest.
You should cool and cover your leftovers and put them in a fridge or freezer within one to two hours, according to the Food Standards Agency. Splitting leftovers into smaller portions will cool food quicker and help portion control. Leftovers put in the fridge can be eaten for two days.
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You can freeze most things once, including raw and cooked meats, fruit, potatoes (after boiling for five minutes), grated cheese, and eggs. Beware of refreezing certain items, as this can cause food poisoning.
“Never refreeze raw meat (including poultry) or fish that has been defrosted. You can cook frozen meat and fish once defrosted, and then refreeze them,” explains the NHS. “You can refreeze cooked meat and fish once, as long as they have been cooled before going into the freezer. If in doubt, do not refreeze.”
It’s best to eat meat that’s been frozen within three to six months, advises the NHS. It’s still safe to eat after this, but the quality and flavour will deteriorate.
Date and label meat when you put it in the freezer to keep track and be sure to eat it within 24 hours of defrosting.
skynesher via Getty Images
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Get creative with turkey
On Boxing Day (or at about 7pm on Christmas day, who are we kidding?) you can’t go far wrong with a turkey sandwich. “Always condiment heavy with Branston pickle, extra cold cranberry sauce and a little mayo,” says Tom Aikens, chef patron at Muse, London. “Chuck in a few lettuce leaves too.”
Another traditional option is a baked pie with puff pastry. It works with whatever leftover Christmas meat (turkey, ham or goose) you’ve got in the fridge.
“Make a basic bechamel, add some leeks and mushrooms, a dash of cream, grainy mustard and parsley,” says Aikens. “Then add all the white and dark meat, cut up into smallish pieces. Pop into a pie dish, cover with defrosted puff pastry, brush with egg yolk and bake at 200c for 20 mins.”
For those drowning in turkey and looking for something a little different, Paul Kelly from KellyBronze turkey farmers suggests these recipes.
Turkey tacos
Paul Kelly
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Ingredients:
12 soft tacos
400g leftover turkey
2 ripe avocados
200g cherry tomatoes
1 red onion
1 handful coriander
1 red chilli
½ lime, juiced
3 cups frozen sweetcorn
4 tbsp soured cream
Instructions:
Take the turkey out of the fridge and allow it to come up to room temperature. To make the guacamole, cut the avocado into cubes and add to a mixing bowl. Add the finely sliced onion, the cherry tomatoes cut into quarters, the finely sliced chilli, the chopped coriander, and the juice of half a lime. Mix this round in the bowl, gently squashing the avocado as you do it. Next, put the sweetcorn in a piping hot cast iron pan and toast for approximately five minutes until nice and charred. Cut the turkey into strips, toast the tacos in a pan and fill with the turkey and all the toppings.
Turkey, fig and caramelised onion pizza
Paul Kelly
Ingredients:
200g sourdough pizza dough
2 x figs
Leftover turkey
Mozzarella
Jar of caramelised onion chutney
3 cloves of garlic
50g salted butter
Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat, crush the garlic cloves and add them to the pan for a few minutes to allow the flavour to infuse. Tip – do not let the butter go brown by leaving it on the heat for too long. Brush the pizza base with the garlic butter, cut the figs into quarters and place on the base, along with pieces of mozzarella and then scatter the teaspoons of chutney on top. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the base looks almost cooked and the cheese has melted. Then, remove it from the oven and sprinkle over the chunks of leftover turkey. Put the pizza back in the oven for a remaining three to five minutes to heat the turkey. Tip – don’t put the turkey on the pizza base at the beginning of cooking, as it will dry out!
Mexican turkey and sweet potato
Paul Kelly Paul Kelly
Ingredients:
6 Sweet potatoes
2 x 400g tins of black beans in water
2 x red onion, diced
300g cherry tomatoes
375g cheddar cheese grated
600g leftover turkey
Instructions:


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-21--Labour Refuses To Back Brexit Extension Despite Growing No-Deal Threat

Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer PA
Labour has refused to back an extension to the Brexit transition period, despite the rising threat of no-deal.
Keir Starmer said Boris Johnson should get the “oven ready” deal he promised “over the line”, and told reporters on Monday: “I don’t want an extension, I want a deal.”
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Several Tory MPs and London mayor Sadiq Khan have backed calls for an extension after more than £33bn was wiped off the FTSE 100 on Monday morning due to fears over a no-deal and new coronavirus restrictions.
Starmer said the prime minister should address the British people as soon as possible and recall parliament.
Fears are mounting that negotiators have so far failed to strike a trade agreement in Brussels, despite ongoing talks, and that the UK is set to crash out of the bloc on December 31.
It comes as a new and more infectious strain of Covid-19 saw the pandemic significantly worsen in the UK.
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Emmanuel Macron imposed a 48-hour ban on UK freight entering France, sparking further chaos at the border and fears of food shortages.
Lorries parked on the M20 near Folkestone, Kent, after the Port of Dover was closed and access to the Eurotunnel terminal suspended PA
Asked if the transition period should be extended, Starmer said Johnson should “get that deal over the line today or tomorrow, don’t delay”.
He added: “People were promised a deal and you must deliver that deal”.
The Labour leader spoke out after giving a speech on the future of devolution in the United Kingdom.
He insisted a no-deal Brexit would be a “very, very bad outcome and a complete failure of the government”.
He told Johnson: “You promised an oven ready deal, get on and deliver it.”
It puts Starmer at odds with Labour mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who has urged Johnson to seek an extension to the transition period.
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Khan said: “Securing our key supply chains and fighting the coronavirus pandemic requires the full and undivided efforts of ministers more than ever before.
“Risking the chaos and uncertainty of a no-deal Brexit was reckless even before the latest surge in Covid cases and the worrying news about this latest strain.
“With the virus spreading rapidly and our hospitals increasingly stretched, the only thing the country should be concentrating on is fighting the virus.”
Trade deal talks are expected to continue throughout Monday, a UK government source said on Sunday night.
The source said the discussions in Brussels had been “difficult” and that “significant differences” remained between the two sides on fisheries and state aid rules.
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“Teams have been negotiating throughout the day and expect to continue tomorrow. Talks remain difficult and significant differences remain,” the source said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-21--EU Countries Block Travel From UK Due To New Covid Strain

EU Countries Block Travel From UK Due To New Covid Strain
So far ten European countries have closed borders to Britain amid fears about a new strain of the coronavirus ahead of Christmas week. A mutant strain sweeping across London and the South-East of England has prompted EU nations to start restricting inbound flights from the UK. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there is no evidence the new variant causes more severe illness or higher mortality but it does appear to be passed on significantly more easily. He said the new strain could be up to 70% more transmissible than the old virus variant.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-21--Love Island's Molly-Mae Hague Forced To Defend Festive Holiday: 'We Didn't Break Any Rules'

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Former Love Island contestant Molly-Mae Hague has defended taking a recent trip abroad, insisting she has not broken any coronavirus restrictions.
The reality star and social media influencer has been posting holiday snaps from the Maldives with boyfriend and fellow Love Island star Tommy Fury online in recent days.
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However, following the announcement of a tightening of restrictions over the weekend, Molly said she had received messages of criticism from some of her Instagram followers.
Molly-Mae Hague SOPA Images via Getty Images
Issuing a response on her Stories, she wrote: “In response to the messages I’m already getting about us being away throughout this time … Please understand that Tommy and I left the UK from Cheshire which was in Tier 2 at the time.
“We didn’t break any rules coming away. If we knew these rules were going to be put in place then obviously we would have never left the UK.”
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Molly – who finished in second place on the 2019 series of Love Island with Tommy – added: “The minute we arrive home we will be following Government guidelines.”
Molly with boyfriend Tommy Fury Barcroft Media via Getty Images
A growing number of countries have banned flights from the UK amid fears about a new mutant strain of the virus.
In a separate post, Molly also said she does not understand why new Tier 4 coronavirus rules – which prevent some people from meeting up over the festive period in London and the south east – are being enforced “just before Christmas”.
“The thought of my poor nana having to spend Christmas alone in her house just absolutely breaks my heart,” she said.
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“I’m thinking of everyone at home and especially my followers who are now in a Tier 4 category and won’t be able to spend Christmas with their families, like myself.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-21--Shielders Get Updated Guidance Under New Tier Restrictions

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Clinically extremely vulnerable people in tier 4 areas are being told not to go to work even if they are unable to work from home in new guidance published on shielding.
People across London, the South East and the East of England received further guidance online on Monday after the areas moved into Tier 4 restrictions over the weekend.
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Those who are at very high risk of severe illness from coronavirus, including people with specific cancers and severe respiratory conditions, are being urged to stay at home and only leave to exercise or attend health appointments.
Here's information on Tier 4: Stay At Home.
Check the rules in your area: https://t.co/xfzdWMDdMZ pic.twitter.com/oBWb3symWe — Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) December 21, 2020
People who cannot work from home are being told they should not attend work, while children on the shielded patient list should not attend school during term times.
They are advised to avoid all non-essential travel unless they are heading to hospital and GP appointments, and to avoid going into any shops and pharmacies.
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The guidance states people who live with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable, but are not themselves, should still attend work and school.
The updated guidance follows the same rules that were in place during the second national lockdown in England during November.
The government said those who are clinically extremely vulnerable but living in Tiers 1 to 3 should follow existing guidance, and that there is no formal shielding advice currently in place in areas outside of Tier 4.